He was shot by two pairs of severe gazes before he could finish. His voice grew softer and softer before coming to a stop completely.
These two pairs of gazes obviously came from Jiang Dingyi and Feng Shaokun sitting beside Qian Ruoyu!
God damn it, am I insane? Why on earth did I get myself involved in some children's love affairs? It was a waste of my time and lifespan... Yu Qiao didn't dare to anger the two knights in shining armor, so he could only ridicule himself in helplessness.
He was just twenty-two years old and at the rank of Amateur First Pin. His father was the junior brother of Qian Ruoyu's father. He was not a bad person, but his nature was a bit fickle. Previously, he had accepted Qian Ruoyu's invitation and joined the team because he was intent to watch a live gossip show, but now he was filled with so much regret that his intestines had turned green.
With a solemn expression, Qian Ruoyu explained seriously, "I've asked for guidance from my family's seniors. They have all judged from the match videos that Lou Cheng must undergo recovery training during these two days. If he forced himself to go on stage his right side would be full of holes. If we target him on purpose and in succession, this match won't be hopeless."
"Mm, junior sister is correct. It is I who did not figure out the situation." while Yu Qiao answered 'sincerely', he added on the inside, 'a wise man submits to circumstances'!
To be frank, his junior sister was beautiful and of okay temperament. Her only problem was that she was a little spoiled. Sometimes she would be overly greedy, and sometimes she loved to pretend that she was an adult.
Qian Ruoyu instantly blossomed into a smile seeing that she had successfully convinced senior brother Yu. She revealed the kind of youth and naivety that belonged to an eighteen years old girl and said beautifully, "Therefore, our vanguard must be a type that's well versed in ending things quickly."
When he heard this, Feng Shaokun volunteered himself and said, "You've all seen my Tiger and Crane Double Form. I won't give them the chance to roam around."
He was overall pretty handsome, with his slightly curved nose being the only flaw in his appearance. It made him looked a little arrogant and frivolous.
Before Qian Ruoyu could answer, Jiang Dingyi retorted, "You think you can end things quickly just because the enemy can't roam? The difference between Amateur First Pin and Amateur Second Pin isn't as huge as you think! The 24 Blizzard Strikes isn't some trash martial arts either! Let me be the vanguard, Ruoyu. I am tall and strong. The moment I find the opportunity to fight them head on, Seismic Palm would definitely end things quickly."
He was almost 1.9 meters tall, and his muscles were solid enough to give him the appearance of half a steel beam. His temperament was calm and dependable, but he was a little introverted and didn't like speaking too much.
Feng Shaokun abruptly jumped to his feet and laughed coldly, saying, "Since when did you manage to end your battles quickly during the first few matches? It should be the other way around, isn't it?"
Due to the intentional or otherwise care of the organizational committee, the opponents they faced during their first two matches weren't strong so that they could gather their confidence and increase their strength in the process. But no matter how much the committee cared for them, they still encountered Professional Ninth Pin fighters during their second match. Jiang Dingyi decided to fight his opponent head on in attempt to exhaust his enemy, but was caught off guard by the enemy instead and defeated in one go.
Hearing Feng Shaokun's taunts, Jiang Dingyi also jumped to his feet and glared at him, saying, "Didn't you lose in the end as well?"
Seeing that the two boys were about to start a civil war, Qian Ruoyu cut between them, held her head and said,
"I'll fight the first match..."
What an impossible situation!
… …
Meanwhile, the atmosphere was the complete opposite at Songcheng University Martial Arts Club.
"What the hell, we have to call you Coach Cheng today?" Sun Jian said with both annoyance and amusement.
Coach Shi is a little too irresponsible, isn't he?
Meanwhile, Lin Hua blushed for some strange reason beside him. It was bad enough she had to take the day off because she was experiencing menstruation, but it turned out the person she had to apply for a leave from was not the old and experienced Coach Shi, but the junior who was two semesters younger than her!
Since Yan Zheke was going to substitute her, she had purposely explained her reason to her. However, she had emphasized strongly that she shouldn't tell her condition to the boys. Now it would seem that her junior had transferred the word and applied leave for her already...
When she thought up to this point, she couldn't restrain her embarrassment and focused her gaze on the floor instead.
Li Mao removed the hot towel on his face and asked with some surprise, "Coach Shi really just left like this?"
Was he seriously not concerned about the outcome of this match at all?
"Yeah, we are participating to accumulate real combat experience anyway, so it doesn't matter who becomes the coach, right? It's the same even if we put up a dog as the coach!" Lou Cheng purposely ridiculed himself in attempt to help Li Mao loose a bit of tension.
Pu... The crowd immediately broke into laughter. Yan Zheke had even hit Lou Cheng once playfully.
When Li Mao saw that no one was paying too much gravity to the match, he inwardly let loose a sigh of relief and no longer tensed up as much as before.
Lou Cheng was just about to arrange the player order of the match when the locker room's door behind him was suddenly pushed open. Lin Que walked in while wearing a dark-colored fleece.
"Lin Que, why have you come?" Sun Jian asked in astonishment.
Lin Que said indifferently, "Isn't there a match today?"
"But you can't fight, can you?" Li Xiaowen thought that Lin Que was going to force himself.
Lin Que stared at a corner of the locker room and said expressionlessly,
"I can cheer for you guys..."
Er... Lou Cheng and Yan Zheke were first stunned by this. Then, they smiled at each other as they both noticed the change in Lin Que.
"After last week's match, it seems that my cousin finally has a collective sense of honor!" Yan Zheke moved closer to Lou Cheng's ears, failing to control the excitement and happiness in her voice as she said this.
Lou Cheng said with slight puzzlement, "He already has a collective sense of honor before, hasn't he? Didn't he feel very sad and painful when we lost the competition last semester?"
"Er, how should I explain this... in the past, he paid attention to the martial arts club for my uncle's sake, but to him, the only person in this collective is himself. When he wasn't attending a match himself, he couldn't care a little about the others. Mm, that is exactly how he looks down on you all~" Yan Zheke laughed in a low tone. The warm breath she exhaled brushed against Lou Cheng's ears and caused him to feel weak on the inside.
"Itchy..." Lou Cheng turned his head sideways and laughed in a small voice. Meanwhile, everyone else in the room was shocked by Lin Que's performance and was transfixed for a time, and could only stare at the miraculous sight before them.
Since when did the maverick, young swordsman Lin learn to cheer for his companions?
Yan Zheke laughed in a low tone, "That's payback for you speaking beside my ear like this every time!"
Lou Cheng laughed twice drily and didn't dare to continue down this line of talk further. He changed the topic and said, "During last week's match, your cousin and I worked together and went all out to obtain the ultimate victory. Perhaps it is because of that reason that he has gained a little bit of collective sense of honor. Hehe, how should you thank me?"
"Do we still need thanks between us?" Yan Zheke purposely opened her eyes wide and answered him innocently.
When he saw that Sun Jian and the others had turned around to look at him, Lou Cheng dispelled his thought to banter flirtatiously with Yan Zheke and said with a straight face,
"I will arrange today's player order. Senior sister Lin Hua injured herself a little while she was training, so Yan Zheke will be substituting her instead. She has never participated in any previous university martial arts tournaments or challenge tournaments. Therefore, Dream Squad must know nothing about her exact level of skill. In that case, she has the chance to surprise our enemy and come out with a win. Therefore, you will be heading up first, Yan Zheke."
Yan Zheke nodded and answered seriously,
"Okay."
Her body trembled slightly more due to excitement than anxiety. Meanwhile, Lin Hua exhaled a sigh of relief and was very grateful for Lou Cheng's attentiveness.
While Guo Qing, Li Xiaowen and Li Mao were surprised by Yan Zheke's substitution, Lou Cheng continued, "Senior brother Sun Jian, you are the captain today, so you will be the one to hold the lines at the end. Hehe, the heavy burden is all on you."
He purposely said this so that Li Mao could feel a bit less nervous.
"No problem!" Sun Jian answered in an outspoken and straightforward manner.
Finally, Lou Cheng looked at Li Mao, "Senior brother Li Mao, you will be entering the arena second. Take the time to observe the enemy later."
He refrained from saying consoling words that might make Li Mao relax at this moment. This was to avoid making him nervous due to special treatment.
"Mm." Li Mao was a lot less tensed than before.
After arranging the player order, Lou Cheng looked at the time and said,
"There is still a while before we enter the arena. Prepare yourselves. You may close your eyes and regulate your breathing."
His master had already talked about the opponent's situation this morning. He would combine his teaching and the enemy's exact player order and provide advice in secret later!
Lou Cheng had just said this when Yan Zheke picked up her bag and said hurriedly, "Senior sister Lin, Qing, please help me roll my hair together..."
In a match that wasn't too important or one was confident in, a female fighter would normally go up the arena with a simple ponytail. In reality though, the best decision to make was either to keep a short hair length or wear their hair in a bun. This was to avoid their hair affecting themselves in intense combat or being targeted specifically by the enemy.
Yan Zheke's family had a long history in martial arts. Since she had already made preparations for the possibility that she might be fighting today, she had brought a complete set of complementary tools with her. Obeying the guiding principles of convenience over attractiveness, she quickly did her hair with Lin Hua and Guo Qing's help and stood in front of Lou Cheng.
When Lou Cheng saw the girl's white and delicate neck, beautiful lines and added traces of maturity after her hair was tied into a bun, he could not help but praise her, "You look so beautiful!"
Yan Zheke's countenance was more on the beautiful side, and her temperament was relatively cultured too. However, she looked to have bright eyes and white teeth after she tied her hair into a bun.
"Do you mean I don't look beautiful ordinarily?" Yan Zheke humphed softly with joy in her eyes.
Lou Cheng laughed mischievously and said, "It is a different kind of beauty..."
Yan Zheke pursed her lips into a smile and didn't continue along that line any further. She extended a hand, helped Lou Cheng to straighten his collar and pat away the dust on his clothes before saying gently,
"You are the coach. You need to look more spirited, get it?"
"Understood, Coach Yan!" Lou Cheng answered with a smile before turning around to clap once,
"Let's head out. Between amateur fighters, one or two Pins of difference really isn't that big at all!"
Once he said this, he walked to Lin Que standing next to the door, smiled and stretched out his fist.
Lin Que was startled for a moment, but in the end he tightened his hand and bumped fists with him. He said in a soft voice,
"Do your best..."
… …
The audiences inside the martial arts arena were very obviously disorganized. They had only started to cheer sparsely after they saw their home team appearing.
Knowing that no one here recognized her, Li Liantong waved like a mad woman at Yan Zheke and vented the pressure that she accumulated daily.
When the home team approached their seats, Li Liantong finally said in astonishment, "Pak Choi, Ru, I don't think they have a coach, do they?"
In her impression, the martial arts club's coach was a white-haired old man.
Zong Yanru stretched her neck forwards for a better look, and suddenly she froze with startlement,
"Lou Cheng just took the coach's seat..."
"What? He's today's coach?" Li Liantong and Shi Xiangyang were both surprised by this.
… …
At the Dream Squad's seat area, Qian Ruoyu pouted slightly and said with a tinge of dissatisfaction,
"Isn't Songcheng University Martial Arts Club looking down on us a little too much?"
Her own family seniors had emphasized repeatedly that Songcheng University Martial Arts Club's coach had a deep background and tremendous strength. They had told them not to do any crazy and keep cool. However, as it turned out that their opponent's coach had skipped the match entirely and let that Lou Cheng assume a coach's position instead!
They really think of us as kids, don't they?!
"Hmph, we have to show them what we're made of." both Feng Shaokun and Jiang Dingyi felt that they were looked down upon. They looked very eager to fight.