Martial Arts Master

Lou Cheng was concerned and felt sorry for the pains of a lady, but he was miles away, helpless and unable to do anything to make her feel better. He wanted to comfort her, but did not know how to express his views better since this was a sensitive topic. So he became frustrated, like a captured beast, unable to escape despite crashing all the walls that locked him up.

Suddenly, he thought of something, quickly logged out of QQ on his phone and logged in to the QQ application on his computer. He sent an expression of a brick smashing its head and typed, “It, it didn’t occur to me. I’ve never met or gone through anything like this before…

Only in some health magazines or some lifestyle discussion threads…”

After sending the message, Lou Cheng checked his call records and called Cai Zongming. At this time, he badly needed guidance from the Talker.

Beep, beep, beep. Just as Yan Zheke responded, Cai Zongming also picked up the phone. “Hello, Cheng? ”

“Talker, talker, I need some advice from you! ” Lou Cheng did not bother greeting and went straight to the question.

At the same time, his eyes stayed glued to the computer screen to read Yan Zheke’s response. She responded with sniggering emoji and wrote, “It’d be strange if you were familiar with such stuff…”

With one hand holding the phone and the other typing away on the keyboard, he asked, “Do girls hurt bad during this their periods? ”

On the other side of the phone, Cai Zongming scoffed and said, “What are you talking about? It must be about your Goddess! Only she would make you so flustered. Good thing you didn’t call in the middle of the night, or I’d have strangled you! ”

“Haha,” Lou Cheng laughed drily and continued talking, “So, tell me, how should I show concern for a girl when she’s hurting but not dying of pain? ”

“Yan Zheke’s period is classified as private. It definitely cannot be shared with other men.”

At this time, Yan Zheke responded to his text, “It’s different from girl to girl. Some can hurt like they’re on the verge of death and that feeling can last for a few days. Some others feel nothing at all, and continue drinking ice-cold drinks all the time. For me, it hurts very badly on the first day, but gets better on the second day. ”

Lou Cheng’s fingertips continued to dance across the keyboard. He was about to tell Yan Zheke to drink some warm water if she was hurting very badly.

“Hehe, everyone has their style of expressing care, you can say what you like, but asking a girl to drink warm water is what you mustn’t say.” Cai Zongming said with some interest in his tone.

Huh… Lou Cheng stopped typing and hit the “delete” button. He rewrote his reply, “I’m too naive. I thought I was almost there… ”

While he typed, he asked Cai Zongming why he could not say so. “Why can’t I say to drink warm water? Isn’t it quite effective? Plus, she is spending the new year’s at Jiangnan where is hundreds of miles away. I can’t do anything more. ”

“For this question, the Internet has many answers for you, but I think those are not enough to explain to you why not. Since you’re my buddy, let Master Cai give you some free advice. ” With a superior tone, like he was a master, Cai Zongming said, “For this thing about drinking warm water, it’s about how sincere you are. Meaning, what the girls care about is not what you’ve said, replied or done, but what lies underneath! What they want to see or hear is the heart, the degree of concern and sincerity. That’s the crux of the issue! ”

The more Lou Cheng listened, the more confused he got.

“Could you say that again? This time maybe a little clearer? I don’t quite understand. ”

Yan Zheke replied to his text again, “You never had a female classmate who didn’t feel well in high school? ”

“Everyone has their days, don’t they… ” Lou Cheng added an emoji with an innocent expression and hit the “send” button. He did not and could not type any further.

On the phone, Cai Zongming explained, “Think about it. To say “drink warm water,” these three words. How long did it take you? How much effort did you put in? ”

“It’s a blink of an eye thing. Just thought about it and was going to say it. ” It seemed clearer to Lou Cheng now.

Cai Zongming laughed heartily and said, “Good thing you called me right? Look, to tell her to drink warm water doesn’t even kill any brain cells and needed not much time. Isn’t it too insincere and superficial? Isn’t too little effort, too little heart on the matter? ”

“I get it! ” Lou Cheng exclaimed with sudden realization.

Cai Zongming clicked his tongue arrogantly and said, “We have a fast learner here. So, even if you have to kill some brain cells, think of a joke to make her laugh to distract her. Whether she laughs or not doesn’t matter that much. At least she’d know that you’re trying hard to make her feel better and not just brush off the issue. That would be way better than just to ask her to drink warm water. Since you understand the crux of the issue now, isn’t it easier to show concern now? What you say or do isn’t important, but the heart that you express when doing so, is what matters most. ”

“What sincerity are we talking about here? For example, book a ticket immediately, fly there at night and appear at her door the next morning. If she’s not better, insist on bringing her to the doctor, take good care of her and run errands. Once she seems better, get her favorite breakfast, and make her something good on your own. Of course, if you’re not that close yet, you need not go to such extent. If she has family members around, consider the situation. if you have no money, consider even more thoroughly before dishing out such stunts… ”

“Damn! Casanova, your words beat ten years’ worth of studying! ” Lou Cheng listened in awe and studied the contents of the computer screen at the same time.

Yan Zheke wrote: “You boys. Are you all so dense? Last time in middle school, a girl in our class had her period. She looked so pale. Yet the guy sharing her desk didn’t realize, and asked her to help get breakfast. Who cares about breakfast! ”

“I’m usually the one who brings breakfast for people… ” Lou Cheng typed carefully.

After hearing Lou Cheng’s praises, Cai Zongming said, “The essence of the heart by Master Cai has been passed down to you. How you want to make use of it, depends on how enlightened you are! I can only help this much! ”

From the bottom of his heart, Lou Cheng complimented Cai Zongming,

“Talker! You’re my idol! ”

“Get lost. Don’t think that you can escape giving me a treat with your words! I am expecting a feast when school re-opens! ” Cai Zongming put forward his demands for a reward in a bossy manner and hung up.

After putting down the phone, Lou Cheng reread the messages that he sent to Yan Zheke. He realized that because he was texting and talking on the phone at the same time, his words seemed somewhat superficial. Since she had not responded, he quickly added another line,

“After listening to what you’ve said, I seem to understand something that had been bothering me for a long time! ”

This was inspired by what Yan Zheke had written earlier, but it had too many words for someone who was typing with one hand.

“What had been bothering you?” Yan Zheke sent an emoji with a confused expression.

Lou Cheng replied with an emoji with a shocked expression, “There was this one time, my classmate seemed very ill. Once we ended class, she took sick leave to return home. Some girls sitting behind me had to support her and tied some clothing around her waist. At that time, I couldn’t understand why they said that she was cold and yet they put extra clothing around her waist and not her shoulders. Something hanging from the waist to the thighs wouldn’t be much use, right? When the other classmate came back, I asked her and all I got was a look from her. She just rolled her eyes at me. ”

“I couldn’t understand then, but now it’s all clear to me. It was because of that thing and the clothes were to hide traces of it! ”

“Probably like what the advertisements always play, it seeped through…”

“Haha, you’re lucky that she didn’t scold you. ” Yan Zheke replied.

Finding that his words had raised her spirits, he gained some confidence. Following Little Ming’s theory, he asked: “Does your tummy still hurt a lot? ”

“It hurts. ” Yan Zheke gave a short reply.

Lou Cheng sent an emoji with a gentle smile and wrote, “I know a way that could help to relieve the pain a little. ”

“What way? ” Yan Zheke sent a shocked emoji.

Lou Cheng said, “The ‘Divert Attention’ Spell! As long as you try not to think about the pain, it would not be that bad. ”

“Although it doesn’t sound like it would do any good, no harm trying. Who knows? What are you going to do to divert my attention? ” Yan Zheke sent a pitiful looking emoji.

Lou Cheng paused and said thoughtfully, “I will sacrifice myself and tell you some of my most embarrassing moments! ”

“Haha, how embarrassing are they? ” Yan Zheke sent an expression of a silly looking cat waiting to be fed.

“During the military training in early September, we were split into teams and were told that the best performing teams would have the chance to take part in the final reporting performance right? ”

“Little Ming deliberately marched badly, and after punishing him a few times and not seeing any improvement, he was kicked out of the performing company. He started to carry out ‘heavy’ responsibilities of cleaning, cooking and washing dishes. He escaped daily marches and had time to rest under the trees.”

“After that, I picked up his bad marching skills. So when the officers were choosing people to march for the company, I intentionally marched badly so that I could be dropped off the list and joined the support team instead. ”

Lou Cheng sent his messages in short sentences so that he did not spend too much time typing. Else, Yan Zheke would spend too long waiting for his text, and she will go back thinking about her cramps.

“And then? This is only something for people to envy about and not something embarrassing. ” Yan Zheke typed.

Lou Cheng sent an emoji with a devastated crying face and wrote,

“We didn’t have many good days before the officer gathered us and brought us to another toilet at the side of our camp. The officer said that there were too many classes living at the camping grounds, and since we were not participating in the final march, we should help out by cleaning more. ”

“The moment Little Ming and I stepped in, we almost puked. ”

Yan Zheke sent a laughing emoji, ” Serve you both right for being lazy! This is what we call retribution! ”

With a crying emoji, Lou Cheng replied: “When we came out to catch a few breaths of fresh air, the officer said that Songcheng University students are civilized. We were not anything like the school in front. Their students said that the toilet was too dirty and settled their business at the lake and bushes at the back. He made them pick up and clean up… Before he finished his sentence, Little Ming and I already gagged. Good thing nothing came out. ”

“So gross. We girls took turns to do cleaning duties. Plus we’re more particular about such sanitary matters, so it wasn’t too bad. ” Yan Zheke sent an emoji with blinking eyes and wrote, “Seems like the distraction tactic is working. Any more stories? ”

Lou Cheng squeezed his brains for all the stories. From young till now, as long as they did not affect his image that much, he shared them with Yan Zheke. The stories lifted Yan Zheke’s spirits and made her so excited that she seemed to forget about the pain in her abdomen really.

“Cheng, any more?” Yan Zheke was just like how Lou Cheng was when he was a child, listening to his mother’s stories. Always asking if there were any more.

Lou Cheng’s mind went blank for a moment. He seemed to have said whatever he could have, “I don’t think I have any more to share… How about we think of another way to divert attention? ”

Yan Zheke sent an emoji with a gentle smile and replied, “My tummy doesn’t seem to hurt that much anymore. I can try sleeping now. Once tomorrow comes, I will be all fine again! Cheng, can you sing? Sing me a song. I’ll be able to sleep with a song. ”

This was a rare request from Yan Zheke, so without hesitation, Lou Cheng agreed, “Yes, I can sing. Though it may not be too good, at least I can keep the pitch. What song would you like to hear? ”

After he sent that message, he logged out of his QQ on the computer and logged on his phone.

“You choose. ” Yan Zheke sent an emoji that was secretly laughing.

Lou Cheng thought for a while. He held onto the ‘voice message’ button and started to sing, “Twinkle twinkle little star, how I wonder where you are…”

“Haha, you’re so funny, continue please. ” Yan Zheke responded with a voice message, and sounded like she was in a good mood.

“Up above the stars so high…” At this point, Lou Cheng suddenly changed his melody and said, “the North Star fights! ”

“Pfft! ” Yan Zheke sent a “laugh-till-I-drop” expression.

The singing continued, lightly filling up the room. After some time Yan Zheke said, “Cheng, I’m delighted today. Good night. ”

“Good night, see you tomorrow! ” Lou Cheng replied with a gentle smile, through a voice message.

Yan Zheke sent another voice message. With a humorous and tone mimicking an advertisement, she said, “Big Baby, see you every day! ”

Even though it did not say or mean anything much, filled with joy, Lou Cheng was all smiles.

Hehe, see you every day!

Oh wait, what’s today’s date? Need to note this crucial information down in the “Teeny Weeny Book”!

After Yan Zheke had gone to sleep, he smiled to himself for some time before he snapped back to reality.

“Holy crap! I still have a competition tomorrow and tonnes of martial arts video clips that I haven’t watched! ”