Chapter 88
Knight" said, "Welcome Young Tiger, how's your training for martial arts recently?"
"Not too bad, very soon I'll obtain a professional level!" Lou Cheng replied, purposely used a "cackling with hands on the hip" emoji.
"Road to the Arena" laughed and said, "You got to explain what do you mean by 'very soon'? Regarding cosmic distance ladder, three to five years are considered very soon as well."
The others joined in and cracked jokes about it, making the atmosphere lively. Just then, "Brahman" lady gave out 20 Angbaos with 10 yuan each.
As Lou Cheng was inexperienced in s.n.a.t.c.hing Angbaos and he was at the same time chatting with Yan Zheke, by the time he saw the Angbaos, he had already missed it. He took the opportunity to take a closer look at Brahman's profile picture. The picture she used was probably a real photo of her, with her hair tied in plaits on both sides and placed in front. She had delicate features and looked pretty cute, with a child-like looking face.
"This kid is indeed a freshman at junior high..." Lou Cheng murmured to himself. He previously heard from the forum that "Brahman" had just graduated from primary school and was very childish. From the way she expressed herself on the forum, it did seem to be true, but he had never gotten the chance to confirm it personally through photos.
"Those who took my Angbaos, faster help me to recommend my post!" "Brahman" commanded as she used a "swinging whip" emoji, followed by a link to her post.
Though Lou Cheng didn't manage to s.n.a.t.c.h the Angbaos, he clicked on the link out of curiosity and saw the t.i.tle of the post
"Lou Cheng forum is here to greet all with a Happy New Year! We welcome all to visit often to boost the popularity~~"
"Lou Cheng forum... What's that? " Lou Cheng's jaw dropped, portraying a standard dumbstruck expression.
A Lou Cheng forum actually exists?
He was bewildered for a moment, before he quickly clicked on the link in the thread.
A new forum page opened, and the first thing he saw was a picture of himself standing in the arena, looking determined and strong.
"Holy cow, this is really my forum... when was it built?" Lou Cheng was feeling shocked, yet excited and jovial. He looked further down and saw the description text for the forum.
"This is a private forum of Lou Cheng from Songcheng University Martial Arts Club, where it contains every detail of him. We welcome you to join us, and together, we shall protect him to grow stronger."
"Protect... " Lou Cheng thought to himself. He peered at the moderator's name and
In a cozy bedroom, Yan Xiaoling was scrolling the forum when she suddenly sneezed. She simpered and said to herself,
"Who's talking about me?"
Soon, she returned her attention to a very important thing which she recalled. Yes, it was decided, she would aim for the School of Arts in Songcheng University!
When it was almost dinner, Lou Cheng's uncle, Ma Guoqin, was finally home with his youngest son, Ma Jiale.
"Where have you been to, Uncle? We've been waiting for you for a long while." Lou Cheng asked with a smirk.
Ma Guoqin pretended to be angry and replied, "This son of mine is too mischievous, so I got to tag along to get some firecrackers for later."
He used to be a colleague of Lou Zhisheng, Lou Cheng's father while working as a driver in the goods delivery unit. Even after the enterprize went bankrupt, he did not give up as gathering some colleagues to help others with long distance delivery. Though it was tiring, the profits were good. With the recent trend in online cabs booking, he quitted that job and used his savings to purchase a car, which at the same time, he could be a part-time private driver.
Talking about this, most of the people from Lou Cheng's family used to work in that bankrupt enterprize, which was also a unique feature at that time. Fortunately, when it went bankrupt, Lou Cheng's grandparents had already retired and were living on pension funds, so they were not much affected. There was a period when Lou Cheng's family had a very hard time and he had to go over to his grandfather's house every two to three days to have his meals. Lucky that his second uncle, Lou Zhiqiang, was not mean and treated him well.
At the table, everyone no longer had a worried look on their faces as the bitter and dilemma period had long gone. They were chatting in a jovial mood, creating a lively and cozy atmosphere. Even for Lou Yuanwei, whose restaurant had just shut down, had let himself free as his words sparkled with wisdom. Afterall, there were no debts left uncleared, wasn't it? And he still had a job, wasn't it?
Lou Cheng's grandparents wiped their tears upon seeing this scene, feeling extremely emotional about it.
The old couple was quite interesting as well. Since young, Lou Cheng knew that his grandmother was easily agitated and had a very bad temper, so his grandfather would usually handle the family matters. However, recently, his grandfather's temper was getting weirder and weirder, whereas his grandmother became much more forgiving, so she had ended up handling with the family matters.
The whole family sat together to catch up and had dinner, then gathered around the elderly to watch the celebration party at night. When the clock struck ten, Lou Cheng and his parents stood up, preparing to leave, and had planned to call a cab to fetch them. However, his uncle-in-law, Ma Guoqin, initiated to send them home, which saved them many troubles.
When they got home, Lou Cheng had initially sat at the sofa, chatted with his parents and accompanied him to watch the television. When it was about 11:40 p.m. and the surrounding was filled with the noises of the firecrackers, he stood up and walked to the balcony. He then called Yan Zheke from the record list of his recent calls.
As for why he had called her this early was to prevent any last minute hiccups. What if Yan Zheke received other calls at exactly 12 a.m.?
"h.e.l.lo, Cheng?" A familiar soft and clear voice was heard from the other end of the phone. It was Yan Zheke.
Lou Cheng sounded excited intentionally and effused, "Tell you something. I'd just called Coach s.h.i.+ to greet him with a Happy New Year, and he suggested planning for actual combat practice starting next semester."
"Actual combat practice?" Yan Zheke suddenly became interested and excited.
Lou Cheng smirked and added, "He said that I am now almost of a professional level. Together with your cousin and everyone's improvements in martial arts, we will be able to form a team for the preliminaries next year!"
"Preliminaries!" Yan Zheke repeated with a slightly higher pitch voice, vividly revealing that she was anxious and excited upon hearing it. She added, "We can actually go for preliminaries!"
"Yup, I was feeling the same way when I heard it. I was totally excited for it." Lou Cheng honestly commented.
Just then, Yan Zheke lowered her voice and said, "Not sure if I have the opportunity to partic.i.p.ate in it with my current level... "
"You've acquired with basic meditation skill and have some grounding to begin with. In addition, the talent in martial arts runs in your family, so I believe you'll easily achieve a level of Amateur Third Pin after a year, which is good enough to be a subst.i.tute." Lou Cheng immediately encouraged her.
"Yes, I must work even harder. Starting with the first day after New Year, I will wake up early to practice to get a good start!" Yan Zheke said with determination, to the extent that Lou Cheng could even imagine the look of her clenching her fist and pouting her mouth, which made him smiled.
"Oh yes, what's your cousin's level now?" he asked, changing the topic to drag some time while waiting for the clock to strike midnight.
True enough, Yan Zheke's attention moved on to the next topic as she pondered before answering. "The way he trains himself is crazy. Grandpa said that his vital energy and blood had reached its peak at his current level, so next, he will need to train to restrain himself. This is to integrate his body and skills into one, which may take a few months, to as long as three to five years."
She didn't mention the possibility of failing, as she was very confident in Lin Que.
Lou Cheng followed up on the topic, and soon, there were sounds of the firecrackers all around him. The sounds were so loud that no other noises could be heard, and the same firecrackers sounds could be heard from the other side of the phone.
It was midnight. The eve was over, and it was New Year!
After a few minutes, the sound of the firecrackers became weaker. Lou Cheng was glad that the call was not cut off as he heard the soft breathing sound from the other side of the phone, and recalled that Yan Zheke could also hear his breathing sound over the phone.
He calmed his heart, suppressed his excitement, and leaned his back on the wall. He pursed his lips, and with a gentle smile, he said in a low voice,
"Happy New Year."
Over the phone, he heard a gentle cheerful reply, "Happy New Year."
That moment was heart-warming and a sense of happiness was in the air. Lou Cheng looked out and saw the colorful fireworks in the air. Again, he lowered his voice and added,
"Wish you happiness in the new year."
Yan Zheke chuckled and replied, "Wish you happiness in the new year as well."
Though her reply was not loud, it lingered in Lou Cheng's heart.
The both of them did not speak after that. Over the phone, they quietly listened to each other's breathing and the sound of the firecrackers, which depicted a fresh start.
Again, they were a year older!
After a while, Yan Zheke spoke, "Are you still training tomorrow?"
"Of course. As long as I'm not seriously ill or injured, I'm gonna persevere on with my training. A new year must have a better start. Not to mention that you're gonna wake up early to train as well, I can't possibly lose to my role model." Lou Cheng answered with a grin.
All of a sudden, Yan Zheke scolded "angrily", "Then you should be in bed! It's already late, and you're gonna wake up at 5:30 a.m.!"
Even though Lou Cheng got scolded, he was not mad about it. Instead, he chortled and said, "That's because I was waiting to say 'Happy New Year' to you?"
"Alright, I need to go to bed as well. Gonna wake early, gonna wake early!" Yan Zheke murmured to herself, before she added with a sweet voice, "Good night Cheng~"
"Good night Coach Yan, and sweet dreams." Lou Cheng smiled and waited for Yan Zheke to hang up.
He returned to the living room. As he was feeling excited and joyful, his words gushed out from his mouth the moment he saw his parents,
"Dad, Mom, happy new year!"
I am really very happy!