Chapter Thirty: The Contest

The next morning, the five families gathered at the village entrance. After a simple breakfast, they set off together with the entire production crew to return to Changsha.

Upon arriving, everyone headed straight to the Xiangnan Satellite TV building for interviews required by the program. By the afternoon, the families went their separate ways.

Though “separate ways” isn’t quite accurate. Four of the five families lived in Yanjing, the capital, so they simply booked the same flight home. Only Lin Shaohua and his son Lin Qisan, who lived in Donghai City on the southeast coast, took a different route. At the Xiangnan airport, the Yanjing families bid farewell to Lin and his son. Then, when they reached Yanjing airport, those four families parted ways as well. Over the two days spent together, a warm camaraderie had formed. The entertainment industry, after all, values friendships and connections. Before parting, the fathers exchanged contact information and agreed to organize private gatherings outside the program to maintain the bond between their two generations.

Each family returned to their usual lives. It was thought the next reunion would be at the program’s second filming half a month later. Unexpectedly, just three days after the show ended, Xiao Siqi received a call from Zhao Tao, inviting several families for a weekend get-together.

The cause was Zhao Rui and Xiao Yao’s earlier sparring agreement. When they exited the escape room, Zhao Rui's challenge to spar was just a casual comment. But the next morning, Zhao Tao mentioned that he thought Zhao Rui couldn’t beat Xiao Yao. Feeling provoked, Zhao Rui insisted on a duel. Not only did he re-challenge Xiao Yao at the market, but afterwards he kept pestering Zhao Tao to help arrange a one-on-one fight.

At first, Zhao Tao laughed it off as nonsense. But Zhao Rui was serious, saying he had a formal agreement with Xiao Yao, who had promised to spar with him. If Zhao Tao didn’t help arrange it now, they would sneak a fight during the next filming.

Knowing his son’s stubbornness, Zhao Tao had to take it seriously. He couldn’t watch Zhao Rui 24/7, especially since some tasks in upcoming shoots required fathers and sons to work separately. If Zhao Rui and Xiao Yao were caught fighting secretly during filming, it would be problematic. Worse, without adults nearby, injuries could happen. After weighing the options, Zhao Tao thought it better to organize a supervised sparring match with proper protective gear and adults present to keep order.

Zhao Tao immediately called Xiao Siqi, emphasizing that he only agreed to the kids’ antics because Zhao Rui and Xiao Yao had already privately arranged this. Rather than letting them fight secretly during filming, it was better for parents to organize it with safety measures and supervision.

Xiao Siqi didn’t object. It was natural for boys to be competitive, and with adults watching, no serious trouble would arise. Since Xiao Yao had agreed, he just needed to confirm with his son before finalizing the weekend spar.

Xiao Yao admitted he had agreed to spar and was fine with the supervised weekend match. Xiao Siqi quickly agreed to Zhao Tao’s proposal and left the details of time and venue to Zhao Tao.

Emboldened by the confirmation from Xiao Yao, Zhao Rui pushed further. Remembering that Zhou Zhihao, who had practiced boxing at the market, had expressed interest in joining, Zhao Rui asked his father to invite Zhou Lixing and his son too. After the sparring, Zhao Rui wanted to have a boxing match with Zhou Zhihao. Though he was two years older, Zhao Rui practiced martial arts while Zhou Zhihao did boxing. Plus, Zhou Lixing was a world-class boxing champion. Fighting under boxing rules wouldn’t be unfair.

Since it was just two or three kids, Zhao Tao called Zhou Lixing as well. Zhou Lixing, a professional turned career boxer, encouraged a “face challenges head-on” attitude for his son. Upon getting Zhou Zhihao’s enthusiastic consent, Zhou Lixing agreed too.

Of the five families on the show, four lived in Yanjing. Now with three families gathering, they decided to invite Sun Zhihao’s family as well. They would eat together and chat before the children’s sparring began. The Sun family wouldn’t participate but could watch as spectators.

Sun Zhihao wasn’t busy recently and was interested when Zhao Tao called. He told his daughter, who was instantly excited to watch the matches between “Brother Bayi,” “Brother Shitou,” and “Haohhao.”

The four Yanjing families arranged the gathering and courteously informed Lin Shaohua, who lived far away in Donghai. Unexpectedly, Lin Shaohua said he would be in Yanjing on Friday for an event and would have the weekend free. He agreed to come with his son. Though Lin Qisan wasn’t keen on violent activities, he was interested in watching Shitou, Bayi, and Haohhao spar.

With Zhou Lixing and his son joining, Zhou Lixing offered his boxing gym as the venue. Since he was a professional boxer turned trainer, his gym was well-equipped for training. To keep the event private and avoid gossip media exposure, his own place was safest. Closing the gym for a day was no big loss. The gym also had all necessary protective gear, catering to kids who came to learn boxing, thanks to Zhou Lixing’s reputation as a world champion.

The weekend reunion was lively as expected, but with sparring and boxing matches as the main event, the dinner was somewhat casual. They reserved a private room at a high-end restaurant known for privacy and few customers, then drove to Zhou Lixing’s gym.

Zhou Lixing gave a brief tour before leading everyone to the boxing ring at the center.

When Sun Zhihao and Lin Shaohua simultaneously took out camcorders, Zhao Tao laughed and teased, “You guys came prepared just to watch, yet none of the competing parents brought cameras.”

Sun Zhihao chuckled, “This is an important moment in the kids’ growth. As a director, how could I not record it? You’re just too nervous and forgot. But since you said that, don’t expect us to give you copies later.”

“Dream on. If you don’t hand over copies willingly, I’ll charge you for using my son Shitou’s likeness,” Zhao Tao shot back, glaring.

While the fathers bantered, Zhou Lixing helped Xiao Yao and Zhao Rui put on protective gear. Because it was sparring, not boxing matches, they didn’t wear full boxing gloves or have bandaged hands. Zhou Lixing fitted them with fingerless fighting gloves and helmets for head protection. The main control would come from Zhou Lixing as the referee.

“Duo’er, a quick interview: who do you think will win, Brother Shitou or Brother Bayi?” Sun Zhihao playfully pointed the camcorder at his daughter, acting as a reporter.

“Bayi,” Sun Tingting answered firmly.

“I knew you’d support Bayi,” Sun Zhihao thought silently, then aimed the camera at Zhou Zhihao. “How about you, Haohhao? Guess who’ll win.”

“Shitou will win,” Zhou Zhihao waved his chubby little hand confidently.

“Why?” Sun Zhihao asked.

“Because Shitou looks bigger than Bayi,” Zhou Zhihao replied matter-of-factly.

“Qisan, you? Who do you think will win?” Lin Shaohua pointed his camcorder at his son.

Lin Qisan was about to say Shitou, but recalling when Xiao Yao had thrown him into the mud, he changed his mind and said, “I guess Bayi will win.”

“Alright, the audience vote is two to one, Bayi leads. As for the outcome, let’s wait and see,” Sun Zhihao narrated, flipping the camera to himself before turning it back to the ring, where Xiao Yao and Zhao Rui were ready.

Warmed up, Xiao Yao loosened his shoulders and neck. Normally, his punches weren’t very fast since he focused on forms, so he wasn’t worried about pulling muscles. But since this was a sparring match, he did some joint mobility exercises first. Zhao Rui was visibly excited, bouncing on the ring eagerly.

Referee Zhou Lixing stood between them, serious. “I don’t know how far you’ve trained, but listen carefully: no eye gouging, no throat strikes, no attacks to the groin. Understood?”

Both nodded.

Seeing their understanding, Zhou Lixing shouted, “Begin!” and stepped back.

Xiao Yao shifted his stance left, slightly crouching. His left fist was bent at the elbow, right hand lowered like a claw. His right leg stepped forward, forming the opening posture of the Long Fist style’s “Scoop the Sand from the Sea Bottom.” Zhao Rui charged forward, shouting.

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