Where Do I Fall Short of Jianguo?

"I didn't do much." Shen Qi hurried to change the subject. "Come on, I'll buy you lunch. You can teach me swordsmanship this afternoon."

Other people might have trouble finding a professional swordsmanship instructor.

But as a Beijing Sport University graduate, Shen Qi had no such worries.

Wen Jingrou had a gentle-sounding name, an innocent face, and even a touch of cuteness.

In fact, she was a member of the national youth wushu team and had competed in the National Wushu Routine Championships many times.

She had once won the youth swordsmanship title at the National Wushu Routine Champion Tournament.

Her swordsmanship blended traditional grace with competitive routines. She was exactly the teacher he needed.

More importantly, they knew each other, so she would teach him for free.

"One meal, and you expect me to work like a slave? And you're treating me at the cafeteria?"

Wen Jingrou questioned her life choices.

"We're practically brother and sister, even if we have different parents. No need to stand on ceremony."

Shen Qi thought the Beijing Sport University cafeteria was pretty good.

Good food, low prices.

They ate at the cafeteria, then found a place to practice swordsmanship.

"Is this the legendary... Moon-Eclipsing, Light-Dimming Sword?"

Shen Qi swung the sword a couple of times.

The flimsy blade rattled.

"Might as well call it a golden-ring saber. These are the only swords the school lets us use."

Wen Jingrou snatched it from him and took up a starting stance.

"What swordsmanship are you going to teach me?"

To make teaching easier, Shen Qi had learned some wushu routines, but they were all unarmed.

Military boxing, Five-Step Boxing, tai chi, and the like.

He had never dared to teach weapons.

Now that he needed some swordsmanship for an audition, he had to start from scratch.

"With only two or three days, what advanced moves do you expect to learn, my lord?"

"Wait, aren't you from the Wudang school? What about the Deadly Chain Sword, the Taiyi Mystic Gate Sword, the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Sword, the Yin-Yang Duality Sword, or Cloud Ladder Step? Teach me some real kung fu."

"Get lost!"

How had she ever been blind enough to think this guy was a dreamboat?

Shen Qi meekly followed along and practiced the footwork first.

Best not to provoke her.

Did real kung fu exist?

Shen Qi was sure it did, because Wen Jingrou could beat him to a pulp.

A fight between them would be over in three punches.

His funeral would be seven days later.

Luckily, Shen Qi had some martial arts training, putting him well ahead of a complete beginner.

The Basic Swordsmanship Wen Jingrou taught him had four sections and thirty-two movements. It was built on twelve sword techniques, including thrusts, chops, sweeping cuts, and rising cuts, combined with eight stances, including the bow stance and empty stance. The goal was to move as one with the sword.

It was basic, but learning it was another matter.

"Keep the sword straight and level with your shoulder. Drive your arm with your waist. Don't just reach."

"Like this?"

"Something still looks off. Faster. Pull it back as soon as you thrust, and straighten your arm..."

Clearly, Shen Qi was no martial arts prodigy.

After a while, his head was spinning.

Beijing Sport University was full of athletic prodigies. Even an ordinary person could look like an uncivilized savage beside them.

No choice. Time to use his cheat!

When Shen Qi pulled out a green notebook, Wen Jingrou stopped mid-movement.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't stop. Keep going. I'm taking notes. A dull pencil beats a sharp memory." Shen Qi didn't look up.

"Seriously? When you have sex with your girlfriend, do you make her do all the work while you take notes?"

Wen Jingrou was about to lose it.

She should never have agreed to help Shen Qi.

But Shen Qi had once been her first love, and he had left a vivid mark on her memories.

When she heard he was going to play Yin Zhiping, her sympathy got the better of her. She couldn't bring herself to refuse.

"Watch your language. Are you living up to the name our parents gave you?"

Shen Qi glanced around. Luckily, no one was nearby. Otherwise, that would have been mortifying.

"Heh. Once your Yin Zhiping airs, we'll see how proper you can be."

Wen Jingrou slowly resumed her sword routine.

"Don't just demonstrate. Break down the movements for me!"

After failing to record her twice in a row, Shen Qi knew the gap between them was too wide.

His only hope was for his "recording subject" to go easy on him.

"Fine." Wen Jingrou finally took her teaching seriously. "This move is called Rising Sword from Empty Stance. For the empty stance, touch the front foot lightly to the ground and bend the back knee. Keep all your weight on the back leg. For the rising cut, flick your wrist like you're scooping something out of water. Don't lift the sword tip too high..."

"Again!"

Shen Qi still failed to record it.

Wen Jingrou rolled her eyes, but patiently demonstrated it several more times, explaining every detail.

She had never seen anyone take notes while learning martial arts, and she wasn't convinced it would work.

For such a large school, Beijing Sport University had only one commonly used classroom building, but more training facilities than anyone could count.

Sports didn't require much writing.

Got it!

After three more tries, Shen Qi finally recorded it successfully.

The gap between them really was huge.

Fortunately, she was teaching him "Basic Swordsmanship"—and it truly was as basic as it got.

Only because Jingrou had broken everything down bit by bit had he barely met the threshold for recording it.

Shen Qi took the competition sword and copied the movement she had just shown him.

Wen Jingrou was ready to correct everything he got wrong.

Then...

She stared, dumbfounded, as Shen Qi performed the move she had just taught him with nearly textbook form.

Shen Qi didn't stop. He practiced it again and again.

And it wasn't just Rising Sword from Empty Stance. He also pulled off the moves Wen Jingrou had taught him earlier, looking surprisingly convincing.

"Holy crap, Shen Qi! How did you do that?!"

"I listened carefully, watched closely, and copied it perfectly. All right, let's move on to the other moves."

Sensing that the "magic" was almost gone, Shen Qi hurried her along so she could provide more "recording material."

"Can you really learn from notes?"

Wen Jingrou looked as if her whole understanding of the world had been shaken. Then Shen Qi's deep voice drifted over again.

"Explain it. Don't just demonstrate..."

By dinnertime, Shen Qi had more or less finished learning Basic Swordsmanship.

"Come on, I'm taking you out for a big meal!"

Shen Qi couldn't bring himself to treat her to another cafeteria meal.

"I need to watch my figure. A bowl of noodles upstairs will do."

Wen Jingrou had some idea of Shen Qi's circumstances. There was no way she would let him spend too much on her.

"When I make it big, I'll get you back—no, I'll repay you!"

Moved, Shen Qi started making grand promises.

"Forget it!" Wen Jingrou chuckled. "Never mind repaying me. Once you've played Yin Zhiping, just don't tell anyone I helped you."

"Hahaha!"

"Seriously, if you'd started martial arts earlier, you might have become an athlete."

Learning Basic Swordsmanship in half a day wasn't too outrageous.

But Shen Qi's strange transformation made Wen Jingrou wonder if he was actually a martial arts genius.

"There aren't that many 'what ifs' in life. No matter how you answer its multiple-choice questions, you'll have regrets."

Shen Qi took it in stride.

For now, life wasn't as good as he had imagined, but it wasn't as bad, either.

He had made it through his hardest days.

When he had nowhere left to go, he had found a path forward.

And he had discovered that he quite liked this path. It was far more interesting than being a PE teacher.

He could even face Wei Jianguo calmly.

He just hadn't expected to run into the guy that very evening.

"If someone hadn't spotted you at school, I wouldn't even know you were back in the capital!" With a cigarette between his lips, Wei Jianguo complained in a KTV near the school. "And Brother Dao, why didn't you tell me Shen Qi was here?"

"What was I supposed to say? He came to school at the start of the month, vanished the next day, and only got back today."

Huang Qidao didn't tell him the truth. He just felt like laughing.

He was afraid you'd drug him.

Four years of trust as roommates had long since evaporated.

The days when they could stroll around in their underwear in front of one another were gone for good.

"I've just been too busy," Shen Qi explained without much sincerity. Then he pulled eight hundred yuan from his pocket and handed it to Wei Jianguo. "Here... thanks."

People said that if you wanted to put off someone romantically interested in you, you could borrow money from her and never pay it back.

By the same logic, borrowing money could destroy a friendship.

Wei Jianguo was always urging Shen Qi to "go into the business," yet Shen Qi hadn't blocked him. The main reason was that when Shen Qi was struggling, Wei Jianguo had helped him despite not having much money himself.

Shen Qi had often eaten and drunk on Wei Jianguo's dime, and had even borrowed money from him a few times.

Aside from trying to pull him into "the business," there was nothing wrong with this former classmate.

"Oh? Made something of yourself, have you? What have you been busy with? Don't tell me you really went to haul bricks at a construction site."

Wei Jianguo didn't refuse the money. He took it and put it away.

After four years as roommates, they knew one another's temperaments. He had seen Shen Qi's stubborn streak plenty of times.

"I'm going to be a star!"

Shen Qi looked more serious than ever.

He was confiding in his old roommate, but it also felt like he was saying it to make it real for himself.

"Huh? Hahahaha..."

Something seemed to occur to Wei Jianguo, and he laughed so hard he doubled over.

"What's so funny?"

Huang Qidao kicked him.

Having a dream was a good thing. No matter how ridiculous someone else's dream seemed, you shouldn't laugh at it.

Besides, given what Wei Jianguo did for a living, what right did he have to laugh at someone who wanted to be a star?