Dad, Please Try a Little Harder - Chapter 76: Ding! The System Detected Your

Father Had Passed His Draft 1

What just happened?

Many people inside the Gorin Kendo Dojo were still in shock.

Who won?”

No one answered.

Yet, everyone could roughly deduce the outcome of the duel from Shimizu Ichiro’s perplexed demeanor.

So, who exactly is this young man that Zhang Xiang’er invited?

Nobody knew.

Sitting at the edge of the arena, a Japanese man in his fifties, whose bald forehead gleamed, walked over to Shimizu Ichiro and asked, “Ichiro, did you lose?”

I lost,” replied Shimizu Ichiro.

In China, there’s an old saying: ‘Victory and defeat are commonplace in the military.’ You’ve lost this time; just train harder and win back next time.”

“Dad, I know…”

“For you right now, having a rival is a good thing. I’ve already had someone look into that young man’s background. We can find him again and compete with him next year.”

Next year…” Ichiro muttered.

“What? Do you think you can’t catch up to him in one year?” Ichiro’s father’s tone hardened.

Dad, he just used chopsticks…

So what? You are the number one Kendo prodigy in our country, and your master is Master Kunio Okawachi. You can catch up to anyone within a year!

II

“Yes, Dad.

The Shimizus then also left the Gorin Kendo Hall.

“You’re so strong, Quan! No, Mr. Qian. You’re amazing! Especially the idea of using chopsticks as a sword; it’s brilliant, psychologically devastating!”

After leaving the Kendo hall, Zhang Xiang’er began to lavish praise upon Qian Quan.

It was a bit of a coincidence; my Eight-Slash Sword just happened to counter his laido,” said Qian Quan. “The saying from makes sense; the master-apprentice naming rights for Chinese and Japanese swordsmanship were established during the Tang Dynasty.”

“My master would be delighted to hear this.

However, to be fair, this laido does have its tricks. Just like in any industry, when it comes to foreign things, we should know both ourselves and the enemy.”

“My master has also said similar things,” Zhang Xiang’er laughed.

As they talked, the three arrived at the hotel that Zhang Xiang’er had previously booked.

“Where would you like to go tomorrow? I can make arrangements for you, asked Zhang Xiang’er.

“No need, I’ll go on my own,” Qian Quan said.

“I won’t need it either; I’m meeting up with classmates,” said Bai Yuanzhi.

“Alright then, make your own plans. If you need anything, just let me know.

Okay.

Qian Quan and Bai Yuanzhi entered the hotel.

Upon reaching the room, Qian Quan noticed that Zhang Xiang’er had posted on her social circle:

“Chopsticks defeat Laido; my younger brother is invincible in the world!

II

Below the text was a video of his match with Shimizu Ichiro.

Qian Quan smiled wryly and then logged out of WeChat. He opened up the Thornbush Literature website, wanting to catch up on today’s update from Linlang.

Today’s chapter of “Master’s Love” was about the female protagonist’s junior disciple, Fan Mingshan.

Unknown to whether his alias as “Mystery Man” inspired Linlang, she had added a new setting for Fan Mingshan-possessing a spirit animal. Essentially, by contractual magic, he could share perspectives with the spirit animal. It was basically “parasitism.”

This new element was added so that Fan Mingshan could quietly possess a black cat owned by his senior disciple, thereby staying close to and protecting her.

It was like giving the junior disciple a reason to hide behind an animal’s pseudonym, almost mocking in its intent.

At the end of the chapter, the author announced that the book would be launched on November 16th.

Qian Quan was all too familiar with this date-it was Ding Linlang’s birthday.

From the day of his own birthday, he had been pondering over what birthday gift to buy for Ding Linlang. By now, he had made up his mind, a black trench coat from the Pretty Beauty, with a budget of around 1,500.

At 10 p.m., Qian Quan went to bed after brushing his teeth.

He had no idea that a post in Zhang Xiang’er’s social circle had started making rounds in certain small groups.

Although the content of the video was indeed shocking, what intrigued some people more was Zhang Xiang’er’s reference to “my younger brother.” Many were curious about Qian Quan’s identity.

The video was passed around and eventually reached a group where the well-connected Zhao Chunjia was a member.

Someone shared this in another group, claiming it’s a post from the second young master of Nature Company. Since when did he have a younger brother? Isn’t that supposed to be Zhang Shanshi’s illegitimate son, the third one?” commented a boss of a pickle factory.

“You don’t get it, it’s a young people’s joke. But the video is really awesome. A chopstick breaking a Japanese sword? That’s so cool. Just not sure if it’s real or fake,” added a vice president of an entertainment agency.

Zhao Chunjia, concerned about his daughter’s martial arts training, clicked on the video out of habit, only to be taken aback.

The boy holding the chopstick in the video was none other than Qian Quan!

Although Zhao Chunjia didn’t recognize Zhang Xiang’er, he was familiar with Nature Company and knew its chairman Zhang Shanshi, and the crown prince Zhang Xianxue.

If this post indeed belonged to Zhang Shanshi’s second son, did it imply that Qian Quan was connected with Nature Company?

That network…

Zhao Chunjia asked, “Is this information accurate? Is this really from the second young master of Nature Company?”

The pickle factory boss replied, “Not sure.

After pondering for a while, Zhao Chunjia forwarded the screenshot to another group and asked, “Does anyone know if this screenshot is real?”

After a moment, someone responded with two words, “It’s real.

Zhao Chunjia glanced at the respondent’s ID and promptly thanked him, “Thank you, President Hu, for clarifying!”

Now it was confirmed.

Qian Quan indeed knew the second young master of Nature Company and was probably quite close to him.

A college student from a small town, in just over a month, had acquainted himself with Li Zihe, Lin Xiaohuang, and the second young master of Nature Company. Apart from the great fortune his father-in-law talked about, he couldn’t think of any other reason.

The next day, Qian Quan got up early to watch the flag-raising ceremony.

Later, he visited the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, and so on.

He initially wanted to climb the Great Wall, but time didn’t permit it.

He planned to rest at the hotel that night and head back to Azure Bay the next morning.

As for the Great Wall, maybe next time he could bring his parents and Linlang.

Around 8:30 p.m., before he could get to his hotel room, he received a message from Bai Yuanzhi:

Quan, can you come pick me up? I’m at the Seventy Mile Bar in Houhai. Drank too much.”

Qian Quan replied, “Sure.

He left the hotel and took a taxi to Houhai.

About half an hour later, he located the Seventy Mile Bar. Upon entering, he saw a band performing. After looking around, he quickly spotted Bai Yuanzhi. She was sitting with two couples, and there were seven or eight bottles of beer on the table.

Qian Quan walked over and called out, “Miss Bai.

Bai Yuanzhi, upon seeing Qian Quan, grinned cheekily and said, “You’re here.

Qian Quan thought to himself, “How much has she had to drink?

The two couples present were instantly captivated by Qian Quan’s tall stature and handsome looks, especially the two girls, whose eyes suddenly sparkled with the glimmer of juicy gossip.

“One introduction, please, Yuanzhi,” said one of the girls.

“This is Qian Quan, my junior,” Bai Yuanzhi briefly introduced, then went on to introduce her two friends and their boyfriends to Qian Quan.

Qian Quan greeted them with a wave.

“Let’s call it a night; we’re heading back to the hotel. We need to return to Azure Bay early tomorrow,” Bai Yuanzhi declared.

Upon hearing this, the four of them understood immediately and stood up.

Once outside the bar, Qian Quan called a car. Bai Yuanzhi hugged her friends tightly, reluctant to say goodbye.

When the car arrived, they all waved their farewells.

“Thanks for this; I really appreciate it,” Bai Yuanzhi thanked Qian Quan as they got into the car.

No worries.

“To be honest, I could’ve gone home alone. I don’t know why, but seeing my two best friends no longer single and under the influence of alcohol, I felt a bit down. So I called you over to liven things up.”

“I understand,” Qian Quan laughed and responded.

“You don’t have a girlfriend yet, right?”

Not yet.

“That’s good; otherwise, I would have lost some merit tonight.

Qian Quan chuckled.

Soon, they returned to the hotel and each went to their own rooms.

H

Goodnight, Miss Bai.

Goodnight.

After closing her door, Bai Yuanzhi leaned against it and let out a deep sigh.

Qian Wenlin received a message from the editor of New Story Monthly on Sunday morning at 10.

“Congratulations, Mr. Linwen, your submission has passed the editorial review and will be published in the next issue.”

“Also, based on our assessment of the quality of your work, you will be paid at a rate of 650 per thousand words (totaling 19,500).”

“The payment will be transferred to your account within a month after publication. Please be informed.”

Upon receiving the message, Qian Wenlin felt elated, a sentiment akin to the feeling he had when he learned his wife was pregnant.

After replying with a “thank you,” he immediately showed the message to his wife.

Yang Yuhua was naturally happy for her husband. She had witnessed firsthand how much he had invested in his writing, right down to losing strands of his hair over it.

Remember the rule: don’t tell Rocky. If he knows, it means Linlang also knows,” Qian Wenlin stressed again.

ii

Don’t worry, I won’t breathe a word to our son,” Yang Yuhua promised.

On the high-speed train from the capital to Azure Bay, Qian Quan, who was reading a novel, suddenly heard an inexplicable system alert tone in his mind.

[Ding! Your father’s work, My Fragile Porcelain Anniversary: My First Love Becomes My Boss, has passed the review and is accepted by New Story Monthly. You are rewarded with the writing skills of a best-selling author!]

Qian Quan was confused.

Wait, what? My dad wrote what now?