Chapter 87: How Could the Thin Know the Suffering of the Fat?

Duan Bowen was not this excited without reason. In fact, Yang Meng had already been on the treadmill for nearly two hours. To be exact, by the time he stopped, he had run for a total of one hour and fifty minutes. The distance recorded by the treadmill was forty-four point six kilometers.

What did that mean? A full marathon was only forty-two point one nine five kilometers, and the world record for the marathon was set by the Kenyan runner Kipchoge in one hour, fifty-nine minutes, and forty seconds. Even that mark was not officially recognized by the International Association of Athletics Federations.

Of course, running a marathon was not the same as running on a treadmill. Road conditions, weather, wind direction, and all the rest had to be taken into account. But to put it plainly, even if Kipchoge stepped onto a treadmill, he would not be able to match Yang Meng's result.

Only then did Yang Meng suddenly understand: no wonder everyone in the gym had stopped training and gathered to watch him. It turned out they had been scared off by how absurdly far he could run.

What he did not have the heart to say was that he had not been running seriously at all. He had merely set the treadmill to that speed. He felt that doubling the record would not be much of a problem.

What left everyone most speechless was that after running for so long, Yang Meng was not even breathing hard. He acted as if nothing had happened. That could no longer be described as "easy," could it?

Yang Meng explained to Duan Bowen, "Secretary Duan, don't overthink it. People like us from poor mountain villages are all good runners and jumpers. This result really isn't anything special."

"Is that so?" Duan Bowen tilted his head and glanced to the side. Hu Erdun was sitting there catching his breath, while Qi Kun was even more extreme, lying flat on a nearby bench as if he could no longer stand at all.

Duan Bowen very much wanted to curse Yang Meng a little. Every time, you use your hometown as an excuse, as if your hometown were some kind of superhuman training camp. Looking at Hu Erdun and Qi Kun, could you still keep using that line?

Yang Meng could tell what Duan Bowen was thinking, so he explained, "Oh, these two are just the scum of our hometown. One drank and debauched himself hollow, and the other has done nothing but put on weight."

Hu Erdun grew anxious. "Damn it, Mengmeng, that's going too far. How are we scum? What do you mean I drank and debauched myself hollow? That was for work, all right? Besides, as a descendant of the dragon, what's wrong with me experiencing a one-dragon service? That's called curiosity and a spirit of exploration! Unlike you, chasing the thrill of heartbreak. And honestly, you're impressive too. They say heartbreak helps people grow, but you took that growth all the way to marathon level?"

Yang Meng was about to fire back when Qi Kun, still lying there, raised his middle finger. "Mengmeng, just you wait. Once I lose weight successfully, I'll settle accounts with you! Erdun, why don't you hurry up and help me up? I'm so tired I can't even get up!"

Seeing so many people around filming Yang Meng with their phones, Duan Bowen said with a wry smile, "Mr. Yang, you're going to stir up controversy again."

"Oh? What kind?" Yang Meng asked, puzzled.

Duan Bowen said, "Someone will definitely post your video online, and it will cause a fuss."

Yang Meng spread his hands. "A fuss about what? What does it have to do with me? You two stop embarrassing yourselves here and go take a shower. Lobster, clean this place up. There's sweat everywhere. Isn't that disgusting?"

Duan Bowen hurriedly said, "I'll have someone take care of it."

But Yang Meng said, "What person are you arranging? After working out, putting the equipment back where it belongs and cleaning up afterward is basic common sense. Did you hear that, Lobster?"

Qi Kun struggled upright on the bench. "I don't need you lecturing me. Of course I know all that! Since when have you become such an amazing runner? Even the Madman can't outrun you now, can he?"

Yang Meng laughed. "Actually, I just never wanted to bully you guys. Come on, let's go take a shower. After sweating for half the day, not washing up feels awful."

Hu Erdun could not hold back any longer. "Mengmeng, is it really okay for you to put on this act? You didn't even sweat a single drop, and you're pretending to be exhausted!"

"You don't know anything," Yang Meng said indignantly. "I just didn't want to be treated like a monkey for people to film in here!"

Duan Bowen suddenly understood. "All right, everyone disperse, disperse!"

He drove the onlookers away, then said with a smile, "Mr. Yang, if Longteng hears about this today, it's bound to become a problem."

"A problem? What problem?" Yang Meng asked in confusion.

Duan Bowen smiled. "Longteng isn't stupid. If he put all his energy into business, the Long family conglomerate might have gone even further than it did under his stepmother. But his mind isn't on that. He's fixated on this fitness club. You've run up a result like this here, so he will definitely publicize it in a big way. He might even drag in the treadmill manufacturer and use them to promote you too."

After hearing that, Yang Meng curled his lip. "If he dares cause me that much trouble, I'll hang him from the rooftop and air-dry him like a chicken."

"Uh." Duan Bowen quickly said, "Then I really should tell him to drop that idea. Based on my understanding of him, he'd absolutely do it."

"Let's go wash up first," Yang Meng said. The three of them headed to the bathhouse.

Truth be told, the place under Longteng's name was worth every penny. The bathhouse was furnished like a full-service spa, and it even had soaking pools.

As typical northerners, Yang Meng and the others were nearly addicted to soaking. If there was a pool and they did not soak in it, that was practically a sin. No matter who was waiting outside, they would enjoy themselves first.

Back when they had no money, going to a bathhouse was too expensive, and soaking whenever they wanted was impossible. But now, just for this hot pool alone, Yang Meng had decided he would come here often whenever he had the chance.

In the dead of winter, was there anything more comfortable than soaking in a pool? Letting your body turn red from the heat while chatting nonsense with the people beside you felt wonderfully relaxing.

"Lobster, look at that belly of yours. You really need to work out," Hu Erdun said, patting Qi Kun's stomach in complaint.

Before Qi Kun could say anything, a man soaking nearby did not like that at all. "Hey, what do you mean by that? Are you looking down on fat people or what? Who here wants to be fat? We come here every day, enduring the strange looks of everyone around us just to keep exercising, and you still have the nerve to make snide remarks. This world is way too unfriendly to fat people, isn't it?"

Yang Meng, Hu Erdun, and Qi Kun all turned their heads. Good heavens, the speaker was even fatter than Qi Kun, with a thick gold chain around his neck, a jade pendant hanging from it, clearly no cheap piece, several large gold rings on his fingers, and a string of red agate beads on his wrist. His entire outfit practically screamed that he was rich.

Hearing him, Qi Kun grew excited. "Brother, you said that beautifully! How easy do you think it is for us to build up this much flesh by our own effort? When times are hard and there's nothing to eat or drink, we can definitely hold out longer than those skinny monkeys! We're also more cold-resistant than they are! Look at wild animals: only the strong can become leaders. So why does it all change once it gets to us?"

The man with the gold chain, however, gave a bitter smile. "But this isn't strength. This is being fat."

The two of them looked at each other and let out a long sigh together.

"Brother, my name is Qi Kun. May I ask your name?" Qi Kun said.

The man with the gold chain shook his hand. "My surname is Zhang. My name is Zhang Cuijian."

Yang Meng and Hu Erdun burst out laughing. Zhang Cuijian? His build was nowhere near as delicate as his name sounded.

Qi Kun waved a hand. "Brother Zhang, don't bother with these two uncultured idiots. They don't understand anything. But Brother Zhang, you don't look like someone who worries about money. Why did you come here to suffer like this?"

Zhang Cuijian looked helpless. "Why else? Women."

Qi Kun blinked. "Brother Zhang, don't joke with me. Someone like you could possibly lack women? These days society is so realistic. When a man has money, all he thinks about is taking care of a few women. And women are sensible too. They know that when a man has no money, they shouldn't stick with him so as not to burden him. The way you look, taking care of ten or eight beauties wouldn't be a problem, would it? Uh, Brother Zhang, could it be you're coming here to work out because you've taken care of too many girls and your body can't handle it anymore?"

Zhang Cuijian glared. "What nonsense are you talking? Just because I'm fat doesn't mean I'm weak!"

Every man feared being told he was not up to the task.

Still, after saying that, he sighed. "But Brother Qi, what you said really hits the mark. Let me tell you, we really aren't short on women. But when you meet the woman you actually like, that's a different story, isn't it? Women are so strange. They keep saying fat men are more comfortable to hug, yet my girlfriend still dislikes me for being fat."

Qi Kun blinked. "Then that girl definitely doesn't know your financial power."

Zhang Cuijian shrugged. "I've seen too many vain girls. Xiaorui isn't like that. This time I've gone all in. I bought eighty thousand in personal training sessions, and I'm determined to train myself into a shape that will make her look at me differently."

Hu Erdun could not resist cutting in. "Brother Zhang, if you came to work out just to chase girls, then maybe you're trying in the wrong direction."

"What do you mean?" Zhang Cuijian asked, confused.

Hu Erdun shrugged. "After eighty thousand worth of personal training, whether you'll actually succeed in losing weight is still one thing. What if you don't? Besides, if you're spending eighty thousand on training, you might as well spend it on buying her a bag. Maybe tonight the two of you could already be living a happily intimate life."

Zhang Cuijian panicked. "You can't talk about my Xiaorui like that! She's not that kind of person!"

Hu Erdun said, "How do you know unless you try? What if she is? As the old saying goes, you can't know a person by looking at their face, right?"

Zhang Cuijian wanted to retort, but did not know how. Qi Kun reached into a waterproof bag beside him, took out a cigarette, and handed one to Zhang Cuijian. "Brother Zhang, don't waste words on them. What do these skinny guys know about the suffering of us fat people? Let's talk among ourselves and ignore them. I think what you're doing is right! Even for the sake of our health, we should slim down a bit!"

"Well said!" Zhang Cuijian swept an arm through the air. "Brother, just for that line, I'm making you my friend. Come on, dinner's on me! Right, the old-style roast duck at Hexiangzhai really is excellent. Today we'll eat that!"

"Huh? That greasy?" Qi Kun was startled.

"Nonsense. If we don't eat our fill, how are we supposed to have the strength to lose weight? Come on, come on! Let's have a couple of drinks and properly exchange weight-loss experience!"

Yang Meng stared at all this in stunned silence. Could this possibly help someone lose weight? That would be a miracle indeed.