Chapter 15 People in Jianghu

"Are you asleep?"

Around 11:50 p.m., Wu Li was lying in bed when he suddenly received a WeChat message from Zhang Jia'er.

Through Wang Xuecheng, they had added each other on WeChat and chatted aimlessly for a bit. Wu Li had mentioned he was going to stream live, and then they hadn't chatted further. It was almost midnight now, and he had no idea why Zhang Jia'er was contacting him.

"Um?"

"About the video on Ren Donglai, I've seen it."

"Um."

In her dorm room, Zhang Jia'er sat on the bed clenching her teeth. The lady's making a move on you this late and you just reply with "um"?

"Forget it, you have lots of fans, I'll hold my tongue!" Zhang Jia'er thought bitterly. This time, through the video collaboration and live-stream cohosting with Wu Li, she gained 30,000 fans—much more effective than her efforts over the past half year.

"Don't be upset about that kind of person. He must be scared of losing to you, that's why he said that on purpose."

"I'm not upset."

"That's good. Then, how do you plan to respond to him?"

"Haven't thought it through yet."

"I think, you know, with your strength, you'll surpass his popularity sooner or later. It's not worth having a spat with him over pride (cute face)."

Wu Li couldn't help but laugh. What Zhang Jia'er said actually made sense. As long as he had the skills, his popularity would eventually overtake Ren Donglai, and it might not be clear who would be challenging whom by then.

However, Wu Li had never really had enemies in his life because he dealt with them on the spot. Now that someone had stepped on him, he had to step back immediately, or else he wouldn't even breathe easy.

"Thanks, I'll give it some thought."

"Oh, about the mixer you mentioned last time, I asked my roommates, and they have no objections. So, when do you guys want to do the mixer?"

"I'll ask my roommates."

Wu Li got up and said, "Old Wang, Old Chen, remember the mixer I talked about during the live stream? Zhang Jia'er said her roommates agreed. When do you guys want to do it?"

"Forget it, I won't go." Wang Xuecheng said bitterly. It was obvious that Zhang Jia'er was targeting Wu Li. Although he knew he had no chance with her, he still did not want to see his past crush getting close to other guys, especially when that guy was his own roommate. That made his feelings even more complicated.

Chen Dong rolled over lazily and said, "I'm not going either."

"What's the situation?" Wu Li was puzzled.

"Old Chen, you should go. The girls from Zhang Jia'er's university are high quality." Wang Xuecheng also encouraged him.

Zhang Jia'er's university was in Chuhua City and called Beichuan Normal University, known for having more girls than boys and legendary beauty.

Chen Dong sighed deeply, "What does high quality have to do with me?"

Wu Li said, "What if you find someone you like? Isn't it nice to have a relationship in college?"

Chen Dong shook his head, "Why should I date? Spend 500 on a fishing rod, use lots of time and energy to fish, and you might still end up empty-handed. I'd rather spend 50 to buy fish and be sure to have a meal. Think about it, think carefully."

Wu Li: "…"

"Sorry about that, my roommates are busy with things and don't have time. Let's do it another time."

Since both roommates declined, Wu Li just replied to Zhang Jia'er. After all, he wasn't really in the mood for a mixer right now.

Zhang Jia'er: "..."

She really wanted to say, if your roommates are busy, then just invite me alone, but she was too embarrassed to say such a thing out loud.

"It's okay, let's do it another time then."

"Um, good night, I'm going to sleep."

Zhang Jia'er: "???"

Am I really that unattractive that you're saying good night after just a few sentences?

It took her a good while to grit her teeth and type two words.

"Good night (cute face)."

...

The next day, in Qi City, Wujiang Province, at Eastward Boxing Club.

The boxing club was bustling with people coming and going, and Ren Donglai was warming up on the boxing stage.

In the rest area, Jia Li was chatting with a man in a suit.

"Manager Zhang, there's no problem with the match, right?" Jia Li asked.

The man in the white suit was the manager of the MCN company that Ren Donglai was signed with, surnamed Zhang.

"Don't worry, our company's professionals have analyzed it, and Dong Lai is more skilled than his opponent," Manager Zhang replied with a smile.

Jia Li was still a bit worried, "I've heard the opponent's mother is seriously ill and in urgent need of money. If something happens... could we possibly have a talk with him?"

Manager Zhang smiled as he looked at her.

Jia Li felt a bit uneasy and spoke in a lower voice, "Manager Zhang, I'm just worried about the unexpected..."

Manager Zhang waved his hand, signaling her not to worry, "I know, don't worry. If there really is an accident, I'll arrange it."

"Then I'll leave it to Manager Zhang," Jia Li said with a smile.

"We're in this together now, we share in the glory, no need for formalities," Manager Zhang said with significant meaning.

Jia Li blushed and quickly lowered her head to drink water to hide it.

Before long, Ren Donglai came over, sweating profusely, "What are you talking about?"

Jia Li stood up to wipe his sweat, "I was just telling Manager Zhang that if there's an unexpected circumstance, he'll arrange someone to take care of it, so you can fight with your mind at ease."

Ren Donglai nodded, "Thanks, Manager Zhang."

Manager Zhang stood up and patted Ren Donglai's shoulder, "No need to be polite. You are now an important person in our company. We're all waiting for you to become a mega internet star in the future; of course, we won't let anything happen to you."

Ren Donglai thanked him with a smile, exchanging pleasantries.

In the past, he would never have wanted to use underhanded tactics to influence a match, but after tasting the life of an internet star, he knew he was no longer just a combat sports athlete.

In the end, Jia Li's words convinced him: As an MMA fighter, it was okay to lose, but him, hyped up all the way, can't lose a single match. He can only advance, not retreat!

It's often said when you're in the jianghu, you can't help but be influenced by it. By now, Ren Donglai had deeply realized: The jianghu isn't about fighting and killing, but about human relationships and worldly affairs.

At ten o'clock sharp in the morning, Ren Donglai started his live stream.

"I've said it before, traditional martial arts no longer fit in modern combat sports. I've also said, any traditional martial artists who don't agree can challenge me anytime."

"I get messages every day in my private inbox from people wanting to fight. Today, I've picked a practitioner of traditional martial arts, and we'll have a match, live streamed!"

"This afternoon at two, right here at my Eastward Boxing Club, I'll fight this guy, and everyone's welcome to watch."

Aside from live streaming, Ren Donglai also posted several videos on Mo Yin to promote the match.

Ren Donglai's previous match streams had more and more viewers each time. These past few days, because of Wu Li's incident, he had been in the spotlight, so as soon as the news was released, it garnered widespread attention.

It must be said that Ren Donglai and his team held the match at just the right time.

He had just been questioned by many people for refusing Wu Li's challenge, and today he proved with facts: There's a long line of people who want to challenge me. To fight me, you have to wait your turn.

At 1:30 p.m., the video Ren Donglai posted reached the top of the Mo Yin trending list, and the number of people in his live stream exceeded two hundred thousand.

At 1:50 p.m., Wu Li skipped an elective class and rushed back to the dormitory to enter Ren Donglai's live stream.