weddingnovel Chapter 49 was as bustling as a vegetable market.
Chapter 49 was as bustling as a vegetable market.
At six o'clock sharp, morning exercises officially began. The martial arts students lined up in two rows and started running around the playground. Shen Li followed at the very back of the line, like a tail.
First lap, not bad. Second lap, starting to pant. Third lap, my lungs felt like they were going to explode. Fourth lap, my legs didn't feel like my own. Fifth lap, I felt like I was about to meet my great-grandmother.
By the sixth lap, Shen Li had gone from "running" to "bounce," and from "bounce" to "shuffle."
My legs felt like they were filled with lead, and every step felt like struggling in the mud.
A female student majoring in martial arts walked past him, her steps as light as if she were stepping on springs.
With her hair tied in a high ponytail, wearing a tight-fitting sports vest and yoga pants, her figure was... wow, the muscles sculpted by long-term training were smooth and firm, her buttocks round and perky, and her thighs long and powerful. She glanced back at Shen Li, her eyes filled with a mixture of pity and suppressed laughter.
Shen Li recognized her... Fang Ying. She had seen her before at the entrance of the gymnasium; she was Xiong Rui's junior, a hot girl majoring in martial arts.
At the time, I even labeled him as having "SSR combat power, SSR figure and looks, but not to be touched."
At this moment, this SSR-level hottie is looking at him with the eyes of someone looking at an "endangered animal".
"Are you alright?" Fang Ying slowed down and ran alongside Shen Li.
The full curves of her body, encased in a tight-fitting sports vest, rose and fell gently with her breath, and sweat slid down her collarbone, dripping into that deep, unfathomable cleavage.
Shen Li was panting and couldn't speak, so she could only wave her hand, meaning "Leave me alone, let me die."
Fang Ying's lips curled into a slightly mischievous smile: "It's like this on the first day. Hang in there, don't stop. If you stop, you'll run even slower."
After saying that, she quickened her pace and ran off like the wind. Her round, peach-shaped buttocks, encased in yoga pants, swayed gracefully in the morning light.
Shen Li gritted her teeth, forcibly pulling her attention away from that alluring back view, staring at the track ahead, and moving forward step by step.
Finally, I finished the five-kilometer run.
Shen Li collapsed on the grass by the playground, like a fish that had been pulled ashore, panting heavily.
Sweat soaked through his T-shirt, his hair clung to his forehead, and he looked as disheveled as if he had just been pulled out of the water.
But he's not dead yet. That's enough.
Xiong Rui walked over, squatted down next to him, and handed him a bottle of water: "Not bad, Li'er, you really made it. I thought you'd collapse on the fourth lap."
Shen Li took the water and gulped down half the bottle before catching her breath: "Brother Xiong... you call this... gradual progress?"
"This is already the bare minimum," Xiong Rui grinned. "We usually go eight kilometers."
Shen Li closed her eyes, not wanting to speak.
Next came core strength training. Xiong Rui led him through planks, sit-ups, and push-ups.
Shen Li collapsed in a plank position in less than 30 seconds, couldn't get up after 20 sit-ups, and collapsed to the ground after 8 push-ups.
Xiong Rui didn't force him, letting him rest for a while before continuing. But after each rest, the number of repetitions had to be increased.
"Muscles have to be torn to grow," Xiong Rui explained as he demonstrated. His muscles glistened with sweat in the morning light, each one looking as if it had been sculpted with a knife.
"The pain and soreness you feel now are because your muscle fibers are breaking. Once they're repaired, they'll be thicker and stronger than before. That's the principle behind muscle growth."
Shen Li lay on the ground, feeling her abdominal muscles screaming in agony.
Remembering what Dai Xiao said last night about "muscle soreness and difficulty moving," I thought to myself that Brother Xiao was being conservative. This isn't just "difficulty moving," it's "paralyzed in bed."
But gritting my teeth, I persevered through each group.
Finally, there was flexibility training. Xiong Rui had him do leg presses, hip opening exercises, and stretching.
Shen Li's flexibility was worse than expected; she couldn't even lift her legs to 90 degrees before she was in pain and grimaced.
Xiong Rui pressed down on his back to help him, and Shen Li felt like his thigh ligaments were about to break in two.
"Hold on! Ten seconds! Nine, eight, seven..." Xiong Rui counted.
Shen Li was in so much pain that tears were almost streaming down her face, but she didn't utter a sound.
"Three, two, one! Okay!"
Xiong Rui released his grip, and Shen Li collapsed to the ground, feeling as if her legs no longer belonged to her.
The hour and a half of morning exercises finally ended. Shen Li lay on the grass, watching the sky change from gray to light blue, feeling as if she had survived a life-or-death ordeal.
The martial arts students gradually dispersed. As Fang Ying walked away, she glanced down at them as she passed by.
Sweat dampened the stray hairs on her forehead, plastering them to her smooth skin. Her tight-fitting sports bra, soaked with sweat, became semi-transparent, clinging tightly to her body and outlining her full, rounded curves.
She held a towel in her hand, casually draped it over her shoulder, exuding a kind of post-workout languor and vibrant vitality.
"Are you coming again tomorrow?" she asked, her tone slightly provocative.
Shen Li lay on the ground, looking up at Fang Ying. From this angle, she could see a glimpse of Fang Ying's toned waist peeking out from under her vest, her abs clearly visible. And her two straight, long legs, with smooth, beautiful muscle lines.
"……Come!"
Fang Ying raised an eyebrow, seemingly a little surprised, then smiled and said, "Okay. Don't be late."
After saying that, she tossed her high ponytail and walked away. Her rounded hips, encased in yoga pants, swayed gently with each step, exuding a sense of power in the morning light.
Xiong Rui pulled Shen Li up from the ground: "Come on, let's go have breakfast. We need to replenish our protein after training, otherwise it'll be a waste of time."
In the cafeteria, Shen Li moved like a disabled person, carrying her tray step by step. Her legs ached and trembled, she couldn't lift her arms, and even holding chopsticks was difficult.
Xiong Rui bought him four eggs, two cups of soy milk, and three meat buns, and pushed them in front of him: "Eat."
Shen Li stared at the pile of food, stunned: "Brother Xiong, I can't eat this much."
"You have to eat, even if you can't. With your current physique, if you want to gain weight, you have to eat like crazy." Xiong Rui peeled an egg and swallowed it in one gulp. "Building muscle is 30% training and 70% diet. If you only train and don't eat, you'll just get thinner and thinner."
Shen Li forced herself to start eating. By the time she got to the second bun, she felt like her stomach was about to burst. But she gritted her teeth and stuffed in the third bun.
After finishing breakfast, Shen Li, like a pregnant woman, leaned against the wall as she walked out of the cafeteria. Xiong Rui had gone back to the martial arts hall for training, and Shen Li trudged back to her dormitory alone.
On the way back, I took out my phone and opened the "Film City Extras Daily Pay Group 1" to start observing.
Goodness, since 6:30, the group has already received over 300 messages. Announcements, order grabbing, confirmations, casual chat—it's as lively as a market.
Shen Li scrolled down the list one by one and saw several suitable jobs... "Student in the Republic of China era", "Modern white-collar worker", "Scholar in ancient costume"...
He felt he might be able to handle these few, but he couldn't rush to take them now; he needed to observe them further.