Chapter 25: My Woman

Gu Yao could never have imagined that the opponent Su Yu would find for her would be a young child.

Not long after Zhou Hei returned from his hometown, the boxing gym opened its doors. Once the time was set, Gu Yao went over on a Saturday afternoon, ready to begin the first boxing match of her life.

When she stepped into the ring, Zhou Hei led in a young girl, no more than ten years old. Her hair was cut very short, and her large eyes looked quite adorable, though she was missing a few front teeth, causing her to lisp slightly when she spoke.

"Hello, Sister! Please go easy on me!" The little girl climbed onto the ring with some effort and bowed very politely.

Gu Yao looked at the child, who only reached her chest, and turned back to glance at Su Yu, who was standing below, feeling speechless.

He beckoned her over, helped her put on her protective gear, and gave her a detailed briefing on pre-match knowledge before speaking to her seriously: "Don't underestimate this child. She is a new student Zhou Hei recently took on. She progresses quickly and is a promising talent for boxing."

Only then did Gu Yao fall silent.

She had been skeptical of Su Yu’s words at first, but the match quickly proved him right.

Despite being shorter than her, the child possessed extraordinary strength and great agility, and she utilized her boxing techniques well. Gu Yao, because of her height, constantly had to crouch down, which felt incredibly awkward. After circling each other for a few rounds, the child landed a clean punch. She likely held back some of her strength, but even so, it still sent Gu Yao crashing to the floor.

The rules for this match had been temporarily modified: whoever fell to the ground first lost, regardless of whether they could get back up, all to avoid excessive force that might lead to injury.

After the first half ended, Gu Yao walked to the edge of the ring. Su Yu handed her a bottle of water to rinse her mouth and asked, "How do you feel?"

"Very frustrated," Gu Yao said, wiping away her sweat, her expression downcast.

He nodded, his expression stern: "Frustration is good. Only real combat can expose your problems. You performed quite well during practice, but as soon as you stepped into the ring, you lost your composure. You didn't even utilize your natural advantages, let alone address your weaknesses."

Gu Yao didn't speak. She was aware of all this. She was not a stubborn person; on the contrary, she was very willing to admit her mistakes.

Seeing that she did not argue, Su Yu continued: "Remember the method I taught you before: steady your footing, and don't let your opponent lead you."

Next, he analyzed their punching styles and problems from the previous rounds in detail and set a primary strategy for the second half. Gu Yao nodded, taking it all in.

With Su Yu's guidance, she was slightly more stable in the second half, but gradually, her stamina began to lag. Watching the little girl still full of energy while she herself began to pant, her legs feeling weak and stumbling involuntarily, she eventually couldn't hold on and sat down. Her vision blurred, a feeling she had only ever experienced back in school when running 800 meters.

Seeing that she had won, the little girl’s eyes sparkled with excitement, but she still came over to hug her: "Sister, don't be discouraged. You are also very strong."

Her voice was exceptionally sweet.

After getting off the ring, the child trotted over to her coach, Zhou Hei. Zhou Hei raised his hand to high-five her, his expression smug and insufferably proud: "How about that? My student is better than yours, right?"

He couldn't compare to Su Yu, but his student was strong.

Su Yu glanced at him without a word and went up to pull Gu Yao to her feet: "Walk around slowly, don't sit down."

Gu Yao was dragged along like a ragdoll, her feet no longer feeling like her own. After walking for a few laps and recovering, her first words were: "When can I spar again?"

Her competitive spirit had been fully ignited. She was not someone who accepted defeat easily, especially not to a child so much younger than herself.

Su Yu, however, shook his head: "Don't spar anymore. I'm afraid you'll get hurt."

As he spoke, he had her stretch her limbs, pressed on her shoulders and back to ask if she felt any pain, the concern in his eyes evident.

He seemed to have anticipated this result, adding: "This time was just to let you get a feel for it. Training and actual combat are two entirely different things. In the future, if you encounter danger, you’ll be able to handle it a bit better. Besides, your physical conditioning must improve. Your stamina is too poor right now, and that's not good."

"Why? I'm fine now, aren't I?" Gu Yao was puzzled.

"Because this is a serious sport, not something for entertainment." He stopped walking, looked at her, and his expression turned serious: "Have you ever watched a real boxing match? Boxing is cruel. Almost every athlete gets injured in every match, even the winners. Some boxers are covered in disabilities after their careers end."

"Are you like that too?" Gu Yao asked after a moment of silence, scanning his body.

The man was so strong; she had never imagined what he would look like if he were hurt.

"I am the same." He pointed to his chin: "This was broken once."

He pointed to his chest, arms, and legs: "These places have all suffered fractures, including my ribs."

The boxing gym was crowded on the weekend with people training, mostly young children, mostly boys. They were small, shirtless, and punching sandbags with intense focus, their faces bearing at least some signs of injury.

Su Yu and Gu Yao stood in the back watching for a while. He explained, "Most of them have already started competing, and they will probably continue down this path."

"I actually have a question I'm curious about." Gu Yao turned to look at him.

"Go ahead." The man watched the children on the floor intently, his eyes narrowed slightly as if recalling the past.

"Your family background should have been quite good back then. Why not live comfortably as a rich kid? Why choose such a difficult path?"

"I don't know. Perhaps I just hated a bland life and pursued excitement by taking up boxing. In the end, I gradually came to love the sport." He smiled: "Only with genuine passion can one persist."

The holographic movie project was still underway. Soon, cinemas invested in by Hangsheng across the country began preparations for operation. Media outlets that got wind of the news began reporting: after 3D movies, a new revolution in film screening was coming. On social media platforms like Weibo, people also began to discuss it fervently.

Cen Xi was dismissive of this. During lunch one day, she jokingly complained to Gu Yao: "What holographic movie? It’s all a scam. Holographic technology hasn't just appeared overnight, and which company has actually implemented it in a cinema? It’s just a gimmick for a new theater opening. Remember when 4D and 5D movies came out, and how the media hyped them? After they tricked people into going, they found the movie wasn't very three-dimensional, but the cinema was. The chairs flipped, cold air blew, water sprayed... even funnier, when a horror scene played, a hand would suddenly reach out and grab you!"

"You talk as if you've actually seen it," Gu Yao said, amused. "I can guarantee you, this time it’s definitely not a scam."

"What are you using to guarantee that? Don't tell me you've actually seen it?"

Gu Yao remained silent. She had indeed seen it, and the feeling of shock remained fresh in her memory; she just couldn't talk about it yet.

As it turned out, she was the very first person to watch a film after the theater was built.

After work that day, Su Yu came to pick her up. After dinner, they didn't go to the gym to train but instead went to a commercial building in the city center. The sixth floor housed the new cinema invested in by Hangsheng. It would officially open in three days, and the equipment was all installed.

Staff members were already waiting at the elevator and respectfully led them into the cinema. The movie hadn't started, so the lights were on.

Unlike traditional cinemas, there was no screen here. It was just a large, empty field, and there weren't many seats—only about twenty.

"Too many people would affect the viewing experience, so for now, we limit each screening to under twenty people," Su Yu explained, pulling her to sit down.

The cinema was empty, with only the two of them.

"It can start now," he said quietly after they sat down. The lights suddenly went out, leaving everything in darkness.

Gu Yao subconsciously turned to look, but the man's face was hidden in the shadows, making it impossible to see clearly.

"I'm here," his voice sounded in her ear, and his large hand gently took hers.

She didn't pull away. They sat there quietly, holding hands. His hand was large and warm, almost enveloping hers entirely; his palm was dry, providing a sense of great security.

In the center of the cinema, a light slowly appeared. In the middle of that beam, a cute cartoon rabbit suddenly appeared out of thin air. Its two pink ears stood up, and it wore denim overalls. It hopped around in a circle, grinning as it said: "The movie is about to start! Please watch quietly and don't make any noise!"

"Oh, right!" It added, covering its cleft lip with a furry paw: "Holographic movies are different from ordinary ones. You are welcome to leave your seats and come into the center to enjoy the wonderful cinematic time with the characters!"

With that, it spun around and vanished into the light.

"That's the cinema's mascot, called Tu Yaoyao," Su Yu chuckled beside her.

Gu Yao felt something was wrong as soon as she heard the name. Of so many names, why did it have to use hers? Just as she was about to say something, she saw him make a 'shh' gesture and whisper: "The movie is starting."

They were showing a famous martial arts film that the director had spent great effort to complete, and the scenery within it was particularly magnificent.

On the floor in the center of the cinema, the scenes of the film appeared realistically before their eyes; it could truly be called immersive. Gu Yao looked down and saw green grass slowly spreading beneath her feet. As a breeze blew, the tender grass seemed to sway gently.

She couldn't help but reach out to touch it, the greenery spreading across her slender fingertips, but it was empty air. The fluffy sensation she imagined didn't appear.

So, it really was all fake. She had almost thought she had inadvertently time-traveled to an unknown world.

The scene suddenly changed. The heroine returned to the house and hurriedly packed her luggage, the green grass turning into blue bricks that covered the ground again.

"Come, let's go over and take a look." Su Yu suddenly pulled her up and walked to the center of the field, walking straight through the door of the house to the heroine's side. She was opening a chest to take out ingot after ingot of gold, wrapping them quickly in a piece of cloth. The anxious look on her face was incredibly vivid and lifelike.