Chapter 57: Youngest Kung-Fu Club Captain!

Chapter 57: Youngest Kung-Fu Club Captain!

Looking into the bathroom mirror as I splashed cold water onto my face, I could only smile bitterly at the thought of Nadia's antics. No, I had not actually lost my lunch, but my stomach had taken a violent turn. When you start feeling a genuine flash of pity for the guy you absolutely despise, you know he is being toyed with on a terrifying level.

Scott did not even have the slightest clue what kind of biological cocktail he was actively lacing his system with right now. I was honestly kicking myself for not bringing along a bottle of that high-grade laxative I had stored away. I definitely needed to slip a bottle of that stuff to Nadia for her future setups.

Thinking about Nichole and Nadia usually served as a swift reminder that they were not particularly nice women. It was easy to forget that fact because they only ever showed their kind, fiercely loving side whenever they were around me. But the other people who had to deal with them on a regular basis truly hated their guts, and I overheard intense complaints about their behavior all the time. Nichole was notoriously rude, cutthroat, and verbally abusive to anyone she disliked, while Nadia was... well, she was Nadia.

"Yet, I only see two women I want to spend the rest of my life with," I muttered to myself with a slow sigh, shaking my head at the mirror. "Tina is right. I have incredibly strange taste in women."

"So you are one of those unique men? And I am to assume your current corporate choices reflect the two women you just mentioned?"

A deep, incredibly sexy woman's voice echoed from the doorway. I spun around to see Victoria Long walking straight into the room, her sharp eyes locking onto me as I stood frozen by the sink.

My eyes widened slightly at the sight of the tall instructor stepping fully into the space. I immediately activated Acting Basic, doing everything in my power to keep my cool and maintain a completely smooth mask. "Teacher Long, what exactly are you doing in this bathroom?"

She raised an eyebrow, pointing a finger directly at me before gesturing back toward the main entrance. "I simply came out here to see if you were feeling alright after rushing out of the room, Rick. But who would have thought I would end up finding my new assistant hiding out inside the women's restroom?"

A faint, knowing grin touched Victoria's lips as she watched my polished composure instantly crumble. I whipped my head around, scanning the layout of the room, and finally noticed a vital, missing architectural clue: there was a distinct lack of wall urinals anywhere along the tile. Crap. I had been in such a desperate, nauseous rush to find the nearest toilet that I completely bypassed the signs on the door.

"Ah... crap," I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck in embarrassment. "I was in such a massive rush to fix my stomach that I completely missed the obvious layout. Well, I am feeling a lot better now, thanks. I will just head back to the party room. And, um, do you think you could avoid mentioning this small error to the rest of the class?"

Victoria stepped to the side, clearing a path through the doorway to let me pass. As I stepped back out into the main corridor, she dropped a surprising statement. "Mr. Lee, I wanted to thank you for your integrity. You chose to stay committed to my official internship despite receiving significantly better corporate offers back at the table."

I stopped dead in my tracks, turning back to face my teacher. "My father taught me well, Miss Long. It is a bit ironic, though, considering he and the Long family shared such an unfortunate, bloody history. But I can easily tell that you are nothing like your older sisters. Please stay a reasonable woman, and I will do my absolute best to ensure I don't repeat the mistakes of the past."

In reality, I knew how incredibly difficult it was for a genuinely good woman to be tied to a family line full of snakes. Victoria was a true, noble Dragon, while her older sisters were nothing but toxic vipers. The situation was exactly like Helen and Scott. They both carried the Tang name, but despite being direct brother and sister, they were night and day different in terms of character. Yet, at the end of the day, they were still blood siblings.

Victoria followed closely behind me as we walked down the corridor. I could not see the slight smile forming on her lips as she considered the interaction, thinking to herself that the respectful young man who had originally helped her fix her flat tire on the side of the road might not be completely gone after all.

I forced a bright, healthy smile onto my face as I walked back inside the private party room, looking a hell of a lot better than when I had bolted out.

Nadia looked up from across the table, her lips silently mouthing a quick message.

[Sorry Ricky!]

However, her smiling eyes told a completely different story. She was not actually sorry for the crime itself; she was only apologetic for inadvertently upsetting my stomach.

The moment Victoria and I settled back into our respective seats, the automatic frosted glass doors slid open. A team of servers marched in, carrying the main grilled dishes and placing the steaming platters directly down in front of us.

My order consisted of a massive plate of Shish-Kabobs, loaded with thick chunks of marinated beef, cherry tomatoes, green bell peppers, mushrooms, and grilled onions. For the side dish, I had a full ear of grilled corn on the cob, slathered in melted butter and coarse salt. The food looked incredible.

This exact variety was why I loved the BBQ House; their menu was perfectly tailored for a wide range of culinary preferences, rather than sticking to basic backyard grilling.

I glanced over and saw that Linda had ordered a clean dish of grilled barbecue chicken served with roasted carrots and green beans.

Tina was busy cutting into a thick, bacon-wrapped Filet Mignon steak, accompanied by a side of grilled mushrooms and onions. She utilized her steak knife with practiced, lethal skill. The moment her eyes caught me looking over at her, she slowly took a bite and chewed the meat with an intentionally seductive expression, trying her best to lock my attention onto her.

Victoria was eating a massive barbecue pork sandwich topped with a thick spread of creamy coleslaw, paired with a side of seasoned steak fries. She ate slowly and with absolute elegance, managing to make a notoriously messy sandwich look like a high-class meal.

After about ten minutes of quiet eating, Teacher Long set her food down and turned her attention back toward me. "Rick, looking at the BBQ House strictly as a business model, what specific elements would you change, add, or remove to optimize its performance?"

The surrounding students who overheard the question immediately stopped talking, leaning in closer to listen. It was clear Victoria was turning our lunch into an active teaching moment for the business class.

My mind instantly began sorting through the memories of my first life. There were multiple highly successful restaurant strategies practiced on that other Earth that had not yet been implemented anywhere on this world, so I took a moment to calculate the best approach.

I set my utensils down onto the napkin. "The physical location, the food quality, the level of service, the ambient music system, and the overall atmosphere are already exceptionally well-developed. For an established flagship model like this, I would absolutely change nothing about the core structure."

I gestured with my hand toward the packed main dining room visible through the glass. "As for the peak lunch and supper rushes, I would also leave them exactly as they are. Trying to force more customers into a building during a maximum rush only degrades service and hurts the brand. So, what exactly would I add or change?"

I locked eyes with Victoria, laying out the explicit strategy I would use if the business belonged to me. "The bar area and the afternoon slow times are the two specific sectors that desperately need improvement. For the bar, you need to introduce a specific block of time from Monday through Friday called Happy Hour. It should run from roughly 4:00 to 6:00 PM, offering a select menu of drinks at a slightly reduced price. You want to focus exclusively on high-return beverages like domestic beers, house wines, and basic liquor shots. Never offer these discounts on the weekends. You market it strictly as an after-work, pre-dinner social event to capture the corporate crowd."

I paused, taking a quick sip of water to wet my throat before continuing. "For the slow dining block that runs between 3:00 and 5:00 PM, you introduce a program called the Early Bird Special. This is designed explicitly to attract the older, more frugal crowds and the local university students. You offer a streamlined menu consisting of ten fast, simple items that the kitchen can prepare with zero effort, utilizing lower-cost ingredients to deliver an appealing discount without hurting your main profit margins."

I shifted my gaze down the table, pointing a finger directly at my best friend. "Finally, on Friday and Saturday nights after the main dinner rush clears out, you implement Ladies Night at the bar. This strategy will naturally draw in high volumes of horn-dogs like Jim here, who will gladly spend their money trying to hit on the gathered crowds of women. The drink specials apply strictly to the female customers."

I leaned back into my chair with a confident smile, having mapped out the entire corporate breakdown. Right on cue, James reacted exactly as my calculations predicted. He shot his arm straight up into the air, yelling across the room. "Hell yes! I would absolutely show up for Ladies Night every single week!"

In reality, the guy was completely broke, so his enthusiastic reaction only proved my point. If he actually had a steady stream of disposable income, he would undoubtedly be standing at that bar every single Friday and Saturday night without fail.

Surprisingly, none of these specific marketing gimmicks had taken root anywhere on Pangaea Earth yet. I had absolutely zero qualms about stealing the concepts; I was completely shameless when it came to business, and there was absolutely no point in possessing the memories of another world if I wasn't going to actively use them to build leverage.

Victoria looked genuinely stunned by how rapidly I had thrown out multiple highly actionable business strategies. "Rick, would you mind if I personally utilized a few of those ideas inside some of my own private companies? I would prefer not to pirate your concepts without asking for your explicit permission."

I looked around the table, making direct eye contact with Linda, Helen, Jill, and then Victoria. "Honestly, I don't mind if any of you use my ideas. Feel free to implement them across all of your respective family restaurants and bars. The more businesses that adopt these models, the better the local economy performs, and healthy competition keeps the consumer base happy. Plus, it means I get better deals at the places I already love to frequent. And it gives James a lot more opportunities to look for a second wife."

Jill laughed, giving me a bright nod. "Little brother Rick, you need to ensure you write that complete breakdown down for me later so I don't mess up the execution. Please and thank you!"

"Sure," I replied. "I will compile the information and email the full files to you, Helen, and Linda later tonight. I know the Lang family owns an extensive network of popular dining venues across the state as well."

For the next ten minutes, the group continued to converse as a unified business class, breaking down the specific mechanics of corporate information sharing and discussing why cooperative marketing strategies could elevate entire industries instead of families constantly trying to launch hostile takeovers against each other's territories. Who would have thought that a simple restaurant suggestion at a lunch table would eventually lead me straight into one of the most awkward yet incredible encounters of my entire life later that evening?

Our group of twelve finally wrapped up their meals, clearing the table as it came time to head back to campus for the afternoon lectures. Tina and I needed to report directly to the university martial arts facilities.

As we walked out through the front doors of the restaurant and crossed into the parking lot, Tina immediately stepped up, wrapped her arms tightly around my available side, and announced our plans to Linda, Jill, and James. "Rick and I have the exact same class period together next, so I am going to ride back inside the SUV with them."

Cat Woo, who happened to have a lecture scheduled during the same block, stepped forward and asked, "Can I hitch a ride back with you guys too? Since we are all heading to the exact same area anyway."

Tina turned her head, staring at Cat as if the girl was completely brain-dead. "Sorry, absolutely not. Our seats are completely full. You can just walk back across the street, Woo."

Victoria glanced over at the sad-looking Cat and offered a clean solution. "Ashley, my niece, happens to be in your exact class period as well. I will just drop both of you off at the main lecture hall on my way back."

Inside her mind, Cat merely rolled her eyes at the arrangement, but she quickly accepted the ride rather than walking back across the street in the heat.

Tina turned her attention toward Linda, a triumphant smile spreading across her lips. "I call shotgun. Plus, it is my car anyway, ufufu."

James, completely unaccustomed to these petty, passive-aggressive girl fights, just quietly hid behind my shoulder as Linda took massive imaginary damage from Tina's gloating. Linda stood there totally unable to retort, completely stuck in her own head. The bird definitely managed to beat the turtle this time around.

Once we arrived back on the school grounds and I let James head off to his own class, it was just me and Tina walking side by side toward the main stadium training center.

The vibrant smile completely slid off her face the moment we were entirely alone, but the fact that she was intimately wrapping her arms tightly around mine showed her absolute indifference to the rest of the world, but not to me.

"So Mary is completely alright with me joining you now?" Tina asked, her voice dropping into a quiet, serious tone. "Why exactly did she change her mind?"

"Mary has always loved and protected me as an older sister, a mother, and a wife," I explained, keeping my eyes on the path ahead. "She only wants me to be surrounded by wives who truly care about me as a person, rather than women who are only looking to extract corporate or political benefits. Sadly, the vast majority of noble marriages in this city are based on exactly that kind of transaction. But I think she finally realizes that you genuinely want more than just a political connection."

Tina scanned the immediate area. Seeing that there was absolutely no one around the concrete walkway, she stepped right in front of me, leaned inward, and raised herself up on her heels to press a deep, warm kiss against my lips. When she pulled away, a bright smile was firmly back on her face.

"We are officially late," she giggled, grabbing my hand. "Let us go, Rick."

A few minutes later, dressed comfortably in my clean Kung-Fu uniform, I stepped out of the locker room and immediately noticed a massive commotion bubbling up between our practice floor and the adjacent Karate side. A large crowd of students was aggressively hounding Scott, shouting questions and shoving phones in his face. Oh, wow. It looked like the leaked information regarding his mother's bribery scheme had officially hit the campus network.

Coach Love-Triangle walked straight over to me, a deeply apologetic look written across her features. "Mr. Lee, I wanted to apologize. I am not sure if you are fully aware of the situation yet, but three of my assistant coaches were just caught red-handed accepting massive financial bribes with the explicit instruction to flunk you this semester. Management has immediately put them on suspension pending a full criminal investigation. It seems two of your computer applications teachers were also heavily involved in the sticky scandal."

I offered a calm smile to the middle-aged, slightly graying woman, who was dressed in her signature pink women's Kung-Fu uniform. "Don't worry about it, coach. As long as my final marks and grades are fine, it is no harm, no foul. I don't blame the university administration or anyone else on the staff for this mess. Refusing a direct demand from the Tang family's main wife is not something most regular employees are willing to do, but at least this whole situation proves that you personally possess real integrity."

Love-Triangle let out a breath, her posture relaxing slightly before she continued. "Well, I actually wanted to ask you for a major favor to help the club navigate through this tough media time. I want to officially appoint you as the main Captain of the Kung-Fu Club team, and I want to make Tina Feng the Co-Captain. Can you handle this responsibility for us, Mr. Lee? Frankly speaking, your physical skills are far more than teacher-worthy already. Not only will this position ensure you pass the semester with perfect marks, but you can help lead the university team straight into the regional championships this year, and maybe even Nationals."

In reality, my system abilities meant I was going to secure perfect marks regardless of the position, but since Tina was being appointed as the Co-Captain, it meant we would be able to spend a significant amount of extra time together during school hours. Furthermore, holding the title of Captain for a major martial arts club with a documented history of winning tournaments was always a great way to build social leverage. Plus, Love-Triangle seemed like a genuinely nice lady.

"I will gladly accept the position under one condition," I replied smoothly. "I will do it if Tina Feng explicitly signs on as well. How does that sound?"

A massive grin of pure amusement spread across the coach's face, looking exactly like a spectator waiting to watch a romantic television drama unfold.

"Then it is official, Captain Lee. She told me the exact same thing when I asked her a few minutes ago, fufu. I am going to announce the appointment to the floor right now. You can take charge of the boys' warm-up routines, and Tina can take care of the girls' training lines. I will drop by the main office later to grab a bunch of official Captain letters for you to sew directly onto your practice jerseys and Kung-Fu outfits."

Tina walked over with a bright smile, standing firmly by my side as Coach Love-Triangle called the chaotic room to order. She loudly announced the two of us as the new top dogs of the class. The moment the words left her mouth, a few disgruntled hands immediately shot up from the crowd of students, but the coach shut them down before they could even utter a single complaint.

"If any of you have a single question or a problem with my decision, then step up and challenge them to a physical match right now, or put your stupid hands back down!" she barked.

Following her blunt statement, absolutely no one in the room said a single word. I had to admit, I really liked the explicit way this lady conducted her business.

Now, you have to keep in mind that the university operated two other independent Kung-Fu classes, and each of those blocks also featured one designated Captain and one Co-Captain, meaning there were a total of three pairs for the entire campus. With this appointment, I was officially recognized as one of the top three martial arts students across the entire Star University roster.

The move officially made me the youngest Captain in the historical records of the university, but given my high-level instincts and training, absolutely no one on the mats had the physical capability to deny that I earned it. This year, our school team was going to completely surprise the entire nation.

After sharing a quick, private kiss and a tight hug with Tina behind the equipment storage lockers, I packed up my gear and left the campus grounds to head straight back home...

The moment I rolled the Hummer into the driveway, I spotted Mary and Hana’s vehicles parked out front, and a genuine smile spread across my face.

I unlocked the front door and stepped inside the house, finding both of my wives sitting comfortably on the couch, snacking on a platter of fruit and quietly watching their favorite afternoon soap opera together. I took off my jacket, unholstered my firearms to store them away safely, and slid straight onto the cushions between the two beautiful women, pulling them both into a tight, warm hug.

Hana smiled softly at the sudden affection, leaning her weight directly into my chest to get comfortable. Mary simply lifted an eyebrow, casting a knowing look in my direction.

"So, husband," Mary purred, her voice dripping with mischief. "Are the three of us finally going to sit down and talk about all the drama that happened last night?"

My advanced analysis let me know she was only playfully messing with my head, so I leaned over, pressed a firm kiss against her lips, and laid out the plan plainly. "Nope. I had an incredibly long day, and right now, I only want to hold my beautiful wives and pretend to watch cheesy soap operas with you guys. Then a little later tonight, I am going to cook you something amazing for dinner and tuck you into bed so you can rest up for your work shift. That is exactly what is going to happen, my lovely wife. We have our entire lives ahead of us to talk about the political details, so let's just focus on seeing which character is about to have an evil twin take their place on this sappy hospital drama."

Hana looked across my chest at Mary, giggling as if her sister-wife had just been completely shot down in a fake fight. She rested her head happily against my shoulder, while Mary, realizing she had lost out on her scheduled teasing time, let out a soft sigh and leaned her weight comfortably into my other arm.

Soon enough, Mary’s eyes lit up as she remembered a specific favor she had been planning to extract from me all afternoon. She shifted her body, looking up at me with an adorable, pleading expression. "Brother, husband, handsome Rick... both Hana and I really want to purchase one-year premium memberships to the local day-spa town. Can we please get them, honey-bunny?"

Man, hearing Mary use a high-pitched begging tone like that felt kinda creepy compared to her usual dominant self! But I simply offered her a bright grin, delivering the only answer that made any sense for my family. "As long as the funds in my accounts cover the total expense, you ladies can have absolutely anything that keeps you happy."

Hana was thoroughly pleased with the answer, immediately shifting her posture to plant a grateful kiss on my lips to show her joy.

Later that evening, Mary thoroughly rewarded my generosity with an incredible session, while Hana put in maximum effort to completely drain the leftover sexual frustration that Tina had built up in my system over the weekend. Yes, if you want to keep your household running perfectly, buy your wives one-year spa passes. I highly recommend it.

Following that hectic Monday, the remaining days of the week passed by in a complete flash.