Chapter 3 – Old Friends and Shinin’s Little Secret
Liu Kei scanned the lounge area with a faint frown.
The scent of coffee and cheesecake drifted lazily through the air, but the one person he expected to see was nowhere in sight.
After a few more steps, he finally found his old friend near a water pipe, head lowered, clearly gargling in a desperate attempt to wash away the bitter aftertaste of coffee.
Without warning—
SMACK.
Liu Kei slammed a hand onto Zedwan’s back.
“Woah. Still taking it easy, huh, my friend?”
Zedwan nearly died.
He shot three meters straight into the air on pure reflex before landing perfectly, beast-trained legs absorbing the impact like nothing had happened.
Liu Kei burst into laughter.
“Kei?! When did you get here?” Zedwan asked, clutching his chest. “Trying to kill me before the tournament even starts?”
“Just arrived,” Liu Kei replied with a grin. “Got a student or two competing this year.”
He gestured toward the seating area.
“Come on. Let’s sit. I need a drink.”
They settled at the table Zedwan had abandoned earlier.
At the side sat a teenage boy pretending very hard not to notice them. His mouth was smeared with cheesecake, half his face hidden behind a teacup like a suspicious criminal in hiding.
A waiter approached.
“Your order, sir?”
“One Nishio Green Tea Latte,” Liu Kei said.
Zedwan blinked.
“Didn’t you just say you wanted coffee?”
“I travel to the Eastern Regions a lot,” Liu Kei replied casually. “Their green tea and oolong are superior. Coffee always felt… culturally incompatible with my soul.”
Zedwan snorted.
“Since when did you become philosophical about beverages?”
Liu Kei leaned back.
“So. As co-organizer of the Ultimate Fighters Tournament, I assume you’ve got plenty of students entering?”
Zedwan nodded.
“A few. Eagle-type beast fighters. Crocodilian reptilians. Minotaurs. Half-pumas. Elves…”
He paused.
“…and my son, whose laughter sounds like a hyena possessed by chaos.”
Liu Kei’s eyes slowly shifted toward the cheesecake-stained teenager.
The boy froze.
“…What are you doing here?” Liu Kei asked sharply. “Stuffing your face like a starving gremlin?”
Zedwan answered calmly.
“That’s my son.”
Silence.
Liu Kei turned.
“…Your son?”
“Yep. Shinin.”
Liu Kei’s jaw dropped.
“YOUR SON?!”
He pointed dramatically.
“He’s my student! He’s been training at my dojo for years and NEVER mentioned you were his father!”
Zedwan blinked.
“…Seriously?”
“Oh, I remember him perfectly,” Liu Kei continued, now fully animated.
“The weird hyena laugh. The laziness. The endless excuses. The pranks—”
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He narrowed his eyes.
“—including randomly pinching people’s nipples regardless of gender.”
Zedwan nearly choked.
“…He WHAT?”
“A menace,” Liu Kei declared. “Talented, yes. Disciplined? Absolutely not. He’s like Stephen Chow fused with Jim Carrey and injected with pure stupidity.”
Zedwan slapped a hand over his face.
“I told him to hang out with werewolf kids…”
He sighed deeply.
“…turns out he befriended a hyena pack instead?”
Zedwan leaned back, still recovering from the revelations.
“Well… aside from Diana, I’ve got children from other unions too. Elf, half-cheetah, lynx, tiger…”
He waved a hand.
“They’re all still young. The half-cheetah one is basically a kitten. Still nursing.”
Liu Kei stared.
“…Your family sounds like a classified genetics project.”
“I don’t manage them,” Zedwan replied shamelessly. “Diana and her aides do. I just appear at dinner. Or vaccination day.”
Liu Kei exploded into laughter.
“Hahaha! If Shinin inherited anything, it’s definitely from you!”
He wiped a tear.
“You used illusions and teleportation for pranks.”
He pointed at Shinin.
“This one goes full raw chaos. No technique!”
The boy finally spoke, still hiding behind his teacup.
“I am not Shinin.”
Pause.
“I am Shano. His twin.”
Liu Kei stared at him flatly.
“Twin my foot. No twins laugh like a hyena getting electrocuted.”
Zedwan groaned.
“Shinin. Enough drama.”
With exaggerated reluctance, the boy stood and bowed.
“…Sorry, Sifu Liu Kei.”
“Why didn’t you tell me Zedwan was your father?” Liu Kei demanded.
Shinin scratched his cheek.
“I was afraid you’d treat me differently…”
“…or assign double push-ups.”
Liu Kei leaned forward with a dangerous smile.
“If I’d known earlier, I would’ve given you TRIPLE push-ups. With jumping drills. On hot sand.”
Shinin paled.
“Hey, don’t bully my son too much,” Zedwan interrupted.
“Diana’s pregnant again.”
“Oh no.”
“What now?”
“Half snow leopard.”
Liu Kei stared at him.
“…Why?”
“Future polar war survival preparation.”
Liu Kei slowly massaged his temples.
“I don’t even know how to respond to your life anymore.”
Their laughter echoed across the lounge.
Outside, strong winds swept through Zephoria’s skies as a formation of giant eagles soared overhead — a silent reminder that the tournament was drawing near.
Right on cue—
Two girls entered excitedly, holo-phone screens glowing.
“Uncle Zedwan!” Aisha called.
“We got a selfie with that handsome elf earlier!”
She grinned.
“Major Lord of the Rings vibes!”
Zedwan squinted.
“Hopefully he’s not Team Sauron.”
Hasyalys smirked.
“Even if he were, as long as he’s not my mom’s ex-boyfriend, we’re safe.”
Liu Kei chuckled.
“This generation… built different.”
Zedwan glanced at Shinin, who was now stacking crumbs of cheesecake into a bizarre miniature tower.
“…Should I register him under the Beast category,” Zedwan muttered,
“…or Prankster Division?”
Liu Kei grinned wickedly.
“Let him fight Zoarfang or Fran.”
He sipped his latte.
“Reality will fix him.”
Zedwan sighed…
…but there was unmistakable pride in his eyes.
Because beneath the chaos,
Shinin was still his son.
