CHAPTER 26: CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: EVERYONE SHOUTS TO BEAT

"Uh..." A stunned silence fell.

Liu Shichan had a pair of impressive long legs. Girls who practiced martial arts often favored short skirts or shorts for ease of movement. She usually wore sports shoes, paired with white over-the-knee socks.

Now, the socks were torn to shreds. The shoe on her left foot had also been ripped off, revealing her pale ankle and bare foot. It was somewhat embarrassing but made for an even more dangerously alluring sight.

A similar scene from the sixteen-episode art-house epic, *Prototype and Valkyrie*, seemed to flash through Chen Gu’s mind.

Lost in thought, he found himself staring straight at the girl’s bare feet.

Even someone as habitually carefree as Liu Shichan flushed crimson with embarrassment in an instant. She cursed, "Chen Gu, you bastard!" then turned and fled.

"Ooooh—" A chorus of jeers erupted from the crowd. The boys from Class Four, in particular, glared at Chen Gu with murderous intensity. Chen Gu felt wronged enough for snow to fall in summer. If I said this was all an accident, would anyone actually believe me?

Chen Zili’s eyes shone with a blue light. My heavens, Grandpa, you’re incredible! A master fighter and a smooth talker! You’re the grandpa for me!

Although Chen Zili considered himself a typical scion of a wealthy family, he’d never once confessed his feelings to a girl in all his years.

The reason was simple: he was too much of a homebody and far too timid.

From now on, if he could just follow Grandpa—Grandpa handling the fights, Grandpa as his wingman for picking up girls—Chen Zili felt his life would reach its zenith.

"Ahem, cough, cough..." Teacher Zhou cleared his throat and felt compelled to criticize Chen Gu. "You, too. Don’t you know to go a little easier on your female classmates? This is a sparring exchange; you should know when to stop."

"Yes, yes, I was wrong," Chen Gu readily admitted.

While the classmates were causing a ruckus, Chen Zili, coming down from his delusional high, suddenly realized something: The techniques Chen Gu just used were definitely from the "Ancient Martial Great Nine Forms"! The initial block was clearly from Wing Chun, and that final touch was the Dragon Claw Hand. What does this mean? My Grandpa is a martial arts prodigy!

As soon as the sparring exchange ended, the Lubei dark web exploded. Everyone who had bet lost their hard-earned Gold Shields down to the last coin. This ignited a furious rage among the students. On the website’s homepage, the campaign titled "Fully Support Goddess Liu Liu to Crush Chen Gu! Grand Signature Drive!" soared to a new record of 1,200 participants!

Lubei Middle School had roughly one thousand students and over two hundred faculty and staff members.

The implication was obvious.

Later, when the video of the fight was released, various discussions erupted. Many analyzed it from technical and scientific angles, all concluding that Chen Gu’s final move must have been a touch, not a grab.

There was no doubt about it; the guy must have been scheming for ages, meticulously planning, enduring countless hardships... all for that single touch.

This, however, completely overshadowed the fact that Chen Gu was a fighting prodigy—a detail only Teacher Ouyang and a handful of others noticed.

"Come with me. I know a secret path we can use to sneak off campus," Chen Zili earnestly promised Chen Gu. "The Dead Phoenix Gang is reportedly already blocking the school gates. Everyone’s out for your blood right now."

So these are the consequences of hitting a woman? Chen Gu found it rather absurd.

Fortunately, Chen Zili, with his years of experience skipping classes and sneaking out, successfully led Chen Gu over the wall.

"Let’s go. Come home with me."

Chen Gu felt a flutter of nervousness. He was about to meet his son’s family. Would they accept him? He looked presentable enough, right? Not too embarrassing to be seen with... Academically, he was somewhat accomplished, having been specially cultivated by the school, with a promising future ahead... This mindset...was he like a new bride meeting the in-laws, or a son-in-law moving in with his wife’s family? Definitely not like the father-in-law.

To be honest, Chen Gu hadn’t planned to actively approach Chen Jixian’s family. The mess belonged to the original owner of this body, but Chen Jixian had made enormous sacrifices, and Chen Gu, as the successor, had indeed benefited. Since Chen Jixian’s family was extending an olive branch, it would be rather impolite not to reciprocate.

Chen Gu summoned his bodyguards and car. Then, he and his ’grandson’ headed to Chen Jixian’s home.

This dinner had been Chen Zili’s doing. The bodyguard incident had led the young man, in his perceived wisdom, to a revelation: his father was actually a stoic but filial son—he just couldn’t bring himself to show his affection openly.

So, he prodded his mother, Xiao Jiangxia. Naturally, Xiao Jiangxia didn’t want her husband and his biological father to remain estranged, so she had taken the initiative to arrange this dinner.

Chen Jixian lived in a detached house with a courtyard, a rarity in this day and age. As a colonel, this was military-assigned property; he would have to return it if he ever retired.

The car stopped at the courtyard gate, and Chen Gu dismissed the bodyguards. Chen Zili burst in first, shouting, "Mom, we’re back!"

Xiao Jiangxia hurried out, not to welcome her little rascal of a son, but her father-in-law.

However, upon seeing Chen Gu, Xiao Jiangxia found herself in an awkward predicament. How should she address him? Chen Gu still looked seventeen or eighteen, the same age as her own son.

"You... you’re here," she managed, deciding to forgo any specific term of address.

Chen Gu was even more flustered, only managing an awkward, "Thank you for your trouble."

In his past life, Chen, the renowned actor, had played countless roles and analyzed innumerable scripts, but he’d never encountered a scenario quite like this... He had absolutely no precedent to draw upon.

Xiao Jiangxia then called her daughter out. This time, Chen Gu refrained from any bizarre impulse to hug his beautiful ’granddaughter.’ Instead, with the demeanor of an elder, he presented the gifts he had bought on the way.

They were nothing particularly original—just some common, yet presentable, items.

Xiao Jiangxia engaged in some awkward small talk for a moment before excusing herself. "I’ll go get dinner started. You young people can chat amongst yourselves."

Once in the kitchen, she nearly banged her head on the chopping board. ’You young people’? What on earth was she saying? Was that how a daughter-in-law should address her father-in-law?

Chen Jixian finished work very late that day. He wasn’t in a good mood, and his usually sharp eyes were half-closed and listless.

He knew he had failed, and what made it worse was that this failure was of his own choosing.

Recently, his superiors had spoken with him. It seemed he would soon be retiring from the military and transferred to a civilian post. Furthermore, judging from their conversation, the "civilian post" they were arranging for him didn’t seem to be a desirable one.

Did he regret it? Yes, a little.

Was he resentful? Yes, a little of that too. But his resentment was directed less at Chen Gu and more at Chen Beiliu. His feelings towards his own grandfather were complicated, something he couldn’t quite sort out himself.

Nearing his home, Chen Jixian heard his daughter’s laughter from inside. He frowned. That girl is usually so quiet. Why is she so cheerful today? Don’t tell me she’s fallen in love and brought some boy home?

Chen Jixian’s hand instinctively went to his service pistol, his gaze turning even colder.

The moment he stepped inside, he saw a familiar back. His eyelids twitched, flicking upward by a millimeter. His daughter, Chen Qingyu, rushed over joyfully, "Dad, you’re back! Grandpa was just saying he’s good friends with the famous musician Gao Mengjiu, and he’s planning to recommend me to..."