Godfather Of Champions

The Evening Post’s President was a man of his word. One and a half days after that phone call, he had sent someone to deliver the picture, which was already framed. He even went the extra mile to hang it on the wall of Tang En’s bedroom, facing Tang En’s bed. That way, every morning when Tang En woke up, he would be able to witness that glorious moment first thing in the morning.

Under a sea of red, he was there, cheering and raising his hands.

It was like an oil painting titled “Victory”, a piece of artwork that was worth treasuring forever.

Staring at the picture, Tang En thought of the best way to retaliate.

He nodded his head. I was never a pushover, someone who offered his left cheek to be hit, after having his right cheek punched. I might not have any way of rebutting all of your comments about me, but don’t think that I will remain silent. The next match… the next match, I’ll definitely let all of you come crawling back to me to lick my toes! These bunch of darned, two-faced people!

Tang En raised both his arms high, imitating the pose in that picture. He closed his eyes and fantasized about himself at a loud, cheering stadium, savoring the advance, the joy of victory, and the pleasure of revenge. It was at that moment, Tang En heard his cell phone, which he had placed on the living room table, ring.

Trampling the newspaper all over the floor while running to the living room, Tang En discovered that the number displayed for the incoming call was unfamiliar. After slightly hesitating, Tang En answered.

The next second, he jumped with surprise and joy.

“Yang Yan!”

“Sir, it’s me. I’ve considered for a long while and decided to accept your goodwill and become your Chinese teacher.” Yang Yan heard Tang En’s childlike laughter on the other side of the line.

“You really did take your time considering it, teacher… but since you’ve agreed, all’s fine. Do you know…”

Tang En sat down and leaned against his chair, before raising his feet and resting them on the table. He lied, “Do you know, because I was unable to get your guidance, I was like a lost ship in the dark, unable to see the lighthouse, going around in circles for two months. If you didn’t accept my offer, then I would have completely given up on my interest in Chinese culture.”

Ever since he possessed the body of the westerner, Tang En discovered that he had experienced some changes, such as being much more cheerful than his previous self. That was definitely expected, since he could be involved with his favorite thing, football, on a daily basis. The current Tang En had already confirmed his life goals and was no longer that stubborn, proud, and aloof person that he once was. Of course, the reason why he was so excited that day, was largely due to the fact that Yang Yan agreed to be his Chinese teacher.

As he continued chattering on happily, Yang Yan who was on the other end started to become embarrassed from hearing him. “Sir, if you continue to chatter on endlessly like this, I think I will have to change my mind.”

“Ah, no! Of course, I will listen to you. If you don’t want me to, I won’t say a single word,” Tang En said, as he dramatically covered his mouth. His eager tone made Yang Yan laugh.

“Sir, why are you so excited?”

“Because I’m in a very good mood today,” Tang En casually said as he tried to conjure up something on the spot.

However, Yang Yan immediately saw through the problem and questioned, “Huh? Mr. Manager, didn’t your team just lose a match yesterday?”

“Yes… Of course. However, losing might not necessarily be a bad thing. We have to look at this issue from a positive perspective, don’t you agree? Alright, let’s not talk about that disappointing match. We need to discuss in greater detail you becoming my Chinese teacher. These kinds of details are usually unable to be made clear over the phone, so I think there’s a need for us to meet… Where are you now?”

Yang Yan raised her head and looked at the street opposite her. There was a cafe located there, so she gave the name of the cafe to Tang En.

“Okay. I’ll be there in, at most, 30 minutes.”

Hearing Tang En hanging up in a rush, she then crossed the road and entered the cafe. She sat in a seat beside the window and casually ordered some fruit juice. Yang Yan was wondering if her decision was the correct one. Aside from the reports in the media, she had absolutely no knowledge about this person. She was clueless about his actual personality and clueless about his background. Even though the two subjects were both mentioned in that exclusive with him, Yang Yan felt that in an era where information was constantly exploding, the credibility of the media was no longer what it used to be. Therefore, she often found herself doubting, out of habit, the opinion of the media toward a certain incident. Similarly, she would cast the same doubts on the individuals reported by the media.

If she wanted to become his private tutor, she must have a sufficient understanding of him beforehand. Otherwise… there was no guarantee that she would be safe, especially with a foreign man in a foreign land.

Yang Yan sat in the small cafe, apprehensive about the person she was about to meet. The feeling was just like going on a blind date.

The chimes on the door sounded as someone pushed opened the door and entered. Yang Yan raised her head and looked around. She saw the man at the door who wore a pair of shades, looking around. She lowered her head and looked at her watch. It was exactly half an hour from the time she had ended the call.

“Hi.” The man was too conspicuous, leaving Yang Yan with no choice but to stand up and wave to him, signaling him over to her seat.

“Sorry, I was stuck in traffic because of a car accident. I didn’t make you wait for long, did I?” Seeing the real person, Yang Yan discovered that the wild and arrogant manager in the newspapers had reverted back to a gentlemanly look, which he had had when they first met. She shook her head and replied, “Nope, time passed very quickly.”

Tang En sat down and took off his shades. He waved his hand to call the waiter over and politely asked Yang Yan in advance what drinks she wanted. Yang Yan looked at her glass of fruit juice, which was completely untouched, and shook her head.

“Just a cup of coffee, thanks.” After the waiter went away, Tang En tilted his head and stared at the girl in front of him. The same girl who had made Tang En think about her day and night, and had made him silently observe her from a certain corner, was now seated before him. She even wore a smile on her face, which was slightly tinged with embarrassment.

Yang Yan finally could not hold back and asked, “Sir, what are you looking at?”

“Ah, nothing. Sorry, I went into a daze. Erm…” When the waiter came over to deliver Tang En’s coffee, he also brought along a piece of white paper and a pen.

“Mr. Twain, please sign an autograph for me!” The freckled English boy said excitedly.

“Alright, but we just lost a match yesterday.”

Yang Yan smiled as she watched Tang En lower his head and sign his name on the piece of paper. After he finished writing in English, Tang En thought for a while, before proceeding to write his own Chinese name, Tang En, crookedly.

“This is….” That boy was unsure of what it was.

“Hmm, you know, I really like the Chinese culture, so this is my Chinese name that I came up with. What do you think of it?”

“I cannot read it, but it’s very beautiful…” The boy left contentedly with his autograph, and Tang En saw Yang Yan’s slightly shocked expression when he turned his head around.

“Haha, surprising right! I have tried learning on my own, although I only know how to write two characters.” He was lying. Actually, he could speak fluent Mandarin and Sichuan dialects. On top of that, he was also well-versed in writing Chinese characters.

Yang Yan, just recovered from her shock, nodded her head while looking lost. “Indeed, it’s very shocking. I didn’t think that you could write Chinese characters. But…” She wrote down Tang En’s English name, Twain, on a piece of napkin.

“I feel like it translates to ‘Tu Wen’ better.”

“Tu Wen? What kind of a weird name is this?”

Yang Yan coughed. This man obviously doesn’t know Lawrence, but don’t tell me that he doesn’t even know this famous author? “Twain, Mark Twain…”

“Ah!” Tang En patted the back of his head. “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer! But I like the name ‘Tang En’ better.”

Yang Yan tilted her head and asked, “Why is that so?”

“I don’t know, I just feel that this sounds better, at least better than some ‘Tu Wen’.”

Yang Yan looked at Tang En for a while, before breaking out into a smile. “I also feel that this sounds better, Mr. Tang En.”

“Calling me mister is too formal. You may call me Tang En.” Tang En thought in his heart, My original name in the first place.

Unexpectedly, Yang Yan shook her head and replied, “Mister, this is only our second time meeting.”

Darn! We’ve already met many times! We were high school classmates! Tang En really wanted to say this to the lady seated opposite him, but he could not.

Seeing Yang Yan’s determined look, Tang En conceded.

“Erm, up to you, I guess,” Tang En agreed. That was his second time spending time with her alone. As such, he lacked experience and suddenly did not know what else to say. It was Yang Yan who reminded him. “Mr. Twain, what did you call me here for? I don’t suppose its so that we could sit here and stare into space?”

“Oh, of course. We need to discuss in detail your plans to teach me Chinese.”

After half an hour, they had finished finalizing all of the details. Taking into consideration the unique nature of Tang En’s job, he had limited time to learn Chinese, so they only arranged for two classes every week. Weekends were definitely out of the question, as Tang En had to lead his team at matches. Home matches were still possible, but if it were an away match, he would be away for two to three days. In the end, they finalized the lessons on Monday and Thursday nights, and Yang Yan would have to give lessons to Tang En at his house. The payment would be £10 an hour.

Should there be any last minute changes, they each had to inform the other party.

After they finished discussing, Tang En offered to treat Yang Yan to lunch, but was rejected.

“Hehe, so sorry. I already arranged a lunch appointment with my friend.” Yang Yan smiled and left. Looking at her back, Tang En felt that he had let a nimble butterfly slip away and felt slightly dejected.

However, soon after, he readjusted his mood. Since he would be able to meet her twice a week, there was still a lot of time.