Jiang Cheng didn't answer; instead, he assumed a standard Muay Thai stance, elbows slightly bent and center of gravity lowered.
This professional posture caused Qiu Yihe to gasp.
Without at least three years of professional training, it would be impossible to have such a standard stance.
It seemed Jiang Cheng must have been practicing martial arts since childhood as well.
Qiu Yihe bit her lower lip and suddenly changed her strategy.
She moved her feet quickly and unleashed a series of combination punches, which were her signature moves at the National Games.
However, every punch was accurately blocked by Jiang Cheng, producing dull "bang bang" sounds.
When her right straight punch was parried again, Jiang Cheng suddenly closed into the clinch, and a beautiful plum blossom neck-clinch knee strike made Qiu Yihe lean back in a panic.
Her back hit the wall, and a hint of panic flashed in her eyes—this kind of close-quarters grappling technique was clearly an MMA style.
"You... practiced MMA?" Qiu Yihe asked breathlessly, her chest heaving violently.
Having witnessed Jiang Cheng's strength, Qiu Yihe finally began to exert her full power.
Her left foot suddenly stepped forward, and her right fist shot straight for Jiang Cheng's face like a venomous snake's tongue.
This jab was so fast it whistled through the air, showing no sign of her being intoxicated.
Qiu Yihe gave a light hmph and leaped into the air, actually completing a body rotation mid-air, her left leg whipping toward Jiang Cheng's temple like a lash.
"Pa!"
Jiang Cheng crossed his arms to take the whip kick head-on, the impact causing him to slide back half a step.
The leather sofa was knocked out of place, and the beer bottles on the coffee table clinked.
Jiang Cheng shook his numb arms, a fighting spirit igniting in his eyes: "Eighth place in the National Games, it seems it wasn't just talk."
As Qiu Yihe landed, the hem of her T-shirt flew up, revealing a flash of snow-white skin.
She quickly pressed down the edge of her clothes, her cheeks flushed from the alcohol and the exercise: "This is just the beginning, little friend."
Before her voice had even faded, she suddenly changed her move, sliding close to Jiang Cheng with her right hand forming a claw aimed straight for his throat.
Jiang Cheng dodged to the side, only to see that this was actually a feint.
Qiu Yihe's true killing move was the following left elbow strike, aimed directly at his vulnerable ribs.
At the critical moment, Jiang Cheng exerted force from his core, twisting his body like a swimming fish, his right hand accurately grabbing Qiu Yihe's wrist, using her momentum to swing her through the air.
"Bang!"
Qiu Yihe's back slammed hard onto the sofa, but the moment she bounced up, she used the momentum to perform a 'rabbit kicking the eagle' move, both feet kicking straight at Jiang Cheng's chest.
Jiang Cheng gave a muffled groan and retreated, his back hitting the TV cabinet.
The two stared at each other, panting, with only the ticking of the wall clock remaining in the living room.
"There's no referee today, do you want to play something more exciting?"
Jiang Cheng loosened his collar, revealing a wolf-like smile: "Suits me just fine."
Almost simultaneously, the two rushed at each other again.
Qiu Yihe aimed a high whip kick at his head, but the moment Jiang Cheng ducked, he lunged into her embrace, his right hand forming a blade to chop at her neck.
Qiu Yihe hurriedly leaned back, but unexpectedly Jiang Cheng changed his move into a grapple, grabbing her ankle.
"Ah!"
The moment she lost her balance, Jiang Cheng looked at the coffee table nearby.
It would be bad if Qiu Yihe fell like that.
Jiang Cheng only felt the slender ankle in his hand suddenly exert force.
He followed the momentum with a pull and a push.
By the time he realized what had happened, he had already pinned Qiu Yihe against the wall, her right leg raised high and pressed into a straight split.
Time seemed to freeze.
Qiu Yihe's leg was draped over Jiang Cheng's shoulder, and because of the movement, her T-shirt had completely slid to her waist, revealing the black lace edge of her leggings.
Their chests were almost touching, and they could clearly feel each other's violent heartbeats and hot breath.
Jiang Cheng then noticed a small butterfly tattoo on the inside of her right thigh, looking lifelike as her muscles trembled.
His waist then moved subconsciously.
The hand supporting Qiu Yihe's rear even flexed several times.
"Ah!" Qiu Yihe trembled, her voice rising and uncharacteristically losing its momentum, her eyelashes fluttering rapidly.
At this moment, she had long forgotten any Sanda techniques within her body's muscle memory.
Her whole body was overcome by a sensation she tried to struggle against, but because of the split position, she couldn't exert any strength; instead, it only made their contact closer.
Her cherry-red toes curled unconsciously behind Jiang Cheng's head.
Jiang Cheng gazed at the crimson cheek so close at hand and suddenly noticed a small mole near the corner of her left eye that was usually hidden by makeup.
This discovery inexplicably softened his heart, and he unconsciously relaxed the strength in his hands: "Giving up?"
Qiu Yihe took the opportunity to pull her leg back, but when she landed, she stumbled due to the alcohol and the intense exercise, sitting down on the floor.
Sitting down wasn't the issue, but as she sat, Qiu Yihe finally understood the embarrassment of having weak legs.
Because the two were so close, Qiu Yihe's buttocks sat directly on Jiang Cheng's instep.
Due to the sparring earlier, Jiang Cheng's slippers had long since flown off to who knows where.
So at this moment, Qiu Yihe was directly pressed against Jiang Cheng's leg.
Qiu Yihe awkwardly shifted upward a bit.
However, the time she spent lifting her hips was too short.
Just as she lifted them, she sat back down; Jiang Cheng thought she was going to stand up, so he had withdrawn his foot just a tiny bit.
Unexpectedly, perhaps because her legs were weak or for some other reason, Qiu Yihe sat down again.
This time was completely different from sitting on Jiang Cheng's instep earlier.
Although she didn't sit on Jiang Cheng, everyone understands.
The area of the big toe... with such a touch, Qiu Yihe became even more flustered and tried to use her hands to prop herself up to stand.
As she propped her hands back, her body instead slid forward a bit.
In that instant.
Qiu Yihe only felt that she didn't want to live anymore...