275: Chapter 275 Hard-won - 1

"This is nothing yet."

Lin Wanxing smiled but didn't take the towel Jiang Ye offered. "If I worked up a sweat from just this little bit of exercise, I'd be a pretty lousy Fitness Coach."

She looked at Ye Cheng and Su Ning, who were thoroughly exhausted, and encouraged them, "You've just started, so you're doing great already. Remember the feeling you just had, and if you stick with it, you'll definitely see results. Alright, I'm going to go take a shower."

"..."

Su Ning and Ye Cheng, who had been secretly observing, quickly exchanged an anxious look.

Su Ning: (Didn't they say women are made of water? Why isn't she sweating at all! What do we do, what do we do?)

Ye Cheng: (What else can we do? Keep going! Otherwise, all that effort we just put in would be wasted, right?)

Su Ning: (But Sister... I'm so tired... my legs feel like jelly...)

Ye Cheng: (Don't you want the year-end bonus? I'm helping you with your mission right now!)

Jiang Ye: (Hey, hey! You two, watch your eye contact! If Wanxing catches on, there goes the year-end bonus!)

"..."

Thinking of that tempting reward, Su Ning and Ye Cheng gritted their teeth and shouted simultaneously, "Wait a minute!"

Lin Wanxing, who had already turned to walk towards the bathroom, looked back in confusion. "What's wrong?"

Ye Cheng, holding her waist, caught her breath. "Wanxing, how about you take us through that Pamela workout you mentioned earlier? We definitely won't learn it just by watching a video."

Su Ning quickly nodded in agreement. "Yes, yes, yes! Sister Wanxing, you forgot, I'm a bit of a slow learner..."

"...?"

Lin Wanxing looked at them, then glanced at Jiang Ye, who had suddenly appeared in the living room. An internal alarm started blaring in her mind.

Something's off. Very off!

Su Ning usually avoids moving if she can help it. When she signed up for that gym membership, she was only enthusiastic for a few days before making excuses about being "too busy with streaming" and never going again.

While Ye Cheng has better stamina, she's definitely not the type to actively seek out this kind of punishment.

They're clearly exhausted and wobbling all over the place, yet they insist on dragging her to keep exercising?

Her suspicious gaze swept over to Jiang Ye, who was standing nearby holding three towels with an "I know nothing" expression. She tried to find any cracks in this "Master Schemer's" facade.

"..."

Seeing her look over, Jiang Ye immediately put on an "unfair" and "wronged" expression, complaining loudly:

"Hey, hey, aren't you two going a bit too far? Wanxing charges me several hundred per session when she coaches me! And with you guys, it's suddenly free lessons? Have you no shame? Pay for knowledge, understand? Pay up!"

"Huh? We have to pay?"

Su Ning's lips immediately puckered into a pout, looking utterly pitiful. "Sister Wanxing, can't you teach us without payment... Aren't we good sisters?"

"Don't you try to drive a wedge between us! You're at a gym, we're just casually moving around at home..."

Ye Cheng immediately chimed in, shooting Jiang Ye a glare. "Besides, Wanxing and we are sisters. Helping each other out between sisters is different! Wanxing isn't that materialistic!"

Jiang Ye waved his hand dismissively. "So what if you're sisters? Even brothers keep clear accounts! You're just taking advantage of Wanxing being too polite to ask for payment!"

"..."

The three of them argued (or rather, performed) back and forth, a real clamor, before simultaneously turning their gazes to Lin Wanxing, waiting for her response.

Lin Wanxing opened her mouth, looking at the classic combination of "one playing the tough guy, one playing the nice guy, and one using emotional blackmail" before her. The scent of being set up grew stronger and stronger.

After all, these three have their own "production crew group chat." This whole scene looked more and more like a rehearsed play.

But...

Last night, she clearly overheard Jiang Ye and Xiao Su rehearsing a "interrogating a spy" skit by the bathroom door. The lines didn't match up at all.

She hesitated for a moment, quickly running through possibilities in her mind, but still couldn't figure out what trick they were trying to pull.

But then again, she thought, it's not like she had anything worth them going to such elaborate lengths to scheme for. As long as she was careful not to be taken advantage of, there shouldn't be a problem.

"Well... it's not really about the money..."

Before she could finish, Su Ning immediately acted as if she'd won a great victory, triumphantly "hmph-ing" at Jiang Ye:

"See, Big Brother! I told you Sister Wanxing isn't that materialistic! Not like you, nitpicking over every little thing!"

Ye Cheng also seized the moment, stepping forward to link arms with Lin Wanxing and pulling her towards the center of the living room:

"Exactly! Wanxing, ignore him! Let's keep going, keep going! Don't give this guy any excuse to pressure you!"

Lin Wanxing glanced at Jiang Ye's "unwilling" face, then at her two unusually enthusiastic roommates, and finally nodded:

"Alright, but you must listen to your bodies. If you feel you can't keep up, stop immediately. Don't push yourselves too hard."

She connected her phone to the Bluetooth speaker and selected a piece of music that was upbeat but not too intense:

"I'll take you through a Pamela workout. It has some basic moves, like mountain climbers, plank variations, and such. Watch my demonstration first and try to mimic it. I'll send you a detailed breakdown video tonight."

Ye Cheng and Su Ning nodded repeatedly, their eyes filled with (a yearning for the year-end bonus) anticipation.

As the music started, Lin Wanxing called out the beat, and three girls with different but equally alluring figures began moving again in the center of the living room.

Jiang Ye, meanwhile, lounged leisurely on the sofa with the towels in hand, perfectly at ease as he waited for the next act of the plan.

...

Rewind to this morning.

After drawing their year-end grand prizes, Ye Cheng and Su Ning quickly identified their respective "targets" to "conquer."

Without a second thought, Ye Cheng aimed straight for her fellow sufferer, Su Ning.

And Su Ning's mission target naturally fell upon the only eligible person present: Lin Wanxing.

Unfortunately, the ideal was full ( full - plump, full), but reality was Skinny ( Skinny - bony, gaunt).

Ye Cheng soon discovered that because Su Ning was fully aware of the entire mission's inside details and process, no matter how "cleverly" she tried to create accidents or "natural" opportunities, Su Ning's reactions always seemed extremely forced due to her "inside knowledge."

After bustling around for half the day, she managed to stuff the item into Jiang Ye's hands several times, but each time, this "thoroughly wicked boss" judged it as "deliberate gifting" and didn't count it.

Finally, Ye Cheng was so angry she stomped her feet. She simply gave up on the idea of dealing with Su Ning, turned around, and arranged to meet a university friend she got along well with the day after tomorrow, planning to "outsource" this mission.