"Then what else do I need to do to learn the technique?" the student pressed."You need discipline. You need to conserve your energy, fortify your core, strengthen your tendons and bones, and, above all, cultivate a man’s inner strength," Joseph replied.At this, the entire class burst into laughter."Thank you, sir! I’ll definitely remember your advice," the student said, scratching his head with an embarrassed grin."If anyone is interested in learning this technique, feel free to approach me after class. I can share some training methods with you," Joseph said, glancing around the room."Um... sir, did you forget about me? Could you please remove these needles?" The student, who had now been needled nine times, was on the verge of tears."Don’t worry, I haven't forgotten you. I never needle someone without a reason—there’s always a purpose," Joseph said, smiling as he looked at the student."W-what’s the reason?" the student asked, his voice filled with dread."The reason is simple
"I’d like to highlight this individual in particular," Harris said, gesturing to a man standing next to him. "This is my former student, Brady Rogers. He’s an expert in acupuncture and massage therapy and is responsible for teaching those courses here. Among us older folks, he’s the youngest at thirty-five. Since you’re both skilled in acupuncture, I imagine you’ll have much to discuss."The man Harris indicated appeared to be in his thirties, wearing black-rimmed glasses. His stern expression and serious demeanor gave off a slightly cold and aloof air."Mr. Wilson, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to learning from you in the future," Brady Rogers said as he extended his hand.Joseph smiled and shook his hand. "Not learning—I’d say exchanging ideas.""Mr. Wilson, you’re too humble. We watched your entire lecture from the monitoring room, and I must say, it was absolutely extraordinary. Even someone like me, with decades of teaching experience, couldn’t help but be impressed
"Mr. Harris, why not have him teach all of them? Limiting him to just one subject feels like such a waste of talent," Leonard Sanchez suggested.Joseph nearly stumbled at the suggestion."Old Sanchez, have you gone soft in the head? If he teaches every subject, even if he worked 24 hours a day without sleep, he wouldn’t have enough time. Mr. Wilson may be young, but you can’t run him into the ground like that!" Geoffrey Harris shook his head in disbelief."Well, I know it’s impractical—I was just expressing my wishful thinking," Sanchez replied, caught off guard by Harris’s bluntness."It seems we’ll need to deliberate a bit more on Mr. Wilson’s workload," Geoffrey Harris mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully."Yes, we want to maximize your impact, Mr. Wilson, so as many students as possible can benefit from your expertise," Sanchez agreed with a nod."How about this? By tomorrow, we’ll have a work plan ready for you," Harris proposed. "As for this afternoon, you don’t have any more cl
Those eyes belonged to Fiona.She stood on the third floor of the first teaching building, where her vantage point provided a clear view of Joseph and Alice’s interaction below.As she watched Alice link arms with Joseph, Fiona’s hands reflexively clenched, her fingers curling tightly. It felt as if something precious had been taken from her.That gnawing sense of loss, the feeling of something slipping away, began to consume her."Hey, sis! I’m here! Why are you all the way up here?" Heidi’s voice came from behind, breathless and winded as she finally caught up."You’re late—and you look like a mess. What happened to you?" Fiona asked, snapping out of her reverie as she glanced at her younger sister."Don’t even get me started. It’s all Charles Martin’s fault. He’s driving me crazy!" Heidi fumed, clearly exasperated."What did Charles Martin do this time?" Fiona asked, her brows furrowing."He keeps pestering me, saying he needs to meet you. I think he might be seriously ill," Heidi
"Really?" Alice blushed slightly, glancing at Joseph shyly. Hearing that he was so excited for her cooking made her feel that all her efforts were worthwhile."Of course," Joseph replied, still smiling."This will be the first time I cook for a guy. But I’m pretty confident I’ll whip up something amazing. I’ve always had a knack for cooking," Alice said, her confidence shining through."I can tell," Joseph said, leaning into her encouragement."Hehe, so you’ve noticed, huh?" Alice giggled. "Here, why don’t you pick? Order whatever you like!" She handed the menu to Joseph."What about you? Don’t you have anything you particularly want to eat?" Joseph asked curiously."Whatever Joseph likes, I like too. I’ll eat whatever you choose," Alice said sweetly, resting her chin on her hands as she gazed at Joseph with large, adoring eyes. Her intense focus on him made Joseph blush slightly."Ahem, alright then. I’ll pick something," Joseph said, clearing his throat as he began marking the dishe
"I'll tell you, Mr. Kim, Mr. Jonathan. Please, I'll tell you everything," Scrappy whimpered, on the verge of tears.Meanwhile, Joseph returned to his seat, still smiling."Joseph, is that guy with all the bandages an idiot or something? He saw you and practically fell out of his chair in fright!" Alice asked, her voice tinged with curiosity. There was something about the situation that struck her as odd, as though there was more to the story than she knew."Last night, Raymond Kim sent some guys to ambush me. That bandaged guy? I beat him up pretty badly. If I hadn’t held back, his ribs would’ve all been broken, and he’d be in the hospital for months."Joseph spoke nonchalantly, as if it were no big deal. "I might’ve left a bit of a psychological scar on him. So, naturally, he’s scared out of his mind when he sees me.""What? Raymond Kim tried to ambush you last night?" Alice's face paled as she processed the gravity of what Joseph had just said."Yeah, but it wasn’t a big deal. They
“Fuck! You’re useless!” Raymond suddenly snapped at Scrappy. “You couldn’t even accomplish a simple task. You took all those people with you, and not only did you fail to hurt him, but all of you ended up injured. Worthless!”Scrappy could only lower his head in silence, unable to muster a defense.“Mr. Kim, I didn’t expect Joseph to be that strong. He’s like a demon,” Scrappy ventured, trying to explain.“Are you fucking kidding me? One man took down all of you? What is he, some kind of martial arts master? A god of war?” Raymond spat, clearly not buying it.Jonathan chimed in, “Mr. Kim’s right. You expect us to believe that one guy took on ten of you? Did he use some kind of trick?”Scrappy, on the verge of tears, felt utterly defeated. When he had tried to downplay the incident earlier, they didn’t believe him. Now that he was telling the truth, they still didn’t believe him. Life was unfair.“Regardless, it’s over now,” Scrappy muttered. “Mr. Kim, Mr. Jonathan, can we please finis
Joseph scanned the payment code, but before he could complete the transaction, Alice spoke up.“Joseph, let me pay. I wanted to treat you to lunch,” Alice offered.“No need, I’ve got it,” Joseph replied with a smile, finishing the payment.The waitress handed them the receipt and then added with a playful tone, “As part of our customer appreciation event, every guest receives one of our newest desserts and a tea to take home. I noticed the young lady didn’t eat much—she was too busy serving her boyfriend. If you get hungry on the way back, you can enjoy the treats.”Alice’s face flushed at the word boyfriend. “I didn’t eat much, but I’m already full,” she answered quietly, her cheeks turning pink.The waitress giggled. “I didn’t mean anything by it—I’m just envious of how sweet you two are together.”“Ah…”Alice blushed even more, unable to hide her embarrassment. Since when were waitresses this forward?Joseph, sensing her discomfort, smiled at the waitress to change the subject. “Th