Chapter 23 - Commotions in the Gym (2/2)

The leaders of Ivy League High School harbored the great ambitions of exposing their students to international education standards. Therefore, the gym cla.s.s was reshaped into different sub-categories such as swimming, track and track, and Taekwondo. Chen Fan was interested in none of those subjects, and therefore he decided to pack his books up and leave for work right away.

Although he didn’t like Boss Yang, he got along with the rest of his coworkers.

Before Chen Fan could make it out of the cla.s.sroom, someone blocked his way.

“Hey, where are you going, tough guy? Why aren’t you taking the Taekwondo cla.s.s?” Ji Xingyu said with a smiley mask.

“None of your business.” Chen Fan raised his eyebrows.

“Ow… Are you so poor that you can’t even afford the extra fee? Don’t worry; I will pay it for you.” Ji Xingyu said sarcastically.

“Well—” Even as Chen Fan’s eyes grew icy cold, someone else caught his attention. It was Chang Wen, the cla.s.s leader, and she had approached them.

She gave Chen Fan an icy glance and then said: “It has come to my attention that you have been late in the mornings and you leave school in the afternoon before anyone else did. If you dare skip the Taekwondo cla.s.s, I will let Miss Xue knew about your actions.”

“Oh?” Chen Fan looked at the two cla.s.smates as he weighed his options. Finally, he slowly loosened his knitted brows.

“Sure, sure! I will go to the cla.s.s!”

The Taekwondo Hall at the Ivy League High School was very s.p.a.cious and was fully decked out with all kinds of decorations.

The Taekwondo cla.s.s was held for students from all cla.s.ses and even those in tenth and eleventh grades.

Jiang Tanqiu filled Chen Fan in about the school Taekwondo team:” Our Taekwondo team is very famous. The founder had won the second prize in a National Taekwondo Compet.i.tion. He is a fifth-dan-black-belt. You have to see him when he is in action. He kicks a.s.s!”

He turned to look at Chen Fan and then heaved a sigh.

“You better be careful. Ji Xingyu would not drag you to the Taekwondo cla.s.s for no reason. He is a blue belt. Maybe he is trying to find a chance to get back at you. Just ignore him when he starts to act like a jerk.”

Chen Fan nodded and smiled back at Jiang Tanqiu for his heads up.

The coach came up to them, and Jiang Tanqiu hurried to his feet and bowed deeply at him.

The coach was a second-dan-black-belt. After having led the warm-up exercise, he announced that it was time for sparing.

“Si Yinxia, Please demonstrate the move to everyone,” the coach ordered.

Si Yinxia nodded expressionlessly and then broke rank with his cla.s.smates.

Chen Fan noticed that his belt was red.

The red belt is second only to the black belt in Taekwondo’s ranking system. Red meant danger and aggression. It was an acknowledgment to the pract.i.tioner’s dedication and years of hard work.

The coach then a.s.signed Si Yinxia an opponent: a blue belt student. The two were to spar with each other while Si Yinxia demonstrates the set of new moves.

The blue belt was one rank lower than the red belt. It required at least one year of hard work. However, Si Yinxia was able to land a roundhouse kick at his opponent and ended the sparing after just ten cautious exchanges of blows.

“I submit!” The blue belt that got sent flying by the kick was Ji Xingyu. He struggled to his feet and raised both hands above his head.

“Si Yinxia had been practicing Taekwondo ever since he was a child.” A beautiful girl proudly proclaimed the other girls around her.

“No kidding. Si Yinxia is the best!” Another girl chimed in.

A swell of cheers and applause rose in the gym. The pupils of many girls from the tenth and eleventh grades had already turned into little hearts. When they heard that the boy was the most excellent student in the twelfth grade, their hearts almost skipped a beat.

Si Yinxia seemed unimpressed with his easy victory. He knitted his brows and said, “You have been slacking off. Otherwise, we could fight a little longer.”

Ji Xingyu smile mischievously and then said, “I don’t take it as seriously as you do.”

“Si Yinxia should challenge the black belt so that we could take his red belt spot.”

“Who else wants to practice with him?” The coach asked the students with a broad smile. He was very pleased by Si Yinxia’s improvement.

“If not, then find your partner and practice with each other.”

“Oh f.u.c.k!” The boy who was chosen as Si Yinxia’s partner grimaced as every one gloated at his luck.

Ji Xingyu was considered the second most powerful Taekwondo fighter right after Si Yinxia among all seven or so blue-belts.

Suddenly, Ji Xingyu raised his hand and asked loudly: “Coach, before we practice with our partners, can I challenge someone else?”

He then looked toward the corner and then said:

“Chen Fan, will you accept my challenge? Let’s settle our score the old way.”

Everyone looked toward the corner, and they saw a teenager sitting all by himself.

It was Chen Fan, and his belt was white.