Chapter 7: First Physical Fitness Test

There were so many people flaunting their wealth and showing off their lavish lifestyles online these days. Chen Jue couldn’t figure out why the internet was full of so many "Brother Fus."

Perhaps it was because he’d been a wage earner for so long that he was only exposed to people of a lower social standing.

Aside from a few bosses and his landlord, he didn’t know anyone who was exceptionally wealthy.

Most office workers earning eight or ten thousand a month were just scraping by to make ends meet.

Once they had a family, they had to stretch every dollar.

No one in that group would be so frivolous as to buy stones just to throw them in the water.

These Water-Drifting Stones, at one yuan a piece, were almost as expensive as two of the cigarettes Chen Jue smoked daily.

’Maybe I’ll smoke a couple fewer packs and buy some to try?’

Chen Jue first glanced at the "Subhealthy" status on his panel, then recalled the satisfaction and joy he felt while Stone Skimming that evening. On an impulse, he spent 200 yuan to buy a bundle.

He wasn’t married and didn’t have a family to support like other people, so the salary he earned was just sitting in his bank account.

He didn’t have any other expensive hobbies, aside from smoking a pack of 18-yuan Blue Liqun cigarettes every day.

When it came to daily expenses like food and clothing, Chen Jue wasn’t stingy with himself.

With a monthly income over ten thousand, being a cheapskate would just be pathetic.

Besides, a gaming session at an internet cafe with friends would cost more than this.

Besides, Stone Skimming could raise his Attributes, give him exercise, and was enjoyable. It was like killing three birds with one stone.

However, Chen Jue didn’t buy the Water-Drifting Stones from the world record holder’s shop.

That shop sold custom, petal-shaped Water-Drifting Stones. The description said they were made from processed clay, had a unique feel, and could produce special, curving skips.

Plus, the seller was the current world record holder for Stone Skimming. He had started practicing as a child, broken the record as a teenager, and become famous both at home and abroad. With that kind of name recognition, his products were sold at a significant premium.

He switched to a different, more ordinary shop and ordered 400 round-cut Water-Drifting Stones for 200 yuan.

After a friendly chat with the seller, they got along so well that the seller threw in an extra 20 for free.

That brought the cost of a single Water-Drifting Stone down to less than half a yuan. Cheaper than tokens at a video game arcade, it was a price he could accept.

’400 should last me a while, right?’

Chen Jue recalled how many he had used that night. It seemed he had only used a hundred or so scavenged stones to get his [Stone Skimming] Skill to Lv1.

Besides, the scavenged stones were all different shapes and sizes; not every one of them could be used to raise his Skill Level.

Once these professional Water-Drifting Stones arrived, Chen Jue would be able to raise the Level of his [Stone Skimming] Skill even faster.

...

After watching Stone Skimming videos for a long time, Chen Jue realized he was genuinely getting addicted to the sport.

He had originally planned to browse Douyin to watch some pretty girls dance for a while.

But when he saw it was midnight, an irresistible wave of fatigue washed over him.

He turned off his phone and went to sleep.

That night, Chen Jue slept like a log.

The sound of his snoring, like someone sawing logs, echoed through his rented apartment.

When he automatically woke up at 8:30 the next morning, Chen Jue realized something was wrong.

His entire right arm was numb and sore, and even the slightest movement sent a sharp pain through it.

’Damn it! Are the aftereffects really this bad?’

’Hiss... Ow, ow, ow, ow!’

Enduring the soreness, Chen Jue rolled out of bed, washed up, and went out for breakfast.

His clock-in time at work was 9:00 AM, so over the past few years, he’d developed a biological clock that woke him up at 8:30.

No matter how late he went to bed, he would always wake up on time the next day.

Waking up so early on a weekend was pointless, though. He didn’t have to go to the office, and he had no one to meet up with, so Chen Jue usually just stayed in his apartment to catch up on sleep.

Unfortunately, there would be no going back to sleep today. His right arm was simply aching too much.

He took a short walk in the garden at the center of his residential complex. Seeing someone out for a morning jog, Chen Jue decided to walk a couple of laps himself.

He was discovering that his body was pretty pathetic. Just one session of Stone Skimming, and he was a wreck the next day.

No wonder the panel had determined he was in a severely subhealthy state.

’Looks like I need to exercise more.’

’I’m not getting rich at my job anyway, and there’s basically no hope of striking it rich as a wage earner. It might not be a bad idea to work out and get my body in shape,’ Chen Jue reflected as he walked.

He’d been drifting through the last few years of his job in a daze. For the sake of a meager salary, he hadn’t paid much attention to his health.

Combined with his habits of smoking and drinking, and frequently going out on weekends to binge, Chen Jue’s physique had long since gone to pot.

He still remembered being a skinny guy when he graduated.

He was turning 30 next year. Not only had a beer belly popped out, turning him into a fat guy, but his hair was also starting to fall out from all the late nights. He was going bald.

’Exercise... I remember the company gave out a gym trial pass!’

Chen Jue patted his belly. As if remembering something, he stopped his walk and turned back toward his apartment.

After rummaging through his drawers and cabinets, he finally found the plastic card in his wallet.

It was a Mid-Autumn Festival gift from Taisheng Company from the previous year.

In addition to a box of terrible-tasting mooncakes, the company had given every employee a gym trial pass with a face value of 100 yuan.

Many companies offered similar small perks to encourage employees to stay healthy and maintain good spirits on the job.

Besides, these trial passes were bought in bulk by the company. With a face value of 100 yuan, the actual cost was probably less than half that, making them even cheaper than giving out boxes of mooncakes.

"Yi Lian Fitness, Wangdao Park Branch."

’Hey, that’s pretty close!’

Chen Jue put the card away and dug a tracksuit out of his closet, one he had worn for a company team-building event.

Since he worked at a financial firm, his usual attire was a suit, as required. On weekends, he wore casual clothes. He almost never wore sportswear like this.

After putting on the clothes and changing into sneakers, he took a slow walk all the way to Wangdao Park.

The place was a comprehensive business park. It had small eateries that did food delivery, as well as boutique shops like car clubs and high-end wedding photography studios. It usually had a lot of foot traffic.

Yi Lian Fitness was on the second floor. The space was huge, with a simple yet stylish decor.

Through the glass at the entrance, he could see a row of treadmills and other gym equipment.

Since it was a weekend morning, there weren’t many people working out.

As he walked in, Chen Jue was stopped at the entrance gate.

The young woman at the front desk asked, "Sir, are you a member? We’re a members-only gym; you need to scan your face to get in."

"I have a trial pass. I’d like to come and try it out," Chen Jue said, pulling the card from his pocket.

"Are you here for a trial session?"

"This one has a face value of 100. It’s good for a one-week trial."

"If you try it out and like our gym, you can come to me to sign up for an annual membership," the young woman said with great enthusiasm.

Non-members like Chen Jue were her primary sales targets. If she handled his registration and he signed up, she would get a commission.

"I’ll just try it out first. I haven’t exercised in a long time."

Chen Jue forced a smile and let the young woman set him up with temporary access for a one-week trial.

...

He scanned his face and entered the gym.

Staring at rows of unfamiliar equipment, Chen Jue had no idea where to begin.

"Hey man, you here for a trial session?"

"I’m a coach here. Since it’s your first time, let me take you through a session." A powerfully built, bald coach walked over as he spoke.

He wore a form-fitting white tank top that showed off his explosive physique. His muscles bulged as if they’d been inflated, creating a visually striking impact.

"Hi, Coach! I just live nearby, so I thought I’d come work out a bit," Chen Jue said, trying to politely decline.

He had read online about the usual gym sales tactics.

A coach gives you a trial session, then they pressure you to buy a membership and sign up for private lessons.

Most people who are too shy to say no can’t withstand the pressure and end up reluctantly paying.

Perhaps sensing Chen Jue’s apprehension, the muscular coach chuckled. "Don’t worry, man. We’re a legitimate business. We’ve been open for five years."

"Besides, the trial session is completely free. If you don’t think it’s for you, there’s no problem if you don’t come back!"

Since the coach was being so upfront, Chen Jue relaxed his wary attitude and nodded in agreement.

They chatted for a moment, and Chen Jue learned the coach’s name was Li Chaoyun, so he began addressing him as Coach Li.

Coach Li noticed that Chen Jue’s right arm was covered in Pain Relief Ointment and asked if he was injured.

Chen Jue briefly told him about his Stone Skimming adventure the day before.

"You pulled a muscle from Stone Skimming?"

Li Chaoyun was stunned for a moment, then he took hold of Chen Jue’s right arm to examine it.

Seeing Chen Jue grimace in pain, Li Chaoyun remarked, "It’s nothing serious! Your arms are mostly small muscle groups. They recover pretty quickly. You’ll be fine after a few days of rest."

"Small muscle groups?" Hearing an unfamiliar technical term, Chen Jue’s eyes suddenly lit up.

He had seen the term "muscle group" flash across the panel’s notification last night.

But when he got home, he had been so engrossed in Stone Skimming tutorial videos that he had completely forgotten about it.

Now, hearing it from a fitness coach, his interest was immediately piqued.

"The muscle groups in the human body can be divided into two categories: large muscle groups and small muscle groups."

"Your chest, back, and thighs are large muscle groups. Your arms, abs, and calves are small muscle groups."

"You’re new to fitness, so it’s normal that you don’t know this stuff. You can look it up online later," Li Chaoyun explained as he led Chen Jue toward a small cubicle in the back of the gym.

Inside the cubicle was a device that looked like one of those electronic scales for measuring height and weight, but it was more complex, with several electrodes and an LCD screen.

A computer and a printer were connected to it.

"This is a body composition analyzer. We use it for physical assessments."

"Since it’s your first time, I want to check your physical condition first. Then I can tailor a session specifically for you," Li Chaoyun said, acting very professionally.

This was the first time Chen Jue had ever encountered such an advanced device, so he followed the coach’s instructions and stepped onto it.

He took off his glasses, gripped the electrodes with both hands, and stood on the electrode plates with his feet.

After Li Chaoyun pressed "start" on the screen, Chen Jue watched a progress bar fill up.

A moment later, a physical assessment report slid out of the printer.

"Height 178 cm, weight 86.5 kg, basal metabolic rate 1640 kcal..."

"Body fat percentage 33.2 percent, muscle mass 52.6 kg, fat mass 28.7 kg. You’re currently in the obese range."

"Your BMI is 27, which is a bit high. Take a look at the report! Your body age is already 32, which is about three years older than your actual age."