Chapter 181
pponents in this ranking event, waiting for her final match tonight.
"Sister Wen's match is at 4:30. Let's go back to the hotel and rest! I'm so exhausted!" said Guo Qing after joining Lou Cheng and Yan Zheke, cheerful and noisy.
Robust and vigorous as Guo Qing also felt exhausted after five fights in two days. She wanted to recover as much as possible.
The most important match is to take place tonight!
The schedule was fair enough that her rival would meet her after five matches.
Yan Zheke had little knowledge about others' progress except for Sun Jian's loss as her full attention was concentrated on her own matches. She asked curiously, "Does Sister Wen have a good chance of qualifying?"
They all encountered a tough rival this morning and lost the match.
"A pretty big chance. Ke, don't you know that the quotas for Amateur Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and Seventh Pin are much larger? The best two of each group can advance," answered Guo Qing.
The martial arts a.s.sociation arranged it this way to encourage fighters of lower levels to pursue higher amateur ranks. This year 296 people signed up for 50 amateur fourth pin certificates. All combatants were divided into 50 groups and the best two of each group would advance to compete with winners of another group. They had a 17% chance of qualifying while those aiming at the Amateur Second Pin had less than a 10% probability!
Less talented, Li Xiaowen, Wu Meng and Jiang Fusheng were extremely hard working. They never missed one training day, which was much better than most of their compet.i.tors. Besides, the 24 Blizzard Strikes was no casual style. Unless they were extremely unlucky, they would eventually get qualified for the Amateur Fourth Pin after one or two failed attempts. However, it would be an entirely different story when it came to higher levels as many martial arts club members and martial arts school students partic.i.p.ated.
"I see..." Yan Zheke wiped the frown off her face, feeling very glad for her senior brothers and sisters.
A happy person wanted happiness for all the others!
Li Mao and Lin Hua finished earlier than Yan Zheke. Thanks to their lucky draw, they advanced with a perfect mark.
Back in the hotel, Guo Qing went straight to her room. Lou Cheng took out the room key and asked Yan Zheke as opening the door,
"Ke, take a shower quickly. The sooner we ma.s.sage, the more you recover. Don't get any invisible injury."
As soon as the words slipped out of his mouth, a few thoughts came to his head.
We'll be alone in a twin room again...
Ke has succeeded in the rank event. No more match is awaiting her...
Pong-pong-pong! His heart was beating fast and his lips were dry, looking forward to something and expecting something.
In his heavy breath, Yan Zheke's body started s.h.i.+vering. She lowered her head, watching the carpet to one side, and whispered,
"Cheng, Cheng, what about... You come to our room later..."
Ahh? Lou Cheng was lost for a second but soon realized the girl's intention. She wanted Guo Qing to be there during their ma.s.sage so they wouldn't be alone in a hotel room again.
A brief disappointment hit him. He turned to look at Yan Zheke who was secretly glancing at him. She moved her eyes away like a timid deer, shy and terrified.
"How adorable... She's not ready..." Lou Cheng talked to himself while heaving a sigh and smiled.
"Sure. Give me a call after a shower!"
Yan Zheke's dimples crept into her cheeks slowly. Beams shone in her eyes. She called quietly,
"Cheng..."
"Yes?" asked Lou Cheng, confused.
The girl, smiling, turned around without answering and waved before entering her room agilely.
As the door closed, Lou Cheng's mobile beeped for a new text message.
He checked and saw a shy emoji from Yan Zheke.
"You're perfect!"
"Cheng, you're perfect..." The line instantly wiped out Lou Cheng's disappointment and sadness. He broke into a laugh, happy and satisfied.
Back in his room, he opened the tap and washed his face with cold water, relieving the pain in his head and the weariness in his body.
Ma.s.saging with Thunder Roar Zen would consume a great amount of strength and he recovered with regular ma.s.sage motions. A long physiotherapy had drained him to his limit.
Gazing at his face in the mirror, high-spirited with some weariness, Lou Cheng took a deep breath and started to review his earlier behavior. His att.i.tude was
Lou Cheng woke up when the light began to fail. In the warm orange lamplight, Yan Zheke was reading the textbook she forgot to put back to the shelf. Her figure viewed from behind was slim and graceful.
"What time is it?" asked Lou Cheng, puzzled. He reached out for his mobile but his head was still empty.
Yan Zheke turned to look at him but rapidly turned her head back, her face flus.h.i.+ng. "6:10."
"6:10..." Lou Cheng's mobile was showing the same time and two missed calls from Sun Jian.
His head remained blank for a dozen seconds and then suddenly sobered up. He started to reproach himself, upset. "I, I slept over..."
His loved girl asked him out but he slept over...
Yan Zheke turned her face sideways, biting her lips. She said with a bright smile,
"I didn't wake you up on purpose. You were so much tired... We'll have many opportunities in the future."
Amused by her joyful voice, Lou Cheng felt much better at once.
"True. We'll have many, many opportunities!"
He got out of bed and put on shoes, intending to wash his face to wake himself up completely before returning Senior Brother Sun Jian's call.
Yan Zheke secretly glanced at his lips as he pa.s.sed by her on his way to the washroom and hastily turned back to the textbook. She said seriously, "We should probably check out."
Their rooms were paid until the next day, but they needed to have dinner, and then cheer for their teammates in the martial arts arena before heading back to old campus together.
Lou Cheng, standing outside of the washroom, was interrupted by a knock at the door, followed by a shout from Sun Jian.
"Cheng, are you there?"
"Yeah! I'm in!" answered Lou Cheng loudly as he turned the door handle.
Yan Zheke behind him just had her stuff packed. She blurted out,
"Don't..."
She halted when Lou Cheng pulled the door open, looking at her in great confusion.
Sun Jian standing by the door said with a smile, "Cheng, did you fall asleep? You didn't answer my calls. It's time to check out. We'll go to the martial arts arena together to cheer for them."
"Yes, brother." Lou Cheng turned to face him with a grin.
Sun Jian's eyes locked on his face, astonished and stunned. He began to tease him with a sneer.
"Cheng..."
"Yup?" answered Lou Cheng.
Sun Jian patted his shoulder and advised earnestly,
"Remember always to wipe your mouth after!"
"Excuse me?" Lou Cheng was confused.
Sun Jian shot his brows upward, indicating his understanding. He walked away towards the elevator, humming, without asking questions.
Guo Qing just said Yan Zheke was not in her room...
"What the heck is going on?" Lou Cheng was completely lost and turned to the washroom. Yan Zheke held her textbook in front of her chest and kept her head low, with two dimples in her cheeks. She said quickly, "I'm going back to pack up."
She ran by Lou Cheng agilely and went straight out of the room.
"Strange..." Lou Cheng shook his head as he walked into the washroom. He glanced at the mirror subconsciously.
He was stunned by the pretty, familiar lipstick color on his lips.
"What the heck?" He became wide awake, taking out his phone, a bit annoyed but more amused. He wrote Yan Zheke a message, starting with an
"You rogue girl!"
A smile of joy climbed on his face as that message went through. He had a good taste of the girly scent before was.h.i.+ng it off.
Hmm... Peach flavor...
Yan Zheke replied a miserable emoji. "I'm innocent! You pervert! I was ma.s.saging your muscles when you pinned me down semi asleep! You kissed me in your sleep!"
"Really?" asked Lou Cheng, adding an emoji with a question mark on top.
Did I kiss Yan Zheke by instinct in my sleep?
What a skill!
Yan Zheke answered with a righteous looking emoji.
"Not really!"
Hmm! I wouldn't have left any evidence behind if I could wipe it off without waking you up!
Phew... Lou Cheng broke into a laugh as he was certain the girl kissed him in his sleep. He wished he was awake to enjoy the beauty of this kiss and respond pa.s.sionately!
In the evening, Jiang Fusheng was defeated by a competent opponent, while Guo Qing, Li Xiaowen and Wu Meng pa.s.sed the final test and got the Amateur Fourth Pin certificate. Li Mao got very lucky in his last match where his rival was injured in his previous fight that he became an Amateur Second Pin fighter.
The ordinary looking, quiet Lin Hua surprised everyone by winning six fights and qualifying for the Amateur Third Pin, which made her boyfriend Sun Jian a bit jealous.
The next morning, Lou Cheng continued to visualize the Frozen Ground Diagram, memorizing the subtle changes in his muscles, tendons and organs little by little.
He was in no rush as he knew it would take a long time.
At the beginning of the martial arts special training, Geezer s.h.i.+ clapped his hands.
"You all did well in this Ranking Event and didn't bring shame to my face. Today we'll do some rehab work."
He quickly glanced through Lou Cheng, Lin Que and Yan Zheke before continuing with a laugh.
"By the way, the Azure Dragon Squad has requested for the special compet.i.tion format."
"Ahh?" Lou Cheng and his mates had no clue what the coach was talking about.