Global Film Emperor

Chapter 506 Joy and Anger

"Last set, give it your all, one minute, once we finish our task this morning, we're done. Feet parallel, don't turn your toes out, let's go, start the timer."

With his feet parallel in a horse stance and his buttocks lowered, the two battle ropes were pulled taut. The physical trainer gently pushed Lu Ze's waist with both hands to adjust the angle of maximum core strength. Then, the two thick ropes, each as thick as a wrist and weighing forty pounds, swung rhythmically like deep-fried dough sticks, hitting the plastic floor with loud thuds.

As the rope moved, Lu Ze's face gradually turned from white to red. Even though his breathing remained regular, it inevitably became heavier, producing barely audible gasps. Beads of sweat splattered onto the ground, forming a flower as beautiful as an ice flower, yet quickly dissipating.

"Keep it up, 20 seconds left, hang in there, buddy."

Unfortunately, the physical trainer wasn't a priest, and simple encouragement couldn't give Lu Ze a buff. In the end, Lu Ze still couldn't finish the last set, which had already been halved in time. He knelt on the ground, buried his head in his arms, and gasped for breath.

"That's already very good. Wipe your sweat and get up for a walk."

"No, give me the bucket, quick."

The bucket and bottled water were quickly brought to the table. Lu Ze remained kneeling with his head buried in the bucket. The physical trainer, unfazed, turned and stood silently in the corner, listening to Lu Ze's vomiting sounds. Only after the bottled water used for rinsing his mouth was spat into the bucket did he turn around, gently help Lu Ze up, and arrange for him to lie on the massage bed, where he applied a fascia gun to Lu Ze's arms.

"That's good. It seems we can increase the intensity of training tomorrow."

"Come on, let me rest for a few days. My legs felt really heavy last night, and I couldn't even press the accelerator while driving. I had to crawl home. I have no interest in car accidents."

The human body is very interesting. After each exercise session that makes you vomit, you can withstand the same amount of exercise again. This is a good sign and proof that your body is becoming stronger. But Lu Ze doesn't think so. After all, the physical trainer of Liverpool's first team is really very professional. The amount of exercise he sets for each workout is just enough to keep Lu Ze vomiting. Whether he vomits or not depends entirely on how well he slept last night and how well he ate this morning.

This feeling... was much more agonizing than Lu Ze had imagined. The pain even surpassed the weight gain he experienced while filming "The Boxer". On one hand, his body's recovery ability was indeed declining, not as strong as when he was in his twenties. Every day when he woke up, he felt like he had lost control of his limbs, which were sore and weak.

Secondly, since the goal this time is to lose weight, and since his body fat is not high, the only way is to lose muscle as well. This means that Lu Ze cannot lift weights and can only rely on a lot of cardio to lose weight, which will undoubtedly reduce the fun and will not produce a sense of happiness.

The enjoyment of food has also been greatly reduced. Unlike when you're building muscle, you can eat high-calorie foods. Now, all three meals are green and greasy, and it's hard to find any meat. They make a crunchy sound when you chew them. Although the combination is reasonable and can fully meet the needs of micronutrient supplementation, who would want to eat this stuff?

What's even more terrifying is that doing only aerobic exercise for a long time will lower your metabolism, since it consumes muscle, and muscle is the main driver of metabolism. This will cause Lu Ze's metabolism to become lower and lower, making it harder and harder to lose weight. He can only continue to increase the amount of exercise, creating a vicious cycle.

There is no solution. After all, this is not healthy weight loss, but rather a vicious weight loss that puts a strain on the body. Unless it is stopped, it will only continue to worsen. The physical trainer and nutritionist's responsibility is simply to do their best to ensure Lu Ze's health, nothing more.

"Alright, Mr. Lu, you probably burned 900 to 1000 calories at noon today. You can eat more beef and less carbohydrates at noon. Just don't eat until you're full. See you tonight."

Completely exhausted, he waved goodbye to the strength and conditioning coach like an old man on his deathbed. He closed his eyes to rest, and after an unknown amount of time, he slowly got up and laboriously pushed open the aerobics room door. Instantly, the sound of a passionate man and his iron-willed love filled the air.

He staggered toward the equipment area, sat on an empty sit-up machine, and looked at Kesha surrounded by people, his eyes inadvertently revealing envy.

Ever since the gym's members learned that a muscular man with a 62cm arm circumference started training there, large waves of bodybuilding enthusiasts have been coming to worship the big shot every day, watching this monster, who is over two meters tall, train with heavy weights that they wouldn't even dare to touch, and making remarks that are not something a normal man would say.

Kesha was also nearing the end of his workout, using small dumbbells to squeeze out the last bit of energy from his body. Seeing Lu Ze watching from the side, he packed up his things, said goodbye to the fans, and accompanied Lu Ze back to the locker room.

After a quick wash, they left the gym and were driven back to the company by Kesha. As soon as they entered the compound, they saw Mickey holding a flashlight, leaning over the engine of a 1959 Cadillac DeVille rocket tail. They didn't know what he was doing. When he heard the car, he raised his black, oil-stained face and slammed the hood shut.

This classic vintage car was a collectible in the prop warehouse. However, when Mickey acquired the company, he discovered that the car's engine had long since disappeared, and the chassis and doors were rusted through. So he simply left it to gather dust in the warehouse until he sold ONE-77. Only then did he start thinking about this car. After two weeks of restoration, it finally passed the emissions test and was allowed to legally drive on the road. However, apart from the body shell, everything else was brand new.

What's wrong?

"There are no other problems, it's just that the gearbox shakes a lot when shifting gears. Never mind, I don't understand it. I'll take it to a repair shop tonight and have someone take a look."

He stuffed the flashlight into his pocket, crumpled his oil-soaked gloves into a ball, picked his nose, and remained silent for a long time until he sneezed. Sitting on the hood of the car, he brushed the dust off his jeans, a cigarette dangling from his lips, and said to Lu Ze with a beaming smile, "Leave your car here later, and let Kesha take you home. I'm going to pick up Fanny this afternoon; she might be staying with me for a few days."

Picking up his daughter from school is a very unusual thing for Mickey. It's not that Mickey doesn't want to pick her up, but Elizabeth, as Fanny's guardian, never allows Mickey to disturb their happy family of three—no, now it should be called a family of four, as Elizabeth's due date is at the end of this year.

As a father who orders a kids' meal at fast food restaurants just to get a limited-edition plush toy for his daughter, it would be a complete lie for Mickey to say he didn't want to pick up Fanny. Therefore, when Lu Ze heard Mickey say he was going to pick up his daughter from school, he couldn't help but get excited as a friend.

"That's great! Is this your first time picking Fanny up from school?"

"Um……"

Lu Ze never saw Mickey's expression of both nervousness and excitement. He was naturally thick-skinned and always had a grin on his face, even when standing on the podium. From the perspective of Mickey's best friend, he was dissatisfied with Elizabeth, even though he never showed it on the surface.

She had always believed that Mickey was mentally ill, fearing it was hereditary and that the long-term interaction between father and daughter would cause Fanny to also become insane. This reason sounded ridiculous, but it was hard to laugh when it actually happened to Mickey. Therefore, Lu Ze became curious about why Elizabeth allowed the father and daughter to spend time together.

"Kane cheated on his wife with a married woman. She was caught red-handed by her husband and almost got beaten to death. The two of them are arguing about getting a divorce."

Lu Ze didn't want to ask the reason, but Mickey kept telling him, and his facial expressions were extremely exaggerated, making faces like a mouse that had stolen some sesame oil. This gloating was even transmitted to Lu Ze and Kesha. Lu Ze was still trying his best to control his expression, while Kesha just laughed and patted his belly.

Among Lu Ze's group, no one liked Elizabeth's husband. That son of a bitch of a white man had a title that existed in name only and he put on airs. His greasy "aristocratic" air and arrogant demeanor gave people a hundred thousand reasons to hate him. Everyone was happy that he was in trouble.

"Oh dear~ women, their gambling addiction is much greater than men's. They always place too much hope on relationships that are unlikely to come true. Even if they have already foreseen that the ending may not be good, they still dare to go all in and gamble. This time, she got what she wanted."

He stubbed out his cigarette, his expression neither sad nor happy. Perhaps he really didn't care about what had happened to his daughter's biological mother. He lay on the windshield of the old car, crossed his legs, and gazed at the clear blue sky in Liverpool. The weather in Liverpool was particularly nice today, with warm sunshine. He asked Lu Ze and Kesha a question.

"Where should I take Fanny tonight? The amusement park? The racecourse? Or a three-Michelin-starred restaurant?"

"Have you seen the new movie 'The Decameron'? If not, you can take Jenny to see it. I saw it yesterday, and it's really well made."

Lu Ze occasionally likes to recommend things to his friends. Although it felt a bit abrupt for the father and daughter to watch an art film together, as a child star who debuted in film, he did not doubt that Fanny had the ability to understand movies. So after a little thought, he still chose to recommend it to Mickey. However, he did not expect that as soon as Lu Ze said this, Mickey jumped up.

"You went to see it? Damn! Didn't I send a mass message telling you guys not to go see this movie? I'd rather pay to wipe my ass than go to the cinema and contribute a single penny to its box office."

“I muted the group a long time ago. Who told you and Kesha to keep posting pornographic pictures in the group?”

"No, it was all sent by Mickey. I... I just saved it."

Kesha interrupted, clearly against his will, and subconsciously touched his nose. But this was not the time to pursue the matter. Lu Ze couldn't help but wonder why Mickey, who was in such a good mood, was so sensitive and suddenly flew into a rage when the Decameron was mentioned.

"What? Do you have a grudge against the director of 'The Decameron'?"

"Heh... Do you have a grudge? Not really, I just regret it."

"What do you regret?"

"Why didn't I use an electric drill to drill a hole in his anus when we were fighting back then?"

"..."

(End of this chapter)