Auntie Ren brought me out of the alley and hailed a cab. She told the old driver to take us to Golden Victory Taekwondo in the DongChen district.
“Ah, so the main dojang.” the old driver said as he began to drive leisurely.
Since there was a pile of goods stacked on the front passenger seat, Auntie Ren could only sit with me in the back seats. She put the bag of underwear between us to prevent us from being too close.
Auntie Ren didn’t say anything for the first half of the trip, but then she seemed to have remembered something as she felt her own pockets. Then, she said with a slight hint of embarrassment:
“You have to pay when we get there. I didn’t bring my wallet because I was in a hurry to chase after him.”
“No problem.” I agreed. For someone as solitary as me, I’m never without my cellphone, keys, and wallet.
“You’ll also have to be responsible for any money we need for the day.”
Auntie Ren gradually became more blunt.
“Of course, of course. It’s natural for me to pay for you~”
Actually, I was thinking I still owed Xiao Qin ¥4,000 for helping me copy the Bible. Although this money was already bundled up with the ¥20,000 I said I would use to break ties with Ai ShuQiao, I still feel like I owe Xiao Qin a lot. If I don’t pay her back, I feel like I would have to work like a horse to pay her off in my next life.
Auntie Ren, on the other hand, thought I was trying to take advantage of the situation when I said it was natural to pay for her.
“What did you day? Xiao Qin might not even marry you in the future, but you’re trying to call me your mother-in-law?”
“No, no.” I lowered my head timidly.
Then, the driver who has been silent for the entire time, spoke:
“Excuse me for asking, young man, are you 18 years old?”
I replied honestly: “I’m 14.”
“Ah!” The old driver’s hand slipped and the taxi almost crashed into the guardrail on the right, “You don’t look 14.”
After a while, he sighed: “It might be because young people nowadays have better nutrition… but I thought I was early when I got married at 17. I never thought you would be discussing marriage with your mother-in-law at 14.”
Auntie Ren angrily hit the driver’s seat, “Who are you calling his mother-in-law? Watch your mouth, or I might not pay you when we get there.”
The old driver chuckled, “I know you didn’t bring your wallet and the young man has to pay, isn’t that right?” He said as he winked at me through the rearview mirror.
Soon after, the taxi stopped across the street from Golden Victory. The reason we didn’t stop closer is because a vehicle was parked in front to pick up the students.
Auntie Ren got off the car first and went towards the nearest trash can. She flipped through the underwear bag and pulled out a few pieces and threw them into the fly-infested trash.
It should be the ones that belong to Auntie Ren and Xiao Qin. It would no longer fall into the hands of a pervert, now that it’s in the filthy trash. Amen.
I paid the driver, but he didn’t even count the money, instead he smiled and said:
“Young man, make sure to treat your wife well.”
I didn’t know how to respond and left the car with a bitter smile.
As we got closer to the dojang, we could see more and more young children wearing white uniforms. They all cheerfully got on to the parked bus with their parents.
Their business is insanely popular and it’s easy making money off of kids. Why aren’t the products from our Happy Valley Love Shop suitable for kids?
After walking through a hallway that would fit four people side by side, Auntie Ren and I arrived at the waiting room. Standing behind the shining front desk was an equalling shining female receptionist.
Along the way here, my face caused the passing kids to stiffen with fear and some even began to cry.
They’re useless. The most important is courage, then strength, then martial arts. Even if you learn some flowery moves, it would be useless without courage.
But I guess it’s already good enough they didn’t implode under the pressure of my Metal Blooded Lone Wolf aura. They can come looking for me after training for another one or two hundred years.
I had a twisted smile on my face as I followed behind Auntie Ren.
The female receptionist trembled and she first determined the location of the emergency exit. Then, she forced herself to put on a professional smile and spoke to Auntie Ren:
“Hello madam, is it your first time here? Are you here to register your son?”
“He’s not my son!” Auntie Ren slammed both her hands on the counter and almost caused the receptionist to bite her tongue.
“Then, may I ask why you’re here? It’s already late and most of the students and instructors have already left. How about tomorrow…”
“Tomorrow doesn’t work.” Auntie Ren raised her voice, “Tell the master to come out, I have questions for him.”
“Madam, who are you looking for?” the receptionist blinked with confusion.
At this time, three to five students who looked like middle school students came out from the training grounds. Auntie Ren found it hard to communicate with the receptionist, so she yelled at those students:
“Tell master Xu JinSheng to come out! I’m here to challenge him!”
Damn, don’t be so emotional! Didn’t you say you would only challenge him if he tried to defend his son?
When those students heard someone was here for a challenge, it was probably a first experience for a lot of them. They decided to not go home, instead, they ran back to the training grounds with excited and yelled:
“Brothers, someone’s here for a challenge!”
“Hurry up and call instructor Wu and instructor Huang before they get too far!”
“It’s gonna be a good show. It was worth paying the thousands of dollars of tuition.”
“What school are they from? I don’t see a banner…”
“They’re probably travellers, they don’t seem like they are easy to deal with…”
Auntie Ren somehow calmed down a bit more after the clamor. She flung the underwear bag onto the counter and asked the receptionist:
“Do you recognize this bag, does it belong to young master Xu?”
“Um… he might have a bag like this, but I’m not sure…”
The receptionist felt awkward.
“Fine.” Auntie Ren tossed the bag towards me and told the receptionist: “If you don’t know, then call Xu JinSheng so he could personally verify it. Tell him Ren HongLi is looking for him. If he doesn’t come quickly, I’ll tear down his dojang!”
The receptionist picked up the phone while trembling with fear.
Auntie Ren sent a glance at me and said:
“Let’s play with them before Xu JinSheng gets here. I’m not sure why, but I feel like hitting someone.”
Auntie Ren cracked her knuckles as she stepped into the bright training grounds.
I was carrying a bag of underwear while walking closely behind like an attendant.
We suddenly came to a wide clearing. The training grounds of the main dojang was as large as twelve volleyball courts. Shock absorbing floor mats, sandbags, resting benches, drink machines, automatic sanitized towel dispensers… it was filled with various facilities.
There were also changing rooms, rest rooms, washrooms, showers, and an empty office.
The office was at the end of the training grounds. It was facing a stage that was elevated by one meter. The stage was surrounded by railings that seemed to be used in MMA or boxing fights. I guess it’s mainly for putting on exhibition matches in a taekwondo dojang.
We were surrounded by thirty or more students as we entered. They weren’t ganging up on us, but more like they wanted to get the first glimpses at the challengers.
“Huh, how come it’s a woman?”
“Don’t look down on women. Just look at the difference between the men’s and women’s national soccer team.”
“The guy behind her has a really fierce look.”
Even though I was wearing the uniform from Qing Zi Academy, the emblem already fell off. It was also really dirty from the fight and didn’t feel like a prestigious private school’s uniform. Also, Qing Zi Academy is in the southern district, while this is the eastern district, so it makes sense no one would question my identity.
By the way, my dad’s hotel is also in the eastern district. I’m not sure how close it is from here.
I was observing the students as they observed me.
They were all young and curious faces. At the moment, only four of them were older than 17.
A middle-aged man with a black belt on his white uniform walked towards the unsatisfied Auntie Ren.
“My last name is Huang, I’m the only instructor here at the moment.” he spoke prudently, “I heard madam’s last name is Ren. May I ask if you have any connections to the mayor’s personal fitness advisor?”
“I don’t have any relations with that old man.” Auntie Ren snorted, “So, you’re Xu JinSheng?”
“My, my last name is Huang…” the middle aged man repeatedly awkwardly.
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