Warm-Up Before Physical Education

“Six! Seven!”

“Ah!”

A sharp pain shot through his arm, his feet lost contact with the ground, and once again he was sent flying, crashing down onto the floor.

Fortunately, the ground was padded with spongy mats, so it didn’t hurt much, though the impact made his stomach churn.

“Get up, there are still four more sets.”

Chu Fengyi flicked her neat ponytail, her eyes glinting coldly as she pressed her hands together into a knife-edge.

“I can’t go on. I don’t have any strength left.”

“How can you say you have no strength just by taking a beating? I’m not asking you to attack me.”

“It hurts to get hit, you know?”

“Look at yourself after these days; do you see any bruises or marks? There’s skill in how I hit people.”

“But does this really help me with martial arts training?”

“Don’t you feel it yourself?”

Every day after the midday dismissal, she’d keep him at school, borrow an empty classroom, and begin these lessons, which were essentially training in taking hits.

But it did work. Combined with his own breathing techniques, his constitution had already improved to 4.9—almost at 5.

“My constitution has gotten stronger, but when will this end? Did you accept me as your disciple just to have a punching bag?”

“You’re not even worthy of being called a punching bag yet. Once your constitution reaches a normal level, I’ll start teaching you evasion. That’s real dodging skills, not just running away like you do now.”

“Alright then.”

Xu Lin glanced at her expression. Even though he kept getting beaten up, he could tell she was earnest and responsible.

Every day she spent her lunch break with him at school, and after training, she’d even treat him to a meal—a nutritional lunch that cost a thousand yuan each time.

“By the way, the other day you insisted on picking me up in front of everyone, making them all think I’m some rich kid.”

“Isn’t that a good thing?”

“I’d rather become rich myself.”

“You’re pretty ambitious, no wonder my sister’s interested in you.”

“So, what actually happened between you sisters? You don’t seem to dislike your sister at all.”

Xu Lin picked himself up from the ground. He’d always wanted to know what had happened between the two, but with Chu Qingchan, he was afraid that pressing her would lower his favorability rating.

Here, though, it was fine. After these days of sparring, the physical contact while getting beaten had unlocked this second young lady’s favorability.

[Chu Fengyi]
[Age: 20]
[Zodiac: Rooster]
[Intelligence: 7.8]
[Constitution: 8.8]
[Charm: 7.7]
[Favorability: 10]

It started at 10, and after three days of beatings, it was still 10, so he just asked her directly.

“Why should I answer that question?”

“Aren’t I your future brother-in-law?”

“To marry into the Chu family, do you know what the requirements are?”

She suddenly dropped her hand-knife stance, plopped down on the mat, and looked at him teasingly.

“To be very rich?”

“No, you have to be a live-in son-in-law.”

“That’s all?”

“It’s not that simple. Your children wouldn’t take your surname, but the Chu surname. They’d be raised entirely according to the Chu family’s methods and wouldn’t be allowed to see any relatives from your father’s side.”

“What kind of rule is that?”

“It’s always been this way in the Chu family. And you can’t inherit anything from the family, either. The family is passed down to the eldest son, but my father doesn’t have a son.”

“So if you marry in, and your child is a boy, he might inherit.”

“Of course, the Chu family isn’t just my father—my uncles and their children can also compete for the main family position.”

“It sounds like something out of a novel—an ancient, powerful family.”

“Pretty much. But I’m the youngest daughter, so my priority is way down the line. Besides, I don’t want to get married or get involved in all that. I’ll let my sister handle it.”

“But what if your sister doesn’t want to return?”

“Then whoever wants to marry can marry. I’m not doing it!”

“I can almost feel your father’s frustration. Maybe he should just adopt me as a godson.”

“He can, as long as you can beat Uncle Blackboard. He’s my grandfather’s adopted son.”

Chu Fengyi flashed a mischievous smile, glancing at the silent middle-aged man in the corner of the classroom.

That was the driver, always wearing sunglasses, standing silently all day. Xu Lin had barely heard him speak.

“Is he stronger than you?”

“Uncle Blackboard isn’t just my driver and assistant—he’s also my bodyguard and one of my teachers. What do you think?”

“There’s no way I could beat him! Forget it, I’ll just live an ordinary life.”

“By the way, if you can ever defeat me head-on, I’ll let you marry me. My only requirement is that the man can beat me.”

“Then I’d better work harder and marry your sister instead.”

“You think my sister is that easy to win over? She values loyalty above all. You’d better sort out your situation with your English teacher and the class president first.”

“How do you know everything… I’m just an ordinary high school student, not worth all this investigation.”

“I’m doing this for my sister. Besides, if you really like her, you’d better work hard and stay focused. Betrayal has serious consequences!!”

“One!”

As she finished, she suddenly threw another punch. Xu Lin inhaled deeply and pivoted his body in an instant.

He recalled the Xu family’s self-defense techniques, letting them guide his body, and instinctively met her attack.

Her fist was dodged by his arm; his arms crossed into a scissor shape and snapped shut.

He caught her arm, used all his strength, and with a sharp tug, leveraged the momentum of her own punch.

Her whole body was pulled sideways, and as he released her, she was sent hurtling toward the ground.

But just at the moment before she hit the ground, her body spun half a turn in midair like a windmill and landed steadily, reminiscent of Spider-Man.

“Interesting!”

Thrown aside, Chu Fengyi was not the least bit angry—instead, she grew even more excited.

Xu Lin was reminded of Chu Qingchan, who got excited at the prospect of licking feet, and now this one, Chu Fengyi, who grew more exhilarated the stronger the opponent.

Both sisters were a bit odd, though at least the celebrity elder sister had no fighting prowess and wouldn’t suddenly punch him.

“If I had more stamina, I could’ve followed up with a combo after pulling you over.”

“Who taught you that?”

“That’s the Xu family’s ancestral self-defense art, but the latter half, which is more practical, has been lost.”

“That’s a pity. What’s the name of that footwork?”

“It doesn’t have a name.” He was too embarrassed to say it was called ‘Illuminating Steps.’

“I want to learn it. I’ll trade you my Pursuing Palm technique for it.”

Chu Fengyi was direct; she’d taken him as a disciple partly to experience being a teacher, but also because she wanted that footwork.

“No deal. When you’ve trained me up to be as strong as you, then I’ll teach you.”

Xu Lin wasn’t foolish. She’d hinted at it three or four times over the past few days—she clearly wanted his footwork, so he certainly wasn’t going to give it away yet.

Without it, he’d lose a vital tool for improving his constitution, and if she learned it, he’d have no means of escape.

Of course, it wasn’t that he’d never teach her; if he could beat her or at least protect himself, then it wouldn’t matter.

Suddenly, he remembered that there was a PE class that afternoon. He wondered how the students would react to having such a golden-haired beauty as a teacher.

“What’s wrong?”

“Aren’t you teaching PE this afternoon? Got any plans?”

“Of course I do. I’m responsible for making sure you all get in shape! Love your work, whatever it is!”

“I’ll be looking forward to it, then.”

“Yes, look forward to it.” She narrowed her eyes and smiled adorably.

He, on the other hand, silently prayed for the students, hoping that after this class, they’d still love PE.