Martial Arts Master

“This amount of compensation is perfectly reasonable for all the benefits you have brought to our company. If you are unsure, or worry about any future complications, we can sign an additional agreement. Frankly speaking, with your ability and stature, wouldn’t I be asking for trouble if I were to scam you?” Wu Qinggui quickly added when he saw Lou Cheng’s hesitation.

Reminiscing, he went on.

“Back when we signed the contract at the start of the year, I could already see the rising star in you. But who knew that in a short span of half a year you would reach the Inhuman stage, clinch the Inter-university Martial Arts Nationals, and even make leaps and bounds with the growth in your fans on Weibo and the follows on your forum…”

It felt all too unrealistic and dreamy even to a 40-something man like him.

The contract he made him sign at that time was way too worth it!

“I’m flattered,” replied Lou Cheng modestly.

Ever since he entered the Inter-university Martial Arts Nationals as a finalist, the amount of fans on his Weibo had been increasing rapidly, and the rise was even more ridiculous when he emerged as champion. When the King of Youth Pro League rose in popularity, his fan count began climbing steadily again. Last night when he checked, it was around 300K. Excluding the ones that came for drama and the ones that were brought in by his Martial sister and the likes of Mo Jingting, the total amount was still impressive. After all, they were all genuine fans— he never bought any.

His forum had also shifted from a state of desertion to an active hub with a follow count of 40K.

It was hard to believe how much it had grown when looking back at the Feb-Mar period of the previous year, when the forum was entirely supported by Yan Xiaoling and Brahman.

At that time, even he himself would never have thought of where he would be in a short span of nine to ten months!

But at his current stage, the fan count didn’t matter much to him since ability meant more. At times, the Dragon King and Warrior Sage never updated their status or interacted with their fans for months, yet their Jianghu status and hidden authority never dwindled.

Thoughts racing, Lou Cheng had Wu Qinggui draft out a simple version of the additional agreement for insurance. After running it by Senior Sister Shi Yue through a photo-attached text, he briskly signed the contract and pocketed the check.

He chose not to enquire on how to cash the check, for it would make him look like a country bumpkin.

I might not know it, but that doesn’t mean my wife doesn’t know about it, and I can always search for it online!

As if they planned it beforehand, the two never brought up the topic of contract extension. After all, there was another one year and 4 months before the current one expired, and no one knew what Lou Cheng could achieve or how much his net worth would be by then. There wasn’t a right amount to offer, and he will be suspected of trying to bind the other party. Therefore, he might as well build up their relationship and bring up the topic when the contract nears its end. If he made a competitive offer, then Lou Cheng would definitely be more willing to work with someone he had worked with before.

Gathering from what he saw and heard, he could primarily evaluate Lou Cheng as a person who honored friendship.

By the time they signed the contract and took the promotional picture, it was already nearing noon.

“Let’s have lunch together, I’ll invite Chairman Wei to come along. Oh, and Wu Ting too. That girl’s always going on and on about how she wants to see Sir Lou,” suggested Wu Qinggui with an affable smile after glancing at his watch.

“Sure,” Lou Cheng readily agreed.

Frankly, he disliked socializing, but since they were in a business partnership, with personal ties no less, it wouldn’t be too awkward or boring to dine together.

More importantly, Mom went to help out at the Ding household and asked him to settle his own lunch. What matters is where he eats…

When they were in the lift to the underground carpark, Lou Cheng’s phone rang. It was from director Xing Chengwu.

“Hello. Are you back in Xiushan yet, Little Lou?” guffawed Xing Chengwu. “If you are free, drop by my house anytime these days for a meal. We haven’t gotten to celebrate you placing third at the King of Youth Pro League.”

“Haha, of course. Actually, I was going to visit even if you didn’t bring it up, Uncle Xing,” replied Lou Cheng.

Uncle Xing? Wu Qinggui chewed over the words. Suddenly, the wires connected in his head and he remembered why the voice from the phone came across him as familiar.

He lowered his voice. “Director Xing?”

Lou Cheng, still on the phone, nodded affirmatively .

“Why not ask him to come along? He’s old buddies with Chairman Wei,” suggested Wu Qinggui with a wider smile.

The police department’s vice director who held real authority was someone he would love to have a connection with. It could solve a lot of problems if he ran into any trouble!

“Let me check with him…” answered Lou Cheng in a hushed voice, running the suggestion by Xing Chengwu.

“Sure, just as I was stressing over the horrible canteen food. Haha, Old Wei and I always talk about you,” laughed Xing Chengwu.

Of course, he knew of the connection between Lou Cheng and Wei Renjie.

After about twenty minutes, they congregated at the Leshui Villa. Xing Chengwu patted a hand on Lou Cheng’s shoulder the moment he saw him.

“Little Lou, I haven’t known you for more than two years have I? To think I’m not even your level now… Sigh, I’m mostly working on text documents these days, heh, and all that socializing too. The times when I can engage in actual combat is less than three times a year. And can you imagine how cautious my underlings are when I spar against them? Boring, too boring,” he mused, half plaintive and half reminiscing. “Now my moves have gotten rusty. The only thing that remained half decent is my Gold and Jade-like Fortification. Not as if there’s much hope for any further advancements…”

That’s where a life of decadence gets you, Lou Cheng concluded in his heart. Switching gears, he asked, “I heard Sister Jingjing is heading to Huahai in the middle of this month?”

That was something he heard from Ke.

“She is. Now that Ann Chaoyang had graduated, Huahai is probably going downhill for a while. That girl, heh. Quoting those TV dramas, she’s the kind that’s tough on the outside but soft on the inside. She has been working hard on her martial arts, trying to help support the martial arts club, and for that she’s specifically going to Huahai to find connections that could help her improve her supernatural abilities,” replied Xing Chengwu, pleased at the fact that Lou Cheng addressed her so familiarly. “But looking at your improvement now, she probably did something unnecessary.”

After shooting the breeze for a while, Wu Qinggui fetched his daughter, Wu Ting, who soon became the life of the gathering with her perpetual chants of “Sir Lou”.

For the first time, Lou Cheng learned that she was classmates in the same grade with his cousin, Qi Yunfei.

They used to be acquaintances, but after discovering their mutual ties with Lou Cheng, they became besties in the blink of an eye. Needless to say, the assembly of two troublemakers did a fair share of damage. Wu Ting even confessed that she tried to talk Qi Feiyun into letting her go over in the name of giving swimming classes; her actual intentions were to admire the abs of the mighty ones. A pity she got cruelly rejected back in early July.

Nothing important was discussed over the meal, and it merely served to deepen their relationship. In the following two days, Lou Cheng visited his grandparents, then his other grandparents and sister-in-law at Ningshui, followed by his father-in-law who was alone at home, where he delivered the Ye Wei he had promised before.

The somewhat busy days ended quickly, and on the noon of August 31st, Lou Cheng packed his belongings and left for Songcheng by high-speed rail.

Though he had only left his campus for two months, it felt like an entire year to him.

Ah, the joys and sorrows that come with goodbyes and reunions.

…

He hadn’t seen any of those in such a long time— Songcheng University, Weishui Lake, the Martial Arts Club, the resplendent campus buildings. One by one they entered Lou Cheng’s eyes through the window of the bus all but the slender and beautiful silhouette.

He silently watched them fly past. Stepping off the shuttle bus, he walked in solitude, along the pedestrian path, past the road lined with shops he could name with his eyes closed. Yet he felt his mood starkly shift from before.

Block 7, Unit 2, hostel room 302. Darkness hastily retreated as he flicked on the light of the living room.

He laid his backpack in the bedroom, now absent of the swots he used to live with. Then he knocked on the next door.

“Who’s there?” came Cai Zongming’s somewhat sonorous voice.

Without answering, Lou Cheng twisted the door knob and stepped into the room. He caught the bummer multitasking— entertainment programs running on his computer, a phone in his palms on which he was at a crucial part of his game, his mouth moving towards the Coke sitting on the right side of the desk before his teeth sunk into the straw.

“Hey, enjoying life?” laughed Lou Cheng. “Get up, let’s go grab a bite.”

“Pfft!” Cai Zongming spat out a mouthful of Coke that showered the monitor screen.

Forgetting about his game, he raised his head.

“You, inviting me to eat together? What about your wife?” he exclaimed.

Ever since Cheng got into a relationship with Yan Zheke, the bastard almost never invited me to the canteen anymore!

The pigs must be flying today!

Did he turn into a new man after going to Shengxiang?

“The co-cultivation plan was brought ahead by a year, so she already went to America,” Lou Cheng replied honestly.

Since Talker never asked, he never mentioned it.

It took a while for Cai Zongming to catch on. When he did, he laid his phone down and patted Lou Cheng’s shoulders.

“Now you can finally understand my pain! So, you need any advice from me? One of us is a lot more experienced when it comes to long distance relationships, and I suppose I don’t need to tell you who it is,” he said in a half-sincere and half-jesting tone.

Lou Cheng sniggered and whipped out his phone, displaying the information of the pre-ordered flight ticket on its screen.

“Shit…” gasped Cai Zongming, before making a contemptful hand gesture. “Shame on you! So what if you are rich! So what if you don’t have to go to classes! So what if you are good at martial arts! You think that makes you better?”

“My apologies, but being good at martial arts and being rich does make me better!” replied Lou Cheng, stifling his laughter to the point where his stomach hurt.

“Damn it, let’s not talk about this saddening topic. I have nothing more to teach you. You have truly mastered the essence of my teachings!” sighed Cai Zongming, feeling more gloomy when he realized his in-game character got killed.

Switching gears, Lou Cheng asked, “Anyway, you didn’t slack off during the summer break did you? I hope you didn’t give up on your martial arts?”

Smugly, Cai Zongming flexed his arms to showcase his muscles.

“I think I’m nearing the ability of an upper Ninth Pin. The only problem is that I just can’t find the “retract” feeling you told me about,” he said with a smile.

“You don’t have to rush it. Patience is the key,” reminded Lou Cheng.

“You are right,” nodded Cai Zongming, then teetered between worry and fantasy. “I wonder if there will be any strong rookies joining the Martial Arts Club in the next intake…”

“Huh, were you the type to be bothered by such things?” Lou Cheng asked with a tinge of shock.

Cai Zongming glanced at him.

“I’m willing to bet that you don’t remember me becoming the president of Martial Arts Club!” he said accusingly.

Lou Cheng reddened and laughed drily.

“In my eyes, you are always Talker and Casanova, it’s got nothing to do with…”

“The truth!” snapped Xiao Ming.

“I did forget about it…” admitted Lou Cheng, hiding his face in his palms.