บท 7: New Coach
Blip, blip, blip.
The sounds of QQ messages arrived in an unending stream of sound. Lou Cheng felt a little overwhelmed as he saw the automatic news updates, local weather forecasts, replies from childhood friends and online friends as well as hundreds or even thousands of messages from various QQ groups.
However, he ignored them all because he discovered Yan Zheke's had already accepted his friend request.
After clicking the dialogue box, he suddenly felt indecisive about how he should call her.
"It would be impolite to call her directly by her name Yan Zheke, but it's also too frivolous to call her "Zheke", "Xiaoke", or "Keke". That'd just be embarrassing and make her uncomfortable. But then calling her "classmate" or "classmate Yan Zheke" is really weird and feels too distant.
Should I call her "old classmate"? No, a freshman may not like the sophisticated tone!"
After going through his options and hesitating for a moment, Lou Cheng finally decided not to use any form of address, and instead use an emoji.
After sending a grinning emoji, he typed with lightning speed.
"Sorry to bother you, but I had to leave orientation early today. Did they cover anything important afterward?"
After sending the message, Lou Cheng's heartbeat unconsciously accelerated, half out of eagerness and half out of anxiety. It seemed time had become endless when suddenly, with a "tick" sound, Yan Zheke's profile picture went from dark to bright and from "invisible" to "on-line". Until then, Lou Cheng hadn't noticed that her portrait was a cartoon cat with light gray hair and large eyes.
"Fortunately, you have an enthusiastic and kind-hearted classmate like me." Yan Zheke sent an emoji of an adorable little monster. "The timetable for the martial arts class was introduced after that. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from nine o'clock to noon. The content they will cover is the same in all three classes, so it's fine if you only attend one of them, but if your schedule is free, it'd be best to attend them all. After all, practice makes perfect ^_^"
The Martial Arts Club was open to all of the students in the university, from freshmen to seniors, from the Medical College to the Mechanical College. Everyone's course schedules were not alike, so they would repeat a class three times a week. Among these there would be one class offered on weekends, to show as much consideration as possible for all of the members.
Seeing the reply from Yan Zheke, Lou Cheng curved his lip and revealed a smile. His previous worries gave way to joy and excitement.
Swiftly pressing on the screen keyboard, he intended to ask Yan Zheke which class she would take. However, after some consideration, he changed his mind. He was afraid that he might embarrass Yan Zheke by being too straightforward when they were not yet overly familiar.
Because of his feelings for Yan Zheke, he weighed and turned over every sentence and every emoji repeatedly in his mind.
After some consideration, Lou Cheng spun in a circle and said nonchalantly, "I have calculus and linear algebra on Thursday morning, so I can only go on Tuesday or Saturday."
Yan Zheke sent a laughing emoji, "I can go all three times."
"What a coincidence! You don't even have class on Tuesday or Thursday morning?" Lou Cheng clenched his left fist, admiring his resourcefulness. Through bringing up his situation, he could have her bring up the topic of her schedule, thereby getting the information that he wanted!
Yan Zheke sent an embarrassed emoji with a red face scratching its head. "An upperclassman from the Martial Arts Club told me in advance, so I deliberately left Tuesday and Thursday morning open during course selection."
Songcheng University implemented a very free style of course selection. Each course had different options for teachers and class schedules. Students could choose their favorite teachers or the most appropriate time periods according to their respective timetables and the overall score of the teachers. Of course, there was a limit to each class size, so the most popular teachers and best class times often were snatched up quickly. Students had to be on the ball to get into these classes.
In addition, students could choose courses that weren't relevant to their majors or above their grades and take them as optional courses. Whether or not you took an exam was up to you.
The local nouveau riche Qin Mo from Lou Cheng's dorm had put all of his courses during Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, so he claimed that he would study for three days and then rest for four days!
Lou Cheng was about to reply when Yan Zheke sent another message, "By the way, there is going to be a new teacher this semester. Apparently, the principal isn't happy with the achievements over the last few years. He wants to take advantage of Lin Que's enrollment to revitalize Songcheng University Martial Arts Club's reputation. In the past, we had once entered the national finals!"
"So amazing! I have never heard of that," Lou Cheng said in surprise, slightly unconvinced.
"That happened many years ago; I'd be surprised if you knew!" Yan Zheke then sent a "Doge" emoji.
Lou Cheng immediately asked, "In that case, how do you know about it?"
"That's a secret!" Yan Zheke sent an emoji of a self-satisfied face with its hands on the hip. Lou Cheng could almost imagine her own charming expression, and smiled from ear to ear.
"Ugh, I can't stand secrets, I'm dying to know! Do you want me to stay awake all night?" Sending a pathetic emoji, Lou Cheng was amazed at his own ability to so quickly seize the moment. He thought, "Perhaps this is a male instinct?"
"If you can't sleep, read a book!" Yan Zheke sent a snickering emoji.
"I was studying hard earlier, and I'm wasting away with every passing day..." After thinking for a moment, Lou Cheng stopped chasing the topic and changed the subject, "This new coach, what kind of person is he?"
"He hasn't come yet," Yan Zheke answered. "Apparently, he is quite an experienced fighter and the principal used his connections to bring him here. In a word, he's not an ordinary person and if we follow his teachings we're bound to reap some rewards. Even someone who doesn't know the basics like you might be able to obtain an Amateur Top Three Rank certification before graduation."
Amateur Top Three Rank... Lou Cheng suddenly thought of the Jindan inside his body, then focused his attention on Yan Zheke, "What about you? What are your expectations for yourself? "
"Me? Hmm, it's not like I expect to obtain a professional rank or anything. If I can just practice more special moves, and use them for self-defense, that's okay." Seeing the message sent by Yan Zheke, Lou Cheng vaguely feel her loneliness hidden beneath the surface.
He thought, "Could this just be a misconception on her part?"
"Why? Where there's a will, there's a way!" Lou Cheng said unconvincingly.
"It's a secret," Yan Zheke replied shortly.
There must be some reasons, but it was clear that Yan Zheke didn't want to discuss it. Lou Cheng's brain twisted and turned, analyzing every little detail. His only realization was that he had never been that dedicated, even during the senior year of high school.
He made a mental note and changed the subject. "Okay okay. By the way, I have heard that the Martial Arts Gym in Xiushan No. 1 Middle School is going to be finished soon! We must have missed it since they started construction after we enrolled and it wasn't completed until our graduation!"
"Really? I haven't paid attention. Heh, even if it had been completed when we were still in high school, we probably wouldn't have used it that much. It's so easy to get injured during a Martial Arts Competition, and there weren't any high-level judges or supervisors. The No. 2 Hospital surely would have been packed. How could it possible to keep studying? I can only imagine the expression of Director Li from the Educational Administration," Yan Zheke replied.
After Lou Cheng had referred to their common Alma mater, Yan Zheke became more active in the conversation.
"Director Li, from the Educational Administration? He was our math teacher, and really interesting. That's right, wasn't he your math teacher too?" Lou Cheng seized the opportunity to develop the conversation further.
Yan Zheke sent a nodding emoji. "Yes, old Li was a funny guy. He would chat with all of us for at least 10 minutes before class started every day, and every time he praised us it was super embarrassing. One time, I wanted to head back home to watch the ultimate match-up between the Dragon King and the Warrior Sage so I planned on taking advantage of the math class to finish up my homework from earlier. I thought I could keep it hidden and that old Li surely wouldn't notice. However, when class was over, there were some classmates besides me talking, and they were scolded by old Li. He said, 'All of you, if you can get full marks in math like Yan Zheke, I won't say a word as long as you don't bother other classmates. You can do whatever you like; you can give birth for all I care. See, Yan Zheke has been doing her Chinese homework, and have I said anything at all?' At that moment I was so embarrassed. I felt like my image as a good student had been destroyed."
"Yeah, yeah, old Li was that funny. There was one time he was so confident with himself as he tried to explain a question to us, but half of the class had gone by and he still hadn't explained properly so he started to break out in a cold sweat. After looking carefully for a while, he mumbled that he had copied down the wrong question..." Lou Cheng sent a laughing emoji and asked, "Umm, the match-ups between the Dragon King and the Warrior Sage, you said? Which side do you support?"
"Warrior Sage" was one of the five supreme national title holders. In recent years, Qian Donglou of the Shangqing Sect had controlled the market, so when one referred to Warrior Sage, it was him they were referring to. He also was one of the Legendary Twins of the domestic martial arts realm, and together with Chen Qitao had obtained the majority of titles in recent years.
As well as Chen Qitao's "Dragon King", there was another title - "The King." After defeating a national martial arts master and obtaining this title, one was not directly referred to as The King, as this was too commonplace. Instead, each of them received their own unique nickname, which consisted of their martial arts specialty along with the title of "King", such as the Dragon King, the King of Swords, Lion King, the King of Spear, etc.
"The Dragon King of course!" Yan Zheke answered without hesitation.
"Me too!" Lou Cheng replied with delight, "It's too bad, Longhu Club isn't quite as good as Shangqing Sect in connotation. They're a bit inferior on the whole."
"That's true, but I just fancy the Dragon King!" Yan Zheke sent an emoji shooting out red hearts from its eyes.
The two traded stories back and forth and chatted in a rush of excitement. From tall tales about the Dragon King to all manner of gossip about who had gone out with who during high school, to the one year there was an attempted rape case, and how the boys would escort the girls who didn't live on the school campus back home...
Thinking of his fellow townsman and classmate Yan Zheke and how they shared common interests, Lou Cheng had a smile on his face that wouldn't fade. He could only feel gratitude for how perfect tonight had been.
Bam!
Suddenly he felt someone slap his shoulder and he turned around startled. He saw Cai Zongming inserting both his hands in the pants pocket. A beaming smile on his face, Cai said, "Well done, Cheng, you've learned without a teacher!"
"Learned what? What are you talking about?" Lou Cheng made a faint reply subconsciously.
Cai Zongming tsked, "Go look at yourself in the mirror, your lovey-dovey feelings are written all over your face. Are you talking to your Goddess?"
"Umm." With his face red, Lou Cheng had to admit it.
Cai Zongming took out his cellphone to look at the time, "Alright, Cheng, talking up until this point is fine, you need to stop before it gets too boring. This way you can leave the best impression on a girl and can make her look more forward to talking to you."
"You are truly a professional..." grumbling the words, Lou Cheng picked up his cellphone, and knowing it was the rational thing to do, he reluctantly sent out a smiling emoji, "I've still got some homework to finish for the martial arts lesson tomorrow morning, talk to you later!"
Yan Zheke replied with a smiling emoji, "See you at the martial arts lesson tomorrow."
After closing out the conversation, Lou Cheng skimmed through other messages, replied to some important ones, then exited QQ. He held his cellphone and looked at Cai Zongming, "Casanova, are you gonna go to the martial arts lesson tomorrow morning?"
Lou Cheng suddenly became slightly melancholy at the abrupt stop of the cheerful conversation with Yan Zheke.
"Of course, I'm going! I'll let them see my hidden expertise in martial arts!" Cai Zongming and Lou Cheng's class schedules were identical, so there was nothing to hesitate about.
"Pssh, you better watch out or you're gonna get knocked out," Lou Cheng teased. The two of them were chuckling as they got back to the dorm.
After washing up, everyone lay on top of their own bed. Zhao Qiang, Qiu Zhigao and Zhang Jingye were still talking about the social meetup on Friday, imaging the looks and characters of the four girls. Meanwhile, Lou Cheng took out his cellphone and silently pored over every word of his conversation with Yan Zheke. He was overjoyed in his heart, yet calm in his mind, responding to the three horndog youths now and then with intermittent grunts and nods.
After the lights were out, the night gradually became darker, and the dorm became quiet. Lou Cheng fell into a slumber and had a bizarre dream, soaked both in excitement and horror.
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