Chapter 261 - Feng Ji Dojo (1/2)
Around 11 p.m., with every traffic light turning green, the taxi reached the area by Huanglong Stadium. The car stopped in front of a martial arts dojo known as Feng Ji.
After getting paid, the taxi driver couldn’t resist looking at Meng Fan as he exited the car. The man looked familiar, but he couldn’t remember the name. The taxi driver didn’t think anything of the green lights along the way; it must have been good karma from his good deed of helping an elderly person cross the street yesterday.
The Feng Ji Dojo was quite big. Meng Fan thought the place looked impressive online. As he walked inside, he felt the same.
“Hello, how may I help you?”
The young woman working at reception looked at the newcomer, a professional and sweet smile pasted on her face.
The front desk employee was very pretty, and she wasn’t the only one in reception. There were four of them, all of whom were attractive.
Having this many attractive receptionists meant this dojo was quite profitable.
“Hi, I’m here to learn.”
Meng Fan explained the purpose of his visit and his demand: “Can you give me the best coach you have?”
“All of our coaches are excellent…” The front desk employee started to recite the standard spiel. She was about to ask Meng Fan to join as a member when she paused, excitement showing on her face. “Are you… you are the Iron Hero!”
Meng Fan smiled and nodded. “If there’s no one else with this nickname, it’s probably me.”
This kind of reputation was useful in situations like this. After the receptionist recognized Meng Fan, he was ushered into the VIP room. Soon after, the best coach Meng Fan wanted also arrived.
If one did not at least apply for a membership, then even if you get a coach, you wouldn’t be guaranteed the best one. For people who went to the front desk like Meng Fan, coaches were assigned internally on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis. If one wanted to change coaches, it would require waiting, more money, or buying a training package, etc.
A 30-something man with a strong physique and intense gaze walked in. He shook hands with Meng Fan and introduced himself. “Hi, Mr. Meng. I’m Yang Feng, the chief coach at Feng Ji Dojo.”
“Hello, Coach Yang.”
Yang Feng asked Meng Fan to sit. He gave Meng Fan a glass of water delivered by the front desk employee and asked directly, “What would you like to learn? Would you like a group class, or one-on-one classes?”
“One-on-one classes.”
Meng Fan answered honestly. “I want to learn some practical fighting techniques, and I want to learn them fast.”
“Fighting techniques are no problem, but doing it fast…”
Yang Feng shook his head and smiled. He didn’t mock or belittle the comment as he has heard it many times before. Of course, no matter how stupid the students seemed, they wouldn’t be turned away. He answered patiently, “Mr. Meng, there’s no shortcut to learning martial arts. The best way is to customize a training plan and start from the basics. If you just learned some quick tricks or hacks, then it’s like building a sandcastle: not sturdy. Also, I wanted to ask, what is your purpose in studying here? If it’s for fitness or weight loss, you’d need a more systematic training.”
Meng Fan thought Yang Feng’s advice was correct, though he wasn’t sure if there was some membership sales pitch in there. He didn’t care about that. He insisted, “I’m trying to learn some practical fighting skills. I don’t need systemic training.”
He had no choice. There’s not enough time for a systemic learning period.
When Yang Feng looked like he wanted to persuade him more, Meng Fan continued, “Coach Yang, you could give me a customized quick-learning plan. I can pay twice the usual tuition.”
Yang Feng shook his head. “This is not a matter of tuition.”