Gu Zhijing now thinks that both his dad and mom are pretty impressive - his dad is dating a 25-year-old, while his mom is even more amazing, dating a 23-year-old.
Nevertheless, Gu Zhijing is still quite content. At least his parents are both very happy. When he was younger, he had asked his father why other families were fine, but they got divorced.
He remembers his father's response:
"Even though Dad and Mom are separated, we're still your parents. But if we had to live together, all three of us would be unhappy."
At that time, Gu Zhijing couldn't understand love, but he grasped that his parents' divorce was to ensure all three of them could be happy.
On Friday evening, the Muay Thai instructor Gu Junxing had hired arrived. He had thoughtfully arranged for both a male and female instructor.
He even arranged separate rooms for training, worried they might not have enough space. Other equipment like punching bags and gloves were also prepared.
The female instructor was tall with toned muscles, making Nian Suian envious. The male instructor was also muscular, looking like he could knock out a bull with one punch.
"Mrs. Gu, I'm He Dongxi."
"I'm Zheng Wei."
He Dongxi smiled at Nian Suian: "We'll work together to demonstrate how Muay Thai is practiced."
Muay Thai is a highly damaging martial art. Watching others practice is quite thrilling. Even though it was just a demonstration, every punch and kick looked like it connected solidly, leaving Gu Zhijing and Nian Suian open-mouthed in awe.
The first lesson didn't teach much beyond a few kicking techniques. They seemed simple but were actually quite challenging.
After an evening of kicking practice, Nian Suian felt like her legs weren't her own anymore.
As they descended the stairs, each holding onto a railing, they exchanged a glance and could see the exhaustion in each other's eyes.
Downstairs, Nanny Zhang had already prepared a late-night snack, knowing they'd be tired and hungry after training.
After such intense exercise, both were famished. As they ate, Nian Suian felt she probably wouldn't be able to get up tomorrow. Although the instructor had taught them massage techniques to relax their muscles, for Nian Suian, who hadn't exercised in a long time, today's workout was still too much.
Gu Zhijing's stamina was a bit better than Nian Suian's, but he was also exhausted. He messaged his friends to cancel their Saturday morning basketball plans, suggesting they come over to play video games instead. He might be too tired for basketball, but gaming wouldn't be affected.
It was Friday, so as soon as he got home, he went to get the key to the gaming room from his dad.
On Saturday afternoon, Nian Suian shakily made her way downstairs. As she entered the dining room, she was surprised to see a table full of people.
"Zhijing's friends are having lunch here today. Are you alright?" Gu Junxing stood up to help her, then explained to Gu Zhijing's friends, "Your Aunt Nian practiced Muay Thai last night and is quite sore."
Gu Zhijing immediately chimed in, boasting to his friends, "You know Muay Thai, right? It's really tough! If you ever need help, come find me! If I'm not enough, my stepmom and I can team up to sort things out."
Gu Junxing warned his son, "Gu Zhijing, tone down the bragging. You've only had one lesson, who are you planning to 'sort out'?"
Qu Zizhou and the other three covered their mouths, trying not to laugh. Gu Zhijing glared at his dad, dissatisfied. It was always like this, never letting him save face.
The Gu family didn't have a rule about not talking during meals. Well, they didn't have one before either, but back then there was simply nothing to say.
Nian Suian asked Gu Zhijing's friends, "What events did you all sign up for in the sports meet?"
At this, Chu Mingyan's face lit up with excitement. "I'm doing the 400 meters and the three-legged race."
"You have a three-legged race too?" Nian Suian recalled the sports meets from her school days, which only had basic events.
"Yeah, and it's with boy-girl pairs. Chu Mingyan wants to partner with Xu Yuan, and then..." Qu Zizhou's words were cut off as Chu Mingyan covered his mouth.
But Gu Zhijing picked up where he left off: "Xu Yuan is participating in the three-legged race for the girls, and so many boys want to pair up with her. The PE rep suggested drawing lots, but Chu Mingyan didn't get picked, so he's trying to swap with someone!"
Chu Mingyan had managed to cover Qu Zizhou's mouth, but he couldn't stop Gu Zhijing from spilling all his secrets.
This was the third time Nian Suian had heard the name Xu Yuan - first at the parent-teacher meeting, then from Cen Xi, and now today.
"Don't worry, Chu Mingyan, we absolutely won't gossip about this, right, Gu Junxing?" Nian Suian kicked Gu Junxing's foot under the table, signaling him to agree quickly and not start lecturing.
"Right, there's nothing to be embarrassed about."
"What about you, Gu Zhijing?" Nian Suian was asking Gu Zhijing, but her eyes were on his friends, encouraging them to spill any gossip they knew.
"What about me? I've got nothing going on."
Nian Suian ignored him, wanting to hear from his friends instead.
"Zhijing... really doesn't have anything." Chu Mingyan, who had just had his own secret exposed by Gu Zhijing, wanted to "retaliate," but after thinking for a while, he couldn't come up with anything.
Usually when they chat, Zhijing rarely talks about girls. Even when the boys in class discuss which girls in their grade are the prettiest, he tells them not to randomly rank people. He never talks about it in private either. The most he talks about is video games.
Gu Zhijing seized the opportunity to pledge his loyalty to Gu Junxing and Nian Suian: "Dad, Stepmom, don't worry. My heart belongs only to studying. I love only studying!"
Gu Zhijing's three friends thought to themselves: You might not be dating or have a crush on anyone, but that doesn't mean you love studying. However, they were still eating at Gu Zhijing's house, so they kept these thoughts to themselves.
Gu Junxing smiled slightly, "Good. Since you love studying so much, why don't you get into the top three in your class next time to show Dad?"
"..."
"Let's eat, let's eat. Qu Zizhou, don't you like these ribs? Have some more. Qi Anlu, don't be shy! Make yourself at home, eat up!"
As Gu Zhijing served his friends more food, avoiding his father's gaze, he grumbled internally: Top three? What did his dad think he was, a top student? Forget about the top three in the grade, he couldn't even make the top three in his class!
...
Wednesday, at school.
At noon, Gu Zhijing went to the school store alone to buy something. On his way back to the classroom, he ran into the class monitor, Hao Leyun.
"Gu Zhijing! I heard you've learned Muay Thai?" Hao Leyun asked urgently.
"Yeah, what's up?" Having taken one lesson still counted as learning, no problem there.
"Well, we need your skills now! Want to be a hero?"
"Where? Lead the way!"