Chapter 3
Afraid that Xie Qianqian might say something else earth-shattering, Zhuang Siqian seized the opportunity to wrap her arm around Qianqian's and drag her outside, giving her no chance to say another word.
As soon as they made it down to the first floor, Zhuang Siqian said anxiously, "Wait for me a second, I need to hit the bathroom."
Xie Qianqian leaned against the hallway wall, watching the men and women dancing close in the first-floor dance hall. The deafening music thudded against her heart with every beat, making her breathing grow heavier and heavier. The figures before her eyes began to overlap and sway. The heavy metal music imperceptibly accelerated her adrenaline secretion, and an indescribable wave of nausea surged up within her. Straightening her posture, she began to gather her breath, only to suddenly feel light-headed and unsteady on her feet. Her center of gravity collapsed to one side.
Through a hazy blur, Xie Qianqian caught sight of a swaying white figure. Reaching out, she grabbed hold of it firmly. Gathering her qi at her dantian to steady herself, she clung to the white figure and began gasping for air. Without warning, a mellow, cooling fragrance slipped into her lungs, causing her body to stiffen slightly. The nerve fibers throughout her body suddenly detected this familiar scent, gradually awakening a foggy memory buried deep in her brain. This scent... felt like something she had smelled somewhere before, a very, very long time ago...
It was like an invisible thread constantly tugging at the longing buried deep in her heart. This innate sense of familiarity caused her to slowly let down her long-held guards; she even leaned in a little closer, almost greedily.
When Guan Ming followed them downstairs, what he saw was a petite girl standing right in front of Shen Zhi, her hands gripping his arms tightly without moving an inch.
Guan Ming’s heart skipped a beat. He didn't know why Shen Zhi had suddenly gone abroad back then; the Shen family had kept the news tightly sealed. All anyone knew was that after going abroad, Shen Zhi's temperament had drastically changed. He became cold to women to an unfeeling degree and strictly forbade any female from touching him.
Back when Guan Ming was studying with Shen Zhi at Stanford, he had seen with his own eyes a blonde beauty enthusiastically approach Shen Zhi to give him a hug, only to be tossed over his shoulder and thrown to the ground, causing a scene that alarmed the entire cafeteria. The look in Shen Zhi's eyes back then had left a deep impression on Guan Ming—it was filled with disgust, rejection, and even a terrifying aura of destruction.
Since then, no woman had dared to approach him lightly. Though he was barely thirty, he lived like an ancient seventy-year-old hermit. Today, Guan Ming had invited him to VIX to hang out and discuss a project. Before coming, Guan Ming had explicitly instructed the hostesses to behave themselves. He never expected that the moment he turned his back, an accident like this would happen.
Guan Ming hurriedly walked over to Shen Zhi. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard Xie Qianqian clinging to Shen Zhi and calling out in a soft, tender murmur, "Mom..."
"..." For the first time in his nearly thirty years of life, Shen Zhi had been grabbed and called "Mom."
"..." Having just walked out of the restroom, Zhuang Siqian turned completely to stone on the spot.
"..." The tension on Guan Ming’s face broke instantly, and he burst into a loud, uncontrollable laugh.
Because he was laughing so exaggeratedly, Shen Zhi turned his face toward him, his expression pitch-black. Guan Ming hurriedly choked back his laughter and stepped forward, reaching out to pull Xie Qianqian away. But halfway there, Shen Zhi grabbed his wrist tightly. Turning his gaze, Shen Zhi said to Guan Ming, "Arrange a car to send them back."
Guan Ming looked at his wrist in disbelief, then looked at the girl lowering her head in front of Shen Zhi's chest. He opened his mouth in shock, but ultimately swallowed the endless stream of questions back down, nodding, "Alright."
Zhuang Siqian quickly ran over to pull Xie Qianqian away, spewing endless flattery at Shen Zhi: "Little brother, you're such a good person! Want to exchange WeChat? Next time we can hang out just the two of us?"
As Zhuang Siqian spoke, she fluttered her eyelashes flirtatiously at Shen Zhi. Shen Zhi didn't cast a single glance her way, turning around coldly and walking outside.
Before getting into the car, Zhuang Siqian still had enough awareness to say to Guan Ming, "Thanks for looking out for us, Boss Guan! Let's get dinner another day, another day!"
However, the moment she stepped into the car, she passed out cold. On the other hand, Xie Qianqian forced herself to stay awake, keeping her eyes fixed on the driver ahead.
Her master had never allowed her to drink alcohol. The old man always said, "When one part moves, all parts move." Martial artists had extremely strict requirements for their physical conditioning. The ethanol in alcohol would destroy neuron cells, causing damage to the central nervous system and reducing brain responsiveness. Although her senior brothers often snuck out behind their master's back to drink together, she had always adhered to her master's teachings.
The fact that she could still hold on right now was entirely due to her formidable willpower.
Shen Zhi bade Guan Ming goodbye and got into his own car as well. The driver, Uncle Zheng, asked, "Eldest Young Master, back to Yijiantang?"
Shen Zhi glanced at the taillights of the car ahead as it turned out of the bar district. Rubbing the Kinam agarwood beads in his hands, he let out a sigh and said, "Follow that car ahead."
A Maybach and a Cullinan glided through the silence of the night, driving all the way to the front gate of the Shen family compound before both vehicles slowly pulled to a stop. The Cullinan maintained a slight distance behind the Maybach, parking under a drooping willow tree.
Sitting in the backseat, Shen Zhi rolled down the car window and calmly watched the door of the car ahead open. Xie Qianqian hopped out first, then stumbled along while hauling the unconscious Zhuang Siqian on her shoulder toward the main gate of the Shen estate. After a few steps, she doubled back, taking care to poke her head into the window and say to the driver, "Thank you, driver! Drive safely."
She then staggered toward the courtyard gate, carrying the woman draped over her shoulder. For such a frail and slender body, it was as if an endless well of strength was hidden inside her. Carrying a girl on her shoulder who was a whole head taller than her made for an exceedingly comical picture, causing the corner of Shen Zhi's lips to twitch almost imperceptibly.
It was not until that figure completely vanished behind the towering black gate of the Shen compound that Uncle Zheng asked tentatively, "We're already at the Shen residence; would you like to head inside?"
Shen Zhi leisurely slipped the prayer beads back onto his wrist, took off his glasses, and said with a touch of fatigue, "No need. Back to Yijiantang."
...
Early the next morning, while Zhuang Siqian was still fast asleep, Xie Qianqian had already set off with her backpack. Her heavy academic workload meant she had less and less time to visit the martial arts hall after entering university. So, taking advantage of the summer break, she headed bright and early toward the Liang Martial Arts Hall.
Although she wasn't particularly old in years at the martial arts hall, she was already considered an old hand. In the world of martial arts, seniority and rank were taken very seriously; over the years, Xie Qianqian had taken on a whole fleet of disciples, and some of those disciples had even taken on grand-disciples of their own, mostly half-grown boys in their early teens.
Because of this, despite her young age, she commanded a sense of high status and respect within the martial arts hall, which was undeniably comical.
Seated in the second-floor lounge, Shen Zhi held a teacup, his brows arching slightly as he watched her sparring with her grand-disciples down on the main floor through the floor-to-ceiling glass.
Master Liang had graying hair, yet he looked remarkably sprightly. Sitting on the sofa opposite Shen Zhi, his eyes were kind and filled with a gentle smile. "You haven't seen Qianqian since you got back, have you? What do you think?"
Shen Zhi deliberately played dumb. "What aspect do you mean, Master Liang?"
"The girl has grown up to be quite a beauty, hasn't she?"
Shen Zhi's expression remained as calm and unbothered as ever, offering no opinion.
Master Liang let out a humph through his nose. "She was nothing like this when she was first sent here. She was tiny, had short hair, and dressed just like a tomboy. All the kids in the martial arts hall thought she was a boy. Every time I turned around or wasn't paying attention for a second, she'd get bullied until she was covered in bruises. She had a stubborn streak and refused to back down, so she suffered plenty of hardship.
"It was only after hanging around her for two or three years that those bratty boys realized the person running around with them every day was actually a girl. But by then, none of them could beat her anymore. There was a period when the little girl was busy studying for her high school entrance exams and had no time to get a haircut. As her hair grew longer, her looks became more and more striking, so those boys all started calling her Master Wukong."
Following Master Liang's story, Shen Zhi asked, "Why?"
Master Liang's tone carried a hint of pride. "They say a girl changes eighteen times as she grows into adulthood, but she went through seventy-two transformations, fifty-four more changes than ordinary girls."
Shen Zhi was well aware that Master Liang was finding round-about ways to praise his own disciple. However, keeping his thoughts to himself, he blew gently on the tea leaves floating at the top of his cup and seamlessly shifted the topic. "When was she sent here?"
"The second half of the year you left."
Shen Zhi wasn't surprised. Almost all the children in the Shen family were sent to the martial arts hall around that age to be tempered and toughened up, except for Shen Ciqian, who was physically weak and had never gone through it.
Master Liang continued, "She was sent over by the Shen family together with Shen Yu. That boy Shen Yu only lasted three months, he complained it was too tough, crying and throwing a fit until his mother got him out. But this little girl stuck it out. Don't let her small stature fool you; she's quick-witted and eager to learn, with a bit of the drive you had back in your day."
The knuckles of Shen Zhi's hand holding the teacup shifted slightly. His eyelids drooped, listening as Master Liang said, "Back then, even after school ended, she refused to go back to the Shen house. She would just lie flat on the floor to do her homework, and once she finished, she'd join us in training. Later on, her strikes grew fiercer and fiercer. Her natural talent might not have been the absolute best, but hard work makes up for what nature lacks. Most of the people from her cohort ended up being knocked flat on their backs by her. So, what do you say? You asked me for someone to put by your side. Everyone at the martial arts hall is a rough-around-the-edges martial artist, but you wanted someone with a good level of education and a sharp mind. I only have this one top student here. What do you think?"
Returning to the country, Shen Zhi naturally had to pay a personal visit to Master Liang, as well as ask him for a capable person to keep by his side. It wasn't entirely that he mistrusted the security department within the group, he had his own people—but he knew the background of the people at Liang Martial Arts Hall inside out, so using them gave him greater peace of mind.
Master Liang, of course, had his own calculations. He had heard a thing or two about the developments over at the Shen family. Word was that Shen Zhi had been back for over half a month without returning to the Shen residence, nor had he uttered a single word about the marriage contract. If Shen Zhi refused to acknowledge Qianqian, her situation going forward would become exceptionally awkward. A girl abandoned by the Shen family, who would dare take her in?
As Qianqian's master, there were certain steps he had no choice but to take on her behalf. Besides, the old master of the Shen family had entrusted a few matters to him before he passed away.
Shen Zhi, on the other hand, was lost in thought because of the words "top student."
When Xie Qianqian was first brought to the Shen family, she was timid and lacked self-confidence. The year she transferred over, the Shen family arranged for her to be in the same class as Shen Yu. As a result, she ranked at the absolute bottom in both subjects during her very first exam. Shen Yu mocked her for being stupid and dragging down the class average, and even deliberately played a trick on her by ripping up her exam paper. Although the Shens said Shen Yu was causing trouble, no one would ever actually punish Shen Yu for Xie Qianqian's sake.
Back then, she had been frail and weak, only able to clench her small fists while trembling all over, hiding in a corner with red-rimmed eyes, not daring to cast even a single glance at Shen Yu.
Shen Zhi vaguely remembered that her grades had indeed been terrible back then. So, what had happened to her over these years?
Shen Zhi set down his teacup, a faint, unreadable luster surfacing in his eyes. Half of his tall, refined figure fell under the glow of the light. Having watched him grow up, even Master Liang found it somewhat difficult to read his temperament now that he was back.
People always said that one's state of mind could alter their outward appearance. The withdrawn boy of the past, who had once been bristling with sharp edges, now carried himself with an air of relaxed composure. Those who knew him well were aware that he had spent many years abroad; those who didn't would look at his current demeanor and think he had been meditating in the mountains for decades, exuding a near-immortal, ethereal presence.
Master Liang's lounge was on the second floor, where a floor-to-ceiling glass window offered a clear view of the apprentices practicing down on the first floor. However, the special material prevented the people outside from seeing inside. This wasn't designed to facilitate monitoring their training, but rather to give the apprentices an intangible sense of psychological pressure; unable to tell whether their grandmaster was watching from above, they naturally didn't dare fool around or slack off.
Xie Qianqian had no idea that every strike she was currently landing on the heavy bag fell right into that serene pair of eyes on the second floor.
Suddenly, however, the people behind her stopped their movements one after another, calling out in succession, "Senior Brother..."
Just as Xie Qianqian turned her head, a sudden kick sent the heavy bag in front of her slamming violently straight toward her face. The speed left zero time to react. Fortunately, Xie Qianqian was agile; ducking to the left, she dodged the heavy bag's assault while simultaneously catching sight of Shen Yi, who was wearing wrist wraps behind the bag.
Her brows furrowed in annoyance. "Did I mess with you?" Her temper flared instantly. She drove a punch straight past the heavy bag, aiming it directly at Shen Yi.
Shen Yi's narrow, cold eyes didn't dodge in the slightest. Delivering a counterpunch packed with explosive, penetrating power, a dull, heavy thud echoed through the entire martial arts hall.
All the apprentices stopped what they were doing in utter shock, looking over toward them.
With a toss of her short hair, Xie Qianqian bypassed the heavy bag, leaped straight into the air, and kicked out at him. Without a word, Shen Yi grabbed Xie Qianqian's ankle with swift, ruthless precision. She ended up held in a full vertical split, displaying an unimaginable level of flexibility.
However, a ruthless glint flashed in Shen Yi's eyes in the very next second, and he immediately lunged in for a fast, vicious takedown throw. Just as Xie Qianqian's body was about to be slammed onto the floor mat, she suddenly leaned back with immense force, executing a backflip to dodge Shen Yi's incoming fist. As she dropped into a low crouch, her knee slammed violently upward. At the same time, Shen Yi's fist whipped toward her jaw at a treacherous angle.
Both of them struck at each other's vital targets almost simultaneously. Yet, while Xie Qianqian's knee collided heavily with Shen Yi's lower abdomen, Shen Yi's fist suddenly pulled back its power, the wind of his strike brushing past Xie Qianqian's cheek without harming her in the slightest.
A dead silence instantly fell over the martial arts hall; everyone was frozen in shock.
Three years had passed since the last time Senior Brother and Senior Sister fought. On that occasion, Shen Yi had directly dislocated Xie Qianqian's arm, causing Master Liang to fly into a rage and nearly expel Shen Yi from the sect.
TRANSLATOR'S NOTES
Glossary Additions & Adaptations:
謝錢淺 (Xie Qianqian): Heroine. Surname: Xie, Given name: Qianqian.
沈致 (Shen Zhi): Male Lead / Eldest grandson of the Shen family.
沈鈺 (Shen Yu): Cousin / Shen family grandson who bullied Xie Qianqian in middle school.
沈辭謙 (Shen Ciqian): Weak/sickly grandson of the Shen family.
沈毅 (Shen Yi): Senior Brother (大師兄) at Liang Martial Arts Hall. Shares the surname Shen with the family, but is trained under Master Liang.
梁爺 (Master Liang): Head master / Grandmaster of Liang Martial Arts Hall (梁武館).
悟空師父 (Master Wukong): Nickname given to Xie Qianqian by the junior apprentices, referencing Sun Wukong's 72 transformations.
一字馬 (Vertical Split): Martial arts term for a full 180-degree standing split.
丹田 (Dāntiān): A martial arts term referring to the body's center of gravity and energy, located in the lower abdomen. Translated in-line as "gathered her qi at her dantian to steady herself."
一动无有不动 (Yī dòng wú yǒu bù dòng): A classic martial arts principle (commonly associated with Tai Chi/internal martial arts) meaning "when one part moves, every part moves." Preserved faithfully as part of her master's teachings.
一间堂 (Yījiāntáng): Shen Zhi's private residence/studio away from the main Shen family compound. Kept in pinyin ("Yijiantang") as a proper name.
梁武馆 (Liáng Wǔguǎn): Liang Martial Arts Hall, the training hall Xie Qianqian attends.
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