112. Chapter 112: Just Practicing, That’s All

“I don’t have any special tricks—I’m worse than a three-legged cat.”

Zhang Xiaolan had practically given up by now. It seemed she wasn’t cut out to showcase her ‘skills’ here. After all, both of them were experts who wouldn’t even show the slightest courtesy. It wasn’t fun at all.

“Lanlan, with a bit more practice, you can still improve,” Li Rui said, thinking his earlier accidental mistake had discouraged Zhang Xiaolan, so he quickly tried to comfort her.

“Sir, your delivery has arrived.”

Just then, Haizi came looking for Li Rui, though he had no idea that soon he would become Zhang Xiaolan’s next test subject.

“Hmph! Haizi!” Zhang Xiaolan sneered inwardly, already hatching a plan.

This time, she struck without warning. After calling his name, she immediately approached and executed a suplex. A muffled sound was heard, followed by Haizi’s pained screams.

The two standing nearby couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. Looking at Haizi still lying on the ground, they felt sorry for him. Why did he have to show up at that exact moment? If not him, then who else?

“Ouch! Miss, we have no grudge or enmity—why do you have to hit me?”

Haizi grimaced in pain but managed to get up, complaining about Zhang Xiaolan’s attack. He wondered why she would suddenly target him when they hadn’t done anything to offend her recently.

“It was just practice. You’re not hurt, are you?” Zhang Xiaolan approached with the air of a chivalrous heroine, patting Haizi on the back with feigned concern.

“My back’s killing me. You nearly broke it apart,” Haizi grumbled, ignoring her kindness. He stretched awkwardly, unwilling to confront her directly but rolling his eyes and muttering curses under his breath, probably a whole lot of them.

“See? If I face a weaker opponent, I do stand a chance,” Zhang Xiaolan said proudly, glancing back at Haizi who was unharmed. It seemed she did possess some skill; she could still ‘knock down’ weaker challengers.

“Haizi, as long as you’re not hurt, you shouldn’t cry over a fall like a true man,” Li Rui said, watching Haizi complain. He thought it was ridiculous that Haizi kept whining after being lightly thrown down by Zhang Xiaolan.

“Sir, Miss caught me off guard with that sudden move, and my back hit a stone on the ground—how could it not hurt?” Haizi finally vented to Li Rui. It wasn’t that Zhang Xiaolan’s move was that ‘fierce’; the real culprit was the stone on the cobblestone floor. It just happened to jab right into his back—anyone could imagine how painful that was!

“Pfft—haha… Haizi, sorry about that. Next time I’ll throw you onto dirt instead of stone; it won’t hurt as much,” Zhang Xiaolan laughed heartily upon hearing the true story. She hadn’t put much strength into it, so the real reason Haizi was screaming so pitifully was those pesky little stones on the ground.

“Mercy, please! Miss!” Haizi quickly kowtowed, begging for mercy. He knew better than to invite trouble like this again.

Having an incident like this once was already enough bad luck. From now on, unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn’t come to see her. Even if he ran into her by chance, he’d take a detour to avoid being spotted.

“Ha ha…” Ling Xiao and Li Rui couldn’t help but laugh at the exchange between the two. It was the first time they shared such a tacit understanding.

“Sir, I came to inform you that the delivery has arrived,” Haizi reported, trying to put the unfortunate incident behind him. After finishing his report, he hurried away, hoping to avoid any more ‘unforeseen disasters.’