"You mean you'd escort me to go and admire another guy's muscles?"Ren Siyuan asked in disbelief.
"Don't flatter yourself I need to use the gym as well especially after eating that grilled chicken before the party."
"Oh yeah,"Ren Siyuan replied in realization.
"Go get your gym shorts we'll be on our way soon."
Ren Siyuan grinned widely at his friend. Chen Hao always had a way of satisfying his wishes the same way he did to the leader. It was always a mutual action.
"Where are you guys going?"Wu Hong,the youngest in the team asked seeing the two friends walking downstairs.
"We're going to the gym."
"Can I tag along?"
"Sure."
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A few minutes later,the three boys found themselves walking towards the door at the RDS gym. The door was widely open and as they approached they could hear groans and pants of the guys engaging in different kinds of exercices. They stood at the doorstep for a while watching the guys inside as if they were familiarizing themselves with the territory before invading it.
"Chen Hao? Are you guys here to use the gym as well?"Bai Yiran was the first to notice them. He stopped working out and walked towards the trio.
"Yes,"Chen Hao confirmed.
"Come on in then,"Bai Yiran ushered them in warmly.
By now everyone had stopped working out dedicating their attention to the three young boys.
"You guys can make yourselves comfortable ,"Bai Yiran spoke reassuringly.
As others got back to working out ,the trio who had just arrived began looking around for whatever equipment they wanted to use.
Ren Siyuan opted for dumbbells, lifting them beside Gao Cheng who was doing the same activity.
"You rarely work out,"Gao Cheng started striking a conversation with the boy beside him.
"I will try from now on. I want muscles like yours ,that way I can get a girlfriend easily. You know girls these days love well built guys,"Ren Siyuan admitted earning a laugh from his teammate.
Wu Hong went for kettle bells while Chen Hao went to where the barbells were hovering around the area , trying to make a clear decision whether he wanted to lift them or not. There,Li Yang was working out,dressed in a white tank top,black sweatpants and a sweatband around his forehead. He looked effortlessly hot and even more while he lifted the barbell.
With a little hesitation Chen Hao lay under the barbell on the power rack. He took heavy breaths before slowly reaching out for the barbell. He lifted it once and felt like all his energy had been drained.
"Can you lift it?"Li Yang stood in front of the boy, looking at him with concern. He had noticed how the boy was hesitant and how he could barely lift the barbell well.
" These barbells are heavier than the ones at our gym,"he complained.
Li Yang chuckled,amused by the fact that the younger shifted the blame to the equipment.
"Yeah you don't look like the kind of guy who would effortlessly lift barbells,"Li Yang commented.
"What do you mean? Are you saying I look weak?" Chen Hao questioned feeling offended.
Li Yang then realized his words had sounded offensive and he apologized immediately.
"I mean that you're always enthusiastic so you look like you love exciting exercices the ones with insane adrenaline rush not strenuous exercises like this," Li Yang explained.
"Your conclusion?" he asked sarcastically.
"I think you love treadmills because it's like an appetizer and gets you the excitement to sustain you throughout other activities. And sorry to say this, you look a little too delicate for barbells so I think you should start with treadmills and dumbbells and by the way even our dumbbells might be heavier than the ones at your gym,"Li Yang continued. It was the longest he had spoken to Chen Hao. He wasn't usually outspoken but he wondered where he had gotten the confidence.
"Okay Mr Gym Instructor I'll follow your advice then,"Chen Hao mocked.
"I'm sorry I..."Li Yang blurted out nervously.
"No need to apologize it's not like an apology will erase the words you just said now,"he said shifting his gaze to a different area,"Your gym is more advanced by the way, you even have a dual treadmill. Care to compete with me dear gym instructor?"
"Another competition?" Li Yang chuckled in amusement.
Li Yang trailed after him and the two stood beside each other on the treadmills, They began by agreeing on the competition parameters, that is , the speed at which they would run and the total distance they aimed to cover. The parameters were then programmed individually into the treadmill, ensuring both of them were operating under identical conditions. Once the settings were configured, they started running simultaneously, aiming to maintain the set speed throughout the challenge. The goal was to be the first to cover the target distance without falling behind the chosen speed.
The others gathered beside them spectating them,each team cheering their own leader.
"I didn't expect the gym instructor to lag behind,"Chen Hao mocked him after emerging the winner in the competition.
"Next time I won't go easy on you ,"Li Yang said smiling.
"I didn't ask you to go easy on ne,"Chen Hao sassed.
"Okay in our next competition I'll make sure to beat you,"Li Yang declared confidently.
"ChenChen you're amazing,"Ren Siyuan complimented him, throwing his hand around the leader's shoulders as they walked out of the gym.
Chen Hao didn't know why competing with the RDS leader felt so exciting. He had never felt so excited to compete even during matches.
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Although Li Yang called him delicate,he didn't take it to heart like when his highschool classmates used to say.
They were panting hard by the time they reached the Ocean Emblems' building.
Opening the door to the living room,they were surprised by the sight of the person seated on the couch.
"Mom?!"Chen Hao shouted,his eyes widening in surprise. He discarded his friend's hand from his shoulder and sprinted towards the elegantly dressed lady in the room falling into her arms.