The night before.

  While Li Nanheng was preoccupied with watching over the students’ practice, Feng Ling left the classroom to look for the head coach.

  “Coach, don’t go to the stadium tonight,” Feng Ling spoke directly.

  The head coach had already finished his classes today and had changed into a fresh set of clothes. He was preparing to leave for the sports hall with them. When he heard her words, he lifted his head to look at her: “Why? Are you worried that I’ll lose to him?”


  “No. I just feel that there’s no need for you to go. There’s no meaning in a competition like this. Do you understand what I mean?”


  The head coach stood by the desk without moving. He watched her for a moment before answering: “You meant to say that, regardless of whether or not I defeat him, you won’t have any feelings for me, just like how you’ve been cold to Chen Beiqing. You’ve always been polite and less distant to me because we’re colleagues, but if I accidentally reveal my feelings for you and go compete with Li Nanheng, you’ll be very frustrated with your own position in this matter?”


  Feng Ling: “.……Since you understand, why do you insist on going?”


  The head coach chuckled: “Ah Ling, you don’t understand a man’s mind. Losing is fine. Winning is fine as well. It doesn’t matter. But since we both like the same person, we should resolve this the way men do. Even though I may not be able to defeat him, when this all ends, at least I’ll know I’ve tried my best.”


  Feng Ling truly could not understand.

  “Also.” The head coach raised his brows: “Your skills are very similar to his. Although Li Nanheng has only been helping to guide those students and has barely revealed anything, I can tell from the habits he has and the little skill he has displayed. Could it be that your skills were all taught by him?”


  Only those who were well-trained, who had the ability to discern other people’s skills, could notice this from small details.

  The head coach wasn’t sure if he could defeat Li Nanheng, but after working here for so many years, he easily recalled his opponents’ moves after seeing it once.

  Thus, although he did not comment about Li Nanheng’s appearance here, it was clear that certain things could not be hidden from him.

  “I have a friend working in the Los Angeles Police Force. He has mentioned the XI Base to me before. That day, I suddenly found Li Nanheng’s name familiar and contacted the people at Los Angeles to investigate for me. Most of the Li family’s matters cannot be found online, and most of the XI Base’s information is confidential, so I couldn’t find much. But I still saw Li Nanheng’s name listed under the legal person-in-charge of XI Base.” The head coach watched Feng Ling’s unmoved expression as he spoke: “If he is the person-in-charge of XI Base, what about you? Previously, I always wondered about how you are so skilled despite your young age. I also wondered about your experiences. Right now, I can’t help but suspect, were you also a member of the XI Base?”


  “Yes.”


  Faced with this evidence, Feng Ling did not have much to conceal. After all, even if she said no, he would know that she was lying.

  Thus, she decided to be more open.

  “The XI Base actually accepts women?”


  “If the XI Base accepts women, I wouldn’t have ran all the way to Boston.” Feng Ling did not explain too much. She paused for a moment and continued: “Those are all matters of the past. I don’t wish to bring it up again. Since you’ve already guessed his identity, you shouldn’t go.”


  The head coach only smiled. He glanced at the nearby classroom and lifted his wrist to check the time: “I’ll wait for him.”


  Feng Ling frowned: “You’re still going?”


  “Why wouldn’t I go?” The head coach lifted his brows.

  Feng Ling: “.……”


  ——


  Evening.

  The stadium.

  From Feng Ling’s perspective, the fight between the two men was too immature and out of the blue. She really could not understand them. They were both grown-ups in their twenties. Li Nanheng usually disdained picking fights with others. The head coach was also the dependable type. For some strange reason, the two of them were on the same wavelength; they said they would fight and they really ran off to fight.

  She was too lazy to go to the stadium to look and directly drove home instead. After arriving at her apartment, she locked her doors from inside. She could not be bothered to care about those two mentally ill people.

  In the stadium, the fight did not last very long. The head coach understood that he could not defeat Li Nanheng and maintained a defensive position. Li Nanheng could also tell that his opponent was testing him out and intentionally kept his blows light. After an hour, there was still no conclusion to their fight. Eventually, the two tall, broad-shouldered men grew tired of their fight. They sat down on the floor panting; they did not resume their fight, nor did they speak. They only laid on the ground to look up at the ceiling lights.

  “To be able to compete against the boss of XI Base, this is truly my honour,” the head coach said roughly as he caught his breath. “I thought you would cripple me. Who would have thought you would take things so easy.”


  Li Nanheng only took a while to catch his breath. He snorted as he laid there. “You sure know a lot.”


  “I only learned that you are the boss of XI Base recently. Initially, I was quite surprised. But after considering the outstanding skills that Ah Ling possesses, your appearance helped me to understand how she became this capable. As expected for the famous XI Base. Even a little woman can be trained into becoming so capable. If I head there to express my admiration, I wonder if you’ll accept me despite my age?” The head coach chuckled as he spoke.

  Li Nanheng did not answer as he looked up indifferently at the lights.

  The atmosphere fell into silence. Eventually, the head coach sat up. He scanned the empty stadium and said: “Although I’m not sure why Ah Ling left your XI Base, nor do I know anything about the past that the both of you shared, in my impression, when she first arrived at our martial arts club one and a half years ago, her reticent nature really led us to suspect if there was something wrong with her personality. Soon after, we realized that although she is strict and cold during lessons, she is an extremely capable teacher who is very detailed. A long time after, we confirmed that she simply dislikes interacting with others and wasting her breath on meaningless things. Her heart is very guarded and she has never allowed anyone to be close to her. At the time, aside from lessons, she was always alone. Whenever we looked for her to have a chat, she would only watch us silently. She had no desire to fit into this place. She was reticent to the point where it seemed like she was alone in this world. It was from then on that I began to pay attention to her. I’ve really never met a girl with such a personality.”


  The head coach chuckled and continued: “I strangely felt that what she concealed under her silence was a heart full of injuries and thorns. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have such a thick armor on, nor would she refuse anyone’s approach. I’ve always wondered about the experiences she has had to endure.”