The Grass Is Growing Nicely

"Huh?" Feng Jun froze for a moment, sniffed, then raised an arm and smelled it again before replying blankly, "I don't smell anything."

"It's a bad smell!" The owner waved a hand decisively beneath his nose. "You're so used to your own stink that you don't notice it... Well, I'm giving you a friendly warning. Other people might not remind you."

He did not want to offend one of his customers.

Yet Feng Jun's reaction caught him by surprise. Feng Jun first blanked out, then burst into laughter. "Then I really should thank you for the reminder. Otherwise, how embarrassing would that have been?"

Watching the guy leave with a smile, the owner shook his head with a smile of his own. "That stinky brat has quite a good temperament... Mm, he really is a stinky brat. Stinks badly enough."

Of course, Feng Jun had a reason to be happy. His body smelled bad—wasn't that the legendary... Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Alteration?

So this really was an extraordinary encounter. It had all the reactions it was supposed to have. It was not some fake miracle.

At Hongjie Club, taking a shower could not have been easier. Most fitness clubs had shower facilities.

Considering that his clothes might smell as well, Feng Jun returned to the dorm to get a change of clothes. By chance, he spotted a phone charger on Zhao Qi's desk.

I'll borrow it for now! He did not want the charger he had just bought to explode right away.

This time, he used his right hand and completed the charging process without any trouble.

His guess had been correct. The old-fashioned phone began charging, slowly but steadily.

Feng Jun looked around, plugged the charger into the outlet beneath his bed, then turned off the phone and hid it under the bed as well. Only then did he pick up his clean clothes and hurry out.

Standing beneath the showerhead, he realized that he was filthy—not ordinarily filthy, either. The layer of grime on his skin was extremely close to his skin tone and was fairly breathable, which was why he had not noticed it.

As for the smell? Maybe there had been one, but clearly it had not been especially bad. Otherwise, the restaurant owner probably would have objected long ago.

Apparently, web novels did not describe Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Alteration very accurately. The grime was not black, nor did it smell that bad.

Feng Jun had to soap himself down three full times before he was clean. That strengthened his resolve to remain at Hongjie—showering outside cost money, and... the club provided soap for free.

After his shower, it was nearly one in the afternoon, the quietest time of day for a fitness club.

Feng Jun left the club, took out his transit card, rented a public bicycle, and rode to a phone store three miles away. He spent fifteen yuan on a cheap charger. Seeing several newly released smartphones in the display case, he genuinely felt the urge to buy one.

He had already come across an extraordinary encounter, so why keep saving money?

In the end, however, he restrained the impulse. It was not only because he had not found a way to cash in on his encounter, but also because the dorm was far too unsafe. He worried that even his old-fashioned phone might be stolen, much less one of those new models.

After returning to the dorm, he replaced Zhao Qi's charger, left the phone under his bed, and climbed into bed for a deep sleep. Tragically, he had forgotten to turn the phone on.

When he woke from his nap and checked the phone, he was stunned to find that it was already four in the afternoon.

The old-fashioned phone had reached eighty-three percent charge.

That was enough power for the day. He unplugged the charger and was just wondering what to do when Zhao Qi ran in from outside.

The little fat guy was drenched in sweat and shouted between gasps, "What's wrong with you? Why was your phone off? Manager Guo told you to get over there, now."

Feng Jun frowned and asked in confusion, "What's so urgent?"

"Isn't it about yesterday?" Zhao Qi answered with an undisguised look of schadenfreude. "The company kept losing power, so Manager Guo had no time to find you. Now that the transformer's fixed, of course she has to deal with it... You skipped work yesterday afternoon, too."

Feng Jun gave him a strange look. "I'm in trouble, and you seem pretty happy about it?"

"What do I have to be happy about?" Zhao Qi firmly concealed his delight at Feng Jun's misfortune and spoke with a straight face. "But you violated company rules. The company can't just ignore that, can it?"

Feng Jun gave him a speechless look and headed out the door.

The fitness club was starting to get a little busy at this hour, but most of the people coming in were members, and all of them had government jobs—after working hard in the morning, they could take paid rest in the afternoon.

With so many members around, the junior staff had it easy. Experienced regulars did not need anyone to show them the way.

Manager Guo had gathered the idle coaches and attendants together and was lecturing them passionately. When she saw Feng Jun enter from outside, she glared at him fiercely. "You've still got the nerve to show your face?"

Feng Jun's anger flared, but he forcefully suppressed it. "I overslept today. Count it as being late."

But how could Guo Yueling let him off so easily? "You were late today, but what about yesterday? Yesterday, not only did you fail to uphold the club's image, you also skipped work that afternoon. I really have to wonder—how can someone so young be so arrogant? Where do you get that much confidence?"

"The company feeds you and houses you, yet it raised an ungrateful wretch... What gives you the right to act like this? Your Dual Degree? I'm not trying to mock you, but those are just two worthless pieces of paper. College graduates are more common than dogs these days!"

Feng Jun's anger rose even further. As a college graduate, he could say that college graduates were more common than dogs; that was self-deprecating. Other college graduates could say it too. But Manager Guo was only a vocational-school graduate—when she said it, it was an insult!

He hardened his heart and fired back, "I earned my food and lodging through my labor. The company did not provide them for free, so get that straight. And I don't think I did anything wrong yesterday... Why should Liu Shuming's mistake be pinned on me?"

He was in a foul mood. He would probably have to leave after all. What a pity—free showers and free soap.

"Why?" Guo Yueling laughed in fury, her voice growing ever sharper. "Because Liu Shuming is a coach, so you must be the one in the wrong. What, do you have a problem with that?"

The logic was truly naked and utterly destructive to one's worldview. Yet this was real life. Coaches ranked above junior staff—after all, certified people were few, while strong laborers without certificates could be found anywhere.

Feng Jun was already in a bad mood, so he answered without giving an inch. "Of course I have a problem with it. Right is right, and wrong is wrong... A coaching certificate is just a worthless piece of paper in my eyes!"

The other coaches' faces all darkened at once. Damn... Was this brat looking for trouble?

The moment the words left his mouth, Feng Jun realized he had misspoken. But... so what if he had? The words were already out. Why regret them?

Manager Guo, however, merely sneered. "A coaching certificate? It really does matter. Let me make this clear: in my eyes, in this industry, a coaching certificate is far more important than your damn Dual Degree!"

Feng Jun's hands hanging at his sides slowly clenched into fists. His eyes narrowed as he asked through gritted teeth, "Are you insulting me?"

"Insulting you is giving you too much credit," Guo Yueling said with a cold, disdainful smile. "What, do you want to hit me?"

Feng Jun had not intended to hit anyone. Unless absolutely necessary, he did not want to use force against a woman.

He only wanted to resign. His extraordinary encounter had nothing to do with the dorm. If he left now, at most his expenses would increase somewhat.

However, just as he was about to speak, a silvery, bell-like voice rang out coldly behind him. "What's going on here?"

Everyone turned to look and was immediately stunned. The company's general manager had arrived.

Today, Red Sister wore a white short-sleeved blouse with a small collar and a light gray pencil skirt.

On other women, that outfit would have made for the standard urban office beauty look. Yet on her, it somehow exuded endless authority and an aggressively imposing presence.

Without stockings, a woman seemed to have far less concealment and pretense, fully displaying the bearing of the person in charge.

Manager Guo had only just noticed that her superior had arrived and hurriedly explained, "Red Sister, I was making an example of someone. I didn't see you come in... The company atmosphere is poor lately. These youngsters are all slacking off, so we have to crack down hard on this bad trend."

"Mm." Red Sister nodded without committing herself.

But Guo Yueling knew she had to give the general manager an explanation, so she pointed at Feng Jun. "This kid is one of the examples. He doesn't get along with his coworkers, skipped work yesterday, and came late today..."

After a pause, she remembered something else. "Some members think highly of him, but he doesn't know how to appreciate it."

"Oh?" Red Sister sized Feng Jun up. She had some impression of him now. She understood perfectly well what "members think highly of him" meant, and there were indeed a few unusual cases like that at the club. "This is that graduate student, right?"

Feng Jun's lips twitched. It's a Dual Degree, not graduate school!

"Yes." Guo Yueling nodded. "His name is Feng Jun. He's never been much of a team player."

"Mm." Red Sister nodded again, then her eyes suddenly lit up. "Feng Jun... You're 'When Flowers Fall'?"

"Ahem, ahem." Feng Jun coughed awkwardly. Red Sister, was it really appropriate to talk about games in front of the employees at a time like this?

"That's right, his Chat name is When Flowers Fall," Zhao Qi cried out. "Something about 'When Flowers Fall, I meet you again'... So pretentious."

Red Sister gave him a speechless look. "Society's Red Sister" was a pretty pretentious name too. What, were you going to bite me?

Actually, she had not come over on a random whim. She had a reason.

After figuring out what had happened, Red Sister coldly glanced at Liu Shuming. "Let it go this time. But if you dare harass the club's customers again, don't blame me for being unpleasant."

That glance made Liu Shuming's scalp tingle. Without a second thought, he nodded repeatedly. "Red... Red Sister, I know I was wrong."

No one dared ignore Red Sister's warnings. The club had encountered trouble since opening, but afterward, those who caused the trouble always ran into even bigger trouble.

The staff of Hongjie knew better than anyone whether those rumors were true.

Liu Shuming felt his calves beginning to cramp.

Red Sister looked at Feng Jun again and nodded slightly. "You... Mm, the grass is growing nicely."