2025-12-21 20:26:05
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The Next Day.Morning came without ceremony, Jasper woke before his alarm, the faint gray light slipping through the curtains already enough to pull him from sleep. He lay still for a moment, eyes open, staring at the ceiling as his thoughts arranged themselves in order. The tournament was over. The roadblock, resolved. What lingered wasn’t adrenaline, but something quieter.Expectation.He replayed the previous day briefly—not the fights themselves, but the looks. The way people watched him now. Measured him. Victory had a way of changing how silence felt around a man. It made people listen even when you said nothing.He rose, dressed without haste, and left the apartment while the city was still stretching awake. Oakridge always felt different at this hour—less noise, fewer eyes. It suited him.The drive to the company was smooth. Familiar streets, familiar turns. He didn’t turn on the radio. He preferred the quiet hum of the engine, the steady reminder that things were moving, even
Accepted
The road narrowed just as the last light of evening dipped behind the hills.Jasper noticed the headlights first.They came from ahead, sharp and unmoving, cutting through the dim stretch of asphalt like a warning rather than an accident. Then another pair appeared behind them. And another to the side. The engines were loud enough now to make pretense pointless.The vehicles slowed in unison.The girl felt it before she understood it. That tightening in her chest. That familiar instinct that told her something was wrong, long before words could catch up.“They’re stopping,” she said quietly.Jasper didn’t answer right away. He eased his foot off the accelerator and let the car roll to a controlled halt. His hands stayed steady on the wheel. He didn’t curse. He didn’t sigh. He only looked into the rearview mirror and counted.Five vehicles.He recognized them almost immediately. Not by license plate or color, but by the way they positioned themselves. Too practiced. Too deliberate.“Th
They are blocking us
When Jasper stepped forward, the ambience around the arena changed.Nothing extravagant happened. No sharp sound, no sudden shout from the crowd. But something shifted all the same. It felt like a pause. Like everyone had been holding their breath without knowing it, and only now realized they could let it go.One of the judges noticed his shoulders drop only after they already had.'That was close,' he thought.He leaned back slightly in his seat, fingers pressing into the armrest before slowly easing. His heart was still beating faster than it should. He didn’t like that feeling. He hadn’t liked it the first time it happened years ago, and he didn’t like it now.Too many matches had gone wrong because no one stepped in early enough.Too many excuses had been made afterward.He glanced toward the arena again. If Jasper hadn’t moved when he did, this would have crossed a line. He was sure of it. And once a line like that was crossed, there was no pulling things back.The second judge
Result
The result settled slowly.At first, no one spoke.Jasper stood where he was, chest rising and falling. His arms hung loose by his sides. There was a faint tremor in his hands, not from fear, just exhaustion. The last man had already stepped back. He didn’t argue the outcome. He didn’t need to.The referee looked between them, then raised his hand. “Winner,” he said, voice loud but careful, “Jasper.”The crowd reacted a second later.Murmurs spread. Then louder voices. Some surprised. Some impressed. A few disappointed. Most just confused. They hadn’t expected it to end that way. Jasper hadn’t dominated. He had endured.One of Jasper’s men exhaled. “That was close.”Jasper didn’t respond. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and turned away from the arena center. He didn’t look at the man he’d just beaten. There was no need.The girl stood off to the side. She had been watching the whole time.Her expression didn’t change much. But her shoulders were tense. Her jaw was set tig
He won.
The arena was tense. Every eye was on Jasper and the last man. The two circled each other slowly, neither committing fully, waiting for the other to make the first serious move.“You ready?” the man asked, breathing evenly but visibly tense.“I’ve been ready,” Jasper replied, calm. His eyes never left the man’s, tracking each small movement, each shift of weight.The referee raised his hand. “Continue.”Jasper stepped forward first, throwing a series of small, controlled strikes. The man blocked the first, then the second. He tried to counter, but Jasper stepped back just enough to avoid the blow. Neither moved aggressively. Both tested, measured.“You’re cautious,” the man said, almost a challenge.“I observe,” Jasper replied. “And I wait.”The man swung again, this time with more force. Jasper leaned back, letting the punch glance past him. He countered immediately, a short jab to the man’s chest. The man twisted to the side, avoiding it.“You think too much,” the man said between b
The Last man
The arena was quiet for a moment. Everyone stared at the girl, still panting heavily, her fists trembling slightly. Sweat dripped down her face and arms, soaking the edges of her clothes. No one had expected it, not even her.She had thought herself stronger than Bai Zhe, faster, more prepared. But somehow, a fluke, a small misstep on his part, and she had managed to land a hit that gave her the win. That was all it took. Just one moment, just one mistake, and she took it.The crowd erupted, voices clashing, some cheering her name, some murmuring disbelief. Even some of the men who had doubted her now looked surprised.Bai Zhe stepped back, breathing heavily, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. He nodded slightly toward her. “Lucky,” he said. His voice was calm, steady, but there was a hint of respect in it.She shook her head, exhaling through her nose. “Not luck,” she said. “Skill.” Her voice cracked slightly, tiredness catching up, but she tried to hold onto p
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