Martial Arts Master

Outside of the metro station, there was no one to welcome him this time either. Putting on his disguise, Lou Cheng hailed a taxi. After much haggling and pretending to be a local, he managed to get the price down from thirty to fifteen.

It wasn’t about money. He was driven purely by the reluctance to be scammed and treated like an idiot. If he hadn’t been in a good mood, he might have even offered a performance of crushing the ground with his feet.

The ride was uneventful. He arrived at home without a hitch, put down his backpack, and booked a cab to Xiushan City Hotel.

It was Lou Yuanwei’s wedding day!

He had wanted to come home earlier to see the wedding preparations for future reference. However, after being delayed by the emergency mission, he could only make it to the main event.

At the entrance of the luxurious City Hotel, there was a large framed photograph of Lou Yuanwei and his bride, Tang Xiaoning. The place was festooned with balloons and flowers. It was a blissful atmosphere.

Still the same round face, thought Lou Cheng with secret amusement. From his pocket, he took out an ang pow that he had prepared.

After entering, the check-in and gift-money collection point was to the left. Lou Yuanwei and his bride stood there, receiving guests with warm smiles.

“Ah, you made it back in time…” As family, Lou Yuanwei recognized Lou Cheng at once despite the baseball cap and black-framed glasses that covered half his face. Hesitating, he held back his hospitality to preserve Lou Cheng’s identity.

“It’s a must,” chuckled Lou Cheng, handing the ang pow to his cousin. He took a look around. “Let’s chat later. There’s certainly a lot of guests here.”

Turning towards Tang Xiaoning, he smiled and greeted her.

“Good day, sister-in-law!”

Tang Xiaoning was the girl-next-door type, so she looked a little strange with inharmoniously thick wedding makeup. She and Lou Yuanwei had dated on the internet for a long time, then saw each other in real life for some time before stepping into the marriage hall.

At Lou Cheng’s greeting, she smiled and gave a reply. When Lou Cheng had gone into the wedding hall, she finally realized who he was. Eyes widening, she bent closer to Lou Yuanwei and whispered in his ear, “Was that your brother?”

The famous little brother?

“Yup,” Lou Yuanwei smiled and nodded proudly.

He gave the ang pow a little pinch. To his surprise, it was so thin that he couldn’t feel anything. Puzzled, he opened it and found only a slip of paper. Pulling it out, it was a check!

That’s when he suddenly remembered Lou Cheng’s joke in the family group chat.

“I’ll close my eyes and key in the zeros. More or less depends on fate.”

So you really went and did it… For a moment, Lou Yuanwei was amused and dumbfounded.

Stepping into the wedding hall, Lou Cheng peered forth. He immediately found his mom and dad, who were playing the role of hosts and welcoming familiar guests like their old neighbor, Zhao Zijun, who was now a director-general.

His daughter and my brother went on a blind date before… Wouldn’t it be awkward if she came to the wedding? thought Lou Cheng. Softly, he called out,

“Hey Dad, Mom, Uncle Zhao, Auntie Huang.”

Qi Fang shot him a look. “Why didn’t you come back yesterday? Always putting things off until the end!”

“Everyone has responsibilities and has to deal with all sorts of last-minute things once they step into society,” said Zhao Zijun pacifyingly. Rather reservedly, he replied to Lou Cheng’s greeting.

When he had first met the Lou couple, he knew that their son had a good relationship with Director Xing, potential, a good background, and a bright future.

Who would have known that in just a few years, a bright future was no longer an adequate description. A Xiushan Police Director no longer held a candle to him.

His status and identity no longer needs shoring up from someone else.

Looking back, it’s like a dream!

“Indeed. I hadn’t seen Fatty Jiang Fei in a long time,” said Lou Cheng, smiling.

After exchanging some platitudes, Zhao Zijun excused himself to return to his seat. After a few steps, he suddenly turned and smiled.

“Chief Xing is here too.”

“Uncle Xing is here too? Where?” Lou Cheng felt a little surprised

I didn’t think he would know my cousin!

“He’s right ahead,” said Zhao Zijun. He studied Lou Cheng’s disguise. “Need me to call him?”

“It’s fine, I can call him,” said Lou Cheng, flourishing his phone.

“Alright then. We’ll just wait for the wedding to start.” Reluctantly, Zhao Zijun and Huang Qun returned to their seats.

Lou Cheng dialed the number. As the call was connecting, he walked out of the wedding hall and into a quiet resting room.

A few seconds later, he heard Xing Chengwu’s hearty laugh.

“Just back?”

“Yeah, I came here right after laying down my luggage. I wasn’t expecting to meet you here, Uncle Xing,” said Lou Cheng, welcoming him with a smile.

Xing Chengwu laughed.

“I’m quite close with your brother. In the last two years, he’s been making his rounds as Erzi’s understudy in Xiushan. The upper echelons, concerned with image, couldn’t attend the wedding personally but all sent gift money.”

Wow, seems like he’s made a name on his own. In the future, with such connections, he would be able to do almost anything in Xiushan even without Erzi, as long as it’s legal. Pleasantly surprised, Lou Cheng made a lighthearted comment.

“But it’s good enough for Uncle Xing, the Police Chief Administrator himself, to come!”

Xing Chengwu had taken over the position of Chief from the retired Chief Administrator the month before, officially gaining control of the Xiushan police forces.

“Are you making fun of your Uncle Xing?” said Xing Chengwu, widening his eyes dramatically. “A big part of why I got this position is because of my relationship with you.”

“I never said anything,” shrugged Lou Cheng, laughing. “I heard that Sister Jingjing is going for additional training and will only be back around New Year?”

He had, of course, heard this from Ke Ke.

“She’s under the mentorship of a Physical Invulnerability senior who specializes in illusionary technique martial arts. Her progress is good. In a year or two, she might be at Inhuman level. She’s going to surpass her dad,” said Xing Chengwu proudly. He radiated as he talked about his daughter’s progress.

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” quipped Lou Cheng.

Xing Chengwu went on excitedly for a while, then suddenly sighed.

“She’s doing really well now, but she still has troubles with boys.” He sighed. “As parents, we aren’t asking for much. We just hope that when we pass on, our daughter will have a someone beside her to talk to and care for her. Otherwise, she’ll be all lonely in an empty house. That’s why there’s the saying ‘A spouse at a young age is a companion in old age’.”

“To be honest, it’s not that bad to be rich and single. There’s more freedom and you can live more comfortably…” Lou Cheng’s voice tailed away unconvincingly. Xing Chengwu’s eyes were clearly saying that someone with a girlfriend who was about to get married didn’t have the right to talk.

Xing Chengwu rubbed his hair with his bear paw-like hands and sighed.

“You don’t have to console me. Your auntie and I have thought it through. If Jingjing really detests men, then so be it, we won’t force things. As long as she has a companion, then we’ll approve. Even if she gets together with a girl…”

Lou Cheng was speechless for a moment. Then he gave a thumbs-up.

“Uncle Xing, you are surprisingly liberal!”

After chatting for a while, Lou Cheng and Xing Chengwu returned to the wedding hall, as the wedding was imminent. They returned to their respective seats.

Worried that someone might remember his disguise, Lou Cheng decided to remove it. Anyway, the people at his table were Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom, Auntie, and his cousins.

Even so, many glances were thrown towards him as soon as he sat down. Excited ones, curious ones, and also judgemental ones.

“Now I finally understand what being a public figure is like, Brother Lou Cheng!” said Qi Yunfei, smiling. She was now a university student.

Since had she left Xiushan for Gaofen, her fashion taste had improved. She was now rocking an innocent, elegant look. With her new cute appearance, she had a number of suitors.

Just as Lou Cheng was about to reply, he saw a large-eyed girl arching her back and approaching stealthily from the other side of the platform. She took out a notebook and pen excitedly and nervously.

“Can I have your signature, Lou Cheng?”

“Sure,” said Lou Cheng, taking the pen and paper. He signed his name in an ungoverned manner.

That was when he saw more tempted fans. Handing back the pen and paper, he said to the large-eyed girl.

“Can you help me out and ask them to come one by one and not all at once? We don’t want to disrupt the wedding, right?”

“Yes, of course!” she nodded vehemently. She returned to her seat. In a hushed but shrill voice, she said to her friends, “He talked to me! He talked to me!”

Did you completely forget my request? Lou Cheng nearly facepalmed as he listened with his exceptional hearing abilities.

After some commotion, things finally quieted down. Qi Yunfei regarded him with a smile, then took out a thick notebook and a pen from her handbag.

“Seeing those fans reminded me, Brother Lou. Here, sign this! On every page!”

“Are you trying to rebel?” said Lou Cheng, amused.

“Sister Fei Fei is trying to be a sly trader!” exposed Chen Xiaoxiao, who still had baby fat on her face even after entering high school.

Realizing that everyone was looking at her, Qi Yunfei smiled embarrassedly.

“You guys might not know this but Brother Lou Cheng’s signature is valuable! You can sell it for this much!”

She spread out her fingers for emphasis.

Lou Cheng let out a laugh. Taking over the pen and paper, he began signing.

“I’d been thinking about giving my little brothers and sisters still in school some allowance since I started working. Now that you can earn it yourself, I guess I’ll drop that thought.”

Qi Yunfei’s smile froze. Blankly, she asked,

“How much were you planning to give us, Brother Lou?”

“Am I the stingy kind? Right, Xiaoxiao?” Lou Cheng gave a random number.

His Grandpa Qi Jiayu and Grandma Kong Meizhen protested at once.

“How can you give them so much?”

“You need to spend your money sparingly! It’s a waste to give these little brats so much money!”

“It’s not that much,” said Lou Cheng appeasingly.

Qi Yunfei’s lips twitched. With a sad face, she said,

“I don’t want the signature anymore, Brother Lou Cheng! I’m sorry!”

“Already signed,” said Lou Cheng with a smile.

“Are you even my biological brother?” she said, devastated.

Lou Cheng snickered.

“Only a biological brother would do this to you.”

“I hate you!” Qi Yunfei shed some crocodile tears.

As they were fooling around, the wedding officially began. Lou Cheng took out his phone to take pictures and videos to send to his wife.

As the bride’s father led her down the aisle, the host began stirring emotions by taking the guests on a trip down the couple’s memory lane. The bride was already tearing up.

Lou Cheng’s mouth twitched. He couldn’t help but poke fun at it with his girl on his phone.

“Weddings nowadays are all about that sentimental drivel. It’s a joyous occasion, but they have to make it so sad.”

“Right? It makes things so awkward! Let’s not have a host in the future! [nodding emoji]” wrote Yan Zheke.

“Who will do it then? [blank face]” wrote Lou Cheng.

“You and Talker, of course. You can add a comedy skit in too…[secret laugh emoji]” wrote Yan Zheke.

“What about my pride and dignity as a Physical Invulnerability expert? [covered face emoji]” wrote Lou Cheng.

The wedding proceeded smoothly as planned. For the rest of the month, Lou Cheng spent most of his time at home with his parents, apart from staying at Ningshui for a few days. And of course, he had to attend some social events.

Can’t go wrong maintaining a good relationship with the hometown officials.