There was only confusion in Lou Cheng's blank and silly face. Turning away to hide her smile, Yan Zheke explained herself with flushed cheeks. "I was just beginning to feel attachment to you back then. When I found out what you've done, I didn't have a strong reaction. After we went steady, I'd be frightened each time I thought about it. I even have nightmares. What if something happened to you then? What should I do… "
Her gaze shifted and the rim of her eyes turned red.
His heart tightening, Lou Cheng stretched his hand to pull the girl into his arms. They sat by the bed, the girl leaning on him. "I was too impulsive and immature then. I won't do it again."
Dating, marriage, and companionship in their late years. These were not just about romantic feelings, but also about real life. They both used to live in their worlds and fend for themselves, but they now shared a common fate. They should consider their other half when making their every decision.
This was their duty.
Though it would cost them a large part of their freedom, nothing could be gained without expense.
She felt Lou Cheng's gentle touch on her hair as she leaned on his chest and softened her voice to say, "Of course I trust you. I'm not angry. I'm just trying to tell you what worries and frightens me. There are some things that the other person will never truly understand if I don't say it out loud. And I'm not stupid enough not to do that."
She paused, not looking up at him. "I know there are things that you must do. My grandpa often told me that all of us, men or women, have responsibilities that we must undertake, sometimes even at the risk of our lives. But you can't be impulsive. You must weigh them carefully before acting. It's no big deal to react based on impulse. Even a street hooligan can do that. Thinking thrice before making your decision is what makes you a true hero… "
"If you reencounter such situation and have things you simply must do, I won't stop you again. I just want you to tell me and let me go through it with you."
"Grandpa speaks wisely." A chord was struck in Lou Cheng's heart. Sure enough Ke was better at communicating than him, for he was likely to be illogical and would be unable to highlight the key points. "I'll think thrice and consult you before acting from now on!"
He smiled and said, "I want to meet grandpa."
"Who's your grandpa!?" Yan Zheke looked at him reproachfully, but couldn't help asking in curiosity, "Why do you want to meet him?"
"I want to know how great the elder is to turn you into such a good girl with such a perfect worldview, values, and life philosophy." Lou Cheng laughed.
"Bah! You're so disgusting! Could you stop racking your brains to praise me?" Yan Zheke giggled, her mood significantly improved. "Let me punch your chest with my little fists!"
"Your little fists can break stones… " Lou Cheng smiled obsequiously.
Laughing for a while, Yan Zheke raised her head and pursed her lips. Still uneasy, she asked, "Cheng, you don't mind all those gossips and insults?"
He had done nothing at all. It was all her...
"If I say I don't mind, I'm just lying to put you at ease. But it's not as serious as you think. At first, I felt I was wronged out of nowhere, but I'm now relieved since you've made things clear to me. What you've done is what I've done. I can only eliminate their prejudices with one victory after another. Once I show an indisputable strength, those gossips and insults will no longer mean anything. I can't hope that everyone likes me. There will always be those with malformed personalities," Lou Cheng explained his feelings with a smile.
Yan Zheke gnashed her teeth as she listened to him. With great concern, she asked, "Will it bring you a lot of pressure?"
To eliminate people's prejudices with one victory after another? Was he planning to win two matches tomorrow?
That will bring him great mental pressure!
Lou Cheng was stunned before he burst into laughter. "Ke, were you infected with my silliness? I don't mean just this Youth Tournament."
"There's no such thing as a 100% winning rate when you're similar to or weaker than your opponent in a martial arts competition. The Dragon King had tasted defeat. Warrior Sage had tasted defeat. Among all the famous martial arts practitioners these days, who have not once failed? What I mean is that as long as I push on, I'm sure to gain more victories even if I lose the match tomorrow."
He deeply inhaled the girl's fragrance.
"Hmph, so you know your stupidity is contagious!" Yan Zheke sneered, her mind finally put at ease. She broke free from Lou Cheng's embrace and said, "I've to go down now. Sister Jingjing and the rest are waiting for me in the car."
Under the soft light, Ke's beauty was bewitching. The more he looked at her, the more attractive she became. It reminded Lou Cheng of his initial expectations. Swallow his saliva, he told her his suggestion.
"Ke, why don't you ask Sister Jingjing to go back? You can sleep here tonight."
A startled Yan Zheke blushed furiously at a visible speed and stammered, "You, tomorrow you… "
Before she could finish, she was propelled forward and felt herself pulled hard into Lou Cheng's embrace. Her pink lips were covered with his in a deep, passionate kiss, blocking the rest of her words.
With their lips and tongues entwined, Yan Zheke's face was as red as if she was drunk. She began to respond to Lou Cheng, even as her head reeled. Without being aware of it, she was gradually pressed onto the bed. There were several times where she wanted to speak, but she was unable to due to his endless kisses.
Aroused, Lou Cheng sucked on the sweetness in Ke's lips. With one arm around her, he could not help caressing her body with the other.
Sliding his hand along the curve of her body, he stopped at the back of her waist and began tugging at her chiffon shirt. Her exposed skin was smooth, delicate, and cool. Lou Cheng breathed heavily and continued to explore upwards, slowly and cautiously.
She stiffened and trembled lightly. A faint groan came from the back of her throat. She weakly pushed Lou Cheng away, but her hands were grasping his shirt as if she was resigned to fate.
An ear-splitting ringtone rang through the air, over and over.
Lou Cheng pretended not to hear and was about to throw the phone far, far away with one hand. But Yan Zheke had recovered. She sat up and pushed him aside with great force.
The girl's face was flushed a deep red, her eyes swimming with tears, her lips glistening with moisture. She picked up her phone as she gasped and berated Lou Cheng at the same time. "Pervert! Pervert! Pervert!"
The call was from Gu Shuang. Yan Zheke calmed herself before answering.
"What's up?"
"You took so long to answer… " Gu Shuang's giggle deepened the color of Yan Zheke's face. She did not dare to reply. "I'm worried we'll be waiting in vain, so I'm calling to make sure if you'll still leave with us. You can't let us sleep in the car, can you? Did I disturb you two?"
"What are you thinking?! I-I'll go down now!" Yan Zheke said reproachfully.
Lou Cheng helplessly covered his face.
He was so close to success! Little Miss Gu Shuang should have called just one minute later!
Yan Zheke glared at him, eyes still glittering, before letting out a humph.
"I'm leaving… You still have a match tomorrow!"
Looking aside shyly, she jumped off the bed like a little white rabbit and went to the door as she straightened her clothes.
Lou Cheng sighed, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Following her, he bent over and sent the girl off.
Yan Zheke took an accidental glance at him and became embarrassed.
"Hello, pervert! Bye, pervert!"
"Good night." Lou Cheng stepped forward, hugging her and planting a gentle kiss on her forehead.
Yan Zheke turned to look somewhere else with her watery eyes.
"Good night."
Worried she would not want to leave if she stayed with him any longer, she turned and ran towards the elevator.
She had such violent mood swings today that she almost lost control of herself…
Zhang Zhutong got inside his car after the matches ended and rested in the back seat, ignoring his female companion. He closed his eyes and he recalled the last two matches: one was between Lou Cheng and Meng Jiefeng, the other between Han Zhifei and Qiu Shan.
The car sped past the streets, stopping in front of a 29-story building instead of his villa. Two glowing large characters were hung on the building.
"Haiyuan Mansion."
Taking a deep breath, Zhang Zhutong entered the building from a side entrance with his female companion. When they took the lift to the 11th floor, they saw a sign hanging outside the door: Shenhuo Club.
"You're here?" A man wearing a lab coat walked towards them, smiling.
It was nearly 10 at night. No one was on this floor except for them.
"I have two matches tomorrow. I need to recover." Zhang Zhutong smiled as a way of greeting.
The man in the lab coat laughed heartily. "It's not like you've never tried the ultra-low-temperature cryotherapy system. Most of your exhaustion will be eliminated with the assistance of acupuncture, moxibustion, and red pellets. You'll return near to your peak form soon."
As they conversed, they went through a series of doors before finally entering a room that belonged in a sci-fi movie. The room looked it was designed to be a space capsule.
The ultra-low-temperature cryotherapy system used liquid nitrogen to create an environment with the temperature of minus 110 to 140 degrees. When a human was subjected to extreme cold in a short time, the stress-protective mechanism in the body would be activated and gain control of the relevant hormone secretion. This would immediately accelerate blood circulation to protect all the organs and tissues and maintain body temperature. These reactions helped the body get rid of impurities and reduce the production of metabolic wastes, easing muscular aches and accelerate the recovery from exhaustion.
After the brief cold stimulation, muscles would be more relaxed after returning to normal temperature. The enhanced blood circulation would carry more energy to the body and help it recover as soon as possible.
Taking off his clothes as he did many times before, Zhang Zhutong wore a device to prevent his respiratory system from being damaged by the cold air. He opened the door and walked in.
Almost instantly, they could see from the observation window how the white air filled the room and surrounded Zhang Zhutong's naked body. The temperature inside was recorded on an LCD screen.
It was minus 130 degrees!
At the same time, another round of overtime began in the TV station.
Rapping the table, the leader asked, "Have you decided on the nicknames of the top 4 yet?"
The young man with disordered hair said tentatively, "Since we have Six Vajra and Eight Little Immortals, what about Four Heavenly Kings?"
"Four Heavenly Kings? Only the mighty ones are qualified for that title. These young warriors aren't even at high-ranked Dan stage yet. The title would only bring them hate comments." The man who liked reading web novels sneered at the suggestion. "Since these young people are all talented, maybe we can call them Four Heavenly Sons."
"But it's not easy to make any nicknames of that title. If you have to call someone so-and-so Heavenly Son, how unpleasant it would be!" The others protested the suggestion.
"It's not necessary to call them so-and-so Heavenly Son. We can just give them four corresponding nicknames." The man who made the suggestion tried to explain.
The leader nodded.
"I'm pretty happy with this suggestion. We'll use the title tentatively and give them nicknames according to their ranking after this competition. We need to show the difference in their levels."