132 A Repeatedly Wrong Answer
On Sunday morning, in the same coffee shop, Wang Heng began tutoring Ye Xun in math. Two hours later, they packed up their study materials, had lunch at a nearby snack shop, and then went to the martial arts gym not far away.
Wang Heng had gone out wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants today, so he just had to take off his shoes, socks, and jacket to start training. Ye Xun’s preparation was much more professional. She changed into a sports tank top and shorts, revealing her fair, slender, yet athletic body. Obviously, Ye Xun’s slenderness was very different from the kind other girls pursued; at least in terms of muscle density, they were worlds apart.
“Besides indoor combat, do you rarely do outdoor sports?” Wang Heng suddenly asked.
Ye Xun nodded. “Yes, indoor exercise is enough. No need to go out and get tanned.”
No wonder she’s not tanned at all…
At this moment, the girl asked with some expectation, “What do you want to practice today? Want to try the rear naked choke again?”
Wang Heng shivered and quickly shook his head. “No, no, no, boxing is fine for today.”
Ye Xun was slightly disappointed. “Only boxing?”
Wang Heng cleared his throat and said seriously, “Although I haven’t even started with combat, I know that no matter what you learn, the most taboo thing is to fish for three days and dry the net for two. The important thing is to learn one thing first, at least master the key points before trying others.”
Ye Xun: “I understand what you mean, but ‘fishing for three days and drying the net for two’ usually refers to lacking perseverance and stopping frequently. That’s two different things from learning more skills.”
Wang Heng: “Understood. Let’s start practicing boxing.”
Ye Xun brought boxing gloves and helped him put them on, then brought two soft plastic sticks.
“Parrying and dodging are the basic skills of boxing. Before knocking down your opponent, you must first ensure that you won’t be KO’d. Let’s practice basic dodging first, and then practice punching later. Now I’ll hit you with these, and you try to dodge first. Friendly reminder, I’ll keep hitting your head, so be sure to dodge.”
Wang Heng smiled. “It’s okay. Come on, Master Ye.”
Ye Xun rolled her eyes at him. “Wait a minute, I haven’t finished yet. Dodging movements are mainly divided into four types: slipping, ducking, pulling back, and weaving. Each movement has its own particulars. In different situations, you have to choose different movements…”
After spending a few minutes explaining it once, Ye Xun started hitting him.
The pain caused by the two soft plastic sticks hitting a person was far less than a fist, but if the force used was heavy and the number of hits was high, it would still inevitably hurt a little. More importantly, the key point of dodging movements in boxing was to avoid being hit in the head, and after the head dodged, the shoulders would inevitably take a few more hits.
But soon, the speed of Ye Xun swinging the sticks slowed down, and naturally, it was much lighter when it landed on Wang Heng. And almost every time, he could dodge it.
“This is boring. Faster!” Wang Heng reminded her.
However, at this moment, Ye Xun suddenly stopped.
Wang Heng couldn’t help but ask, “Was there something wrong with my movements just now?”
The girl shook her head. “Quite standard. You improve very fast. Among novices, you are definitely learning very fast, at least faster than I did back then. But, I want to…”
Wang Heng raised his eyebrows slightly. “What do you want to do?”
Ye Xun: “I want to take you to practice straight punches, not dodging for now.”
Wang Heng was a little puzzled. “Why? Didn’t you say just now that defense is the foundation of boxing?”
Ye Xun looked away, looking at the punching bag next to her, and said, “But punching is also basic. We can practice it first…”
Wang Heng suddenly guessed the girl’s thoughts. Because practicing dodging requires hitting me constantly, she couldn’t bear it?
So he said, “Actually, I’m fine with either punching or dodging. And when you hit me just now, to be honest, it didn’t hurt at all.”
Ye Xun stared at him, slightly surprised. “It didn’t hurt at all? Then your ability to take a hit is very good!”
“Yes, so let’s continue.”
Hearing Wang Heng say this, Ye Xun finally felt relieved. So what awaited Wang Heng next was another storm-like tempering.
Just like that, half an hour passed. The girl, whose temples were slightly damp with sweat, suddenly put down the two sticks, pointed to the mat under her feet, and said, “Sit here and rest for a while.”
At this moment, Wang Heng was already sweating profusely and panting. He nodded, sat on the ground, and wiped the sweat from his forehead with his arm.
Ye Xun added, “Dodging consumes a lot of physical strength, even more than punching, so you must counterattack after dodging. If you don’t plan to counterattack immediately, don’t dodge, just blocking is enough.”
Wang Heng caught his breath and replied, “Understood, thanks.”
Ye Xun stared at him and didn’t speak for a long time.
And Wang Heng couldn’t help but secretly wonder—what is this girl thinking now?
After a long while, Ye Xun finally asked softly, “Do you find it strange why a girl like me practices combat?”
Not strange. Wang Heng didn’t find it strange at all. After all, they had discussed this topic in the first timeline, and he had long known the reason why Ye Xun practiced combat. But after thinking for less than half a second, he decided to remain silent.
Guessing a girl’s thoughts is a sign of telepathy. The risks contained in such details cannot be ignored.
Ye Xun continued, “At first, my dad made me practice. He even found a retired female MMA fighter for me and tailored a training plan. He said that because I was weak in character and body since I was a child, I needed to be cultivated properly to become stronger. Even a girl needs to become stronger in this complex world, both physically and mentally.”
Wang Heng nodded in agreement. “Your dad has a point.”
Ye Xun: “At first, I actually hated him a little because of this decision. I suffered a lot. But later, I gradually found that his decision really made sense. Compared to other female classmates, my character is stronger, more persevering, and less prone to emotional breakdowns…”
Hearing this, Wang Heng sighed inwardly.
It is precisely the dam that has never leaked a drop of water that breaks with exceptional intensity.
Ye Xun stared at him closely and whispered, “Can you keep practicing until one day you are stronger than me, strong enough to defeat me easily?”
Wang Heng didn’t think much and nodded. “That’s exactly my intention.”
The girl revealed a brilliant smile. “Other boys don’t matter, but for the boy I like, I hope he can be stronger than me, much, much stronger.”
Wang Heng was startled.
Did I fail to consider the deep meaning behind the question just now and give the wrong answer?
He quickly tried to remedy it. “That’s not right. I’m practicing martial arts for myself. It has nothing to do with girls!”
Ye Xun smiled even happier. “I just like this kind of mindset. Doing something just to pick up girls, that’s terrible.”
Seeing the situation was not good, Wang Heng could only use his ultimate move: “It’s useless no matter what mindset you like. I have a girlfriend!”
