Martial Arts Master

Due to the influx of new students and the west part of dormitory garden being used, Cai Zongming and the others had moved to a new dorm. Since Lou Cheng was considered an undergraduate doing an internship, a bed was reserved for him.

At the door of Block 6, Unit 1, Room 502. He could, before even stepping into the door, hear boisterous chatter and smell strong alcohol.

The next two days consisted of taking graduation photos and collecting certificates. Are they letting loose one last time? Smiling, Lou Cheng entered the room.

Cai Zongming had a paper cup in one hand. In the other was a small bottle of Hongxing Erguotou (Chinese alcohol). Since he knew beforehand, he wasn’t at all surprised at the return of his friend. He studied him, and said, “Cheng, looks like your recovery went great! I can’t even tell you got injured.”

“You didn’t believe me when I told you the last time,” replied Lou Cheng, chuckling. He reached out and patted Xiao Ming on the shoulders, hard. He flinched and grimaced, nearly losing his balance.

“You are taking revenge? Come on, you are so petty!” Cai Zongming wriggled his arm unhappily.

“Revenge is a dish best served cold! Plus, I won’t have another opportunity when you are back at home living the tycoon life,” said Lou Cheng half-jokingly and half-sentimental.

Nearing the days of leaving school, his roommates had more or less found their next paths in life. Zhao Qiang was exempted to post-graduate studies and had picked up some freelance work. Zhang Jingye, as he had hoped for, remained in Songcheng. He was hired by the branch company of a large enterprise. The place was notorious for its overtime practice, but the pay was decidedly good. Old Qiu, Qiu Zhigao, received a few offers, but none appealed to him. In the end, through his connections with Qin Mo, he was hired by a private local enterprise. The salary was average, but he was happy to stay in a big city.

Mou Yuanxing and his girlfriend went for foreign firms. Qin Mo, with venture capital he received from his father, planned to initiate a startup. He had two directions in mind. The first was engagement marketing for the giants in the industry, which would allow him to promote his own products as well. For example, when F&B and clothing chain stores accept mobile payments, they can give a portion of their own earnings to the seller and in turn forge stronger relations. That would make them more willing to purchase things like cashier applications in the future. It was, of course, not limited to that.

The second was to invest in a local third-party payment processor. The industry was an oligopoly with two dominant companies, but there were a number of small firms existing for specific purposes. This made sense when you considered illegal poker and gambling sites. For them, a large flow of money attracted attention from the authority, so proper payment methods were out of the question. This is where third-party payment processors came into play. Through methods like topping up points, they remain discreet. It was practically money laundering. As they say, there is always a way to ferret out of a loophole.

When Qin Mo talked about these things, Lou Cheng was extremely impressed. He didn’t expect a rich kid who normally fooled around to have such astute business sense. Of course, starting a company wasn’t just about funds and ideas. So many have taken the path and failed.

As of now, the only person who hasn’t found a job was Tang Wen, but he wasn’t particularly worried about it. He passed the final clear examination, so all’s well to him.

Lou Cheng mingled around a little, then took out a paper cup and filled it with hot water, which cooled immediately under his powers. He looked around him.

“We are about to graduate and step into society! To greater heights!”

“To greater heights!” echoed the half-drunk crowd, gulping down their liquor. Some said it was an ambitious declaration, and other regarded it as self-encouragement.

After the annual event of tossing glass bottles and other unnecessary items, they slumped quietly, drunk and melancholic about their unreturning youth.

Lou Cheng glanced at them and laughed softly. He formed a hand seal indiscreetly and hummed the Confrontation Formula like a lullaby.

The room became peaceful and serene. In the distance, there were occasional sounds of shattering glass and people shouting. Their voices contained rejoice, regret, sadness, and sentimentality.

Lou Cheng snapped some pictures and sent them to Yan Zheke. He then tossed all his roommates into their beds, one hand per person. That included the heavily intoxicated Xiao Ming.

“Cheng. I can’t move my limbs even though I’m sober,” he said.

On the opposite bed, Qin Mo rolled over.

“Me too. No headache either.”

“Did we drink counterfeit alcohol?” guessed Cai Zongming.

Lou Cheng, without saying anything, exited the dorm room. He slept through the night making do with Zhao Qiang’s spare bedsheet.

The next day, he was back at Weishui Lake for training. By adjusting the position of his Qi, blood, force, and mind during Force Concentration, he tried to make the resultant stars naturally form into the word ‘Fighting’.

After morning training, he collected his academic dress. Many reporters and freshmen were attracted by his coming, watching as he took his graduation and commemorative photos. Yan Zheke attended the faculty photoshoot in similar attire, pretending to still be a part of them.

When everything was over, the couple escaped from the irrelevant mass and took commemorative photos at every spot with sentimental value.

They spent the following days in Songcheng revisiting memorable places. At their past dating spots, they indulged in delicacies that were familiar yet foreign. Fragments of their memories came alive.

There was disappointing news as well. Due to bad business, the spicy crab restaurant had shut down the year before. Since they couldn’t do a full run of their first date, they had to make do with a similar restaurant.

At the start of July, they left Songcheng with lingering sentiments, flying for Xiushan.

In life, the first three years of university is fleeting. But to Lou Cheng and Yan Zheke, it was the time when they, as hatchlings, opened their eyes and witnessed the world for the first time. All these memories were bone-deep and unforgettable.

…

He stepped into his house with his belongings on his back. Right as he saw Mom, she asked him, “Where’s Zheke?”

I’m your biological son…

“Mom, Ke Ke has been America for half a year, her parents want to see her too. She’ll be here tomorrow for dinner.”

“Great! I’ll swing by the market in the morning. Why are you back at this late hour? The food is already cold. Wait as I heat it up for you!” grumbled Qi Fang incessantly, walking into the kitchen with plates in her hand.

“The flight was behind schedule…” Lou Cheng explained with a helpless smile.

Lou Zhisheng appeared with a thermal flask in his hand and gave his son a once-over. “You are in good shape. Hungry? Eat something. I’m going out for a stroll.”

He lowered his volume at the last sentence to not let Qi Fang hear.

Right as Lou Zhisheng left, Qi Fang poked her head out. “Cheng, did your Dad go out?”

“Mhm,” admitted Lou Cheng.

“Seriously! Is he that addicted to chess? These days he can’t even sit still. He would have gone out right after dinner if not for your homecoming!” complained Qi Fang, retreating to the kitchen.

Dad pushed back his chess match just for me… thought Lou Cheng, pleasantly surprised. He waved at his cousins, Qi Yunfei And Chen Xiaoxiao, who were sitting in the sofa. He then walked to the table and took a picture of the food that didn’t require heating. He sent it to Yan Zheke with a snickering emoji.

“Want some?”

“Check out mine!” Yan Zheke sent pictures of a feast along with a ‘Two can play the game’ sticker. A laugh escaped Lou Cheng .

“Brother Lou Cheng, are you talking to sister-in-law?” asked Qi Yunfei. Her jagged hair added to her energetic charm and cuteness.

She scored averagely for college examination and only made it to a common university. Still, she was content and didn’t plan on repeating a year.

“Yup,” Lou Cheng replied honestly.

“You have been together for almost three and a half years, how are you still so lovey-dovey?” pressed Qi Yunfei, rather perplexed but in awe.

“Lovey-dovey? It’s more like we see many things the same way, so there’s always endless things for us to talk about,” Lou Cheng replied in amusement. “Isn’t it like that between you and Xiao Ding too?”

In fact, their previous conversation had arisen from their mutual love of food—especially Xiushan specialties!

Lou Cheng’s question brought an odd look to Qi Yunfei’s face. Beside her, Chen Xiaoxiao with baby fat-cheeks, looked towards to kitchen.

“Brother Lou Cheng, Sister Feifei broke up with him a long time ago,” she said in a whisper.

“Huh?” Lou Cheng was astonished. A strong hankering for gossip took over him. “When? What happened?”

His cousin had been dating Ding Yanbo for more than three years. A relationship that sprouted during their youthful, ingenuous middle school days. What made them break up all of a sudden?

Qi Yunfei wrinkled her nose. “He was messing around with other girls behind my back. Hmph. He specially made an account for that purpose. Turns out he used the same password he always used. One day, when I was playing on his phone, the ID piqued my interest so I tried logging in. That’s how I discovered. A plain-looking girl. No idea what he sees in her!”

“Want me to teach him a lesson?” offered Lou Cheng in a consolatory voice.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Qi Yunfei shook her head in a panic.

“Aren’t you being too forgiving?” asked Lou Cheng, perplexed.

Chen Xiaoxiao couldn’t resist laughing. “Brother Lou Cheng, Sister Fei Fei got a new boyfriend not long after the breakup. It was the boy who sat beside her. Ding Yanbo is the one regretting it now. He’s been begging her to get back together.”

A new boyfriend not long after breaking up… Lou Cheng sighed, then laughed in self-derision.

“I honestly don’t get youngsters these days…”

He helped clean up the table after dinner, then sat on the sofa chatting with his cousins while contemplating on how to spend the month in Xiushan.

Hang out with Fatty Jiang? But he doesn’t have summer breaks anymore. He’s currently working at a company in Huacheng.

Qin Rui wasn’t in Xiushan either. After getting professional his Ninth-Pin certificate, he went to Gaofen for more opportunities.

Tao Xiaofei’s father managed to get him to work and sent him away on a project. He could only come back once every few months.

…

He came to the realization that he no longer had any close friends in Xiushan to hang out with.

Everyone was fighting for their futures…

That was when a message came from Yan Zheke, along with a [stares blankly] sticker.

“Sister Jingjing is in Guanwai. Shuangshuang’s Dad made her go back to his company in Gaofen. Song Li also got a job at Gaofen. And… In short, apart from you and my relatives, I am all alone in Xiushan… It’s a little depressing…”

Two hearts beat as one… thought Lou Cheng.

“What a coincidence. I was going through my list of friends and reached the same conclusion. [tears of joy] ”

Overcome by sentiments, he added, “Perhaps it’s because we all grew up.”

…

The entire month of July, Lou Cheng and Yan Zheke stayed at their respective houses, frequently moving about. They spend some days visiting their seniors at Zhengque and Ningshui, and other days touring Jiangnan.

In the beginning of August, they began packing for their three-week-long trip.

The first stop was the Nile, where there were pyramids and mummies.