Chapter 153: Fitness Club
After lunch at the cafeteria, An Han’s mind was completely filled with thoughts about money.
Her monthly allowance was 2,000 yuan, enough for daily needs. But renting a place outside required a deposit, plus commercial water and electricity rates. She couldn’t afford all the expenses for the first month.
She could barely manage it, but she didn’t want to spend her days eating plain noodles and boiled water.
Borrow money from Su Peng?
Her eyes fell on him, but she couldn’t bring herself to ask.
None of her other close friends were rich. Borrowing a few dozen yuan was fine, but a few hundred? That would be too much.
Asking her family for money wasn’t an option either. Every time she called home, her mom always complained about how broke they were, and besides, she didn’t even have a good reason to ask.
The path from the cafeteria to the dorm passed a big open square, the same place where events like “Top Ten Singers” and e-sports competitions were usually held.
Now, that square was filled with parasols, tables, and chairs. Posters stood in neat rows, and students eagerly handed out flyers to passersby.
“What’s going on here?”
“It’s the club fair for new students.”
“Oh~”
An Han nodded thoughtfully, scanning the area. Past the cosplay from the anime club, past the skating tricks from the roller-skating club, and past the guitar club’s small performance.
Suddenly, something came to mind. Her eyes lit up, and she turned and ran toward a corner of the square.
Su Peng quickly followed her. After a moment, he caught up with her under a big banyan tree.
“Be careful,” An Han suddenly stopped and grabbed his wrist, pulling him into the shadows. “Just wait, you’ll see something fun.”
“That’s the fitness club?”
“Yep!”
A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes, and her lips curled into a wide grin. “Looks like Long Xing showed up this year too.”
The fitness club’s booth had only two tables. Because it was under the tree, they didn’t even bother with parasols. A half-height poster with the big words ‘Fitness Club’ stood beside them.
Sitting at the table were Wang Yu, expressionless as always, and Long Xing, who had his face buried in his arms on the desk.
“Do you know the fitness club’s tradition?” An Han stood on tiptoe, peeking in that direction with great interest.
“I think… I’ve heard something?” Su Peng tried to recall.
“Every year during club recruitment, they pick a few members with the best physiques to be in charge of…”
She paused before finishing, her tone full of smug satisfaction. “That’s why Wang Yu keeps trying to get me to join the gym, but I’ve never been interested.”
“What’s wrong with being in charge of recruiting?”
“You’ll see for yourself.”
She glanced at a nearby vending machine, hurried over to buy a bottle of cola, then hesitated, and bought another one for Su Peng too.
Paying back favors, she thought, should start with small things.
Otherwise, she’d never finish repaying Su Peng for everything he’d done.
And from now on, she shouldn’t try to take advantage of his kindness anymore…
An Han jogged back to Su Peng and handed him the cola. “Here.”
“Thanks.” It was just a 3-yuan cola, but Su Peng’s smile softened, clearly in a good mood.
At that moment, something was happening over at the fitness club booth.
First, Wang Yu stood up. Still wearing that cold, stoic expression. He silently took off his shirt, leaving only a pair of tight shorts on.
He walked to the poster and suddenly flexed. The muscles on his upper body bulged sharply, and then he raised both arms over his head, striking a classic bodybuilder pose.
“Pfft!”
An Han burst out laughing. Wang Yu’s cold, serious face matched with such an embarrassing pose. The contrast was just too funny to hold back her laughter.
“But his body is really nice though~”
Su Peng silently took a step forward, blocking her view.
“Why are you blocking me? Brother Long is about to perform too!”
An Han leaned sideways, peeking out from behind Su Peng. “But actually, yeah, you should block me a bit, if Brother Long sees me, he’ll totally chicken out.”
Wang Yu’s performance didn’t attract many girls. Instead, a few guys gathered a few meters away, pointing at him and whispering. Some with admiration, others probably thinking he’d lost his mind.
A moment later, Long Xing finally gathered his courage, stood up, and also took off his shirt.
His face was obviously red, full of embarrassment, but his strong build and tattooed arm gave off the vibe of a gangster boss.
An Han burst out laughing again, so hard she could barely stay standing.
“So when you joined the fitness club in your first year,” Su Peng turned to look at her still laughing, “they did this kind of show too? What were you even thinking back then?”
Her smile froze, and she looked up, muttering, “I thought the atmosphere was kinda fun back then… a bit stupid, but funny. And honestly, I really wanted to work out.”
“Mainly because of those muscles! They’re amazing!” She got excited again, eyes sparkling as she pointed at Long Xing. “See? Overtraining really does attract men!”
Su Peng looked at her flushed, excited face and began to suspect she simply liked muscular guys.
Thankfully, even though his own muscles weren’t that obvious, his years of martial arts training gave him a strong, lean build. With a bit more focus, he could probably catch up to Long Xing soon enough.
“Brother Long’s face is as red as a monkey’s butt!”
An Han pulled out her phone, snapping several photos of him before turning the camera toward Wang Yu. “Better take a few of both, I can use them for blackmail later.”
Even though their bodybuilding performance looked ridiculous during a club fair instead of an actual bodybuilding contest, it definitely drew a lot of attention from the new students. Within just ten minutes, An Han realized the crowd had grown so thick that she couldn’t see Long Xing’s embarrassed face anymore.
“What a pity.”
If she tried to push forward, Long Xing would probably cover his face and run away. But honestly, that might be fun to watch too.
She turned toward Su Peng, about to suggest they head back, but then noticed. He had somehow taken off his jacket and rolled his short sleeves up to his shoulders, showing off his toned biceps and well-defined muscles.
Compared to the fitness guys’ bodybuilding muscles, Su Peng’s were more practical and lean, like Bruce Lee’s, and much more in line with normal people’s sense of attractiveness.
“Let’s go, there’s nothing more to see.” She didn’t think much of Su Peng’s little show-off moment, gave him a quick glance, then turned her attention to other clubs’ performances as she walked toward the dorms.
Su Peng didn’t say anything, just walked beside her, subtly flexing his arms as they swung.
“By the way, you’re in the martial arts club, right? That’s a thing here?”
“I didn’t join any club.”
“No wonder you can’t find a girlfriend… When I was a freshman, I joined the fitness club and got one!” An Han proudly tilted her head back, bragging about her one and only relationship. “Too bad I couldn’t beat her, she used to hit me for no reason every day, so we broke up.”
Su Peng glanced at her small frame, imagining what that gym girl must have looked like.
“Don’t tell me you’ve never even had a first love? Wait, no, you used to hang out off-campus in middle and high school, right? You must’ve dated someone…”
Whether he had or not, Su Peng instinctively replied, “No.”
“Wow, that’s so lame!”