BXBX NOVEL Chapter 23 - Dominos.
The day passed soon and Yang Dao made his way to the cycling club. He greeted some classmates who were leaving college. After walking to the cycling club door Yang Dao knocked.
Knock Knock...
After a few seconds, the door was pushed open. The person who opened the door did not seem to be a member of the club. The man appeared to be somewhere in his late forties. Yang Dao spoke, "Sir, is Captain Thomas inside?"
The man asked back, "Who are you?"
Yang Dao patiently replied, "I am the new member of the club. In the morning, Captain Thomas and the other seniors asked me to store my bike here for extra safety. I came to pick it up."
The man nodded and shifted to the side, gesturing Yang Dao to walk inside. Yang Dao walked in and the elder closed the door behind him. He spoke, "The kids are out for a practice run. They did tell me about you coming over. Your bike is parked in the back where we keep the spares." The elder pointed his finger towards the area behind the locker boxes. He then continued, "My name is Jacob Gust. I am the coach of this cycling club. Since you are a new member. I now inform you, that the club will be holding an orientation race tomorrow morning. You should report here at 7 in the morning. I do not allow latecomers to join the club. Any questions?\'
Yang Dao hesitated and asked, "Sir, is there anything else that I should keep in mind? I have never really raced on bikes, so please pardon my ignorance." he humbly asked the coach. The elder nodded slightly and replied, "Bring one water sipper, wear flexible yet skin-fit clothes. They reduce air resistance. Also, a good quality helmet and joint pads if you are not confident with your skills."
Yang Dao earnestly nodded, after greeting the elder he walked to the back and took his bike. The helmet was hanging by the strap on the handle. Yang Dao pushed the bike out of the club from the back door. He tied his helmet and pedaled out. His speed was very steady, unlike the morning where he was overcome by the excitement of a new toy in his hands. He decided to buy a more normal bike later with his own money.
The young boy has just covered a distance of a couple of kilometers when he heard an engine sounding behind him. A white luxury sedan caught up with him and slowed down to keep up with him. Yang Dao glanced at the car and saw the window of the driver seat lowering. A young man with black hair sat inside with his hand over the steering wheel. He spoke, "Student Yang Dao, can we have a chat?"
Yang Dao glanced at the other party and after pondering a bit he nodded. The boy drove his car to the side of the road and Yang Dao followed his actions. The boy came out of his car and stood near Yang Dao. The boy spoke first, "I apologize for my abruptness."
Yang Dao shook his head but did not speak. The other party nodded and spoke, "My name is Mikhail. I am a senior year student at the university." the boy stretched his hand towards Yang Dao.
Yang Dao held his hand and gave it a polite shake. He asked, "How can I help senior Mikhail?"
Mikhail spoke, "The rich in the university have a social group and I am the president. I have noticed that there have been continuous conflicts between you and the other first years nouveau rich. So, I just wanted to ask if we can put a rest to all this."
Yang Dao smiled and spoke, "Senior Mikhail, rather than asking me to put a rest to it, please ask your club members to put a rest to their arrogance. I get the point that none of the people in the world are born with the same destiny but just being born into a rich household doesn\'t give them the right to act as if they own the world."
Mikhail nodded calmly and spoke, "I understand what you are saying but this arrogance is natural. After all, we can afford things that other people cannot." his tone was plain yet a hint of arrogance was visible.
Yang Dao spoke with his smiling face, "Do you feel hunger?"
Mikhail was confused but he nodded his head. Yang Dao spoke, "Do you fall sick sometimes?"
Mikhail again nodded and Yang Dao again asked, "Did your relatives or elders also pass away?"
Mikhail frowned slightly and nodded. This time Yang Dao did not ask him a question but said, "Then what is the difference between you and the rest of the humans? Is it the food you eat? Is it the treatment you receive or is it the manner of death? Senior Mikhail, only when humans treat each other with respect will they be able to grow. If not for the poor to work for you, you won\'t have been a rich scion. So do not think as if the world is moving around you. Everything is interconnected the day one element breaks the balance it will cause destruction of both sides." his calm tone and firm eyes shook Mikhail. He wanted to retort but was unable to and Yang Dao continued after a pause.
"Let me give you a simple example if your family was mediocre and could not afford all these expensive shenanigans, would you still be the president of this Rich Club? Senior Mikhail, people who are blinded by wealth and pleasure see the whole world with golden glass. They judge your value by the amount of money you have on your card. They will not care whether you are Mikhail, who cracked and improved the security algorithm of JIB in your high school. To them, you are just Mikhail the richest person among the students."
Mikhail was surprised to find that the young man in front of him knew about his first-ever big feat. He opened his mouth and then he found that he could not speak. Yang Dao\'s preach has shaken him inside out. Yang Dao spoke, "Senior, it is getting late. I need to go home. Take care on your way." with that he rode his bike back to the road and headed towards his house. Yang Dao had a low emotional quotient and left Mikhail standing there on the side of the road.
It took a while for Mikhail to wake up from the daze. He glanced in the direction where Yang Dao has just left. He shook his head and got back in his car. Then with a vroom, he left the place as well. His view of being rich and arrogant was shaken by the words of a teenager. He thought about it as he drove and he found that what Yang Dao said was indeed right. He had no right to be arrogant about the stuff that he was given by others. In the morning he did found out that Yang Dao was riding a 2 billion dollar worth bike. Yet just now when he was talking to him Yang Dao was not arrogant at all.
He was impressed by the boy. As he thought of this he pressed a button on the console of his car and a call connected after a few rings. He spoke before the other party could even say hello, "Call everyone to gather, the club is holding an emergency meeting. If anyone is missing, then they can stay out of the club forever."
The other side only replied with an okay and the call disconnected. Tonight Yang Dao\'s sermon woke up Mikhail. He decided to try and put himself in the shoes of the poor and experience life from their point of view. It may sound too unrealistic but this was a perk Yang Dao had as a Dao Child. He was capable of moving people\'s hearts with his speech. As a Dao Child, he was an embodiment of Dao. His words and actions all contained the hint of Dao and thus they can make people ponder over their actions and deed.
...
Unaware of the change he had started Yang Dao reached his housing near the sapphire lake. The guards on duty saw a bike approaching and immediately stopped him from entering. One of the burly guards asked Yang Dao, "Sir, can you please show us your key card?"
Yang Dao nodded and took out his key card from his back pocket. When the guards saw a red phoenix engraved on the platinum color card, they were all shocked. The guard hurriedly returned the cards back to Yang Dao with both his hands. He spoke, "I apologize, sir, I did not know that you were the new owner of the Phoenix nest."
Yang Dao waved his hand and spoke with a smile, "It is alright, you are doing your duty. But can you tell me what do you mean by Phoenix\'s nest?"
The guard embarrassedly spoke, "Since, president of the phoenix group owns that place we call it a phoenix nest. I apologize for our rudeness." Yang Dao laughed out loud when he heard this.
He spoke, "It is fine, Sister Yun, is really a bird and this is her nest. Hahaha... good one. I will go now, take care, and thank you for your hard work." with that said Yang Dao left on his bike still laughing lightly.
The guards all were impressed by Yang Dao\'s politeness. They have rarely seen any rich son being so low-key and understanding.