"Change myself?"
The fat boy pulled out his phone, opened the front-facing camera, and checked himself from every angle. Then he flashed a V sign under his chin. "I think I'm already perfect."
At the sight of this, Xia Mu's expression darkened. He kicked the fat boy. "I have to admit, when it comes to narcissism, I still can't compete with you."
"Ahaha..." Zhu Xincheng awkwardly rubbed the back of his head. "So what should I do?"
"First, let's start with a casual five kilometers." Xia Mu didn't look like he was joking.
"What?!"
Zhu Xincheng almost thought he'd misheard. "A thousand meters nearly kills me as it is. You want me to run five kilometers? You're kidding, right, Xia?"
"Wait, you don't want me to deal with Long Yuan. You want to kill me!"
The fat boy struck a defensive pose.
At this, Xia Mu sighed helplessly and patted Zhu Xincheng on the shoulder. "I can't protect you forever. You have to get stronger on your own."
"Don't you want to defeat Long Yuan yourself and then grind him into the dirt?"
The fat boy looked up at him with a pitiful, weak expression. "Can't you protect me forever, Lord Xia?"
A wave of revulsion washed over Xia Mu. He kicked the fat boy to the ground. "Get lost. Stop grossing me out."
Then he tossed the tracksuit at him. "Go change in the restroom. I'll wait here."
"Seriously, boss? You mean it?"
The fat boy stared at the brand-new tracksuit, dumbfounded.
He pinched the fat around his belly, looking doubtful. "Can someone like me really beat Long Yuan?"
"If I say you can, then you can."
"It'll just take some time."
Xia Mu's voice was full of confidence. He gave the fat boy's leg a light kick to hurry him along. "Go on."
"Okay, okay..."
Zhu Xincheng hesitated, but still went to change in the restroom.
A while later, he came jogging back in his tracksuit.
The tight sportswear accentuated his round figure. From a distance, he looked like a ball of flesh, prompting the girls nearby to cover their mouths and giggle.
"Wow, Xia, why does this feel so embarrassing?" Zhu Xincheng blushed. Even he, thick-skinned as he was, couldn't help feeling self-conscious.
"This is where your transformation begins."
Xia Mu slapped Zhu Xincheng on the back, making him yelp in pain. "Come with me."
"Hey, wait up!" Zhu Xincheng hurried after Xia Mu.
"Keep an even pace. Your breathing should have a rhythm, in and out."
Xia Mu taught Zhu Xincheng seriously, demonstrating as he went.
But although Zhu Xincheng nodded, his body couldn't keep up with what he'd understood in his head. His steps and breathing were all over the place, and before long, he was panting heavily, his legs going weak.
"W-why don't we just give up?" His face was flushed from the exertion, and he was starting to lose heart.
Seeing this, Xia Mu thought he needed to give him some motivation.
He adjusted his pace. "Fatty, with the way your belly is now..."
"When you're in bed with your girlfriend someday..."
"She'll say, 'Huh? Where's your thing? Why can't I see it?'"
"What do you think of that?"
As soon as Zhu Xincheng heard this, he pictured the scene. He immediately shook his head frantically. "I'd definitely go limp!"
"So..." Xia Mu hadn't finished speaking before the fat boy suddenly sped up. "Aaaah! For my manhood, charge!"
His bizarre form turned the girls on the grass pale. They looked as if they were seeing some kind of monster.
However, this burst of energy didn't last long. A little while later, he was done for.
"Huff, huff..." Too exhausted to keep running, he flopped onto the ground, arms and legs spread wide, and panted furiously.
"I-I can't do it. If I take one more step, I'll really die here."
"Small is fine. It's not like I'm ever going to get a girlfriend anyway."
Listening to him give up on himself, Xia Mu couldn't help frowning. "Fatty, how could you possibly beat Long Yuan without putting in the work?"
"Beat him? This is too exhausting. I'd be better off dropping out..." The fat boy didn't even lift his head.
"What did you say?" Xia Mu crouched down. "You're giving up just like that?"
"What happened to all that confidence you had yesterday?"
"Think about it. Are you really willing to spend your whole life with someone like Long Yuan trampling you underfoot?"
"Have you forgotten the way he beat you?"
Xia Mu's words stirred the shadows buried deep in Zhu Xincheng's mind.
"Hmph, you fat pig. Calling you a pig would be giving you too much credit."
"Everyone's equal? Don't you know this school puts strength above all else?"
"Are all the people from Huaxia this weak and useless?"
"Crack!"
He clenched his fists.
"If you still consider me your brother, get up." Xia Mu held out his hand.
Zhu Xincheng gritted his teeth until blood welled from his lip. He still remembered the way Long Yuan had looked at him, as if he were an animal.
"Damn it, I might as well die here!"
"Smack!"
He grabbed Xia Mu's hand and hauled himself up.
After that, he followed Xia Mu's plan and kept running.
He ran slowly, but in the end, he finished.
"Not bad. You did great." Xia Mu praised him sincerely.
For a moment, he remembered his own first five-kilometer run.
Sitting on the grass, enjoying the gentle evening breeze and gazing up at the stars, the fat boy suddenly felt like crying.
"Xia, thank you." His voice was choked with tears.
"This isn't the time to cry yet."
Xia Mu smiled. "Wait until you've beaten that kid Long Yuan before you cry."
Then he struck a professional Boxing stance. "Watch closely. I'll slow these Boxing moves down. Get the general idea in your head first. We'll start practicing tomorrow."
He'd thought it over yesterday. The fat boy wasn't suited to his Wing Chun; it would take too long to build up the necessary skill.
As for something he could learn quickly that also suited his build, after considering everything, Boxing was the only choice.
So he'd mastered Boxing to the point of transforming it completely.
Now, his fists could strike with the precision of acupuncture, and he knew exactly where to hit a person to inflict a given degree of injury.
"Whoosh, whoosh."
Xia Mu punched the air, every move brimming with tremendous power.
The fat boy studied him seriously. Though he was exhausted, this time he didn't complain.
Life was long. He had to accomplish at least one or two things, didn't he?
A month, a year, even ten years—no matter how long it took, he would defeat Long Yuan.
Over the next few days, Xia Mu took photos of Sakura during the day, then trained the fat boy and taught him Boxing at night.
He even served as the fat boy's punching bag to help him learn Boxing quickly.
Naturally, the fat boy didn't learn as fast as Xia Mu had, but he had some potential. He'd already memorized most of the moves; all that remained was to keep practicing.
At this rate, given Long Yuan's skill, the fat boy could probably beat him in two or three months.
It would take a while, but he could win in the end.
He wouldn't just make every one of Long Yuan's plans fail; he'd also make the people Long Yuan had once looked down on climb over him and crush him underfoot.
Xia Mu hadn't wanted to get involved in something like this, but...
If someone picked on his brother, that was another matter.
The next afternoon was Swimming class.
Xia Mu changed into his swim trunks, drawing the girls' attention.
Before you continue