18: Chapter 20 Living for the People We Love 18: Chapter 20 Living for the People We Love The shop owner, seeing Li Xiaoqiang and his two companions fierce in both voice and expression, was terrified.

Especially when Zhang Long grabbed his collar, his legs started trembling involuntarily, and cold sweat sprouted on his forehead.

He said in horror, “No…

it’s not my fault…

The boss has already spoken in Jinnan City, whoever…

whoever dares to provoke you, we will not end well.”

When Zhang Long heard this, with a slap, he kicked the shop owner back into the shop and pointed at him, shouting fiercely, “Damn!

Son of a bitch!”

Although Zhang Long appeared composed on the surface when he heard the boss’s words, he was actually nervous inside.

He, Zhang Long, still wanted to get by in Jinnan City, with a large group of brothers following him, and if the boss had him in mind, Zhang Long guessed that his future days would be tough.

Zhang Long approached Li Xiaoqiang, scratching his head, and said, “Um…

Xiaoqiang, the boss has spoken, you know, I still have a bunch of old masters to take care of…

I…”

Li Xiaoqiang, upon hearing this, understood what Zhang Long meant.

He looked up at the dark clouds, originally thinking that after gaining the Special Ability, his life would be as smooth as in the novels, with success and luxury easily within reach.

However, reality was not as he had initially thought.

Li Xiaoqiang shook his head helplessly and said, “I understand, you guys go back first, I’ll go wandering somewhere else.”

When Zhang Long and Wu Hao saw Li Xiaoqiang’s dejected expression, they felt very sorry for him.

They had just prepared to follow Li Xiaoqiang through thick and thin, but they hadn’t expected the boss, more formidable than Xiang Yu, to suddenly come into play.

They felt dishonorable, but against the boss akin to a giant Buddha of Leshan, they could only bow and scrape.

All that hot-blooded ardor…

facing someone with absolute power, it’s merely a speck in the ocean.

Li Xiaoqiang left alone, took a bus to the banks of the Jinnan River, and watched the raging river waters, yet his heart remained undisturbed.

Facing Jinnan City, facing the vast earth, he, Li Xiaoqiang, felt so insignificant.

A sudden sense of powerlessness overcame him, a kid from the countryside trying to make something of himself in the flashy big city.

Now, Li Xiaoqiang very much understood why Xiang Yu had knelt by the Wu River; a man who stood tall, facing a powerful rival as immovable as the mountains, where could he find the courage?

With just a word, the boss could influence the will of the entire Jinnan City; as a student, how could he, Li Xiaoqiang, resist?

Whenever Li Xiaoqiang felt extremely depressed, he liked to sit by the river.

That way, he felt all the displeasure in his heart could flow away with the river.

This was a habit formed by the Nu Long River in front of his house, where he fiercely fought against all children in Gancha Town as a child.

But when those kids sometimes ganged up and beat him, Li Xiaoqiang would jump into the Nu Long River, dive to the bottom, and calm down.

In the following days, the fathers of those town kids would end up bruised and beaten by Li Xiaoqiang’s younger brother.

The Li brothers were a renowned odd pair in Gancha Town, the elder brother frail and often ill from childhood but a mischievous and smart one.

The younger brother strong as an ox, capable of flipping over a calf single-handedly at twelve, seemed simple-minded; but he was always like a wolf lurking behind Li Xiaoqiang!

Whoever dared touch his brother, he would thrash them.

Li Xiaoqiang thought of the scene when his brother carried his luggage, sending him to the train station—an now two meters tall, standing in the crowd like an iron tower, dressed in homespun clothes all year round, wearing a worn straw hat, in liberation shoes, with a naive, silly smile.

A wave of inexplicable sadness surged through his heart…

That year, as he sent him to the train station to go to college, his brother’s perpetual toothpaste-commercial-like bright teeth gleamed brilliantly.

“Brother, take care of yourself, eat well, study hard.

Mother doesn’t care about anything else in this lifetime, just about you.

Last night, crying, she told me you’ve been sensible since childhood, it’s like our family’s ancestors have blessed us with a college student like you.”

“Mother said her son, Wang Chunmei, was different,” he said, “she couldn’t bear to send you off today because she’s afraid that seeing you will make her cry.

She’s afraid she’d soften her heart and not let you leave Gancha Town to endure hardship.”

“This is Grandpa’s kerosene lighter,” he continued, “He said when you got into university he didn’t have much to give, but this lighter has been his companion for decades.

He’s giving it to you, and Grandpa said he wants this lighter to ignite your life.

Whenever you miss him, just look at it, it has his words on it.”

This simple and foolish brother then shed two tears, but still smiled, “Brother, study hard.

I believe in you, just like Grandma said before she died, ‘As long as one keeps their feet on the ground, they will stand out among others.’”

At that moment, Li Xiaoqiang felt his face stiffen, and his eyes sting.

When the train let out that piercing roar, as this simple and foolish brother gradually blurred into a speck in his sight.

Li Xiaoqiang burst into heartbreaking sobs.

He convulsed in a corner of the train like a madman.

A mother who’d suffered all her life, a grandfather who pinned all his hopes on him, a foolish brother who went deep into the mountains to gather Chinese yam for him.

He was very fortunate and very lucky; he was not only living for himself but also for those who loved him.

Li Xiaoqiang, looking at the Wu River, took out the worn kerosene lighter.

It was ground smooth, silvery-white; he had dared not look at it for years.

What words had Grandpa left for him inside the lighter?

At this moment, he wanted to see…

Li Xiaoqiang opened that piece of paper, staring at the nine words written on it, suddenly feeling a warmth in his eyes as tears uncontrollably streamed down.

Li Xiaoqiang knelt without hesitation, facing the direction of his home, and heavily kowtowed three times, his forehead bloodied.

His tears continued to flow as he choked out, “Grand… Grandpa… this fool will definitely not let you down!”

Thirteen words, ordinary yet tear-jerking, piercing straight through the soul.

‘You will always be the beloved apple of Grandpa’s eye!’

Li Xiaoqiang squatted by the Wu River, the night like a dense net enveloping every inch of his skin.

A solitary chill slowly penetrated his skin, flesh, and then his soul, yet a glimmer of hope struggled fiercely within this dark cage.

Seeking that gradually fading dawn…

Time passed, and Li Xiaoqiang’s phone rang; it was from Su Xiaoya.

Li Xiaoqiang asked her why she had called, it turned out Xia Ke’er had called Su Xiaoya, telling her that Li Xiaoqiang was upset and asking Su Xiaoya to talk with him.

Li Xiaoqiang was puzzled why Xia Ke’er hadn’t called herself; her behavior had been strange recently, leaving Li Xiaoqiang baffled.

…

The hospital ward.

Tang Junhua glared at Chen Hu who was still in a coma on the hospital bed, and said coldly, “I didn’t expect this turtle of a grandson Li Xiaoqiang to dare strike Brother Hu, and damn it, even went as far as to cripple his tendons!”

The housekeeper beside Tang Junhua respectfully said, “Young Master, the Third Master has already spoken, this Li Xiaoqiang will struggle to move an inch, don’t worry!”

“Hmph!” Tang Junhua snorted coldly, “Worry?

Isn’t he quite the fighter?

Then I’ll just get Zhao Bin to kill him!”

Upon hearing Zhao Bin’s name, the housekeeper’s usually calm expression changed, furrowing his brows, “Young Master, Zhao Bin’s identity is very special, should we get the old master’s approval?”

Tang Junhua shook his head, “Such trivial matters need not bother my father.

If I don’t finish off Li Xiaoqiang, then write my name, Tang Junhua, backwards, damn it!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep