HuaYu14: Female celebrities are going too fast.

Are you injured?

Meng Ziyi's eyes were filled with worry. After she finished speaking, she reached out to touch him, but Zhou Xun stopped her.

"It's nothing," Zhou Xun explained, "just a mosquito bite!"

"Why would you put a band-aid on a mosquito bite?" Meng Ziyi looked at him with a "you're kidding me" expression.

"I'll cover it up, in case you think I'm ugly," Zhou Xun teased with a smile.

"I don't think you're ugly!" Meng Ziyi said. "You're not an idol, you're going for the talent route, why are you so concerned about maintaining an idol image?"

Li Yitong casually added, "You stared at the bandage on his neck for at least ten seconds."

"He's obsessed with maintaining a good image, but what are you?"

"I was just concerned about my colleague." Meng Ziyi's ears turned red again, and she turned her head abruptly. "I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going to warm up."

After she finished speaking, she took the wooden sword and walked towards the center of the arena. She glanced back at Zhou Xun and temporarily believed what he had said.

Zhou Xun watched Meng Ziyi's retreating figure and reached out to touch the band-aid.

Last night, Zhou Xun was in such a bad mood that he forgot to remind Fan Xiaopang.

I noticed a hickey on my neck when I looked in the mirror this morning.

In the center of the field, Old Chen was leading Yang Xuwen in practicing the breakdown of horseback movements.

Yang Xuwen held a long rope in her hand, her feet planted on a horse stance, and the back of her training clothes was already mostly wet.

His movements were more stable than before, but Old Chen was still not satisfied. He stood to the side with a stern face, occasionally tapping his calf with the pointer in his hand.

"Open your legs half an inch further out! Your knees can't go past your toes! You're riding a Mongolian horse, not a donkey. How can you hold the horse if your legs aren't open?"

Old Chen taught him a couple of sentences, then, glancing out of the corner of his eye, he saw Zhou Xun sit down on the bench and added:

"Look at Zhou Xun, he was able to fight me to a draw on his first day here, what about you?"

"I've been practicing for almost two weeks, but I still haven't mastered the basics."

"Don't be unconvinced. Zhou Xun's skills are real, not just for show. With your current level, even the stunt doubles would be ashamed of you if you acted against him in a real scene."

Yang Xuwen gritted his teeth, a vein throbbing in his neck. He didn't say anything, adjusted his angle, and continued squatting in a horse stance.

He was resentful because no one in the crew thought highly of him; they all favored Zhou Xun.

But he's clearly the male lead!

Why?! All eyes are on the second male lead?!

Old Chen glanced at the time, patted the table twice, and said, "Alright, take a ten-minute break. When the time is up, continue practicing. Don't slack off."

"I'll go check on Zi Yi's progress in practicing swordsmanship with Zhou Xun."

Yang Xuwen threw down the long rope, tilted his head back and gulped down a few mouthfuls of water, then walked towards Zhou Xun.

Everyone in the entertainment industry wears a mask. When Yang Xuwen walked up to Zhou Xun, her expression was the same as always.

"Zhou Xun, why didn't you come this morning?"

You were gone all morning, and Old Chen made me train like crazy, saying that I have to work twice as hard to catch up with you.

How about we have a little match? It'll be a good opportunity for Old Chen to see how much I've improved these past few days.

Zhou Xun looked up and said calmly, "I need to practice swordsmanship with Meng Ziyi. Let's do it another day."

"A sparring match will only take a few minutes, it won't delay you from training your team," Yang Xuwen said, cracking her knuckles. "Or are you afraid of losing?"

Meng Ziyi peeked over from the side, looked at Yang Xuwen and then at Zhou Xun, her brows furrowing slightly.

Yang Xuwen was taller and stronger than Zhou Xun.

She completely believed in Zhou Xun's strength, but the effects of force are mutual. What if she injured Zhou Xun's hand?

Meng Ziyi was about to say something to stop the competition, but before she could think of anything, Zhou Xun had already walked towards the center of the arena.

"Okay, just a few minutes, don't delay the training." Zhou Xun walked to the center of the mat, turned to look at Yang Xuwen, and asked, "Empty-handed or with equipment?"

"Unarmed. You've trained in martial arts, haven't you? Let me see what you've got." Yang Xuwen walked up to him and assumed a Sanda (Chinese kickboxing) stance.

Old Chen frowned slightly when he saw this, but did not say anything to stop it.

It's good to let him stumble.

In the center of the arena, Yang Xuwen made the first move, feinting with a straight punch followed closely by a hook punch.

Zhou Xun did not retreat. He turned his head to avoid the straight punch, and blocked the path of the swing punch with his palm, using the force to deflect it to the side.

Yang Xuwen's punch was deflected and her center of gravity swayed.

Just as Yang Xuwen adjusted her stance, Zhou Xun used her momentum against her.

After all this, Yang Xuwen couldn't even touch Zhou Xun.

Yang Xuwen was instead knocked to the ground by Zhou Xun's attack and scrambled to her feet in a sorry state.

He stared intently at Zhou Xun, breathing heavily, his brows furrowed even deeper.

He didn't understand why, despite secretly practicing so many times, he couldn't even touch Zhou Xun's body.

"Again?" Zhou asked.

Yang Xuwen gritted her teeth, about to readjust her stance, when Old Chen's voice came from the side:

"Alright! Yang Xuwen, you can't beat Zhou Xun, but your skills have improved."

However, the speed of his movements and his footwork simply couldn't keep up.

Do you think I told you he and I were evenly matched just to motivate you?

You're overthinking it; there's absolutely no need for that. Now that you know the gap between you and him, go back and train hard!

Yang Xuwen lowered her hand gesture, completely convinced. She walked to the bench, picked up the water bottle, tilted her head back, and gulped down several mouthfuls.

Zhou Xun returned to the bench, and Meng Ziyi immediately handed him the water bottle with the cap already unscrewed.

A girl who truly loves you won't just hand you water; she'll hand you water that's already turned on.

"Zhou Xun, you were so cool just now!" Meng Ziyi flashed a smile, revealing two rows of pearly white teeth. "That last punch was especially beautiful!"

People kept coming over to ask me to fill my glass. Zhou Xun smiled slightly and put down the water bottle.

"However," Meng Ziyi said excitedly for a moment, then frowned, "you beat him up today, aren't you worried he'll make things difficult for you later?"

"We'll deal with whatever comes our way," Zhou Xun retorted. "Do you think he won't make things difficult for me later if I don't beat him up today?"

"Some people are inherently bad, and we should be even more ruthless towards bad people."

Meng Ziyi snorted and clenched her little fist: "Yeah! If it doesn't work, I'll beat him up again later!"

"Alright, let's just ignore him."

She gripped the wooden sword again, stood before Zhou Xun, and raised her chin:

"Let's continue practicing Mu Nianci's swordsmanship. Old Chen said this morning that my swordsmanship still has some problems."

You must solve this problem this afternoon, or get out of class won't end!

"If it's resolved, get out of class is over."

Meng Ziyi's face was flushed, but she was full of fighting spirit: "I'll only try three times at most, and I'll definitely win within three tries!"

She walked to the center of the field, gripped the wooden sword, and took a deep breath.

Zhou Xun walked to her side, reached out his hand, and, as usual, gently supported her wrist.

Zhou Xun's training routine became regular again: eating, going to the toilet, teaching Meng Ziyi swordsmanship, and sleeping.

The training period is coming to an end, and the start of filming is just around the corner.

After another training session, Meng Ziyi was looking through the lunar calendar.

Li Yitong patted her on the back, and Meng Ziyi was startled and turned around abruptly.

"What are you looking at? Why are you so focused?" Li Yitong handed her a bottle of water.

Meng Ziyi took it and casually said, "Let's look at the calendar and see what auspicious days are coming up."

"Why are you looking at this?"

"Take down Zhou Xun!" Meng Ziyi's mouth moved faster than her brain, and her ears turned bright red.

Seeing Li Yitong's expression, which was a mix of shock and amusement, she quickly gestured for her to be quiet:

"Shh, don't say it."

Li Yitong leaned close to her ear and whispered:

"Are you really going to just go straight for Zhou Xun without confessing your feelings?"

Meng Ziyi blushed and nodded gently, saying:

"Zhou Xun is such a straight man, confessing his feelings won't work. It's better to just take the next step directly."

"Actually, I think you don't need to do this," Li Yitong whispered in her ear, offering her advice.