Ch 47: Learning Tae Kwon Do

Just as he was feeling troubled, Shao Junling approached him with eager eyes and asked, "Brother, when will you take me to learn martial arts?"

Yin Chang was taken aback. This was his promise to the other when they agreed on the rules. In order to prevent the little guy from grabbing and biting people, he promised to take him to learn formal martial arts.

But when Shao Junling was living at school, it was impossible to follow through. After some time passed, Yin Chang forgot about it. Now that Shao Junling was a day student and could get home as early as four or five in the afternoon on weekdays, plus weekends, he can find time to go to the martial arts school to exercise.

"Do you really want to learn?" Yin Chang asked as he grabbed his iPad.

"Mm-hmm," Shao Junling looked quite persistent about this.

Keeping his promise, Yin Chang searched the internet for various martial arts styles, including Taekwondo, Karate, and Jiu-Jitsu, and explained them to him one by one, allowing him to choose one he liked.

After listening blankly, Shao Junling turned his head to Yin Chang, "I want to learn yours."

Yin Chang didn't react at first. "Mine?" he asked.

Shao Junling replied, "Muay Thai."

Yin Chang had mentioned it on the show "Idol Face-to-Face" before, and Shao Junling had watched that segment repeatedly in private, so he remembered it clearly.

But Yin Chang couldn't remember when he had told Shao Junling that he knew Muay Thai, and was a bit confused.

"Well..." He paused for two seconds, not bothering with the details, and said directly, "I don't recommend you learn boxing right now."

Shao Junling was still young and had no martial arts foundation, so a more authentic Muay Thai gym might not take him. Moreover, Muay Thai focused more on upper body strength training, such as arms and chest muscles. If he started training in this now, his arms would become particularly strong and his overall physique wouldn't look good.

Yin Chang glanced at Shao Junling. The kid was only eleven years old, and even though these past six months, the school and home had provided him with good nutrition, he was still small. He was in third grade, but his height was equivalent to a first-grader, indicating delayed physical development.

Yin Chang remembered his Muay Thai coach in Thailand telling him that if you learned Taekwondo before learning boxing, you'd pick up Muay Thai faster.

Because Taekwondo was a martial art that focused more on the waist and legs, it could stabilize the lower body. He didn't start learning Muay Thai until he was fifteen, and suffered from not having a martial arts foundation, so he was often teased by his coach for having "flower fists and embroidered legs".

Moreover, in foreign countries, if children wanted to learn martial arts, Taekwondo was a popular choice for parents. Because its basic movements stretched and extended the limbs, and had children run and jump, it was beneficial for growth and development.

With this in mind, Yin Chang said to Shao Junling, "Why not learn Taekwondo? Maybe you can grow taller by learning it..."

Shao Junling: "!!!"

"After learning the basics of Taekwondo for two years, you can..."

Yin Chang was about to say that after learning the basics, he could learn something else, but Shao Junling interrupted him, "I want to learn!"

Yin Chang was surprised that he agreed so quickly. He thought he would have to pour in more effort to convince him.

Yin Chang told Lu Lingjuan about Shao Junling's plan to learn Taekwondo and asked her to help him find a good Taekwondo gym in Haicheng. He couldn't handle many things directly because of his special identity.

While sending the message, Yin Chang noticed a new email notification from half an hour ago. He recalled the parenting variety show plan that Lu Lingjuan had mentioned earlier and couldn't help but take a quick look.

The show was tentatively called "Superstar Life" and was a celebrity parenting reality show that Starlight TV was creating in response to the government's policy of allowing couples to have a second child.

They referred to popular variety shows from the past two years, selected some domestic and foreign attractions, and sent the siblings of celebrity families to travel and experience local life. The behind-the-scenes team tracked and filmed the interactions between them, and presented them to the audience.

In fact, this approach was similar to many parent-child variety shows. To put it simply, the focus was not on the activities themselves, but on the invited participants.

The main theme of the plan was also written in a deep way. Instead of showcasing gossip about the second generation stars' lives, but presenting a learning experience for siblings, and hoping to influence families to improve sibling relationships through the program.

When he saw the words "fully tracked filming," Yin Chang couldn't help but frown.

During his previous TV appearances, Yin Chang was able to do some homework in advance such as by having tea with the other guests of the show to get to know each other.

But with a reality show, this approach was simply impossible.

"Fully tracked filming" would showcase their unconscious behavior in great detail, making Yin Chang feel like he was being stripped naked for the audience to see, with no privacy at all.

And the most crucial point was that he didn't think his relationship with Shao Junling was...that good.

In Yin Chang's imagination, siblings were affectionate and had a great understanding of each other.

But he and Shao Junling had only been brothers for less than a year. Forget about understanding each other, they often looked bewildered and awkward when they were together... Although they rarely quarreled or fought lately, that was because he was always making concessions for Shao Junling. God knows how many times the little guy had driven him nuts to the point of internal bleeding.

After this half-year, Yin Chang felt that his temper was worn thin.

Of course, he also believed that the program group had the magical editing skills of shows like "Idol Face-to-Face," which could turn the bad into good. But Yin Chang's personality was intolerant of deception, for example how they'd portrayed his relationship with Wang Chen. The two of them had an acceptable relationship in private, but post processing made it completely different…! Even now, he couldn't bear to recall the ambiguous special effects.

Yin Chang read on with a stiffening scalp.

The program team planned to invite five pairs of star descendants and their relatives to participate in the first season of the show. The selection criteria were that the older relative should not be more than twenty years old, and the younger relative should not be less than five years old. They also required outstanding appearance or distinctive personality.

Two pairs were already confirmed. The first pair was the famous director Qin An's daughters, Qin Jing Shan and Qin Xi Feng.

Seeing Qin An's name, Yin Chang was slightly surprised, recalling that this person was his father's friend. He'd gifted the golden Chinese redwood casket. Yin Chang had wanted to thank him in person, but Qin An had been busy on the day of Yin Dong's funeral, so he couldn't make it.

Qin An's two daughters were nineteen and eight years old. Yin Chang glanced at the photo. Qin Jing Shan was quite attractive.

As he scrolled down, he saw that the other confirmed pair was Wang Xuan, the former host and actor of Starlight TV...

What?! Turned out Wang Chen and Xue Zi Wen were also participating.

...This pair was actually uncle and nephew…

However, the program team did not limit the invitation to only same generation relatives, especially since they met the age requirements.

Below that was the list of potential participants. Yin Chang saw his and Shao Jun Ling's names at the top, followed by some well-known actors and athletes' children whom he had never heard of or seen before. He wondered if other invitees could also see him and Shao Jun Ling...

Yin Chang felt a headache when he thought about the various problems and criticisms he might face after bringing Shao Jun Ling onto the show.

If Yao Manhuai hadn't already decided on this matter for him, he would've probably refused to participate.

With that in mind, Yin Chang closed the document without looking further.

Lu Lingjuan was very efficient in her work. In less than half a day, she found two suitable martial arts schools.

One was owned by a Korean, and the other by a Chinese, both were very legitimate and their students often won prizes in major competitions at home and abroad.

However, both schools had admission requirements. The Korean owned school had professional and amateur classes. The professional class only accepted students recognized or recommended  by their own disciples. The amateur class was generally only attended by children from wealthy families because of the high tuition fees.

The Chinese owned martial arts school was accepting students from around the city, but required a trial period.

The trial lasted for a month, and tuition was twenty-four thousand yuan for twelve basic classes. During these twelve lessons, the coaches would observe the trial students' perseverance, endurance, physical fitness, and other qualities. If they found that the child was only interested for a short period or couldn't handle the training, they would be advised to withdraw, and the trial fee would not be refunded.

However, if one passed the trial and became an official student, the tuition fee would be much cheaper, only three thousand yuan a month. The schedule and number of classes were not limited, and students could go whenever they wanted. A dedicated teacher would evaluate the students' physical fitness and arrange corresponding training.

Yin Chang was very interested in the Chinese owned martial arts school and asked Lu Lingjuan for more details.

Lu Lingjuan said, "Don't be fooled by the low tuition fee for official students. I checked, and almost 95% of the children are eliminated during the trial period. The twenty-four thousand yuan tuition fee is just wasted. Many netizens who have experienced it have said that the school almost feels like a scam."

Curious, Yin Chang asked, "What standards do they use to eliminate trial students?"

Lu Lingjuan laughed, "What standards? The kids themselves drop out if they can't handle it. The first month of trial is said to be devil training. If you just want Shao Junling to learn martial arts as a hobby, I think the amateur class at the Korean martial arts school is quite good. They do an excellent job of protecting the privacy of their members."

After hearing this, Yin Chang actually understood the Chinese owned school's approach.

Learning martial arts is not something that can be done half-heartedly. Although the trial requirements were strict, it was a way to select children who were genuinely interested in martial arts and had the perseverance to succeed in a short period. A group of like-minded children could influence and improve each other, and it would be easier for the teacher to guide them.

Yin Chang glanced at Shao Junling and was curious about whether he could withstand a month of trial. If he could, he would be impressed. If he couldn't, it would be normal. Yin Chang didn't mind the twenty-four thousand yuan, but he thought it was worth it if he could use this month to understand Shao Junling's passion for martial arts.

After making the decision, Yin Chang had Lu Lingjuan directly enroll and pay for the classes.

Lu Lingjuan left Yin Chang's private email as a contact. After he was approved, the martial arts school sent him the schedule for the trial period.

Yin Chang looked at the schedule and saw that it would start next week. The trial was scheduled for every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday evening from 6 pm to 8:30 pm, which happened to land in between Shao Junling's English tutoring sessions on which were on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings.

Shao Junling returned to school for the start of the second semester.

Children such as Luo Pengtao, Ji Han, and Yu Wenmao, who had received red envelopes filled with money during the New Year, had already prepared this year's protection fees to give to the boss.

Shao Junling: "I'm not collecting protection fees this year."

Everyone: "Why!?"

Shao Junling: "My brother won't let me."

Everyone: "Please, boss! Don't do this! We need your protection! QAQ"