Returning Home

There was no other way. Zhang Shuai could only make an excuse, saying Huang Tianli snored in his sleep and had kept him from getting a good night's rest for several nights in a row. He asked Huang Tianli to get another room so he could sleep there and not affect Zhang Shuai's condition for the competition the next day.

Huang Tianli didn't dare interfere with Zhang Shuai's competition. After all, they were relying on Zhang Shuai to make money, so he immediately went and got another room to sleep in.

Zhang Shuai removed a socket from the hotel room and charged himself there.

He spent a full ten hours charging, and the battery wasn't full until dawn.

Zhang Shuai estimated that a full charge would now last about a month.

Over the next four days, Zhang Shuai fought eight more matches, averaging two a day, and he didn't lose a single one.

All told, Zhang Shuai had fought eleven matches in Las Vegas. With eleven consecutive wins, he'd made quite a name for himself in the underground boxing ring. Many people now knew that the Dragon Kingdom in the East had a formidable young kung fu fighter.

Zhang Shuai also received 1.1 million dollars in prize money, which came to seven million yuan. He'd made seven million in less than a week, and he was very satisfied with that.

With Lin Xiuwen's school term drawing closer and the car he'd bought from the 4S dealership ready for pickup, Zhang Shuai no longer felt like staying in the Beautiful Country. He told Situ Changtian that he was heading home and that there was no need to arrange any more fights for him.

Situ Changtian tried repeatedly to persuade him to stay and fight a few more matches, but Zhang Shuai had lost interest. Seven million was more than enough for his expenses.

However, when Situ Changtian transferred the money into his bank account, Zhang Shuai received only a little over 5.6 million. He was very unhappy about it. Situ Changtian repeatedly explained that personal income tax had to be paid through the proper channels, but Zhang Shuai was still annoyed.

But since it was personal income tax, there wasn't much Zhang Shuai could say. He could only blame Situ Changtian for not making it clear before the matches.

Once he had the money, Zhang Shuai bought plane tickets and flew back to the Dragon Kingdom with Huang Tianli.

After returning to the Dragon Kingdom, Zhang Shuai parted ways with Huang Tianli at the airport and immediately messaged Lin Xiuwen, telling her he missed her and asking if she had any free time.

Unfortunately, Lin Xiuwen said her eldest aunt and her cousins were visiting that day, and she had to keep them company, so she probably wouldn't have time to meet him.

Zhang Shuai was a little disappointed. He hadn't seen Lin Xiuwen in several days and had started to miss her. More importantly, after seeing the foreign women performing to entertain the crowd at the underground boxing ring during his trip to the Beautiful Country, a certain desire had begun stirring inside him. He was especially worked up and just wanted to hold Lin Xiuwen close and kiss and hug her.

The next day, Zhang Shuai went to the 4S dealership, paid the remaining balance, and picked up the Biguan Di electric car he'd reserved. It wasn't a luxury car, but Zhang Shuai could now count himself among the car owners.

He took his new car for a spin around the city's ring road. Though he'd only just gotten his driver's license, his driving skills were better than those of many experienced drivers. He wasn't at all nervous behind the wheel like many newly licensed drivers.

On a whim, Zhang Shuai also tried to see if he could charge the car himself. If he could send electricity from his body into the car, he wouldn't need to worry about running out of power wherever he went.

However, when Zhang Shuai opened the car's charging port and pressed his palm against it, he found that he couldn't release the electricity stored inside him. He had electricity in his body, but he couldn't get it out.

Zhang Shuai figured he just hadn't figured out how to discharge it yet. Perhaps after cultivating the Small Heavenly Cycle Art, he'd be able to release the electricity stored in his body whenever he wanted. Then he should be able to charge his car anytime.

After driving around the city, Zhang Shuai remembered that he hadn't seen Wang Qiang in ages. Now that he'd bought a car, he ought to tell Wang Qiang.

Besides, he was about to go with Lin Xiuwen to audit some paleography courses at the university and might not return to Qingshui City for several months. He should visit Wang Qiang before leaving.

He called Wang Qiang and said he'd come over for lunch.

Afterward, Zhang Shuai drove to a shopping center and bought some fruit, snacks, and milk for Wang Qiang's child, Lele. Now that he had money, it wouldn't do to show up for a meal empty-handed, especially at the home of a family with a child. It was a custom from Zhang Shuai's rural hometown.

Zhang Shuai drove to the residential complex where Wang Qiang lived, found a spot, and parked. Then he picked up the fruit and snacks he'd bought for Lele and took the elevator.

He went up to the twenty-eighth floor, stopped outside Wang Qiang's door, and rang the bell.

The door opened soon, and Wang Qiang stood there, looking at the fruit and snacks in Zhang Shuai's hands. He couldn't help grumbling, "Zhang Shuai, you should've just come over. Why'd you buy all this? You don't have to be so polite with me."

Zhang Shuai smiled. "It's not for you. I bought it for Lele."

After entering the apartment, Zhang Shuai set the things on the coffee table and sat down on the sofa. He saw Jing Fengqin busy in the kitchen with an apron tied around her waist, while two-year-old Lele ran around the apartment barefoot, holding a toy water gun.

Zhang Shuai took a tangerine from the fruit he'd brought, peeled it, and walked over to Lele.

"Here, Lele. Have a tangerine..."

Lele wasn't shy at all. Seeing the tangerine Zhang Shuai held out to him, he opened his little mouth and took a bite. Juice splattered everywhere as Lele giggled. He tossed the water gun onto the floor and reached into Zhang Shuai's palm to grab the tangerine.

Lele grabbed one segment in each little hand, then toddled off toward the room with the two peeled segments from Zhang Shuai's hand.

Zhang Shuai smiled at Wang Qiang. "Brother Qiang, Lele's so cute and clever, and he's good-looking, too. You'd better raise him well."

"Of course. How could my son, Wang Qiang's, not be clever and good-looking?"

"Come on. You're not clever at all, and you're not good-looking either. Everyone in your complex calls you Pockmarked Wang. How could a face full of pockmarks be good-looking? Good thing Lele didn't inherit them from you."

"That's true. Lele takes after his mom. He's got fair skin and big eyes. He got the best of both of us. He'll definitely grow up to be a handsome young man."

"We agreed before that I'd be Lele's godfather. You haven't forgotten, have you?"

"I haven't. Once Lele's a little older and can talk, we'll have him call you godfather."

"Then I'd better make more money. I can't let my godson want for anything."

"Heh, actually, you could find yourself a wife sooner rather than later. Then you could have a daughter, and our families could arrange a match between the kids."

"Dream on. Even if I find a wife, I want a son. Why should I have a daughter just to give your boy an easy win?"

As they talked, Lele came running back into the living room with an uneaten tangerine segment in his hand. He raised it and tried to pop it into Wang Qiang's mouth.

Wang Qiang burst out laughing. "What a good boy. He even knows to save some of the good stuff for his dad."

Zhang Shuai laughed, too, and picked Lele up to play airplane with him. Lele giggled with excitement. He seemed to especially love being lifted high in the air. After they played for a while, Zhang Shuai put him down, but Lele wasn't satisfied. He burst into tears, went over to Zhang Shuai, grabbed his pant leg, and raised both hands to be picked up.

Zhang Shuai had no choice but to keep playing airplane with Lele.