Chapter 49: In the past, there were red sleeves adding fragrance; today, there is

"Classmate Su Xiaoqiang, the way you're looking at me is like you're looking at a piece of dancing fried chicken."

Lu Mingfei said seriously to Su Xiaoqiang before him.

The time had already reached seven o'clock; Lu Mingfei said goodbye to his senior and was driven to the gym by Chen Shu.

It was not strange for Su Xiaoqiang to appear at the gym, but the way she looked at Lu Mingfei was very strange. Those bright eyes were filled with an emotion called "incredulity," so much so that it was almost overflowing.

"No, you are not a piece of dancing fried chicken."

Su Xiaoqiang shook her head. Her voice was quite nasal when she spoke, and there was a noticeable shortness of breath, but one could still hear the attempt to make her tone sound fierce.

"Fried chicken is edible and delicious, while you are just a stinky salted fish that suddenly flipped over for no reason!"

"Who says salted fish can't be eaten or be delicious? Maybe some people just happen to like that taste?"

Lu Mingfei retorted subconsciously.

Su Xiaoqiang was momentarily choked for words. She really wanted to say that was impossible, that it didn't exist! But the facts were just like that; let alone stinky salted fish, there were people who could finish a whole plate of West Lake vinegar fish, and it seemed there really was someone who liked Lu Mingfei...

And it was the little piano beauty, Liu Miaomiao!

Logically speaking, Su Xiaoqiang should have continued to rest at home today; her fever had only just subsided, and her cold had not yet recovered.

Coming to work out at a time like this was equivalent to forcing a plane that was undergoing maintenance with most of its components on strike and shut down to take off; it was no different from courting death.

But Su Xiaoqiang came anyway. She didn't come for fitness; she wanted to see Lu Mingfei with her own eyes.

Although this loser had changed a bit the day before yesterday, it was only in terms of fitness that he had shown extraordinary perseverance and physical strength, even reaching a progress speed that could be called non-human... This was already enough to surprise Su Xiaoqiang, but what the hell had been going on these past few days?

What did it mean that Lu Mingfei rejected Chen Wenwen? What did it mean that Lu Mingfei solved a math problem in public in a fit of anger? What did it mean that Lu Mingfei pulled Liu Miaomiao away in public, suspected of announcing their relationship?

There was even what she saw with her own eyes yesterday: Chu Zihang, Senior Chu, personally carrying Lu Mingfei on his back into the hospital!

As for today, when Su Xiaoqiang looked again, what was circulating on the Shilan Middle School Campus Forum was already about Liu Miaomiao preparing to take Lu Mingfei to meet her parents.

There were many posters, and all of them spoke with certainty...

It had only been a short three days, yet Su Xiaoqiang felt as if three years had passed.

No, that wasn't right. From the time they met in the first year of high school until now, two and a half years had passed, and Lu Mingfei hadn't changed this much, had he? At the very least, this would have to be thirty years, and even that might not be enough!

Under the inability to understand at all, what was born was naturally extreme curiosity.

But Su Xiaoqiang stared at Lu Mingfei and sized him up for a long time, yet she couldn't see anything special about him.

Wasn't this still the same loser as before?

His hair was as messy as ever; one could tell by the length and his sideburns that he hadn't had a haircut in a very long time.

Perhaps because he had developed a habit from fitness, he no longer hunched his shoulders or back, making him look a bit more pleasing to the eye, and at a glance, he even looked taller than before...

But that familiar, cheeky feeling in his speech and the nonsense that would blurt out at any time hadn't changed.

But because of this, she was even more curious: what exactly did Liu Miaomiao see in Lu Mingfei?

Su Xiaoqiang didn't like Chen Wenwen, but her relationship with Liu Miaomiao was okay, and she understood her a bit. She knew that although Liu Miaomiao seemed friendly to everyone, she actually had very high standards.

To say that things had developed so quickly to the point of meeting parents was definitely an exaggeration.

Su Xiaoqiang was well aware of the credibility of the news and public opinion on the Shilan Middle School Campus Forum, but she could also be certain that there was no smoke without fire; there was definitely something fishy between Liu Miaomiao and Lu Mingfei!

"Speaking of this, you and Liu Miaomiao... what exactly is going on?"

Su Xiaoqiang lowered her voice and asked quietly.

"Huh? What do you mean what's going on?"

Lu Mingfei looked at Su Xiaoqiang with a blank expression.

"Liu Miaomiao..."

Su Xiaoqiang still had a cold, and her voice was quite nasal.

"Bernoulli?"

Lu Mingfei misheard and suddenly realized.

"Bernoulli Equation, right? That's elective content! But I've read it too; where the flow velocity is high, the pressure is low, and where the flow velocity is low, the pressure is high. The formula is P+1/2ρv²+ρgh=constant."

"No, how did you mishear that! Wait, what are you holding in your hand?"

Su Xiaoqiang looked in confusion at the book Lu Mingfei was holding, and then she became visibly shocked.

"Five Three Physics Compilation Edition? What kind of trick are you playing!"

"Studying hard," Lu Mingfei replied.

"What's with that matter-of-fact answer of yours?"

Su Xiaoqiang was stunned.

"Who brings a Five Three to the gym!"

"Why not? I want to seize every moment to study hard. It's normal to look at problems and think about solutions while walking. Not just now, but even later when I'm working out, I'll be doing the same!"

"Heh, I don't believe it! You're just pretending to work hard. I want to see if you can actually do it..."

The two began their daily bickering.

Chen Shu, who had been leading the way in front of them, and the female coach exchanged a glance, seeing something meaningful in each other's eyes.

In their eyes, Lu Mingfei was truly a master of playing dumb and changing the subject!

Chen Shu went without saying; he had seen Liu Miaomiao while driving Lu Mingfei, and he also knew that Liu Miaomiao was a beautiful little piano girl who got along very well with Lu Mingfei.

As for the female coach, just hearing the name told her this was a girl, and a very pretty one at that, otherwise she wouldn't have been brought up by Su Xiaoqiang.

Yet just as Su Xiaoqiang brought it up and seemed about to "make trouble," she was fooled by Lu Mingfei with the excuse of "mishearing," and then he diverted her attention with something as absurd as "studying Physics while working out"...

That combo of moves was truly smooth and fluid!

"As expected, a true master doesn't show his face... Also, how could someone who wants to keep a foot in two boats without capsizing be simple? I'll have something to report when I talk to the young master later; I'll definitely be able to get a raise!"

Chen Shu thought about his salary increasing "bit by bit" and became happy.

"However, solving Physics problems while working out... is that really possible?"

"I can't do it, I absolutely can't do it!"

Lu Mingfei shouted in his heart.

He braced himself, slowly exhaling, his hands gripping the Butterfly Machine handles—which had been easy at first but now felt like they weighed a thousand pounds—as he pulled them inward and pushed forward!

A tearing, burning sensation spread through his pectoral muscles; Lu Mingfei could even feel his muscle fibers gradually losing the ability to contract autonomously.

His arms trembled from the buildup of lactic acid, and the trajectory of the handles became extremely slow and jerky...

【Warning, countdown to electric shock...】

Push!

Under the influence of a powerful will (and fear of pain), Lu Mingfei finally completed the last repetition of his failure set!

He abruptly let go of the handles, which swung back to their original positions, the lifted weight plates slamming down with a loud "Clang!"

But Lu Mingfei could no longer care about such things.

His breathing was now rapid, his chest heaving violently as if oxygen in the air were extremely scarce, and his heart was beating noticeably faster like drumbeats, rapidly exceeding 180 bpm! A brief ringing in his ears occurred, and the edges of his vision became somewhat blurred...

But these were not what he cared about.

These were just the normal physical reactions to a failure set; if they weren't there, it wouldn't be called a failure set, meaning it hadn't provided any training effect at all.

What Lu Mingfei cared about was that his brain was a complete blank!

It is true that anaerobic exercise does not compete with the brain for oxygen, but local muscle hypoxia and lactic acid buildup cause the body to automatically enter an "emergency state," which directly exerts an inhibitory effect on brain neural activity!

Simply put, if high-intensity long-distance Running—the limit of aerobic exercise—steals power from the source, causing the brain to lack the energy to operate at high frequencies, then the anaerobic activity of failure-set strength training directly limits the brain's maximum operating frequency.

Looking at the results, the effect should be the same.

But Fitness and Running are different; Running can, to a certain extent, be called an "automatic" behavior. Fitness, however, requires one to put in the mental effort to control every detail of the movements!

This extra "energy consumption" caused Lu Mingfei's thinking ability to be even lower than when Running.

The efficiency was not just shockingly low; it was nearly non-existent!

Fortunately, because the 【Physical Recovery】 entry was continuously taking effect, Lu Mingfei was often able to recover quickly from the "exhaustion" state, and under these conditions, his thinking ability would improve significantly...

But that was also the problem; by this time, he was supposed to start the next set of strength training, otherwise, he would be electrocuted!

Naturally, there was a "recovery period" during this time, and Lu Mingfei could still barely manage to think and engage in Learning, but he didn't have the strength to hold the "Five Three," and even if he managed to pick it up, his blurred vision made it impossible to see...

Eh, wait, I've got it!

"Chen Shu, could you do me a favor..."

Lu Mingfei asked weakly.

"Of course! What is it, Young Master Lu?"

Chen Shu perked up; was there finally a time when he could be of use? In truth, he sometimes felt a bit guilty for taking such a high salary while doing so little...

"Can you help me open that Five Three and read a question to me?" Lu Mingfei asked.

Can't pick it up, can't see it... well, listening should be fine!

Low efficiency is still better than no progress at all.

Yet, at such a simple request, Chen Shu was stunned.

"Young Master Lu, I only finished elementary school. I can drive for you, run errands, or even get into a fight without a problem, but this... I really don't recognize the symbols on it; looking at them is no different from reading a heavenly book!"

Lu Mingfei was taken aback; oh right, how could he have forgotten that?

Forget it, it was only a few hours anyway, wasting them was just wasting them; a mere two points of Proficiency could surely be made up during Self-study in the evening...

Just as Lu Mingfei was about to give up due to "force majeure factors"...

A voice with a slight nasal tone sounded.

"I'll help you!"

Su Xiaoqiang stepped off the treadmill and came before Lu Mingfei.

Given her physical condition, she should have gone back, but she had gotten into a contest with Lu Mingfei, so she simply walked on the treadmill while taking the opportunity to personally prove that Lu Mingfei "could absolutely not engage in Learning while doing Fitness."

"I'll read it for you. You'd better actually be able to solve it, otherwise, it's the same as making a fool of me! Do you know the consequences of making a fool of me? My family has so many mines..."

"Any one of which could bury me, and no one would even know, right?"

Lu Mingfei managed a strained smile, "How would I dare, you are magnanimous, please be kind and help me out..."

"Hmph."

Su Xiaoqiang gave a light huff, sat down on the chair brought over by Chen Shu and the female trainer, faced Lu Mingfei, opened the "Five Three," paused for a moment, cleared her throat, and began to read.

Chen Shu and the female trainer silently retreated to the side, trying hard to minimize their presence.

They whispered to each other.

"This Young Master Lu is quite the charmer..."

"Yeah, yeah, young people today really know how to play."

"Look, doesn't this scene look like that thing from ancient times... Red Sleeve Fragrance?"

"Red Sleeve Fragrance is a bit of a stretch; I think it should be called... Beauty Accompanying Study!"

"Vulgar!"

"I only finished elementary school, after all..."

This chapter is 3.2K! So it's a bit late~

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(End of chapter)