Salary

Amid a burst of applause, students began whispering to one another.

"This new teacher is incredible. All I could see were afterimages. I couldn't react at all."

"Exactly. You get what you pay for. I couldn't follow what he was doing, but I could tell Teacher Chen was amazing. No wonder he came from the Praying Mantis Snake Sword Academy, East Lake City's top-ranked swordsmanship school."

"Yeah, someone who makes the rankings really is different. If only I could get that strong someday."

"Ha. Dream on. That's the only place it'll happen."

"Jiaqi, Teacher Chen is so young. He can't be more than a few years older than us."

"Jiaqi... Hey! What's wrong?"

"I... Meiling, Teacher Chen is so handsome. What am I going to do when he teaches me hands-on later...?"

Behind a tall male student, the braggart boy hid behind his classmate's shoulder, keeping out of Chen Yiming's sight.

His face was deathly pale, his body rigid and trembling slightly as he struggled to recall what had happened a month ago.

After the exchange match that day, he had been sitting by the roadside joking around with a few classmates when they saw Chen Yiming returning from his test.

On impulse, he had declared that Chen Yiming wouldn't last three moves in a sword match against Liu Qingqing before getting his ass kicked.

He'd already ridden his bike out of sight when I said it. The street was so noisy, and he was so far away. There's no way he heard me.

The braggart boy went over the memory bit by bit. Only after convincing himself that Chen Yiming couldn't possibly have heard him did he breathe a sigh of relief.

Who could have imagined that in just one month, a student who had only just joined a martial arts academy would become a swordsmanship teacher?

He was only an ordinary high school student. He could run his mouth behind someone's back, but he would never dare insult a martial arts academy student to his face.

The applause went on for nearly a minute before gradually dying down.

Chen Yiming coughed to ease the awkwardness, then followed the usual class routine and announced that the students could practice on their own while he went around correcting their mistakes.

As soon as he finished speaking, he sensed the gazes of several young female students. The heat in their eyes was almost palpable.

Maintaining the stern manner expected of a teacher, he pretended not to notice.

At some point, Xie Xuejiao quietly left, turning the training area over to Chen Yiming.

The students quickly lined up on their own and began imitating the thrusts and slashes of the basic sword moves.

Chen Yiming walked up and down the rows, correcting their movements now and then.

Most of these students were only marginally better than the original Chen Yiming had been back then. Their grasp of the basic sword moves was just as poor.

Only a handful had even a slim hope of joining a martial arts academy. The rest had little talent and were nowhere near performing the basic moves to standard.

When Chen Yiming corrected the way a female student named Lin Jiaqi held her sword, she kept turning her head away, too shy to look at him. He couldn't help recalling a celebrity from his previous life who had also been called Teacher Chen.

He shook his head and pushed the stray thought aside.

These female students weren't his type at all. They were far too young. He was a man who had turned down Shen Jia's invitations several times.

Nothing mattered more than lying low and accumulating skill points.

When he passed the braggart boy, the boy's stiff posture and clumsy swordsmanship left him at a loss for where to begin. He pointed out a few mistakes at random, then moved on to the next student.

The braggart boy immediately relaxed, relieved that Chen Yiming apparently hadn't heard him after all.

Two hours passed quickly.

The students were all pleased with Chen Yiming's guidance. Their only complaint was that the time had gone by too fast.

With his level-one swordsmanship talent, Chen Yiming could easily learn a technique as advanced as Mantis Snake Swordsmanship, let alone the basic sword moves.

He could spot a student's mistake at a glance and demonstrate the correct movement for them step by step. His eye was far keener than the other teachers'.

When Chen Yiming left the Libei Martial Arts Training Center, he held a thick envelope in his hand.

Xie Xuejiao had given it to him. Inside were a month's base salary and his share of the class fees, paid in advance by the Libei Martial Arts Training Center.

His base salary was thirty thousand a month, and the class fees were split fifty-fifty. Altogether, the envelope held exactly one hundred and eighty thousand.

Chen Yiming swore he had never received a paycheck this large in either of his lives.

He might still need to save up to buy a home, but he now had more than enough to cover the monthly rent.

He could also eat his fill of black boar meat without worrying about the cost.

When he got home, his family was still awake, waiting for him.

"Dad, Mom, look. This is the salary they paid me in advance."

Chen Yiming set the bulging envelope on the table.

The envelope was specially made, several sizes larger than an ordinary one, yet it was still stuffed full. Just looking at it felt satisfying.

"How much is it?"

As she asked, his mother tore open the seal and took the money out.

"Exactly one hundred and eighty thousand. Do you believe me now? I told you I could earn money with my martial arts skills."

Chen Yiming patted his chest, brimming with confidence.

"Hey, you old woman, why'd you tear the seal like that? Yiming needs to take it straight to the bank to deposit it tomorrow."

Seeing that his wife had ripped the envelope, Chen Yiming's father couldn't help speaking up.

"You're right. We wouldn't dare carry this much money outside loose. I'll find some glue and stick it back together."

His mother realized the problem too and was about to go look for glue.

"Mom, it's fine. It's already torn. I'll just put the money in my pockets tomorrow. Who'd dare rob me? It's only a lot to ordinary people. This is just one month's income for me."

Chen Yiming hurriedly stopped her and tried to reassure her.

His mother relaxed at that, then turned and glared at his father.

"You old man, what did you just call me? Say it again."

"I didn't call you anything. You must've misheard. I'll find a cloth bag for the money. It'll be easier for Yiming to carry."

His father made an excuse and hurried toward the storage room.

This was how a middle-aged couple got along. Chen Yiming stayed out of it.

"Yingying, keep this for yourself. Buy whatever you want."

Chen Yiming picked up a small stack of bills from the table without counting them and pressed it into the hands of Chen Yingying, who had been sitting quietly beside him.

"Brother, why are you giving me so much money all at once? I don't need this much."

Chen Yingying spoke softly.

She had always been a well-behaved student with excellent grades. She never compared herself to others, and their mother bought her clothes and shoes. She had little reason to spend money.

"Take it. Your brother's giving it to you, so keep it."

Chen Yiming's tone was firm as he pressed the money into her hands, leaving no room for refusal.

He wasn't the immature kid the original Chen Yiming had been. Now that he had the means, of course he would give his family the best he could, especially his only younger sister.

"Oh. Then I'll find somewhere to hide it."

Chen Yingying answered just as softly, then trotted upstairs to her room.