Chi Wan washed her face with cold water in the courtyard, and only then did she feel she had come back to life.
A half-hour of horse stance was her absolute minimum requirement, yet for her current self, it remained grueling; every time she finished, her legs would tremble as she walked.
She beat her legs a few times, then did some warm-up stretches in place following the routine Zhang Lei had taught her, before walking toward the inner hall.
The moment she stepped one foot inside, Yan Xu shot her a glare that she found completely inexplicable and utterly childish.
"Brother Zhang," Chi Wan said.
Zhang Lei greeted her with extreme solicitude. "Are you tired? Did you do your stretches? Come on, sit here and rest a while."
Watching his overbearing fatherly routine, Yan Xu's mouth twitched as he mockingly and quietly mouthed and repeated back every word Zhang Lei had just said.
Zhang Lei, who had been wearing such a gentle expression toward Chi Wan, whipped his head around. Yan Xu was so startled that his eyes darted frantically in all directions with a thoroughly guilty look on his face. Taking it all in, the corners of Chi Wan's mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.
After a while, seeing that Chi Wan had rested enough, Zhang Lei asked if she wanted to find someone to spar with.
Chi Wan swept her gaze across the two boys and nodded.
Just as Zhang Lei was about to gesture to Jiang Zhi, Chi Wan pointed a finger directly at Yan Xu, who was leisurely toying with a weapon, and spoke up: "I'd like to spar with the Second Senior Brother, if Second Senior Brother dares to take me on."
Chi Wan's blatant provocation easily got under Yan Xu's skin.
With a look that completely dismissed her, he crooked his finger. "Come on then. Your big brother here isn't going to be scared of some little yellow-haired girl."
Knowing his true capabilities, Zhang Lei and Jiang Zhi both watched with unreadable smiles in their eyes.
In the center of the martial arts arena, Zhang Lei watched with a look of complete anticipation as Yan Xu, who had been heavily thrown to the ground the moment he made a move, stood there in a daze, unable to snap back to reality. Zhang Lei wanted to laugh, but he was afraid that the brat would actually end up crying from humiliation in a moment.
Zhang Lei's handsome face was tightly pulled, and upon closer inspection, his lips could be seen trembling.
Jiang Zhi straightened up, watching the standing girl. Her slender figure possessed an unyielding drive; steadfast, upright, and brimming with heroic spirit.
He raised an eyebrow, his gaze locked on the girl, and asked, "Does she practice sanda?"
"Mmhmm," Zhang Lei replied with a proud look.
"Not bad. I'll give it a try." A gleam of interest showed in Jiang Zhi's eyes as he pressed his hand against the armrest of the recliner and prepared to stand up.
Hearing his words, Zhang Lei quickly said, "Don't go too hard on her. The girl has only taken a few classes and is no match for your skills. Take it easy on her, you hear me?"
Jiang Zhi didn't answer him, and it was unclear whether he had even listened.
With a calm and leisurely gait, he walked over to the martial arts platform and nudged Yan Xu, who was lying on the floor playing dead, with the tip of his shoe. "Get up already. Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"
Yan Xu felt like crying without tears. He was convinced that after today, he would never be able to hold his head high or act arrogant in front of this woman ever again.
One move! Just a single move! It was too humiliating...
Yan Xu felt as though his soul was trembling and weeping.
"Brother, I'm heading off to the ends of the earth tonight. Don't look for me, I never want to live on this planet again." Yan Xu sat up, but kept his head hung low, too ashamed to look up, his voice muffled and dejected.
Knowing his nature, Jiang Zhi remained unmoved and let out a scoff. "Still talking nonsense, so I see it didn't affect you much after all."
Feeling stifled with frustration, Yan Xu remained in a sitting position and hitched his backside across the floor toward the side until he reached the corner. There, like a self-isolating mushroom, he squatted down in gloomy despair, questioning the meaning of life.
Chi Wan watched him with amusement, and the irritation she had felt earlier from his mockery practically vanished.
Jiang Zhi looked at the shallow dimples at the corners of the girl's mouth and said in a low voice, "Want to spar?"
Chi Wan froze for a moment, her expression turning serious. "You and me?"
"What, scared?" Jiang Zhi threw her own words back at her.
Chi Wan cupped her fist in her other hand, her expression calm. "Please enlighten me."
Before her words had even faded, she launched a swift punch, the wind of her strike grazing the side of the boy's face.
Jiang Zhi caught the ankle of the kick she sent flying with his right hand, raising an eyebrow with playful amusement. "A bit of cleverness, I see."
"Again." He released her.
Chi Wan pressed her lips tightly together, her gaze turning sharp and wary. The two of them exchanged blows back and forth on the martial arts floor, fists and feet alternating.
One of them was breathing heavily, while the other remained entirely at ease. When Chi Wan's leg was intercepted yet again, she finally conceded defeat.
She had sensed long ago that he was toying with her later on as if playing with a cat. Even though he was holding back with every move, she was still no match for him.
She had to admit that Jiang Zhi was genuinely strong. It made her recall that time at the alley entrance when she had foolishly overestimated herself and thought she was helping him—how utterly ridiculous it had been.
Her assumption that he was being vastly outnumbered had simply been the boy playfully and maliciously toying with his opponents.
Jiang Zhi looked at the girl who had lasted dozens of moves against him, feeling a deep sense of hidden admiration, though not a trace of it showed on his face.
His sharp tongue wasted no time in mocking her. "Junior Sister's strength really leaves a lot to be desired. You'll need to train a lot more in the future; otherwise, throwing punches and kicks like that feels like tickling someone, and you'll just end up becoming the laughingstock of your enemies."
Chi Wan's face stiffened for a moment, but she quickly cupped her hands in a respectful salute with a magnanimous attitude. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother. I'll keep that in mind."
Jiang Zhi's lips curled into a jaunty, cynical smile as he waved a hand. "Don't mention it. If there's a chance, Senior Brother will gladly enlighten you again—anytime, anytime."
From that moment on, Jiang Zhi earned two new labels in Chi Wan's mind: overly protective and petty.
Seeing that his good buddy had stepped in and won back his face, Yan Xu finally felt his mood brighten considerably with a sense of touching gratitude. However, his eyes and mouth no longer dared to act out or subject Chi Wan to cheap mockery the way he used to.
Of the two sparring sessions, the person most satisfied was undoubtedly Zhang Lei.
Yan Xu, who used to be a half-assed slacker, finally stopped wasting time and began learning the forms in earnest. As for Chi Wan, she was so thoroughly provoked by Jiang Zhi that she grew even more diligent, throwing herself into her training with a fierce intensity that even startled Zhang Lei, who frequently cursed Jiang Zhi behind his back for not knowing how to be tender with the fairer sex.
Jiang Zhi responded with a cold scoff.
Wednesday.
During the break between classes, Chi Wan had to wait in line for nearly eight minutes just to get hot water, and used the last two minutes to run to the restroom.
When she tried to pull open the door of the toilet stall from the inside, she found that it wouldn't budge no matter what. The class bell had already rung, and she called out loudly, "Is anyone there?"
There was no reply, but she heard several muffled yet clear laughs from outside the door, followed by footsteps walking away.
Chi Wan yanked hard on the handle twice, her dark gaze growing steadily heavier.
Class had already started, and apart from Chi Wan, who was locked inside, the women's restroom was entirely empty.
She didn't shout loudly for help, even though doing so might have meant someone in a nearby classroom would hear. In her current worldview, there was only one truth... relying on others is worse than relying on oneself. She would never seek out anyone's rescue again.
She raised her head to look above the stall. Fortunately, the top wasn't fully sealed off, which meant that as long as she could climb up, she could scale the door and get out.
However, the school restrooms all used squat toilets, and in this tiny, confined space, there was nothing she could use as a stepping stool.
Chi Wan slowly retreated until her back pressed against the cold wall, then gathered her strength, lunged forward, and jumped.
She fell just short.
She tried again, over and over, until finally her right hand caught the top edge of the door frame, leaving her entire body suspended in mid-air. Using the door handle for leverage with her left foot, veins bulging on the back of her right hand, she summoned her strength and managed to hook her left hand onto the door top as well. Bit by bit, she hauled herself up to the top of the door and scrambled over.
There were deep red rope-burn marks across both palms, and her abdomen was bruised from slamming against the top frame of the door when she vaulted over without paying attention. She gently clenched and unclenched her hands to ease the soreness in her palms, then pressed a hand against her stomach as she walked out of the women's restroom.
"What happened to you?" A crisp, low voice rang out ahead.
Chi Wan lifted her gaze, and those clear eyes held a trace of moisture she hadn't even noticed, her somewhat disheveled appearance making her look rather pitiful.