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In Lu Chen's impression, Li Mushi was the kind of beautiful and shrewd modern woman. Setting aside her sexual orientation, this young lady from the Li family, who graduated from Wharton Business School, had a cheerful and generous personality, a keen business sense, and under her control, Mu-Chen-Zhong crowdfunding was thriving and full of vitality.
Lu Chen admired her very much.
However, at this moment, the Li Mushi standing in front of Lu Chen was a completely different image. She resembled a female leopard with bared claws, beautiful yet dangerous!
Especially as Li Mushi stared at Lu Chen, her eyes sparkled with excitement, as if she had spotted a delicious prey and was eager to pounce.
"Ha ha, who is this guy?"
"Challenging our big sister? Isn't that asking for trouble?"
"Do you think this brother really has the courage? He doesn't know how formidable our Mushi is?"
"He definitely doesn't know."
If it were just about size, Lu Chen, who stood over 180 cm tall, would easily overshadow Li Mushi. After long-term consistent training and nutritional supplementation, his physique was quite robust.
Moreover, being a man, onlookers should have been worried about Li Mushi instead.
However, the reality was completely the opposite; the people surrounding the arena looked at Lu Chen with mocking expressions, some even with schadenfreude, and there were hints of pity and sympathy.
Someone recognized Lu Chen: "Hey? Isn't this the Singing China champion Lu Chen?"
"What Singing China? You mean he's a singer?"
"Yeah! He's a singer, and he sings quite well. Have you heard My Old Classmate? That's him."
"Hehe, Sister Mushi is going to crush him!"
Their discussions clearly reached Lu Chen's ears, causing the corners of his mouth to twitch.
So I'm just a singer, huh?
It seems they weren't wrong.
Li Mushi noticed Lu Chen's expression and chuckled, "Don't worry, I'll be gentle."
Lu Chen felt his mouth twitching.
He sighed and said, "Sister Mushi, you can go ahead and make the first move."
Li Mushi's eyes flashed, and suddenly she stepped forward, quickly closing the distance to Lu Chen. She was like a leopard pouncing on its prey in the jungle!
In close proximity, she suddenly swung her right arm, her four fingers straight and together, with her thumb bent tightly against the base of her index finger.
A standard knife-hand strike shot toward Lu Chen's neck, swift and powerful, cutting through the air with a whoosh.
If it were an ordinary person, they probably wouldn't have time to react and would be struck down instantly. It was even possible to faint from the blow!
However, Lu Chen was already on guard.
Without hesitation, he raised his left arm, accurately blocking Li Mushi's knife-hand strike with his elbow, while simultaneously throwing a punch straight at Li Mushi.
Bang!
Li Mushi's knife-hand strike hit Lu Chen's elbow, failing to deliver a decisive blow.
Facing Lu Chen's incoming punch, she nimbly sidestepped, twisting her waist and suddenly leaping into the air, her long right leg flying up in a beautifully executed spinning kick!
The exchanges between them were intense, and Li Mushi's evasive counterattack was spectacular, her flying kick packed with power.
"Good!"
The onlookers around the arena cheered in unison, all of them extremely excited!
In their eyes, Lu Chen was destined to lose; although Li Mushi's skills in free fighting couldn't compare to top experts, defeating a singer would be a piece of cake.
Even though Lu Chen looked quite capable.
Bang!
But to everyone's disappointment, Li Mushi's spinning kick was once again blocked by Lu Chen's raised left arm!
Before her body could descend, Lu Chen sidestepped and threw another punch.
This punch seemed slow but was actually fast, with a silent yet powerful force.
It struck Li Mushi's abdomen mid-air!
With her body in the air, she couldn't dodge, and with a dull thud, she flew out like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily onto the arena several meters away!
The cheers from the audience abruptly stopped, and the onlookers' expressions froze, as if they had seen a ghost!
How could this happen?
In their view, Lu Chen, who dared to challenge Li Mushi, was destined to be beaten badly; it was merely a matter of how long he could hold on, and the outcome was never in doubt. But now, after just a brief exchange, Li Mushi had been knocked down, proving to be utterly defenseless.
This completely overturned everyone's common sense, leaving them in stunned silence! Lu Chen clasped his hands together and smiled faintly, "Sister Mushi, you let me win."
Beneath his smile, however, lay hidden pain. Although he had unexpectedly defeated Li Mushi, Lu Chen was not unscathed; his left arm, which had taken the spinning kick, felt numb and sore, likely injuring his muscles.
Li Mushi struggled to get up, glaring at him with eyes full of embarrassment and indignation. Her right hand pressed against her abdomen— Lu Chen's punch had been quite heavy.
There was no hint of pity. After a moment, she dejectedly said, "I lost."
Miss Li was a proud person; losing meant losing, and she would never go back on her word. But she was truly unwilling to accept it!
Lu Chen secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
To be honest, Li Mushi's foundation was strong, but her eagerness to win led her to attempt a spinning kick without having an absolute advantage, which showed she didn't take him seriously!
The martial skills Lu Chen had mastered came from Mo Ran. Although this actor in the dream world wasn't very famous, he had put in tremendous effort in martial arts training and had plenty of experience in combat, possessing real skills.
Since that day he woke up, Lu Chen had been training diligently, and his physical condition was quite good, with a natural talent in this area. Now, he couldn't say he had fully mastered the techniques, but defeating an overconfident Li Mushi was certainly not a problem.
Given time, Lu Chen could surpass Mo Ran, as he was still very young! If Li Mushi had fought steadily and engaged Lu Chen in a prolonged battle, the outcome would have been uncertain.
Now, she could only swallow the bitter fruit of defeat.
Li Mushi was also someone who could take a loss; she quickly calmed down and raised her head to Lu Chen, saying, "Next time, you won't win so easily!"
Another time?
Lu Chen shook his head, defeating a woman didn't hold much meaning or glory for him. If given the chance, he would prefer to spar with others present here.
Lu Chen's gaze swept over the crowd surrounding the arena; there should be suitable opponents among them. He had a good idea forming in his mind.
However, the timing wasn't right yet.
He stepped down from the arena.
At that moment, the onlookers looked at Lu Chen with entirely different expressions- surprise, awe, and curiosity.
Lu Chen went to the changing room to switch out of his martial arts uniform and back into his own clothes.
After a short while, Li Mushi also arrived.
This young lady from the Li family had completely calmed down, seemingly accepting her crushing defeat to Lu Chen.
However, the spark in her eyes indicated that she wasn't planning to let it go easily.
"Lu Chen, where did you learn your skills?"
Li Mushi was genuinely curious; she had looked through Lu Chen's information, which didn't mention any martial arts training. Yet, the truth was that his skills were quite impressive.
Miss Li felt a dull ache in her abdomen, and her face involuntarily showed a hint of gritted teeth. She had never lost so badly before!
Lu Chen knew Li Mushi was trying to pry into his background, so he smiled and said, "Self-taught." He lightly tapped on the table and asked, "The conditions you agreed to won't change, right?"
Li Mushi huffed, "2000 million to acquire 41% of your shares in Mu-ChenZhong crowdfunding, and you can retain 10% of the non-dilutable founder shares. We'll sign the contract tomorrow!"
"As for your sister…" She shot Lu Chen a glare, "I won't actively seek her out unless she comes to me."
Lu Chen couldn't help but feel joy inside, sincerely saying, "Thank you, Sister Mushi!"
Lu Chen was truly grateful to Li Mushi.
With this money, he could finally pay off all the debts at home.
Not only that, but the remaining funds would also allow him to fulfill a long-held dream! From now on, he would be free of debt, and the sky would be high for him to soar like a bird!
Of course, Li Mushi wouldn't be at a loss either; under her management, the prospects for Mu-ChenZhong crowdfunding were incredibly bright.
Although Lu Chen was transferring most of his shares, he might lose future profits.
But one must learn to be content.
Compared to his contributions, 2000 million was an astonishing return, not to mention retaining 10% of the shares.
Lu Chen felt satisfied. Li Mushi couldn't stand seeing Lu Chen so happy and said, "Don't celebrate too early; I have a condition!"
Lu Chen was taken aback, "What condition?"
Li Mushi replied, "You have to come here a few times every month to train with me, or else…"
Before she could finish, Lu Chen immediately agreed, "No problem! As long as I'm free, I'll definitely come!"
Having such a training venue was simply fantastic! As for being Li Mushi's sparring partner, that was a trivial matter.
Li Mushi was a great opponent. Lu Chen's quick agreement made Li Mushi feel like her plan had fallen through.
This young lady from the Li family felt displeased but had no choice.
She noted to herself— one day, she would get her revenge!
The next afternoon, at the Mu-ChenZhong crowdfunding new company, both parties officially signed the equity transfer agreement.
According to the agreement, the funds for the acquired shares would be transferred to Lu Chen's personal account within three days.
Having resolved this important matter, Lu Chen didn't let his guard down. His career was just beginning!
On the morning of October 10th, Lu Chen arrived at the Flying Stone Record Company in the New Era Art Park.
He was invited by Lin Zhijie to attend the listening session for the title track of the MSN girl group's debut album.
This title track, of course, was written by Lu Chen!
(End of chapter)