Considering himself very mature for his age and status, Lou Cheng had dreamt about tying the knot with Yan Zheke and living to ripe old age in conjugal bliss but never thought about such details. He felt lost for a moment.
Are girls more precocious than boys? Do they have a different set of mind built for planning the future with such details?
Or only a very few are like this, mature and intellectual with a nearly perfectly developed worldview and their own opinions and attitude on everything in life?
After a moment of pondering in silence, Lou Cheng answered honestly, "Of course not. I find it very normal and realistic. If my grandparents move over, my mom would be arguing with them a lot over their partiality for my uncle. Sooner or later something bad would happen."
"I think there are already many things to work on between two people in a relationship. If their original families get involved, then the two families have to try hard to make things work, which will certainly make it harder and more prone to trouble. Our parents are already in their mid-40s, pretty set in every way. It would be tough to make them change. It's better to keep some distance from each other to avoid frequent quarrels. We can go back to stay with them when we miss them. Of course, we'll take them over to look after when they are ill... " Very rarely, Yan Zheke explained her opinion in long.
She had no intention to bring this to Lou Cheng at this early stage. Instead, she wanted to leave an impact on him slowly over their daily communication and interaction. However, after getting intimate this afternoon, she felt a lot closer to him as if they were completely on the same side. It seemed a good time to reveal things hidden in her heart.
"Can't agree more... I never really thought about it... I felt there was still a long time until we had to face such issues. It was a bit early to worry about it... " said Lou Cheng while thinking deeply.
Yan Zheke smiled with her chin resting on her hands, "It's great that you never thought about it in the past. As Dirty Tong would say, I can train you better this way. Drawing on an empty piece of paper is a lot easier than fixing someone else's work!"
"Hmm... It sounds dirty!" Sneered Lou Cheng, with his brows raised.
He began to approve Ke's idea on this matter.
"You are dirty! Your head is full of dirty stuff!" snorted Yan Zheke lying on her side with her teeth grinding.
Who kissed me and touched me this afternoon?
Her words brought the earlier scene back to Lou Cheng's mind. He recalled the brilliant sunlight and the shocking beauty.
He replied a shy smile, "Ke, you are gorgeous... "
"Ahh... " Yan Zheke was puzzled by this sudden compliment but soon she realized what he was talking about from the context. Her face blushed, burning with fire.
"Cheng, you are a pervert! A terrible pervert!" She covered her head with the duvet and pounded her bed a few times.
After venting her annoyance, she sent an emoji that said "Go away", bashful, a bit indignant, proud, and sweet. "Hmm! I don't talk to perverts!"
Before Lou Cheng could write something back, she suddenly remembered something and saved a photo from Weibo. She sent it to her boyfriend and asked, "Which one is sexier? Which one do you prefer?"
One was slim and the other curvy.
Lou Cheng took a quick glance and laughed,
"You are the best!"
Yan Zheke burst into a laugh and rolled on her bed. "Ha! Now you know those standard answers!"
"Of course. Coach Yan has taught me well!" Lou Cheng laughed with his hands on his waist.
"Hmm! It's not fun when you don't fall for it!" Yan Zheke had joy in her eyes.
Their flirting continued. Qi Fang would have noticed her son's ripple if only she weren't so obsessed with the TV show.
"By the way, Ke... Is Sister Jingjing ready for a big get-together? Shall we dine with her separately?" Lou Cheng expressed his concern regarding tomorrow's dinner.
Sister Jingjing hates men...
Yan Zheke sent a salted fish, "Song Li wanted to bring her boyfriend at first. So Shuang suggested doing it all together. The more people, the more fun. I was pretty concerned about Sister Jingjing and wanted to meet her separately but she refused the trouble... It's better to treat those with some mental problem as normal to give them an opportunity to adjust themselves. The more sensitive we appear to be, the more uncomfortable they will feel and the more serious their problem will become."
"That's right... " Lou Cheng let go of this matter and decided to have a word with Fatty Jiang and Qin Rui to remind them of not bringing up the case during dinner, as Coach Yan had asked.
Tomorrow afternoon he would have to instruct the special training team of Xiushan for the preliminaries for four hours as he agreed with Chairman Wei Renjie.
At 10:30 that night, neither Lou Cheng nor Yan Zheke appeared ready to cease this conversation after the breakthrough of their relationship this afternoon. They forced themselves to say goodnight to each other ten minutes later.
Lou Cheng lay on his bed, bathing in the moonlight and recalling every detail from today. The fascinating fragrance came back to his nose and raised his spirit. He felt satisfied and firm.
"Shall we do it in Ke's home next time? Should our wedding be traditional or western? How would Ke look like in a wedding dress?" The corners of his mouth went upward as he let his thought go wild about their future. Several minutes later, he finally froze water to ice, concealed his spirit and qi, and fell asleep deeply through meditation.
Tomorrow we can see each other again!
Tomorrow will be another beautiful day!
On the other end, Yan Zheke lay on her side with her hand under her cheek, her lips pursing into a beautiful curve, her dimples showing faintly, her eyes dazzling, and her mind straying about.
She blinked before closing her eyes and then murmured,
"Cheng, good night."
The next morning, Lou Cheng got up, full of energy, and ran to the Houshui Lake to wait for his fairy.
Yan Zheke arrived a few minutes earlier than before. She intended to act as normal but Lou Cheng's smiling eyes brought her back to yesterday afternoon. She quickly turned her head away as her face turned red. They hugged and kissed good morning.
"Okay. Get to work!" She pushed her boyfriend gently, her eyes shining like stars.
"Sure! Full of energy!" Joked Lou Cheng while withdrawing his mind and preparing for his routine exercise.
Towards the end, he took out the visualizing graph and tried to understand its deep meanings.
When he once again buried his mind in the Prairie Fire Diagram, his body felt burnt and his muscles, tendons, organs, and nerves underwent subtle changes.
The feeling went away in a split second. Lou Cheng attempted to have another taste of it but he couldn't grasp it.
He didn't feel impetuous or annoyed since it was already a good start!
I'm on the right path! The experience from the visualizing graph of the Frost Force worked! The breakthrough in my relationship with Ke yesterday brought me more happiness and responsibility, which has strengthened my determination in protecting her.
He opened his eyes and turned to the girl who was training her marrow and organs.
Yan Zheke just finished and looked back subconsciously.
As their eyes met, they smiled at each other in silence.
They withdrew their eyes tacitly and went back to their training.
Yan Zheke's health had got much better and she could handle more intense training. They returned to the same spot for two more hours' exercise after breakfast.
Lou Cheng went to the library with the girl for an hour and had lunch together before heading to Gushan Martial Arts School.
Before he entered the gate, a black Audi pulled in front of him. A driver got off in a flurry and asked with great respect, "Is it Mr. Lou? The chairman sent me to pick you up for the special training."
"A special car just for me... " Lou Cheng didn't try to decline. He confirmed that Qin Rui would go on his own and took the seat behind the passenger seat. They arrived at an average looking temple that sat at the foot of Mount Xiushan after a short scenic drive.
"Welcome, Lou." Wei Renjie was waiting outside.
Lou Cheng felt much flattered. He smiled politely, "Chairman, you shouldn't have waited for me outside. I'm not a kid and I know the way."
Wei Renjie handed his bag to his secretary and walked Lou Cheng to the temple.
"I just happened to come out... We've selected 13 amateur fighters with great potential. And Sun of Professional Ninth Pin will be our leading fighter."
A martial arts hall with white stone tiles appeared. Lou Cheng saw Zhou Zhengyao and a few fighters from other clubs as well as an aged monk in a grey robe.
"This is Master Wenguang, the head of the Bodhi Temple. He's well traveled and widely known, a martial artist of Professional Sixth Pin and a senior fighter of Xiushan. I've invited him as another instructor," introduced Wei Renjie with a smile.
Wenguang put his hands against each other in front of his chest and chanted with a smile.
"At this age, I'm no longer capable like before. I'm not a match for this young warrior at all."
As he spoke, Lou Cheng felt the monk became taller and greater with a layer of golden shine as if an Arhat or a Buddha from the heavenly world. He was attempted to worship him!
In fact, Wenguang's body remained the same.
"Is this a competition? Has his bearing overwhelmed mine? Is it some secret mental trick?" Lou Cheng's eyes narrowed.