The Martial Arts School

"Hey, Simon! I heard about yesterday—thank you for saving me."

Upon arriving at the Buy More store, Chuck immediately sought out Simon.

Simon glanced up at Chuck and replied weakly, "No need to thank me, you're my friend."

"Still, I wanted to say thanks!"

Noticing Simon's lethargic demeanor, Chuck curiously asked, "What's wrong? You don't usually look like this."

Simon sighed. "Tomorrow night, Meg invited me to an art auction."

"Cool! Tango dancing, discussing the future—wow, that's exactly the kind of life I dream of," Chuck joked.

Hearing this, Simon couldn't help but laugh bitterly. "If I were successful in my career, I wouldn't mind attending such events. But you know, I'm just a high school student, and I'm still working part-time at Buy More."

Understanding Simon's dilemma, Chuck asked, "If you don't want to go, why not just decline?"

"Because Meg specifically invited me, and I don't want to disappoint her," Simon shrugged.

Chuck sighed in admiration. "Wow, I envy the relationship you two have."

"You've got Sarah—she's a great girlfriend," Simon reminded him.

Chuck forced a smile. "You know… things between us might not work out."

"You haven't noticed? I can tell—Sarah has feelings for you," Simon said knowingly.

"Haha, so funny!" Chuck laughed sarcastically.

"What are you two laughing about?" Just then, Sarah appeared behind Chuck.

"We were just talking about Sarah—" Chuck began, but quickly caught himself. "Hey, Sarah! Do you need something?"

Sarah didn't press the matter. Instead, she smiled and said, "I came to find my boyfriend."

She then turned to Simon. "Can I borrow Chuck for a moment?"

Simon shrugged. "Of course, that's your right."

The two left, heading into the home theater room, drawing the curtains as they entered.

If Simon hadn't seen Casey follow them inside, he might have thought Chuck and Sarah were about to have some alone time. But now, he was certain they were on a mission again.

---

The next day was Saturday, but Simon woke up early.

After breakfast, he drove a few blocks away to Chinatown.

Chinatown First Street, No. 8347.

This was the address of a martial arts school where Simon had trained in Chinese martial arts for three years.

As he slid open the door and entered, he saw a group of young students in kung fu uniforms diligently practicing.

Among them was a striking female instructor, dressed in a black martial arts uniform, supervising their training.

Perhaps due to the timing of his arrival, or maybe because she noticed him, the instructor blew her whistle after a set of movements was completed.

"Alright, everyone, take a thirty-minute break," she announced.

"Yes, Master!" The students responded in fluent Mandarin, clasping their hands in salute.

Once the students dispersed, the instructor walked over and embraced Simon. "Long time no see, Simon!"

"It's only been half a month, Su Yang. Are you saying that 'one day apart feels like three autumns'?" Simon teased.

Su Yang, the daughter of the Chinese ambassador to the U.S.

Since she took her mother's surname, very few people knew of her diplomatic background.

"Simon, your Mandarin is getting more fluent. Looks like you've been practicing!" Su Yang praised.

Simon simply smiled, choosing not to explain.

After all, Mandarin was his native language in his past life. If he weren't fluent, it would be a disgrace.

"How's the school doing? Do you need any help?" Simon asked.

Even though he had graduated from this school six months ago, he still visited every now and then to check on Su Yang and the academy.

"It's going well! More and more people are getting interested in martial arts, so we have new students enrolling every month," Su Yang explained.

Hearing this, Simon was pleased. Having trained here for three years, he felt a connection to the place.

Although, originally, Simon had used the martial arts school as a cover for his fighting skills and abilities, he did end up learning a lot here.

"By the way, did you come alone today? Where's your girlfriend?" Su Yang asked.

Simon shrugged. "She's preparing for tonight's banquet."

"You mean the art auction at the Hilton?" Su Yang inquired.

Simon nodded. "Yep, that's the one."

Seeing that Su Yang knew about it, he asked, "Wait, don't tell me—you got invited too?"

"Yep, I'll be attending with my parents tonight," Su Yang smiled.

Thinking about it, Simon quickly understood. Given that Su Yang's father was the Chinese consul in Los Angeles, it made sense for him to be invited to such a high-profile event.

"That's great! At least I'll have someone to talk to tonight," Simon said in relief.

These kinds of events were full of business elites flattering each other. As someone with no background, no degree (yet), and no career, Simon knew he would just be background decoration.

Having a familiar face to chat with would make the night far less tedious.

"If you don't like going, why are you still attending?"

"Because Meg really wants me to go. You know me—I don't want to say no to her," Simon replied.

Su Yang laughed. "Love shouldn't be like this, Simon. Sometimes, you need to learn to say no to your partner."

Hearing that, Simon rolled his eyes. "Please! You've been single since birth—don't try to give me love advice."

"You've never heard of Confucius saying—"

"I know, I know! 'Among any three people, there must be one I can learn from,' right?" Simon interrupted.

Clap! Clap!

Before Su Yang could respond, an elderly voice accompanied by a slow applause came from the side.

"Simon, you've improved a lot. You even remember Confucius' teachings."

Turning around, Simon saw an elderly man leaning on a cane, his eyes devoid of sight.

"Master You!" Simon immediately greeted.

Master You, though blind, possessed an extraordinary ability to locate people by sound. In most environments, his blindness barely hindered him.

Despite appearing frail and feeble, Simon knew that in his prime, Master You had been a grandmaster of Huo Family Fist.

"It's been a long time, Simon! Welcome back," Master You said as he patted Simon's shoulder.