Chapter Ten: Winning People Over Through Virtue
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By the time Wei Lin changed into his workout clothes and went downstairs to find An Xin, he saw the little chubby guy clutching his fitness test report, wailing in despair: "Lose weight! I must really lose weight!"
On the bench nearby lay a gym bag, a water bottle, a sports towel, and a newly issued gym membership card.
The efficiency of a dedicated couch potato was astonishing!
“Coach He, I’ve always been lazy and need someone to keep me on track with workouts, or else I won’t stick with it,” An Xin said, shamelessly pleading as he circled around He Jingxuan.
“My brother and I have overlapping workout times. You probably won’t have time to train me. Could you arrange a professional coach for me as well?” he added with a sly glance.
He Jingxuan, who had unexpectedly secured a lucrative three-year membership deal, noticed An Xin’s intent to hire a personal trainer and his specific mention of conflicting times with Wei Lin. She suddenly recalled a helpful tip from Cao Jingrong.
“Let me arrange a coach for you. How about trying a trial session first?” He Jingxuan offered.
“Great! Perfect!” An Xin nodded eagerly, darting his eyes around and sneakily eyeing two female trainers in their work uniforms across the room.
“Brother Cao!” He Jingxuan called out.
In the equipment area, Cao Jingrong, who had just finished leg exercises and was stretching, greeted them with a bright smile.
“He’s no good! He looks a bit skinny, not enough muscle!” An Xin shook his head vigorously before Cao Jingrong could approach, speaking with mock seriousness, “I want a professional!”
He Jingxuan smiled apologetically at Cao Jingrong, who, understanding the hint, laughed it off and walked away.
“Brother Hong, do you have any classes now?” He Jingxuan asked, turning to another muscular colleague.
“I only have classes at night. I’m free now,” Hong Biao replied in his deep voice.
“He’s no good either! He’s too big and kind of scary-looking!” An Xin quickly shook his head, coughing awkwardly. “I want someone with some muscle, but not too much.”
He Jingxuan pondered carefully over who to call next.
“How about a female coach?”
Wei Lin, who had long seen through An Xin’s intentions, bought two bottles of sugar-free cola from the vending machine, handed one to An Xin, and said, “The female trainers here are pretty professional. How about trying one?”
“Okay, I guess that’ll do,” An Xin said reluctantly.
He Jingxuan was stunned.
Even the most naive could see that An Xin just wanted a female coach. She silently cursed him: “Cut from the same cloth!”
Previously, she had thought An Xin shy and timid, but now she found an indescribable sleaziness about the little chubby guy.
Originally intending to assign Zhao Jie to An Xin, He Jingxuan suddenly recalled Cao Jingrong’s words and called another female colleague: “Xiao Rou, are you free? A member specifically requested a female coach.”
The chubby guy vehemently denied, “It’s not a request! I just think a mixed-gender pairing makes training less tiring!”
He Jingxuan bit her lip without responding.
Moments later, Yu Xiaorou, who had been hiding somewhere, came rushing over with great enthusiasm.
“Here I am! Who? Who requested a female coach?”
Despite her name, Yu Xiaorou was a typical bold and lively northern girl, tall and strikingly beautiful, though her skin was a bit rough.
As soon as she arrived, she fixed her gaze on An Xin: “Are you the one who wants a female coach?”
Because her voice was so loud, all the gym members nearby and the trainers leading classes turned their attention to An Xin.
“Pervert bringing a pervert.”
“The friend he brought is just as bad as him!”
“Stop making that face!”
The gym was filled with sneers and jeers.
“It’s not me! It’s my brother who insisted on a female coach for me,” An Xin blushed furiously and pointed at Wei Lin, trying to defend himself. “I just said I want a professional, but he insisted…”
“I am professional!” Yu Xiaorou grabbed his arm and dragged him toward the fixed machines. “Let me see your fitness test report. I’ll make a good plan for you.”
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“Hei, Wei, your brother... is quite cute,” He Jingxuan said, choosing her words carefully.
“I think so too,” Wei Lin said, stifling a laugh as he wished he could squeeze An Xin to death, quickly changing the subject: “What are we training today?”
“Back muscles.”
“Alright.”
...
Health is the foundation of revolution.
Wei Lin had always agreed with this saying, and after experiencing some health issues, he believed it even more deeply.
Among all sports, basketball was Wei Lin’s greatest passion, and he had quite the skill.
In his freshman year, he had briefly been on the school team.
Standing at 6’0”, he played point guard and was known for his excellent passing.
His athletic ability was average—speed, jumping, strength were nothing special—but his basketball IQ was high, with a strong sense of strategy.
Unfortunately, in his sophomore year, a group of elite athletes from the sports school came to campus, and taller, stronger underclassmen replaced him on the team.
Throughout his school years, Wei Lin had mastered bodyweight exercises like push-ups, dips, pull-ups, and was quite proficient at them.
“I used to be able to do over twenty pull-ups,” he said, stepping onto a bench and grabbing the pull-up bar, pulling with all his might.
His body did not move an inch.
“Uh…”
Embarrassed, Wei Lin blushed when He Jingxuan barely suppressed a smile. “I haven’t touched a pull-up bar for years since graduation. I’m rusty.”
“No worries. Then we’ll start with lat pulldowns. Since you’ve had some training before, your muscles will adapt quickly. Soon you’ll be able to do pull-ups again.”
He Jingxuan turned and walked to another machine.
“Mr. Wei, I’ll demonstrate for you.”
“Lat pulldowns can be done with a pronated or supinated grip. Both train your back, but different muscle groups.”
“With a supinated grip, the biceps are more involved, but the main target is still the latissimus dorsi.”
“With a pronated grip, the teres major and minor do more work, and the upper trapezius is also engaged.”
“When seated, you can lean back slightly. Watch, I’ll show you.”
...
The young coach was very professional, demonstrating both grips carefully and methodically.
Every time the bar descended to her chest, it lightly brushed against her prominent chest, causing a subtle ripple of movement.
“Clang! Clang!”
Wei Lin kept his eyes fixed on the coach’s form, pretending to concentrate, when a loud clash came from the adjacent lat pulldown station.
Yesterday’s bald guy slammed the weight plates down and was mimicking the same pronated pulldown.
This burly man in his forties was muscular, with exaggerated tattoos on his thick, bare arms, and a face full of roughness twisted into a mocking grin.
Noticing Wei Lin and He Jingxuan looking over, the man grinned broadly. “Strength training means pushing heavy weights hard. That’s how muscles grow.”
Wei Lin smiled politely.
He Jingxuan nodded subtly. “What he says is true. Under proper form, you do need to progressively overload with heavier weights.”
The coach had just mentioned “proper form,” implying the bald man’s technique wasn’t exactly spot-on.
The bald guy chuckled, seemingly missing the hint, and scrolled through short videos on his phone during his rest.
Wei Lin glanced and saw videos of muscular men training, interspersed with clips of buxom fitness models posing.
When Wei Lin peeked at the screen, the bald man quickly swiped away the video featuring a busty woman.
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But the next video was of a curvy woman dancing cheerfully.
The bald man cursed silently, shifted his stance, turning his front toward Wei Lin and He Jingxuan, holding the phone with its back facing Wei Lin.
“Mr. Wei, you try now, start with the supinated grip.”
He Jingxuan stepped aside, inviting Wei Lin to sit down. She adjusted the plates to lower the weight. “At first, focus on feeling the muscle engagement. Don’t rush to add weight. Once your form is good, you can gradually increase the load.”
“Okay.”
Under the coach’s guidance, Wei Lin learned the movements with care: lat pulldowns, seated cable rows, dumbbell rows.
The bald man nearby performed the same exercises, often lifting several times more weight than Wei Lin, causing the machines to clang loudly.
His tone was full of mockery.
The hour passed quickly. Wei Lin, inexperienced in resistance training, truly felt his lack of strength.
As a man, he was slightly humbled to find he couldn’t lift as much as He Jingxuan, and quietly resolved to frequent the gym more and build up his body.
“If you’re free, Mr. Wei, you can book a class at this time tomorrow,” the young coach said with more confidence after seeing no inappropriate behavior.
“Tomorrow, we can work on chest or legs.”
“No problem.”
Surveying An Xin’s location, Wei Lin caught sight of the chubby guy engrossed with another female coach and couldn’t help but smile to himself as he headed upstairs.
...
Upstairs, the locker room.
“I’m Jin Changhong, a used car dealer. If you need anything in this area, come find me,” the bald man said, handing Wei Lin a business card and offering a cigarette as soon as he saw him enter.
Behind him, a bright “No Smoking” sign hung on the wall, but the man clearly didn’t see it.
Wei Lin took the card, glanced at it, and pocketed it without taking the cigarette. “I’ve had some chest discomfort lately, so I’m avoiding smoking. Your strength is impressive though.”
“Ha ha!” Jin Changhong laughed like a thunderclap but waved his hand modestly. “Been training for over ten years. Barely passed 600 on the big three lifts—not much.”
Squat, bench press, and deadlift combined totals over 500 kg mark elite lifters, and surpassing 600 is extremely rare—often just a handful in a gym.
Having just been briefed on basic training knowledge by He Jingxuan, Wei Lin felt genuine respect. “You’re amazing, sir. I admire that.”
“No big deal, ha ha,” Jin Changhong said humbly as he stood to change, receiving admiring glances from others in the locker room.
As they faced their lockers, undressing and searching for toiletries, Jin Changhong grabbed a towel and turned to head to the shower just as Wei Lin turned around.
The two men found themselves naked and facing each other.
The bald man naturally glanced down at Wei Lin’s groin and thought to himself, “Holy crap!”
Looking down at himself, he quickly covered himself with his towel, his expression stiff as he walked toward the showers.
Several other muscular men changing nearby also exclaimed, “Holy crap!” when Wei Lin turned, then discreetly covered themselves with towels.
...