Lu Mingfei, why are you slaying dragons if you're not involved!

Chapter 10 If he really has the ability

Lu Mingfei couldn't imagine what the requirements would be.

Because very quickly, after one set, he was too exhausted to think about anything else.

He had a little more stamina after breaking through and upgrading, which gave Lu Mingfei a chance to catch his breath. But the increased weight pushed him to exhaustion again!
Lu Mingfei has now gained the "Stamina Recovery" attribute after reaching LV1 in "Fitness," but this only increases the stamina recovery rate.

This means that he will have more energy after each rest period between sets.

However, the schedule is very precise; it is not rigid and unchangeable, but will be adjusted according to Lu Mingfei's physical condition and implementation status.

Increase the weight as your strength increases, and increase the number of repetitions in each set as your stamina improves. The goal is to push yourself to exhaustion in each set to achieve the best training effect on your muscles!
If the weight and number of reps are insufficient, then you're being lazy and not following the [fitness (muscle building)] plan—get ready for the shock countdown!
Lu Mingfei was afraid of being tired and working hard, but he was even more afraid of pain and death.

Fortunately, after each set, seeing the pop-up message "[Through hard work... your proficiency has increased by 1 point]" gave Lu Mingfei, who had already tasted the benefits, some psychological comfort.

At least it wasn't all torture; there were some gains too!

Driven by the carrot and stick approach, Lu Mingfei didn't think too much about it, nor did he have the energy to daydream; he simply focused on working on the group.

Proficiency +1, Proficiency +1...

However, to others in the gym, Lu Mingfei's performance was quite frightening.

Uncle Chen, who was in charge of guiding Lu Mingfei, felt it the most deeply.

He personally witnessed Lu Mingfei go from "butterfly flapping its wings" when doing a set with one weight, to completing a full round of chest, back, and leg exercises, and then returning to the initial butterfly machine, adding another weight, and finally completing the set perfectly.

Although the increase wasn't much, only 5KG... it only took a little over an hour!
This is not scientific at all.

The effects of exercise on a normal person could never be so obvious or so fast!
Uncle Chen pondered for a long time, watching Lu Mingfei, who was slowly but still constantly "getting stronger"... and thought to himself, "Holy crap."

"Could he have been faking it from the beginning?"

"You were able to act so convincingly that you fooled me?"

Almost the same guess came to Su Xiaoqiang's mind.

What follows is an unconscious denial.

Who is Lu Mingfei?
That jerk, Chen Wenwen's number one devoted simp, is good for nothing except playing StarCraft. He's a complete idiot, a hunchback, skinny, and gives up at the first sign of trouble...

Having been enemies for almost three years, Su Xiaoqiang could come up with so many labels just by thinking about it casually.

If all of this is just an act, then what is Lu Mingfei after?
We can't just wait for an opportunity to "transform into a dragon when the wind blows" and make a name for ourselves, can we?

But if it wasn't an act, how do you explain it?
Su Xiaoqiang was in a state of utter confusion.

The conflict between preconceived notions and what one sees with one's own eyes is bound to be hard to accept for a while, but what disturbs her mind the most is undoubtedly Lu Mingfei's slow but steady increase in the weight of the sets!
5KG, 15KG, 20...

Three hours later.

"drink!"

Lu Mingfei exhaled and, with trembling arms, pushed up the standard 20kg barbell with 10kg counterweights on each side. It wobbled a bit, but eventually settled steadily for a while before being placed back on the support frame.

He stood up, his whole body soaked as if he had just been pulled out of the water, his breath coming in short gasps, and his vision even blurred, yet he felt a surge of joy coursing through his body.

he made it!

After three hours of intense strength training, he finally made a successful comeback from hell.

"Awesome!" Uncle Chen gave a thumbs up.

Having served in the military, he had seen all sorts of remarkable people, but Lu Mingfei was someone who could be considered exceptional.

No wonder my young master personally confirmed him as a friend!

"Humph."

Having finished her workout long ago, Su Xiaoqiang, pretending the bet didn't exist, crossed her arms and looked annoyed. "You win! So, what are your demands?"

"Go back..."

Lu Mingfei slumped to the ground, staring at the warning message that popped up in front of him, feeling utterly helpless and on the verge of tears.

[Warning, the [Return Home] plan has started. Please proceed immediately...]

"Going back to my aunt's house."

"What the hell?"

Su Xiaoqiang was stunned. She was prepared for Lu Mingfei to ask for an exorbitant amount, but what kind of nonsensical request was this?
I didn't tell you.

Lu Mingfei waved his hand impatiently. Right now, all he wanted to do was hurry back to his aunt's house, take a shower, and then go to sleep... No, according to his own self-made schedule, he still had to study for two hours!

What was I thinking back then? Why didn't I leave myself a way out?

"I haven't decided on my request yet, let's talk about it later!"

"Tch, then you can think about it slowly!" Su Xiaoqiang was so angry at Lu Mingfei's attitude that she stomped her foot and left.

"Thank you for your help, Uncle Chen." Lu Mingfei reluctantly raised his head, then paused, wondering what was with Uncle Chen's beaming smile.

"It should, it should."

Uncle Chen chuckled and, without a care for Lu Mingfei who was covered in sweat, pulled him up.

"Would you like to take a shower and change your clothes first? There are also private washrooms here, fully equipped with all the necessary facilities and supplies."

“But…” Lu Mingfei was taken aback. Just as he was about to make up an excuse, he saw another line of text pop up in front of him.

[Going home] and [washing up] are scheduled for the same time, but the order is not clearly defined. Would you like to change the order?]

Of course, the answer is "yes"!

Lu Mingfei was overjoyed. He was feeling sticky and uncomfortable all over, and it would be even better if he could take a shower right away before going back.

He couldn't help but feel glad that he had taken a shortcut when filling out the schedule and hadn't broken down the time into too many details... This schedule was quite flexible, except for the major time limits that couldn't be violated!
[Switched... Warning, it's time for your [washing/grooming] routine. Please proceed immediately...]

Time has been automatically allocated based on physical condition and real-time status; ten minutes remaining...

"That's fine. Luckily, my clothes are still in my bag." Lu Mingfei breathed a sigh of relief, feeling fortunate for his wise decision and frugal habits, when he heard Uncle Chen's words.

"I've already had a full set of new clothes delivered; you can change into them right after you take a shower."

Uncle Chen smiled slightly, as if everything was under control. "This time there is plenty of time, so the outfits won't be as messy as last time."

Is this a driver or a butler? This is incredibly thoughtful!

"Uncle Chen, how much do you earn a month?" Moved by the moment, Lu Mingfei decided that if he ever had money, he would also want to find someone like that.

"The base salary is around 30,000 yuan, and there are bonuses if you do well," Uncle Chen said.

"It's worth the price!" Lu Mingfei praised, silently giving up the idea and obediently going to take a shower.

This is a price Lu Mingfei couldn't even imagine—it's equivalent to a semester's tuition at Shilan Middle School! How many hours of internet access could that buy?
……

Dressed in a brand new outfit, Lu Mingfei slumped in the comfortable seat, gazing absently out the window.

Since the plan didn't specify how to get home, Uncle Chen driving him home wouldn't result in him being electrocuted.

If Lu Mingfei were to suddenly decide to go for a night run home, he, already in a state of utter exhaustion, might really be considering whether it would be more painless to run into a lamppost and die.

It's past 10 p.m., but the nightlife is just beginning.

The city lights were on, the skyline was faintly visible in the lights, the high-rise buildings in the business district looked like cages woven from light, and the traffic on the elevated roads looked like fireflies.

Sometimes at night, Lu Mingfei would sneak up to the rooftop of his aunt's building, which was his secret base, where he could look out over the entire city under the starry sky.

At that time, he felt like a free, dangerous, and light bird, and with a touch of Ah Q-like self-deception, he thought that these fireflies were still busy running around so late, unlike him.

But now he's one of these fireflies, and a Mercedes-Benz at that, though it's a bit like a bully using someone else's power... but who cares!
It's so comfortable to ride in a Mercedes-Benz, and wearing designer clothes is much more enjoyable than wearing ordinary clothes!

And the feeling of visibly getting stronger is really great.

He even made the proud "Little Fairy" owe him a request!
Lu Mingfei suddenly didn't want to go back to being that free, dangerous, and light bird anymore. Although it was easy, it was also lonely, weak, and helpless.

Of course, he didn't really have a choice.

At least for the next month, or rather, to be precise, twenty-nine days and a few hours... that's how it will be.

He sighed softly as he gazed at the flowing light. How did things come to this? What will happen a month from now?

Just as Lu Mingfei was caught in his usual internal strife, Uncle Chen in the driver's seat spoke up.

"Young Master Lu, I think your chances are very good, don't worry!"

"what?"

Lu Mingfei was taken aback. He had already given up on correcting Uncle Chen's way of addressing him. "What do you mean there's a high chance?"

"It's about you and that pretty female classmate."

While driving in his spare time, Uncle Chen winked and said, "As someone who's been through it, the chances are pretty good. As long as we don't make any bad moves and win steadily, there's no need to sigh and complain!"

"No, it's not!"

Lu Mingfei thought to himself, "What is all this about? Although gossip among men is a symbol of a relationship developing further, this topic is jumping around too much. And what's going on between me and Su Xiaoqiang?!"

"What I like is..."

Lu Mingfei suddenly paused at this point, and finally remembered what had happened that day.

It seems that not only did he ignore Chen Wenwen, but he also publicly refused the literary society activity with a ridiculous excuse.

"What have I done?!" Lu Mingfei thought to himself, feeling somewhat frantic.

Let alone a girl who has no relationship with you and is just a crush, even a couple who have been together for a while would probably have to give up and have a cold war for dozens of days if this happened!
What should I do? Should I apologize on QQ right away? But I don't even have a phone! And once I get home I have to study, there's no way I'll have time to use the computer…

Unable to come up with a solution, Lu Mingfei quickly and habitually chose to lie down due to exhaustion.

He felt that he had almost no chance. If he was one of only two people personally invited by Chen Wenwen to join the literary society before, he still had a tiny bit of a chance, but now it was almost zero...

And soon he didn't have time to dwell on it anymore.

Because, as he approached his aunt's residential area, he saw his aunt's family walking home along the roadside: his uncle, aunt, and cousin Lu Mingze.

My uncle and aunt were talking about something, and my aunt seemed a little agitated.

However, it's not the first or second time that my aunt has gotten excited; this is just a "routine" occurrence rather than a special case.

Lu Mingfei subconsciously rolled down the car window, and just as he was about to greet someone, a sound squeezed in through the crack in the window startled him.

……

Why didn't you tell Mingfei?

The uncle frowned and said, "It's not good for the family to go out to eat without Mingfei...."

"What do you mean? I'm ostracizing him?" As always, Auntie was like a powder keg, ready to explode at any moment.

"Why don't you ask him what he did this morning? He got up before dawn and went crazy, like he was possessed. Lu Mingze was so scared that he wet his pants!"

"Mom..." Cousin Lu Mingze blushed immediately. It wouldn't sound good if word got out that a sixteen-year-old boy had wet his pants in fright!

"You're spineless too, shut up!"

The aunt scolded him without any politeness. She was in a fit of anger and was in an indiscriminate attack mode, but she still turned her attention to the uncle.

"That's not all. I asked him what he was doing, and guess what he said? He just said 'Fuck!' and left! He has no respect for his elders. He's gotten too big for his britches! If we don't discipline him, what will become of him?"

"Don't bring this up, maybe something's going on?"

The uncle frowned. If it were at home, he would have backed down, but outside he still had to muster his courage and maintain his male pride, so he lowered his voice and said.

"Then what about those previous times when we went out to eat without him?"

"So, you're bringing up old grievances again? Fine, the whole Lu family is united, your uncle is doting on his nephew, and you're ganging up on me, an outsider!"

My aunt completely ignored the conversation and instead shifted the focus of the issue, escalating the situation as she went.

"So you mean I bullied him? How did I bully him? I provide him with food, drink, and lodging, do you expect me to treat him like a father? What's wrong with not inviting him when we go out for a meal?"

"That money was all given to him by his parents!" The uncle was furious at being treated so disrespectfully in public.

"Yes, yes, yes! It's all his parents' money. Why doesn't he just hire a nanny? Am I destined to be a nanny? Damn it..." The aunt started crying and throwing a tantrum.

"Why don't you say he's just not good enough? His parents give him so much money, yet his grades are still at the bottom of the class. Can his grades even compare to Lu Mingze's? Do you know where he ranked in the final exam? Last place!"

Are you going to ask me again about not enrolling Lu Mingze in training courses? Why don't you ask him if he's even qualified? It's such a waste of money!
"So he's gotten too big for his britches and dares to talk back to his elders? If he were really capable, that would be one thing..."

Lu Mingfei remained expressionless.

Actually, he knew many things in his heart, but... for a child who is not even cared for by his parents, what does it matter if his relatives don't like him?
Just getting by.

His body hunched over slightly, his neck hunched, as if he wanted to hug himself.

But the car window slammed shut, and the usually gentle and quiet Mercedes suddenly roared like a beast, rushing forward and then screeching to a stop right next to my aunt's family!
The sudden turn of events left my aunt's family speechless.

They had never seen anyone drive like that before. The car came rushing towards them as fiercely as a tiger pouncing, with a sharp gust of wind whistling past them!

Chen Shuchao was equally astonished. Lu Mingfei nodded, got out of the car, and opened the car door with impeccable etiquette to welcome him.

"Young Master Lu, please get out of the car."

(End of this chapter)