Next morning.
Alex dressed up in his training outfit and left after kissing the sleeping Melissa.
He went in the backyard and did a bit of warmup. Once done, he gave a command to the system.
'Purchase hand-to-hand combat guide.'
[Ding!]
[Hand-To-Hand Combat Guide purchased!]
Information flooded inside Alex's mind regarding physical combat bit by bit.
Alex took a deep breath and then positioned himself according to the stances present in the guide.
The poses he had to do seemed like those of Mixed Martial Arts.
Alex followed the guide and performed the stances to the best of his ability.
If he did something wrong, the system would notify him and ask him to do the correct postures.
Two hours passed with him practicing combat training.
It was now time to hit the gym and do some strength training.
Alex drove off to a nearby gym in his old Civic and came back home after an hour and a half, completely exhausted.
"You're up early, sweetie." Janet said as she watched him enter the kitchen.
"Yes, mom. Had to hit the gym." Alex said while taking a few stuff out of the kitchen cabinets.
"Oh, honey, isn't it tiring to hit the gym everyday, eat in a restricted manner, and do so many different things to maintain your aesthetics?" Janet asked, watching Alex mix protein powder into a shaker.
While mixing the protein, Alex said while shaking his head, "can't help it. Have you seen how beautiful Mel looks? If I don't hit the gym, I won't be able to match up to her aesthetics and would look like a couch potato instead."
"Now that you mention it," Janet thought out loud, "Mel honey eats so much yet she's still so fit and in shape. Is this what they call high metabolism?"
Alex flashed a small smile and shook his head. If only his mother knew she wasn't a puny mortal like them and was actually a goddess…
Alex had his protein shake and after cleaning his shaker bottle, went back to his room to shower and clean up.
As he entered inside, he saw Melissa watching something on her phone.
"Hi, honey." Melissa put down her phone and opened her arms for Alex to come hug her as she greeted him.
"Hi, babe. Can't hug, I am all sweaty." Alex said and walked towards the bathroom.
"Sweaty? Then it's even more important!" Melissa said and got up.
She went to Alex and hugged him from behind, taking in his masculine scent.
Not even a second later, "ugh, my bad. You really stink."
Melissa broke the hug and said while pinching her nose.
"I thought it'll be romantic to hug you when you're all sweaty, but reality is different from movies."
Melissa had just seen a video where a lady hugged her man after he came back from doing some hard labor in the blazing sun, all sweaty and tired.
The hug cheered up the man and the couple then went to have shower sex.
Melissa tried something similar, but Alex stinked and she realized the difference between reel and real.
Alex could only smile and shake his head. "I am gonna go shower."
"Wait, I am coming too." Melissa's train of thoughts broke and she said.
"Why? Didn't you say I stink?" Alex asked, turning around.
"Obviously, that's the reason. I hugged you and got your sweat all over me. I need to shower too now." Melissa argued.
The argument seemed valid and Alex didn't have anything to reject his wife.
He just agreed with it and went along.
Although Melissa may not have had a romantic moment she had seen on the videos, the end outcome was the same for her.
Of course she didn't realize this, as the moment she went in the bathroom and had her clothes off, she got busy doing some light cardio with Alex and got busy in her workout session.
Finishing his bath and having brunch with his and Nix's family, Alex left home and drove himself to the city's top shooting range.
As he pulled up to this range and parked his car, Alex realized this place was probably the rich people's shooting club, judging from how there were a lot of super cars in the parking lot.
Alex's ten-year-old Honda Civic seemed like an odd one out here.
It didn't matter much to Alex and he simply went inside the shooting range, not giving a care to all such small stuff.
As he entered, he was greeted with a luxurious lobby and the staff were wearing formal suits, matching the wealth of this place.
All the people who had come to this range seemed to be rich, judging from their expensive attires.
As for Alex himself, he was in normal clothing — olive-colored cargo pants, black t-shirt, black cap, and sturdy black boots.
His t-shirt clung onto his perfectly toned body and just with how simple yet elegant he looked, Alex became the center of attention of all in the lobby.
His clothes didn't make him seem rich but his looks as a whole were something that made people think otherwise.
Alex walked towards the receptionist and asked, "Can I get the information brochure?"
He wanted to know the charges and things available in this place so he could plan his training better.
"Right away, sir," the receptionist said and gave Alex a tablet that had everything on it.
Alex took it and browsed through it.
While he did that, four guys wearing expensive clothes, watches, and jewellery, walked towards the reception.
"Hey, you were the guy who pulled up in a Honda Civic here, right? We saw you in the parking lot," a tall and slightly overweight guy among the four said.
The other three laughed at this and a lean guy among them said, "Jim, we shouldn't waste our time and get going. Peasants like him can't afford to get inside anyway."
"You're right Marco," Jim, the tall and slightly overweight guy said.
From the looks of it, he seemed to be the leader among them.
The ones who were awed by Alex's looks, suddenly let out a disgusted look as they heard he came here in a Honda Civic.
They lost all interest in him and diverted their eyes away, getting back to doing what they were previously doing.
"Who do you think you are to judge someone else, fatass?"
As everyone heard this comment, their attention immediately shifted towards the source of this feminine voice.
Turning to look at the entrance of the club, they saw a blonde lady in a black tank top and military-grade camo pants walk inside the club.
Her hair was tied in a long ponytail and swayed as she walked with a moderately fast pace towards the reception.
Jim, being called a fatass in front of everyone, had his face turn red due to anger.
"You. Do you know whom you're insulting? Do you know who my father is!?" Jim lashed out.
It was for the first time he was called a fatass. It was due to this that he had a sudden adverse reaction.
The lady, stopping a few steps away from Jim, said in a neutral tone, completely unfazed, "Why? Do you not know who your own father is? Did he perhaps leave your mother after getting her pregnant?"
Gasp!
Everybody in the lobby sucked in a cold breath of air as they heard the insults this lady just hurled.
Even Alex was dumbfounded with such a development.
Jim's rage intensified as he heard this.
He just couldn't take such insults anymore and screamed,
"YOU SLU—!"
THUD!