Three days later, 10:30 am.
Whoosh.
Flap.
The sound of a fist and legs hitting the punching bag could be heard.
"Coach, Good morning," Kevin said as he entered the gym, he went and logged his name before dropping his bag on a free locker near the counter.
"Yo, Good morning, you're early today." Gu Xing replied.
He is currently working on his martial arts.
Yesterday he reached his personal best in lifting half a ton for bench press, squat, and deadlift. He could confidently say he has reached peak human after a year of absorbing sunlight.
In fact, way beyond that.
He only weighs around 83 kg, standing at 5'10.
Clearly, this is illogical, no one would suspect his lean frame contains freakish strength.
Kevin begins to warm up and stretch, "Well we have no school today." He said.
"Hm." Gu Xing hummed in acknowledgment.
He punched the bag, and it seemed about to break if he put more force, so he stopped. They're not really cheap.
Seemingly thinking of something, "Well it's not like I can't afford it." He chuckled.
3 days ago, the Playboy philanthropist Tony Stark was kidnapped in Afghanistan.
The Stark Industries stock plummets, and he takes the opportunity to buy as much as he can.
Currently, he is broke, but soon money will start rolling in.
After a while, he started stretching and doing forms. Forms for the martial arts that were passed down from his father.
Yang Quan, that's the name.
Yang Quan focuses on controlled aggression. Its forms are forceful, but precise.
His father brought this martial arts to the USA, but it's complicated and not easy to learn. So his father focused on kickboxing and wrestling for normal training, and reserved Yang Quan for core disciples to learn, including his only son.
Whoo. He exhaled.
Kevin watched with interest in the cable section.
"Coach is that from your hometown?" He asked, eyebrows raised.
Gu Xing smiled and nodded, "Yeah it was passed down." He finished his set and dried himself with a towel.
"That's cool, can you teach me that?"
Gu Xing chuckled, "We'll see."
Ding ~
The door opened.
He looked over and saw an asian man with a black jacket with a formal attire inside, before he heard Kevin say, "Uncle? What are you doing here?"
Uncle? He looks familiar.
Before he could think further, the man entered and walked towards him stopping before the rubber mat.
"Hello, my name is Woo, James Woo." He said with a serious expression, offering his hand for a handshake.
Caught off guard, Gu Xing shook his arms, "Uhh, name is Gu Xing."
A few seconds passed in silence before James laughed, "Oh man, I've always wanted to introduce myself like that."
"That's cool, no? Anyway, you can call me Jimmy, I drop by to check on my nephew over there." Jimmy looked over, and Kevin walked towards them.
"Uncle, where have you been?" Kevin asked.
"Well.."
So basically, Kevin whose full name is Kevin Woo is the nephew of Jimmy Woo. That guy from the Ant-Man movie.
Kevin is living with him, but has not seen him for 3 days after receiving him at the airport.
Said he is on duty but now he is free.
At this point, he should still be working for Shield.
Jimmy looked over, "Hey pal, you're new here? Every time I walk over this place it's been closed."
"I grew up here, things happened and the gym was closed for a year." Gu Xing replied.
"Got it, that's around the time I moved in here. Anyway since I got free time, I'll be visiting often." Jimmy smiled and said.
"Sure, this place is not that crowded anyway." Laughingly said by Gu Xing.
---
Five days later.
"Xing, you sure about this?" Jimmy adjusted his gloves as he stepped onto the mat. "I should warn you—I'm pretty good at hand-to-hand."
Across from him, Gu Xing rolled his shoulders loose. "Good. I'm tired of punching things that don't hit back."
Glancing at the worn out bag,"Well I can see that." Jimmy said.
Kevin stood at the edge of the mat, barely hiding his excitement. "You guys ready?"
"Yeah."
Gu Xing nodded.
"Fight!"
Jimmy moved first—light on his feet, sharp jab testing distance. Not sloppy. Not careless.
Gu Xing slipped the punch by inches.
Jimmy followed with a cross and low kick, fluid and controlled. Gu Xing blocked, feeling the weight behind it.
He's trained, Xing noted.
They circled.
Gu Xing countered with a quick body hook. Jimmy absorbed it on his forearm, but his expression shifted slightly.
"Okay," Jimmy muttered. "That's some power."
He feinted high, shot for a clinch. Gu Xing pivoted cleanly, broke contact, and answered with a spinning back kick—controlled, but heavy.
Jimmy braced.
The impact pushed him back two steps.
Silence.
Jimmy exhaled and raised his hands. "Alright, alright. I concede. Before I end up explaining bruises at work."
Kevin rushed forward. "That was insane! Coach, that move—was that Yang Quan?"
Gu Xing pulled off his gloves, calm as ever. "Just the first form."
"Never heard of it," Jimmy said, studying him with interest rather than suspicion. "Western China, you said?"
"Yeah. My father brought it over."
Jimmy nodded slowly. "He taught you well."
Kevin grinned. "Uncle, you got destroyed."
"Hey," Jimmy pointed at him. "Respect your elders."
They laughed. The tension dissolved.
A few minutes later, Jimmy and Kevin left, still arguing playfully about footwork.
The gym grew quiet.
4:45 p.m.
Gu Xing lowered the garage door halfway when a voice cut through the street noise.
"Closing early?"
The metal door rattled as someone slapped it from outside.
He paused.
Five men stood across the sidewalk. Leather jackets. Lazy confidence. The one in front chewed gum like he owned the block.
"You new around here?" the leader asked. "Everyone on this street pays."
Gu Xing straightened slowly. "Pays what?"
The man smiled.
"Protection."
Another stepped forward. "Other store owner's understood how things work."
Gu Xing's expression didn't change.
"I'm not a store owner."
The leader's smile thinned.
"Good," he said. "Then you won't mind paying double. Axe Gang doesn't like being kept waiting."
The street felt quieter all of a sudden.
Gu Xing looked at the five of them, then at the setting sun reflecting off the shop windows behind them.
"…Right," he said softly.
And let the garage door slide all the way up again.