Lou Yu missed Lan City.
So, as long as she didn't attend that rehearsal, there was a high probability she would choose to come back.
Qiu Mo's feelings were elusive, and if he didn't resort to some trickery, he was likely to fail. Even with trickery, success was only a possibility, but most of the time, she maintained a young girl's logic and calmness.
That's why he had to face off with Shen Cangcang.
Even if he learned all of Shen Cangcang's moves, it would be useless.
The opponent would adjust in real time based on his reactions.
Similarly, if he were to engage in a bloody fight with the thugs downstairs, it would be pointless to remember their movements through many repetitions; they would adapt their group fighting methods and might even call more people to join.
They were not programs.
They were not movie replays.
They were alive.
And he felt more like an intruder.
Like a passerby.
Unless, ten years later, his future self could wake up in the hospital.
That was the world he truly belonged to.
"Hey, you didn't get your brains knocked out, did you?" Shen Cangcang put away her smile and asked seriously.
"No worries, let's go again!" Ji Yun said.
"Your openings are too big, you can't fight like this..." As she spoke, Shen Cangcang already posed to demonstrate to Ji Yun how to maintain rational defense in freestyle fighting.
"Is it like this?" Ji Yun imitated and asked.
"Right, but you can't always defend like this, everything depends on the situation. Yes, to use Teacher Qin's words, it's like a mutual chess game." Shen Cangcang wasn't the excessively aloof type of girl, especially when it came to martial arts; her beautiful eyes shone bright.
"Then can Teacher Tifa explain to me in more detail, how should I play this game?" Ji Yun asked.
"My name is Shen Cangcang!"
"Oh, Teacher Cang..."
Shen Cangcang rolled her eyes and couldn't be bothered to correct Ji Yun on this trivial matter.
"Take the situation just now, for example, your approach was defensive and mine was offensive, right?" Shen Cangcang said.
"Mhm, mhm." Ji Yun listened attentively.
Actually, he didn't know how long it had been since he had settled down to learn something.
Ever since he left school, everything seemed to be whimsical; he knew a little about everything, yet wasn't particularly skilled at anything.
"I was attacking, but I wasn't recklessly trying to knock you down. My first few leg raises were to test you, to see your reaction. If you got faked out, I would strike for real on the next leg raise, and you would become flustered and unable to dodge in time," Shen Cangcang explained.
"So, should I actually calmly observe and decide which one of your leg raises is the real kick?" Ji Yun asked.
"Wrong!" Shen Cangcang shook her little scallion finger.
"Then please enlighten me, Teacher Cang," Ji Yun said sincerely.
"You can't always be waiting. My feints are aimed at closing in on you and positioning myself in an advantageous attacking stance, as if occupying the high ground in a battle between armies. I can observe all your moves, while you can only passively dodge," Shen Cangcang explained.
Hearing this, Ji Yun's eyes suddenly lit up.
He had an epiphany.
He should claim the high ground over Shen Cangcang, putting her in a passive position.
No wonder he always felt extreme pressure when sparring with the professionals in freestyle fighting.
There was a trick to it!
The key wasn't the moves, it was an attacking strategy!
"I get it! So what I need to do is fake you into kicking, dodge comfortably, then maintain a safe distance and think about whether my next move will be an attack or a defense," Ji Yun said.
"Exactly, as long as you're in this safe distance, even if your next attack fails, you can comfortably dodge your opponent's counter-attack," Shen Cangcang nodded and said.
"Thank you, Teacher Jerusalem," Ji Yun said.
"What nonsense, let's go again, I want to see if you've understood," Shen Cangcang said.
They took their positions again, and Ji Yun once more immersed himself in a vigorous battle with Shen Cangcang in the academic building.
Finally, Ji Yun managed to last 3 minutes this time!
3 minutes!
Ji Yun was overjoyed.
Being able to stand firm for 3 minutes against Teacher Tifa with all her poses... moves was something many men could only dream of!
"By the way, Shen Cangcang, if I wanted to take down those cigarette-smoking youths downstairs all by myself, what level would I need to reach?" Ji Yun asked.
"10 minutes, if you can spar with me for more than 10 minutes without going down," Shen Cangcang answered.
...
Even with 20 minutes of time, everything was fleeting.
As the sun in the sky resumed its beautiful round shape, Ji Yun's new life began anew.
After several experiments, Ji Yun realized his burst kick from a standing position couldn't be too whimsical.
Though knocking Lü Jing unconscious with a single kick might help Lou Yu shake off her school-era shadows, it was too easy on Lü Jing if she ended up being sent straight to the hospital.
If he controlled the force properly, everything would progress steadily.
He should try not to act too recklessly; if he went too far, there was no telling whether he might wake up next time in some mental asylum rather than a proper hospital. Then, his script would become "Escape from the Madhouse."
Letting Luo Yao secretly record White Moonshine was also out of the question.
Ji Yun stepped forward resolutely.
However, this time Ji Yun didn't choose to tell Qiu Mo the truth about his terminal illness.
Ji Yun quietly followed Luo Yao, curious to see what he would do next.
"Dammit, what the hell, this guy just destroyed all of my precious collection."
"Just wait, I'll have someone take care of you right now, Ji Yun!"
Luo Yao cursed as he walked.
He skirted the crowd and made his way discreetly to a spot near the back hill of the campus.
"Brother Xin, going to buy cigarettes?" Luo Yao spotted Huang Xin with his brown hair and took the initiative to greet him.
"Yeah, what's up?" the brown-haired Huang Xin responded.
"Didn't you say you'd treat last time? Brother Xin, whatever cigarettes you want today, I'll buy." Luo Yao took out his pocket money and handed it over directly.
"Bro, have you run into some trouble? Tell me about it," Huang Xin immediately said with a smile beaming from his eyes.
Luo Yao's eager-to-please attitude greatly satisfied Huang Xin.
"There's this guy in my class named Ji Yun..." Luo Yao leaned in and promptly explained his plan.
"No problem, but Vice Principal Wang is patrolling the school today, so it's not good for us brothers to make any big moves," Huang Xin said.
"I have a way." Luo Yao smiled, then headed straight towards Jiang Hua who was tending his small stall.
Ji Yun, from the comprehensive building above, watched this entire scene unfold before his eyes.
Sure enough, Luo Yao passed a red note to Jiang Hua, prompting him to cooperate.
Jiang Hua's movement in taking the money was so swift and decisive it seemed as though he feared Luo Yao would change his mind.
Ji Yun couldn't help but sneer.
Jiang Hua, oh Jiang Hua.
If you had hesitated even for a moment, I would have thought you still had some decency left.
This action made Ji Yun begin to suspect that the fight that led to his and Wu Kai's expulsion might have been deliberately blamed on them by Jiang Hua!
In any case, Ji Yun would no longer trust Jiang Hua one bit!
He circled back to the martial arts classroom, originally intending to practice with Shen Cangcang again.
But the door to the classroom was locked.
It seemed that Shen Cangcang had left early.
Before understanding the rules of this world, Ji Yun would have felt puzzled, but now he knew that not everything here followed a set pattern.
Some things were bound to happen, but not necessarily in the same way.
This time, Shen Cangcang had probably decided it was pointless to stay by herself without a sparring partner, so she had locked the door early and left.
With about 10 minutes to spare, Ji Yun involuntarily cast his gaze beyond the school fence.
Indeed.
Having been here so many times, he had never actually walked out of the school.
What was it like outside?
Ten years ago in Lan City…
Ji Yun picked up a pen and wrote himself a note as a reminder not to go smoking.
To keep the Ji Yun suffering from heatstroke from thinking he had a split personality, Ji Yun purposely made his handwriting messy, making it look like someone kind-hearted at school had left him a reminder.
Upon exiting the teaching building, Ji Yun saw a bus parked at the school gate.
"Students volunteering, please get on the bus quickly, we are about to leave," a school teacher announced while waving a small red flag.
Ji Yun knew he couldn't walk far, so he joined the group of student volunteers and hopped on the bus.
To blend in, Ji Yun picked up an armband from the ground and wore it on his arm.
Being in the first year of high school, there was no pressure from major exams yet.
Moreover, it was actually summer vacation. Sophomores and seniors were frantically cramming in classes, but most freshmen were free and casual, akin to a summer camp. The school organized various activities for students to participate in.
Football lessons.
Basketball classes.
Theater and dance.
Art and outdoor sketching.
Hiking trips for artistic inspiration.
Volunteering in the city.
Visiting retirement homes.
Working as tour guides at tourist spots.
The activities were indeed quite abundant, and Ji Yun, immersed in this youthful campus ambiance, watched the high school girls in their uniforms, the smiles on their faces, the laughter between boys and girls, all of which constantly stirred his heart…
All this goodness, all this anticipation, the very place he was once eager to escape from, now completely enthralling and intoxicating him upon his return.
At the ten-year reunion, having achieved nothing and becoming a joke.
He, too, had blamed himself for his failures.
What meaningful things had he done over the years?
Had he done anything he could be proud of?
It seemed like nothing at all.
Maybe it was because he was affected by the incident the night before that he became desperate to accomplish the task of escorting the donor heart the next day.
At least when someone asked what work he did, he could tell them that he had competed with the King of Hell for a life.
Every time was different, people would change.
But every time, he ended up in the hospital.
This made Ji Yun realize.
No matter how many times he started over, no matter what he became, he would still choose to escort that heart.
So, when writing that note earlier, Ji Yun hesitated, debating whether to talk to himself, tell him to study hard, not to smoke, tell him not to fight, tell him not to escort that heart…
But in the end, Ji Yun gave up.
Would the young Ji Yun waking from the heatstroke see these notes as a prank or a sign of split personality? Regardless, the Ji Yun in this timeline might not be as pathetic as he is.