After returning from Thailand, Zhou You developed an interest in learning freestyle fighting.
Every man has a martial arts dream, but Zhou You knew it wasn't realistic and that he couldn't endure the hardship. Modern people take up fighting mainly out of interest and to pick up some self-defense skills. He often traveled for work and planned to tour around in the future—not knowing a bit of self-defense did make him uneasy. For now, it was fine, but later, when his companies took off, he'd need to stay even more low-key. Staying out of the spotlight was the right call; quietly making money was enough—why flaunt it?
"Ping, I've been thinking about learning some freestyle fighting lately. I'm pretty interested. Did your provincial team have any connections in this area?" Zhou You called Wang Ping, his go-to guy. After all, Wang Ping was a man, and they interacted daily, both being into sports.
"You came to the right person asking me, bro. Back in sports school, I was tight with a few guys who did Sanda, freestyle fighting, and boxing." Wang Ping puffed up with pride—he'd had his glory days in sports school.
"Help me find someone reliable. I want to get fit and learn some self-defense." Zhou You hadn't expected him to know several people; everyone had their own networks.
...
Wang Ping was riding high now, and his old crew had started gathering again. Since Zhou You had finally reached out to him, he had to handle it perfectly.
"Bro Liang, I've got good news. The big shot behind me wants to learn some freestyle fighting—mainly as a hobby and for fitness. I'm planning to bring him to you."
Li Houliang, a former provincial team gold medalist in freestyle fighting at the National Games, had achieved some success but never really made it big. He ran a training gym to scrape by.
"Sure, I'm always at the gym. Just give me a heads-up before you come." Li Houliang wasn't one for many words.
After setting it up, Wang Ping called Zhou You: "Bro, I've arranged it. He's an old classmate from sports school who now runs a fighting gym in Shushan District. He's pretty skilled—won a gold medal at the National Games before."
"That's some serious professional level. Alright, let's check it out first. When are you free? Come with me." Zhou You decided to take a look.
"I just contacted him. If you're free now, we can head over. I'm at Jade Lake right now." Wang Ping wanted to strike while the iron was hot.
"Okay."
Zhou You hung up and drove to pick up Wang Ping, meeting him right at the entrance. Why not seize the day?
On the way, Wang Ping gave Zhou You a detailed rundown of Li Houliang's background. After winning the freestyle fighting gold at the National Games, Li Houliang had wanted to go pro, but he got into a car accident and injured his leg. After recovering, it affected him a bit, so now he ran a gym teaching others.
About ten minutes later, they arrived at the gym. It was on a quiet street in a two-story building, tucked away at the end of a row of commercial storefronts in a residential area, with few passersby. The ground-floor storefront had a bold sign reading "Wave Rider Fighting."
A man stood at the entrance, tall and straight at nearly 1.9 meters, with a muscular build and a fierce aura. He had short hair like Zhou You, which added to his intimidating look.
"Bro Liang, let me introduce you. This is Zhou You, the big shareholder behind my swimming pool—the big shot I'm always talking about." Wang Ping said half-jokingly.
"Hello, Boss Zhou. I'm Li Houliang. Wang Ping and I used to hang out at sports school. Let's head upstairs first, and we can talk while we look around."
"Hi, just call me Zhou You. Don't listen to Wang Ping's nonsense—I'm still a university teacher." Zhou You didn't mind Wang Ping's teasing; he'd become a big shot sooner or later anyway.
Li Houliang led them upstairs. The first floor was tiny, just a reception area. But once they reached the second floor, they saw it was spacious. It was an open hall, like a wedding venue, supported by several large pillars. In the middle was a ring, with punching bags, barbells, dumbbells, and some equipment Zhou You didn't recognize nearby. Since it was work hours, the gym was quiet, with only five or six people doing basic training.
"Bro, I'll call you that like Wang Ping does. This gym is about 1,000 square meters. Since it's in a remote spot, the rent was pretty cheap." Li Houliang explained. "We mainly train adults and teens in Sanda, freestyle fighting, and some boxing."
Zhou You took a lap around and felt it was decent. The staff seemed professional—much better than a regular gym, where people just build useless stiff muscles.
"Bro Liang, I mainly want to work on my fitness, learn some self-defense moves, and be prepared for special situations." Zhou You laid out his needs.
"No problem. We get plenty of adults coming in with similar interests. I get it—you want to stay fit and be ready for emergencies. Do you have a lot of free time? If you can come regularly, you'll learn faster." Li Houliang kept it brief.
Zhou You couldn't help but smile. "I've got plenty of time. Let me look around on my own. You and Wang Ping can take a break over there—no need to stick with me."
Li Houliang opened his mouth to say something, but Wang Ping pulled him into the nearby office.
Once inside, Wang Ping said seriously, "Bro Liang, Zhou You is my benefactor. When you teach him, make sure it's the real deal. And guys like him are generous and straightforward—he won't shortchange you."
"Alright, no problem. But why is he wandering around on his own?" Li Houliang was puzzled.
"Bro's here to learn real skills. Even though I introduced you, he wants to check things out himself and observe. Once he decides, he'll commit." Wang Ping saw Li Houliang's confused look and added, "Let me give you the inside scoop. I met him at the swimming pool, and he backed me in opening those pools. We're expanding further. The more I deal with him, the more I realize I can't figure him out. He's generous and easygoing but cautious and risk-averse. I have no clue how much he's worth, but it's at least over a hundred million." Wang Ping genuinely wanted Li Houliang to succeed, so he stressed serving Zhou You well.
Li Houliang's fierce demeanor melted into shock. "No kidding? That impressive?"
"Very impressive. I wanted to run the pools myself—knew all the steps—but I couldn't shake the worry. Leaning on a big tree makes it easier. I can afford to earn, but not to lose."
"Thanks, man. I'll bring out the real stuff." Li Houliang said earnestly.
Zhou You had sent them off to the office and wandered the gym alone, watching the others train and chatting with one of the students. He got a sense that this gym had some substance—unlike those flashy taekwondo places.