Chen Guifen stormed off. When Chen'an put his point across like that, how could she–the belle of the club–bear the humiliation? She refused to stay a minute longer, throwing on her jacket and leaving in a temper.
When she arrived downstairs, she looked upstairs angrily and snorted. She walked to an alley, took out her phone and sent a string of names and phone numbers recorded in a memo to a friend over WeChat.
Afterwards, she made a voice call, which was answered promptly.
"Hello, is this Sister Chen?" A rough male voice came from the other end.
"It's me. The people whose information I sent you earlier are from the south of the city. I've talked to all of them; they're an old-fashioned lot. You don't even need to provide them with photos to add them as friends."
"Alright. I knew I could count on you. We gained hundreds of thousands from the last batch of people; we should be able to do it again with this one."
"Don't get cocky yet. We still have work to do. I, for one, have to snag our next set of targets."
"Got it. I'll add them as friends!"
His voice trailed off as the call ended. Chen Guifen looked back at the Jin Yu Freestyle Fight Club not far away.
"That brat was a rare gem who caught my eye… but he kept calling me auntie!"
She looked at her face with her phone's front camera. "Do I really look that old? Looks like I need to keep up with my rejuvenation beauty package."
***
Inside the kickboxing club, Chen'an had barely taken two bites of his meal when he saw someone else sitting beside him.
A refined-looking young man, with the title 'Level 5 Kickboxing Photographer' over his head. If Chen'an recalled correctly, his name was Hao Wu.
Hao Wu gave Chen'an's shoulder a friendly pat and said with a smile, "You're really something, boy, ignoring Chen Guifen's invitation like that."
Hao Wu had wanted to look for Chen'an earlier, but Chen Guifen had beaten him to it, so he sat nearby, eavesdropping on their conversation. When he heard Chen'an refuse to give Chen Guifen his phone number, he had been impressed. He himself hadn't been able to resist the temptation of a woman like Chen Guifen; he had eagerly obliged when she had asked him for his number.
Chen'an took the time to savor two large bites of bread and a sip of milk before paying Hao Wu any mind. "From what I can tell, you must have had your sights set on Chen Guifen for a long time," he said. "How is it going? Has she contacted you?"
Hao Wu laughed dryly. "She took my phone number, but didn't have the time to contact me. As for you, Chen Guifen asked for your phone number on the first day you arrived. You're quite impressive."
[Kickboxing Photographer Hao Wu is jealous of you, worsening his mood. His current Lifeblood: -10]
Wow. It seemed like this monster was going to start making a move on Chen Guifen.
Chen'an thought for a moment and said, "She said I'm pretty fit and should be capable of some pretty intense cardio–even though I personally don't think so."
[Your careless words have been misunderstood by Kickboxing Photographer Hao Wu, deeping his jealousy of you. His current Lifeblood: -20]
"Even for aerobics, half an hour is a long time. Any longer than that will strain your body. Just because you're fit doesn't mean you have the stamina for prolonged aerobics," Hao Wu replied, straightening his spine.
Chen'an nodded. "I see. No wonder I always feel very tired after an hour of continuous aerobic exercise."
[Your exaggerated boasting has dealt a heavy blow to Kickboxing Photographer Hao Wu's confidence. His current Lifeblood: -25]
"An… hour?" he echoed, shocked. "Don't you need to rest?"
Chen'an gave him an odd look. "Of course. You have to rest for at least half an hour after each exercise before you can continue. Otherwise, would that be considered aerobics?"
[Your words have shocked Kickboxing Photographer Hao Wu, making him seriously doubt and despise his own abilities. His current Lifeblood: -30]
Shock was plastered all over Hao Wu's face. "Boy, can you tell me how you trained? I'll do anything, as long as you share with me your secrets!" He stared at Chen'an earnestly.
Chen'an was puzzled. "I don't see what secrets there are concerning aerobics like jogging or swimming. You can always run even if you can't swim."
Hao Wu gaped, and Chen'an gazed back at him innocently.
[Your words have mentally unsettled Kickboxing Photographer Hao Wu, causing him to enter a state of Qi deterioration. He will now lose 20 drops of Lifeblood per second for 5 seconds.]
[Kickboxing Photographer Hao Wu is undergoing Qi deterioration. His current Lifeblood: -20]
[… -20]
[Congratulations on defeating Kickboxing Photographer Hao Wu. You have gained 48 experience points and 48 gold coins.]
Chen'an was delighted–killing special monsters earned him higher experience points!
Beside him, Hao Wu was stunned for a full three seconds until the monster icon above his head began to fade. "So you were referring to jogging and swimming."
He didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It dawned on him for the first time that Chen'an was just a student. Guilt lanced through him when he met Chen'an's pure-eyed gaze. Maybe he was a pervert–the schoolboy had probably never even held a girl's hand before. How would he know that there was a type of aerobics workout that involved two people?
Perhaps it was such innocence that had led Chen'an to reject a woman like Chen Guifen–what secret intentions could he possibly be harboring?
Hao Wu heaved a sigh of relief and patted Chen'an on the shoulder, deciding not to corrupt this pure boy. "It was a pleasure to meet you today, boy. If you have any relationship problems in the future, just come and find me. I can help you."
With another sigh, he left and walked towards the only two adult female trainees in the venue. When Hao Wu's figure was far in the distance, Chen'an looked at his remaining time for his double EXP card.
22 minutes and 35 seconds.
At this moment, almost all the remaining trainees' healthbars had been depleted by half, with the exception of a few of them.
Determined to maximize his results, Chen'an left the rest area to find Han Ya, who was guiding the combat trainees.
"Master, I want to try practicing with the coaches." He eyed the two coaches who were instructing a few other trainees nearby.
[Your actions have shocked Kickboxing Amateur Guo Tu, causing his heart to twitch violently. His current Lifeblood: -40]
[Congratulations on defeating Kickboxing Amateur Guo Tu. You have gained 14 experience points and 14 gold coins.]
Chen'an looked speechlessly at Han Ya's trainee, whom he had just defeated. All things considered, he was still at Level 2. Was that sentence alone really enough to kill him?