Lin Wan smiled and said, “Let’s wait until autumn or winter. Tanzania will be in spring then, the season when everything comes back to life. The scenery is beautiful, and there are plenty of animals.”
The last trip to Africa had been great fun. Lin Wan had always wanted to go again. Compared to the Amazon rainforest in South America, the parts of Africa she had visited appealed to her far more.
Zhao Xiaodao said, “I’ve always wanted to see the vast African savanna too. I only ever saw it on wildlife programmes before. Once I had money, I never had time. And the security there isn’t as good as at home, so I was afraid something might go wrong. But with Sister Wan there, it’s fine. I can just follow along and enjoy the benefits.”
Lin Wan took a sip of coffee. “Just don’t start filming again when the time comes.”
“Of course I won’t!”
In the past, as she grew older, Zhao Xiaodao had felt quite anxious. Now, after taking a beauty pill that gave her an extra ten years, she was in no rush at all.
…
Midday arrived quickly. Everyone drove to Flower Language Private Kitchen and had lunch.
During the meal, they received a message from Zhang Weili. In the afternoon, they went straight to the arena and found her resting.
“We’re not disturbing you, are we?” Zhao Xiaodao asked. “You have your title defence tonight. You need proper rest.”
Zhang Weili, sitting on the sofa, replied, “I’m resting now, aren’t I? I can’t sleep the whole time. Sleeping too long relaxes the muscles too much, which isn’t good.”
Her coaching team had all seen Zhang Weili completely dominated by Lin Wan before, so they were very warm towards the group now.
“No one knows what’s happened to Weili lately. She’s had another growth spurt in strength recently. Power, speed, endurance, and strike resistance have all improved again,” her coach said with a cheerful grin. “In pure ability, Weili is definitely superior to her opponent. As long as she’s careful not to let the opponent gain a dominant position, winning should not be difficult.”
Lin Wan nodded. She had studied mixed martial arts and knew it was not just about raw stats on paper. When fighters were closely matched, tactics mattered a great deal.
Zhang Weili had once made a tactical error and been quickly submitted.
Zhang Weili’s expression grew serious. She nodded. “Don’t worry. I won’t repeat that mistake. And…”
She looked at Lu Zheng and Lin Wan, smiling with sincere yet fierce confidence. “In raw strength, I’m far stronger than Carla.”
Lu Zheng gave a thumbs up. “Brilliant. Aim to finish it in one minute. Then we’ll all go for late-night snacks. My treat.”
Everyone, “…”
…
In the past, UFC had not enjoyed a wide audience in China. Even the men’s division struggled, let alone the women’s, since many people did not even know a women’s division existed for some sports.
Yet Zhang Weili had emerged from UFC. Because of her, many ordinary Chinese people first learned about the competition.
So UFC occasionally held her fights in China, with full promotion and marketing.
Women’s bouts drew less attention than men’s. Tickets sold elsewhere brought little money. Holding them in China was better, treating it as advertising.
…
Just after seven in the evening, the event was about to begin.
Haicheng Arena was packed. Every ticket for this card had sold out.
The group met Huang Xiumin, who had just finished work, at the arena entrance, then entered together after scanning tickets.
As expected, a couple occupied the seats next to Lin Wan. After polite requests, they swapped without fuss, since Lu Zheng’s tickets were also front-row, just in a different section.
“So one event actually has five fights!” Huang Xiumin said as she sat down, looking at the programme booklet, her wording a little awkward.
She meant that tonight ten fighters would compete in sequence across five bouts.
“If it was just two people fighting, it would be far too short,” Lin Wan explained. “Each round is five minutes. Title fights can go to five rounds, regular bouts only three.”
“That assumes all rounds are completed,” Li Ying added. She had looked up the UFC rules. “Knockouts exist too.”
“I see. So Zhang Weili is in the fifth fight?” Huang Xiumin asked.
“Yes,” Lin Wan nodded. “The first four are the prelims.”
“So many cameras!”
“Hey, why are they pointing at us?”
“Xiaodao’s been recognised!”
At that moment, the big screen showed a close-up of Zhao Xiaodao in her baseball cap and mask.
“They recognised her even like that?”
“The cameraman must be a die-hard fan of Xiaodao.”
Zhao Xiaodao removed her mask and waved generously towards the camera, prompting waves of cheers.
It was the first time Chinese fight fans had seen a celebrity at a live event.
“Bloody hell! Zhao Xiaodao?”
“What’s she doing here?”
“What’s going on? A domestic actor who likes combat sports?”
“She’s not here to ride the hype, is she?”
“Ride what hype! Does Zhao Xiaodao need to ride hype?”
“Pfft. Zhang Weili winning a title gets top headlines on certain apps. Which entertainment star has ever managed that?”
“Pfft! Those headlines wouldn’t even mention Zhao Xiaodao!”
“You lot are fake fans. Don’t you know Zhao Xiaodao and Zhang Weili are good friends? They follow each other on certain blogs and interact often.”
“Huh? Really?”
“That Northeast tiger incident. Hey, look at the woman next to Zhao Xiaodao. Isn’t she the one who took down a Northeast tiger bare-handed?”
Although it was a UFC event, the big screen had first focused on Zhao Xiaodao. Afterwards, front-row spectators spotted her seat and also noticed Lin Wan beside her.
Those who came to watch fights were naturally combat sports fans. Zhang Weili had spoken about the Northeast tiger incident, so many who remembered recognised Lin Wan.
This time, Lin Wan wore no mask.
“Bloody hell, she’s stunning!”
“So beautiful and so tough?”
“But she probably wouldn’t step into the octagon. Otherwise, why isn’t she in UFC?”
“Heh. Who do you think wins bare-handed against a tiger: Zhang Weili or her?”
“Um… I think it depends on whether the tiger’s hungry.”
“Hahaha. That woman can knock a tiger flying. Terrifying.”
“Then why doesn’t she come claim a gold belt? Looks down on it?”
“You know, she probably does. Zhao Xiaodao said she doesn’t need money, doesn’t want fame. Last time with Zhao Xiaodao was just friends travelling together, not her bodyguard.”
“Bloody hell. Rich, beautiful, and can fight. Rich lady, I’m starving!”
“Open your titanium dog eyes. Look at the bloke next to her.”
“Bloody hell!”
“They’re whispering sweet nothings?”
“Don’t any of you stop me. I’m going to challenge him to the octagon… Bloody hell, someone pull me back!”
