Chapter 511 - 345: Reward Yourself with One

Chapter 511: Chapter 345: Reward Yourself with One

"How are you? Are you okay?"

Lin Chen felt a searing pain in his butt from the sharp stones on the ground, but he couldn’t let it show. He gently patted the girl’s back.

The pat seemed to snap Jin Meiyan, who was lying on his chest, back to her senses. She scrambled to her feet and began bowing repeatedly.

"I’m so sorry, Oppa! I didn’t do it on purpose..."

"It’s fine. It’s just dirt, you can pat it off. As long as you’re not hurt, that’s what matters. If you’d gotten scraped or pulled a muscle, we’d have to turn back immediately."

Lin Chen waved it off dismissively. With a grunt, he sprang to his feet, revealing the small indentation his fall had made in the dirt, along with a few sharp pebbles inside it.

Jin Meiyan stared at the pebbles in the crater, then glanced at the man who was subtly trying to shift his position to block her view. She bit her lower lip, a flicker of emotion in her eyes.

For a moment, she had the overwhelming urge to throw caution to the wind and leap into his arms.

’A man this good... what on earth is Erica waiting for?’

’Shouldn’t she be holding on to him for dear life?’

She didn’t get it.

’Or maybe, even though they like each other, it’s not enough to want a relationship? Or is it that Erica doesn’t want a boyfriend, just a friend with benefits?’

’No, no, no! What am I thinking, "friend with benefits"? Oppa isn’t that kind of person! Jin Meiyan, what kind of garbage is floating around in your head?!’

She shook her head vigorously, trying to clear out the strange thoughts.

’That’s it. I’ve definitely been single for too long. I’m just jealous seeing all my friends being so lovey-dovey and flaunting their happiness.’

She was in her early twenties, just out of college. This was the age for crazy love affairs.

’If I don’t start dating at this age, a girl’s beauty will start to go downhill!’

’Should I... make the first move?’

It wasn’t often she met a man who was excellent in every way and could make her heart race. She really didn’t want to miss this chance.

The short time they’d known each other didn’t matter; the depth of their connection was what counted.

She’d been living under the same roof as Lin Chen for days, and she’d even helped deliver lunches to the construction workers.

From her own observations, and from watching how others interacted with him, she could only conclude that he was a man of upstanding character—excellent and kind in every respect.

’Just his kindness and integrity alone beat ninety-nine percent of the men in South Korea.’

’South Korean men might seem considerate, but most of them are just faking it. They just want to get a woman into bed as fast as possible. Once they succeed, their attitude does a complete one-eighty.’

’That’s what women hate the most.’

’Men from Great Xia are different. I can’t deny that there are good and bad men in every country, but based on my friends’ experiences and the odds, men from Great Xia are leagues better than men from South Korea in every way.’

’Except they don’t really know how to dress themselves.’

In that brief moment, her heart went through a tumultuous series of waves. Finally, reason took over again. She acted as if nothing had happened and started brushing the dirt off the back of Lin Chen’s pants.

However, since Lin Chen’s clothes were already soaked, the dirt wouldn’t come off, just smearing across the fabric.

"I’m sorry, Oppa... It’s all my fault..."

"It’s fine, don’t worry about it. It’ll wash off in the ocean. Out in the wild, your clothes are bound to get dirty."

Lin Chen really couldn’t stand seeing the pitiful look on her face. He quickly waved his hands, then turned and walked toward the shore.

"Right, you need to warm up properly before you get in the water to avoid getting cramps. You can swim a few laps first so I can see what your level is."

"Okay~"

They reached the shore. It was another shingle beach, but this one was much larger than where they’d landed that morning. The rocks at the water’s edge were densely covered with green mussels and barnacles.

Lin Chen turned off his headlamp to save some battery, finding a relatively flat, open spot by the faint moonlight.

"You know how to warm up, right?"

"I do, but I’m not sure if it’s effective," Jin Meiyan said, her pretty eyes sparkling. "When I used to go swimming, I’d just do a simple stretch for my thighs and waist."

"That’s a little useful, but not much."

Lin Chen had an ’I knew it’ expression on his face. "Stretching your muscles is mainly for warming up before weight training. Swimming is a full-body aerobic exercise, so just warming up one or two parts has limited effect."

"Here, warm up the way you usually do first. Then I’ll have you do a few other moves based on that."

"Okay~"

The girl nodded obediently and began to move.

The stretches were simple, just the most common basic movements, plus a few high-difficulty ones like the splits and backbends.

"I didn’t expect you to be so flexible. You can really tell you have a dance background."

Seeing her effortlessly drop into the splits without even breaking a sweat, Lin Chen raised his eyebrows in surprise. The girl giggled. "You know, the splits were actually made popular by your idols from Great Xia. Trainees in South Korea didn’t used to be required to do this."

"Oh, right. Now that you mention it, I seem to remember that. They always had to show off a special skill on variety shows back in the day."

As they chatted, Jin Meiyan stood back up, a questioning look in her eyes.

"Oppa, I’m done. What’s next?"

"Next..."

He glanced around as if looking for something.

"Have you ever done any weight training?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I don’t really care about having muscles, and I heard that lifting weights makes your arms and legs thicker, so I’ve never done it. I just do Pilates."

"Weight training and Pilates have different effects. There are lots of different exercises, and they can be adjusted to your personal needs. Some are specifically for muscle hypertrophy, others are for muscular endurance. The latter would be good for you. It won’t make your muscles bigger, but it will give you definition and make you stronger."

"Swimming relies on the movement of your arms and legs to propel you forward, while diving relies on core stability and explosive power. You’ve activated your legs, so next I’m going to activate your core and all the muscle groups connected to your arms."

"First, let’s activate your scapulae. Scapular stability controls most of the surrounding muscles. Keep your upper arms pinned to your sides, extend your forearms straight out, and point your thumbs out to the sides. Yes, just like that."

"While keeping your upper arms against your body, move your thumbs as far out to the sides as possible. Relax your body, don’t be so tense."

She thought it was a simple movement, but after ten repetitions, Jin Meiyan’s expression began to change slightly.

She could clearly feel the muscles in her shoulders starting to burn, a sensation that intensified with each repetition.

By the time she finished the twentieth rep, her shoulder muscles were so sore they felt like they were about to cramp. The moment Lin Chen told her to stop, she cried out, "AAARGH!", bending over and frantically shaking her arms.

Before she could even catch her breath, Lin Chen said flatly.

"Don’t get comfortable. Two more sets."

Her face fell. "What????"

After finally surviving three painful sets of shoulder exercises, she had just caught her breath when Lin Chen, his face deadpan, spoke again.

"One-minute rest is over. This time, we’re doing back."

"B-back? Is it going to be very sore?"

Jin Meiyan swallowed nervously, a trace of fear in her eyes.

’That was just a warm-up for my shoulders, without any weights. If this is what it’s like in a real gym...’ She couldn’t imagine how tough it would be.

Pilates was also tough, but at least with that, she had the motivation and something to look forward to, so she could grit her teeth and persevere.

"Don’t worry. The shoulders are the smallest muscle group in the body and the one that gets the sorest when you work it out. After that, it’s the arms. The soreness for back, chest, and legs is pretty average. Only beginners feel really sore for a few days after. Once your muscles get used to it, they won’t be sore anymore."

He had her do four sets of bodyweight rows to help her find the mind-muscle connection for her back. Then, he picked up a stone weighing about a kilogram, found a large rock by the shore, and had her bend over slightly, supporting herself with one hand.

"Now we’re going to add a little weight. Only by adding weight will your muscle groups be truly activated for a proper warm-up. We won’t do many reps of this, just two sets. It’s called a bent-over row."

He skillfully demonstrated the move seven or eight times before handing the stone to Jin Meiyan.

At first, he didn’t think anything of it. But when she bent over, leaning on the rock, her skin-tight shark-skin pants instantly showcased her full, rounded curves.

Usually, he walked in front of her, deliberately avoiding such a situation. Besides, her posture while walking normally didn’t pose any issues.

But bent over like this... it was a big problem.

His breath hitched. He quickly averted his gaze, then took two steps forward to stand beside her. He gently poked a finger on her lower back muscle, forcing his eyes to stay fixed on her back.

"Okay, imagine you’re using this part to generate force. It’s the same principle as the last exercise. In fitness, finding the muscle is all about imagination."

"Good, just like that. Hold it. Grit your teeth. Four more! Three, two, one... give me two more... fantastic, reward yourself with one more... you can still do another, so let’s..."

Jin Meiyan dropped to her knees with a THUMP, panting heavily and waving her hands frantically. "N-no more, Oppa! I can’t do a single one..."

"Ahem." Lin Chen rubbed his nose, coughing awkwardly. "Sorry, I got a little too into it. Every trainer likes to do that. I never really understood it before, but now I kind of get it. It’s really hard to resist."

"But you really are amazing. Not only did you find the mind-muscle connection for the target group so quickly, but you also lasted that long. That alone puts you ahead of ninety-nine percent of beginners. Just a few more sessions and you’ll master the technique."

"Don’t you girls all want a perky butt? You can work on your upper glutes more when you have time. It’ll make your butt look fuller and your waist seem slimmer. It’s the same with lat pulldowns for your back. If the top and bottom are wider, the middle looks extra narrow."

Activating her core was nothing special. Almost every move in Pilates uses the core, so he just had her do a few of her own exercises and called the warm-up complete.

"Alright, we’re officially getting in the ocean. Are you scared?"