Chapter 11: Meeting an Old Friend

Chapter 11: Meeting an Old Friend

In the following lesson, the Female Instructor meticulously broke down each movement, from the muscles of the soles to the calves and thighs, demonstrating every detail with endless patience. For students who struggled to grasp the essentials, she provided earnest guidance. Compared to the Martial Arts teachers at school, her instruction was noticeably more attentive.

Unfortunately, even so, by the end of the class, only two or three out of the ten students could replicate the techniques with fifty to sixty percent accuracy—despite the fact that these individuals clearly had solid foundations, having long since passed the beginner stage in swordsmanship.

After the lesson concluded and the students gradually dispersed, the Female Instructor approached, bringing with her a faint, pleasant fragrance. Her fair skin and delicate features exuded a gentle, serene beauty, devoid of any intimidating edge. Her mature, alluring curves sent Chen Shouyi’s heart racing, his face flushing red. Compared to the immature girls at school, this kind of sophisticated charm made his pulse quicken even more.

Flustered, he scrambled to his feet and greeted her respectfully, "Hello, Teacher!"

"My surname is Wang—you can call me Teacher Wang. I’d like to assess your foundation in swordsmanship," she said with a faint smile, unfazed by the young man’s nervousness.

"I’ve only learned the Lunge Thrust!"

The Female Instructor handed him the wooden sword in her hand. "Could you demonstrate? I’d like to gauge your progress so I can assign you to the appropriate class."

"Oh, sure, of course!" Chen Shouyi replied, his voice tight with tension. Just yesterday, he had faced his classmates with confidence, but now, under the gaze of this beautiful instructor, he felt his old timidity creeping back.

Taking the sword, he inhaled deeply and swiftly executed a thrust. The moment he did, he regretted it—his performance was far from perfect. If only he had relaxed, taken his time, and steadied his nerves, he was certain he could have done better.

"Quite standard, though your power is lacking, and your footwork is a bit stiff—not fluid enough. How long have you been practicing?" Teacher Wang asked, sounding slightly surprised.

"Hah!" Chen Shouyi hadn’t expected his subpar display to earn praise. Reflexively, he downplayed his skill. "I’m still not very proficient. I’ve only practiced for a few... months?"

He had almost said "days," but at the last moment, he changed it to "months." A few days would have been far too unbelievable—utterly unreasonable.

"You have a natural talent for swordsmanship. Since you already have a decent foundation, how about this? There’s a new Advanced Swordsmanship Class starting tomorrow at 1 PM. You should join," Teacher Wang said without suspicion, after a moment’s thought.

"Thank you, Teacher Wang. By the way, how much does it cost?" Chen Shouyi remembered to ask.

"My fees might be a bit higher—around 8,000 for one term, twenty lessons, once a week."

Fortunately, he had just enough. Growing up under Chen Mu’s strict discipline, Chen Shouyi had avoided developing many bad habits. Aside from necessary living expenses, he had saved a considerable amount from his monthly allowance. Combined with the 7,000 Chen Mu had transferred to him that morning, he now had over 9,000—more than enough to cover the tuition.

After paying the fee, Chen Shouyi left the Martial Arts training center. Glancing at the time, he saw it was only 10 AM.

Should he just head home?

A thought crossed his mind as he was about to head to the parking lot to retrieve his bicycle when someone called out to him.

"Chen Shouyi!?"

He turned toward the voice and saw a somewhat familiar figure—a girl with neat short hair that looked delicate and charming under the mild morning sunlight.

Beside her stood a handsome young man he didn’t recognize, presumably her boyfriend.

Staring at the girl, he hesitated before saying, "You’re... Guo Qianqian?"

"Yeah! I didn’t expect to see you here. You haven’t changed at all—still the same earnest look," Guo Qianqian said, visibly excited to see him.

Chen Shouyi felt a surge of emotion as well.

The two had been classmates in elementary school, even sharing a desk at one point. She had been one of his few friends back then. Unfortunately, they drifted apart after middle school when she left to study elsewhere, leaving him feeling down for a long time. He hadn’t expected her to be back already.

"Oh, let me introduce you—this is my boyfriend, Lin Feng!" Guo Qianqian said cheerfully.

Suppressing his mixed feelings, Chen Shouyi turned to the young man and greeted him politely.

Her boyfriend, tall and lean with an ordinary appearance and attire, barely spared a glance at Chen Shouyi, who looked every bit the well-behaved student. He merely nodded indifferently before pulling out his phone.

"It’s been so long! Are you also attending a Martial Arts training class here?"

"No, I just signed up today."

"What a coincidence! My boyfriend just enrolled in an Advanced Swordsmanship Class. Are you planning to apply for a Martial Arts academy too?" Guo Qianqian asked enthusiastically.

Chen Shouyi gradually calmed down, his earlier excitement fading as he replied with a faint smile, "That’s impossible. My physical condition is still far from good enough. I’m just taking things one step at a time."

At that moment, her boyfriend seemed to grow impatient. He stuffed his phone back into his pocket and glanced at his watch with exaggerated urgency. "It’s getting late. We shouldn’t keep chatting—we agreed to go for pizza, remember?"

"Alright. Chen Shouyi, why don’t you join us? Lin Feng has some discount coupons," Guo Qianqian offered, though her tone carried a perfunctory politeness, clearly prioritizing her boyfriend’s wishes.

"No need, I have to hurry home," Chen Shouyi said, noticing the displeased look on her boyfriend’s face.

Watching Guo Qianqian and her boyfriend walk away, Chen Shouyi felt an odd emptiness—not quite disappointment or sadness, but more like the absence of something he had never truly possessed in the first place.

He quickly shook off the feeling, found his bicycle in the parking shed, and pedaled home swiftly.

Upon arriving, he noticed his younger sister was already gone—unsurprising, given her active social life. Unlike the inconspicuous Chen Shouyi, she was a star among her schoolmates, and her weekends were always packed.

"Did you finish registering? If you’re hungry, go eat outside," Chen Mu said as she placed a plate of rice topped with dishes in front of a customer, wiping her hands afterward.

It was the weekend, and though it wasn’t even 10:30 yet, the family’s restaurant was already bustling with customers.

"All done. Classes start tomorrow at 1 PM," Chen Shouyi replied, deliberately avoiding mentioning the extra thousand yuan to prevent Chen Mu from nagging. "I’ll grab something outside then."

"Go, go, go! Just seeing you standing there annoys me," Chen Mu said with a look of disdain.

"Oh, right. Do you have enough money?"

Just as he was about to reach the door, Chen Mu added.

"Enough!"

…………

After hastily eating lunch at a small shop outside, Chen Shouyi couldn’t wait to return to his bedroom. He locked the door, lay on the bed, and entered the Gray Mist Space.

The memory leaf from today had already sprouted fresh foliage. After focusing on it for a while, his mind immediately immersed itself within.

Under the fast-forward of memory, he soon arrived at the scene from this morning in the training room of the Youth Martial Arts Training Center.

"Today, I’ll be teaching the 'Slash' technique in swordsmanship. The 'Slash' can be further divided into 'Static Slash,' 'Small Step Slash,' and 'Large Step Slash'..."

The female instructor was explaining in the training room.

Chen Shouyi’s heart stirred, and his mind boldly approached the woman who had previously made him blush, his heart racing nervously. He scrutinized her carefully from head to toe, not missing a single detail.

In this world, he was like an almighty god, completely unrestrained in his actions.

Gradually, he realized—it was just like this.

She had two eyes, one nose, and one mouth, no different from the other girls in his class. If there was any difference, it was that she was more mature, exuding a captivating charm.

Chen Shouyi watched for a long time, only stopping when he felt he could face her with a calm heart next time.

By now, the female instructor’s demonstration had long ended, but for him, it was just a matter of replaying the memory from the beginning.

When Chen Shouyi rewound the memory to the start, this time he didn’t waste a second. His mind swiftly took over her body.

He couldn’t help but complain—a woman’s body always felt so unfamiliar. Not only was there an extra weight on the chest, but something also seemed missing below, leaving an odd emptiness.

Fortunately, Chen Shouyi had plenty of experience by now. He quickly steadied his mind.

The 'Slash' was more complex than the 'Lunge Thrust,' involving more muscles and larger movements. Not only did the waist have to twist at a significant angle, but the feet and body also underwent intense shifts in balance.

And that was just the 'Static Slash.' The 'Small Step Slash' and 'Large Step Slash' were even more complicated—especially the 'Large Step Slash.' Just the 'Basic Step,' which resembled 'Shrinking the Earth,' involved countless intricate muscle movements.

Thankfully, his 'Lunge Thrust' was already quite proficient, and he had a foundation in swordsmanship. He had developed his own understanding of muscle control. Going from zero to one was the hardest part, but progressing from one to two—or even three—was much simpler.

For the entire afternoon, he alternated between jumping off the bed to practice with a wooden sword for half an hour and re-entering the Memory Space to personally experience the exertion of various muscles. When practicing the 'Large Step Slash,' his bedroom was no longer spacious enough, so he moved to the living room.

His feet glided through the air as if skating—one moment to the east, the next to the west. By dusk, he had finally managed to grasp the 'Slash' technique in swordsmanship.