Dragon King's Son-In-Law

by Dragon King

  “Come again at the same time tomorrow and tutor Zi after dinner,” Zhao Guang said after he parked at the entrance of the dorm.

  “Okay, thank you uncle,” Hao Ren said as he got out from the car.

  Zhao Guang nodded and drove away.

  From the beginning until the end, this pair of son-in-law and father-in-law only had two sentences of conversation.

  Hao Ren walked into the dorm. As he returned to the third floor, Zhao Jiayi and others surrounded him, “Little guy! Now you get car service for round trips? Are you dating a rich woman?”

  “I just finished tutoring. Her dad drove me back,” Hao Ren said honestly.

  “Why don’t I ever meet a rich young girl? Not only pretty but also wealthy…” Zhou Liren yelled in regret.

  “If I tell them that I am not only tutoring a rich young girl but also have a fiancée, I don’t know how surprised they will be…” Hao Ren thought to himself.

  Hao Ren climbed up to his upper berth to read after getting rid of those guys.

  “Hao Ren has had so many peach blossom* fortunes lately. First, he is tutoring a young and pretty girl, then Su Han called him to her office, and even Class President Xie Yujia has been paying close attention to Hao Ren lately…”

  Seeing Hao Ren being so ignorant, Zhao Jiayin, Zhou Liren, and Cao Ronghua started discussing the recent events as if they never noticed that Hao Ren had this kind of charm.

  Hao Ren held a book in his hands and pretended to be reading, but he was, in fact, trying to adjust his state of mind. He followed Zhao Guang’s instruction and let the weak energy flow from Baihui Acupoint to Shenting Acupoint. Then passing through the Temple, Ermen Acupoint, Qingming Acupoint, Philtrum Acupoint, Yamen Acupoint, Fengchi Acupoint, Renying Acupoint, Danzhong Acupoint, Juque Acupoint, Qihai Acupoint, Zhangmen Acupoint, it, at last, went through the Yongquan Acupoint at the bottom of his feet and back to the center of the body.

  The Internal Core inside Hao Ren’s Dantian (Lower abdomen region. It is where the energy was stored in Chinese Wuxia Novels.) slightly vibrated as this type of circulation flowed through him.

  A “bop” sounded, and Hao Ren felt as if someone knocked on his forehead. His body from top to bottom seemed to have opened up.

  Next, Hao Ren felt the powerful Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Energy pour into his body. It froze for a bit and distributing throughout the hundreds of acupoints within his body.

  His whole body suddenly became light. The Heavenly and Earthly Spiritual Energy that was originally difficult to sense was actually filling his body. As if his body became a transparent sieve, he couldn’t keep the energy but was also not an obstacle to it.

  The feeling of clarity was way more refreshing than swallowing one hundred peppermints.

  Hao Ren tried to enjoy this refreshing experience. He didn’t expect the breakthrough of the Spirit Concentration Scroll’s first level would be this easy.

  * Peach blossom is a common phrase in Chinese descirbing that fact that a guy/girl is popular and has many encounters with the opposite sex.

  21 Aren’t You Too Generous

  “Joy puts heart into a man. You do look especially refreshed today.” On the way to the class the next day, Cao Ronghua commented while studying Hao Ren.

  “Going out with a rich girl gave him a different aura.” Rubbing his chin, Zhou Liren told Zhao Jiayi and others while gazing at Hao Ren.

  “He has a light elegance in every movement.” Zhao Jiayi joked.

  They had been teasing him, but Hao Ren did feel his aura had changed ever since he made the breakthrough last night.

  It seemed he had merged with nature. Although he couldn’t absorb the essence of nature yet, he had a faint feeling that he himself was the nature.

  He had this feeling after he had just reached the first level of the basic cultivation technique, but he was not a true cultivator yet. No wonder Zhao Yanzi’s Third Uncle regarded mortals with disdain. Hao Ren reflected while he savored the changes in his body.

  The four of them were on their way to class when they met some of the girls from their class who had just come out of the cafeteria after breakfast. Glancing at Hao Ren, Xie Yujia was about to pass them to take a front seat in the classroom. Struck by a feeling of strangeness, she looked back at Hao Ren again.

  “Weird. He is wearing the same clothes as yesterday. How come I find his presence different…” Xie Yujia was a little baffled, thinking it a result of her imagination. Shaking her head, she swung her leg over her bicycle and rode toward the Academic Building.

  “Xie Yujia looked at you twice. Have you two been seeing each other?” Zhou Liren asked Hao Ren with a wink.

  Hao Ren snorted, “How is that possible…”

  In his heart, Xue Yujia was not only the Class President but the most popular girl in the class as well. She was too out of reach for him.

  Besides, he was an engaged man now.

  They strolled carelessly into the Academic Building just when the class began. Taking a window seat with fresher air, Hao Ren dug out his study materials and began to prepare for his tutoring session.

  “Why didn’t you answer my message yesterday?” In the middle of class, Hao Ren received a text message from Xue Yujia.

  Surprised, he looked up and met Xue Yujia’s gaze. He wondered why the diligently note-taking Class President would send him a message during the class…

  Hurriedly, he looked down and answered her message, “You mean about the long-distance run? I got it.”

  “You are the only participant in our class, and only six have been selected in our whole major to enter the games. I hope you won’t disappoint me.” She sent another text message.

  All of a sudden, Hao Ren felt layers of pressure. The biannual Athletic Games in East Ocean University was a competition held among all the students, regardless of age. The most athletic students selected from the tens of thousands of students in the university would compete with one another. It was a big show.

  “Got it,” Hao Ren answered the text message. He had been a renowned long-distance runner in high school, but he had never entered any provincial level competitions and didn’t gain points for it during his university entrance examination.

  Xue Yujia had high hopes for him, but he was not so confident with himself. Although he was fast, he had spent almost all his time playing video games after he entered university. It had been a long time since the last time he had put any real efforts into practice.

  Thinking that was the end of the text conversation, he was surprised when Xue Yujia sent him another, saying, “Did you get a haircut yesterday? How come I feel like you look different today?”

  “No, I didn’t,” Hao Ren answered the text message.

  Then Xie Yujia stopped messaging him. Hao Ren wondered if he had sounded too aloof. But soon, he was immersed in middle school English practice questions.

  In the evening, Hao Ren again took the bus to Zhao Yanzi’s home. No longer a stranger, Hao Ren was not as reserved as last time. However, he still remained silent on topics about their family.

  After dinner, Zhao Hongyu declined Hao Ren’s offer to clean the table for her and asked him to tutor Zhao Yanzi. Reluctantly, Zhao Yanzi followed Hao Ren up to the second floor.

  After a day’s thought, Hao Ren had decided to tutor Zhao Yanzi according to the different knowledge points. Today’s quiz focused on the most common topic in the middle school English course, the tenses.

  Time ticked on, and Zhao Yanzi racked her brains and finally finished the quiz.

  “Uncle, are you sure you are really good at it?” With her chin propped up in her palm, she spun a ball-point pen with the other hand and watched Hao Ren mark her paper earnestly.

  She had changed out of her school uniform into a short T-shirt with a kitten pattern and a red plaid skirt. Like a candy, the loose combination oozed the sweetness of a teenage girl.

  Slouching on the chair with her legs curled beneath her, she was oblivious that her posture ex
posed a strip of flat belly to Hao Ren.

  “If you learn earnestly with me, it won’t be too difficult for you to be one of the top three in your class.” Hao Ren scrawled a big red score of 30 on the paper before returning it to her.

  Ignoring her pouting lips of disapproval, Hao Ren pointed at the first question and began to explain, “Since it uses ‘yesterday’ in the first part of the sentence, you must use past tense with the verb. And the past tense of ‘say’ is ‘said’, not ‘sayed’… Hey, listen up and note this down…”

  Seeing Hao Ren’s earnest face, Zhao Yanzi looked resentful. Still, she had to listen to him, and she began making notes on her notebook.

  Hao Ren had seen the books in Zhao Hongyu’s studio and knew her English was excellent. He wondered how her daughter was so lousy in English.

  At the end of the one-hour tutoring session, the upper end of Zhao Yanzi’s ball-point pen was almost chewed off, showing how much she resented Hao Ren.

  “Ren, follow me upstairs.” Zhao Guang showed up by the door on time.

  “Ok.” Putting down the papers, Hao Ren followed Zhao Guang up the small stairs into the studio.

  “It seems that you have broken through level one?” Zhao Guang asked when they were inside the studio.

  “It seems so. I feel that my body has been unlocked.”

  “Well, good job. However, the first level is quite simple. Today I will teach you the next part.” Zhao Guang looked calm without any signs of surprise or joy.

  Hao Ren sat down and listened to him patiently, wondering what realm Zhao Guang had reached. Whatever realm Zhao Guang was in, it couldn’t be low.

  Hao Ren had never dreamed of flying in the sky, entering the earth, shattering the mountains, and tumbling the oceans. Saving his own life was his purpose. And if he achieved some accomplishments in his cultivation, he would be more confident in helping Zhao Yanzi survive the crisis three years later.

  Of course, he knew the family of Zhao Yanzi was trying their best to help him, though strictly speaking, Zhao Yanzi had caused all this trouble. However, they would rather place their own daughter at risk than sacrificing innocent Hao Ren. That alone showed more wisdom and righteousness than most parents could ever have.

  Very soon, it was nine-thirty, and Zhao Guang had explained every point of the Spirit Concentration Scroll in detail.

  “You can come back at the same time tomorrow. Then you can cultivate by yourself and ask me whenever you have any questions,” glancing up at the clock, Zhao Guang instructed.

  Hao Ren nodded. Walking out of the studio to the second floor, he entered Zhao Yanzi’s room and found her working hard on her homework. Not wanting to interrupt her, he gathered his tutoring materials and quietly left the room.

  “I’ll drive you back,” Zhao Guang appeared at the door and offered.

  “Thank you,” Hao Ren accepted.

  On the way back to school, Zhao Guang asked suddenly, “Can you drive?”

  “I got my license last summer, but I’m still a beginner,” Hao Ren answered.

  “How about I buy you a car so you can come and go with ease. Which do you like, Chevrolet or Volkswagen?” Zhao Guang asked casually as if he was talking about a 10-yuan toy instead of a 100,000-yuan car.

  “Err, it’s not necessary. I can take a taxi back in the future,” Hao Ren said in a hurry.

  Zhao Guang didn’t pursue the topic. He drove Hao Ren to the dorm building in silence.

  “Oh, please tell Zi that I have to participate in the Athletic Games next week and I’ll have to practice. I’ll resume the tutoring sessions next Tuesday.”

  “Ok.” Zhao Guang restarted the car with a steady hand and disappeared around the corner.

  “A calm father-in-law, a gentle mother-in-law, a willful young fiancée, what more will come my way?” Inhaling deeply, Hao Ren walked into the dorm building.

  When he got into his dorm room, his three dormmates were still out. Apparently, they were at an internet café playing games. Opening his backpack, Hao Ren was in the process of reorganizing the tutoring materials and saw that a big pig head had been drawn on the title page of his favorite middle school English test bank.

  A coarse nose, bulging eyes, droopy ears and thick lips… On the side were the words: Self-important Uncle.

  Gazing at the caricature of the pig head that was drawn to look ugly but looked a bit like him, Hao Ren chuckled.

  22 The Most Handsome Guy in East Ocean University

  In the following two days, Hao Ren didn’t tutor Zhao Yanzi but took the time at night to practice long-distance running on the sports field. He didn’t expect to win the first place, but he didn’t want to end up last either.

  He believed that his long-distance skills were still there and he just needed to regain his form.

  With only 4-5 lamps illuminating the 400m synthetic racetrack surrounding the outside of the soccer field, the whole sports field looked quiet and lonely.

  Regulating his breathing and steps, Hao Ren practiced alone. He had purposely chosen to run here at nine o’clock at night.

  In one hour, the entrance of the dorm buildings would be locked up. The basketball and soccer players had all gone back, and thus he would have no distractions while practicing.

  Today in Weak Optical Signal Processing class, the beauty Su Han was wearing a studded shirt, denim shorts, and Dr. Marten Boots. She looked so gorgeous that the guys yelled and cheered.

  However, she didn’t spare a glance at Hao Ren as if she didn’t summon him to her office last week.

  She remained aloof during the whole class until she left. Although Hao Ren knew they crossed paths in another world, they had returned to the normal world and were strangers. After all, a super beautiful female teacher would never show any special treatment to a very ordinary student.

  He believed that Su Han must have gone to Lu Qing to talk about him.

  While he ran, his mind wandered through events that happened today. Suddenly, a basketball rolled toward his feet.

  Hao Ren stopped running and picked up the basketball before looking toward the place where the ball had come from. Not far from him, a handsome guy wearing a white shirt sat on the bleacher. With a well-proportioned and robust body, the guy had dashing eyebrows slanting upwards and outwards.

  Hao Ren recognized him.

  Known as the Most Handsome Guy in East Ocean University, Huang Xujie was the president of the university’s Rock Climbing Club and the celebrity student who was even pursued by the most popular girl in the school, Lin Li.

  Lifting the basketball with one hand while pointing at it with the other, Hao Ren used this gesture to ask him if the ball was his.

  Huang Xujie nodded and curled his finger.

  Hao Ren took a step forward before throwing the basketball to him with one hand.

  The basketball covered the 20-plus meters between them before it fell toward Huang Xujie.

  Huang Xujie reached one hand out and caught the ball.

  With the ball gone, Hao Ren swung his arms and prepared to start jogging again.

  “Sophomore!” Huang Xujie suddenly said.

  “Uh?” Hao Ren looked at him, baffled.

  “I heard that you too had entered the 1500-meter race?” He asked abruptly.

  Hao Ren looked at him cautiously, feeling a trace of hostility from him.

  “I heard that you’ve been in the limelight quite a lot recently.” Spinning the ball with his finger, Huang Xujie asked, “You live in grand style, don’t you? And you have been picked up from campus by a limo, haven’t you?”

  “Did I steal your show?” Hao Ren asked directly.

  Snap! Huang Xujie stopped spinning the basketball abruptly, “Yeah. I’m pissed off by your blatant shows.”

  Though low-key, Hao Ren was never afraid of confrontation. Facing Huang Xujie on the racetrack, he asked, “So as a senior, you want to teach me a lesson, don’t you?”

  Huang Xujie didn’t answer. Instead, he asked, “They say
Su Han asked you to her office all alone. What’s between you and her?”

  From the trace of hostility, Hao Ren sensed an intense jealousy.

  “I have nothing to tell you!” Hao Ren went back to jogging.

  Huang Xujie froze for a moment, surprised that an ordinary sophomore would be so arrogant. His hand tightened on the basketball while he gazed at the back of Hao Ren.

  When Hao Ren returned after another lap, Huang Xujie was gone.

  He knew he had attracted a lot of attention in the past couple of weeks, and the several limo pick-ups on campus made him look like a big show-off.

  More importantly, Su Han’s invitation to her office made the self-important handsome guys red-eyed with jealousy. Maybe they thought Hao Ren’s previous behavior had been his efforts in attracting Su Han’s attention and the famous students were furious that his clumsy efforts had paid off and had successfully drawn Su Han’s interest to him.

  After all, their blatant behavior only won them screams of the pretty girls while the extreme beautiful Su Han didn’t show a trace of interest.

  Indeed, Su Han’s beauty exceeded people’s imaginations, and it was natural that the male students were crazy for her. If Hao Ren had not known her real identity, he would have been silently amazed by her beauty, too.

  It was three quarters past nine when Hao Ren jogged back to his dorm. Zhao Jiayi and his other two roommates were engaged in a fierce card game with Gu Jiadong from the dorm room opposite to theirs.

  Hao Ren took his washbasin and towel to take a cold shower. He didn’t tell anyone about Huang Xujie’s provocation.

  Friday passed quickly with only half a day of classes. With most of the students coming from local areas, East Ocean University became unusually quiet every Friday afternoon.

  Zhao Jiayi and the others didn’t want to go home this weekend, and they dragged Hao Ren and several others from the next-door dorm room to a nearby KTV*. After singing themselves to exhaustion, they went to a hot pot buffet. They stuffed themselves with beer and meat before returning to the dorm room for a game of cards.