6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMr91qx0AlQMartial Youth
Inside the underground fight club, the lights were dim.
An iron cage surrounded the central ring, and people packed the space on all sides. The smell of smoke, sweat, alcohol, and cheap perfume mixed together, making the whole place feel as if it had been sealed under a heavy lid.
Some people leaned against the walls placing bets. Some held beers and shouted curses. Others lowered their heads and scrolled through their phones, waiting for the next match to begin.
When the door was pushed open, no one turned around at first.
Not until that man walked in.
Lin Yunlong.
He did not stop.
He did not look at anyone.
He simply walked straight through the middle of the crowd. His steps were not fast, but it was as if an invisible line of pressure spread out from him. The people blocking his path instinctively moved aside.
The crowd slowly quieted down.
Someone recognized him, and their expression changed.
Someone else looked as if they wanted to curse, but the person beside them immediately grabbed them and held them back.
Lin Yunlong walked to the center of the fight club and stopped outside the cage.
His gaze fell on the man at the very back.
That man sat on a tall stool, several thugs standing around him. He wore a floral shirt, rings on his fingers, and an unhurried smile on his face.
Lin Yunlong spoke, his voice low.
“How much do you know about the recent incidents?”
The gang boss looked at him and smiled.
“You just walk in like this?”
He set down the glass in his hand, and his eyes slowly darkened.
“Where do you think this is?”
Lin Yunlong did not answer.
The thugs beside the gang boss stepped forward.
The gang boss looked at Lin Yunlong, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.
“You want to ask me questions? Fine.”
He leaned back a little.
“Earn it.”
The air sank.
The first thug moved.
He charged straight in from the front, shoulder lowered, throwing a direct punch at Lin Yunlong’s face. The punch was heavy and fast. Clearly, he was not some ordinary street punk.
But before the fist truly landed, Lin Yunlong had already taken half a step forward.
He did not move far away.
His body only shifted slightly, letting the fist brush past the side of his face. In the next instant, his lead hand shot out in a short strike, hitting the underside of the thug’s jaw.
The thug’s head snapped back. His feet tried to hold the ground, but his body had already gone limp, as if the power had been cut.
The first man fell.
The second man rushed in from the side, raising his leg to kick Lin Yunlong in the abdomen.
Lin Yunlong did not even look at him.
His body turned, and his side kick landed first, driving into the man’s stomach. The thug’s body folded inward from the impact, his steps breaking backward. Lin Yunlong hooked his supporting leg, then pressed his palm onto the back of his head.
Before the man could recover his balance, he was forced down to the floor, his forehead striking the ground with a dull thud.
The third man lowered his body and cut in, trying to kick Lin Yunlong’s shin first.
Lin Yunlong sank his step and used his lead foot to intercept the low kick, pressing the man’s leg back down to the floor. The man’s body stalled.
Lin Yunlong’s uppercut had already risen from below.
It struck the side of his face cleanly.
The man’s eyes scattered in an instant. His whole body fell sideways and knocked over a chair.
The fourth man circled behind him, both hands just about to clamp onto Lin Yunlong’s shoulders.
Lin Yunlong seemed to have known he was there from the start.
His body leaned back. One arm reversed around the man’s neck, while his other hand pressed against the back of his head, instantly locking the man behind him.
Rear naked choke.
The man grabbed at Lin Yunlong’s arm with both hands, his feet scrambling across the floor as he tried to break free. But the more he struggled, the weaker he became.
A few seconds later, his hands slowly loosened.
Lin Yunlong lowered his body to the floor.
The entire fight club fell silent.
No unnecessary movement.
No unnecessary sound.
Those men did not look as if they had been beaten down.
They looked as if they had been switched off, one by one.
A wide empty space opened around him.
No one dared to step forward again.
Lin Yunlong stood in place, breathing steady. Even his jacket was not disheveled.
He walked forward.
One step.
Then another.
The crowd moved aside on its own.
At last, he stopped in front of the gang boss.
The smile on the boss’s face was gone.
Lin Yunlong looked down at him.
“Now—”
He paused.
“Am I qualified?”
At night, the streetlights came on one after another.
Outside the restaurant, the crowd slowly dispersed. Students who had just finished eating walked out through the entrance. Some carried their schoolbags. Some held drinks. Some talked as they walked, discussing tomorrow’s club activities.
Lin Jing glanced at the time, her tone calm.
“Starting tomorrow, I’ll be checking the results of your training.”
Lin Hao nodded.
“Okay.”
Liu Yeqing looked at him.
“Let’s go.”
Lin Hao was just about to follow when he suddenly remembered what Lin Jing had said earlier.
Results.
Relax.
He lowered his head and looked at his own hand.
Then he looked at Liu Yeqing.
The next second, he very naturally took her hand.
Her palm was a little cold.
Liu Yeqing froze for a moment, and her steps stopped with it.
She lowered her head and looked at their hands joined together.
She did not pull away immediately.
She only raised her eyes and looked at him.
“You’re… a little strange today.”
Lin Hao froze too.
It was as if only now did he realize what he had done.
“Oh, right.”
He was about to let go.
But Liu Yeqing did not loosen her hand.
Her hand was still in his.
After one second, she said quietly:
“…It’s not like you can’t.”
Lin Hao stiffened all at once.
Gu Chengyuan saw this from the side, and the corner of his mouth immediately lifted.
Lin Hao turned back and glared at him.
“Don’t say anything.”
Gu Chengyuan raised both hands and took half a step back with a smile.
“I didn’t say a thing.”
Lin Hao ignored him after that and followed Liu Yeqing forward.
The two left side by side.
Their steps were not deliberately slowed.
Nor did they deliberately move closer.
But the distance between them was just a little closer than before.
The wind blew softly.
Their shadows slowly stretched across the ground. At last, they overlapped, then separated again beneath the streetlights.
Elsewhere, Gu Chengyuan remained where he was and looked at Lin Jing.
He paused.
His tone sounded casual.
“I’ll walk you back.”
Lin Jing glanced at him and did not refuse.
“Do whatever you want.”
The two walked side by side.
The distance was just right.
Not close.
Not far.
Gu Chengyuan kept both hands in his pockets and looked ahead, though his mind was still on what Lin Jing had said earlier.
She knew.
She knew he had been thinking about how to land a hit on her.
She also knew he was not simply joking.
But she did not expose him.
She did not refuse him.
And she did not cut off the possibility.
Gu Chengyuan let out a low laugh.
Troublesome.
Lin Jing suddenly turned to look at him.
“Ah Yuan.”
Gu Chengyuan froze.
He was just about to speak, but Lin Jing seemed to have already known what was on his mind. She said calmly:
“You’re starting to think.”
Gu Chengyuan’s smile paused for an instant.
He looked at Lin Jing’s profile and suddenly did not know how to answer.
Just then, they reached a street corner.
Ahead of them was a combat gym. Its sign was still lit, and white light spilled through the glass door. Inside, some people were putting away equipment, while others had just finished training, sweat still hanging on their necks.
Gu Chengyuan’s gaze swept across the place.
Then it stopped.
Someone was standing at the entrance.
That person’s frame was steady. He was not especially flashy, nor was he deliberately releasing pressure. Yet simply standing there made the surrounding noise seem to lower slightly.
Gu Chengyuan’s brow furrowed faintly.
That person…
Familiar.
Not the face.
The presence.
As if he had seen it somewhere before.
Gu Chengyuan paused and opened his mouth.
“Hey—”
But his voice caught.
Forget it.
It would probably disturb him.
At that moment, Lin Jing walked past him.
She did not stop.
She brushed directly past that person.
The two did not look at each other.
They did not speak.
As if they were complete strangers.
But in that instant, the air went quiet.
Gu Chengyuan stood in place and could not help turning back.
That person had already stepped into the light of the combat gym. His face was hidden by the shadow near the entrance, unclear.
But that back.
It was very familiar.
Gu Chengyuan’s brow furrowed even deeper.
Who?
Lin Jing stopped walking, but did not turn around.
“Not leaving?”
Gu Chengyuan came back to himself.
“Oh.”
He withdrew his gaze and followed her.
The streetlights continued to glow one after another
The night deepened.6Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡskcxBBPDco
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