Unexpectedly, on Saturday morning, Xu Mengshan received You Mingxu’s call.
You Mingxu: “Come to the fighting gym tonight. Jing Ping and I are going to spar. You’ll be the referee.”
Xu Mengshan: “…I don’t have time.”
You Mingxu: “Yes, you do.”
Xu Mengshan said slowly, “Sister You, he’s leaving early tomorrow morning.”
You Mingxu sighed and said, “You should still come. Whatever happens, happens. Even after he leaves, he’ll always be our brother.”
With things put that way, Xu Mengshan couldn’t force the issue. He replied, “Alright. You’re worried about Yin Feng getting jealous, aren’t you?”
He had expected Sister You, with her fierce temperament, would deny it. To his surprise, she gave a light chuckle and said, “Mm-hmm. There was never anything between Old Jing and me. But I made a promise to Yin Feng, and I have to keep my word.”
Now Xu Mengshan had nothing left to say. He thought to himself that Yin Feng was the only one who could handle Sister You – from playing the foolish puppy before to now being the shameless wolf, even controlling who she could meet. Sister You was completely under his thumb, and she seemed quite willing about it too.
So by evening, after dinner, Xu Mengshan leisurely made his way to the bureau’s fighting gym. As expected, there was hardly anyone there. You Mingxu and Jing Ping had already arrived.
Under the bright lights, Xu Mengshan stood at the edge of the arena, watching the two from afar, somewhat lost in thought.
They each occupied opposite corners of the arena, having removed their outer jackets and were properly warming up. Both coincidentally wore dark-colored police training T-shirts with casual pants, barefoot.
The same style of clothes looked strikingly different on them – on You Mingxu, it highlighted her graceful bearing while still revealing her shapely figure. On Jing Ping, it emphasized his height and long legs, showing off his muscular arms and trim waist. Even Xu Mengshan, as a man, had to admit it was an impressive physique.
When they saw Xu Mengshan enter, both nodded in greeting. He noticed they both had smiles in their eyes, their equally fair faces reflecting the soft light.
Xu Mengshan sighed internally and simply sat down at the midline of the arena, placing his bag of mineral water on the ground. “When do we start?” he asked.
Jing Ping glanced at You Mingxu: “Up to her?”
You Mingxu lightly stretched her leg until her toes touched her head, leaving both men momentarily speechless. She said, “Old Jing, let’s set some ground rules. Today we’ll just keep it light. We’ll focus on technique, not power. If your wound bothers you, we’ll stop. I don’t mind losing.”
Jing Ping laughed and said to Xu Mengshan, “Listen to her – as if I’d take advantage of her? Don’t worry, we’ll keep it light. Sparring with you won’t aggravate my wound.”
You Mingxu: “Mengshan, watch this – I’m going to make this Yunnan guy lie on the ground and call me sister.”
Xu Mengshan burst out laughing.
Jing Ping and You Mingxu also laughed, but as Xu Mengshan announced the start, their expressions gradually turned serious. They took up fighting stances about a meter apart.
Since this was just practice, You Mingxu was quite uninhibited. Without hesitation, she took the offensive, launching straight in! She aimed a kick at Jing Ping’s head. He nimbly ducked to avoid it, countering with an elbow strike toward her back, showing no mercy despite her being a woman.
You Mingxu, primarily skilled in jiu-jitsu with decent striking ability, twisted her body away faster than his dodging movement. Jing Ping’s vision blurred – somehow she had gotten behind him, grabbed his waist, and a surprisingly supple force came at him as his heels left the ground – she was trying to throw him directly!
Jing Ping’s competitive spirit surged. Realizing he had lost his balance and couldn’t counter directly, he used his toes to push off the ground, borrowing her force, letting his body follow the direction of her throw and leap upward.
You Mingxu was startled – damn, this guy learned fast! Had he never studied judo before? She quickly changed tactics, shifting to press down on his shoulders, still trying to pin him to the ground, about to use her body weight to secure him. However, Jing Ping’s earlier jump had already dispersed most of the force, and as soon as he landed, he quickly scrambled up, leaving You Mingxu grasping at the air.
You Mingxu let out a cold snort, stepped quickly to his side, and abandoned her jiu-jitsu approach. Instead, she launched into close-quarters combat, attacking with both fists and feet simultaneously.
Jing Ping thought to himself how fast she was! His strikes met hers as they exchanged more than ten rapid combinations.
You Mingxu had initially hoped to catch him off guard, but when her first attempt failed, she tried another trick, deliberately leaving an opening to bait his attack while planning to change positions and surprise him again with jiu-jitsu.
However, Jing Ping saw through it. With a glance, he played along with her strategy, feigning an attack. When You Mingxu tried to move, he suddenly turned, grabbed her waist, and moved to slam her down! You Mingxu dropped and rose as lightly as a swallow, her feet touching down ready to spring away and slip free. But Jing Ping’s arms were like iron clamps – she struggled once, couldn’t move an inch; and struggled again, only to find her arms caught and pinned behind her back. You Mingxu, who had been fighting for decades, had never been dominated so completely. Her face flushed red. Jing Ping laughed softly near her ear, then suddenly released her.
You Mingxu retreated several steps, crouching and glaring at him while catching her breath.
Jing Ping was also breathing heavily, slightly bent at the waist, his whole body tense and ready, like an eagle about to pounce on an agile deer. His eyes sparkled with deep amusement as he said, “Again!”
You Mingxu threw another punch!
…
Xu Mengshan sat cross-legged at the edge, holding a bottle of water, watching the two in the arena, somewhat dazed.
He had never imagined that two people fighting could create such a beautiful picture. The man was handsome, the woman striking. Both are equally agile, clever, and dominant. Sometimes they were like a small hawk and a large hawk, eyeing each other warily, neither giving ground; other times like two swallows, equally nimble and unpredictable, rising and falling in turn…
Their skills seemed evenly matched, but as time passed, Xu Mengshan could see that Jing Ping gradually gained the upper hand. Yet he wasn’t rushing to win, instead patiently engaging You Mingxu in prolonged exchanges. As Xu Mengshan watched, he began to understand why. He noticed Jing Ping’s expression when looking at You Mingxu – what kind of look was it when he gained the advantage but then let it slip or deliberately left an opening? It was a gaze of indulgent tenderness and quiet affection.
But You Mingxu caught up in the excitement of the fight and focused on turning the tables, didn’t notice at all.
She probably would never notice how Jing Ping looked at her.
Watching these two comrades, Xu Mengshan suddenly felt conflicted, wanting to sigh.
These two people were well-matched.
Not just in their few months of tacit understanding while investigating cases. As fellow police officers, they shared the same intelligence, excellence, and determination – understanding the ways of the world without being corrupted by them.