"Creak... creak..."
As Yan Huan pushed himself through his lat pulldowns, Tong Yingying, standing behind him with her chin in her hand, let out a lazy yawn.
Finishing his set, Yan Huan turned to look at her, only to see her lift her gaze and casually comnt—
"That’s it?"
"......"
Yan Huan kept his smile, but a faint vein pulsed on his sweat-drenched forehead.
"Boss Tong, I don’t know why, but getting mocked by soone who spends all day drinking and smoking doesn’t feel very motivating."
Tong Yingying didn’t get annoyed in the slightest. She flicked her flip-top lighter, a small fla briefly flaring up before vanishing instantly.
"I may have taken a different path, but I know my way around fitness… Shouldn’t you be pushing every set to failure? You obviously had energy left—why’d you stop?"
Yan Huan paused mid-step, then walked back toward her, skeptical.
"No way. You actually know about this stuff?"
Tong Yingying cast him a lifeless glance but didn’t explain herself. Instead, she simply declared—
"Hah, I’ll be your coach. You’ll know whether it works soon enough."
"...Uh."
Yan Huan was still a little doubtful but went ahead and explained why he wasn’t training to failure.
"To be honest, Boss Tong, my body’s... unique. If I go all the way to failure, I’ll be in a world of pain tomorrow."
Damn curse.
Right now, since he was shirtless, his bare-skin buff let him overachieve in training.
But the cost of pushing too hard? The next day, the pain would be explosive.
That’s why he chose gradual progress over maximal efficiency.
"Oh~?"
Hearing that, Tong Yingying’s gaze lingered on his slightly pumped-up back muscles, and she instinctively reached out, poking him with her fingertip.
The sharp pain shot through his body instantly, making Yan Huan glare at her.
Seeing his reaction, she looked genuinely surprised, finally realizing that his pain response was imdiate.
"So, you’re the hypersensitive-to-pain type?"
"…No, absolutely not."
Yet, instead of stopping, she curved her lips into a smile Yan Huan couldn’t quite decipher.
At the sa ti, she crossed one long leg over the other.
Today, instead of her usual jeans, she had actually dressed for the gym—a cropped sports outfit.
And the mont she made that motion, Yan Huan imdiately caught a glimpse of her well-shaped calf and pale ankle.
Just one look, and he froze slightly—his gaze lingering for a second too long.
Noticing where he was looking, Tong Yingying also paused, then glanced down at her own leg.
Then, instead of resting it on her other thigh, she deliberately tilted it slightly toward him and asked with an amused tone—
"Huh. Didn’t take you for a leg guy, Yan Huan."
"Huh?"
Snapping out of it, Yan Huan looked back up, only to be t with Tong Yingying’s slightly amused, dead-fish eyes.
"Little perv."
"......"
Yan Huan blinked a few tis before answering matter-of-factly—
"I was just noticing that your legs have great proportions. Boss Tong, have you actually trained before?"
Truth be told, the reason he had been looking was because of her well-toned calves… No, actually, her entire physique had clear signs of training.
Normally, her baggy jeans made it hard to tell, but now, Yan Huan could see that she wasn’t the slightest bit out of shape.
However, for so reason, the way she crossed her legs just now carried an indescribable allure.
He had been looking at the leg shape.
But was he also… attracted?
"Oh? Is that so?"
She turned to him, tilting her head slightly in mock confusion.
But the fleeting sense of temptation from earlier shook Yan Huan to his core, triggering a mont of self-reflection.
Wait. Was he really that desperate?
Why the hell was he… looking at Tong Yingying like that?
She was his boss! He always saw her as an elder!
Although, to be fair… her looks were objectively attractive.
Although, to be fair… her figure had been a little tempting just now.
Although, to be fair… her personality—
BZZT.
Flashbacks of Tong Yingying pulling out a stun baton, docking his pay, getting wasted and throwing drunken tantrums, smoking while karate-chopping herself in the head—
They all flooded his brain in an instant.
"No, really, Boss Tong. More real than pearls!"
He shuddered, forced a stiff smile, and sprang to his feet, pointing toward the workout equipnt.
"I’m all rested up! Ti for the next set!"
Tong Yingying, arms crossed, watched him for a mont before slowly retracting her leg.
Her previously excited gaze dimd back to its usual listlessness.
She waved him off casually.
"Tch... whatever. Go train. I’m gonna hit the restroom."
"Aye aye, Boss Tong!"
With her hands stuffed into her pockets, Tong Yingying strolled toward the VIP gym section’s restroom, while Yan Huan sat back down at the machine and gripped the pulldown bar.
"Creak..."
As the equipnt moved, the rhythmic sound wove seamlessly into his tangled thoughts.
In his head, Tong Yingying’s legs now occupied the space where "pain" used to be.
Wait.
I didn’t pick any reproduction-related perks on Sunday.
Why did I lose control around Spencer earlier?
And now even around Boss Tong...
Could it be—?
"Neko-chan."
"ow?"
The phantom cat appeared atop the machine’s steel fra, tilting its head curiously.
Yan Huan lifted his gaze, a bead of sweat rolling down his handso face.
"Neko-chan, you didn’t secretly give
so kind of reproduction-related perk, did you?"
"ow?"
Neko-chan’s eyes widened in shock, its little mouth slightly agape.
Then, it lightly leaped onto his shoulder and asked—
"What on earth made you think that?"
Yan Huan paused his movents, then explained his recent thought process.
After listening, Neko-chan gave him a deadpan stare.
"…Yan Huan, do you realize what age group you belong to, ow? Did you overwork yourself to erectile dysfunction in a past life or sothing? Don’t go blaming
for this, ow!"
"And besides—
"You felt sothing earlier with Spencer.
"There was a bit with Ye Shiyu too, until she scared the feeling right out of you.
"So why are you only questioning
now that you felt sothing for Tong Yingying?"
Yan Huan’s grip on the equipnt faltered slightly as he sighed.
"Maybe it really is because of Boss Tong… It’s making
question if my XP system is broken..."
"I think this is perfectly normal, ow. It’s just ‘familiarity sha.’ Besides, Yan Huan, are you really that familiar with her?"
Neko-chan’s long tail brushed against Yan Huan’s Adam’s apple, making him instinctively swallow.
"You don’t actually know much about Tong Yingying, do you?"
At that, Yan Huan suddenly rembered overhearing Tong Yingying’s conversation with the gym owner earlier.
There were a lot of things about Boss Tong that she had never ntioned, and that he had never asked.
"...Yeah, you’ve got a point, Neko-chan."
"Creak..."
Muttering under his breath, he started his next set.
But at that mont, he heard a VIP room card being scanned, followed by the door opening.
Then ca two female voices, carried by a faint scent of perfu—
"Wait, seriously, Chi Yuan? He really said that?"
"Of course! That old bastard was chugging booze and talking straight out of his d*ck instead of his brain—I swear, I wanna rip his tongue out and flush it down the toilet..."
...Damn, that’s bold.
Yan Huan, drawn in by the conversation, turned his head slightly—
And spotted two mature won in sportswear, setting down their belongings.
Their figures were eye-catching, but what stood out most to Yan Huan was the identical black wing tattoos on both of them.
Definitely giving off "underworld connections" vibes.
And judging by their accents... they were from the sa hotown as Boss Tong?
Just as Yan Huan turned to look, the woman who had been laughing suddenly noticed him as well.
Her eyes lit up, and she nudged her companion.
"Hey, hey, Bai Lu, look."
"Hm?"
Both won turned to face him—
And then... they both flashed knowing smirks.
"......"
The mont he saw those smiles, a bad feeling crept up Yan Huan’s spine.
He decided to ignore them.
Turning back, he focused on his workout.
But then—
Footsteps.
And just like that, his stomach dropped.
"Hey there, cutie. Haven’t seen you around before~"
"Yeah, do you live nearby?"
"......"
After a brief pause, Yan Huan let go of the equipnt, turned around, and gave them a polite smile.
"Can I help you?"
For a mont, neither of them replied.
Instead, they just stared at his smile, montarily caught off guard.
Then, one of them—her face slightly flushed—suddenly kicked her companion, Chi Yuan, in the shin.
"Ahem..."
Chi Yuan snapped out of it, stepped a little closer, and looked him over.
"Training your back, huh? Damn, cutie—you’re already this handso, and you still work this hard? Trying to make soone fall for you?"
Yan Huan didn’t answer.
Instead, his gaze lingered on the black wing tattoo on her arm.
Sothing about it felt familiar.
He was pretty sure he had seen that exact sa design before...
In Tong Yingying’s bedroom.
"Cutie, no need to sneak peeks~ If you like what you see, just tell —I’ll let you get a closer look."
Yan Huan’s attention snapped back to Chi Yuan’s amused smile.
Unlike earlier with Boss Tong, there was zero ambiguity in his reaction this ti—just pure irritation.
With deliberate force, he let go of the weights, causing the equipnt to slam back into place.
The loud thud made Chi Yuan flinch slightly.
She hesitated for a second—
Then smiled and asked,
"Sothing wrong, cutie?"
Chi Yuan didn’t reply imdiately, but her companion, Bai Lu, stepped forward, holding out a business card.
"Little brother, any interest in working part-ti at my club?"
"A job?"
Yan Huan didn’t take the card.
Instead, he glanced at it briefly—
And imdiately recognized the na of a notorious nightclub in the South District.
He looked up at Bai Lu, watching as she stroked her chin, scanning him up and down.
"A kid like you—do you have any idea how much you could make in a single night?"
"Oh? And how much would that be?"
Yan Huan raised an eyebrow.
But the thing was—
That wasn’t his voice.
Chi Yuan’s expression froze.
Bai Lu, however, was too focused on Yan Huan’s face.
Thinking that he was interested, she licked her lips, parting them slightly in anticipation, as if she was about to devour him.
"Two thousand five per night… No, even more.
"Cutie, if you’re willing to really put yourself out there, we’re talking a baseline of four thousand per night~"
"Oh, wow, that much?
"And what exactly do you an by ‘putting myself out there’?"
"Oho~ Such an innocent question? That’s cute~ Don’t worry, big sis here loves boys as pure as a blank canvas—
"Tonight, let your two big sisters teach you, hmm?~"
"Bai Lu!! Bai Lu!!"
Suddenly—
Chi Yuan’s tone shifted from cocky to alard, her voice lowering into a nervous whisper.
Bai Lu blinked, turning to her friend, only to see Chi Yuan trembling like a leaf.
And on Chi Yuan’s right shoulder—
A pale, slender hand had clamped down firmly.
Bai Lu’s brain short-circuited.
She had no ti to react before—
Another hand landed on her left shoulder.
Her whole body shuddered.
Slowly, she turned her head—
And was t with Tong Yingying’s signature "smile."
"Eep—!!"
"T-Tong... Tong Tong... Tong Tong Tong—"
Bai Lu’s face went completely pale, her forehead breaking out into a cold sweat.
She opened her mouth to say sothing, but before she could—
Tong Yingying’s "smile" vanished.
Her expression went blank.
And then, in a flat, instructor-like tone, she corrected their pronunciation.
"Pain? Good. Pain ans It’s Working."
At that mont—
Her grip on their shoulders tightened.
And like venomous snakes, waves of excruciating pain sank deep into their nerves.
Their legs gave out instantly.
"Hiss!!"
"Mmph…!!"
Both won collapsed onto the floor, clutching their shoulders pitifully.
As Tong Yingying casually stepped over them, her eyes returned to their usual lifeless state.
Yan Huan, watching the scene unfold, pointed at the two won and asked,
"Boss Tong, are they friends of yours?"
Chi Yuan and Bai Lu, faces full of despair, instinctively nodded.
Tong Yingying’s sharp gaze flickered to them—
"No, they’re not."
And just like that, the two of them imdiately switched to shaking their heads.
"So, Boss Tong, you at least know them?"
Chi Yuan and Bai Lu nodded again.
Tong Yingying had already lit a cigarette as she replied—
"Never t them."
Seeing this, the two won nearly burst into tears as they frantically shook their heads, pretending to be complete strangers to Tong Yingying.
"......"
Yan Huan opened his mouth, about to say sothing, but before he could, Tong Yingying gave him a aningful look and spoke seriously—
"There are a lot of predators in this world, Yan Huan. Just because they’re won doesn’t an you can let your guard down."
Behind her, Chi Yuan and Bai Lu exchanged glances, then rolled their eyes at Tong Yingying before mockingly mouthing her words in exaggerated tones—
"There are a lot of predators~"
"Just because they’re won doesn’t an you can let your guard down~"
Tong Yingying, about to light her cigarette, noticed the two still standing behind her.
Her expression darkened instantly, and she barked—
"Scram. Don’t ever co back."
"Got it, Tong—"
Chi Yuan had just gotten up, about to say sothing when Bai Lu suddenly pinched her hard, forcing her to change her sentence mid-way—
"Ow!! So painful!!"
"Just go, just go—"
Bai Lu, clutching her own face, grabbed Chi Yuan and dragged her away, while Chi Yuan quickly grabbed her water bottle and jacket.
As they left, she winked at Yan Huan, then the two of them dashed out of the VIP gym.
Yan Huan watched them disappear through the glass doors before turning back to Tong Yingying, still suspicious.
"Boss Tong, you definitely know them, don’t you?"
Tong Yingying lit her cigarette, giving a lazy smile.
"Not important."
"...Ugh, Boss Tong, that stinks. Can’t you quit smoking?"
Tong Yingying’s half-lidded eyes flicked toward him, arms crossed.
"If I weren’t here, those two female thugs would’ve eaten you alive.
"As repaynt, I get to smoke.
"I own this gym, by the way. I even let you use the VIP room for free. Don’t be ungrateful."
"......"
I don’t know… feels like the real female thug is standing right in front of .
Yan Huan grumbled internally but didn’t argue, turning back to his workout.
"You wouldn’t be talking smack about your dear boss, would you, Yan Huan?"
"Of course not! My loyalty to you is absolute, Boss Tong! L-O-Y-A-L-T-Y!!"
"Heh..."
Before Yan Huan could even pull the equipnt, cold fingers suddenly dug into his back muscles.
The sharp pain made his handso face twist imdiately.
"Ow ow ow! Boss Tong!!"
"Pain? Good. Pain ans It’s Working~"
Tong Yingying’s half-lidded gaze was now tinged with a faint blush, her tone sounding way too excited.
anwhile, Outside the VIP Room—
Through the gym’s glass doors, Chi Yuan and Bai Lu crouched stealthily, still holding their clothes and water bottles.
Watching as Tong Yingying shalessly placed her hands all over Yan Huan’s bare back, Chi Yuan spat out her gum, muttering—
"Damn. This forever-single, steel-virgin Boss Tong is secretly feasting on such a pri catch behind our backs?!"
Bai Lu wiped her forehead sweat, grinding her teeth in frustration—
"Right?! And here she was talking about ‘retirent’ and ‘going straight,’ when in reality, she’s just drowning in pleasure here!"
Chi Yuan popped another piece of gum, still watching the two inside, and whispered—
"But honestly… she and that guy don’t seem to be a thing.
"Actually, it doesn’t even feel ambiguous."
Bai Lu nodded in agreent, chuckling—
"Of course not. Boss Tong has a trash personality and a nasty temper. She’s probably way older than that kid, too. You think he’d actually fall for her?"
"If he did, it’d only be for her money."
"Or maybe he’s just ssing around with her."
Then, suddenly—
"Hey, I just got an idea..."
"Hey, I just got an idea."
Both of them had the exact sa thought at the sa ti.
They turned to each other—
"You first."
"What if we helped Boss Tong lock that guy down...?"
Chi Yuan’s eyes glead with excitent.
Bai Lu grinned knowingly.
"You were thinking the sa thing, huh? That would be a huge favor to her."
"Right? A favor like this would be priceless.
"After all, she was personally trained by ‘Madam Bai.’ No doubt about it."
"Heh heh..."
"Heh heh..."
Two beautiful won exchanged mischievous glances, then took one last look at Tong Yingying inside, still guiding Yan Huan’s training.
Inside the gym, Tong Yingying suddenly felt sothing.
She turned to look over her shoulder—
But the glass doors were empty.
"......"
Inside a cozy villa, warm lighting cast soft shadows across a neatly made bed.
On that bed, a black-haired girl in a nightdress pouted at her phone.
She was none other than Bai Yi, the idol of Far Moon Academy’s First-Year Class B.
Her phone was already open to Plane, displaying a chat window labeled "Fan A."
She hadn’t sent a ssage.
Neither had the other party.
Yet, Bai Yi just kept staring at the screen.
As ti passed, her pout deepened, and her face grew redder and redder.
"Ughhh!! So annoying!!"
The next second, she threw her phone onto the bed in frustration.
And then—
She flopped face-down, her arms and legs flailing wildly against the mattress like an upset child.
"I called him at noon about sothing super important!! Why hasn't he replied yet?!
"Does he seriously want
to spell it out for him and just say—say—"
Mid-sentence, she suddenly went limp, lting into the sheets.
She wrapped herself completely in her blanket like a cocoon.
"Mmph..."
After a muffled whimper, she suddenly got fired up again.
She flipped over like a fish out of water, bouncing on the bed as she ranted.
"Seriously!!
"Even if he didn’t hear what I said at noon, Vice President Yinggong should’ve told him I stopped by the office!
"What’s going on?! I—I need to ask him directly!!"
Declaring this boldly, her long black hair scattered wildly around her.
Her cheeks still burning, she quickly grabbed her phone and started typing into the chat window.
First ssage: "Are you there?"
After typing those two words, she blushed even harder and muttered to herself—
"Ugh, does this sound too hesitant? And what if he doesn’t reply… or takes forever to answer..."
Delete.
She started typing again.
"President Yan, good evening. About what I ntioned at noon, regarding the MV..."
Ahhhhhh!!
This is way too formal!!
She imdiately buried her face in the blankets, frantically deleting the ssage again.
Her small feet tapped against the bed rhythmically like drumsticks, her head burning up from all the overthinking.
Then, cheeks puffed out in frustration, she lifted her head, whispering—
"And… if I’m the one always reaching out first, won’t that make
seem too eager?
"But… but… I really want to know what he actually ans…"
"Ughhh… seriously…"
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