The authority of the Party secretary was indeed formidable. The moment they heard the title, the boys who had been beating the child froze—some even bolted at the mere mention of the word “secretary.”  

Gou Dan was also scared, poised to flee as he glanced around nervously. But he didn’t see the secretary—instead, he spotted Jiang Le. “You little bastard, who the hell are you trying to fool?” Gou Dan’s dark face twisted into a vicious snarl, his expression far too cruel for a boy his age.  

Jiang Le pretended to be frightened. “I really saw the secretary coming! I ran over specifically to warn you.”  

Gou Dan eyed him suspiciously, but ultimately decided Jiang Le wouldn’t dare lie to him. He barked at the remaining boys, “Let’s go!” Then, glancing at the kid on the ground, he sneered, “Lucky you.”  

Yesterday, he had led his gang to the kid’s house, hoping to swipe anything valuable. But the moment they stepped inside, a bucket of water tipped over from above, drenching him. Then his feet slipped, sending him crashing face-first to the ground.  

Luckily, he had shielded his face—his teeth were intact. The unlucky part? His leg slammed into the floor, sending waves of pain shooting through him as he writhed on the ground.  

Since they were there to steal, the others panicked and fled. Gou Dan had no choice but to limp away.  

But on the way back, he felt a sudden shove—and the next thing he knew, his face was buried in a roadside manure pile. By the time he got home, the stench was so foul his own mother nearly refused to let him inside.  

Gou Dan was certain this was all the doing of that orphan bastard. When his mother heard what happened, she went to make a scene.  

But since they were the ones who had broken into the kid’s house to steal, the secretary ended up scolding her instead. Humiliated, she took her anger out on Gou Dan when she got home.  

Between his injured leg, a mouthful of manure, and the scolding, Gou Dan was seething. So today, he gathered his “brothers” to ambush the kid in this alley, waiting to teach him a lesson.  

But before they could land more than a few hits, Jiang Le showed up, claiming the secretary was coming.  

Though half-doubting, Gou Dan was still too afraid of the secretary to risk it. He fled with the others, limping all the way.  

Jiang Le exhaled in relief and stepped forward to check on the boy—only to find him already on his feet, his sharp, wolf-like eyes glaring at him with wary hostility.  

Under that piercing gaze, Jiang Le froze. By the time he snapped out of it, the little wolf cub had already walked away.  

The boy moved slowly, as if trying hard to hide something, but Jiang Le could still see the slight limp.  

Was he hurt?

Distracted, Jiang Le returned home and told Grandma Jiang about Gou Dan’s bullying. “How can they treat someone like that? Doesn’t that kid’s family care at all?” He frowned, blaming the family for their negligence.  

But Grandma Jiang sighed. “That child… doesn’t have any family left.”  

She went on to explain that the boy’s father had died when he was very young. His mother, still young herself, refused to remain a widow and quickly remarried.  

Left alone, the boy had no one. Instead of helping, his relatives tried to seize his family’s belongings and even take his house. It was only after the village officials intervened that he managed to keep his home—at least he had a roof over his head.  

Grandma Jiang clicked her tongue in disapproval. “That little thug Gou Dan and his gang keep thinking the boy has something valuable at home. What could he possibly have? The poor thing’s already fourteen, but he’s still so thin and small.”  

The more Jiang Le listened, the more familiar the story sounded. His throat went dry as he turned to Grandma Jiang nervously. “Grandma… do you know that kid’s name?”  

Grandma Jiang frowned, struggling to recall. After a long moment, she said, “Ah, right… Yu Hezhong. Quite a refined name—his grandfather was an educated man who named him. Pity, though…”  

Jiang Le: “!!!”

Yu Hezhong—wasn’t he the ultimate boss in My 1970s?!  (Novel name)

Jiang Le hadn’t actually liked the original novel all that much, but there was one character he adored: Yu Hezhong. It wasn’t just because their backgrounds were somewhat similar.  

It was because Yu Hezhong was too smart, too capable. The original male lead only managed to stay ahead by relying on his rebirth advantage and preemptive scheming. But Yu Hezhong, despite barely attending school, became one of the top mechanical experts in the country.  

Compared to him, the original male lead paled in comparison.  

Many readers had been furious about this—how dare the author make a villain so overpowered?! They accused the writer of playing favorites and even demanded revisions.  

Luckily, the author was stubborn and refused to change a thing. Otherwise, Jiang Le would’ve dropped the book entirely. The only reason he’d kept reading was Yu Hezhong.  

But in the original story, Yu Hezhong had gone to extreme lengths to oppose the male lead. Jiang Le had never understood why.  

It was almost like… it was just the villain’s fate.  

After encountering Yu Hezhong, Jiang Le couldn’t stop thinking about that frail, retreating figure. Even dinner tasted bland.  

Flipping through a book, he sighed heavily. “Sigh!”  

Guagua, thoroughly annoyed: [Host, stop sighing. Honestly, you should stay away from the villain. He’s destined to clash with the original male lead—and didn’t you just say you wanted to avoid the male lead too?] 

Jiang Le frowned. As much as he hated to admit it, Guagua had a point. [But…]  

Guagua: [No buts, Host. Everyone has their own destiny. Don’t go thinking you’re some kind of savior.]

Jiang Le lowered his head. […You’re right.] 

Guagua continued cheerfully: [That’s the spirit! The villain survives all the way to the end anyway. Sure, his leg’s injured now, and without timely treatment, he might end up permanently disabled. At worst, he’ll be mocked for it, grow psychologically twisted. Or maybe the injury will stunt his growth, leaving him shorter, more bitter, bullied even more…] 

Jiang Le couldn’t take it anymore: [Guagua! Are you doing this on purpose?!]  

How could he possibly ignore this after hearing all that?!  

Guagua feigned innocence: [Not at all! This system is simply stating facts~]

Jiang Le: […]  

It was true. The original villain had gone through all of that…  

His resolve crumbling, Jiang Le said: [Guagua, I remember the system shop has healing medicine, right? Can it fix the villain’s leg?]  

Guagua perked up immediately: [Of course! Products from this system are guaranteed top quality!]  

Jiang Le didn’t reply. He opened the system shop and checked the price of the Universal Trauma Medicine-10 points. Exactly the amount he had left…

He was starting to suspect Guagua had planned this.  

But 10 points in exchange for the little villain’s leg? Worth it! Just as he was about to confirm the purchase, Guagua hurriedly reminded him:  

[Host, you still have one lottery draw left! The prizes include Universal Trauma Medicine—this system recommends trying your luck first~]  

Jiang Le finally remembered. He did have one draw remaining. He’d originally planned to save it for a lucky moment, hoping to land something extraordinary.  

But now?  

Screw luck—this was an emergency!