Yina was indeed a diligent learner and genuinely loved Sanda. Russians had a natural affinity for Sambo—a fighting style that was straightforward, no-nonsense, and perfectly suited to their national character. The first time Zhou You took Yina to the Sanda gym, she was hooked. Seeing this, Zhou You told her she could just show her face from then on and enjoy VIP treatment.
Yina was thrilled and put extra effort into teaching Russian. She even showed Zhou You a full split—believe it or not, at 1.8 meters tall, her body was that flexible. The swimming pool, however, didn't appeal to her; she felt it wasn't exhilarating enough.
The other coaches, seeing that Zhou You had brought her personally, held nothing back and answered every question she had. Zhou You had been training for over a year but had barely sparred with anyone. When coaches practiced with him, they were cautious—after all, Zhou You was afraid of pain. Though his physique had improved, his actual combat ability was unknown.
Now that a beautiful woman had arrived, Li Houlang started stirring things up: "Brother You, how about you spar with Yina later? Just put on the gear, and you'll be fine."
Zhou You turned to look at Li Houlang: "I feel like you're up to no good. Are you hiding some malicious intent, trying to make a fool of me?"
"Brother You, in our line of work, ten practice sessions aren't worth one real fight. I can't be by your side all the time. If you ever run into an emergency, at least you won't come off too badly. Even if you have to settle the score later, you'll save face." Li Houlang was genuinely thinking about Zhou You. Sanda wasn't something you could master in isolation. Though the chances of Zhou You needing it were slim, this skill could save your life in a critical moment.
Zhou You had been feeling overly confident lately. With a sharp tool in hand, the urge to use it arose, and he was itching to give it a try.
"Fine, gear up. Today, I'll uphold our national pride!" Zhou You said without a hint of embarrassment. Li Houlang, standing nearby, felt his face burn at Zhou You's words—shameless, utterly shameless.
Yina was equally excited, her fighting genes ingrained in her bones.
One in red, one in black, they put on full protective gear and stood on opposite sides of the ring. Li Houlang personally supervised from the platform. The other coaches and trainees stopped their practice and gathered around to watch the spectacle.
"Damn, am I being set up by Li Houlang? If I lose this, I'll never be able to show my face again," Zhou You thought, his heart pounding on the ring. This was a no-win situation—winning wasn't glorious, and losing would be even more humiliating. A surge of determination welled up inside him: he couldn't lose, absolutely couldn't lose.
Seeing Zhou You's expression and demeanor shift, Li Houlang felt relieved. He was gambling today, forcing Zhou You to push himself. Fear of getting hit would never lead to progress. Zhou You had hit a plateau—his physique and technique were sufficient, but he lacked that fighting spirit. Unfortunately, this was a habit cultivated over years of study, not something that could change overnight.
Yina didn't care either way. She found it amusing and fun. Fighting was just fighting—winning or losing was normal. Seeing Zhou You standing still, Yina raised her fists and moved forward slowly, taking the initiative to attack.
*Slap! Slap!*
Two quick strikes aimed at Zhou You's head, but he blocked them with his arms. Spotting Yina's center open, he threw a straight punch, hitting her square on the chin. She crumpled to the ground.
It was inevitable. Zhou You was now practically a professional, one step away from entering the competitive scene. Beating a complete novice was that simple. Yina didn't know how to defend, and one opening was all it took.
Seeing Yina fall, Li Houlang quickly helped her up. When Zhou You's punch landed, Yina felt her brain buzz, and then she was on the ground. She had imagined a grand battle of three hundred rounds, but it ended in one move—just one. Yet she quickly grew excited: "I want to learn, Teacher Zhou! You're amazing! Your Sanda is incredible!"
The Russian girl was straightforward like that, but she grasped the essence: learning it made it hers.
Zhou You was also stunned for a moment when Yina hit the ground. *What just happened? I didn't even put any force into it, and you're down?* He rushed over to help her up, relieved to see she was fine.
"Alright, I'll be your sparring partner for now," Zhou You said casually. Knocking a girl unconscious didn't sound good no matter how you spun it.
But after this incident, Zhou You knew his limits—he could handle ordinary people. With that in mind, he said to Li Houlang, "Brother Liang, find someone at my level. Let's have a real spar."
"Sure. Xiao Si, come up and practice with Brother You," Li Houlang called out, waving over a coach from below.
Xiao Si was 1.75 meters tall, muscular, and had fought in lightweight matches before, though without notable results. Zhou You stood on the ring, not even breaking a sweat from the earlier bout. Xiao Si suited up and jumped onto the platform, agile and unafraid despite Zhou You being half a head taller. He even harbored hopes of knocking Zhou You down and making a name for himself—a bit of a fool.
Zhou You assumed a defensive stance, one fist forward, the other slightly back, in a small horse stance. Xiao Si threw a probing punch, which Zhou You blocked, then began circling left and right. Frustrated by Zhou You's tight defense and underestimating him—after all, he was a former pro—Xiao Si worried that losing would be a huge disgrace. If Zhou You dismissed him, his job might be at stake.
As Zhou You turned, Xiao Si delivered a right roundhouse kick aimed at his waist. *Thud!* Xiao Si felt a surge of joy, but before his smile could fade, he realized his right leg was caught by Zhou You. Zhou You had been a bit scared, but when the kick landed, it didn't hurt much. Instead, he seized the leg, twisted his waist, and used the momentum to lift Xiao Si, spinning him half a lap around the ring before letting go. Xiao Si flew through the air and slammed into the ring post with a loud *bang!*
As he sailed through the air, Xiao Si wished he could cover his face—too humiliating. The pain was forgotten; his heart was dead. Seeing Zhou You's display, Li Houlang couldn't help but cheer loudly, "Nice!" He didn't even glance at Xiao Si. In professional Sanda, such minor injuries were nothing.
Zhou You hadn't expected to win so easily. Xiao Si's underestimation was one factor—he dared to lift his knee above the waist against a novice. Seeing Xiao Si lying motionless on the ground, Zhou You hurried over. Xiao Si lay there questioning his life. When Zhou You approached, his dark face flushed, and he didn't know what to say.
Zhou You reached out and pulled him up: "Not bad. Let's train together more from now on." He couldn't become an expert overnight. Starting with Xiao Si and working his way up was the plan; going higher too soon would just lead to getting crushed. The main thing was not to break his own spirit.
Xiao Si had already prepared to be kicked out. With such poor performance, why would anyone keep him? If he couldn't even beat a trainee, who would trust him? But unexpectedly, misfortune turned into fortune—he was now valued and became a dedicated sparring partner.
When Zhou You stepped down, Li Houlang showered him with praise. More importantly, Yina's blue eyes were fixed intently on Zhou You. The man's charisma was still intact!