Chapter 76 - A Man Can't Be Inadequate in Front of a Woman!

On the other hand,

Meanwhile, Zhou Yan led Lu Zhai over to the treadmill area.

Compared to the buff men and women in the weights area, the scene here was noticeably much fresher.

Quite a few women in tight workout clothes were sweating on the treadmills, their sweat-drenched clothes outlining their curvy figures.

“Sniff~”

Zhou Yan took a deep breath, an expression of intoxicated longing on his face.

“Ah Zhai, do you smell that?”

“Smell what?”

Puzzled, Lu Zhai also took a deep breath, and a look of disgust appeared on his face.

“Are you talking about the sour, stinky smell filling the air?”

“Tsk! You have no appreciation!”

Zhou Yan clicked his tongue and corrected him:

“How is that a sour, stinky smell? That is the scent of maidens in the flower of their youth!”

Lu Zhai: “…”

Lu Zhai was speechless, his face just a mask of contempt.

Everyone else says he's a pervert, but he felt that this guy Zhou Yan was in no way his inferior...

“Come on, big bro will show you how to pick up girls~”

Zhou Yan tossed his head and coolly walked over to a woman running on a treadmill, starting up the machine next to hers without a word.

Lu Zhai, on his other side, decisively chose speed level 6 and began to stroll on the treadmill in a fast walk.

Zhou Yan watched and just shook his head.

This guy is a perfect negative example. At that speed, he's not even keeping up with the woman. How is he supposed to attract a woman's attention?

It seems he'll have to provide a lesson by word and deed!

Catching out of the corner of his eye that the woman's treadmill speed was at 8, Zhou Yan grinned confidently and directly set his own speed to 10.

Most women have a hidden instinct to admire the strong. As long as he performs better than the woman next to him, he will definitely attract her attention.

The treadmill started, the belt rolling, and Zhou Yan began to run.

At first, he could completely keep up with the treadmill's speed, even looking relaxed and at ease.

But soon, sweat began to stream down his forehead, and he started panting heavily.

“Yanzi, if you can't keep up, don't force it. Slow down a bit,” Lu Zhai advised kindly from the side.

“What are you talking about? I-I'm just getting warmed up! How could I not be able to keep going?!”

“At this speed, I could run for an hour, no problem~!”

Zhou Yan shot him an irritated glare, secretly signaling him to shut up. Then he glanced furtively at the girl beside him and forced a relaxed expression onto his face.

There's a girl right next to me. If I turn the speed down after just starting, forget showing off and picking her up, I'll probably just get looked down on and laughed at.

A man can be inadequate in many ways, but he absolutely cannot be inadequate in front of a woman!

Whether it's in bed, or out of it!

Besides, she's just a girl. How long can she run on a treadmill?

A man's endurance has always been greater than a woman's. He believed he could definitely last longer than the girl beside him. What's more, she had already been running before he even got here. He'd just wait for her to give up first, and then he would stop.

Lu Zhai saw at a glance that Zhou Yan was just putting up a brave front. With a helpless expression, he couldn't be bothered to persuade him further and just continued his stroll on the treadmill.

Soon, more than twenty minutes had passed in the blink of an eye. Zhou Yan was clutching the handrails of the treadmill, so tired he was completely out of breath, looking as if he were about to expire.

But the woman next to him, although also covered in sweat, was breathing steadily and still running.

What was going on? His own legs were so tired they were about to go numb, yet this woman still looked completely at ease!

Could it be that he was too weak...?

Just how long has it been?

Zhou Yan didn't know how much time had passed, nor did he have the energy to pull out his phone to check. He had no choice but to ask Lu Zhai beside him:

“Huff… huff… A-Ah Zhai… h-how long has it been?”

“Almost half an hour.”

Lu Zhai opened his phone, glanced at the time, and replied.

“Half an hour?!”

Zhou Yan was shocked and looked at the woman beside him with even greater disbelief.

He had been running for almost half an hour, covering nearly 5 kilometers at the very least. He was about to die on this treadmill.

And this woman, whose speed wasn't much slower than his, was completely fine!

Isn't she a bit too strong!

Just then, the woman's friend from her other side walked over to her.

“How's the run going?”

“Feeling good! The marathon in a couple of days should be no problem!” the woman replied with a beaming smile while still running.

“Cough, cough!”

Hearing the two women's conversation, Zhou Yan choked violently, almost unable to catch his breath. His footing slipped, and his whole body fell face-first onto the treadmill belt, rolling off onto the floor.

He was well and truly defeated. Of all the girls in the gym, how did he manage to pick a marathon runner!

You're a marathon runner, you should have said so earlier! What a waste of his emotions, and a waste of his energy.

If he had tried to keep up with her for another ten kilometers, he'd probably have a heart attack and die on the treadmill, while she'd still be fine...

“Yanzi, are you okay?”

Lu Zhai stopped his treadmill and crouched down in front of Zhou Yan, concerned.

“I'm fine…”

Zhou Yan picked himself up off the floor, his legs so sore and weak they were shaking uncontrollably. He nearly lost his balance and fell again.

He hadn't run at such a high intensity for so long since graduating from university.

The amount of exercise he did today was probably equivalent to a whole year's worth for him…

“Yanzi, just give up.”

Lu Zhai pushed up his glasses, his gaze sweeping over the women working out nearby, and said:

“Look around. Is there a single woman here who isn't stronger than us?”

Zhou Yan: “…”

Zhou Yan looked at the women around them—some deadlifting 80kg barbells, others doing bicep curls with 20kg dumbbells in each hand—and finally accepted the cruel reality.

In the entire gym, the weakest people were probably one of the two of them…

“No! As a proud man, how can I lose to women!”

After a brief moment of discouragement, a blazing fighting spirit ignited in Zhou Yan's heart instead. He grabbed Lu Zhai.

“Ah Zhai, come help me train!”

“Starting today, I'm going to become a buff man!”

With that, Zhou Yan walked straight to the bench press and deadlift area and lay down on the bench press.

There were no extra plates on the barbell; the total weight was only 30 kilograms. He gripped the bar with both hands, ready.

Lu Zhai stood near his head, ready to rescue him at a moment's notice.

The two exchanged a look. Without needing any extra words, they knew the other was ready.

Zhou Yan took a deep breath, unracked the barbell, and using all his strength, slowly pushed the barbell high up.

“Yanzi! Go for it! You can do it! Believe in yourself!”

“Just a little more! You're almost there! Hold on!”

Amidst Lu Zhai's continuous encouragement, Zhou Yan, with trembling arms, slowly pushed the barbell until his arms were fully extended.

“You did it! You're a man!” Lu Zhai cheered for him.

Zhou Yan reracked the barbell above his head, sat up, and looked at his own hands in disbelief, his heart filled with emotion and a sense of accomplishment.

He did it!

He had successfully completed a 30kg barbell bench press!

A woman to the side watched the two of them, stifling a laugh. Then, she silently lay down on the bench press, grabbed the 30kg barbell, and did ten reps in one go.

Zhou Yan: “…”

Lu Zhai: “…”

At this moment, both Zhou Yan and Lu Zhai fell silent. Suddenly, their hearts didn't feel so happy anymore…

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