After careful observation, it turned out Xiao Heqing only had one insurmountable enemy.
A chubby little boy named Long.
Long had chubby cheeks and was unusually tall for his age. Even though he had just enrolled in taekwondo this year, he was crushing the senior students, relying purely on his inherent physical advantages.
Naturally, Xiao Heqing, with her scrawny little arms and legs, stood no chance against him.
Lin Zhengran asked if she had ever sparred with Long before.
Xiao Heqing nodded. "Twice. The first time, he slammed me to the mat in an instant. I was totally dazed."
"And the second time?"
"The second time, he slammed me to the mat in an instant again. I was totally dazed."
Lin Zhengran was speechless. "Then do you think you can beat him?"
"No," Xiao Heqing answered honestly, which naturally earned her a flick to the forehead.
She clutched her head.
Lin Zhengran asked a second time, "I'll ask you again. Do you think you can beat him?!"
Looking like a child who had just done something wrong, Xiao Heqing hugged her head and nodded. "Yes."
"Excellent!" Lin Zhengran laughed. "Aren't you full of confidence! In kids' fights, size is secondary. What really matters is psychological fortitude! As long as you aren't afraid of him, even if you get hit, you have to maintain a tough, terrifying expression. He'll definitely be intimidated by a little girl like you."
Xiao Heqing didn't understand a word he was saying. What the heck was psychological fortitude? And what did intimidated mean? She had never learned these words in her textbooks.
Still, she nodded enthusiastically. "Mhm!"
"Then for our focused training this final month, there will only be one goal—tempering your willpower! Once you master it, as long as you can mentally overpower your opponent, the rest like strength and kicking techniques only need casual practice. He won't be able to beat you."
Lin Zhengran stared at Xiao Heqing, looking every bit the strict coach. "Come on, show me a terrifying or intimidating expression."
Xiao Heqing looked bewildered. Eventually, she gave a cute little bare of her teeth.
Lin Zhengran exasperatedly pinched her cheeks. "What are you doing?! Are you showing off how white your teeth are? Stop acting cute!"
Xiao Heqing closed her eyes in grievance. "I'm not acting cute. I just don't know how."
He sighed. "Forget it. With a temperament like yours, who would ever be scared of you? Just copy me. I'll teach you how to frown first, then how to put on a cold face, and finally how to glare sideways."
After Lin Zhengran demonstrated the expressions, Xiao Heqing followed suit with a confused look. Naturally, it didn't go smoothly. Fortunately, after some manual adjustments by Lin Zhengran, her expression was fixed into something that could vaguely be considered intimidating.
On the main street, Xiao Heqing frowned and stared off into the distance, gritting her teeth. For some reason, she looked even more adorkably silly than before.
Lin Zhengran looked like he had just swallowed a fly, but he knew he had to take it slow. Under the setting sun, he pointed at the road ahead. "Now, run three laps around this block with me! Your expression cannot change at all while running! Go!"
With that, he dashed off into the distance.
Xiao Heqing hurriedly chased after him. "Lin Zhengran, wait for me! If you run so fast, I won't be able to catch up!"
"Aren't I waiting for you? Run faster! And your expression, your expression! Why aren't you baring your teeth anymore?! Keep it up!"
Lin Zhengran's hellish training wasn't overly difficult, but for Xiao Heqing, it was much harder than anything before.
For the first time, she realized how exhausting it was to pretend to be fierce and angry. She couldn't help but wonder how tired those adults who kept a straight face all day must be.
Half a month passed quickly in training.
Today was a rest day, and Xiao Heqing accompanied her mother to the supermarket.
Holding her mother's hand as they entered the large mall, Xiao Heqing suddenly remembered something and trotted over to an expensive dessert counter. She pressed herself against the glass display case, gazing at the very back where a chocolate dessert shaped like a white swan sat.
The dessert wasn't large—about the size of her two small palms—but it was very expensive, costing several hundred yuan.
The dessert shop clerk was a pretty young woman, and this wasn't her first time seeing He Qing. "Little one, are you here to look at the dessert again?"
Xiao Heqing hummed in agreement, pointing with a chubby little finger. "Miss, no one has bought this chocolate yet, right? You absolutely have to save it for me. I'm going to buy it at the end of the month."
The clerk bent down with a smile. "Don't worry, I've been saving it just for you. But..." She pointed at Mrs. He in the distance. "That's your mom shopping for groceries over there, right? Why not ask her to buy it for you now? I can even give you a discount!"
Xiao Heqing stared at the swan dessert and shook her head. "I'm not asking Mom to buy it for me. I'm participating in a competition. If I win, our coach said I can pick any gift under five hundred yuan. I want this one."
"Oh?" The clerk asked curiously, "What competition are you in? Are you that confident you'll win the championship?"
"Taekwondo, and yes, I'm confident!"
The clerk laughed, stepping out from behind the counter to pat Xiao Heqing's head. "You're so cute, little sister. Don't worry, I promise I'll protect this dessert for you until the end of the month. I'll be waiting for you to come buy it. It's delicious, so it definitely won't disappoint you!"
Xiao Heqing shyly thanked the clerk, but as she looked at the dessert again, she quickly thought of a certain someone. "I'm not going to eat it myself. I'm giving it to someone else. He really likes chocolate."
He Qing felt that Lin Zhengran would absolutely love this gift, which was the real reason she was so determined to win the championship.
Having finished her grocery shopping, Mrs. He called out, "Qingqing, do you want some dessert?"
Hearing her mother's voice, Xiao Heqing shook her head. "No! Just looking."
She said goodbye to the clerk and ran back to her mother, taking her hand once more.
Mrs. He asked, "What dessert were you looking at just now? You look at it every time we come. Are you really not going to buy it?"
Xiao Heqing shook her head vigorously. "I'm really not. Let's go home, Mom. I still need to go find Lin Zhengran."
Xiao Heqing knew very well that this was a prize. If she begged her mother to buy it for her through any other means, it would lose all meaning, and the dessert wouldn't taste good anymore. She couldn't give something that didn't taste good to Lin Zhengran; it would make him angry.
From a distance, the clerk waved at Xiao Heqing. But the moment she returned to the counter, a newly arrived customer pointed at the white swan while browsing. "This one looks nice. How much is it?"
The clerk smiled. "I'm sorry, this one isn't for sale anymore. It's the last one left this month, and someone has already reserved it. If you'd like to buy it, you can check back next month when we make a fresh batch."
The customer sighed helplessly. "Alright then, I'll look at the others. Just give me this one!" She pointed at a different dessert.
"Sure, I'll pack it up for you." The clerk glanced toward the distance where the little girl had disappeared, then turned around to grab a box.
A week and a half later, the end of the month arrived.
Today, the competitors in the taekwondo hall were incredibly fired up. Although it was just a small internal competition, the promise of prizes had left certain contestants buzzing with excitement.
In the backstage area, Xiao Heqing changed into a snow-white taekwondo uniform and took a deep breath in front of the mirror.
Stepping out of the locker room, she spotted Lin Zhengran sitting on a bench in the audience stands, his arms crossed over his chest. Their eyes met.
In a rare display, Lin Zhengran gave her a thumbs-up.
Xiao Heqing's face flushed red, and she nodded emphatically. She absolutely had to win today! Right here in front of him.