Chapter 4 – Shadow Boxing

“Here is your card and martial arts uniform. If it doesn’t fit, you can exchange it. The changing room is ahead. After changing, please head to Training Room 4.”

“Thank you.”

Lu Yuan took the items handed to him by the receptionist, thanked them, and then turned to walk into the room marked “Men’s Changing Room.”

He had finally become a student at the Yuan Martial Arts Gym.

He was just an ordinary seventeen-year-old senior high school student.

It was really hard to overturn a decision already made by his parents.

Just as he couldn’t convince them to agree before signing up, after his father, Lu Xinghua, paid the fees, he couldn’t persuade him to cancel the course.

“Since the money is already spent, you might as well train well. We can’t let it go to waste.”

Lu Yuan stopped thinking about all those messy thoughts. Using the number “1002” on his card, he quickly found his locker.

Today was Sunday, and there were quite a few people who came to the gym to train.

Hearing their laughter, Lu Yuan lightly swiped his card on the electronic lock of the locker.

“Beep—”

The locker door opened, and it was completely empty inside, except for a few white plastic hangers.

The inside of the door had a large mirror, which barely reflected half of Lu Yuan’s body.

He looked at himself in the mirror.

His features were good-looking, but his skin was a bit pale from the lack of outdoor activities.

His slightly long bangs covered half of his eyes, giving him the look of a melancholic pretty boy.

Lu Yuan had often joked that he was a “skinny dog,” but how many sixteen or seventeen-year-old boys were robust and muscular?

Most were as slender as he was.

He was quite popular at school, and his looks had always been favored by the girls.

After his grades improved dramatically and he became a top student, the number of love letters he received each week increased even more.

“If I get in shape, my charm will definitely go up.”

Lu Yuan took off his shirt, revealing his pale, skinny upper body with clearly visible ribs, and thought to himself.

He stuffed his clothes and backpack into the locker and quickly changed into his martial arts uniform.

When the brand-new martial arts uniform was on, the handsome boy in the mirror seemed even more impressive.

Lu Yuan tightened the belt around his waist, closed the locker door, and walked out of the changing room.

Following the directions, he found the room for the gathering.

Training Room 4 was smaller than Lu Yuan had expected.

It was about the size of a classroom.

The floor was covered with white mats, and a few people were already waiting inside.

Two of them looked about his age, senior high school students.

The others appeared to be older, with the air of people who had been through the struggles of life.

“Hey, a handsome guy just walked in!”

As Lu Yuan entered the training room, a girl with a hair bun, lightly made up and with average looks, called out cheerfully when she saw him.

Her remark drew the attention of everyone in the room.

Lu Yuan didn’t seem nervous at all. He calmly nodded to everyone and then found a place to sit down.

“Quite the poser, isn’t he?”

Lu Yuan heard a curly-haired youth sitting next to the girl with the hair bun say teasingly.

“Come on, he’s just a student.”

The girl with the hair bun lightly slapped his arm, and the curly-haired youth immediately grabbed her hand in response.

“Are you defending him because you like him?”

“Get lost! Let go of my hand.”

The two of them started playfully bickering.

Their actions were somewhat flirtatious but didn’t seem like what a couple would do.

There were a few other men sitting nearby who seemed to know them and looked enviously, wanting to join in.

“Hey! Do you think after completing a course, we’ll be considered official disciples of Yuan Martial Arts Gym?”

A guy sitting on the other side of the girl with the hair bun, clearly annoyed by the curly-haired youth’s constant physical contact with her, loudly changed the topic.

“Keep dreaming.”

The girl with the hair bun didn’t respond, but another guy who seemed to be part of their group quickly retorted.

“Even finishing all the courses doesn’t guarantee that. Yuan Martial Arts Gym has a genuine ancient martial arts lineage and is recognized by the Xia State Martial Arts Association. Becoming an official disciple requires passing an assessment, you can’t just pay your way in.

After all, there’s a big difference between disciples and students. Not only do disciples not have to pay tuition, but they also get paid a salary each month. If you become an official disciple of Yuan Martial Arts Gym, you could go back and fire your manager.”

“Is it really that impressive?” The girl with the hair bun stopped her playful banter with the curly-haired youth, unable to hide her surprise.

“Yeah, it is.”

Seeing that the girl was interested, the guy who had been talking quickly added, “But becoming an official disciple is very difficult. Generally, if you can become an official disciple, you could also place in those amateur martial arts competitions and win prize money. You could totally make martial arts a profession.”

“Hey, what’s so hard about that? Siqi, just watch how Yuan Martial Arts Gym will take me in as a disciple.”

The curly-haired youth chimed in with a laugh.

“You’re just boasting!”

The girl with the hair bun, Siqi, shot him a playful look.

“…”

“Official disciples, salaries, and bonuses.”

Lu Yuan had been listening intently to their conversation, and his eyes couldn’t help but light up at this. When Cheng Peng had mentioned that his biggest goal was to become an official disciple of the gym, Lu Yuan hadn’t taken it seriously. Now he realized that becoming an official disciple was no easy feat. Not only could they waive the tuition fees, but they also received a salary.

If he could become an official disciple, wouldn’t that greatly reduce the burden on his family?

Lu Yuan couldn’t help but entertain the idea. But he quickly suppressed it.

He had just signed up and hadn’t even started his first class. Thinking about these things was clearly premature.

His immediate goal was to quickly improve his physical fitness and not waste the tuition fees.

As he was lost in thought, a middle-aged man in his forties walked into the training room.

It was obvious that this person was not a regular student like them. Not only was his martial arts uniform black, but he also carried an unusual aura as he walked.

Lu Yuan was not the only one who could guess the man’s identity; the noisy room quickly fell silent.

The middle-aged man scanned the room, seemingly doing a quick headcount, before smiling and speaking, “Hello everyone, my name is Lin Zhiqin. From now on, I will be responsible for teaching you the first stage of training. You can call me Coach Lin, or just Lin-Ge1.”

“Coach! What will we be focusing on in the first stage?”

As soon as Lin Zhiqin finished speaking, someone from the group with the girl with the hair bun asked.

Another person quickly followed, “Yeah, why don’t we have any boxing stances in this room? When do we get to practice the boxing stance? I want to hit the boxing stance!”

He then made a face at the others and chuckled, “I’ll stick a picture of my manager on the boxing stance.”

“Ha ha.”

Lin Zhiqin glanced at them calmly, not getting angry, and simply said, “The foundation of martial arts is strength. The first stage of our course will mainly focus on strength training. I will teach you some scientific and effective training methods and techniques so that you can train by yourself, whether you’re here or at home. As for the boxing stance…”

Lin Zhiqin paused for a moment, then continued, “It’s not time for the boxing stance yet. For now, you will only practice shadow boxing.”

After saying this, Lin Zhiqin suddenly raised his hand.

Lu Yuan didn’t catch what kind of move he made, but he heard a sharp, crisp sound that suddenly rang out.

The sound was loud and clear, like someone had set off a firecracker in the room.

“This is shadow boxing.”

Lin Zhiqin’s eyes swept across the room, his expression calm as he spoke.

Footnote:

1. Lin-Ge(林哥): In Chinese culture, adding the word “哥” (gē) after someone’s name is a way to show respect, affection, or camaraderie towards a male.  It is a friendly and respectful way to address them, implying a sense of kinship or close relationship.