Chapter 8: Sweating Buckets

Fang Yuan led Li Hang to a corner of the equipment area and fetched a sturdy chair. He demonstrated a seated resistance-band row slowly, explaining as he moved.

“Relax your shoulders. Use your back instead of pulling hard with your arms. Bring it to your chest, hold for two seconds, and release slowly.”

Li Hang sat down. Fang looped the band around his feet and handed him the ends. Li Hang took a deep breath and pulled as shown. On the first try, the band didn’t budge. On the second, he gritted his teeth and pulled harder; it stretched a little.

“Good. Hold it and feel your back contract.”

His back muscles ached. After five repetitions, his arms began to shake. Fang let him rest for half a minute before moving on to chest presses, which were just as demanding.

Forty-five minutes later, Li Hang looked as if he’d been pulled from a river. His T-shirt clung to him, soaked through, and sweat dripped from his chin into a small puddle on the floor. He sat gasping, his chest heaving, but he hadn’t complained or asked to stop once.

Fang watched in quiet surprise. Of the many heavy clients he’d trained, eight out of ten begged for a break before twenty minutes were up, and the other two slacked off now and then. He’d never seen anyone like Li Hang work through the whole session without a word. It made him more confident he could help him lose weight.

[Shock Points +18]
[Shock Points +6]
[Shock Points +8]

Nearby members had noticed too. A muscular man set down his bench-press bar and nodded toward them. “That big guy’s impressive. He’s been training almost an hour.”

“When he came in, I thought he was just looking around. Didn’t expect him to actually work out.”

“Seriously impressive. I respect that determination.”

Li Hang didn’t notice their looks. He leaned back with his eyes closed, every muscle trembling. Yet within the exhaustion was a strange satisfaction, as though something inside him had been squeezed out little by little.

Fang handed him water. “You can take more than I expected. You should see some weight come off when you weigh yourself tomorrow. If you exercise like this every day and control your diet at home, I don’t think you’ll have trouble losing weight.”

Li Hang opened his eyes and grinned. “I hope so.”

He showered at the gym and changed into loose workout clothes Fang found for him. His own clothes were too wet to wear. The new set was XXL and still tight, but better than the soaked ones.

Fang saw him to the door and reminded him about the meals. “Be downstairs at 6:30 tomorrow morning. Don’t oversleep. And tell me immediately if you feel unwell. I’m online most of the time.”

“I will, Coach. I’ll message you if anything’s wrong.”

Outside, Li Hang waited for a ride. The evening breeze made him feel chilly, but his mind was unusually clear. The system still showed assets of eighty million, and he’d accumulated quite a few Shock Points. He’d decide how to spend them later.

The ride back was uneventful. The driver looked at him twice but didn’t refuse him, perhaps because the workout clothes made it clear he’d been to the gym. The car was also much roomier than the previous one, and Li Hang got in without much difficulty.

Back at the dorm, Shi Xiao turned from his chair. “You’re back, Hang! Did you go to the gym?”

“Yeah, tried it out.” Li Hang tossed his wet clothes into a basin.

“How was it? Tired?”

“Exhausted, but it felt great.”

Xu Haodong looked up from his computer, his gaze lingering briefly on the tight workout clothes. “What did Fang Yuan say?”

“Coach Fang is great. Very professional. He made me a training plan and arranged all three meals. Thanks, Haodong. You found the right person.”

Xu waved it off. “As long as it helps.”

Qiao Chuan looked up from his textbook. “How much?”

“Twenty thousand a month.”

The room fell silent. Shi Xiao nearly dropped his mouse; Qiao stopped turning a page; even Xu raised an eyebrow.

“Twenty thousand?” Shi Xiao’s voice rose. “Where did you get that much? Didn’t you say your family… We should stay within what we can afford. That’s a lot of money.”

“I know, but I think I can manage it.” Li Hang left it vague.

Shi Xiao wanted to ask more, but a look from Xu stopped him. If someone didn’t discuss their family finances, you didn’t keep pressing. It was basic courtesy.

They changed the subject to the freshman meet-and-greet that evening. Shi Xiao perked up. “Do you think there are any pretty girls in our class? The guys next door say the computer science department has more this year than usual.”

Qiao turned a page. “Yes. The one Li Hang confessed to last time was pretty.”

Shi Xiao glanced at Li Hang, who gave a rueful smile and said nothing.

Xu shut his computer and stretched. “Let’s go. We need to be in the classroom at seven.”

They got ready and left together. Li Hang’s large figure was accompanied by three handsome young men of different sorts: Xu tall and striking, Qiao cool and quietly attractive, and Shi of average build but blessed with a cheerful manner. Yes, cheerful was the best Shi could claim.

The group attracted plenty of looks on campus. Some students glanced at Li Hang and looked away; others studied all four. Shi Xiao greeted people from other dorms as they walked, already on familiar terms with many after less than two days.

“Hey, brother, which class are you in? Computer science too?”

[Shock Points +3]
[Shock Points +2]

Li Hang was used to the attention now and walked straight ahead.