Chapter 6: The Intersection of Past and Future

  After sorting out the grudges and affections of a 16-year-old boy, Wen Ze threw himself into physical training with great enthusiasm. Although he had encountered a master of internal martial arts in his previous life, it was not until he graduated from university at the age of 25 or 26 that he began to practice seriously. By then, his skeletal structure and body shape had already been fixed, and after practicing with his master for a year, the results were almost negligible. Although this master was obtained through two roasted chickens and several big meals, the cost-effectiveness was still low enough to make people speechless. His master once said regretfully that if he could start practicing from the age of 15 or 16, he would definitely have some small achievements after ten years. Now, it's better to focus on entertainment... Wen Ze was moved to tears by these words.

  Now that he has the opportunity, Wen Jian naturally does not want to miss it. He doesn't have any dreams of being a martial arts master, and he knows that fists can't solve problems. But if he can avoid another night like that one where he was humiliated by training his body, why wouldn't he be happy about it?

  Wen Ze followed the teachings of his master from memory, making a detailed schedule. Every day at 5 am, he would wake up, run for an hour, practice horse stance for half an hour, then do leg splits, and finally practice fist techniques for another hour. Considering that internal martial arts take too long to show results, every afternoon he also practiced Taekwondo, which looks fancy but is enough to deal with ordinary people.

  These things were already very familiar in the previous life, but now the physical quality is too poor, and many actions can't be done, so there's a process of gradual exercise and familiarity. At this intensity, Wen He estimates that within two months of summer vacation, he should be able to bid farewell to the appearance of bean sprouts, although not as good as Mu Shan, at least standing in front of Gu Wenyan, he won't look so small and insignificant anymore.

  Maybe this way can pull some distance between each other?

  It wasn't until now that Wen Cheng suddenly realized, with a start, that the shadow left by Gu Wenyan had traversed two time and space, gone through more than a decade of years, yet still deeply imprinted in his heart, never dissipating, never weakening.

  The Wen family lived in the 7th residential building of the municipal party committee, with a general house type and location. The only advantage was that on the west side of the residential compound, there was a small sports field, with a running track, basketball court, single and double bars, and a rectangular sand pit. According to official sources, it was dug at the request of a leader who loved triple jump. Many leaders liked sports, but few liked such a niche sport, even 16-year-old Wen Cen didn't believe it. The roadside society's statement was more credible: a certain leader looked at the feng shui and said that jumping would increase his official rank by three levels. In fact, the leader was deceived, and soon after the sand pit was dug, he was dismissed from office, and this place became a paradise for children in the compound to play house.

  Wen Qian found six bamboo poles, inserted them into the six corners of the pool to form a circle, and then bought six bells to hang on top. Standing in the center position, he kicked forward, backward, sideways, and with his legs suspended in mid-air, using the standard of being precise and not touching the bells. First, he trained his body's agility, coordination, and control. As for strength and intensity, he had the internal martial arts' mental method, so there was no need to kick an inch board again.

  On the first day, Wen Qian ran for an hour and immediately collapsed to the ground, resting for a long time before barely managing to stand up in horse stance. By afternoon, not only was she unable to do any movements, but even kicking her legs required using one hand to pull herself up, making coordination and control a joke, with the sound of the bell ringing non-stop, giving off a somewhat disheveled air.

  At night when he got home, Ding Mei, who usually didn't care much about Wen Qiang's feelings, surprisingly held his son's head, checked his temperature and asked with concern: "Is everything okay, son? Today several neighbors told me that you seemed troubled, you're usually a well-behaved kid, but today in the playground you were kicking and jumping around non-stop, is something wrong?"

  She rolled her eyes, waved her hand and fell onto the bed, saying weakly: "Mom, add an egg to breakfast tomorrow, this nutrition can't keep up, even the best moves can't be performed..."

  Ding's eyes widened in shock, and he was at a loss for words.

  After a month, the warm and gentle rain has been uninterrupted, with superhuman perseverance, the originally pale face has become dark and healthy, with a hint of softness and stability, and a strong sense of determination. The weak and gentle facial features have taken on a sense of calmness and firmness, no longer looking like a child's tender skin. The deep black eyes seem to reflect the entire world, as if profound and mysterious at the same time. His body has grown slightly taller, although not with bulging muscles, but with broad shoulders and long legs, making his whole figure slender and proportionate.

  Wen Qing is still the young man from over a decade ago, yet he has become more calm and composed; Wen Qing is still the man from over a decade later, yet he has added a bit of youthful recklessness and carefreeness. At this moment, he seems to have merged his past and present selves into one, with no distinction between them.

  At noon on this day, the sun was scorching hot, but Wen Qiang still insisted on kicking his legs in the sand pool. The small bells on the bamboo pole had been replaced with a thick wooden board that was only tied to the pole on one side, making it impossible to withstand force. When practicing to a deep level of skill, one could use the force and speed to kick it into two pieces directly. Wen Qiang still couldn't grasp the timing of instant force release, often only kicking the board high into the air but unable to break it.

  Just finished a set of movements, suddenly heard a pleasant voice from beside: "What are you practicing? Martial arts?"

  She turned her head to look, a girl in white dress and skirt was standing not far away, her long black hair tied into a ponytail, her bright eyes had a layer of misty veil, slightly blinked, and there was a flowing light, clear and visible. Her skin was very fair, her nose straight, although her melon-seed face couldn't be considered extremely beautiful, it had a bit of elegant and refreshing charm in its gentleness.

  It was the hottest part of the day, but where this girl stood seemed to bring a cool breeze with the gentle wind.

  "Oh, this is actually not martial arts, it's dance!"

  The white-clothed girl let out a soft laugh, her eyes clearly showing disdain, "Is that so? You're not thinking of using this kind of dance to rescue the beauty, are you?"

  Huh?

  Wen Ze was startled by the girl's directness. In this era, it's rare to have a girl take the initiative to hit on someone and dive straight into such a deep topic. Truly, you can't judge a person by their appearance, and sometimes you need to use your hands to measure...

  But isn't it strange how familiar this sentence sounds?

  Wen Cheng raised his hand and placed it on his forehead, carefully looking at the girl. It seemed as if he had seen her somewhere before, yet she left no impression on him. He was puzzled for a moment before giving up. Perhaps in every man's heart, beautiful women should all be like this?

  You don't think you can use this kind of dance to save the beauty, do you?

  Why does this sound so familiar?

  The girl looked at him with a warm and silly gaze, not getting angry, but instead took a few steps forward. Her tone was tinged with sarcasm: "I know that boys of your age all have a martial arts dream, hoping to one day wield a sword and sing wildly, be chivalrous and righteous, and maybe even have a red-faced confidante. I didn't mean to hurt the dreams of that little boy, but," she lifted her skirt and jumped down, her white legs flashing before his eyes, making the summer air feel even more sweltering, "is it possible to achieve unparalleled martial arts skills just by sticking a few bamboo poles in the ground, hanging a few wooden boards, and jumping around like a frog?"

  The girl stretched out her slender fingers to grasp the wooden board, gently swaying it twice. Her expression was very serious, so serious that you would think she was talking about something sacred, but her tone was full of irony, sarcasm and disdainful mockery, matching the faint smile on her beautiful face. If Wen Qiang were really a sixteen-year-old boy, he would have gone crazy by now.

  "Hmm, what you said makes sense, I also think it's quite silly. But if we go find a cliff like on TV and jump off, wouldn't that be even sillier?" Wen Jian's face was frozen in stupidity, and if the corner of his mouth drooled just a bit, he would look exactly like a certain legendary idiot master.

  The girl stared blankly for half a moment, then suddenly raised her hand and gently patted her forehead. She helplessly rolled her eyes, and the dignified demeanor she had just worked hard to maintain instantly collapsed, looking extremely cute. She muttered to herself: "I was wrong, I should have thought of it, it's hot as hell and still jumping around so happily, besides being strong-willed, there are also idiots..."

  Wen Qian almost burst out laughing, the familiar feeling in his heart grew stronger and stronger, and he asked tentatively: "From what my classmate said, are you skilled in martial arts or a master?"

  The girl immediately regained her spirit, slightly raised her head, and said with a proud face: "I don't dare to be called a master, dealing with you is just like this," she raised one finger and shook it, "one finger is enough!"

  With a stern and respectful expression, the middle-aged uncle's lecherous personality took over, and he secretly peeked at the girl's skirt. If this beauty were to kick him with a back spin, it would be glorious... He immediately bowed his head and said: "Then let's have a game? Whoever loses will treat the other to ice cream..."

  The girl pouted and muttered "childish", then said in a very clear voice: "Ten ice creams!"

  "Deal!"

  The scorching sun on our heads is getting hotter and hotter, just like this confused youth.

  The two of them stood still in the sandbox, the girl emphasizing the rules one last time: whoever falls down first loses. Wen Xiang nodded slightly, but basically ignored this rule - after all, who pushes whom is still just a push, right? No need to be so particular about these things.

  Wen Qian raised her hand, took a wrong step, shifted her center of gravity forward and fell down, her eyes firmly fixed on her opponent.

  The white-clad girl slightly lifts her left foot, with the toe touching the ground, while withdrawing her right foot three inches back. She uses force in her waist, raises her right fist to her chest, and holds her left hand behind her back, palm outstretched, fingers curled, then...

  Sneakily pinched your butt!

  A flash of inspiration suddenly pieced together the fragmented memories, and in an instant, I was back in Beijing, at the taekwondo gym, where that one kick, that one turn of the body, had left a lasting impression. That face, so delicate yet fierce, reappeared before my eyes, after who knows how many light years, in this moment, quietly revived.

  "Xu Yao?"

  The girl was taken aback, and the expression of confusion on her face had already told Wen Qian the answer.

  Xu Yao, this is Xu Yao from high school.

  You had a habit of pinching your butt before fighting, it turns out that's been there since you were young! Standing woodenly, feeling deeply moved.