Qin Xuan had never laid eyes on Zhao Mingyu before. All he knew was the name.
"Haha, he doesn't even recognize Zhao Mingyu!"
"No wonder he had the nerve to show up. Probably doesn't have a clue about Zhao Mingyu's prowess."
"My idol? He doesn't know him? What a clueless dolt!"
Gales of laughter swept through the crowd. Before Qin Xuan made a splash, Zhao Mingyu had been the second-biggest name on campus. Who'd have thought someone wouldn't know him?
Even Zhao Mingyu couldn't stifle a chuckle. He strode forward two paces until he was face-to-face with Qin Xuan.
"That's me," he said with a haughty tilt of his chin, eyeing Qin Xuan with cool detachment.
He had every right to be cocky. Family pedigree? Check. Taekwondo chops? Double-check. Academic smarts? Top of the class. His old man was deputy chief of police, his mom ran a company, he was the city's taekwondo champ, and his grades were always in the top ten.
The guy was practically a walking advertisement for perfection. More girls chased after him than Lu Yunfan.
Qin Xuan gave Zhao Mingyu a once-over and nodded curtly. "You're challenging me?"
"Challenging?" Zhao Mingyu's lip curled in a sneer. His gaze flicked to He Yu, and his smirk turned positively sardonic. "Think you're worthy of a formal challenge? I just can't stand the sight of you and figured I'd teach you a lesson when the chance arose."
He knew Qin Xuan and He Yu were like oil and water, so he didn't give a hoot and even thought this would score him points with He Yu.
He Yu, a few yards away, scrunched her brows together, fury flashing in her eyes.
She was like a spitting kitten, glaring daggers at Zhao Mingyu.
In He Yu's book, it was okay for her to chew out Qin Xuan, but if anyone else dared to take a jab at him, especially someone she despised, that was a whole different story.
After all, Qin Xuan was, in name at least, her brother. They'd shared a roof for over two years.
Plus, she meant well by nagging him. Truth be told, she didn't dislike Qin Xuan all that much. Sure, he wasn't a bookworm, but he'd always looked out for her and her sister.
She remembered that one time when He Yun was out of town on business and she caught a cold. Qin Xuan had been there, running around like a headless chicken to take care of her.
"Xiao Wu, do you think Qin Xuan can win?" He Yu craned her neck and asked. For some reason, she was rooting for Qin Xuan to wipe the floor with that pest.
Xiao Wu clutched her notebook and flashed a gentle smile. "I haven't the faintest idea."
She peered at Qin Xuan with unabashed curiosity. Before that bet with Mu Xue'er, she'd never given anyone on campus a second glance, let alone known who Qin Xuan was.
But since the birthday bash at Ju Yun Xuan, Xiao Wu had found herself increasingly intrigued by Qin Xuan. It was as if he was a locked treasure chest, full of secrets waiting to be unearthed.
He Yu pursed her lips and shot a worried glance at Qin Xuan. "Idiot," she muttered under her breath.
Still, if getting his butt kicked woke Qin Xuan up and got him to focus on his studies, it might be a blessing in disguise. Remembering their bet, He Yu tried to convince herself.
Qin Xuan cracked a faint smile and regarded Zhao Mingyu with a placid expression, as still as a millpond.
"Qin Xuan, today I'll make you see just how wide the chasm is between us," Zhao Mingyu said, puffing out his chest and arching an eyebrow. "Don't think a few amateur moves make you invincible. You're way out of your league."
He dropped his folded arms and stared at Qin Xuan, skipping the basic taekwondo courtesies altogether.
"My master always said respect your opponent. But you? You're not even worth the effort."
Zhao Mingyu grinned smugly, and his words sent the onlookers into fits of laughter.
"Always this chatty before a fight?" A voice cut through his gloating. "Or is this your master's idea of pre-fight pep talk?"
Zhao Mingyu's face clouded over, and his eyes turned glacial.
"You'll pay for that smart mouth. In a fight, fists and feet don't discriminate!"
With that, Zhao Mingyu sprang into action.
He was lightning-fast, like a caged tiger let loose, barreling straight at Qin Xuan.
A picture-perfect roundhouse kick aimed square at Qin Xuan's chest. A glimmer of triumph danced in Zhao Mingyu's eyes. He was dead certain this kick would send Qin Xuan sprawling.
But just as he was relishing the thought, a shadow streaked across his vision.
Next thing he knew, a searing pain ripped through his chest, and his body was sent flying backward. He skidded several meters across the floor after landing.
The gymnasium went dead silent.
Everyone gaped at Qin Xuan in disbelief. A split second ago, they'd all been betting on Zhao Mingyu to knock him out cold. Instead, it was Zhao Mingyu eating dirt.
Even He Yu's jaw dropped, forming a perfect O.
"Since when can Qin Xuan fight like this?" she stammered, staring wide-eyed at the composed figure in the center of the gymnasium. She'd lived with him for over two years and had no idea he had it in him.
When the others snapped out of their stupor, chaos erupted.
Wang Xiao's grin froze mid-smile, his face a mask of shock.
Zhao Mingyu, the city's taekwondo champ, floored by Qin Xuan? Was this some kind of sick joke?
Zhao Mingyu scrambled to his feet, seething with rage. The blinding pain in his chest had his eyes bloodshot. His once-handsome face was now twisted in a hideous grimace.
Getting knocked around was bad enough. Doing it in front of the whole school, with He Yu watching? That was mortifying.
"Qin Xuan, I'll make you pay tenfold for this humiliation!"
Zhao Mingyu's inner rage roared to life. He held nothing back, planted his foot, and shot forward like a white blur, zeroing in on Qin Xuan.
This time, when he was two meters from Qin Xuan, he launched himself into the air, spinning a full 360 degrees. His right leg whipped around like a steel cable, slicing through the air with a deafening whistle, aimed straight for Qin Xuan's neck.
It was the taekwondo equivalent of a nuclear option, the tornado kick.
If it connected, an ordinary person would be lucky to survive.
"Watch out!" He Yu shrieked, her face draining of color.
The spectators held their breath. If that kick landed, it'd be a bloodbath.
Even Zhao Mingyu had a moment of panic. His master had drilled it into him: use this move only as a last resort. Once you do, there's no going back. Dead or maimed, it was a coin toss. And if it was the former, he'd be in deep trouble.
Amid the suffocating tension, Qin Xuan was an island of calm.
He watched Zhao Mingyu's death-defying lunge, a cold glimmer in his eyes. The guy was out for blood. If he were his old self, he'd be on a one-way trip to the hospital.
In a flash, Qin Xuan moved. He tilted his body to the left, and his right foot shot out like a bolt of lightning.
Boom!
A thunderclap of a sound reverberated through the gymnasium.
Even in the silence, you could hear the sickening crunch of bone. Zhao Mingyu's body hung in mid-air for a split second before rocketing backward like a cannonball. A spray of blood arced through the air, spattering the gym floor.
When Zhao Mingyu's body hit the ground and he slumped into unconsciousness, everyone seemed to wake up from a nightmare.
Their eyes locked onto the figure in the center of the gymnasium, whose hands had never left his pockets. They were spellbound.
Zhao Mingyu had lost?
The city's taekwondo champ had been bested by Qin Xuan?
In the silence, Qin Xuan cast a disdainful glance at Zhao Mingyu.
"Flashy but useless moves!"
These four words hit like a thunderbolt, echoing through the rafters of the gymnasium.