The two of them had sparred before, like that time in the bookstore, when Ji Yushi was quickly subdued by Song Qinglan in an overwhelming victory.

However, Ji Yushi seemed to have forgotten about that. Not only did he challenge Song Qinglan in front of everyone, but his expression was natural, with calm written all over his face, as if he was confident of his victory.

To Song Qinglan, this behavior from Ji Yushi was undoubtedly a provocation.

Song Qinglan furrowed his heroic brows, “I won’t go easy on you.”

Ji Yushi echoed Duan Wen’s words, “No need to go easy. I also want to spar with a strong opponent.”

The provocation was even more obvious now.

With this, the people watching from below stopped trying to dissuade them and started to egg them on.

“Woo!!”

Song Qinglan truly didn’t want to fight Ji Yushi, but he didn’t say anything further. He just raised his chin, “Come.”

Both were barefoot, circling each other in small movements.

The atmosphere grew tense immediately, and even their teammates below the ring fell silent.

It seemed that what they cared about more than the challenge itself was whether Song Qinglan would actually hit Ji Yushi—given their usual interactions, that seemed almost impossible.

Song Qinglan was tough, but he wouldn’t really hit Consultant Ji.

Besides, Ji Yushi couldn’t take many of Song Qinglan’s punches anyway.

As expected, Song Qinglan didn’t take the initiative to attack.

Despite saying he wouldn’t go easy on Ji Yushi, compared to how he treated his teammates, Song Qinglan clearly had a more lenient attitude toward Ji Yushi.

Moments later, Ji Yushi’s expression sharpened, and he threw a fierce right punch.

Song Qinglan quickly shifted his weight back, compressed his chest and abdomen, and used his left and right hands to deflect Ji Yushi’s punch—it was child’s play to him. But what no one expected was that instead of retreating, Ji Yushi advanced, switching to an elbow strike that slammed into Song Qinglan’s chest. Then, taking advantage of the surprise, Ji Yushi grabbed Song Qinglan’s wrist and used his momentum, “Boom—”

Song Qinglan was thrown heavily onto the boxing ring by Ji Yushi with a merciless over-the-shoulder throw!

“Ugh!” Song Qinglan grunted as his body quickly bounced back up.

The two faced off again.

Ji Yushi beckoned with his hand, a trace of pride evident in his beautiful eyes.

This series of moves took everyone by surprise, leading to applause and even whistles.

“Wow!! Consultant Ji is awesome!!”

“Woo!!!”

When the enemy doesn’t move, I do.

Ji Yushi thoroughly implemented this strategy. Whether or not Song Qinglan intended to go easy on him, Ji Yushi unleashed a series of ruthless straight punches. But Song Qinglan’s reactions were lightning fast; as long as he wanted to, it was almost impossible for Ji Yushi to land a hit.

One attacked, the other defended—within seconds, they had exchanged dozens of blows!

Every time his punches were blocked by Song Qinglan, Ji Yushi’s forearm and fist felt like they had hit an iron board, unable to harm the enemy and instead injuring himself.

Ji Yushi changed tactics, sweeping his leg behind him after a punch—the crowd held their breath, knowing this move had been used by Duan Wen, and Ji Yushi would surely be caught! As expected, Song Qinglan grabbed Ji Yushi’s leg and yanked it back.

But wait!

Ji Yushi practiced jiu-jitsu and had been waiting for this moment!

Using this position, as his body grazed the ground, Ji Yushi exerted force through his waist, performing an incredibly flexible move to flip onto Song Qinglan’s back, locking his arms around Song Qinglan’s neck!

“Damn!!”

“Get him, get him, get him!”

The two grappled at close range.

Ji Yushi was slammed into the ground by Song Qinglan, nearly coughing up blood, his grip loosening as they separated.

“Consultant Ji,” Song Qinglan, also struggling, sweat dripping from his lashes, “are you serious?”

“Of course I’m serious,” Ji Yushi replied, “This is called respecting your opponent.”

Song Qinglan’s lips curled into a smile.

What followed far exceeded the team’s expectations. Song Qinglan finally took his opponent seriously, taking the initiative for the first time. With sweeping kicks, elbow strikes, and slashing punches, Song Qinglan was so fast that Ji Yushi could barely keep up, forcing him to retreat step by step. Song Qinglan’s attacks were heavy and fierce, and no matter how agile Ji Yushi was, he couldn’t deflect such overwhelming force, barely avoiding getting hit each time.

Now the tables had turned, and Ji Yushi could no longer remain passive. He had to find an opportunity to counterattack. His jiu-jitsu skills, with rolling and entangling moves, could trap Song Qinglan if he found the chance, but Song Qinglan didn’t give him that chance.

“Come on!!! Consultant Ji, come on!”

“Go for his legs!”

“Fight back!!”

Ji Yushi had just watched two matches from below and had memorized Song Qinglan’s personal habits and combos.

Facing a new round of attacks, Ji Yushi ducked to avoid Song Qinglan’s domineering leg sweep and retaliated with a punch, landing it squarely on Song Qinglan’s face!

Blood immediately appeared at the corner of Song Qinglan’s mouth, and the determination in his eyes grew even fiercer. Ji Yushi sensed trouble, and suddenly, he was thrown to the ground, pinned by Song Qinglan in a leg lock.

The two of them were now face-to-face, bodies pressed together. Ji Yushi was drenched in sweat, his lashes wet, his fair skin so striking it was hard to look away, and hot breaths escaping from his lips.

Song Qinglan paused, the scene reminding him of the time in the vending kiosk. But this time, the light was brighter, and Ji Yushi was covered in sweat.

“Let go of me,” Ji Yushi whispered, his voice so low in the noisy room that only the two of them could hear.

Was he begging for mercy?

Song Qinglan’s mouth still hurt from the punch, but he immediately considered that Ji Yushi might not be able to take much more. The last time they sparred, Song Qinglan hadn’t even used his full strength, and Ji Yushi’s wrist was already bruised.

Ji Yushi’s eyes were clear, as if holding a clean spring, looking calm. His red lips parted slightly: “Captain Song, don’t you find this kind of physical contact uncomfortable?”

Song Qinglan instantly realized.

Given Ji Yushi’s vengeful nature, this was payback for their earlier contemptuous discussion about Lin Xinlan, which was why he insisted on close combat.

But he had never thought of Ji Yushi and Lin Xinlan as the same kind of person.

Before Song Qinglan could figure it all out, he had already let his guard down in this fight, and in an instant, he was flipped over. Ji Yushi used all his strength, reversing their positions so that Song Qinglan was now beneath him, with Ji Yushi pinning his knees into his back and pulling his arms behind him.

The team excitedly started a countdown: “Five! Four! Three!—”

Song Qinglan cursed silently—where was the countdown when he was about to win?

Having vented his frustration by landing a few hits, Ji Yushi didn’t want to keep fighting; if they continued, he would lose.

So he twisted Song Qinglan’s arm: “Captain Song, do you surrender?”

Song Qinglan relaxed completely, lying limp on the floor and exhaling deeply, “…Yeah.”

“Captain Song, what do you mean ‘yeah’?!” Li Chun taunted gleefully, “Hurry up and say, did you lose or not?”

Song Qinglan: “I lost.”

Ji Yushi, though winning through unorthodox means, wasn’t unhappy. After standing up, he lightly kicked Song Qinglan’s foot, “Captain Song, don’t underestimate your opponent next time. This time, thank you for going easy on me.”

Everyone laughed unreservedly, “Hahaha!”

As Ji Yushi stepped off the ring, a few teammates rushed over, laughing and joking as they grabbed Song Qinglan’s limbs, intending to toss their captain off the stage like a punching bag.

Song Qinglan knew this was all in good fun; no one, including Ji Yushi, would take the outcome of this fight seriously.

Instead of feeling exhilarated after the match, he felt even more frustrated.

Song Qinglan lay there, letting them joke around, not even wanting to move a finger. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ji Yushi, ever the vengeful one, changing into clean clothes and walking toward the bar area.

He looked pretty cool, Song Qinglan thought.

In this illusion, anything was possible, and even here, they could create new experiences.

Time flowed as it would in the real world.

By evening, Tang Qi had quietly prepared a whole roasted lamb, Tang Le set up the drinks, and after eating and drinking, Li Chun led them in a retro disco.

The music was deafening, and the once elegant courtyard was now bathed in garish, lowbrow lights.

A group of them shook their heads and danced, making it look like a massive gathering of lunatics.

“I kind of miss the old man, why is that?” Li Chun said as he spun in circles, “…Damn this Sky Vault System! Alfalfa Raghava!”

Everyone: “Alfalfa Raghava!”

Song Qinglan distanced himself from the craziness, turning around to sit beside Duan Wen, and the two clinked their beer bottles before downing them. In this time-space hijacking, where time didn’t change, as their captain, Song Qinglan had allowed his teammates to indulge themselves completely.

Soon, he noticed that one quiet person was missing: “Where’s Consultant Ji?”

Duan Wen lay on a bench, slightly tipsy, probably still thinking about the wife and daughter he gained in the bubble world.

After a long pause, Duan Wen finally said, “Oh, he said he was going for a walk?”

“A walk?”

Song Qinglan thought it strange since the area outside the courtyard was pitch black—what kind of walk was he taking?

Song Qinglan tilted his head back, chugged a whole bottle of beer, and still felt something was off: “Where did Lao Zhou go?”

Duan Wen, looking a bit melancholic, replied, “He went with Consultant Ji.”

Hearing this, Song Qinglan had a good idea of where they were walking. Since each person’s transit station was different, they were either at Zhou Mingxuan’s place or at Ji Yushi’s.

What were they doing together?

Could Zhou Mingxuan really have a deep conversation with Ji Yushi? With Lao Zhou’s mouth, he might end up thoroughly offending Ji Yushi.

Song Qinglan set down his beer bottle, and Duan Wen glanced at him, “Are you going? I’ll keep an eye on them for you.”

Duan Wen assumed that Song Qinglan was worried about the younger ones going wild.

Song Qinglan: “No.”

Since the two had left together, it was likely prearranged. Zhou Mingxuan was convinced to escape the bubble world because of Ji Yushi; maybe he wanted to thank him. Despite his tough exterior, Zhou Mingxuan was actually considerate.

Besides, Zhou Mingxuan was straight, and Ji Yushi had a boyfriend.

But.

Song Qinglan’s face grew cold.

For Ji Yushi, none of this seemed to be an issue.

His thoughts were starting to veer off course, and he abruptly stopped himself. When had he ever scrutinized someone like this?

Yet the image of Ji Yushi shedding a tear when he was enticed by the bubble world’s phone call at the station resurfaced in his mind—did Ji Yushi trust and confide in others, those who had similar experiences or his significant other, sharing his deepest secrets and pain? Did he ever show such vulnerability?

Song Qinglan couldn’t imagine someone else wiping away that tear.

Ji Yushi was different to him.

Something was stirring inside him.

This late realization brought a strong sense of irritation, and Song Qinglan ran his fingers through his hair, smoothing it back as his brows furrowed in frustration.

Ignoring the rowdy teammates, Song Qinglan strode into the house.

He walked past the training room, continuing down the corridor, intending to return to the room he had lived in as a child to sleep and calm down.

But when he opened the heavy door, he was stunned.

Floor-to-ceiling windows, soft gauze curtains.

A wooden bed with fluffy, white bedding.

Some paper books scattered on the floor, a warm-toned night lamp glowing on the bedside table.

Even though he’d only seen it once, that warmth, tranquility, and sense of security had lingered in Song Qinglan’s subconscious.

He never would have thought that the place where he could feel calm and relaxed was actually Ji Yushi’s bedroom.