Subtlety 2

Lin Sheng would contribute his skills, while they provided the other resources, and together they would register a company.

Xiayin and the other two unanimously decided to give Lin Sheng a forty percent share. The remaining shares would be split among the three of them.

Lin Sheng didn't really care. He wasn't after income, but influence and power.

What he planned to teach wouldn't be some secret sword technique from Black Feather City. Instead, it would be basic practical combat techniques he'd picked out from his jumbled memories.

These techniques were highly practical. Unlike the free-style fighting popular in Celine, they focused mainly on punching and elbow strikes, making them ideal for street brawls in a city.

As for making a profit, he hadn't even considered it. He would be the head instructor, and those who studied under him would naturally form a group. When trouble arose, they'd have another connection to rely on.

That tenuous connection was what he wanted.

After all, Huaisha wasn't nearly as peaceful as ordinary people imagined.

Before long, to Lin Sheng's surprise, the training center was already up and running before the national amateur Naxi Swordsmanship competition.

At Lin Sheng's suggestion, they didn't set it up at the club. Instead, they rented an inexpensive, spacious location in Blackwater District.

Russell was the most enthusiastic about it, with Xiayin coming in second.

Madilan, on the other hand, was at a loss and had no idea what to do.

By the fourth day after Lin Sheng made his suggestion, everything was ready. All that remained was for him to win a prize at the competition, then use his fame to promote the classes and recruit students.

Ding.

As the school bell rang, the teacher began gathering up the lesson plans and quickly left the classroom.

Lin Sheng swiftly stood up, picked up the schoolbag he'd packed earlier, and was about to leave for the park to practice swordsmanship.

"Lin Sheng!"

A girl's voice suddenly called to him from behind.

Lin Sheng turned around and saw Shen Yan stand up and hurry over to him.

He hadn't paid much attention to her lately, so he was rather surprised to notice that Shen Yan seemed to have gotten prettier.

Her skin was smoother, and the few pimples she'd once had were long gone. Her chest had become more pronounced, accentuating her slender waist.

Beneath her short, ear-length hair were large, sparkling eyes shaped like crescents.

"What is it?"

Lin Sheng looked at her calmly.

Shen Yan put one hand on his shoulder and complained, "I haven't seen you in ages. You haven't been hanging out with us lately. Want to go to the internet café in a bit? My treat. I made a little money recently, hehe."

"An internet café?" Lin Sheng was about to reply.

"Shen Yan, I've got two tickets to Star of Tomorrow. Want to go see it? It's starting soon." A boy nearby came over and called out.

The boy had a somewhat fresh-faced look, with neat bangs and skin as smooth as a girl's. He had the delicate, weak air of a pretty boy.

He wasn't looking at Lin Sheng, but Lin Sheng could keenly sense him glaring at him from the corner of his eye.

Lin Sheng understood. He smiled.

"Then you two go ahead. I've got something to do, so I'm heading back."

Shen Yan furrowed her brows as if she wanted to say more, but Lin Sheng had already slipped out from under her hand and waved.

"Go on. Have fun."

"Hey, wait! Why don't we all go together? It's just one extra ticket. I'll pay!" Shen Yan said generously.

She made a movie ticket that cost a few dozen yuan sound like nothing.

That was pretty generous even by student standards. For most students, a few dozen yuan could cover several days' worth of pocket money.

After saying that, she looked at Lin Sheng rather proudly, as if to show that she'd been a good friend.

"We haven't hung out together in ages. Come on, let's go. You've been disappearing lately. I never see you around."

Lin Sheng was speechless.

He really didn't have time to play pretend or go see movies with kids. He'd be better off going back and meditating a couple more times.

"I really have something to do. I'll pass. Maybe next time," he refused again.

"If he's not going, then I'll go! Rich girl Yan Yan, buy one for us too!" Two girls nearby had heard them. They giggled and rushed over to hug Shen Yan from behind.

"Bullshit! Last time I asked you to buy me breakfast, you wouldn't do it. It's not like you don't have money!" Shen Yan tried to wriggle free.

"Because we didn't have any money then, obviously! You know we've been saving up for the shopping festival."

"You need to save your money, but mine doesn't count?"

The girls jostled and bickered, turning into a chaotic mess.

Lin Sheng smiled. Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, he turned and walked off slowly with his schoolbag.

He happened to pass the boy holding the movie tickets.

"Good. At least you know your place," the boy suddenly muttered. "Stay away from Shen Yan from now on, or I'll fucking kill you!"

"??" Lin Sheng paused, taken aback.

He suddenly found it rather amusing.

A girl like Shen Yan, so loud and brash that she was practically a tomboy, had someone who liked her. And he was using that to threaten him?

It had been a long time since Lin Sheng had found something this funny.

He wasn't angry. He genuinely thought it was entertaining.

It was like an adult running into a little snail on the road that started mouthing off at him while doing somersaults and cursing!

An adult's first reaction definitely wouldn't be anger.

It would be surprise.

Look! A snail can do somersaults?!

That was surely what would go through an adult's mind.

Lin Sheng felt exactly the same way now.

He blinked and looked at the boy as if he were a monkey.

"What the fuck are you looking at?" The boy immediately flew into a rage and hissed.

Bang!

Lin Sheng swung his elbow, striking the boy precisely in the left side of his ribs.

It looked as if his elbow had merely brushed against the boy's uniform by accident. In reality, the blow landed hard.

The boy's face immediately turned white. He clutched his ribs, his lips trembling, unable to get a word out.

A sharp, stabbing pain radiated from the spot where he'd been hit and spread throughout his body.

Lin Sheng blinked.

"What did you just say? I didn't hear you."

"Fuck..."

Bang.

Lin Sheng drove his elbow into the boy's stomach again.

The boy shuddered all over, the pain nearly making him pass out.

Lin Sheng draped an arm over his shoulder. The two of them looked like close friends.

"You look really pale. Come on, I'll take you to the infirmary."

Before Shen Yan noticed anything, he walked the boy out of the classroom with his arm around him and soon led him into the boys' restroom.

A little while later, Lin Sheng emerged with a smile and headed toward the stairs.

It was only after he'd been gone for quite some time that the boy slowly stumbled out of the restroom. He was drenched in cold sweat, clutching his stomach, his face utterly haggard.

Lin Sheng had no interest in the romantic rivalries between students. His attention was focused mainly on the club and the dream.

Everything else could wait.

After leaving school, he quickly hailed a taxi and was about to get in to head to nearby Rainbow Park.

Boom!!

A loud crash suddenly came from a neighboring street in the distance.

Everyone nearby paused and turned to look in the direction of the sound.

From far away, he could faintly hear people shouting on the street.

"There's been a crash!"

"A truck hit a car! Call an ambulance!"

"Where? Where?" "Over there, outside the cake shop!"

"Quick, check if anyone's hurt!"

Lin Sheng hesitated, but still opened the taxi door and got in.

He slammed the door shut and turned his head to look outside.

The taxi was just turning around at the nearby intersection, moving slowly along the road.

"Rainbow Park, please, driver."

"Sure." The driver kept glancing out the window at the crash, too.