Chapter 29 – The Truth and Discrepancies

“Uh…”

Lu Yuan’s response took Lin Zhiqin by surprise. He then looked at Lu Yuan with a hint of approval in his eyes and said with some emotion, “It’s rare for someone your age to understand the importance of sharing family responsibilities. However, earning enough to cover tuition and become an official disciple is not that easy.”

“Why?” Lu Yuan asked, puzzled. “I thought that once you become an official disciple, you could receive a stipend from the martial arts gym every month, along with meal allowances and other benefits?”

“Do you think the martial arts gym is a charity?” Lin Zhiqin shook his head with a smile.

“The martial arts gym does provide some benefits to official disciples, but they still have to pay tuition, which is even higher than what regular students pay. Do you understand the principle of ‘valuable knowledge isn’t given away freely’?

If becoming an official disciple meant the gym would pay you, our coaches would have been sleeping on the streets long ago.”

“What about martial artists certified by the martial arts association?”

“They also have to pay an annual fee to the association. Otherwise, their rank certificate will become invalid the following year.”

“….”

Lu Yuan’s face darkened.

What Lin Zhiqin described was completely different from what he had understood, effectively shattering his long-held plans.

“The information you heard probably confused the concepts of official disciples and core disciples. Core disciples do receive better benefits and a salary, but they also need to help the gym with various tasks. Before getting paid, they must sign a contract with the gym. Moreover, the criteria for becoming a core disciple are much higher.”

“I think the only way to meet your expectations — receiving higher-level training from the gym for free, not having to do anything except practice martial arts, and getting paid every month — is to have one specific status.”

“What is it?” Lu Yuan asked.

Lin Zhiqin glanced at Lu Yuan and smiled, “A direct disciple.”

Lu Yuan was stunned.

At that moment, the small door of the private room creaked open from the outside.

The middle-aged woman from earlier walked in with a smile, carrying two dishes.

“The pork kidney and chicken are ready.”

She placed the two dishes in front of them.

The pork kidney was stir-fried with red chili peppers, and the chicken was served in a clay pot.

The chicken was stewed with pig trotters, its soup thick and gelatinous. The meat was so tender it fell apart with a poke from the chopsticks, clearly having been simmered for a long time. Just by its appearance, it looked incredibly appetizing.

“Try it. The pork kidney and chicken here are the specialties,” Lin Zhiqin encouraged Lu Yuan. He then turned to the middle-aged woman and said, “Please bring us some rice.”

He glanced at Lu Yuan again and added, “A lot of rice.”

“Got it,” the middle-aged woman nodded with a smile. “You martial artists sure have big appetites.”

Lu Yuan didn’t stand on ceremony with Lin Zhiqin and immediately started eating with his chopsticks.

He was in a pretty bad mood and needed food to lift his spirits.

The two dishes tasted quite good, even if they weren’t exactly spectacular. But Lu Yuan had never been picky about food. He could easily devour a large bowl of the cafeteria’s offerings at school.

Lu Yuan tore off a chicken leg, holding it in his left hand, while his right hand, wielding the chopsticks, picked at other dishes.

As he ate, he asked Lin Zhiqin, “What exactly is a direct disciple?”

Lu Yuan had completely relaxed by this point, a far cry from the nervous high school student who had been tense and deferential earlier.

His tone with Lin Zhiqin had also become more casual.

Initially, he had been wary of Lin Zhiqin not signing off for him, so he had behaved somewhat submissively.

But now…

Lin Zhiqin’s words had shattered Lu Yuan’s illusions about becoming an official disciple. Though he hadn’t verified it, upon reflection, it made sense.

His previous ideas seemed naive in retrospect, so he was inclined to believe what Lin Zhiqin had said.

Lu Yuan’s desire to become an official disciple had faded significantly.

Whether Lin Zhiqin signed for him or not no longer mattered, and his mindset shifted to viewing them as equals.

“A direct disciple,” Lin Zhiqin began, picking up a slice of pork kidney with his chopsticks and chewing it slowly, “means being personally accepted by the master. It represents the true core inheritance of the martial arts gym.”

Lu Yuan took a big bite of the chicken leg in his hand and smiled at Lin Zhiqin. “So, Coach Lin, do you think I have a chance to become a direct disciple?”

Lin Zhiqin could sense the teasing undertone in Lu Yuan’s question. He frowned slightly but quickly relaxed.

“I can give you a chance,” Lin Zhiqin said, looking straight at Lu Yuan.

Just as he finished speaking, the private room door opened once more.

The middle-aged woman returned, carrying braised spare ribs, a plate of green vegetables, and the rice Lin Zhiqin had requested.

“If you need more, just let me know. The fish will take a bit longer; it’s already prepped and ready to cook,” the middle-aged woman said, setting the dishes down. She couldn’t help but compliment, “Coach Lin, the students you bring here always look so spirited!”

Lin Zhiqin smiled but didn’t respond.

Lu Yuan grabbed the bowl of rice and filled it to the brim. He then started devouring it with the newly arrived ribs and vegetables.

The stir-fried pork kidney began to reveal its true charm, its spicy and delicious flavor making it a perfect companion to the rice.

When Lu Yuan finished his bowl of rice and looked up, he noticed that Lin Zhiqin hadn’t touched his food. At some point, Lin Zhiqin had lit a cigarette and was quietly watching him.

Lu Yuan pulled a napkin from the box on the table and meticulously wiped the grease from between his fingers, which had been holding the chicken leg.

Suddenly, he blurted out, “The last time you came to this place, you must have brought Yang Jiandong, right?”

Lin Zhiqin’s hand, holding the cigarette, trembled slightly, but his face remained expressionless.

“I bet you said the same thing to Yang Jiandong. Probably not just him, either,” Lu Yuan continued.

He finished cleaning his hands, took another napkin to wipe his mouth, and then stood up from his chair. With a sincere expression, he said to Lin Zhiqin, “Thank you for the meal, Coach Lin. I’m full now. The food at this noodle restaurant is indeed better than the hospital cafeteria’s. Goodbye, Coach Lin.”

Lin Zhiqin’s eyes visibly flickered when he heard the word “hospital.”

Seeing Lu Yuan pulling out his chair to leave, Lin Zhiqin couldn’t hold back any longer and called out, “Wait!”

“What else do you want to say, Coach Lin?” Lu Yuan asked calmly, looking at him.

“Sit down. Let’s talk,” Lin Zhiqin urged, gesturing for Lu Yuan to take a seat again.

Lu Yuan thought for a moment and decided to hear what else Lin Zhiqin might come up with to convince him.

Seated across from each other at the small table, with several dishes between them, they prepared for an honest conversation.

Lin Zhiqin took a deep breath, stubbed out his cigarette, looked Lu Yuan in the eye, and began, “I think you might have misunderstood something. Why don’t you tell me what you think I’m trying to do?”

Now that the secret was out, Lu Yuan had nothing to hold back. He responded directly, “You’re just trying to trick me into fighting in underground boxing, like you did with Yang Jiandong—for money, right?”

“Underground boxing?” Lin Zhiqin was momentarily stunned and then frowned. “It seems you’ve really misunderstood.”

He gave a bitter smile and admitted, “I won’t deny that I had the idea of getting you to compete because I indeed need money, and for some more personal reasons. But these are all legitimate martial arts competitions. Anyone can find the registration details online, and they’re all filed with the martial arts association. It’s not the underground boxing you’re imagining.”

“Would a legitimate martial arts competition leave someone with more than a dozen fractures all over their body?” Lu Yuan replied coolly.

Lin Zhiqin was taken aback, and his expression turned peculiar.

“Are you referring to Yang Jiandong’s injuries?” he asked.

Lu Yuan’s expression remained noncommittal.

“Sigh—” Lin Zhiqin sighed, a mix of amusement and helplessness on his face.

“Yang Jiandong’s injuries had nothing to do with me. He got hurt because he secretly participated in some other unregulated martial arts competition, from some source I don’t know. And his injuries weren’t even from the arena. He was attacked after the match in retaliation. He won the match and then spat at his opponent, making insulting gestures. The other guy couldn’t take it and arranged for people to ambush him outside. They beat him for a good ten minutes with a sack over his head. But the guy eventually paid compensation, and Yang Jiandong used that money for the down payment on his wedding house.”

“…”

Lin Zhiqin, worried that Lu Yuan wouldn’t believe him, took out his phone and handed it to Lu Yuan. “You can call Yang Jiandong’s girlfriend right now. I have her contact information, and she knows the whole story,” he said directly.

Lu Yuan looked at the phone in front of him and remained silent for a long moment before taking a deep breath.

“One last question: why did you deliberately hold up my assessment application? Why didn’t you sign the application form?” Lu Yuan asked.

“Deliberately not signing it?” Lin Zhiqin’s expression turned even more peculiar.

“When I started signing your form, the pen ran out of ink halfway through. I planned to get a new pen from the front desk after lunch and finish signing it for you. Of course, I also wanted to have a chat with you during the meal,” Lin Zhiqin explained.

In the small private room, Lu Yuan quietly observed Lin Zhiqin’s sincere face.

After a long silence, he lowered his head and spoke slowly.

“Coach, can we talk again about the direct disciple thing?”