Chapter 301

Chapter 301: Intimacy Should Come After Bench Pressing

Lin You Xi’s healthy family recipes were consistently produced every day. To prepare meals for three people, she had to start her day at five in the morning.

Initially, Mei Fang would also get up early to help, but she urged him to rest more so he could have enough energy for his morning run.

Neither Xia Yuan nor Mei Fang had any doubts about Lin You Xi’s culinary skills. Xia Yuan enjoyed her healthy meals every day.

The only regret was that the portions were too small for her, and during their secret training sessions at night, her stomach would constantly grumble, affecting everyone’s mood.

Xia Yuan even suffered from insomnia one night due to hunger, drinking water crazily in the middle of the night.

But she ultimately resisted the temptation to sneak food, unlike before when she would easily give in to her emotions, especially with Mei Fang.

Clearly, Xia Yuan had been making great efforts to prove her determination to lose weight, which Mei Fang and Lin You Xi noticed. Thus, Mei Fang was willing to continue supporting Xia Yuan, and Lin You Xi was also diligently preparing weight-loss meals.

Following Guo Yun’s suggestion, Mei Fang bought home exercise equipment like a treadmill, a bench press board, dumbbells, resistance bands, etc. On weekends, Guo Yun visited as planned.

“Welcome, please come in!”

“Thank you for having me!”

Guo Yun’s campus life had changed significantly after an interview. Due to the special status of “Cloud Journey” in the gaming industry, she received even more attention than before the rumor incident.

Many boys approached her under the pretense of being very interested in “Cloud Journey” or claiming to be loyal fans, increasing her troubles rather than decreasing them.

However, Guo Yun had gradually learned to adapt instead of avoiding these situations. She not only faced these interactions but also resumed her fitness routine.

Today, she looked even better than before, more confident and energetic, completely unrecognizable as the chubby girl she once was.

Guo Yun first tasted Lin You Xi’s fitness meals at Mei Fang’s house and praised her cooking skills highly.

“The ingredients are all from my recipe, yet they taste so good! This completely changed my view on buckwheat noodles.”

“I think grilled chicken breast can be made. Cumin powder and black pepper don’t affect fitness, so I tried making grilled chicken breast.”

“That works, but my cooking isn’t great. These fitness meals are just casually handled…”

“I can teach you if we have the chance.”

“Sure, sure. Welcome to our house again. Last time wasn’t ideal, but next time I’ll prepare better.”

Guo Yun smiled, “Next time I’ll introduce you to my Wu.”

“Wu? You mean your dog’s name? Haha, that’s such a strange name. Is there a story behind it?”

At this point, Mei Fang couldn’t help but interject, “This is the dog from ‘Bingo Baskets,’ the zodiac dog.”

“Yes, yes!”

With her otaku identity, Guo Yun was very happy when Mei Fang mentioned the origin, her eyes sparkling, “Because my Wu is just like that character, giving a sense of security.”

Xia Yuan nodded in agreement, “Yes, yes! I love that character and the story’s mouse—his name is the same as You Xi’s, we laughed a lot back then…”

“Okay, let’s stop discussing dogs.”

Lin You Xi patted Guo Yun’s shoulder with a smile, “If you like it, eat more. Don’t be polite, okay?”

“Aa… No, no…”

Although Guo Yun appeared much stronger than Lin You Xi now, with a well-proportioned and sexy figure, Lin You Xi’s former class leader aura was still intimidating. Guo Yun dared not speak much in front of her, let alone disagree, and simply finished the lunch prepared by Lin You Xi obediently.

Apart from Xia Yuan, everyone rested after eating. Mei Fang took this opportunity to discuss virtual idols with Guo Yun, needing her to create a 2D persona for Xia Yuan for future live streams.

Xia Yuan herself was quite interested in live streaming, but Mei Fang did not want her to appear too much in public. He wanted the mascot to be more three-dimensional, so he asked Guo Yun to create a persona.

“Of course, I can do that. But is it just for Yuan Yuan?”

Guo Yun thought for a moment, “I think You Xi and you should also have anime characters. That would fit better.”

“That’s not urgent. I can’t add too many requests, since you’re preparing for the art exams.”

Mei Fang thought for a moment, “Art exam planning should be earlier. Have you considered which university you want to go to?”

“Our art students definitely want to go to the Imperial Capital Art Academy… but my grades probably won’t make it. For now, I plan to apply to Jiangcheng Art Academy locally.”

“I remember Jiangcheng Art Academy is one of the eight major art academies. Getting in there would be amazing.”

Like Xia Yuan, Guo Yun originally planned to take the college entrance exam as an art student. However, with her current social status, she could use the recommendation route to attend her preferred school.

Xia Yuan mainly wanted to stay close to Mei Fang and wasn’t in a hurry.

“Have any schools discussed recommendations with you after you publicly declared your main art focus?”

“Not really… Currently, the recommendation policies for art students are limited, and the spots are mostly held by top students. But teachers have talked to me about our game-related activities, particularly interested in how much money we’ve made… But that’s commercial confidential, so I shouldn’t tell them.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that. Next time they ask, tell them our domestic sales have reached 200,000 units, and after deducting operating costs, net profit is around 7 million.”

“Th-That much!”

Guo Yun was surprised to learn how much money they had made together on the game.

“This doesn’t include the value of our labor as students. If we were considered talents in society, we’d have to deduct at least one to two million.”

Mei Fang thought for a moment, “Firstly, Guo Yun, you’re worth over 20,000 yuan per month as the main artist. Giving you only 100,000 yuan as a year-end bonus is already a bargain.”

“I-I can’t count that much money…”

Guo Yun looked quite embarrassed, her face turning red.

Beside her, Lin You Xi tugged on her childhood friend’s arm, “What about me?”

“Are you asking for a price too… You Xi, as the main programmer, should be at least—”

Mei Fang initially wanted to say 30,000 yuan, thinking it shouldn’t be too different from Guo Yun’s, showing his sincere intentions.

But as soon as Lin You Xi heard the number 3, she gave him an unhappy look. Mei Fang quickly corrected himself:

“Not just 30,000, but 50,000 yuan as the main programmer.”

“What about me, what about me?”

Xia Yuan tugged on Mei Fang, “How much are we worth in music?”

“Music is hard to quantify… It can be expensive or cheap, even outsourced—”

“What? You’re calling us outsourced.”

Xia Yuan pinched Mei Fang’s cheek angrily, “Just tell me how much I’m worth!”

“You can have whatever you want, everything is yours!”

“Why do you need to let me win? Tell me the truth!”

To appease Xia Yuan, Mei Fang promised to put the OST on Steam for sale during the next update, seeing how many players would buy it.

In fact, Xia Yuan made much less money in the gaming industry compared to her music career.

Her first physical album, “Yuan Xi Together,” included songs “Naked Face” and “A Little Sweet,” which were originally intended for her second album. Released in March, it had already sold over 5 million copies in the first quarter.

Thus, the album Xia Yuan was preparing for the breakup was actually her second album, not the third.

They celebrated briefly when it reached a million sales, but Xia Yuan lost interest afterward. The funds were managed by her cousin Mei Yue, forming the雏形 of Mei Fang’s third company—a media company.

This media company was part of Mei Fang’s post-graduation plans, aiming to enhance Xia Yuan’s influence. While it didn’t fully represent entering the entertainment industry, it ensured Mei Fang could maintain control over Xia Yuan, her band, and her music studio.

This plan was still in the works, known only to Mei Fang, Lin You Xi, and Mei Yue, while Xia Yuan was unaware.

“Alright, alright… Now we can finally start exercising!”

“Coach Guo, take a look at the fitness equipment I bought.”

“Hmm… Let me try.”

They set up a fitness area between the balcony and living room, mainly with a treadmill and bench press board, with smaller equipment like dumbbells on a rack nearby. The area faced Xia Yuan’s full-length mirror for posture checking.

“These equipment are all good quality.”

Guo Yun responded.

“I know how to use the treadmill, but what’s this bench press board used for?”

“It’s a versatile board, so every home exerciser has one.”

As Guo Yun removed her coat, revealing her toned figure comparable to Xia Yuan’s, she explained, “It’s mainly used for bench pressing to build chest muscles, but it can also work for back muscles. Let me demonstrate.”

Guo Yun lay on the bench press board, and Mei Fang handed her a pair of dumbbells.

“Strength training aims to increase muscle mass and burn calories, so you can effectively burn fat during aerobic exercises.”

Xia Yuan tilted her head, puzzled, “But I want to lose weight. Won’t building muscle affect my weight?”

“Building muscle increases your daily calorie expenditure. As your muscle mass grows, you need more calories to maintain it, so you can eat more without gaining weight,” Guo Yun continued. “Also, one kilogram of fat takes up three times the space of one kilogram of muscle. Reducing body fat makes your body slimmer, with noticeable results.”

Guo Yun started demonstrating bench presses.

“Chest out, abs in, back flat against the board, use your arms, don’t shrug, lift the dumbbells to the center, lower them, elbows vertical—”

Guo Yun performed the demonstration skillfully, impressing the others with her expertise. Mei Fang was secretly amazed, recalling how she had transformed from a chubby girl to a fitness expert, even though he hadn’t directly shaped her.

Guo Yun wore only a tank top, and Mei Fang noticed her bare shoulders and torso, making her feel slightly uncomfortable. After demonstrating, she quickly stood up.

“In general, each workout focuses on one part. Today, if you’re working on shoulders, do all shoulder exercises. If it’s legs, do leg exercises. The first time might be painful, but subsequent workouts won’t be as bad. Long-term rotation will help you lose weight quickly.”

“Is there specific waist training?” Lin You Xi suddenly asked, confusing Guo Yun. “Waist training targets core muscles, usually part of muscle-building exercises with protein powder. I’m currently focused on basic shaping and fat loss, not muscle building yet.”

“Let me try first.”

Mei Fang lay down on the bench press board as instructed by Guo Yun.

“Is this right?”

“Keep your back straight, don’t hunch shoulders… Not like that. Keep your back straight, but still pressed against the board… Like this… Like this…”

Guo Yun started correcting Mei Fang’s form, a rare opportunity for close contact. When she realized it, she awkwardly pulled back and glanced at Xia Yuan, as if saying Mei Fang is yours, I won’t interfere.

“It’s fine… Just teach him properly.”

Mei Fang began bench pressing under Guo Yun’s guidance, stopping after ten reps. Guo Yun helped stabilize his arms.

“Will this help if I hold you steady?”

“Yes, complete the full set. At first, you need help, otherwise the dumbbells might fall… ”

Guo Yun’s interactions with Mei Fang became more restrained, focusing on the dumbbells. Xia Yuan and Lin You Xi were satisfied with her self-awareness.

But Mei Fang on the bench press board…

“I can’t… I’m exhausted. How can Yuan Yuan endure this?”

“Some rest and relaxation rewards are allowed. After one round, you can rest and drink water.”

“Hmm… If better rewards were given, wouldn’t you push yourself harder?”

Lin You Xi sat on Mei Fang’s lap, holding his thighs, smiling, “For example, after completing ten reps, I’ll let you kiss me. Of course, to clarify this is a reward, we won’t be intimate otherwise.”

…

?

?!

This was the first time Lin You Xi showed intimacy in front of Guo Yun since Mei Fang and Xia Yuan got together.

Guo Yun’s smile froze at the unexpected display of affection.

“You… You’re not joking, right?”

(End of Chapter)