Chapter 136: Wild vs. Professional

Chapter 136: Chapter 136: Wild vs. Professional

"Sure!"

Su Yunzhou narrowed his eyes slightly and said mildly, "But... if you’re betting on my wildcard qualification, shouldn’t you put something of equal value on the line?"

"Huh?!"

Ning Xiangwu grunted in realization, feeling that the other party’s words made sense. He then turned his gaze to Lin Wei, as if asking, "Coach, what should I bet?"

Lin Wei looked helplessly at the ’all brawn, no brains’ guy and said, "Gambling is prohibited in the climbing center. Friendship first, competition second."

"Heh." Su Yunzhou sneered.

"How about this! If I lose, I’ll give up my wildcard qualification. If you lose, you strip completely... wait, strip off your shirt and run three laps around the training center.

"Weird, why does it feel like I’m rewarding you in disguise?

"Forget it! Let’s just go with this! Do you dare?"

Ning Xiangwu glanced at him. "Why wouldn’t I dare! I’m just afraid you’ll refuse to admit it when you lose!"

Su Yunzhou rolled his eyes, too lazy to pay him any attention. This guy was truly perfect for being used as a pawn—so silly and naive.

At this moment, Yan Peisheng suddenly spoke up, "Then let’s compete in bouldering!"

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he couldn’t say much else. After all, Su Yunzhou was the one who had proposed the match. However, Ning Xiangwu’s bouldering performance was very average, whereas Su Yunzhou’s ability to maneuver and save someone on that near-impossible cliff last time was enough to prove his extraordinary strength. Therefore, after some analysis, he concluded that bouldering was definitely Su Yunzhou’s strong suit. This was also the only area where he could openly help him.

But who knew that the seemingly astute Su Yunzhou would completely miss his intention. Instead, he asked Ning Xiangwu, "What are you best at?"

"Me?" Ning Xiangwu replied. "Speed climbing."

"Then let’s compete in that!" Su Yunzhou declared, taking everyone by surprise.

The few bystanders wore expressions that said, "You’re insane, bro." In their minds, asking what the opponent was good at should logically mean choosing the exact opposite to compete in. Yet, knowing perfectly well there was a tiger on the mountain, he still chose to head right into the tiger’s den. Someone like this was either truly a badass or just out of his mind.

Before the match began, as Yan Peisheng attached the auto-belay device to Su Yunzhou, he asked in a low voice, "Are you confident?"

Su Yunzhou shook his head. "I don’t know! But it should be fine!"

"Sigh." Yan Peisheng sighed, not knowing what to say.

Things developing to this point was actually a scene he secretly wanted to see. He wanted to gauge this man’s true skill level and, combining it with his own experience, formulate a two-week training plan.

...

The two stood side by side at the base of the climbing wall. The spectating crowd also fell silent, keeping their eyes glued to the front.

Su Yunzhou changed into a pair of climbing shoes that didn’t fit perfectly. He stood in Lane A, stepping on the timing pedal as he waited for the starting gun.

That meathead, Ning Xiangwu, underwent a complete shift in aura the moment he stood before the wall. His eyes radiated confidence and a thirst for victory. Speed climbing was his strong suit, and it was the only event where he could defeat the climbing center’s number-one athlete. Although he was the eternal runner-up, a runner-up still had his dignity. Today, he was going to show this amateur what it meant to be a professional.

"Ready!"

BANG!

At the sound of the starting whistle, the two rapidly scaled upwards at a jaw-dropping speed.

Ning Xiangwu’s start was beautiful, and his acceleration phase was flawless. His final few steps were incredibly smooth before he slapped his palm against the timer.

Match result: 5.33 seconds.

It was a pity. His mid-section handling wasn’t great; otherwise, he absolutely could have been a bit faster.

Ning Xiangwu descended from the 15-meter climbing wall and glanced confidently to the side.

Huh? Where was the guy?

Could it be...

What? 5.28 seconds? How was that possible? The timer must be malfunctioning!

His gaze swept around, finally spotting Su Yunzhou, who was down below taking off his shoes. The other man was frowning, seemingly dissatisfied with his time. But the problem was, that time was already insanely good!

Nearby, Yan Peisheng wore a faint smile. After all, if Su Yunzhou couldn’t even achieve this time, all the effort he had spent securing this wildcard qualification would have been in vain. However, he also noticed a few detail-oriented issues and intended to have a good chat with him later.

...

The spectating crowd erupted into voices of disbelief.

"This..."

"See! Nothing is a coincidence! The guy genuinely has the skills!"

"But... I didn’t expect him to be this strong!"

"That guy Ning Xiangwu was a bit careless! If he were in peak condition, he might not have lost!"

"What are you saying? That wildcard, Su whatever, do you really think this was his peak condition?"

The woman in the red climbing suit nodded, agreeing with the statement, while also noticing a different detail altogether. She loved rock climbing, but she also loved fashion, meaning she was well-versed in major brands. Because of this, she realized that Mr. Su wasn’t wearing a single cheap item. Furthermore, he had taken off his wristwatch for the match, and she had deliberately moved to the front row to get a closer look.

Men were judged by their watches, and women by their bags—an unwritten little standard. If her phone’s image recognition wasn’t mistaken, that Omega watch was worth 100,000 RMB.

Wow. This discovery was even more shocking than his speed climbing result! Young, handsome, wealthy, and with a strong physique to boot. Wasn’t this her absolute dream man?

Very few girls in sports had shy personalities. And so, holding a rather pricey sports drink, she walked up to him and handed it over.

"Handsome, have a drink!

"You were seriously amazing! No wonder Coach Yan insisted on securing that wildcard spot for you."

"Thank you." Su Yunzhou smiled and accepted the sports drink.

The woman before him had her hair tied in a high ponytail. Thanks to years of exercise, her bodily proportions were long and slender, and she looked extremely radiant. Though her facial features weren’t delicate, they were fresh and clean.

She was pretty, but not in the traditional sense. For instance, she didn’t have that delicate, hand-span waist; instead, she had an H-shaped waist that looked robust but revealed beautiful muscle lines. Then there were her legs—straight, long, devoid of any flab, and brimming with vitality.

The girl blinked her pretty eyes and looked at Su Yunzhou with a grin. "My name is Yu Jiao. You can call me Jiaojiao, handsome.

"If it’s convenient in the future, could I find you to train together?"

Su Yunzhou teased, "So this bottle of water actually covers my training fee!"

"Hehe." Yu Jiao covered her mouth and giggled. "That’s right! But you’re really so fast!"

Su Yunzhou shook his head and said, "I’m not fast! In fact, I’m frighteningly slow..."

"Huh?!"

Yu Jiao instantly understood, her pretty face blushing red. However, since there were so many people around, she could only pretend she didn’t quite get it.

...

Not far away from the two, Lin Wei looked at the record time on the climbing wall, utterly speechless while feeling a deep sense of envy.

"Damn it!" he thought. "Could it be that I really don’t have an eye for talent? Why can Old Yan always discover such promising rookies, while all I ever encounter are muscle-brained blockheads like Ning Xiangwu?"

"Coach Lin! I lost!" Ning Xiangwu returned to his side in a daze, his voice laced with dejection.

"Sigh." Lin Wei comforted him, "What’s your personal best in speed climbing?"

Ning Xiangwu answered, "5.06 seconds!"

Lin Wei continued, "Then what are you so discouraged about? You didn’t perform at your best today!

"It’s because you underestimated the enemy, you didn’t take it seriously, and you didn’t give it your all.

"You lost! I feel embarrassed too, but it happened. The next step is to face it bravely and strive to surpass him, not to hang your head in dismay here."

Ning Xiangwu nodded heavily, looking as if he had just been scolded awake. He then walked brashly over to Su Yunzhou and said, "I’m willing to accept my loss! I’m going to run those three laps!

"But I was just careless this time. I will definitely surpass you next time."

With that said, he stripped to the waist and took off like the wind, bearing a striking resemblance to Team Rocket blasting off in a certain cartoon.

"I’ll definitely be back..."