CHAPTER 972: CHAPTER 562: STAFF TECHNIQUE (PART 2)

Dan Kaiquan ignored him, the other person felt awkward and left, irritated.

Miao Zhe was struggling with the bench press, so Dan Kaiquan had to remove the weights and let him push the bare bar.

After finishing a set, Dan Kaiquan took advantage of the break: "How do you feel, any sensation in your arms and pecs?"

Miao Zhe: "Definitely."

"The heavier you push, the more developed your muscles will be, reaching the point where you look slim in clothes but muscular when shirtless." Dan Kaiquan explained the theory.

After doing two more sets, the atmosphere became livelier, Dan Kaiquan curiously asked: "Why did you suddenly decide to work out, did a romance stress you out?"

Dan Kaiquan asked this because he himself started working out to numb himself after being stressed by a girl.

Before Miao Zhe could reply, Dan Kaiquan shook his head: "Doesn’t seem like it, I’ve never seen you interact with girls before."

Miao Zhe naturally wouldn’t mention his online relationship.

Even though the reliability of an online relationship depends on whether the person on the other side is trustworthy, in this era, mentioning online relationships often leads to mockery.

It easily gives people the impression that this person can’t find someone in reality and has to resort to dating online.

Miao Zhe replied: "I just want to exercise."

"Hahaha, I thought you were in an online relationship!" Dan Kaiquan laughed.

Miao Zhe didn’t show much expression on his face, but inside he was surprised that Dan Kaiquan guessed it.

Although Miao Zhe was embarrassed to talk about online dating, deep down, he also longed for others’ recognition.

However, mentioning online dating reminded Dan Kaiquan of the past ambiguous dealings between Brother Nan and the tea seller uncle, and he shook his head: "Online dating is unreliable, you never know if the person on the other side is human or ghost."

"Right, don’t you think that’s correct?"

Miao Zhe felt a bit defeated but couldn’t argue back, so he pretended to agree.

Dan Kaiquan thought of Brother Nan’s miserable situation: "Online dating, even a dog wouldn’t go for it! Isn’t that right, Zhezi?"

Miao Zhe’s head hurt: ’...I’m just trying to work out, do you have to make me curse myself?’

...

Building 3, second floor east corridor, several people were enjoying the breeze.

Lin Zida leaned on the railing, joyfully: "Next month’s marathon champion’s prize is 660,000, amazing, first-class contestants from all over the world will probably fly here."

Zhuang Jianhui: "Seeing those dark-skinned folks, it just annoys me."

Lin Zida: "Can’t help it, they’re born runners, we can’t compete with them just yet."

The short-distance and long-distance champions worldwide are almost entirely monopolized by people of other skin colors.

Li Shi covered her mouth and yawned: "I’ve heard there’s going to be traffic control; going out will probably be quite troublesome, no idea what the point of this event is."

Lin Zida said: "That’s just appearances, in reality, events like this attract many runners from out of town, it’s akin to bringing in thousands of tourists, greatly benefiting Yuzhou’s economic development, not to mention the subsequent positive reputation that might develop."

Jiang Ning stood in the corridor, listening in on their conversation.

Li Shi spoke a few more sentences and redirected her gaze; Jiang Ning stood there quietly, his side profile straight like a pine tree, giving her a strange feeling, as if he was isolated from the world and yet connected to everything, existing between boundaries in a way that was hard to grasp.

Li Shi’s gaze was direct, lacking the slightest hint of other girls’ shyness, a confidence stemming from billions in family wealth and her status as the only daughter.

"Hey Jiang Ning, are you not participating in the marathon? There’s a 660,000 prize!" Li Shi said with a hint of direction.

"Too lazy to join."

"I remember your sports performance is quite good, you might even win a prize." Li Shi seemed to be considering his best interest.

However, Jiang Ning continuously faced the distant, dark playground, not even glancing at her, making her feel displeased, as if she were something best avoided.

Jiang Ning replied: "So-so."

Li Shi listened to his terse and indifferent style, feeling a nameless anger.

The twins appeared around the corner, calling: "Jiang Ning, come on, hurry up!"

After Jiang Ning left with the twins, Li Shi said:

"What’s so great about him, look at how smug he is?"

"I kindly try to point out a way to make money, and he’s not even appreciative."

Lin Zida: "Alright, say no more."

"Hmph, he’s merely self-aware, knowing that his skills amount to nothing compared to professional marathon athletes." Li Shi laughed again.

Lin Zida thought: ’So you were giving advice just to belittle him?’

...

After school, river dam.

The electric bike lights pierced through the gentle mist, heading further into the night sky.

"You play games in my room, I’m going out for a moment." Jiang Ning instructed.

The starting point for the half marathon is at the stadium, passing Hu Qi Mountain and Qingyu Lake; he went to check the array, ensuring there were no missed details.

Xue Yuantong saw him running around again and discontentedly went "tsk".

But didn’t say anything to make him stay, since Xue Yuantong would always wait for him to come home.

"Next week we’re going to the marathon site to cheer for Yang Sheng!" Xue Yuantong was looking forward to it, "Can we eat whatever we want like the competitors do?"

She heard from Bai Yuxia that during marathons, there are supply stations with drinks, chocolates, fruits, and other energy foods... you can eat as much as you want!

Jiang Ning told her: "We’re spectators, we can’t eat."

Xue Yuantong’s spirits plummeted instantly, her little face looking sickly, "Alright then."

Suddenly, she didn’t feel like cheering for Yang Sheng anymore.

Jiang Ning added: "But..."

Hearing a change, Xue Yuantong’s eyes lit up, a whole day’s weariness and fatigue vanished into thin air, her energy restored:

"Hmm?"

"I’ll apply for a volunteer badge, then we can eat like the competitors." Jiang Ning said.

He thought about having Shao Shuangshuang arrange some unique food supply points later.

"Great, great!" Xue Yuantong leaned in, as if trying to rub her smile onto his clothes.

’Yang Sheng, we won’t miss your race, my Tongtong will definitely be there!’

...

With Jiang Ning not around, Xue Yuantong called over Chuchu to have some fun in his room.

Xue Yuantong found a new two-player game, a side-scrolling Mario, and she and Chuchu teamed up, jumping through levels.

As they were enjoying the game, the room’s lights suddenly flickered and then went dim.

Xue Yuantong was startled, anxiously saying: "Oh no, oh no, the power’s out, what to do? Jiang Ning hasn’t come back for a shower yet!"

Xue Chuchu silently extended her pale finger, pointing at the glowing screen in front of them.

"Oh~" Xue Yuantong realized, lifting her little head, "Turns out the bulb is broken."

After moving in with her, Jiang Ning added a lot of equipment, but never changed the overhead light. The energy-saving bulb was quite old, so it’s normal for it to break.

Using the light from the screen and the ambient lamp, Xue Yuantong dug out a brand-new box from the drawer.

This was the new light Jiang Ning bought earlier, but since the old one hadn’t broken, he hadn’t installed it yet.

"Chuchu, let’s change the light bulb!" Xue Yuantong suggested.

She wanted to fix the bulb before Jiang Ning got home, so as not to trouble him.

Xue Chuchu nodded lightly: "Alright."

Xue Yuantong unwrapped the package, placed the bulb on the table, and ran out to fetch a wooden chair and a small stool.

"Don’t forget the power switch." Chuchu reminded.

Xue Yuantong turned off all the circuit breakers, ensuring the entire room was powered down, and then with the help of Chuchu’s phone flashlight, fumbled back into the room.

She stacked the small stool on top of the wooden chair, taking a deep breath: "Chuchu, I’m going up."

"Go for it!" Xue Chuchu cheered her on.

Xue Yuantong clenched her small hands; she had never changed a bulb before and was very afraid of getting electrocuted.

She took a deep breath, suppressing her inner tension, took off her shoes, and lifted her foot, her little white sock stepping onto the chair.

Finally, she steadied herself on the chair, the next step was onto the small stool on top, her little white sock stepping onto it, feeling a tremor:

"It’s so wobbly, the stool isn’t steady."

Xue Chuchu: "It’s you who’s wobbling."

Xue Yuantong: "Oh."

She firmly planted one foot onto the small stool and said: "Chuchu, don’t stop me, I’m going up."

Xue Chuchu: "Alright, I’m standing far away."

"Come closer."

Xue Yuantong gritted her teeth, both little white socks fully stepping on the stool, but she was so scared, she didn’t dare to straighten her back.

She shakily twisted off the bulb and quickly stepped down from the stool.

Seeing this, Xue Chuchu offered: "Let me install the new bulb."

"The bulb’s still hot." Xue Yuantong touched the bulb, "Chuchu, wait a sec, I’ll be right back."

A minute later, Xue Yuantong appeared in the room holding a wooden stick.

Seeing this scene, Xue Chuchu raised her eyebrows slightly, showing a hint of confusion.

Xue Yuantong swung the stick twice, assuring: "Chuchu, feel free to install the bulb, if you get electrocuted, I’ll whack you down with the stick!"