Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared-Chapter 27 - Become Friends First

27: Chapter 27: Become Friends First

27 -27: Become Friends First

“Raise your arm higher, even higher, didn’t you eat anything today?” Su Hui’s tone was full of disappointment, she wore an expression that suggested ‘why did I pick someone so useless for sparring.’

“Didn’t you see?

I am trying hard!” Gu Fan threw punches at the sandbag with great effort, but to Su Hui, it felt more like a cute display.

Not because Gu Fan was weak, but Su Hui was too strong.

After more than a hundred punches, Gu Fan was on the brink of exhaustion.

He could hardly raise his arm.

His whole body felt like it was going to collapse.

All he wanted was to kneel before Su Hui and beg this lady to let him off the hook.

To this, Su Hui shook her head, wearing a look of disappointment: “Are all men these days so useless?”

Triggered by her words, Gu Fan retorted: “Hey, you weren’t born with these skills.

Weren’t you trained bit by bit after becoming a police officer?”

Su Hui responded slyly with a smile: “Sorry, I have been practicing self-defense since I was a kid because my father was afraid I’d be bullied by men.

So, I’ve been badass from a young age.”

“Alright!” Gu Fan laughed wryly: “Your father trained you to protect yourself, not to bully others.

Please don’t get it twisted.”

“You are quite the smart-aleck.” Su Hui grabbed Gu Fan’s ear seriously: “I found out that not only are you weak, you’re also disorganized.

These problems need fixing.”

Gu Fan immediately said that it was unnecessary as he would gradually improve himself and that Su Hui didn’t need to bother.

“Good.

Then let’s work on your strength.

Begin with hundred push-ups ,” Su Hui’s remark nearly crushed Gu Fan, who pleaded at once: “Please Sister Su, I just threw a hundred punches.

As you can see, I can hardly lift my hand.

Yet, you want me to do a hundred push-ups.”

Su Hui pat Gu Fan’s shoulder, putting on a look of noble intentions: “I’m doing this for your own good.

If you, as a man, can’t even handle the hardship, how are you going to support a family in the future?”

“That does sound reasonable, but it feels off,” Gu Fan frowned, having his doubts, while Su Hui went on regardless: “In addition to push-ups, we also need to train other areas.

We’ve got a busy day ahead.”

Listening to Su Hui muttering to herself, Gu Fan made a grimace: “Sister Su, are you trying to kill me so that you can indefinitely occupy my old family house?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m thinking.” Su Hui spoke out her mind, realized her words were off, and immediately denied: “No, no, no, don’t get me wrong.

I just sympathize with the weak.

I just hope every weak individual can become strong.”

Of course, Gu Fan didn’t buy it.

He added sarcastically: “I never knew, Sister Su, you are so righteous, full of compassion and the spirit of helping others.”

“Of course, my merits are more than just these.” Su Hui accepted the compliment unapologetically which led Gu Fan to silently slandered: “This woman sure does have thick skin.”

Su Hui went on relentlessly: “Just imagine, if you get into good shape and develop abs, think about how your girlfriend will look at you.”

“Abs!” Gu Fan’s eyes lit up as if he saw the light.

“Exactly, not only will you have a physique that will be the envy of others and irresistible to your girlfriend, but also the skills to protect yourself and your girlfriend.” Su Hui was originally just shooting the breeze, but to her amazement, Gu Fan seemed to have caught fire, his fighting spirit rejuvenated.

That’s right.

Gu Fan thought of his three classmates who had disappeared.

He didn’t want to be the fourth or fifth, thus he needed to develop the capability to protect himself and Lin Xi.

“Alright, let’s continue.” Gu Fan renewed his vigor and begun doing push-ups with great belief.

His audacious posture seemingly transformed him into another person, a manlier one in Su Hui’s eyes.

However, Gu Fan only managed to pull off ten push-ups before he collapsed.

Conviction was one thing, physical limitations were another.

Su Hui shook her head: “Let’s call it a day with strength training, I’ll teach you some combat techniques.”

“Alright, skills.

I love that.

I’ve been talented in skills since I was a kid.” Gu Fan was extremely excited, looking eager to start.

Su Hui spoke righteously: “Normally, combat techniques require strength, which you presently lack.

You are extremely weak.”

Her words nearly tripped Gu Fan up, could she stop constantly knocking him down?

Su Hui continued to speak, “In addition to quick, accurate, and ruthless punches, you also need to pay attention to coordination of footwork.

Moreover, the art of locking and unlocking is also crucial.” Without waiting for Su Hui to finish, Gu Fan quickly expressed his opinion, “My arm’s about to give out, we can skip the things related to arm training.

Let’s just practice footwork.”

“Fine, it seems like my expectations for you were too high.

Training should be gradual, let’s call it a day for now.” When Su Hui finished speaking, she turned around and left to get something from the locker.

Gu Fan blinked in surprise, wondering why the session ended so abruptly, just when he was getting into the spirit.

Gu Fan gave up on the thoughts, realizing how unrealistic it was to become a martial arts expert in such a short time.

He too started to clear up, his heart filled with longing for this boxing-like exercise.

Gu Fan then saw Su Hui walking towards him, holding something.

She caught his eye and gestured as if to say it was time to head home.

As Gu Fan looked at Su Hui’s swaying figure, a sudden thought struck him: one day, after diligent practice, could he possibly overpower this policewoman, and then…

then…

inflict a great blow to her pride, thereby avenging his recent humiliations.

Of course, Gu Fan felt that defeating Su Hui would be almost impossible, but he wouldn’t be afraid to deal with a hooligan of a woman.

Rather than heading home directly, they stopped at a roadside stand and each ordered a bowl of noodles, sort of their late-night snack.

Gu Fan felt a bit strange and asked, “Sister Su, aren’t you worried about gaining weight?

Most women are very conscious about their figure.”

Su Hui proudly responded, “Don’t worry, I workout regularly, and I have the kind of metabolism where I don’t gain weight easily.”

“Lots of people would be envious of that kind of metabolism.” Gu Fan eyed Su Hui’s slim figure, admiring her extraordinary physique.

He immediately thought of something else and added, “To maintain this figure, I suppose you have indeed spent a lot of time working out.

I am thankful that you’ve included me in your exercise routine and helped me get over my laziness, but…”

“There is no ‘but’.” Su Hui cut him off, then added: “I’m helping you improve your skills so that I have someone to spar with.”

Gu Fan responded quickly, “Here’s the issue.

For me to become a qualified sparring partner, it’ll take time and effort.

Will you find that troublesome?”

“Not at all.

For a good sparring partner, it’s worth the effort.

I believe you won’t let me down.

I also want to see if I can turn a lazy, useless boy like you into a martial arts expert.” As Su Hui spoke, she started to smirk as though she was amused by the idea.

Gu Fan looked at her in disbelief, “But I’m afraid that you, Sister Su, might not have time for this.

After all, you won’t stay here forever.

I’m afraid you’re making effort in vain…”

“Well that…

uh…” Su Hui seemed a bit embarrassed and actually avoided Gu Fan’s gaze which immediately made him speculate something.

Leaping to a conclusion, he teased, “Tell me, Sister Su, are you training me and putting up with this because you want an excuse to stay after all?”

“Well, it’s not like how you are thinking.

We’re on pretty good terms, and with the recent case of your classmate going missing which I’ve also been involved in, I think we can consider ourselves friends, right?

It’s not excessive for a friend to live at your place, right?” Su Hui slightly chuckled, putting on an innocent face.

Gu Fan sighed, “If we’re friends, how can I ask you for rent?”

Upon hearing that, Su Hui immediately grinned, “That’s what you said, we’re friends now.

You’ll help me if I’m in trouble, right?

Staying here for a long time and not paying rent, you really are a good person.”

“Oh god, you really can assume…” Gu Fan finally realized that Su Hui not only wanted to stay here for an extended period but also hoped not to pay the rent, what a fantasy of hers.

“Alright, let’s be friends then.

You stay at my place, and you teach me martial arts.

But you got to pay some rent.

If my parents find out, I’ll need to have something to say.” No sooner had Gu Fan finished speaking than Su Hui eagerly nodded in agreement, “No problem, no problem.

The rental fee is a small matter; being able to stay for a long time is what matters.

Thank you, my friend.” She even extended her hand after finishing the sentence.

Gu Fan felt somewhat incredulous but shook hands with Su Hui.

As he felt the smoothness of her palm, a ripple ran through his heart.

“Good.

Here’s to becoming friends.

Cheers.” Su Hui immediately raised her glass.

Gu Fan also laughed and clinked glasses with her.

That moment marked the start of their friendship.

In truth, Gu Fan did have a certain ulterior motive.

The longer Su Hui, the policewoman stayed, the better.

With the third classmate now missing, Gu Fan began to worry about his own safety.

Having Su Hui around would mean having a bodyguard at home and the opportunity to learn martial arts for free.

It’s alright if the rent is a bit lower.

Similarly, Su Hui had her own selfish reasons too.

All her talk about being friends was merely an excuse to stay longer at Gu Fan’s place and to pay less rent.

Also, she always felt that there was a mysterious layer lingering around Gu Fan that she wanted to unveil.

After having researched, Su Hui found that three of Gu Fan’s schoolmates had already gone missing in a short span of time — this couldn’t be a mere coincidence.

Plus, the disturbing feeling of someone constantly watching over Gu Fan’s house confirmed her suspicion that something was off.

Perhaps Gu Fan was hiding something from her; hence, Su Hui decided to stick around for a while.

By staying as a friend, she could observe Gu Fan more closely, trying to uncover whatever extraordinary secret he was hiding.

Little did the two of them, who became friends due to ulterior motives, know that they would encounter so many incidents in the future, overcome numerous challenges together, become genuine friends, and even perhaps…