Addicted to the Sports Meet

Glancing back at the Taisheng Finance storefront, which looked like a paper tiger, Chen Jue hummed a cheerful tune he didn't even know where he'd heard, then stepped into the elevator with a light, brisk pace.

It was currently the afternoon shift, so the corridors and lobby of the Huaye Building were mostly empty.

Passing the building's front desk, Chen Jue heard security guards and property management staff whispering about the major incident that had occurred on the 23rd floor.

Since even the authorities had been alerted, the news must have spread like wildfire among the building's management.

Even in the various large park-wide group chats Chen Jue had joined, gossip about Taisheng Finance was flooding the screens incessantly.

Photos, videos, and inside scoops leaked by company employees were everywhere.

The message count had already hit 99+ when he first arrived at work this morning; by now, it was probably impossible to scroll back to the top.

This was a classic case of "good news stays home, while bad news travels a thousand miles."

In a high-pressure work environment like Hang City, everyone was wound up tight like a clockwork spring.

Ordinary office workers loved to slack off, lurk in chats, and gawk at these sensational, crowd-pleasing headlines.

Chen Jue used to be one of them.

He loved scrolling through group messages, checking trending topics online, and transforming into a keyboard warrior or a "tentacle monster," engaging in heated debates with other bored netizens.

It didn't matter if he lost the argument; it was all about venting and having a bit of fun.

However, after obtaining this attribute panel, Chen Jue realized how childish he had been.

With all that spare time to pontificate on state affairs, worry about the country, and play the hero, wouldn't it be better to just exercise and work on his body?

Even if he didn't want to move, going out to soak up the sun or taking a walk was better than wasting time glued to a phone screen.

He scanned a shared bike to ride back to his residential complex, changed into sportswear, and headed straight for Yilian Fitness.

The young woman who usually worked the gym's front desk had finished her shift, and a middle-aged cleaning lady was watching the counter.

With no one to bother him, Chen Jue swiped his card through the gate and entered the gym.

Since it was working hours, there wasn't a single person there to exercise, and the equipment area was completely empty.

Only Li Chaoqun, the coach, was there, venting his energy on a barbell loaded with heavy plates.

"Bang!"

The barbell slammed into the floor mat, and Chen Jue felt the entire gym shake.

"Holy crap!"

"One, two, three... ten plates?"

"He can lift that much weight at once!" Chen Jue stepped closer to get a look and realized those barbell plates were each 25 kilograms.

That meant, not counting the weight of the bar itself, Li Chaoqun had just deadlifted 250 kilograms.

That was equivalent to lifting three of Chen Jue's body weights!

"Oh, it's Mr. Chen! Off work so early today?" Li Chaoqun caught his breath and unfastened the weightlifting belt from his waist.

"I'm no 'Mr. Chen,' just a wage slave working for a living!"

Chen Jue waved his hands in a triple denial. Being a boss was a thankless, stressful job, and he felt being a "salted fish" suited him just fine. He exchanged pleasantries with the coach: "I rested well over the weekend. I trained my legs last time, and they aren't really sore anymore. Since I happened to be free this afternoon, I thought I'd come back for another session."

Li Chaoqun smiled slightly at this: "I see! In that case, Mr. Chen, you could try working on your upper body equipment today, but it's best to do some aerobic exercise to warm up first."

He didn't offer to guide Chen Jue through a session, as the trial card only covered one private one-on-one experience.

The rest of the time, Chen Jue would have to practice on his own.

Of course, the private coaching courses here weren't cheap.

The cheapest package started at 8,000 yuan, averaging over 300 yuan per session. While Chen Jue could afford it with his income, it was still a bit of a luxury.

Furthermore, with no salary coming in for the foreseeable future, he needed to save up for emergencies until he found a stable new job.

After exchanging a few more polite words with Li Chaoqun, Chen Jue stepped onto a treadmill to start his warm-up.

He went from a slow walk to a brisk walk, and finally, a light jog.

After about 10 minutes of warming up, his body began to break into a light sweat, and an indescribable sense of excitement washed over him.

He asked Li Chaoqun, who was working out on some equipment in the distance, and the coach explained that this was a normal phenomenon.

"Exercise causes the human body to produce both endorphins and dopamine."

"Endorphins provide pain relief and pleasure, while also relieving stress and improving your mood."

"Dopamine also stimulates the mind, increasing our excitement and sense of joy."

"That's why our members, once they stick with it for a while at the start, end up coming back frequently. Because exercise makes people happy, it's very normal to get addicted to it," Li Chaoqun explained.

"So it's actually hormones in the human body at work?"

"No wonder I felt so hooked when I was stone skipping and throwing darts!" Chen Jue found this fascinating.

Having not exercised for several years, he was completely unfamiliar with this kind of knowledge about the human body.

These past few days of persisting with the gym had certainly broadened his horizons.

Taking advantage of this opportunity to ask questions, Chen Jue continued to inquire with Li Chaoqun about which equipment would be suitable for him.

"Mr. Chen, given your current situation, you are better suited for the rowing machine."

"This machine exercises the muscles of the entire body and is considered aerobic exercise. You are just starting out, and you have quite a bit of fat around your waist, abdomen, and upper arms; using the rowing machine can help you build muscle and tone your body." Li Chaoqun set down the two large dumbbells in his hands and enthusiastically helped Chen Jue explain the usage and precautions for the rowing machine.

He could tell that Chen Jue was genuinely interested in working out. Even though he hadn't signed up for his private coaching sessions, Li Chaoqun still wanted to leave a good impression to see if he could secure a new client.

Following the other man's guidance, Chen Jue sat down on the rowing machine.

He adjusted it to the entry-level setting of 1, which provided the least amount of resistance.

According to Li Chaoqun's instructions, since Chen Jue was just starting and wasn't familiar with the machine, it was best to begin by getting comfortable with level 1.

After adjusting his seat, he began to lean his body forward, extended his arms to grab the handle, and then leaned back to pull the machine.

He tried it a few times and felt it wasn't strenuous at all, much like rowing a rubber dinghy at the reservoir in his hometown when he was a child.

However, after trying to pull for a preset distance of 100 meters, Chen Jue felt a slight soreness in his lower back and arms, especially a sharp, throbbing pain in his lumbar spine.

"Mr. Chen, your lumbar disc herniation is quite severe!"

"And your spine is also showing some curvature and deformation. It would be best to go to the hospital and have it checked out."

"Simple exercise, while it can strengthen your back muscles and effectively improve spinal deformation, must be done in a targeted manner."

"Blindly exercising can easily aggravate your symptoms."

Li Chaoqun noticed the problem and reached out to press on Chen Jue's lumbar region, causing Chen Jue to wince and nearly cry out in pain!

"Ah?"

"Does that mean I can't continue to train?" Chen Jue felt a bit nervous upon hearing that he needed to go to the hospital.

Working at the company these past few years, he had basically relied on his body to tough out any minor ailments.

There was no other way!

Poor people simply didn't dare to get sick!

Even his physical examination was only done when he first joined the company; he estimated it had been at least four years since he had been to a proper large hospital for a checkup.

Perhaps noticing Chen Jue's concern, Li Chaoqun offered a few words of comfort: "Your situation is very common; almost all the members I take on have it."

"People nowadays work at desks for long periods or spend their time hunched over phones; after a while, everyone develops lumbar disc herniation."

"Going for a comprehensive physical exam doesn't cost much."

"After all, health is the most important thing!"

Seeing Li Chaoqun put it that way, Chen Jue reluctantly accepted the advice.

He then asked him what other equipment he was currently suited to use.

As it turned out, Li Chaoqun took him to try another seated overhead press machine, which was professional equipment targeting shoulder muscles.

But just after sitting down and pushing a few times, Chen Jue's left shoulder began to creak, and even Li Chaoqun, who was standing nearby, could hear the friction of the bone joints.

Li Chaoqun couldn't help but laugh: "That's frozen shoulder! You should really get that checked at the hospital too."

Now it was Chen Jue's turn to feel embarrassed. He let out a couple of awkward laughs, thinking to himself, Well, great! It looks like I really have to go to the hospital now!

Because he was riddled with ailments, Chen Jue didn't linger in the equipment area after trying a few things.

According to Li Chaoqun, exercising blindly without knowing the exact condition of his ailments could easily lead to further problems.

Therefore, Chen Jue went to the leisure sports room to practice darts.

He definitely had to go for a hospital checkup, but it was already nearly closing time for the hospital that afternoon.

Going to the emergency room to check on these minor issues wasn't cost-effective, so Chen Jue decided to put it off until tomorrow.

Taking advantage of the time he had now, he planned to pick the things he could practice and grind out some proficiency for [Darts].

The previous two times he came here to practice darts, it was because of special circumstances that he used his left hand to throw.

One had to know that Chen Jue was a naturally right-handed person, not a left-handed person by habit like Lin Ling.

His right hand was far superior to his left in both strength and flexibility.

This time at the gym, his right hand had recovered enough to be used, so he tried throwing a dart with it, intending to see if he could inherit the amateur Lv3 level of [Darts] after switching hands.

To his surprise, the moment he threw it, the needle-tipped dart landed with a heavy "thud" on the very edge of the dartboard.

Although the force was a bit greater this time, the accuracy was terrible!

It was far worse than when he used his dominant left hand!

What surprised Chen Jue the most was that not only did he fail to receive a corresponding proficiency prompt for throwing with his right hand, but a strange notification popped up on his attribute panel instead:

[Ding~]

[Detected that the physical movements of [Stone Skipping] and [Darts] have a high degree of overlap. Would you like to merge the skills?]

[This merge requires the consumption of 0.10 Free Attribute Points.]

[The result of the merge will be issued as an entirely new athletic skill.]

The second update~ It's a little late, but I managed to get it out!

Continuing tomorrow.

And for those calling me a "Chief Eunuch," when have I ever abandoned a book?

Writing a story that falls apart or has a rushed ending in the later stages is something that happens nine times out of ten; even top-tier platinum authors have rushed endings, let alone a small-time writer like me.

I didn't fully grasp the cultivation path in my previous work, only managing to understand about half of it.

I only started this book after fully grasping the path, so I can guarantee it will absolutely not have a rushed ending.