Chapter 137: The Son Bullies Others, and His Mother Won’t Stop Him

Back at the apartment complex, I first parked the e-bike in the woodshed. As we stepped into the elevator, Zhang Wuyong said, "Let's go to my place first; my mom said she cooked something delicious."

"Okay!" Tongtong replied softly.

Once the elevator doors closed, Zhang Wuyong clasped his hands together. "My hands are a bit cold."

Zhao Yutong tightened her face. "How is that possible? It’s not even winter."

Zhang Wuyong reached out to touch her. "It must be because I was riding for so long; my hands haven't warmed up yet."

"Stop it!" Zhao Yutong, having long anticipated his mischievous intentions, gave him a firm pat and pointed upward. "There’s a camera."

The elevator stopped at the ninth floor, and they walked together toward the Zhang family’s door. Zhang Wuyong reached under the hem of Tongtong’s top, letting out a sly, odd chuckle. "No camera here. Let my hands warm up."

"No, you can't!" Zhao Yutong was held by him, swaying back and forth.

At that moment, the door opened. Song Mei, holding a bag of trash and just about to head out, caught sight of her son reaching inside the girl’s clothes. She silently closed the door again... giving them some space.

Zhang Wuyong and Zhao Yutong stared as the door, which had just opened, shut in front of them, blocking them outside. Zhao Yutong stood hunched over, clutching the hands of the naughty boy, and looked up at the closed door. The son was bullying someone, and his mother didn't even intervene. What would happen in the future?

...

By the next morning, the "three little ones"—Song Ling, Song Xiaoyan, and Liu Zhu—contacted Zhang Wuyong, clamoring for him to treat them to a meal.

"I haven't even finished filling out my college applications yet; I don't even know which university I'll be attending. What am I supposed to be celebrating?" Zhang Wuyong told them.

But they didn't care. In their minds, getting such high test scores was reason enough to be treated. Unable to sway them, Zhang Wuyong finally agreed to take them out for a big lunch.

"Cousin, you are getting more and more handsome!" As soon as she saw him, Song Ling started making a fuss.

The three girls were close in age and all in middle school. Song Ling and Song Xiaoyan were cousins, the daughters of Zhang Wuyong’s maternal uncles. Liu Zhu was Song Ling’s cousin; she shared no direct blood relation with Song Xiaoyan, but they were the exact same age and their birthdays were close, so they had played together since childhood. Girls of this age were full of vitality no matter how you looked at them.

However, having just graduated from high school, Zhang Wuyong had seen plenty of schoolgirls, and whether they were genuine students or the fake ones from Honglian, he had no interest in them. In fact, he found them annoying! He had already started planning to buy a nurse's uniform for Tongtong, though Tongtong, whose parents both worked at a hospital, had no interest in white coats or nurse uniforms.

"Let’s go, let’s go. I’ll treat you to boiled fish," he said. A treat was a treat, after all.

He took the three of them to a boiled fish restaurant. He had booked it in advance, but even so, the wait for the food was a bit long.

"Come on, let me perform a magic trick for you!" Zhang Wuyong flicked his hand and produced four cards and four coins.

"Awesome!" Girls were indeed easily captivated by little tricks like these. The three of them immediately grew excited.

In front of them, Zhang Wuyong placed the four coins on the table and covered them with the four cards. Then, he kept moving them around. Every time he revealed a card, the coin underneath seemed to teleport, vanishing into thin air and reappearing under a different card. They clearly saw him place the coin on the table, cover it with a card, and then, upon lifting it, the coin was gone. When he flipped another card, there was an extra coin underneath it.

They watched in astonishment, filled with a strange sense of excitement. They were as happy as little birds being teased, chirping non-stop and occasionally trembling with delight. Zhang Wuyong didn't use his system storage; he relied entirely on sleight of hand. This set of magic, however, felt more mysterious and astonishing than simple card tricks. With card tricks, no matter how well you perform, people know there’s a trick involved. But this type of magic, even though it was also a trick, felt truly like teleportation.

If the three of them could stare right at him and still not spot his technique, then his close-up performance was definitely up to par. Additionally, after binge-watching magic videos for days, Zhang Wuyong realized that the most important thing about performing magic was actually just being "handsome." Sometimes, two magicians would perform the same trick with flawless technique, but one could captivate the audience, making them hold their breath, while the other—despite the same technique—made the audience feel like they were watching an animal in a circus. This kind of "handsomeness" wasn't just about looks. Some magicians weren't particularly good-looking, yet they still appeared dashing.

What mattered was composure and confidence—that sense of arrogance and superiority that made it seem as if he were publicly demonstrating real magic instead of just performing a trick. Yes, performing magic required a sense of superiority, and one had to project that on stage.

At this moment, his eyes glowed with confidence. He carried the aura of a king, acting as if he were a great sorcerer who was merely here to amuse these three girls. The more he acted this way, the more excited the three girls became, feeling a sense of submission that made them want to offer up their very hearts and souls. Consequently, they were increasingly swept along by the rhythm of his performance.

By the end, it wasn't just the three girls; the waitress who brought the boiled fish was left dumbfounded. If not for Zhang Wuyong’s quick reflexes, she would have lost her composure and, in her trembling state of mind and body, dropped the entire tray of fish onto the floor.

"Cousin, you’re so amazing!"

"Cousin, how can you be this handsome?"

"Brother Wuyong, you’re the best, I can’t take it anymore!" The last line was from Liu Zhu. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought Zhang Wuyong had done something to her.

"Eat, eat!" Zhang Wuyong put away his cards and coins. "Do you want to drink something? Yogurt? Coconut milk? Or something else?"

Song Xiaoyan asked, "Can we have beer?"

"No!" Zhang Wuyong refused directly. "You and Song Ling have to go to tutoring this afternoon, and you're too young to drink."

Liu Zhu raised her hand. "I don't have tutoring this afternoon. I can drink with Brother Wuyong."

"You can't either!" Zhang Wuyong said.

Although the three girls were around the same age, Liu Zhu was the youngest. The three of them had no choice but to settle for coconut milk.

While eating, Song Ling and Song Xiaoyan began to complain about the country's laws. Why weren't cousins allowed to marry? Why not? It was allowed in ancient times and in foreign countries—why not in modern China?

Only Liu Zhu pulled her chair right next to Zhang Wuyong, pressing close to him, smiling happily.