Rong City.

Today was a rare, beautiful day. Morning light filtered through the leaves of the trees, casting dappled patterns on the ground and against the windows, swaying gently in the breeze.

From the crack under the studio door came a steady “thwack, thwack, thwack.”

The pace was fast, seemingly intense.

At that moment, Fatty was wearing a large white tank top, his entire body soaked with sweat, as if he had just been pulled from the water. A sweatband was tied around his forehead as he focused intently, unleashing a furious barrage of blows on the punching bag in front of him.

Two sticky notes were attached to the top of the bag, one with the words "Old Chairman" and the other "Night Watchman."

"Thud!"

"Thud! Thud!"

"Die!"

Fatty slammed a vicious haymaker into the bag, sending it swinging wildly to the side.

Unlike the disciplined Fatty, Jiang Cheng was sitting on the sofa, comfortably enjoying his breakfast.

That's right, Fatty had bought breakfast on his morning run.

Gently cracking open a boiled egg, Jiang Cheng skillfully peeled off the shell, then dropped the egg into his bowl of plain congee, his gaze seemingly casual, but always drifting towards Fatty.

Holding the punching bag steady, Fatty grabbed a towel to wipe his sweat, then turned to Jiang Cheng. "Doctor, I'm a beginner. Can you give me some pointers? Where do I need to improve, or... or increase training?" he asked, panting.

"Your speed and power are barely passable, but you need to understand, you're attacking a punching bag, which is a dead object. It doesn't move, and it certainly doesn't fight back, so you can hit it all you want. But the enemies you'll face in the future won't be like that," Jiang Cheng said, glancing at the punching bag.

Fatty nodded repeatedly. "You're right, Doctor, so I'll need your help with training."

Jiang Cheng's first reaction was to refuse. This Fatty was different from ordinary fat people. He still remembered what happened last time, but before he could refuse, he caught a glimpse of a shadow on the wall, grinning mockingly.

He hadn't spoken properly with Wu for days because of Wu Yingying’s incident. Wu seemed to know he was in the wrong, and had been avoiding him, acting as if he didn't exist.

Jiang Cheng was a man of pride. Seeing this, he sneered and waved Fatty over, striking a pose like a martial arts master, his stance firm.

Fatty looked surprised and delighted. But before making a move, he thoughtfully reminded him: "Doctor, are you ready? Because if you are, I'm going to..."

"Enough talk, come at me!"

"Whoosh—"

Fatty closed the distance with incredible speed, sweeping a horizontal kick, aimed directly at Jiang Cheng's head. Jiang Cheng immediately sensed danger, retracting his neck and leaning back as far as possible, barely avoiding the blow.

Fatty's leg swept past the tip of Jiang Cheng's nose, creating a gust of wind that made Jiang Cheng's hair flutter. Jiang Cheng's heart skipped a beat. *This isn't a leg, it's a telephone pole!*

Compared to not long ago, this Fatty had improved again, and at an astonishing rate.

Failing with his first attack, Fatty immediately changed his strategy, preparing to attack Jiang Cheng's lower body. Fortunately, Jiang Cheng anticipated Fatty's plan, and stopped him before things got too awkward.

"What's wrong, Doctor?" Fatty stopped moving, looking at Jiang Cheng with confusion. He felt like he had just started, and hadn't learned anything from the Doctor yet.

"If we just spar like this, it won't be easy for me to beat you," Jiang Cheng said, stubbornly bluffing. "I want to teach you something different, something I've been saving for a special occasion."

Fatty's eyes lit up. "Really? That's great!"

Wu on the wall couldn't bear to watch any longer, and with a flicker, disappeared.

"If you want to learn how to hit people, you must first learn how to take a hit," Jiang Cheng said, rolling up his sleeves, looking at Fatty with a malicious smile. "You know what I mean, right?"

"I understand." Fatty nodded sincerely. For him, who was determined to improve himself, the process and method didn't matter. He valued the results more.

Jiang Cheng prepared himself for a moment. He didn't want to hurt Fatty too badly. More importantly, he wanted to test and see how many more secrets this Fatty had.

After considering the direction and force of his attack, Jiang Cheng was still worried, so he reminded him again, "I'm going to attack from your left side, Fatty, are you ready?"

"Ready," Fatty nodded.

This time, Jiang Cheng didn't hold back. He quickly raised his right arm, turning his fist into a palm, and chopped down at Fatty. If this chop landed, Fatty's left arm would be numb all morning.

This time, he would get his face back.

But, as expected, the unexpected happened. Fatty's body reacted as if it didn't need to process through his brain. It was incredibly fast. In an instant, Fatty grabbed Jiang Cheng's right arm, then Jiang Cheng felt a dizzying spin, and finally, he was slammed to the ground with a "thud."

When he stood up, Jiang Cheng was still dizzy, and his right arm hung limply, unable to exert any force.

Fatty was very worried, and a little guilty. "Doctor, are you okay? I didn't expect you to cooperate so well. I was already going very slowly, but you didn't even dodge?"

Jiang Cheng grabbed his right arm with his left, and yanked it upward, popping his dislocated arm back into place. Then he turned around, looking at Fatty with indifference. "Not bad. Besides, we agreed to train together. What kind of training would it be if I dodged? And..." Jiang Cheng snorted, "With your skills, you wouldn't actually think you could hurt me, would you?"

"Doctor, when other people are cremated, they leave behind a few bones. If you went, you'd probably only leave behind your mouth," Fatty said, looking pained. He had definitely hurt the doctor when he fell. He saw with his own eyes that the doctor's legs were shaking when he got up.

As if to ease the awkwardness, Jiang Cheng immediately puffed out his chest, took two steps back, put some distance between himself and Fatty, and beckoned, his expression serious. "This time, I won't hold back. Fatty, try your best."

This time, Jiang Cheng planned to get serious, although he had said that last time too.

But...

A gentle force patted Jiang Cheng's arm. "You rest. I'll take over." Wu, who never participated in Jiang Cheng and Fatty's interactions, actually walked down from the wall.

Both of them were a little surprised. It was daytime, and Wu rarely appeared in this state during the day.

Jiang Cheng looked into Wu's eyes, and found them strange. It gave him a very bad feeling.

Wu seemed to have discovered something.

On Fatty.

Fatty blinked, looking at the suddenly appearing Wu, his mind a bit blank. "Wu, brother, are... are you going to train with me?"

Wu drew his knife, and sheathed it back into the shadows, leaving only the scabbard. After a moment, his eyes slowly turned cold. "Use your full strength. Remember, I won't hold back."