Chapter 29 - Truth and Discrepancy
"Uh..."
Lu Yuan was left momentarily speechless by Lin Zhiqin's answer. He then looked at Lu Yuan with a sort of inexplicable approving gaze and said rather emotionally, "At your age, being able to share the burden for your family is quite remarkable.
However, earning back enough in tuition fees to become an official disciple is still beyond you."
"Why?"
Lu Yuan asked in surprise, "Didn't you say official disciples get allowances and meal subsidies every month after becoming one? And there are other benefits too, right?"
"You think the martial arts school is running a charity?" Lin Zhiqin laughed and shook his head.
"The school does give official disciples some preferential treatment, but they also have to pay higher tuition fees than regular students.
The essence of martial arts is not easily imparted, you understand? If the school had to pay disciples, us instructors would've been sleeping on the streets long ago."
"What about certified martial artists registered with the Martial Arts Association then?"
"They too have to pay annual fees to the association, otherwise their rank certificates become invalid the next year."
Lu Yuan's expression darkened.
What Lin Zhiqin said completely contradicted his understanding, overturning all his plans so far.
"You probably got confused between official and core disciples from hearsay. Core disciples do get much better benefits and salaries. But they have to sign contracts and work for the school first before getting paid. The criteria to become one is also higher."
"I think, to meet your expectations of getting the school's higher level teachings for free, not having to do any chores, and still getting paid every month, there's probably only one status that fits."
"What?"
Lin Zhiqin glanced at Lu Yuan and said with a smile, "Personal disciple."
Lu Yuan looked surprised.
Just then, the private room door creaked open from the outside. The middle-aged woman from before came in smiling, carrying two dishes.
"The fried pork slices and chicken stew are ready."
She set the dishes down in front of them.
The pork slices were stir-fried with bright red bullet chilies. The chicken was stewed in an earthen pot with pig trotters, the gravy coagulated into a gelatinous consistency. The meat fell right off the bone when poked with chopsticks, clearly having stewed for a while already. It looked very appetizing.
"Try them, her pork slices and chicken stew are the signature dishes here." Lin Zhiqin gestured for Lu Yuan to eat, then told the woman, "Bring me some rice too."
He looked at Lu Yuan again and added, "A lot more."
"Got it." The woman nodded with a smile. "You martial artists can really eat."
Lu Yuan didn't stand on ceremony with Lin Zhiqin either. He picked up his chopsticks and started eating right away.
His mood was a little sour now, and he needed some comfort food.
The two dishes tasted pretty good, though far from amazing. But Lu Yuan wasn't very picky about food anyway. He can eat a large pot of food even in the school cafeteria.
Lu Yuan tore off a chicken leg and held it in his left hand, using his right hand and chopsticks to grab other food. As he ate, he asked Lin Zhiqin, "So what's a personal disciple?"
Lu Yuan was completely relaxed now, a far cry from the awkward nervousness of a high schooler in the presence of an elder from before. His tone addressing Lin Zhiqin had also become casual.
Mainly because...
Earlier he was afraid Lin Zhiqin wouldn't sign for him, so he acted a bit obsequiously.
But now, Lin Zhiqin's words had shattered all his fantasies of becoming an official disciple. And while he hadn't verified it yet, it did make sense after thinking it over. His own thoughts had been quite naive actually, so it was probably true.
Lu Yuan's enthusiasm for becoming an official disciple instantly cooled.
Whether Lin Zhiqin would sign for him or not didn't matter anymore, so mentally he naturally started seeing them as equals.
"Personal disciple..."
Lin Zhiqin picked up a slice of pork with his chopsticks and slowly chewed it.
"Means directly taken in by the Grandmaster.
It represents the true core inheritance of the school."
Lu Yuan heartily tore off a chunk of chicken leg with his teeth and grinned at Lin Zhiqin. "So Teacher Lin, do you think I have a chance at becoming the Grandmaster's personal disciple?"
Lin Zhiqin probably detected the mocking tone in his words. His brows furrowed briefly but soon relaxed again.
"I can make you have a chance."
Lin Zhiqin looked at Lu Yuan as he spoke.
Just then, the private room door opened again.
The middle-aged woman had returned with the braised pork ribs and greens Lin Zhiqin had ordered, plus the rice.
“I can get you more if it's not enough. The fish will take a little longer, it's just been killed and prepped to go into the wok," the middle-aged woman said as she set the food down. Seeing Lu Yuan eating heartily, she couldn't help but praise, "Teacher Lin, the students you brought today are all so spirited and handsome!"
Lin Zhiqin just smiled without replying.
Lu Yuan directly took the rice bowl and heaped a large serving for himself. Along with the newly served ribs and greens, he shoveled mouthful after mouthful into his mouth.
The fried pork slices were now showcasing their true appeal, an irresistible savory spiciness that was a rice killer.
When Lu Yuan finished his bowl, he looked up to see Lin Zhiqin hadn't even touched his chopsticks yet. At some point he had lit a cigarette and was just watching Lu Yuan quietly.
Lu Yuan took a napkin from the box on the table and carefully wiped the oil stains from between his left hand fingers that had held the chicken leg earlier.
Out of the blue, he suddenly blurted out, "The last time you brought someone to this restaurant was Yang Jiandong, right Teacher Lin?"
The cigarette between Lin Zhiqin's fingers quivered slightly, but his expression remained impassive.
"I guess you probably said the same things to Yang Jiandong. No, not just him either." Lu Yuan went on.
Having cleaned the oil off his hands, he took another napkin and wiped his mouth. Then he stood up directly from his chair and earnestly told Lin Zhiqin, "Thank you for the meal, Teacher Lin. I'm full now. This restaurant's food really is pretty good, much tastier than the hospital cafeteria's fare. Goodbye, Teacher Lin."
At the word “hospital”, Lin Zhiqin's eyes clearly showed intense turmoil.
Seeing Lu Yuan push back his chair to leave, he couldn't help but blurt out, "Wait!"
"Did Teacher Lin want to say something else?" Lu Yuan looked at him calmly.
"Sit back down first. Let's talk sitting down." Lin Zhiqin gestured for Lu Yuan to sit again.
Lu Yuan thought for a moment, then decided to humor Lin Zhiqin and see what other tricks he could come up with to persuade him.
The two sat across from each other at the small table, separated by the dishes between them.
Lin Zhiqin took a deep breath, put out his cigarette, looked Lu Yuan in the eyes, and said, "I feel like there's some misunderstanding here. Tell me your thoughts first, what do you think I wanted from you?"
Since the secret was out, Lu Yuan saw no need to beat around the bush either. He stated directly, "You just wanted to trick me into fighting in illegal matches for you. Like Yang Jiandong before, for money, right?"
"Illegal matches?"
Lin Zhiqin looked surprised, then frowned. "It seems there really is a misunderstanding."
He gave a wry smile and said, "I admit I did consider having you participate in matches. Because I have been short on money lately, and there are some more personal reasons... But those are all legitimate competitive fights, anyone can look up how to register online, and they're filed with the Martial Arts Association too. Completely different from the underground illegal fights you're imagining."
"Legitimate competitive fights put people in the hospital with over a dozen fractures all over their body?" Lu Yuan said flatly.
Lin Zhiqin was taken aback, then his expression turned odd.
"You mean Yang Jiandong's injuries?"
Lu Yuan's expression was noncommittal.
"Ah-" Lin Zhiqin sighed. His face showed a look of amusement and helplessness.
"Yang Jiandong's injuries had nothing to do with me whatsoever. He got hurt because he participated in some other unsanctioned fights through channels he found somewhere. And his injuries weren't from the ring either. He was attacked by people afterwards to get back at him for winning. That idiot spat and made insulting gestures at his opponent after winning, so the other guy was furious. A group of them ambushed and beat him continuously in a sack for over ten minutes after leaving the venue... But that guy also compensated money later. Yang used that money for the down payment on his wedding apartment."
"To prove I'm not lying, you can call Yang Jiandong's girlfriend right now. I have her contact, she knows the full story." Lin Zhiqin held out his phone to Lu Yuan, unwilling to let any doubt remain.
Lu Yuan looked at the offered phone in silence for a good while, then took a deep breath. "One last question - why did you deliberately not sign my assessment form? Withholding your signature for my application?"
"Deliberately not signing for you?"
Lin Zhiqin's expression became even more quizzical.
"I was halfway through signing for you earlier when the pen ran out of ink. I was planning to get a new one from the front desk after eating to finish signing for you..."
"Of course, I also wanted to chat with you over the meal."
...
In the small private room, Lu Yuan gazed quietly at the frank-looking Lin Zhiqin across from him.
After a long silence, he lowered his head and slowly said, "Teacher, can we talk more about the personal disciple thing?"