Martial Arts Master

Yan Zheke woke up at 5:30 PM. She put on Lou Cheng’s t-shirt and shorts to take a shower and came back to the room to change into her own clothes.

She pointed at her wrinkled shirt and complained, “It’s your fault! Get me an iron.”

“How can I go out like this? How can I go home like this?”

“Our iron broke two days ago…” Lou Cheng looked up blankly and then a grin appeared on his face. “Don’t worry. I got this.”

“Ahh?” Yan Zheke gazed at her official husband, confused.

Lou Cheng reached out his right hand with a thin layer of white frost. As the ice melted, steam rose and heat rolled.

He pulled the shirt with his left hand and moved his right palm down slowly. The crumpled part became flat.

Yan Zheke’s eyes shone brightly. She couldn’t help complimenting him.

“Cheng, your supernatural ability is becoming more and more practical. You’ve unlocked this new function.”

“Ever since I perceived the root pulp, my control of the ice and fire supernatural ability has become better,” answered Lou Cheng humbly. “Thank you, Coach Yan!”

Spending loads of time on Taoist training materials lately, he liked to summarize his attitude changing, emotion precipitating, and determination firming since he had become a married man as an achievement of their paired practice.

Yan Zheke pursed her lips and turned her head away, her eyes narrowed. She suddenly turned back to gaze at Lou Cheng with a suspicious look.

“I feel there is another meaning in your compliment… Hmm… You didn’t care about the fake pot. You sneakily set up a trap for me.”

“Not at all. I didn’t want to bother the military at the beginning, though they are also looking for the Nine Words Formula. When I received this fake pot, I found it amusing and wanted to share with you. Then I realized that we would have quite some free time and that we could do something…” Lou Cheng explained with a smile. “We haven’t gotten intimate for days.”

“What if… What if I didn’t feel like it today?” Yan Zheke fixed her hair as she threw a glare at him.

Lou Cheng laughed with his both palms facing up. “We could browse some forums and Weibo together, talk, and go shopping around four or five. We have plenty things to do together.”

“Belated effort!” Yan Zheke raised her chin, the corners of her eyes curved upward.

She stood up and walked to the door, glancing at Lou Cheng, amused and annoyed.

“Why did you lock the door… As if you were a bad guy!”

“Just in case… What if my mom didn’t stay with my aunt tonight or my dad came back early and opened my door to check if I was home? That would be super awkward… When we are busy, my Absolute Reaction to our lovemaking… I can’t pay much attention to anything else, like footsteps or the sound of the key…” answered Lou Cheng with a grin.

“But it would be just as awkward if they found out your door was locked from inside…” Yan Zheke tilted her head, puzzled.

“No. Look. We are in a relationship that has been approved by our parents. It is perfectly normal for us to lock the door and make out once in a while. It would be odd if we didn’t get intimate at all. No one knows how far we have gone anyway.” Lou Cheng reached out his hand to tidy up her hair.

“You sound so experienced…” Yan Zheke rolled her eyes and checked Lou Cheng up and down.

“Hahah… I read a lot online. It’s important to learn from others’ mistakes!” Lou Cheng chuckled.

“Hmm… Ming’s Awkward Moments!”

…

Two days later, the military still couldn’t locate the wine pot’s origin. Lou Cheng changed into a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and collocated clothes and went to Yan family’s villa by Back Water Lake with bags of presents.

It was so open and aboveboard compared to his first visit last summer.

“If my grandparents ask you questions, give straight answers and don’t circle about. They used to be teachers and don’t like those showy, deceptive guys.” Yan Zheke reminded Lou Cheng right before their arrival.

Lou Cheng didn’t feel much pressure from visiting the grandparents. He pointed at himself with a grin.

“I got in Songcheng University by myself. Your grandparents will love me for sure.

“I was always one of the top five in high school. I even made it to the top three several times. I was a really good student, one of the top 20, if not top 10, of the grade. I did very well in the university entry exams.”

“Yesterday’s sun can’t dry today’s clothes.” Yan Zheke hit him gently with a laugh as she pushed the door open.

In the bright, spacious living room, Yan Kai on his day off was chatting with his parents, Yan Jihua and Gao Fen. When he heard the door-opening music, he rose to welcome his daughter and future son-in-law.

Ji Mingyu was at a very important business meeting. She would be back around dinner time.

“Lou, welcome.” Yan Kai managed to calmly and warmly greet the bad boy who had stolen his smart, beautiful, and perfect daughter.

“Hello, Uncle.” Lou Cheng changed into slippers.

“Dad, what are you doing? Cheng is not a guest…” Yan Zheke tried to loosen things up. She grabbed her husband’s hand and led him towards the couch. She called in her sweetest voice, “Grandpa, Grandma, Lou Cheng has brought you something.”

“Hello, Grandpa, Grandma…” Lou Cheng handed over the tea and original-proof spirits.

“Heheh… You shouldn’t have. Lou, come and sit.” Yan Jihua accepted the bags after a few seconds of looking him up and down.

As they each took a seat, he asked with a smile,

“Lou, you also studied in Xiushan No.1 Middle School?”

“All parents are into these kinds of questions…” Lou Cheng thought before answering, “Yes, I was just next door from Ke’s class. Every time they brought out our grade rankings, I always heard her name.”

“Cheng was always in the top 20, sometimes even top 10. I knew his name back then.” Yan Zheke showed off his good results.

“I heard his name but didn’t remember. When he introduced himself outside the Martial Arts Club, I didn’t feel familiar at all…”

“That’s good.” Yan Jihua and Gao Fen exchanged a glance with a nod.

“Lou got in Songcheng University and they became schoolmates again,” added Yan Kai.

Yan Zheke had told them this in the past, but they wanted to begin from this topic to avoid any potential awkwardness.

The well-read Yan Jihua asked, puzzled and curious,

“Lou, how did you pick martial arts for your future?”

“It was by chance. I saw Ke in the Martial Arts Club and I had this impulse to join her… After a few sessions, I realized I have some talent in this and thought that it shouldn’t be wasted…” Lou Cheng answered honestly how he signed up for the Martial Arts Club in hopes of pursuing their granddaughter.

He didn’t want to bring it up in front of his parents, but he hoped to show his affection and appreciation for Ke before her family.

“I didn’t know that…” Yan Kai laughed with mixed feelings.

Yan Jihua smiled genuinely and poked fun at him. “Lou, you nurtured schemes…”

They chatted along about their past and Yan Zheke flushed a few times.

“Lou, Ke is going to study abroad. She told me you planned to visit her often and practice martial arts there?” Gao Fen was most concerned about this practical problem.

“Yeah, I aim to fly over once per month and stay one to two weeks every time.” Lou Cheng took a stand.

Yan Jihua nodded thoughtfully. “I better hire you a chef. These days, the youths don’t know how to cook. Foreign dishes are boring…”

“I can cook some simple food.” Lou Cheng couldn’t resist showing off. Yan Zheke nodded like a chick picking grains.

“Oh? What can you make? What are you good at?” asked Yan Jihua out of curiosity.

“Actually, just two dishes. One is noodle soup and the other is fried rice with eggs. I’m pretty good at those.” Lou Cheng made fun of himself.

The air around them suddenly froze as if some danger was brewing.

Yan Kai leaned back and muttered to himself,

“Good at fried rice with eggs…”

“Damn it! It’s exposed!” A past event came to his head and he came to a sudden realization. He turned around to Yan Zheke, who had the same shock in her eyes.

He had snuck into the Yan villa last summer and made out with Ke. They prepared breakfast very romantically but almost got caught by his father-in-law, who mistook the bowl of fried rice with eggs that was cooked by Ke for him and didn’t notice Lou Cheng’s visit.

He… It seemed he had just realized something…

…

“You’re bad. Why did you show off?” In her room after lunch, Yan Zheke complained to Lou Cheng with a smile. “I was so worried my dad would jump up and wield his scalpel…”

“I completely forgot about it.” Lou Cheng wiped off his imaginary cold sweat.

“We should never go beyond ourselves!”

A loud knock came, followed by Yan Kai’s clear voice. “Ke, Lou, I have brought some fruits to you.”

“Thank you, Uncle.” Lou Cheng walked over and opened the door, seeing his father-in-law standing there with a plate of delicately cut fruits.

Delicately cut…

…

After the meeting with Yan Zheke’s grandparents, the young couple continued with their normal lives. Once in a while, Lou Cheng would have a meal with the Yan family and Yan Zheke would visit the Lou family. Now and then, they would have a date and get intimate. Soon, it was July 14th. The military claimed to have some progress regarding the origin of the wine pot.

Lou Cheng packed his bag and stepped out of his room around noon.

“My boy, good job. You’re taking Ke on a trip!” Qi Fang nodded out of satisfaction, with no intention to urge him to stay.

“Mom, don’t look down upon your son.” Lou Cheng shook his head while walking towards the door.

Destination: Huacheng!

The fight between the Dragon King and the Warrior Sage!