No. 14 Like Flowery Words in a Book
After the girl left, the world fell silent again.
I stood there, the cool evening breeze brushing against my face, staring at the hospital. Memories, long forgotten, resurfaced, refusing to be ignored.
Like the test questions, all the memories from my past life were crystal clear, as if they had happened yesterday.
After almost a year of treatment at Fifth Hospital, Mom, losing hope in Western medicine, had transferred to City Central Hospital, where she spent her final days.
I clearly remembered her words to me the day before she passed away: “Yi Yao, I wish you were a girl.”
Dad had told me that Mom had always wanted a daughter. But according to our family’s tradition, boys were far more valued than girls. Since everyone was an only child, if a wife gave birth to a girl, their family’s status would plummet. But if it was a boy, at least they wouldn’t be looked down upon at family gatherings.
Some relatives, desperate for a son, even resorted to naming their daughters “Zhao Di” (meaning “summoning a younger brother”) and risking fines to have another child.
Yi Yao, “a long road tests a horse’s strength, and time reveals a person’s heart.” That was how my father in the other world had explained my name.
But in this world, Dad had told me that he had wanted another son. Mom’s illness had prevented them from having more children, so he named me Yi Yao, a constant reminder of his unfulfilled wish.
“…”
It was time for my Taekwondo class.
Besides my allowance from Dad, I, or rather, Yi Yao, had another source of income: the Taekwondo instructor.
Taekwondo training was grueling, especially for a girl like Yi Yao. She had only started learning because a classmate, afraid of socializing, had given her a free one-month training pass and asked her to be his sparring partner. However, that classmate quit after two weeks, unable to handle the intensity of the training. Yi Yao, the quiet and unassuming girl, persevered, even using part of her allowance to pay for training and belt tests.
She had been training for six years.
From a clueless white belt beginner, she had steadily progressed through the ranks, earning her yellow, green, blue, red, and finally, black belt. She had even been recommended to the largest Taekwondo gym in Upper Capital City, where she successfully passed the second-degree black belt test.
Now, her skills surpassed everyone else at the gym. She no longer had to pay for training. In fact, the gym paid her a small fee. She even helped out as an instructor when they were short-staffed.
As I walked home, I suddenly remembered that my bike was still in Long Fei’s trunk.
How was I supposed to get to school tomorrow?
I took out my phone, opened QQ, and sent Long Fei a message: “My bike is still in your car. If you don’t deliver it to my building by 9 PM tonight, pick me up for school at 6:30 AM tomorrow.”
He replied shortly after: “I have something to do at the company tonight. Your school is on the way to the airport. I’ll pick you up tomorrow.”
That’s good.
I sent him a smiley face and put away my phone, then boarded the bus home.
It seemed I needed to make sure Xiaodie wasn’t around the next time I confronted Huang Qinghao.
A girl in love was a force to be reckoned with, especially a girl in love with connections. I would rather avoid making an enemy of her.
If all else failed, I would consult Ouyang Dati…
Traffic in Upper Capital City in 2016 was still manageable. The bus arrived at my stop after a bumpy thirty-minute ride.
I rushed home, grabbed a quick bite, and packed my Taekwondo uniform.
“Dad, I’m going out.”
Dad knew I went for “exercise” every evening. He didn’t say anything, just nodded absentmindedly, sipping his wine and watching a war movie on TV.
I bit back the urge to tell him to drink less and left the apartment.
When I arrived at the gym, the training session had already begun. Over fifty students were jogging around the perimeter of the training area, warming up.
“You’re late. That’s a first.”
The speaker was Zhai Fangning, one of the instructors. He was a short, handsome man with a first-degree black belt. He liked to joke around with the students, but when it came to training, he was stricter than anyone else. We called him Da Ning behind his back.
“Sorry, something came up.”
I bowed to the national flag at the center of the gym, then to Da Ning, and rushed into the changing room.
Bright, intelligent eyes, a clean face, short hair that reached her shoulders, healthy tanned skin, a flat stomach, and long, slender legs—this was Yi Yao’s female body.
Thanks to her training, her legs weren’t as thin and fragile as those of other girls, but they were still aesthetically pleasing. The proportions of her thighs and calves were perfect. As I changed out of my school uniform pants, I couldn’t find a single flaw.
Well, I was a girl now. No point in ogling my own body.
After putting on the loose-fitting Taekwondo uniform, my reflection in the mirror transformed.
No wonder girls who practiced martial arts or dance were so popular. That aura was cultivated through years of training.
When I emerged from the changing room, the students were still warming up. I stretched briefly, then joined them, along with Zhai Fangning.
Proper warm-up was crucial for training. Taekwondo, like any martial art, was a journey of self-cultivation. Only through true understanding could one grasp the essence of each technique.
But before reaching that level of enlightenment, one had to find the path that led to it.
Most of the students here were beginners. They signed up, bought a uniform, tied on a white belt, and showed up for a few classes. Few made it past the green belt level. They either got busy with school or found the training too difficult. This gym had been operating for decades, but I was the only student who had achieved a black belt.
We mostly taught them the basics: running, jumping, stretching, basic kicks and punches. The evening passed quickly.
“Keep going! Five more laps!”
“Get up! Don’t tell me you can’t do it! If you can’t even handle this, how are you going to face the challenges of life? How are you going to pursue your happiness?”
“Yes, good! Keep running!”
The gym was about the size of ten basketball courts. During the day, it was used for badminton and volleyball. In the evenings, a third of the space was allocated for Taekwondo training. But even this limited space was enough to push these students, who spent most of their time cooped up in school, to their limits.
Twenty laps of running as a warm-up was a daily routine. Girls and new students were allowed to take it easy.
Initially, I didn’t believe Yi Yao could run twenty laps. Even with her memories, I doubted it. But after running ten laps myself in this body, I was amazed by her willpower.
“Get up!”
“You can do it! If the boys can do it, so can you!”
Years ago, a nine-year-old Yi Yao had endured this same grueling training, pushing her exhausted body towards the finish line, urged on by the instructor.
Five laps, ten laps, fifteen laps. Finally, at the age of ten, she had shed her “beginner” status and started running twenty laps with everyone else.
In some ways, Yi Yao was stronger than anyone else. But in the end, she had succumbed to the despair that gnawed at her soul.
“Two more laps! Don’t stop! Get up!”
“I can’t… Boss… Can I just stop…”
I had just finished fifteen laps and was starting to feel tired when I saw Zhai Fangning standing beside a student who had collapsed on the floor, urging him to continue.
“I can’t… I’ll die if I keep running…”
The student, who couldn’t even tie his belt properly, lay on the floor, gasping for air, his face flushed.
You’re more likely to die if you stop abruptly. After prolonged inactivity, sudden strenuous exercise could be dangerous. You need to cool down gradually, walking and regulating your breathing before resting.
I jogged over to him. “What’s wrong?”
“Instructor, I can’t do it anymore!”
I smiled faintly. “A man never says ‘I can’t.’ How old are you?”
“Huh?” He seemed surprised by my question. “Seventeen. Why?”
“I’m sixteen, and I started later than you. I’m two laps ahead. Are you sure you want to give up?”
“I…”
He flushed, then paled. He looked at my black belt, then at me, his expression conflicted. Finally, he gritted his teeth and stood up. “I don’t believe you’re only sixteen.”
“Telling a girl she looks old will only lower your chances with her.” Seeing that my words had the desired effect, I started running again. “If you can’t prove yourself, you’ll suffer the consequences later.”
“Wait… Wait! I’ll run, okay?”
He scrambled to his feet and followed me, a helpless expression on his face.
I chuckled and picked up the pace.
“Hey… Boss, that’s not fair!”
Due to the high turnover rate, the instructors rarely remembered every student’s name. Five years ago, new students were required to introduce themselves, but the gym owner had eventually abolished this practice. As a result, quiet girls like Yi Yao couldn’t remember a single student’s name, apart from the instructors.
“One more lap. Remember, if you can’t keep up, you’ll regret it.”
“Don’t… Ah! Help!”
“…”
