IJLHTW - 8

Han Yao was the first to throw a punch. He was impatient by nature and had never cared for cautious probing. He dove right in. Dressed in a black tank top, his solid frame and bulging arm muscles made it clear he was all lean muscle.

When the two clashed and then backed away, Huo Ci heard the dull thud of muscle colliding with muscle.

Yi Zecheng was taller than Han Yao, but Han Yao was more muscular.

And Han Yao was in the military—combat and physical training were part of his daily routine. If Yi Zecheng couldn't finish this quickly, he might not last long in terms of stamina.

Since Han Yao dared to fight him, he clearly wasn't someone who could be taken down easily.

Huo Ci remained composed as she watched from below, but Lin Nana, standing next to her, couldn’t hold back. She jumped up, waving her fists and shouting, "Go, Brother Yi! Go, go!" As if that weren’t enough, she shouted even louder, “Take Han Yao down—beat him to death!”

Liu Zuo, the senior disciple at the training gym, quickly came over to pull away this little junior sister who was clearly just here for the drama.

But the guys in the ring were already affected by her.

Han Yao, momentarily distracted, got punched in the left shoulder by Yi Zecheng. He grunted in pain and staggered back several steps.

“You’re distracted in a fight?” Yi Zecheng shot him a cold glance.

He looked cold and detached on the surface, but he was just as proud as the rest of them. Since childhood, his good looks had made him the target of teasing by kids from the other courtyards. At seven or eight years old—an age when even dogs are picky about company—he would show up in crisp little suits with custom British leather shoes.

Anyone who dared joke that he looked like a girl? He’d beat them up harder than anyone else.

Among the courtyard kids, the adults always assumed he was just being dragged along in those fights. Little did they know, he often started them himself. For that, Han Jingyang and Meng Xinan would scold him, calling him a sweet dumpling—sesame-filled, all dark and devious on the inside.

So although Han Yao was tough, he didn't dare underestimate him.

He snapped back to focus, eyes locked on his opponent.

When Han Yao landed a punch on Yi Zecheng’s right arm, Yi Zecheng also grunted and backed away, retreating all the way to the corner of the ring.

Yi Zecheng lowered his head and looked at his right hand, brow furrowed.

Only then did Han Yao remember—his hand was injured. Guilt immediately surged inside him; he’d gotten too caught up in winning and had completely forgotten.

Before he could say anything, Yi Zecheng spoke first. Calmly, he said, “I lost.”

“Brother…” Han Yao frowned too. He was competitive, but not enough to take pride in a win like this.

But Yi Zecheng had already taken off his boxing gloves. He was already drenched in sweat earlier, and now, sweat dripped in thick beads from his forehead. He slapped Han Yao on the shoulder with his glove and said, “If we kept going, I’d still lose. You've been training well in the military.”

That bit of praise made Han Yao feel better.

He scratched his head, a little embarrassed. “Honestly, if it weren’t for your hand, I might not have won.”

The two jumped down from the ring, and as they turned, someone blocked Yi Zecheng’s path.

Huo Ci stood very close to him—close enough to catch the scent of sweat from his body.

She reached out with a water bottle and offered it to him. When he didn’t take it, she said, “You bought me watermelon juice last time. This time, I’m buying you water.”

Huo Ci had always lived a pampered life. After she started earning her own money, she spared no expense. The bottled water she carried was a fancy imported European spring water, its clear bottle gleaming like crystal.

“Afraid I’ve drugged it?” she asked, lifting an eyebrow at him.

Yi Zecheng finally reached out and took it. “Thanks.”

Han Yao, watching from the side, was surprised. He’d thought Yi Zecheng wouldn’t even pay the girl any mind, but here he was, actually accepting the water. Was the sun rising in the west today? Then again, she really was beautiful. And her legs—those legs had stirred up a storm when she first showed up at the gym.

Everyone here was respectable, of course. No one dared do anything inappropriate. But that didn’t stop them from appreciating beauty. The gym used to be full of just men, which was efficient, but let’s be honest—after a while, it got pretty monotonous.

Ever since Huo Ci started coming, even the gym director noticed a sharp uptick in attendance.

Some people even started asking Lin Nana about her training schedule so they could “coincidentally” show up at the same time. After all, you had to book in advance to arrange sparring sessions.

But Huo Ci was too cold. Besides Lin Nana, no one else could even get a proper conversation out of her.

Han Yao chuckled. These two—usually so aloof—looked kind of perfect for each other. Let the wicked handle the wicked.

He clapped Yi Zecheng on the shoulder and said, “Bro, I’m off to shower.”

Yi Zecheng twisted open the bottle cap and chugged half the water in one go. His head tilted back, neck veins taut and glistening with sweat, his Adam’s apple bobbing with each gulp—it was wild and masculine in a way that was hard to look away from.

After he finished drinking, he noticed Huo Ci was still standing in front of him. “You still need something?”

“Yes,” Huo Ci replied coolly, eyes steady on him.

Yi Zecheng looked down at her and twisted the cap back on the bottle.

Then Huo Ci said, “If you take me to dinner tonight, I’ll tell you my decision.”

The moment the words left her mouth, Yi Zecheng’s gaze locked onto her with sudden, fierce intensity—an almost wild spark that quickly vanished, returning to its usual icy calm.

He said, “Do we really have to do it this way?”

They both knew—Huo Ci was still hung up on what he’d said earlier. She was stubborn to the bone, but whenever it came to Yi Zecheng, she seemed to always come up short. She was the kind of person who, if you told her to head south, she’d go north just to spite you. If you told her not to crash into a wall, she’d test it just to see whether the wall or her will was stronger. He said dinner was a joke? She’d make sure he treated her to that exact dinner.

“Then it has to be this way,” Huo Ci lifted her eyelids slightly, a smile curling at the corner of her mouth.

After waiting for a long while, Yi Zhecheng finally said, “I have something to do today.”

Huo Ci wasn’t angry. She stretched out her palm and said, “Then give me your phone.”

“My phone number is on my business card,” he said in a low voice. Probably because of the intense exertion just now, his voice wasn’t as deep as usual; each sentence came with a slight breathlessness.

Huo Ci looked up at him, “I want your personal number.”

She emphasized the word “personal” heavily. Actually, she was the same—impatient when dealing with clients, the phone numbers she left were all handled by Bai Yu. Her real personal number was known to only a handful of people.

Yi Zhecheng lowered his eyes to look at her.

“Huo Ci, don’t waste your time on me.”

He said this without any emotion.

Huo Ci looked back at him, “I’m planning to take this job. Work-related matters aren’t a waste of time, right?”

Yi Zhecheng looked at her, his gaze steady.

“After all, the places you want me to go are still in the middle of war. You have to protect my safety.”

Protect your safety—what does that have to do with asking for my phone number? Yi Zhecheng didn’t say this but instead turned and walked away. Huo Ci didn’t get angry either; she just stood there watching his back until he disappeared down the corridor.

When she went to change clothes, Lin Nana curiously asked, “Huo Ci, you’re not training today?”

“No.”

She changed into her clothes and glanced at her sweatshirt and black denim pants in the mirror. When she had shooting work, she always dressed as simply and comfortably as possible. She wished she had worn a long skirt—she was tall and slender, and rare to have a chest; a long skirt would show off her figure best.

Then she let down her ponytail, running her hands a few times through her hair on top of her head. Her long hair fell over her shoulders like a waterfall.

Her jet-black hair contrasted with her jade-like skin.

After going out, she stood next to the men’s locker room, waiting.

With nothing to do, she took a mint candy out of her pants pocket. She didn’t smoke but liked to chew candy when idle.

Han Yao came out with Yi Zhecheng and saw the person leaning against the wall nearby as soon as he stepped out. He turned to Yi Zhecheng with a sly smile, winking and saying, “How about I go wait outside first? You two can talk slowly, take your time.”

Yi Zhecheng didn’t say anything, and Han Yao left first. When he reached the corner, he looked back once more.

Once outside, he called someone on his phone. The other side took a long time to answer, still heavy with sleep, “Are you out of your mind calling me at 4 a.m.?”

“Brother, hurry back. Yi Zhecheng has some situation here,” Han Yao was gossiping like never before.

If this happened to others, he wouldn’t be so agitated.

After he spoke, Han Jingyang on the other end woke up. He lit a cigarette leisurely and said, “You’re just talking nonsense. Ever since he was a kid, Zhecheng never drank water given by girls.”

When they played basketball at school, many girls would hold water for them, standing nearby waiting.

At that youthful age, who could resist girls?

But Yi Zhecheng was really different. None of them had ever seen him talk to girls much; every time he played, he brought his own water bottle filled with imported mineral water from abroad.

“That’s not the same, though. You didn’t see this girl’s appearance; she’s really beautiful. Even when I first saw her, I felt a thrill,” Han Yao was a man too—appreciating a beautiful woman was natural.

Moreover, seeing a beautiful girl even lifted their moods. Huo Ci was cold but not troublesome. She’d been at the training hall for a long time without complaints or causing trouble.

Her training partner was Master Liu Zuo, the senior brother at the gym, who praised her several times in the locker room.

Yi Zhecheng still didn’t know that Han Yao had already spilled everything about him. All he knew was that he had to make things clear with Huo Ci.

She really was the photographer he wanted, but that wasn’t a reason for her to overstep.

“I told you, don’t waste your time on me,” Yi Zhecheng frowned and said seriously.

Huo Ci said, “I said it’s for work.”

But just after she finished speaking, the man several steps away moved forward two steps, one hand pressing against the wall, his body leaning forward, his handsome face suddenly looming large in front of her. His deep gaze drew her in; she could even see her own reflection in his pale pupils.

The man’s sudden move forced her to instinctively step back.

Behind her was the wall, blocking her escape.

Her bag fell with a bang. Her palm pressed tightly against the wall, and her nose was filled with the man’s breath, faintly moist.

He had just finished showering.

Then he spoke, “Still only for work?”

Huo Ci was angry and embarrassed. He was obviously trying to force her to admit that she had feelings for him. She raised her head, long hair sweeping over his arm pressed on the wall. But seeing his cold gaze, she suddenly smiled.

She wasn’t going to break down with him; she intended to use the excuse of work to get close to him.

After all, he had personally chosen her.

In the end, Yi Zhecheng did give her his phone number.

But with one condition: “Only for work. If I find out you have any behavior beyond work, I will replace you immediately.”