Chapter Sixteen: A New Legend in the Capital! Ma Xun's Epic Battle with Bai Xiaohang!

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Click, click.

Ma Xun idly tapped the tabletop with a small notebook.

Gao Yuanyuan had run off. That much was true.

But take a look at what Ma Xun was holding now…

Her student ID.

The girl had been in such a hurry to escape that she had dropped it without even noticing.

Ma Xun had found it when he was leaving.

Luckily, he had sharp eyes.

If it had fallen into Bai Xiaohang’s hands, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

By that logic, Gao Yuanyuan, I just saved you once, didn’t I?

But look at you!

At that moment, a huge bruise covered half of Ma Xun’s face.

It had been caused by the mobile phone Gao Yuanyuan had thrown back at him.

Well, technically, she had thrown his bag.

Cell phones these days were no longer as enormous as they used to be, but they were still heavy, made from the same old engineering plastic.

Getting hit by one was like taking the butt of an M16 to the face.

Ma Xun had taken that very fact into account when he schemed against Bai Xiaohang.

Still, the reason he had won this time was that his overall plan had succeeded.

He had run off with Gao Yuanyuan.

At first glance, the girl had seemed like a burden, but hadn’t she ended up playing a crucial role?

Ma Xun had known that Bai Xiaohang was arrogant to the bone.

When fighting, he would never pay attention to a young girl.

Heh heh. Got you, you bastard. Never saw that coming, did you?

In any case, this round had gone to Ma Xun!

Though he had certainly paid a price.

The bruise was one thing.

That kick from Gao Yuanyuan had been vicious too—she had landed right on his ingrown toenail.

Otherwise, how could he possibly have failed to dodge the flying bag?

Wait a minute.

Gao Yuanyuan, Gao Yuanyuan…

Whose side are you on, exactly?

Every injury on my body is thanks to you!

Damn it!

I give up!

And there was more.

The bottle of Chanel No. 5 was gone.

Ma Xun figured it was probably with Gao Yuanyuan.

Most likely, it had fallen into her schoolbag.

That stuff wasn’t cheap.

More importantly, he no longer had the gift he had intended to give someone.

For the moment, Ma Xun had no way to look for Gao Yuanyuan.

At present, he was in a classroom.

And not just any classroom—it was at the Beijing Film Academy.

His fight with Bai Xiaohang had happened yesterday.

Ma Xun had been injured as well, so naturally he had not kept his appointment.

Of course, he had called Sun Donghai to explain.

“Bai Xiaohang came looking for trouble, so I took him down!”

The other end of the line had gone silent for several minutes when he heard that.

My phone bill!

At first, Sun Donghai hadn’t believed him at all.

Fine. Believe it or don’t.

Click.

The call was over.

Since nothing had been accomplished yesterday, they could not afford to delay things today.

Today was the planning meeting for the production team of Seventeen-Year-Olds Don’t Cry.

The main purpose was to look over the actors before making the final decisions.

That was why they had borrowed a small classroom at the Beijing Film Academy.

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The production was still in the preparation stage, and for now they were mainly reviewing actors.

After all, this was a project backed by the China Central Television Drama Production Center. Its resources were formidable.

They had already contacted several arts colleges and told them what sort of actors the production needed.

If they came across anyone suitable, they were to make recommendations and send over photographs.

Since this was a high-school campus drama, students who had just taken this year’s arts entrance examinations would be ideal.

In those days, the professional examinations for arts programs were held after the Spring Festival.

In other words, students from the class of 1996 had not yet officially entered university.

That suited the requirements of this production perfectly.

As for the casting authority Ma Xun and Sun Donghai had obtained earlier, it was only the right to make “recommendations.”

The final decision still rested with Central Television.

Naturally, those “recommendations” were important too.

It was like a company owner telling the human-resources department to keep an eye on a particular person.

The HR department would understand exactly what that meant.

Their recommendations might not carry quite that much weight, but they would certainly have an effect.

In truth, Second Aunt had agreed so readily precisely because she understood the situation.

These days, any boss who invested money in a television production would try to place someone in the cast.

Second Aunt understood Sun Donghai even better. She knew the man had plenty of schemes up his sleeve.

So whom was Sun Donghai planning to insert into the production?

He was still thinking about it when Sun Donghai arrived.

Ma Xun put away the student ID.

“Brother! Brother!”

The two of them had already spoken on the phone, and Sun Donghai had deliberately arrived a little early.

There was no one else in the small classroom yet.

But did Sun Donghai have to shout so loudly?

“What is it?” Ma Xun asked impatiently.

Sun Donghai came hurrying over with tiny quick steps, grinning like a sycophant.

Strange.

“Brother! You don’t know yet? You’re famous!”

“Famous?” Ma Xun stared at him blankly.

Sun Donghai spoke with the pride of a man sharing in another’s glory.

“You’ve made quite a name for yourself! All the old hands in the capital are talking about you!”

“Why?” Ma Xun asked warily.

Sun Donghai immediately noticed his suspicion.

“Relax—it’s a good thing! Yesterday you said you had fought Bai Xiaohang, remember?”

“Yes.”

“I thought you were bragging! But today… damn! Everyone’s talking about it!”

“Really? What are they saying?”

I took down the Haidian War God, Bai Xiaohang!

Now that was something to be proud of…

“Some people say Bai Xiaohang suffered a loss at your hands.”

“They put it that way?”

The meaning was more or less the same, but the details were off.

“Wait, there’s more. Others say you beat the hell out of Bai Xiaohang!”

Ma Xun nodded. That version sounded better.

Sun Donghai continued, “The whole thing caused a sensation! Quite a few people went to ask Bai Xiaohang about it.”

“What did he say?”

“He said the two of you really fought, and that it was incredibly intense—but he accused you of fighting dirty. He said you threw sand in his face!”

Time for a quick lesson in fighting terminology.

“Throwing sand” did not necessarily mean scooping up sand and flinging it at someone. In a fight, it could also mean using underhanded methods to win.

Ma Xun roared indignantly, “What a load of crap!”

His righteous outrage was entirely an act.

Sun Donghai, however, immediately agreed.

“Exactly! That idiot Bai Xiaohang was definitely beaten by my brother! He just refuses to admit it!”

Then he lowered his voice and asked, “Brother, didn’t we use a dirty trick too?”

Ma Xun rolled his eyes.

“You ever heard of a root-crusher? I caught him off guard and kicked him twice in the back of the head.”

A root-crusher was a move used in parts of the Northeast: raise your leg high, then bring the heel crashing down onto the opponent’s head. It was similar to the finishing move used by Baoqiang in Lost on Journey—though Ma Xun had gone easy on him.

The moment Sun Donghai heard the term, he gave a thumbs-up and shouted,

“Badass!”

He was filled with admiration.

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Ma Xun maintained an air of calm indifference, but inwardly he was delighted.

“By the way, what else did Bai Xiaohang say?”

Ma Xun was almost certain Bai Xiaohang would not mention Gao Yuanyuan.

Being knocked down by a young girl was humiliating enough. If word got out, the title of Haidian War God would be ruined.

And sure enough—

“He just kept making excuses. Oh, right, he also said the two of you exchanged dozens of blows and fought for more than twenty minutes.”

Ma Xun immediately cursed.

“Bullshit! That guy really knows how to brag!”

Sun Donghai perked up.

“What do you mean?”

“A professional boxing round lasts only three minutes. Bai Xiaohang and I fought for ten minutes at most, and we even stopped several times to catch our breath.”

Sun Donghai was deeply impressed.

“Brother, at least you’re honest! Bai Xiaohang lies through his teeth! Maybe all those impressive feats he claims from the past were made up too!”

Exactly. That was highly possible.

But Ma Xun said, “The Haidian War God really is capable. We have to admit that. Taking him down wasn’t easy. Can’t you tell?”

Sun Donghai had noticed it long ago.

“Good grief, look what he did to my brother! That idiot Bai Xiaohang has a vicious streak too! And he has the nerve to accuse someone else of fighting dirty. What a joke!”

All he had seen was the injury on Ma Xun’s forehead.

A huge patch of blue and purple.

Bai Xiaohang, of course, had no idea where that “injury” had really come from.

But now it was the perfect evidence of the epic battle between Ma Xun and Bai Xiaohang.

Naturally, Ma Xun could never say that a young girl had thrown the bag at him.

“My leg got hurt too.”

Yes, Gao Yuanyuan had kicked him in the shin.

And then stepped directly on his ingrown toenail.

Sun Donghai’s eyes lit up.

“Good grief! That sounds dangerous! Brother, it had to be you. Anyone else would have been no match for Bai Xiaohang.

“So, how exactly did the fight go? What moves did he use?”

“Why are you so nosy?”

“Who wouldn’t want to hear about this? Brother, you have no idea. Almost all the children of the military compounds and every old hand in the capital are talking about this battle. Give me the details. How did you two fight? And, uh, did he use the Monkey Steals the Peach?”

“To be fair, he wasn’t that vicious. Besides, do you really think he could have caught me with that?”

“Exactly! No way! Look at the skills my brother has!”

“Fighting is fighting. There was a little technique at the beginning. He came at me with a flying knee, so I slipped aside and hit him with a Jiamusi hook. But the bastard managed to neutralize that move too. After that we got tangled up, throwing wild punches and whatever else came to hand…”

Ma Xun’s account was remarkably “realistic.”

Sun Donghai listened, utterly fascinated.

It was easy to imagine that countless versions of the story would soon circulate throughout the capital.

Perhaps people would even say that Ma Xun had fought Bai Xiaohang using the martial arts of Tongbei, Bagua, Xingyi, Tai Chi, and every other school under the sun.

That was how legends were born.

Wait a moment.

Gao Yuanyuan had knocked Bai Xiaohang down with a schoolbag.

Then she had given Ma Xun a black eye with it too.

Ma Xun versus Bai Xiaohang.

So the truth was that Gao Yuanyuan had single-handedly defeated them both?

Holy hell!

That absolutely had to remain a secret.

Meanwhile, Sun Donghai thought back to what had happened at the nightclub that night.

So my brother really is that skilled. He had the confidence to let me go first!

He was deliberately letting me have the spotlight…

What a great brother!

Sun Donghai kept those thoughts to himself.

At that moment, someone else entered the classroom.

She knocked first, even though the door was open.

“Hello. Is this the production team for Seventeen-Year-Olds Don’t Cry? Are you two teachers from the production?”

Ma Xun and Sun Donghai turned toward her and saw a young woman.

She was a lovely, striking beauty, with an open and graceful air.

Ma Xun naturally knew who she was.

Hao Lei.

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