Chapter 21: Reunion

Gu Yao received a call the following afternoon. The caller identified himself as the owner of the Ocean Boxing Gym: "Miss Gu, the coach you requested has agreed. When would you like to come in? We can set a training schedule."

"That's great. I'll come by after I get off work tomorrow, around seven o'clock. Does that work for you?" Gu Yao stood up, avoiding Cen Xi's curious gaze.

After hanging up, Cen Xi immediately leaned over excitedly: "What's going on? Are you actually going to learn boxing?"

"Is there any doubt about it?" Gu Yao sat back down and pulled out her phone to search online: "Should I buy some workout clothes?"

"When do you start training?" Cen Xi asked.

"Probably tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Cen Xi laughed: "And you're buying them online? There’s no time for that. Let’s head to the commercial street after work and pick up something basic."

Gu Yao nodded and tucked her phone away. Although she exercised occasionally, her work kept her too busy to ever seriously shop for workout gear. She really didn't know what to buy for boxing.

They found a Clover sports store and asked the sales clerk for advice. The girl smiled and said, "Most workout clothes are about the same. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure either."

She led Gu Yao to a sports bra and introduced it: "This is our latest style. Many people buy it. Would you like to try it on? This black one really complements your skin tone."

Gu Yao thought the garment looked nice and bought it without trying it on. She then picked up a few workout T-shirts and a pair of matching shorts. As for shoes, she had seen many boxers training barefoot, so she decided not to buy any.

When she got off work the next day, she changed into the outfit in the locker room. The hem of the T-shirt was a bit long, almost completely covering the shorts. In the mirror, the woman looked tall, thin, and graceful.

She felt satisfied with her look and carefully checked her makeup. She had only applied a thin layer of powder, and her lipstick color was subtle, appearing as if she weren't wearing any makeup at all, though it significantly brightened her complexion.

After finishing, she suddenly realized what she was doing. It wasn't like she was going on a blind date; it was just a boxing lesson. Was there really a need to spend so much time preparing?

She shut the locker door, threw on a long trench coat, left the hospital, and headed to the parking lot.

She arrived at the boxing gym at exactly 7:00 PM. As she entered, the receptionist greeted her with a smile: "Miss Gu, right? You can head straight to the training room in the back."

The attitude was vastly different from her last visit.

There were people training in the first few rooms, so Gu Yao didn't linger, heading straight for the last one. The door was slightly ajar, and two men were sparring inside.

One of them was the dark-skinned man she had spoken to on her first visit. He was currently being pinned down by his opponent, with no room to counter.

Gu Yao raised an eyebrow upon seeing that back. She didn't walk in, instead leaning against the doorframe to watch their movements.

Even in such a rudimentary space, the presence of the man made the room feel different. He was wearing a simple black T-shirt, his arms bulging with muscle underneath, and knee-length shorts. His large feet were planted firmly on the ground.

He had a tall, imposing stature with near-perfect proportions. Finding his shirt cumbersome, he casually ripped it off and tossed it onto the floor nearby. The Adonis belt on his abdomen flowed downward in smooth, defined lines.

The dark-skinned man stopped after a few exchanges, shaking his head as he sat on a nearby chair: "It’s a real shame you don’t compete."

He was about to say more when he glanced into the mirror and noticed someone at the door. He turned around to see a woman standing there, her black hair tied into a high ponytail, her expression cool yet possessing a natural charm.

"Miss Gu!" He stood up with a pleasant surprise and walked over, saying warmly: "Hello! I didn't get to introduce myself last time. I’m the owner of this gym, Zhou Hei."

"Hello," Gu Yao nodded, ignoring his outstretched right hand.

The man’s name matched his skin tone perfectly; if one didn't look closely, they might mistake him for an African man. If he had added the character 'Ya' (duck) to his name, it would have been perfect.

"Miss Gu, haha, you are truly lucky! Our Mr. Su isn't someone just anyone can hire. I only asked him offhandedly that day, and to my surprise, he actually agreed!" Zhou Hei continued to chuckle: "Of course, it was also out of respect for me. We’ve known each other since we were kids, practiced boxing together, back when..."

Once he started talking, he was relentless. Minutes passed without him stopping. Gu Yao frowned, her gaze shifting behind him.

Su Yu had walked over at some point and was standing not far away, watching her. His expression was calm, but his eyes were deep. He was still shirtless, with his shirt draped casually over his shoulder. His hair was cut even shorter, making his facial features appear more angular.

Such a tall man, usually wrapped in a suit and confined to an office, seemed wasted there. This attire suited him best; his perfect upper-body muscles were partially veiled by the T-shirt, making him appear wild and full of power.

"Long time no see." Their gazes quietly intertwined. After a long moment, Gu Yao gave a slight nod.

"Three weeks," he said, his voice low.

Zhou Hei was stunned, looking back and forth between Su Yu and Gu Yao: "What's going on between you two?"

"Did you bring workout clothes? Can we start training today?" Su Yu ignored him, assessing Gu Yao's attire.

"They're inside," Gu Yao gestured toward her trench coat.

"Then come on in. We'll start with some warm-ups."

The two completely ignored Zhou Hei, as if he didn't exist.

"Hey!" Zhou Hei cried out in despair, feeling incredibly slighted: "I say, Mr. Su, you can't just toss your friend aside because you have a beautiful woman here!"

Su Yu finally walked over, gave a brief introduction, and then looked at Gu Yao: "Zhou Hei is an old friend of mine. His father opened this gym, and it was passed down to him. We used to train here together often. You probably already know that, right?"

"Yes. My apologies, my mother investigated you without my permission." Gu Yao nodded, not hiding it.

Su Yu was quite candid: "It’s fine. I leaked that information on purpose."

Gu Yao raised an eyebrow: "Then I suppose we're even."

After a few more exchanges, Zhou Hei finally caught on: "Oh, so you two already know each other."

Although no one was paying him any mind, he reached out his hand to Gu Yao again, very happy: "Why didn't you say so, Yaoyao? We’re practically family! Let me tell you, I’m very close with Su Yu. Since we were kids, we..."

He self-importantly dropped her surname and continued chattering, but in the next second, Su Yu walked over and pulled him away.

"Let’s finalize the training schedule." The two walked to a spot further away from Zhou Hei before stopping.

Hearing this, Gu Yao thought for a moment: "I can only come in the evenings, and my shift times aren't fixed."

"Boxing training is best done at least three times a week, otherwise you’ll forget what you've learned."

"Alright. It might be a bit late, though. Do you mind?" Gu Yao agreed. After discussing for a while, they set a concrete plan.

Left without anyone to talk to, Zhou Hei stopped his chatter, sat down to the side, and stared at them intently.

Su Yu had already begun helping Gu Yao with her warm-up.

After she took off her trench coat, the long T-shirt underneath was revealed, covering her shorts completely, with her long, fair, slender legs particularly drawing the eye.

It was that "bottoms-missing" style of dress again.

Su Yu’s gaze darkened, but he said nothing. However, as they started moving, the T-shirt kept falling down and obstructing her vision. Gu Yao grew annoyed and simply took it off, which made her movements much more agile.

However, since the sports bra was quite short, her fair abdomen and narrow waist were fully exposed. Zhou Hei’s eyes went wide.

He had seen many female students dressed like this before, and it was usually quite normal. Why was it that on her, it looked so seductive?

Su Yu turned his head: "Zhou Hei, go outside for a bit. Don't forget to close the door."

His voice was cold and stern.

"Got it," Zhou Hei replied with a long, drawn-out tone. *How stingy,* he thought.

Gu Yao didn't care much. She went swimming often; this man was simply problematic. First, he wouldn't let