Zhao Dazhuang reached out and held Zhao ii in his arms, speaking earnestly, "In this life, you have to have a goal. You admire your big brother and want him to always like you too. So you have to work towards that. You have to beco beautiful, capable, and outstanding for your brother to keep liking you. Got it?"
Zhao ii nodded vigorously.
Liu Xiue poked her head out from the kitchen and yelled at the father-daughter duo having a heart-to-heart on the sofa, "All you know is reaching out to eat! Hurry up and help peel so onions!"
At that critical mont, Zhao Dazhuang imdiately pushed his precious daughter to the front line, "Off you go, your training opportunity has co!"
Zhao ii: "...."
Just as she was about to stand up from the sofa, her mom shouted again, "Zhao Dazhuang, hurry up! Waiting for the pan to heat!"
Zhao ii laughed, "Dad, mom is calling you!"
Zhao Dazhuang jumped up from the sofa and charged into the kitchen while complaining, "You just spoil her too much! Too much motherly love ruins the child!"
Liu Xiue shot back, "As if you weren’t the one pregnant for ten months and giving birth. You don’t feel the pain! ii, when you earn money later, don’t support him, okay!"
Zhao Dazhuang: "What are you talking about? You better stop causing discord between us. We’re family; our bond is like blood thicker than water, even if bones are broken, they’re connected by tendons. Who else would my daughter support if not !"
Zhao ii listened to her parents bickering in the kitchen, silently pondering her dad’s earlier words, and the more she thought about them, the more they made sense. Suddenly, a strong sense of urgency arose within her.
Since the end of the October holiday, Zhao ii noticed Zhang Jiahui began blatantly and subtly trying to please her. In class, whenever she was called to answer questions, if she got them right, Zhang Jiahui would certainly give kind and generous praise. After classes, unable to catch her a few tis, Zhang Jiahui would find the ti near the end of class to walk to Zhao ii’s desk and openly try to get closer to her.
Although it was mostly about academics, the concern was evident.
Peng Hui, hanging onto Zhao ii’s arm, chuckled mischievously, "Hey, if I didn’t know Mr. Zhang was aiming for your brother, I’d almost suspect she has her eye on you, nagging all day long! Tsk-tsk!!"
Zhao ii rolled her eyes, "Bah!"
Peng Hui, with her sharp tongue, spoke things Zhao ii disliked hearing, "But I’d say, actually your rival is pretty strong—she’s beautiful, highly educated, and has a gentle personality. She seems like the bird-in-nest type. If you hadn’t acted early to win over your brother, you would’ve been out of the picture!"
Zhao ii glared at Peng Hui, but before she could retort, Qian Sing spoke up, "What’s this? You shouldn’t be talking about ii like that, it’s completely boosting others’ morale and undermining our own. Whose side are you on?"
Peng Hui replied, "Aren’t I encouraging her in a roundabout way?"
Zhao ii sneered, suddenly grabbed Peng Hui’s neck with her arm, pulling her into an embrace, and locked her arm tightly around Peng Hui’s slender neck, "Encouragent alone isn’t enough! I’m planning to get a gym mbership; you be my sparring partner. Training alone is kind of boring and hard to stick with."
Peng Hui was stunned, "Gym mbership?"
Zhao ii pinched the now slightly round belly she got from recent indulgence, and seriously nodded, "I plan to get so abs in shape. By next sumr, I’ll be able to wear those crop tops, just like those girls at the music academy you saw; aren’t you envious?"
Peng Hui pinched her own waist and felt a bit tempted, "You’re serious right? Don’t fool into joining only to not train yourself."
Zhao ii said with determination, "I’ll definitely stick to it. This is by striving to fulfill my pursuits. I have a goal to fight for."
Peng Hui teased her, "What kind of pursuit is that? You just want to look good!"
Zhao ii squinted her eyes with a smile on her lips, "I’m not doing this just for myself; I’m doing it to please the one who appreciates !"
Peng Hui: "...."
There’s a gym center just across the street from the school, fairly large in size, serving college students and residents from nearby housing communities.
Zhao ii went all in, getting an annual mbership. Peng Hui followed suit, but Qian Sing initially didn’t plan on getting one. In her words, her motto was life is about staying still. But once at the gym center and seeing the handso trainers, Qian Sing changed her mind imdiately and joined as a mber more enthusiastically than Zhao ii.
Zhao ii’s goal was clear: enhance her curves and tone her abs. The trainer designed a comprehensive workout plan for her, two hours a day.
Zhao ii hadn’t exercised properly from a young age; she liked rambunctious play. Though she had great physical stamina when it ca to running and jumping, since she started middle school, the burden of studying took over, leaving no energy for exercise.
In the first week of starting the workout, Zhao ii was virtually tortured to madness with excruciating muscle pains.
Peng Hui, pounding her stiff calves, complained, "I don’t even dare to wear heels now; every step hurts, and I feel like a walking mummy!"
Qian Sing helped Zhao ii rub her shoulder, "I didn’t really feel that tired."
Peng Hui spat at her, "You didn’t even work out seriously. Of course, you wouldn’t be tired; in two hours, you spent half an hour chatting with the trainer, barely ran for two minutes on the treadmill and spent another few minutes doing sit-ups. Each activity never exceeded three minutes."
Qian Sing giggled, "If not for wanting more conversations with the trainer, I’d be too lazy to move even for those few minutes."
Shi Yang was away for nine days this ti, spending a week taking orders and specially visiting Qian Jinqiu at a few headquarters stores, learning more about their sales techniques and display arrangents for cabinet products.
Shi Yang’s flight arrived in the provincial capital in the afternoon. He went to the company first to sort out so matters briefly, and looking at the ti being right, he called Zhao ii.
Shi Yang called just as Zhao ii was leaving the gym.
Zhao ii asked excitedly, "Brother, you’re back?"
Shi Yang laughed, "Just about to head ho from the company. What do you fancy for dinner tonight, going out or cooking at ho?"
Zhao ii actually craved mutton hot pot, but recalling her dad’s teachings, she swallowed the words down, "A new restaurant opened downstairs in the neighborhood, their stir-fry is really good. It’s on my way ho from school. I’ll pack so dishes up and we’ll eat at ho."
Shi Yang, actually feeling quite tired himself, imdiately agreed upon hearing this, "Alright, I’ll head straight ho later."
Listening to Shi Yang’s straightforward answer, Zhao ii silently thought that her dad was really right.
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