Chapter 34: Forsaking Friendship for Love
Five days later.
At 4:22 a.m., by the artificial lake of Tiancheng University of Technology, a graceful young woman in orange athletic shorts and a matching sports bra sat on a stone bench at the lakeside, resting with a man dressed in a black tracksuit.
“Second Brother, you’re amazing—you lost one hundred and ten pounds in just a month!”
“Heh, if it weren’t for you, Mimi, exercising with me, I probably couldn’t have stuck it out.”
“Oh? So how are you going to thank me?” Yang Mimi looked at Geng Haoshi with her bright, playful eyes.
Geng Haoshi scratched his head sheepishly. “Whatever you say, I’ll agree.”
“Anything at all?”
“Yes!” Geng Haoshi nodded with resolve.
“Then I’ll have to think it over carefully.” Yang Mimi pondered for a moment and then smiled. “I’ve decided.”
Seeing Yang Mimi’s pure, radiant smile, Geng Haoshi felt he would do anything for this charming girl.
“Second Brother, tomorrow is the university autumn joint sports meet. Make sure you give it your all.”
“That’s it?”
“Why, have you changed your mind already?”
“Of course not… Ahem, since you asked, Mimi, I’ll do my utmost!”
……
After watching Yang Mimi walk away, Geng Haoshi headed toward the athletic field.
The competition starts tomorrow; I’d better finish today’s intermediate training task first. At the entrance to the field, he climbed the iron gate with ease, slipping inside within seconds.
He was no longer that obese, clumsy figure he once was; scaling a gate like this was nothing now.
Two sets of 500 pull-ups… two sets of 500 sit-ups… two sets of 500 jump squats… After two hours, he exhaled deeply. “Phew—now the ‘get eight-pack abs in a month’ task is finally complete!”
9527: “Congratulations, Master, on successfully completing the task.”
“It was nothing, just a piece of cake for me. Hahaha—”
“…Master, the second task of the intermediate phase will begin tomorrow at midnight.”
“…Can I decline?”
“No, Master.”
“Damn! The competition starts tomorrow. Can’t you, this damned system, just give me a break for once?”
……
……
Forget it, why am I arguing with this damned alien system? As if it would ever be flexible!
“There is actually a way to postpone the task for a while, Master.”
“Really?” Geng Haoshi’s hopes sparked anew.
“Yes, Master. All you need to do is sacrifice ten years of your life.”
“……”
“……”
“Screw you!”
“…Master, I just wanted to test if your intelligence had improved.”
“……”
“After testing, Master, you’re still operating at the low intelligence level you had when we first met.”
“……” Geng Haoshi: Damn you!
Geng Haoshi said nothing more. He returned to the gym and instantly fell asleep.
……
“Smack!” “Smack!”
“Get up, you slackers!”
Ah, six o’clock again. At the sound of Yu Manman’s voice, Geng Haoshi reflexively covered his groin and opened his eyes.
Once, he’d slept so deeply that he didn’t hear Yu Manman calling several times; in a fit of anger, she’d delivered a merciless whip right to his vital spot!… That unforgettable pain had seared itself into his memory. So now, whenever he heard her voice, the first thing he did was protect himself.
“Beautiful Coach, the competition’s tomorrow. Can’t we have a break today?” Geng Haoshi stretched lazily.
“You bunch of bottom-feeders think you deserve a break?” Yu Manman shot Geng Haoshi a glare.
“Coach, I just joined—I haven’t contributed to our team’s last-place status.”
…… The main squad: You little punk!
…… The substitutes: Second Brother, weren’t we supposed to share good and bad times together?!
Complaints aside—no matter how disgruntled they were, if the devil-goddess coach gave orders, anyone who didn’t obey would be in for a world of trouble.
Thinking about his lunch date at Yang Mimi’s school, Geng Haoshi was full of energy as he started the morning’s training.
……
“Finally, it’s lunchtime!” Zhu Di bellowed, “Brothers, charge the cafeteria!”
“Xiao Er, where are you going?” Seeing Geng Haoshi dash toward the gym doors, Zhu Di shouted after him.
“A date with a beauty!” Geng Haoshi replied without looking back, sprinting out the doors.
“Geez, that guy’s always ditching us for that 36D chick again.” The team had grown used to Geng Haoshi vanishing after every training session.
Exiting the school and turning left, Geng Haoshi arrived at Huayu Design Academy—Yang Mimi’s school—right next door.
Several pretty girls walked past him. Why hadn’t he ever thought of visiting the neighboring school before? There were so many beautiful girls here! He felt as if he’d wandered into a garden in full bloom.
Yang Mimi had always come to his school before; this was his first time at her campus.
“Third Cafeteria.” As he admired the passing beauties, he muttered to himself. Yang Mimi had invited him to have lunch with her at her school’s third cafeteria.
He didn’t want to be late, so he decided to ask for directions. He stopped a petite, adorable girl, “Excuse me, where’s your third cafeteria?”
“Uh?” The girl seemed flustered, her cheeks turning rosy.
Her friend nudged her. “Hey, this handsome guy’s asking you something.” With that, her friend giggled, covering her mouth.
“Oh, um, just keep walking down this road, then turn right at the second intersection. You’ll see it.” The petite girl blushed even more.
“Great, thanks.”
The girl stared dazedly at Geng Haoshi’s departing figure…
Following the directions, it took Geng Haoshi just five minutes to find the third cafeteria at Yang Mimi’s school.
“Second Brother, over here!” No sooner had he entered than he heard Yang Mimi calling his name.
That single call made every male student in the cafeteria turn their attention—and their ire—on him. Yang Mimi was the top-ranked goddess of Huayu Design Academy, the dream girl of the entire student body.
As soon as Geng Haoshi sat down at Yang Mimi’s table, a group of guys in basketball jerseys marched over menacingly.
Their uniforms bore the same emblem. Geng Haoshi thought, These must be the school basketball team players from Huayu Design Academy.
“Hey, you’re new here, right? I’ll give you ten seconds. Get lost!”