Chapter 126:

After the disagreement, Ace put down the phone, and let out a breath of relief. Within the relief, however, was also a sense of impending doom, he had no idea on how exactly his grandmother would react to the refusal. Honestly, it all depended on how proud she was of him. She could either see this as him moving on, and becoming more independent, which would be the best outcome, since she might even cut him some slack in the future. On the other hand, what could also happen was that she saw this as a direct affront towards her person, him going against her, and disrespecting her, tarnishing the family name, and not taking all she had done for him to heart.

If that happened...He would rather not talk about it. He just hoped that she understood why he did it and was not too annoyed about it. Hopefully, he was not too great of a friend.

***

"Why exactly are you smiling?", Veronica asked, and Samantha just ignored her for a few seconds, before she looked at Veronica and met her eyes.

"Ace just disagreed with me.", she said, "Another one of your tests? Because I already told you-"

"No.", she said with finality, "This was not a test, I genuinely wanted him to do it, the fact that he disagreed with me, his role model and adult figure, just to maintain his business integrity… Well, it could definitely be worse."

Veronica nodded her head and smiled, understanding the emotions her boss and friend was going through, "Ah, in that case, I wish to congratulate you. You have raised a wonderful grandson.", Samantha snorted, "We both know that Google has raised him more than I ever did, and he himself, he has learnt from all mediums he could, and has become a better person because of it. I have no rights to take credit, but I am still proud, our family has yet again raised a commendable scion."

***

"Hey, you guys wanna come to a party this Friday? I'm DJing and it would be sick if you guys came.", CJ asked, and all the others smiled and cheered, congratulating him. John asked how he got the job, "Well, I was speaking with some of the older friends I have a few weeks ago, and they asked me if I could DJ for a private party of theirs. I said of course, and funnily enough, the owner of the club's little brother was there as well. He recorded me for a while, and apparently vouched for me to his brother, so now, one of his usual guys got sick, and they asked me to DJ.", he was clearly extremely proud, having been able to get this offer on his own. His channel had actually grown extremely fast, as people discovered his music through Ace's stream. As he had let Ace know multiple times, he would be 'forever grateful' for it. Ace just assured DJ that it was all him - which it was. His music, at least in terms of its genre, was definitely some of the best out there, and it was finally getting the recognition both Ace and his friends thought it deserved.

"Good stuff, are you getting paid?", Ray asked, and CJ smiled, clearly happy to be talking about this, "That's the best part, they told me that depending on the consensus from the audience, I would get paid more or less, if people did not like me or the atmosphere was boring, then I will not get paid, but if they like me…", his greedy grin said it all.

'That is the best outcome, his gains are all up to him, so he will be motivated to do the best, which will only benefit him in the long run. I hope everything goes well for him.', Ace thought, while they all sat at the border of a rink, watching people go up and down, hypnotised by the setting sun, and the drooping motions of the skateboards…

***

"Yep, right there, now, just twist your hips, and extend the foot, do all of that in one motion, and you should be ready to go. I recommend you practise it a few times every day, but no more than that. This kick can be pretty rough on the joints and muscles at first, so until your body gets fully acclimated to the motions, which should be in about a month or so, don't train any more than that. I would recommend doing every stage of the full kick separately however, it should not put as much stress on your body, and it will help you with your speed and precision, which will be key in actual combat.", Ace stepped back, looking at his handiwork.

He was currently in Allison's family courtyard, training some of the younger members of the household. It was apparently customary in the family for all the younger generation to train together, which Ace found funny, since when they all went out into the courtyard in the matching white uniforms, it made them look like a scene straight out of a movie.

Regardless, Ace had to admit that it did wonders for their character, as well as of course making them healthy. It also promoted individual growth, while supporting other members of your own family.

At Allison's requests, he had come in one morning, to help her teach the kids. They seemed hypnotised by both his skills and his looks, and Ace had gotten more than a few questions as to whether he was 'Allison's husband'. Every time they asked him, Ace laughed, and Allison made them do laps, so after they asked a few times, and word got around, he received no more 'disrespectful' questions, as Allison deemed them.

As the boy showed him the kick, Ace smiled and congratulated him. They were now done for the day, and Ace was about to say goodbye to Allison and leave, when she stopped him, "Where are you going?", she asked, and Ace looked at her quizzically, "Well, I am pretty hungry, so I wanna get home-", "Oh h*ll no, my parents would annihilate me if they found out I did not at least invite you for lunch. You have been helping me the whole morning, you more than deserve it."

"Oh, thanks Allison, is there anywhere I can take a shower and change, I kind of smell."

"Yeah, I noticed.", she stuck her tongue out cheekily, and then said, "In the outhouse, there should be towels, you have clothes?", Ace shook his head, "I was not exactly planning on staying for lunch…"

"It's fine, there should be some training gis there, just take whichever fits you.", she finished, but then spoke again, as if she had forgotten something, "And oh yeah, wear a black belt, you have been teaching them after all."

"Ok, thanks."

***

"Thank you for allowing me to come for lunch, I really appreciate it.", Ace said, looking at the whole family.

"Oh no, we should be the ones thanking you, you agreed to help Allison, and from what I hear, the kids loved you. This is the least we could do.", the mother, smiled at him and then offered him another serving of rice and chicken. It was honestly amazing, and Ace had no doubts she could win some serious cooking prizes with the dish. Not to mention the fact that she most likely had a few other dishes she could cook just as well. At least that was what Allison's father told him, Ace had no reasons to doubt the kind man. He seemed to always be smiling, and was more than happy to crack a joke or two, making both his daughters and Ace laugh, while his wife gave him a serious look, that and the reaction from him that followed, just made the three youngsters laugh even harder.