Martial Arts Master

Getting his girlfriend’s approval and regarding it as a breakthrough in their relationship, Lou Cheng couldn’t help walking at a brisk pace with great joy. So as not to annoy the shy girl, he stopped talking about the accommodations and raised another question instead.

“A date that makes up for last year’s regret? To make up for everything? But I forgot what I was wearing last time……”

Yan Zheke thought for a while and then burst out laughing.

“I also don’t remember!”

What she could remember was Cheng’s tired look and wrinkled brows, which evoked in her a desire to kiss him.

Recalling the old memories, she smiled silently and looked down at her toes, putting her arms around Cheng’s elbow to get closer to him.

“It’s alright. We boors pay no attention to how we dress, and we can even wear the same kind of suit every day,” Lou Cheng said with a self-deprecating humor, using his nickname given by the girl.

Chatting and laughing, they arrived at the downtown area and got off the school bus, finding the five-star hotel where Lou Cheng had booked a room for them.

On their way to the reception desk, Yan Zheke came to an abrupt stop and then turned her gaze aside. Taking her ID card out of her purse as if all was normal, she told Lou Cheng, “Go and check us in, I’ll wait for you here…”

Her cheeks began to flush.

Lou Cheng could barely hide the smile on his face since he could easily read the girl’s mind.

After taking Ke’s ID card, he calmly said,

“Okay.”

Every time they spent a night out together, they always booked two rooms. When they became close enough to share one room, he began checking in alone since it was impossible for the shy girl to check in together with him.

Well, she’ll eventually get used to it. For now she’ll just leave it to her cheeky Cheng!

After unloading their luggage, Lou Cheng went to the reception desk with their ID cards. “We have an online reservation.”

The reception girl glanced at him and was stunned. “Lou Cheng?” she blurted out.

“You know me?” Lou Cheng smiled.

“Of course!” The girl nodded vigorously. “I watched you in the national competition! I liked your performance very much. So cool, so amazing!”

She was too excited to form words.

Well, I’m a celebrity now. Should I cover my face and wear sunglasses next time… Lou Cheng was dumbfounded.

“Thank you, thank you.”

“Could you please sign an autograph for me!?” The girl began checking him in, but was immediately taken back by the ID cards. “Two people?”

Darn it, so embarrassing… Lou Cheng replied calmly, “Yeah, me and my girlfriend.”

“Okay…” The girl got a copy of the ID cards and checked them in without saying anything. Finally, she gave Lou Cheng a receipt. “Sign your name here, and also on that blank paper, please, ‘to Yue Xiaohui’!”

Returning to Yan Zheke’s side with the room card, Lou Cheng said,

“1506.”

Yan Zheke glanced at the reception desk with curiosity. “What were you talking about?”

“That girl at the reception desk recognized me from the national competition and asked me for an autograph,” Lou Cheng replied honestly.

“…” Yan Zheke was stunned, and her cheeks flushed again. Turning backward, she whispered with shyness, “Let me go!”

She never expected that they would run into one of Lou Cheng’s fans the first time she decided to share a room with him. Now she was too ashamed to face anyone!

If only I had known earlier, I would have checked in by myself and let Cheng sneak into the room!

“What are you worrying about? We are perfectly justifiable!” Lou Cheng comforted her with a smile.

Now that we have the room card, those who like gossiping have already begun making up stories about us… Just let them go!

After thinking about it, Yan Zheke curbed her mood swings and went to the fifth floor with Lou Cheng, putting their luggage in the room.

“What shall we eat for lunch?” Lou Cheng looked at the overcast sky outside the window.

They finished the exam at 10 AM, and it wasn’t even twelve yet.

Yan Zheke replied without thinking as if she had already made preparations, “Dingshang sautéed crab in hot and spicy sauce!”

“Where we went for our first date?” Of course, Lou Cheng couldn’t forget it.

“Yes! Let’s reminisce the old days!” Yan Zheke nodded with a cute expression.

After arranging their belongings, the two of them went out hand in hand, arriving at their first rendezvous by taxi.

Luckily, it was still in business… Lou Cheng felt so happy when he saw the restaurant’s sign.

He hoped that all the sites that bore his sweet memories would remain unchanged forever.

So did Yan Zheke, who wore a sweet smile, showing her dimples.

As they entered the restaurant, before the waiter could say anything, Lou Cheng glanced at the menu and then ordered, “Two people, a 199-yuan set, 12 crabs, handmade noodles, steamed shrimp dumpling, beef…”

The waiter was stunned. “Please, please slow down a bit so that I can take notes.”

Don’t all the customers order their crabs first and then the other dishes after they sit down?

Yan Zheke couldn’t help smiling. Lou Cheng was just repeating the name of the dishes that they had ordered during their first date, but this time he doubled the amount.

How could Cheng still remember them… She was greatly moved and said jokingly, “Well, you are good at answering questions in advance!”

“We ordered them the first time we came here, right?” Lou Cheng held Ke’s hand in his and they found themselves two seats.

“You still remember that?” Yan Zheke rested her head on one hand while watching Lou Cheng with her glittering eyes.

Lou Cheng smiled. “I watched you carefully to see what you liked or disliked, so the dishes we ordered left a deep impression on me. But it was not until we came here that I recalled them…”

Yan Zheke was moved almost to tears upon hearing Lou Cheng’s explanation. Turning her gaze aside to hide her expression, she calmed herself down and then changed the topic.

“I also paid attention to the dishes you liked or disliked. But, but you seemed to like everything!”

“So I am easy to feed, right? I can eat anything you give me,” Lou Cheng said proudly.

Well, if Little Ming were here, he would have answered, “Will you eat sh*t if I feed it to you?” Of course, Ke wouldn’t have said that.

“I will give you all my leftovers from now on,” Yan Zheke said with a light tone.

The dingshang sautéed crab in hot and spicy sauce was delicious as usual. The two of them were so satisfied with the meal that they even ordered extra dishes twice. This stunned the server, and the manager insisted on giving them a restaurant VIP card.

It was a moderately priced restaurant without any luxurious dishes, but their meal cost around 3,000 yuan, which surprised the manager, who insisted on treating them as VIP customers.

After lunch, they began walking along the route of their first date.

“Cheng, do you still remember where you began holding my hand?” The girl asked with enthusiasm.

Lou Cheng thought for a while and then, laughing at himself, he replied, “I paid no attention to where we were, for my mind was filled with a series of thoughts such as: could I hold your hand? How could I do it without annoying you? Will you shake me off? Once I managed to, I was so excited that I even lost my sense of direction. All I could see were you and your hand, which gave me a magical feeling, as if I was walking on the clouds…”

Biting her lower lip, Yan Zheke gazed at the young man with her watery eyes. Lou Cheng’s words showed her how much he cherished their relationship and her, and this suddenly brought her so much joy.

She turned aside to look at something on the street, finding herself unsure on whether the decision she had made this morning was the wise one.

“What about you? Do you remember where we held hands?” asked Lou Cheng.

Yan Zheke rolled her eyes. “I can’t remember it either. I was particularly nervous then, and all my focus was on your hand, which kept approaching mine. I was wondering whether you wanted to hold my hand or not. I actually didn’t know how to react if you really did that. If I refused, you might have been disappointed. But I didn’t want to accept you in a hurry lest I be regarded as ungraceful… All in all, I was in wild flights of fancy, and I felt lucky that I didn’t bump into other pedestrians. However, I finally found you a dull boy who dared not to touch my hand, so I took the initiative to hold yours!”

Recalling all of their feelings and thoughts in the old days, they smiled at each other and raised their clasped hands at the same time.

Though they were no longer so excited as to lose their sense of direction, they held each other’s hand firmly, believing they would never be separated.

Walking along the street shoulder to shoulder, they both got lost in the sweet memories.

“Remember that we bought a fresh cream cake here?” Lou Cheng pointed at Meimei Bread’s sign, smiling.

Yan Zheke bit her lip and laughed slightly. “I also remember how you tricked me!”

“Huh?” Lou Cheng was lost.

“You told me that the fresh cream cake here wasn’t too sweet and I would like it. You said you found the store online,” Yan Zheke complained, “Sure enough, it tasted good, but I couldn’t find the store online!”

Lou Cheng suddenly realized what she was talking about, and he chuckled.

“I had come here earlier to taste the cake. At the time, you had just told me that you were still making preparations and adjusting yourself, so I was afraid that if I told you the truth, it might dull your senses and add to the pressure. That was why I didn’t show you all the effort I had put in…”

Yan Zheke was almost moved to tears before Lou Cheng could finish his words. Suddenly, the girl took a step forward and threw herself into Cheng’s arms, giving him a big hug while burying her face in his shoulder.

“What’s wrong with you?” Lou Cheng was shocked.

Yan Zheke wanted to laugh and weep all at once. “Can’t I be moved?”

“Okay, okay.” Lou Cheng was overjoyed to see that his effort had paid off. Stroking the girl’s long hair with his fingers, he smiled with great satisfaction.

“Buy a piece of fresh cream cake again and let’s share it at night~” After a while, Yan Zheke let go of Lou Cheng’s arms, calming herself down.

“Sure!” Lou Cheng entered the bakery with her.

Their next destination was the Ocean Aquarium, and this time no one disturbed them.

“Look, a starfish. If you tear it up, each part of its body will grow into a new starfish.” Lou Cheng pointed at a figure in the aquarium.

Yan Zheke was surprised. “You said that you had already forgotten marine biology.”

“I’ve been cramming for this moment,” Lou Cheng replied proudly, and then pointed at another creature. “It is, it is…”

Damn it, I forgot its name!

I want to show off, I am making a fool of myself instead!

“Haha.” Yan Zheke burst out laughing to tears. “There should be an information sign nearby, or you can check it online, commentator Lou~”

They walked and laughed in the aquarium until it closed. Afterwards, they went to the restaurant where they had had their second date to have dinner. While waiting for their dishes, Lou Cheng went downstairs, pretending to go to the toilet, but he actually went to buy a bunch of flowers.

“Belle, you’ve dropped something.” He smiled at Yan Zheke with one hand behind his back.

The familiar lines and scene greatly moved Yan Zheke, who slowly opened her mouth, and tears filled her eyes. “Flowers?” she asked with a forced smile.

“Yeah, sure enough you dropped something!” Lou Cheng bowed slightly like a gentleman and gave the girl her flowers.

Holding the flowers with both hands, Yan Zheke pretended to enjoy their fragrance with closed eyes. After a while, she looked up at Lou Cheng. “But I still have something missing.”

“What’s that?” Lou Cheng asked, smiling.

Yan Zheke’s watery eyes were glittering as she turned aside to hide her expression.

“My boyfriend~”

Lou Cheng was so happy that he moved toward the girl to clasp her hand. Ke was acting a bit abnormal today. He thought, ” I have never seen her so clingy.”

After dinner, they took a walk and went back to the hotel with their cake. The room was dimly lit, the stars and rivers were outside the window, and the quietness and privacy around them made everything look like a dream. Though it was not the first time for him, Lou Cheng still felt his heart racing uncontrollably in the silence.

Just then, Yan Zheke put the bouquet on the table, sat on the edge of the bed, touched his calf, and said softly,

“I’m so sore. Cheng, come and massage my legs and feet~”

They were comfortable around each other, but Ke’s face suddenly flushed as she said those words. Looking down at her right hand supporting her body like a budding flower, the girl smiled shyly.

Lou Cheng was immediately stimulated by the scene and the girl’s words.