Chapter 119: My Schedule’s Overbooked
Within the rest area of White Dragon High School.
At this very moment, Yu Xinghan was staring at the rankings on the Sky Pillar, his eyes fixed on the name in first place.
Zhang Yu, is it?
No wonder Senior Sister Li took a liking to him back then. Although I ultimately beat him out in the disciple selection, he certainly has his merits.
He glanced at Song Hailong beside him and thought, I can find a new sparring partner now.
Elsewhere, Song Hailong seemed to sense Yu Xinghan’s gaze. He watched the other boy’s departing figure for a moment before turning his own eyes back to the names on the Sky Pillar.
Looking at Zhang Yu in first place, he thought to himself, Perhaps I should also switch my sparring partner.
A thread of regret even surfaced in Song Hailong’s heart; he thought that he shouldn’t have canceled his sparring sessions with Zhang Yu, as he might have been able to witness firsthand how Zhang Yu transformed to reach his current level.
…
In the Songyang High School rest area, Yu Xinghan walked over, drawing the surprised gazes of the crowd.
Although Zhang Yu had defeated him this time, Yu Xinghan’s dominant performance in the first three stages of the competition was still deeply seared into their minds.
Now, seeing Yu Xinghan up close, the students of Songyang High School were so pressured by the aura of a Golden Core disciple and White Dragon High’s number one student that they instinctively backed away.
A girl beside He Dayou whispered, “Isn’t it the custom at White Dragon High to kneel? Should we kneel to welcome him?”
“What nonsense are you spouting!” another male student said. “This is Purple Cloud High’s territory. Do you know the etiquette for greeting the number one student at Purple Cloud?”
He Dayou couldn’t stand the sight of his two compatriots acting so obsequious before someone from White Dragon and said coldly, “This is Songyang High’s rest area, and the ground beneath our feet is Songyang High’s land. A simple bow to this White Dragon fellow is more than enough.”
Bai Zhenzhen inwardly cursed them as a bunch of wastes; it was up to her, the fifth-place finisher in the athletics meet, to step forward and speak with Yu Xinghan.
She walked up to Yu Xinghan and asked, “What do you want?”
Yu Xinghan glanced at her and said flatly, “Add me as a friend?”
Bai Zhenzhen paused, stunned. This guy came over to add her as a friend? She couldn’t tell at all. Was this Golden Core disciple so fond of making friends?
As it happened, she, Bai Zhenzhen, also enjoyed making friends, so she immediately said, “A friend slot costs 500.”
“Then never mind.” Yu Xinghan put away his new phone and said indifferently, “Actually, I don’t want to add you that badly.”
Bai Zhenzhen quickly said, “Then 100! Is 100 okay?”
Seeing Yu Xinghan take out his phone again to add her, Bai Zhenzhen was dumbfounded.
Is this guy really a Golden Core disciple, a rich person?
It was the first time Bai Zhenzhen had ever seen a wealthy person haggle with her over a few hundred.
“I came over here mainly to see Zhang Yu,” Yu Xinghan said, looking toward Zhang Yu, who was still resting on the sofa.
Yu Xinghan was not someone who had been invincible from birth, who had never met anyone stronger than himself.
Moreover, even when facing opponents weaker than him, there were sometimes things worth learning and reflecting on.
Just like his sparring partner for the past while, Song Hailong; that indomitable and upright spirit was a quality worth taking as a cautionary tale.
It constantly reminded him not to get too inflated just because he was number one in his year, not to abandon a great specialty of the martial way—the sneak attack—for some worthless pride and prestige.
Of course, besides learning, there was another important reason for hiring Song Hailong as a sparring partner.
But that reason was a secret that belonged to Yu Xinghan, known only to him in all of heaven and earth.
And in terms of learning alone, the Zhang Yu before him was even more worthy of his study.
That sublime physical skill…
I really want to learn it.
I want to learn it so I can beat him with it.
At this moment, Yu Xinghan looked at Zhang Yu as if he were looking at a grand feast brimming with knowledge, wanting to devour his opponent bite by bite and absorb him completely, turning him into nourishment to become even stronger.
Thus, Yu Xinghan looked at Zhang Yu and said, “Train with me. 6,000 an hour. You in?”
Zhang Yu’s eyes shifted. Although prize money and endorsement fees were on their way, no one in Kunxu ever complained about having too much money.
Zhang Yu simply asked, “How do we train?”
Yu Xinghan rubbed his chin, thinking as he spoke. “Well… combat training, I guess. Just try your best to defeat me.”
“15,000 an hour.”
“7,000 at most.”
“7,000 is impossible, it has to be at least 12,000. I can’t be cheaper than Song Hailong, can I?”
Zhang Yu remembered that Song Hailong’s rate for sparring with Yu Xinghan was 10,000 an hour.
Yu Xinghan said helplessly, “Then 11,000. That’s the highest I can go. If you don’t want it, I’m leaving.”
Watching the other boy’s back as he turned to leave, Zhang Yu quickly said, “Fine, fine, 11,000 it is.”
And so, when Yu Xinghan left, he had already added Zhang Yu as a friend and arranged for their next combat training session at White Dragon High School.
Just then, his phone vibrated. Yu Xinghan took it out and saw it was a call from Li Xuelian.
Remembering her instructions about the weight to report for the final round, Yu Xinghan smiled slightly as he answered the phone, “Senior Sister Li, you must have seen the results?”
Li Xuelian did not dwell on the matter of the final round. In her eyes, it was a complete accident. No one could have predicted that Zhang Yu would achieve such a result at that stage. Her previous judgment had been flawless.
It was just Zhang Yu himself… he had surprised Li Xuelian somewhat.
But at this moment, Li Xuelian had no interest in discussing this with Yu Xinghan and simply said crisply, “The contract has been adjusted. For the upcoming commercials and endorsements, you’ll be working together with Zhang Yu…”
After explaining the contract details, Li Xuelian was about to hang up.
But then she heard Yu Xinghan suddenly say, “Senior Sister Li, I want to ask Zhang Yu to train with me. He has many strengths worth my learning and absorbing.”
Then, Yu Xinghan said with some apprehension, “I negotiated a fee of 15,000 an hour with him. Do you think you could approve that?”
As a Golden Core disciple, Yu Xinghan could be said to be very rich, and also very poor.
He was rich because True Person Starfire and Li Xuelian had invested countless resources in him, enough to make the many wealthy students of Songyang City green with envy.
He was poor because every single one of his expenses had to be approved by Li Xuelian, and the pocket money he could spend freely each month was only 5,000.
This state of being both poor and rich was the reason he had initially refused Bai Zhenzhen’s friend request.
After all, Li Xuelian might not approve the 500 for Bai Zhenzhen’s friend slot, which would make it far too expensive for him.
It was also the other reason he had hired Song Hailong as a sparring partner.
It was his chance to embezzle tuition fees.
“15,000?” Li Xuelian recalled Zhang Yu’s performance and said flatly, “Fine. Remember to record your payment history and the sparring sessions each time and report them to me.”
Yu Xinghan understood. This was to prevent him from falsifying tutoring fees and hours, from guarding the treasury only to steal from it himself. He had his ways to deal with that.
After Li Xuelian hung up the phone, however, she felt a flicker of curiosity about the outcome of a match between Yu Xinghan and Zhang Yu.
After all, Yu Xinghan had been trained by True Person Starfire for so long; in Li Xuelian’s view, he was certainly far superior to Zhang Yu in terms of actual combat.
“…But this Zhang Yu really does have something worth learning for Yu Xinghan. Fifteen thousand is well worth it.”
“It’s just that back then, perhaps we should have signed this Zhang Yu as well.”
When she relayed the results of the athletics meet and her thoughts to True Person Starfire, she received his reply.
True Person Starfire said with some regret, “It seems that Zhang Yu is quite good. I underestimated him back then. If we had more resources, we should have signed him.”
“But since our resources are only enough to cultivate one disciple, we can only choose the most outstanding one with the most potential.”
“Alright, Xuelian, what’s past is past. No need to worry about gains and losses, it only adds to your troubles.”
…
Inside the Songyang High School rest area.
Zhang Yu had just settled the sparring project with Yu Xinghan when he received a sparring request from Song Hailong.
But before he could even finish negotiating a price with Song Hailong, he received a message from Le Mulan.
Le Mulan: “Can I hire you to practice ground fighting with me?”
Zhang Yu suddenly felt the bustle of being in high demand.
He sighed, “Ah, there are so many classes I can’t schedule them all, and so much money I can’t earn it all.”
Bai Zhenzhen, who had been watching Zhang Yu reply to his messages from the side, heard this and said, “Yu-boy, if you can’t handle all the tutoring, I can substitute for you.”
“I’m not the same person I was at the martial arts tournament two months ago.”
Zhang Yu’s gaze flickered as he thought of Bai Zhenzhen’s fifth-place finish this time.
In truth, Bai Zhenzhen’s results and rate of improvement were already incredibly fast and astonishing. If she had a better background, then as long as she maintained this pace in her second and third years, she would be a shoo-in for the Ten Greats.
But now, because of her status as a poor person, she needed to meet even higher requirements to get into the Ten Greats.
Zhen’s rate of improvement is only a little slower compared to mine; it’s even faster than Song Hailong’s and Le Mulan’s.
She’d have no problem being a sparring partner for Le Mulan and Song Hailong.
And…
Zhang Yu knew that Zhen desperately needed this money too.
Once she has money, Zhen’s improvement can accelerate, and in the future, she can get into the Ten Greats with me.
The thought of entering the Ten Greats with Zhen brought a shadow of doubt to Zhang Yu’s mind.
He still remembered his sister’s requirement that the two of them take first and second place in the competition.
But with Yu Xinghan, Song Hailong, Le Mulan… each one more driven, more monstrous than the last, he didn’t know what impact Zhen’s current competition results would have on her chances of getting into the Ten Greats.
I’ll ask my sister tonight.
…
That evening, not long after the competition ended.
Zhang Yu, Bai Zhenzhen, and Zhang Pianpian met under a bridge.
The three of them stood by the riverbank, chatting idly for a few moments.
Gazing at the gurgling water before her, Zhang Pianpian suddenly asked a question, “Zhang Yu, if I gave you a chance to go to the second layer with me in two months, would you be willing?”