14
Wu Jiao only slept for four hours. She got up and had two hours of tutoring.
Wu Zihui had taken her husband on a business trip out of town, so the housekeeper came to cook for Wu Jiao.
After lunch, she took a one-hour nap and then headed out.
The afternoon was a bit hot. She was wearing a black and white tracksuit. To make it easier to exercise, she also put on contact lenses.
Wu Jiao was used to seeing herself in glasses. Taking them off felt strange; she felt like the person in the mirror was a stranger.
She thought back to Luo Yihuan calling her ugly, so she put on a hat.
Uncle Zhao drove her, and soon they arrived at the Cultural Palace.
As soon as she got out of the car, Wu Zihui sent a message.
Mommy: Sweetie, Mommy did some digging. This place has the best instruction. I heard the coach is even a handsome young guy. Go get ’em! When you get back, Mommy will treat you to a big dinner!
Wu Jiao thought that her own good trait of appreciating beauty was definitely inherited from her dear mother.
Feeling curious, she took the elevator up to the fifth floor and found the place labeled “Sanda Class.”
Although the Sanda classroom was very large, the walls were mottled, and some of the slogans stuck to the pillars had faded.
This was the old Cultural Palace. The decor was still stuck over a decade in the past; it looked a bit worn out. Many of the extracurricular classes had already moved to the new Cultural Plaza.
That place had better facilities, a more active surrounding population, and correspondingly, higher prices.
But Wu Zihui had never skimped on her; she always arranged the best for her.
So, even though the Sanda class was located in this kind of place, the teaching quality was probably very strong.
Wu Jiao found herself looking forward to the handsome young coach her mother had mentioned.
Would he be the type of muscular guy who could take someone down with one hand?
When Wu Jiao saw a familiar face in the classroom, she froze.
Gao Tianchi. Her deskmate who hadn’t been coming to school.
He was also taking classes here?
Gao Tianchi hadn’t expected to see Wu Jiao here either. She was surrounded by a group of kids about knee-high to her, all chattering and vying to talk to her.
[Gao Tianchi. Why is he here? Why do the male leads keep showing up in front of me?]
Gao Tianchi frowned slightly.
As a novel’s male lead, he never disappoints in terms of height. But as the male lead of a restrictive novel, he wouldn’t disappoint in any aspect at all.
Gao Tianchi was nearly two heads taller than her. His physique resembled a video game model, only in real life—a humanoid figurine.
His eyebrows and eyes were very dark and intense. Dressed all in black, he looked like a roguishly handsome character who had stepped out of an anime.
His short sleeves revealed wheat-colored arms, strong and lined with prominent veins. His legs were long and straight, especially the muscles on his thighs, which had beautiful, smooth contours—clearly the result of regular exercise.
Even more eye-catching than his thighs were the two pecs on his chest.
[Even bigger than Pei Jiamu’s…]
Xiao E: [Host, stop looking! Gao Tianchi is walking this way!]
Wu Jiao quickly averted her eyes.
Xiao E: [Host, he’s coming right for you. Did you stare too much?!]
Too much? She was just appreciating the view normally! If they’re that obvious, aren’t they meant to be looked at?
Gao Tianchi stopped in front of Wu Jiao, stared at her, but didn’t say a word.
“…Hey, what a coincidence. You’re taking classes here too?”
Wu Jiao forced a smile and greeted him first.
She knew Gao Tianchi was the president of No. 1 High School’s Sanda club. But she hadn’t expected the president, who didn’t even come to school, to also attend Sanda classes.
Gao Tianchi continued to look at her in silence. Her greeting fell flat on the ground.
[Buddy, acknowledge me! Even according to the original story, at this point he doesn’t hate me yet, right? I haven’t bullied Mo Li, so he wouldn’t have witnessed that, wouldn’t have a reason to… This doesn’t make sense!]
Wu Jiao quickly ran through the original plot in her mind:
[Mo Li is his neighbor. They’ve known each other for a long time and are in the same class in high school. He often misses class, so Mo Li proactively shares her notes and homework with him. As time passes, he falls for this kind and wonderful girl. Where was their first intimate encounter…? I remember it being in the Sanda classroom, and he was the one who made the first move…]
“Yeah. Time for class.”
After a long moment, Gao Tianchi suddenly spoke.
Wu Jiao’s thoughts were interrupted. “Oh, okay. Right.”
Gao Tianchi put his bag down in the classroom, stepped out for a moment, and came back in wearing a tracksuit.
As soon as they saw him, the kids who had been crowding around Wu Jiao immediately scattered and lined up with remarkable speed.
Once the kids were in place, they all shouted in unison, “Hello, Teacher Xiao Gao!”
Wu Jiao was startled by their orderly formation. She found an empty spot and stood in line.
How strange. Why were there only children? She was the only adult. Where was everyone else?
A little girl with her hair in pigtails, standing next to her, noticed that she hadn’t greeted the teacher. She tugged at her pant leg.
“Big sister, you need to say hello to Teacher Xiao Gao!”
So, he was the coach.
Wu Jiao felt a bit embarrassed, but she obediently called out, “Hello, Teacher Xiao Gao,” to Gao Tianchi.
As soon as she said it, for some reason, all the children burst out laughing. Even the corners of Gao Tianchi’s mouth seemed to twitch.
Gao Tianchi glanced at his watch. There was one minute until class started.
He walked over to Wu Jiao and spoke to her privately. “You probably signed up for the wrong class. This is the introductory class for young children. Switching to the adult beginner class isn’t a hassle, but you’ll need to wait until after this class finishes. Do you want to sit in on this class or wait until next time?”
Wu Jiao was petrified on the spot.
No wonder it was all children. That explained everything.
But Wu Zihui shouldn’t have made such a basic mistake.
Still, since she was already here, Wu Jiao didn’t want to have made the trip for nothing.
“I’ll sit in on this class for now, if that’s okay?”
“Okay.”
Although Gao Tianchi was aloof, he was very gentle and patient with the children. He was very serious when teaching the moves, almost ensuring each one was doing them correctly without missing anyone.
The twelve children plus Wu Jiao, the one adult, were all well-behaved. In the first half of the class, after teaching the hand techniques, the second half was for pairing up to practice. Gao Tianchi would go around correcting everyone’s form.
The twelve children all had partners, leaving Wu Jiao as the only one without. After finishing his corrections with the children, Gao Tianchi naturally became her partner.
“The height of your hands is wrong. They should be positioned below your eyes.”
Gao Tianchi explained, “Imagine this: in an actual fight, the opponent will always target your most vulnerable area first—your face. So, protecting your facade is extremely important.”
“Still wrong. You’re reaching out too far.”
He leaned down from behind Wu Jiao and took her hands to adjust them.
“Bend your back. Tuck your neck in. Familiarize yourself with your body’s center of gravity.”
After seeing her adjust, he demonstrated the correct stance next to her.
It was the same exact move, but when Gao Tianchi did it, it was pleasing to the eye—ready to spring, like a black panther stalking its prey.
As for her—
If she won a fight using this stance, it would probably be because she laughed her opponent unconscious.
Wu Jiao shot Gao Tianchi an apologetic look. He seemed deep in thought.
She guessed he was probably considering whether or not he should accept her as a student.
She really wanted to learn.
She took the initiative and spoke up. “Sorry. I’m actually pretty talented, though. I’ll put in the extra time to practice!”
Anyone looking at her could tell that “talent” and Wu Jiao had nothing to do with each other.
Gao Tianchi didn’t deny it either. He just asked, “What has Luo Yihuan been teaching you guys?”
Wu Jiao thought for a moment. “Every time, he makes us run five laps first, then do stretching and leg presses. After that, we either practice jumping or pair up to fight. Whoever steps out of the ring first loses.”
After saying that, Wu Jiao suddenly realized—
[How did he know I’m in the Sanda club?]
Gao Tianchi seemed to know what she was thinking.
“I saw your name on the Sanda club roster,” he said. Then he clapped his hands and announced to everyone, “Take a break, everyone. Next class starts in ten minutes.”
“Yay! Break time!”
The children cheered and scattered. Gao Tianchi said to her privately, “Come with me.”
Wu Jiao followed him to the stairwell outside the classroom.
“Uncle Chen isn’t here yet. Send me the screenshot of your registration payment, and I’ll transfer your class.”
“Okay, just a second. I need to make a phone call. I’ll be quick.”
“Yeah, no rush.”
Gao Tianchi sat down to drink some water. His every move and gesture gave off an aura of a big boss, unapproachable.
Truth be told, Wu Jiao only found out after awakening that he wasn’t at all as fierce and terrifying as the rumors at No. 1 High School made him out to be.
Especially when he was just teaching the children their moves. Wu Jiao felt like she saw a bit of Si Xiuyuan in him.
Wu Jiao called Wu Zihui. As soon as the call connected, her mother rushed to ask, “Sweetie, what’s wrong? How are the Sanda classes? Is the young coach handsome? Mommy got you into this class through a connection, so it’s definitely good.”
“…”
“Mom, did you sign me up for the wrong class? Send me the screenshot of the registration payment.”
“I didn’t make a mistake,” her mother said. A photo soon came through. “It’s the young children’s class.”
Wu Jiao’s face flushed with annoyance. “Mom! I’m already an adult!”
“Aw, sweetie. Even though you’re an adult, you’re still a child in Mommy’s eyes. That adult class is so scary. Mommy was afraid you’d get hurt because you couldn’t beat them. The young children’s class is good! They don’t have an age limit, and they teach more carefully.”
Wu Jiao: “…”
The phone volume was a bit loud. Wu Jiao said a few more things and quickly hung up.
Aside from when he was teaching, Gao Tianchi wore a cold, indifferent expression. Wu Jiao couldn’t tell if he had heard anything or not.
Seeing her come over, Gao Tianchi handed her his phone. “Add me as a contact. Send it to me.”
The two added each other. Wu Jiao sent the picture, but Gao Tianchi suddenly frowned deeply.
Just then, the elevator stopped on the fifth floor, and a middle-aged man with a bald head, a big belly, and a large leather briefcase tucked under his arm stepped out.
The middle-aged man clearly saw Gao Tianchi first but didn’t say anything to him. Instead, he shifted his gaze to Wu Jiao.
With a beaming smile, he said to her, “You must be Sister Wu’s daughter, right? Jiao Jiao has grown up so much!”
As he spoke, he took Wu Jiao’s hand and patted it. “You’ve gotten taller, and prettier too. What made you suddenly think of learning Sanda? What use is this for a girl? How about learning jazz dance instead? Beautiful girls look great dancing!”
Wu Jiao remembered this man. He knew Wu Zihui and had once borrowed money from her.
She suppressed her discomfort, forced a smile, and said thank you. But the man kept holding onto her tightly, making small talk.
Gao Tianchi suddenly stepped in between them, and Wu Jiao took the chance to pull her hand back.
“Uncle Chen, I need to talk to you about something.”
“What is it? What could there possibly be to talk about every single day? Come inside and tell me!”
The two of them went into the office. Gao Tianchi said, “Close the door.”
“No need to close it. Little Wu is family. Just say what you need to say.”
Wu Jiao knew her place. She moved farther away.
Bang!—
Before she could even settle into a spot, the two of them said something—she didn’t know what—and a loud crashing sound came from the office, as if something had been thrown.
“Gao Tianchi, don’t be so ungrateful! Without me, who knows if you’d be dead or alive today! Get the hell out of here!”
**