Chapter 76: The Devilish Lou Cheng

After hanging his clothes out to air, Lou Cheng locked the door and went back to his room. Lying on the bed, his head still spinning, he felt an urge to pour his feelings out. He messaged Yan Zheke.

[Something happened after the barbeque...]

Lou Cheng calmly described his relationship with Wang Xu, his feelings upon seeing him being chased, and how his mindset had changed after their serious conversation.

Yan Zheke listened without interruption, only asking a few brief questions. Once he was done, she began to share her thoughts. [Cheng, I told you that everyone has their own path to take, and it's not necessarily through education or martial arts... Uh... I told you that, and then you defeated a Professional Ninth Pin in only four months... Well, I have no face left now!] She sent an emoji of a figure drawing circles in a corner.

Lou Cheng chuckled, his mood lightening a little. [I thought you were right, and I never expected to reach a professional rank so soon.]

[Don’t interrupt me. Don’t you want to listen to me?] Yan Zheke sent a vicious emoji.

You’re the one who interrupted me, Lou Cheng thought, but he didn't dare say it. [Please continue, Coach Yan!] he sent with a smirk.

[Everyone has their own destiny. We aren't the Almighty God or a supernatural being. It's marvelous if you can change a confidant's mind. But for others, you can't make decisions for them or force them to change their outlook on life. 'Do your part and leave the rest to God,'] Yan Zheke replied without an emoji.

Lou Cheng sighed. [I see it, but I still feel powerless and depressed. We were good friends, but now we're in distinct worlds. I can do nothing but watch...]

[Cheng, the overwhelming majority of people are selfish. I'm selfish too. I draw circles with myself as the center to classify people from the intimate to the estranged. In the innermost circle are my parents and close relatives, who are surely more precious to me than my close friends. Friends fall into two categories: the ones for life and the ones for a stage of your life. For the latter, your relationship is like two intersecting lines. You converge at some point and then diverge forever because of different philosophies of life, choices, characters, and turns in life. Miss rather than meet. Wang Xu is the latter.]

It was the first time Lou Cheng had seen such a serious side of Yan Zheke. Her words made her impression on him even more vivid.

[What about your future mate?] he asked.

Yan Zheke sent a squinting emoji. [I won't tell you. Are you listening to me carefully? Hmm!]

[Yes, I am! Please continue, Coach Yan!] Lou Cheng stifled a smile. His mood had improved a lot after joking with Yan Zheke.

[A friend for life treasures something that you also hold dear. It's obvious that Wang Xu isn't the one. Are you willing to give up your study and get caught in gang scuffles? Are you willing to cause trouble for yourself and your family?] Yan Zheke asked.

[I don’t want to be disturbed by him,] Lou Cheng said after thinking it over.

Yan Zheke sent a nodding emoji. [As you said, you are in a distinct world now. If he continues to act willfully, the gap between you two will only grow wider. He is an episode in your life. It's just a matter of time for your friendship to end. You have tried to help him wholeheartedly. What you should do now is reconcile yourself to the regret for him and let it go. My grandparents have many disciples who become police officers, soldiers, professional warriors, merchants... as well as evildoers. My grandpa and grandma were dejected, sleepless, and enraged. Yet, they straightened it out that it's enough for them to do what's possible to stop and save them. Don’t yearn for perfection, but for a clear conscience in your life.]

Lou Cheng read the messages, lost in thought. After a long pause, he took a deep breath. [Got it. I shouldn't feel any guilt about him. As a freshman, I saved his life and reasoned him out of gangs with sincerity. I have done my possible. It’s time to let it go.]

[Good! You are worthy to be taught!] Yan Zheke replied with a proud emoji pushing up glasses. [You did very well today, saving Wang Xu without causing trouble. I used to dream of my heroic deeds after reaching high martial arts attainments. Yet I worried that I would break the rules with violence and run into trouble. You gave me vivid instruction on how I could put my dream into practice.]

Lou Cheng felt a little bit proud and pleased. He sent an evil smile. [Thanks to Coach Yan's instructions! You teach by 'Yan' and deed. You are teacher 'Yan' and bring up an outstanding student.]

[Pooh! You are increasingly proficient in Chinese!] Yan Zheke sent a stunned dog emoji.

The funny chat put Lou Cheng in a good mood. They talked until 10 p.m. when Lou Cheng reluctantly stopped to take a shower and go to bed.

When Lou Cheng returned to bed, he saw that Cai Zongming had finally gotten home, logged in to QQ, and replied to his messages.

[A secret? You are not a girl. I have no interest in your secret, unless it’s your dark past.] Cai Zongming sent a devilish emoji with a waving finger, indicating a 'no.'

Lou Cheng replied to him. [I went to Yanling on my way home and participated in the Phoenix Cup Warrior Sage Candidate Challenge Tournament. You can guess my rank.]

[Holy crap! You went far this time! How stupid you are that you told me the name of the tournament and asked me to guess your rank. I’ll know everything with a click on Google.] Cai Zongming sat at his computer, typing, making fun of Lou Cheng out of habit.

Lou Cheng sneered loudly and murmured to himself, "That's what I want. I know you so well." The rank you find on the Internet will be much more shocking than if I just told you.

Cai Zongming opened his browser, clicked on the official website, and started reading the news. [The final: Jiang Lan VS Wang Ye? The Professional Eighth Pin VS the Professional Ninth Pin? The third-place match: Huang Zhenzhong VS Bai Song? The Professional Eighth Pin VS the Professional Ninth Pin...]

Lou Cheng's mouth twitched, and he immediately sent a message. [Damn! You fooled a wise man! There’s no way I can find a rookie's position in a tournament of such high-level names!]

[Haha, scroll further!] Lou Cheng didn't say more, expecting Cai Zongming to find it himself. Cai Zongming stared at the screen, suspicious, and flicked through the pages. Suddenly, he found a piece of news.

['No. 656' Lou Cheng quit the quarter-final on account of physical exhaustion.]

[The quarter-final?] He clicked on the news, thinking it was a different fighter with the same name. ['No rank... an undergraduate of the Songcheng University... defeated the fighter of the Professional Ninth Pin...'] After a while, Cai Zongming read the last phrase and called Lou Cheng.

"Cheng, did you ask someone to make a fake website for you?" he blurted out as soon as the phone connected.

Lou Cheng smiled proudly. "Holy shit! You aren’t Yan Zheke. Do you think I would bother to make a fake website to cheat you? I think your IQ doesn’t deserve a high-end trick."

"It's not long since you defeated Brother Wu of the Martial Arts Club by your specialty of long-distance running... You jumped from the Amateur Ninth Pin to the Professional Ninth Pin?" Cai Zongming said with astonishment.

Lou Cheng tried to explain in a calm tone. "Not very long? Three months, OK? I've learned 24 Blizzard Strikes, built up my strength and speed, improved my coordination, and done many pair exercises and watched plenty of matches. The first few opponents were relatively weak. I mastered the 24 Blizzard Strikes, the Listening Skill, and the Mercurial Balance through the combats. I lucked out and got into the top eight."

Cai Zongming was silent. "...Cheng, are you showing off?"

"Yes, I am!" Lou Cheng laughed. "Wanna beat me? Can you beat me?"

"Damn..." Cai Zongming found him brusque but amusing. "I've never met anyone as devilish as you, Lou Cheng! Wait and see. I'm gonna join the special training of the Martial Arts Club next semester. With my talent and Geezer Shi's instruction, I’ll catch up with you in no time. You show-off!"

Perfectly satisfied with Cai Zongming’s response, Lou Cheng got ready for bed. Before hanging up, he said, "You can find my fight videos on the official website. Watch them with reverence!" Before Cai Zongming could reply, Lou Cheng hung up and messaged Yan Zheke a goodnight.

Yan Zheke already knew about Lou Cheng’s daily 5:30 a.m. training from their chats during the tournament. She admired his dedication and recognized his rapid progress.

Cai Zongming, phone in hand, found the videos and started to watch. His mouth dropped open wider and wider. After watching all the videos, he murmured to himself, as if talking nonsense. "Is that Cheng? A dozen of me can't beat him... Has he been possessed by the devil? Of course, being possessed only happens in novels."

At 5 a.m. the next day, Lou Cheng woke up on time. He put on his martial arts suit, grabbed his phone and keys, and jogged to Jiang Fei’s home as a warm-up. It was still dark, with street lamps casting a pale yellow light on the quiet road. Lou Cheng jogged in the chill of dawn, exhaling white puffs of air. He gave Jiang Fei a ring to make sure he was up.

Lou Cheng finished a moving stance when he saw Jiang Fei walk out. He was shivering, his martial arts suit a bit too tight. Lou Cheng tried not to laugh. "Let's jog first to warm up."

"OK!" Jiang Fei said excitedly. He had been looking forward to this training after yesterday's incident. "Which way, Cheng?"

Lou Cheng had mapped out their route. He pointed to the left. "We're going to run to Sanli Pavilion and train in People's Park."

"Sanli Pavilion? People's Park?" Jiang Fei's mouth dropped open, and his face went pale. "Kill me!" It was at least ten kilometers.