Chapter Eighty-Six: Run, Brothers!

Why call these girls such oddities?

Wasn’t that obvious? Never seen a pig run, but had he never eaten pork? What kind of woman who truly loves fitness would go out for a run wearing heavy makeup and loose hair? And while running, she kept glancing around, looking distracted, as if terrified that no man nearby had noticed her beauty.

What was even more ridiculous was that on the most prominent treadmills, several girls were jogging to music in athletic shorts and workout tops, and yet they were wearing black stockings on their legs.

Those legs nearly blinded him. Yang Meng had truly seen something new; he had never once seen anyone run in black stockings. And everyone around them seemed entirely unsurprised.

If those girls had really come for exercise, Yang Meng would have cut off his own head and kicked it like a ball.

Watching these heavily made-up women still trying to work out, all Yang Meng could feel was a kind of bitter, helpless sorrow: your whole approach is wrong.

For the people who genuinely loved fitness, women whose sweat gleamed across well-defined muscles were far more appealing. In this day and age, what was rare was not women with heavy makeup, but women without it; if you wanted to look at that, why come to a gym at all? Was it just to see how little they wore? In that case, a swimming pool would be better.

Wait a moment—there was a pool right here in Dragonbound, wasn’t there? They might as well have gone there instead. What, were they afraid the water would wash the makeup off their faces?

And really, who in a gym would be interested in such women? If anyone was, he was probably nothing more than a hopeless loser.

Yet reality slapped Yang Meng in the face. Just after he had silently scorned those made-up girls, he saw two figures trotting over to them, each carrying several bottles of Evian mineral water. So that was it—they had gone to buy water for the girls.

And not just any water, either: bottles costing dozens of yuan apiece. Tsk tsk, so even rich people had their own share of losers.

“Society is truly going downhill,” Yang Meng muttered, shaking his head. So people would actually be foolish enough to chase after girls like that? He had once thought that everyone who came to the Dragon Rhythm Fitness Club would be some kind of elite, but it turned out there were common fools here too.

What was amusing was that after receiving the water, those odd girls only gave the two men awkward but polite smiles. Even those strange girls wouldn’t look at the two of them twice—how miserable were they, really?

He was just about to leave when he stopped again. Looking closely at the two men who had bought the water, his eyes widened. At first he thought he must have seen wrong, but after rubbing his eyes, he realized he had not.

“Damn it!” Yang Meng could not help swearing. He strode up behind the two men and slapped each of them on the back of the head. “So this is what you meant by being busy day and night, twenty-four hours a day? I thought you were really working on the renovation, but look at you—having yourselves a fine little time here!”

It was no wonder Yang Meng was angry. One of the pair was Hu Erleng, the other Qi Kun. Dressed in gym clothes, Yang Meng had not recognized them at first glance.

“Huh? Mengmeng, when did you get here?” Hu Erleng asked in surprise.

Yang Meng replied speechlessly, “Don’t change the subject. You two sure know how to enjoy yourselves!”

Hu Erleng pointed at Qi Kun. “How is this playing around? Look at how fat Lobster has gotten. Since we’ve got the conditions now, of course we should train him properly and help him lose weight. They’re cleaning up the kitchen and adjusting the ventilation ducts downstairs anyway. We’re not professionals, so we’d be useless down there. Rather than just sitting around wasting time, isn’t it better to help Lobster slim down here?”

Yang Meng grinned wickedly. “Running errands to help someone lose weight? Tsk tsk, and you haven’t even become bosses yet, but you’re already living large. Even Evian water? I haven’t even drunk that before.”

Hu Erleng hurriedly lowered his voice and explained, “Mengmeng, don’t get it wrong. The water didn’t cost us anything. Everything here is free for us. We’re heading to the buffet in a bit.”

Hearing that only made Yang Meng want to cover his face.

What was there to say? Mock Hu Erleng and the others for taking advantage of small bargains? If he had been the way he was a month ago, he would have been exactly the same—delighting in little perks, and surely believing that those gaudily made-up women were the brightest scenery in the gym.

What could he say? Their horizons had simply been too narrow.

During this time, Hu Erleng and the others were not like him, spending every day in the library. Could he really expect them to become different people overnight? That would be unrealistic, wouldn’t it?

Many people always thought about how to become rich. In truth, there was a very simple way: play with rich people.

The atmosphere in a rich person’s circle was different. However one put it, there was a reason the rich were rich. Their thinking, their scale, their vision—all of it utterly crushed ordinary people. For ordinary people like himself and Dragon Soar, even if they gathered together all day long, it would be hard to get rich. But if one spent every day among rich people, then over time, by constant exposure and influence, one would gradually become rich too.

Take this Dragon Rhythm Fitness Club, for instance. Why were there so many wealthy young men here? In plain terms, because it was a small circle. Loving fitness was one thing, but the shared hobby drew people closer for the sake of their future development.

Hu Erleng had once been a salesman, while Qi Kun had been a taxi driver. How could you expect them to change their identity and outlook overnight? That was difficult.

Still, whether or not they wanted to change was their own business. Everyone was living life for the first time; no one had any experience. As long as they were happy, that was enough.

Thinking of that, Yang Meng no longer felt so conflicted. He looked Qi Kun up and down instead. “I say, Lobster, you’re really wearing that to the gym?”

Qi Kun had always been fat, and after becoming a taxi driver he exercised even less, so now he was fatter than before. His flesh jiggled with every step. Back in the day he had been a sturdy youth with six-pack abs; now he had two abs on his stomach—one on top, one on the bottom.

He really did need to lose weight.

“What did the trainer say? Is there any hope for Lobster as he is?” Yang Meng asked Hu Erleng.

Qi Kun grew anxious instead. “What do you mean by that? Sure, I’m fat now, but I’m a flexible fat man! You can’t discriminate against fat people. Shaquille O’Neal was fat too—who would dare say he couldn’t play basketball?”

Yang Meng laughed. “You’re in no position to compare yourself to O’Neal.”

Hu Erleng said, “The trainer said that with his condition, he shouldn’t start with strenuous exercise. They said to begin with something like jogging.”

Qi Kun protested, “That trainer is underestimating me. Don’t let my size fool you—I’m fast when I run. Back when we were kids, I was the fastest runner among us. Even that madman couldn’t outrun me!”

Yang Meng curled his lip. “Back then you weighed one hundred and twenty pounds. Now you weigh two hundred and ten. Think there’s any comparison?”

Qi Kun stared. “Mengmeng, if you put it like that, I’m not convinced. Come on, let’s race on the treadmills! Let’s see who can run. Racing Hu Erleng isn’t challenging at all—he’s worked himself to the bone at his job!”

Hu Erleng immediately bristled. “No matter how worn out I am from work, I’m still better than you fat bastard! If you’re not convinced, then let’s race!”

“Race then! Who’s afraid of who?” Qi Kun was suddenly full of energy.

“Fine, I’ll go buy a set of clothes and change. You wait here!” Yang Meng was currently wearing cycling gear—how was he supposed to run in that? They also sold workout clothes here, so he went to grab a short-sleeved shirt, shorts, and running shoes, then returned to the treadmill area. He saw Hu Erleng and Qi Kun stretching while chatting with the heavily made-up girls; when they saw Yang Meng come back, they pointed at the three treadmills beside them and said, “Come on. Everything’s ready.”

Yang Meng stood on the treadmill but did not hurry to start. Instead, he put on his earphones and browsed through the music selection. After a long while, he sighed. “What kind of lousy treadmill is this? It doesn’t even have any Phoenix Legend songs.”

Hearing that, the heavily made-up women burst out laughing.

From his appearance, they had assumed Yang Meng was some presentable fellow, and now that he wore a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, his figure looked quite masculine. But the moment he spoke, they realized: ah, a country bumpkin.

Yang Meng paid them no mind. He simply picked a playlist labeled Running Rhythm and started jogging.

Hu Erleng blinked. “Brother, we agreed on a slow run—last one to stop. Why are you going so fast?”

Qi Kun chimed in, “Exactly! I’m telling you, don’t lose and then say it’s because you ran too fast. We won’t accept that.”

Yang Meng smiled. “I’ll run mine, you run yours. Forget running—you can even walk if you want.”

With that, he slipped the earphones into place, ignored the two of them, and began to run. After a few steps, he simply closed his eyes and kept going. He had been bothered by too many things lately and had not properly cultivated his abilities. Now, while running with his eyes closed, he also cultivated in silence.

He still had quite a bit of merit from handling Zhao Yun’s matter, and it had not yet been fully absorbed. This was a perfect chance to improve himself.

“Hey, the kid’s running with his eyes closed! Isn’t he afraid of falling?” Hu Erleng said.

Qi Kun nodded. “And he said we could even walk? How can he look down on us like that?”

“Today, even if I have to risk it all, I’m going to teach this brat a lesson!” Hu Erleng stepped onto the treadmill, set the speed, and began to run. Qi Kun refused to be outdone and immediately followed suit, running alongside him.

Yang Meng ran with his eyes closed, listening to music, while in his mind swirled countless cultivation techniques. His understanding of spellcraft grew deeper and deeper. Regrettably, his merit was still not profound enough. If it were a little deeper, then soaring to heaven or descending into the earth would be no dream.

It seemed he would have to catch more ghosts in the future.

As he ran, Yang Meng digested those methods of cultivation. He did not know how long he had been running, but he did not feel tired at all. On the contrary, the longer he ran, the more refreshed and invigorated he felt.

Only when the music in the playlist had finished did Yang Meng open his eyes and stop.

The instant he did, the scene before him startled him. “What the hell are you doing?”

People from the entire gym had gathered around him, all staring.

So many eyes made Yang Meng’s skin crawl, and the person standing nearest to him was none other than Duan Bowen, the man who had driven Li Xiaoqing to the airport.

“Uh, Secretary Duan, why is everyone staring at me like this?”

Duan Bowen swallowed hard. “Mr. Yang, can you tell the truth? What mountain did you come down from?”