08 and 09 scrambled back to their feet and quickly reformed their team.

Seeing that 10 was still on the ground, struggling to get up, they hurried over to help her.

Only then did 10 manage to stand. Tears streamed down her face like broken beads, falling without end.

But Zhou Yichen showed no trace of pity. His voice snapped like a whip.

“What’s going on with your group? And 10—why are you crying?!”

The sharp rebuke made 10 swallow hard. She almost hiccupped from the shock, forcing her tears back down.

“I… I… my physical strength isn’t enough… I can’t support the weight of two teammates… I—”

Her fingers twisted together nervously, her head hanging so low it nearly touched her chest.

Zhou Yichen’s brows knit tightly.

“You knew you couldn’t handle it and still forced yourself? What, were you trying to drop your teammates on purpose?!”

“I wasn’t… I didn’t mean to… I—”

Panic and grievance surged at once, and her tears broke loose again.

“Excuses!” Zhou Yichen cut her off mercilessly. “If they hadn’t reacted fast, a fall from that height would’ve seriously injured them! You knew that outcome—so why didn’t you speak up and say you couldn’t handle it?!”

10 froze, stunned speechless for a long moment before stammering weakly,

“If I said I couldn’t handle it… that would’ve been… that would’ve been taking advantage of them…”

“Taking advantage?” Zhou Yichen shot back immediately. “And letting them fall—that’s not taking advantage?”

10 swallowed hard, finally bowing her head in defeat.

“…I’m sorry. My mistake caused trouble for the team.”

But Zhou Yichen didn’t let it end there. He turned her failure into a live lesson for everyone.

“Take this as a warning!” his voice rang out across the courtyard. “If you don’t have the ability, don’t force it! Puffing yourself up just hurts everyone in the end—including yourself!”

“If you know you can’t do it, speak up! Don’t dig pits for your teammates to fall into! In real combat, that kind of mistake can cost lives!”

“Teamwork has only one goal—win together. Don’t come at me with nonsense about who’s losing out or who’s gaining! The capable step up, the incapable step aside. Don’t get in the way!”

When he finished, he didn’t even look at 10’s expression anymore. Instead, his sharp gaze—like a blade—shifted to another female bodyguard, 05.

“05. Can you handle it? If not, say it now.”

05 straightened immediately. “I can support two teammates. And if I start to struggle, I’ll speak up right away.”

Zhou Yichen gave a short nod, sweeping his gaze across the group.

“Training continues!”

“Back in formation!”

The cooperative climbing drill resumed.

Tang Xiaoman watched the entire exchange with interest, then couldn’t help but praise him.

“You’re really professional. With that presence, you must’ve been a drill instructor in the military before, right?”

Zhou Yichen didn’t respond immediately.

A complex emotion flickered in his deep, dark eyes—something unreadable, something he clearly didn’t want to revisit.

Sensing the topic might have touched a nerve, Tang Xiaoman smoothly changed direction.

“How about dumplings for lunch?”

Zhou Yichen: “……”

He paused for a long moment.

“…Alright.”

Tang Xiaoman blinked.

“…Yeah, this conversation is going nowhere.”

She was only trying to compliment him sincerely. That was all.

Zhou Yichen’s abilities had exceeded her expectations—like stumbling across a national treasure at a roadside stall. Naturally, she handled him with a little more care.

But his attitude toward her remained polite… and guarded. He kept his distance, as though wary of getting too close.

Maybe he had already sensed her secrets and feared she might silence him. Or maybe it was because she had once openly praised 01’s physique, and he’d misunderstood her as someone with questionable taste in men, keeping her at arm’s length ever since.

Tang Xiaoman rubbed her nose awkwardly.

“I’ll go get the frozen pork to thaw. It’ll be easier to make dumplings that way.”

*

In the main kitchen, Tang Xiaoman brought out a dough mixer from her space.

Unexpectedly, Lu Jingming followed her in right after.

“Hm? When did you get this dough mixer? I didn’t record it in the ledger.”

He sounded genuinely troubled—like he’d failed in his duty.

Tang Xiaoman reassured him casually, “We’ve got too many supplies. Missing a few entries is normal.”

Lu Jingming immediately pulled out his phone, opened the synced electronic ledger, and recorded the mixer on the spot.

Tang Xiaoman then placed a large slab of frozen pork—over forty catties—into a sink filled with water to thaw.

Lu Jingming promptly added the stock-out record.

Tang Xiaoman: “……”

This man really takes accounting seriously.

“Dr. Lu, could you help knead the dough with the mixer? We’re making dumplings for lunch.”

She handed him the instruction manual.

Lu Jingming waved it off.

“No need. I know how to use all kitchen appliances.”

His wife had passed away early, leaving him to raise his daughter alone. Over the years, he had long since become proficient in cooking and familiar with every tool in the kitchen.

Tang Xiaoman’s eyes lit up.

“Then from now on, you can be our culinary instructor.”

Lu Jingming, suddenly promoted again: “……”

*

Tang Xiaoman formed a temporary training team with Zhou Yichen and 01 for the cooperative climbing drill. Little Shanshan stood nearby as their cheerleader.

When the other bodyguards saw their boss, the team leader, and the deputy team leader forming a group, their interest was instantly piqued. Training was paused as everyone gathered to watch.

At the command, 01—the strongest among them—braced himself against the wall, arms extended.

Zhou Yichen sprang up first, stepping onto his shoulders and pressing against the wall above.

Tang Xiaoman followed right after.

Her slender frame moved like a swift, agile dragon. She stepped lightly on 01’s and then Zhou Yichen’s shoulders in rapid succession, climbing to over four meters in seconds.

Then she leapt.

Her pale, delicate hand latched firmly onto the steel beam above—nearly six meters high.

The entire team stared, dumbfounded.

None of them had expected their boss to be this capable.

She looked like a refined, fragile rich lady who couldn’t even lift a bucket of water—but her explosiveness and agility were on an entirely different level.

She had just posted the best result of any team in the entire training session.

Shanshan waved her colorful balloon and cheered loudly.

“Sis Xiaoman is amazing!”

Only then did the rest of the team snap out of it, erupting into applause and cheers.

But according to the training rules, the real challenge still lay ahead: Zhou Yichen and 01 had yet to complete their portion.

Because this was a cooperative climb, the final score was the average of all three members—not the best individual result.

Even if one person performed perfectly, the team would still fail if the others couldn’t match up.

So all eyes turned back to the two men.

How were they supposed to climb now?

Tang Xiaoman was even more slender than 10 had been earlier.

Surely she couldn’t act as a human ladder for two grown men?

01 was the most muscular among them—nearly 1.91 meters tall and close to 200 pounds.

Zhou Yichen wasn’t far behind either: 1.87 meters, lean but powerfully built, around 178 pounds.

Together, the two men weighed close to four hundred pounds.

And Tang Xiaoman’s small frame…

How on earth was she supposed to hold them up?