The woman who’d walked in was in her early twenties and she pulled a suitcase behind her. She was tall, had long legs, was young and beautiful, especially her pair of long long legs extending from her shorts, jade-white and so long that they made up more than half of her height and it was eye-catching indeed. She could be a first-class leg model just for her legs.
Her chest was firm and perky and it was tightly covered by a round-necked crew T, holding them high and tight, shaping her breasts to look like two large-caliber artillery shells. Add her pretty, delicate face and a head of raven-black long hair and she was like Hollywood’s Angelina Jolie, sexy and charming yet heroically gallant.
‘This is a very special woman’ thought Xia Lei. He hadn’t seen her the past few days he’d been coming but from the way she spoke it seemed like she was not a new student.
“Liang Si-Yao. When did you get back?” Lu Sheng went over in welcome and plastered a fawning smile on his face.
Liang Si-Yao? Xia Lei looked at Liang Zheng-Chun and then at the approaching Liang Si-Yao and suddenly saw the resemblance between the two.
“I got off the plane this morning. I’m back, Dad,” said Liang Si-Yao.
Liang Zheng-Chun still looked stern, “Not even a phone call when you’re back. Do you still see me as your father?”
Liang Si-Yao smiled as she said, “Dad, I didn’t want to tire you out with a trip to the airport. Can’t a daughter show some concern?”
“How long will you be back for this time?” asked Liang Zheng-Chun.
“I won’t be going off this time. Dad, I quit the job over there. I’ll accompany you every day from now on, okay?” said Liang Si-Yao.
“Good, good. Heh heh.” Liang Zheng-Chun smiled.
As people grow older, they will want their children by their side, not because of any ulterior motives but because it is comforting and a sort of blessing.
Lu Sheng smiled as he said, “Si-Yao, if you’ve come back to be a teaching assistant I’m sure that the school will have a lot of new students.”
Liang Si-Yao smiled in return, “I’ll put my luggage down and talk with you when I come back.” She pulled her luggage towards a door inside. As she passed by Xia Lei, she said, “Don’t bicker with the monk. He’s a barbarian.”
‘Monk’ was Lu Sheng’s nickname and it was better than the name the students close to him used, which was ‘Deep Knowledge Lu’.
Xia Lei smiled, “No, we’re just playing around.”
Liang Si-Yao pulled her luggage behind her and entered the room, and her small waist, round bum and long legs made for an especially beautiful view of her back.
Xia Lei looked away. He actually only had to will it and this long-legged Wing Chun beauty would be fully exposed to him but he did not want to do so. It was very difficult for other men to be able to see a woman in her natural, original form and that was why women were mysteries to them. It was too easy for Xia Lei, though. He could reach the goal just by willing it so the mystery was long lost for him and no longer held any attraction. Additionally, he did not want to go down this path so he could always exercise restraint. Jiang Ru-Yi was an exception, of course.
“Boy,” Lu Sheng looked at Xia Lei, “You’ve practiced Wing Chun before?”
Xia Lei shook his head, “No.”
Lu Sheng did not believe him, “You’re lying, aren’t you? I saw you striking the wooden dummy just now. You weren’t half bad. I was practicing for eight months before I could hit it with your level of skill. You dare say you haven’t practiced Wing Chun before?”
“I haven’t.” Xia Lei did not want to keep explaining himself.
At that moment, Liang Zheng-Chun walked over and pointed at the wooden dummy, saying, “Lei, strike it again and let me see.”
“Sure.” Xia Lei walked to the wooden dummy, took a deep breath and hit the wooden dummy, move by move.
His left eye transmitted the images of Liang Zheng-Chun’s movements to his brain as he learnt the moves and applied them. He was quicker and more practiced this time. This wasn’t because of his ability to comprehend but him adjusting more to the eye’s transmitting speed. His body was also getting more used to the ‘mimic-like’ movements and was able to copy Liang Zheng-Chun’s movements more quickly and accurately.
This process looked complicated and miraculous but it was actually similar to how those older ladies who square-dance in public squares learnt their moves from watching DVDs. The difference was that the older ladies’ DVD was up on a flower stand while Xia Lei’s ‘DVD’ was his left eye and it was a part of his body. This was also a unique advantage he had and nobody else could surpass it.
Bam bam bam, bam bam bam…
As Xia Lei struck at the wooden dummy, his strikes became faster and faster and more and more accurate. He was completely immersed in the world of WIng Chun and had forgotten about everything else around himself.
The senior students stopped their own practice and gathered around, watching Xia Lei strike the wooden dummy.
The group of people, including Liang Zheng-Chun, were amazed by the strange scene before their eyes. To them, Xia Lei did not look like a newbie who had started practicing Wing Chun for a few days, but like an old hand who had been practicing for at least ten years. It seemed Xia Lei had hidden depths and was just pretending to be a stupid pig to defeat the tiger.
“That’s not possible, is it? This boy’s the newbie student?” A senior student of a year watched with open mouth, not believing his eyes. Even if he went up to the wooden dummy, he would not be able to strike it as well as Xia Lei was doing now.
“Definitely not. This guy’s got some deeper motive and is pretending to be a newbie. You think he’s someone from another faction, here to cause trouble?” a senior student said.
“He couldn’t be here to pick up girls, could he?” said someone.
“Maybe. Liang Si-Yao is such a babe. This guy just may have this intention,” said someone.
“What crap are you saying? Senior Liang was working in the US and barely even comes back twice a year. This guy has never seen her face before so how could he have this intention? Pfft. I think he’s definitely sent by some other faction to cause trouble,” said someone.
The students muttered among themselves in lively conversation, but quietly.
Lu Sheng’s face got stormier and stormier. He went close to Liang Zheng-Chun and spoke in his ear, “Master Liang, he said he’d only learnt Wing Chun for a few days. Look at his skill. Is that a person who has only practiced Wing Chun for a few days?”
Liang Zheng-Chun shook his head thoughtfully and stretched out three fingers. “From what I see, he has practiced for at least three years.”
“Master Liang, you’ve practiced Wing Chun your whole life. If you say it’s three years then it’s definitely three years. Why is that boy lying?” said Lu Sheng.
“No, it’s not, it’s like…” Liang Zheng-Chun frowned and suddenly felt like he couldn’t judge anymore. Xia Lei was like an impenetrable fog to his eyes.
Just then, Liang Si-Yao walked out and also stood next to Liang Zheng-Chun to watch Xia Lei hit the wooden dummy. As she watched, she, too, showed surprise. “Dad, what’s this student’s name? How come I haven’t seen him before?”
“His name’s Xia Lei,” said Liang Zheng-Chun, “He’s only been here a few days. Of course you haven’t seen him before.”
“Did he practice Wing Chun before?” asked Liang Si-Yao.
Liang Zheng-Chun shook his head, “No. He said that this was his first time learning Wing Chun.”
Liang Si-Yao’s little mouth opened in shock, “No way. His movements look so practiced already. How can he be someone who was learnt it for only a few days?”
“He is an honest person and not one who would lie. Then again, he really doesn’t seem to be someone who has only learnt Wing Chun for a few days. I can’t get a handle on this; I can’t see through him.” said Liang Zheng-Chun.
“Isn’t it simple? I’ll know his depths if I practice with him,” said Liang Si-Yao.
“Si-Yao, let me do it. I’ll spar with him,” said Lu Sheng.
“No, no, no. You have a temper and you don’t know how to hold back. It’s better if I do it,” said Liang Si-Yao. She walked towards Xia Lei.
Xia Lei had just finished the last move and relaxed his stance.
He was tired from the bout of striking the wooden dummy and his forehead and body were beaded by sweat. His limbs also hurt like hell and were swollen in several places. What he had been striking was hard wood after all and though he had calluses on his hands, he still had injuries from striking wood continuously.
This bout of wooden dummy-striking had increased Xia Lei’s know-how of Wing Chun and its force. This could be considered a gain.
“Xia Lei, is it?” Liang Si-Yao smiled, “You’re not bad.”
It was only then that Xia Lei discovered that Liang Si-Yao had walked to his side. He smiled as well and spoke politely, “Miss Liang, you must be teasing me. I was just practicing blindly.”
“Blind practice and still so amazing?”
Xia Lei laughed but didn’t say anything.
“Are you interested in practicing with me?” asked Liang Si-Yao.
Xia Lei shook his head, “I’ve only learnt Wing Chun for a few days and I am unschooled in many ways. I cannot be your practice partner. I’d have to refuse.”
Liang Si-Yao suddenly shot forward and struck Xia Lei in the chest with a One-inch Punch.
Xia Lei had not expected her to attack him all of a sudden and did not react in time; he was hit by her attack. Liang Si-Yao might have seemed like a petite woman but her strength was no less than a man’s. The punch knocked him two metres backwards and made his chest light aflame in pain.
Before Xia Lei could regain his balance, Liang Si-Yao got close to his front again and kicked him above his knee. Sweeping power made Xia Lei tumble to the ground in a disheveled heap.
The onlookers cheered and Lu Sheng also raised a fist in exaggeration.
‘An attack out of the blue like that and she didn’t go easy on me either. Damn it!’ Xia Lei cursed in his head. He flipped himself over and crawled to his feet, then got into the fighting stance, prepared to spar with Liang Si-Yao.
“You should have done this at the start.” As soon as she was done speaking, Liang Si-Yao sped to Xia Lei’s front in the blink of an eye with a punch aimed at his heart.
Xia Lei was prepared this time and defended himself by deflecting the blow with his right arm, shifting her punch to the side. At the same time, his right elbow moved towards Liang Si-Yao’s waist in a strike.
Liang Si-Yao’s left hand came down in a block and pressed on Xia Lei’s right elbow, then pushed forward forcefully. The two of them had completed several attack and defence moves in the blink of an eye and not one could beat the other.
Their eyes met and they started fighting again the next second.
Liang Si-Yao had learnt Wing Chun from Liang Zheng-Chun since she was a child. Her experience and level of skill was not something a novice like Xia Lei could compare to but Xia Lei had his advantage too, and that was his left eye. No matter how quick Liu Si-Yao was, she was not faster than his left eye and so she did not seem quick to Xia Lei. He used his left eye to focus on Liang Si-Yao and predicted her moves before she made them, letting him dodge every one of her fierce attacks.
The two of them went back and forth - you punch, I kick, you thrust your palm, I elbow. It was difficult to see who had the upper hand. Over time, Xia Lei landed some punches and kicks and Liang Si-Yao also punched and kicked Xia Lei a few times. They seemed evenly matched.
As they sparred, a thought came to Xia Lei, ‘As a man, I am definitely stronger than Liang Si-Yao but the blows she lands on me feel like they are stronger than mine. This must be related to a technique for sending out power. My left eye can see her movements and she can’t be faster than my eye but can I see how she is directing her power? If I can see it, I’ll be able to quickly grasp Wing Chun’s secret to using power. Once I master that, I won’t have to be afraid of opponents like Lu Sheng anymore!’
With that thought in mind, Xia Lei’s left eye twitched and Liang Si-Yao’s T-shirt, bra and the like disappeared. His field of vision was filled with a snow-white landscape; the pale parts were like Spring’s snow while the pink parts were like peach blossoms in March. The enticing sight made him stare for a moment and his reaction was off by a beat.
“Hei!” Liang Si-Yao gave a soft shout and her foot connected with Xia Lei’s lower abdomen.
A dull thump sounded and Xia Lei clutched his stomach as he fell to the ground.
“Are you all right?” Liang Si-Yao hurried to help Xia Lei up.
Xia Lei hurriedly closed his eyes and scolded himself, ‘You deserve it!’
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