117: Chapter 117 Testing Strength

Chen Fan took the boarding pass and turned to hand it to Wang Mei. "Mom, keep this safe. Don't lose it; you'll need it when boarding."

He glanced at the check-in agent again. "It's my parents' first time flying, so they don't really know the process. I'm afraid they might miss their flight, so please give them some guidance when the time comes."

The check-in agent nodded immediately, her smile becoming a bit more sincere. "Rest assured, first class has dedicated staff to guide boarding, so someone will be with them the whole time. I'll make a note here so the staff at the following stages will know and proactively meet them."

"Alright, thank you."

Chen Fan nodded and turned to his parents. "Let's go, time to pass through security." He led them toward the security checkpoint.

When they reached the security area, there were long queues in the regular lanes, with people passing through the gates one by one.

Chen Fan took a quick look and led his parents into the adjacent first-class lane.

There were only a few scattered people here; ahead of them, a middle-aged couple was slowly unbuckling their belts while the security officer waited patiently.

"Is this exclusive too?" Wang Mei asked in a low voice, her tone carrying a hint of cautious curiosity.

"Yeah," Chen Fan replied without explaining much.

While passing through security, Wang Mei stood before the scanner, watching the people ahead take off their coats and take out their belongings, feeling a bit flustered.

The security officer took Wang Mei's ID and boarding pass, glanced at the note on the screen, and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Auntie. Take your time, no need to panic."

Wang Mei breathed a sigh of relief, and her movements became much steadier. Following the example of the woman in front of her, she took off her coat, took the power bank out of her bag, and placed her items one by one into the security bin.

After passing through security, a uniformed ground service staff member approached them—a young woman with a neat ponytail, coming forward with a smile.

"Mr. Chen Jianjun, Ms. Wang Mei? I'm the ground service staff responsible for guiding you both to board. The lounge is this way; please follow me."

Wang Mei was somewhat surprised, her eyes widening slightly. "There's actually someone to lead us?"

"All first-class passengers have this service." The ground staff member smiled and made a welcoming gesture, standing to the side as if greeting VIP guests.

Wang Mei looked back at Chen Fan outside the checkpoint with an indescribable expression—surprise, emotion, and a touch of pride that said, 'My son is so capable.'

She then pulled Chen Jianjun along to follow the ground staff member. After a few steps, she looked back again, saw Chen Fan still standing there, and waved once more.

Chen Fan nodded with a smile, watching his parents' figures disappear around the corner of the corridor.

He stood there for a moment longer to make sure his parents hadn't gone the wrong way before turning to walk toward the parking lot.

Getting into the car and starting the engine, Chen Fan didn't go straight back to school. Instead, he made a turn and drove toward the Woxiang Fitness Club in the west of the city.

After changing clothes and entering the weight area, the gym wasn't very crowded in the early evening. A few burly men in tank tops were practicing deadlifts in the corner, the sound of iron plates clashing echoing one after another.

Chen Fan walked over to the bench press rack, sat down, and adjusted the weight of the barbell plates.

He first added twenty kilograms to each side, which, plus the twenty-kilogram barbell itself, totaled sixty kilograms.

Lie down, grip the bar, lift the bar.

After completing three warm-up sets, his breathing was steady, and his arms weren't even sore.

Too light.

He added another ten kilograms to each side, reaching eighty kilograms.

Still light.

By the tenth rep, he even had the spare energy to observe himself in the mirror—his form was standard, the bar path was stable, and he hadn't even engaged his core much.

The barbell lowered to chest-touching position, pushed up, lowered again, and pushed up again; the rhythm was very steady.

Beside him, an older guy who had been training for several years was pushing a hundred kilograms. His face was flushed red, veins were bulging on his neck, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead one by one. A spotter stood by with arms ready, eyes fixed on the barbell, fearing it might wobble and crash down.

Chen Fan glanced at him and silently added another plate for himself.

One hundred kilograms.

He lay down, lifted the bar, lowered it, and pushed it up. One, two, three... his breathing remained steady.

After finishing ten reps, Chen Fan's breathing rhythm hadn't even faltered much. His chest rose and fell slightly, and there wasn't even a strained expression on his face.

He was somewhat surprised.

It seemed his strength had increased again. A hundred-kilogram bench press, and he had easily done ten reps.

One must realize that someone who can push a hundred kilograms usually has at least two or three years of fitness experience, and it has to be the kind where they train regularly without interruption.

Many people in the gym have trained for three to five years and their bench press is still stuck at the seventy or eighty-kilogram level; being able to hit a hundred is already considered above average.

But for Chen Fan, a hundred kilograms was far from his limit.

He decided to test exactly what his limit was.

He first added ten kilograms to each side, reaching one hundred and twenty kilograms.

He lay down and lifted the bar. As the barbell was picked up, his arm muscles tightened slightly, but the overall feeling was still very easy. He even felt there was no difference from the previous hundred kilograms—the barbell was steady in his hands, and its path was controlled perfectly.

Taking a deep breath, he lowered—and pushed. The movement was smooth and natural, the rhythm even. He pushed five reps in one go, his breathing hardly disturbed.

Too light.

He added another ten kilograms to each side, reaching one hundred and forty kilograms.

This time, the moment the barbell was taken off the rack, he finally felt some weight. His arm muscles tightened significantly, veins on his forearms bulged, and the muscles in his shoulders and chest had to exert force simultaneously to control the barbell.

He took a deep breath, adjusted his grip width, and controlled the barbell as it slowly lowered. The moment it touched his chest, his entire body's strength concentrated on his chest and triceps, and he pushed up with a sudden burst of power—

The barbell rose steadily.

One.

Not bad, not too strenuous, but he could clearly feel the difference from one hundred and twenty kilograms. He exhaled and pushed a second rep.

The second was similar to the first, just a tiny bit slower, but it still went up steadily.

Three, four, five.

By the fifth rep, his arms were slightly sore, but his form remained standard and his breathing stayed steady.

He didn't continue to add more weight, not because he couldn't lift it, but because he felt that today this was enough.

One hundred and forty kilograms was slightly strenuous, but acceptable.

Chen Fan sat up, glanced at the iron plates on the barbell, and silently noted the number in his heart.

Ever since obtaining the Fitness Holy Body and Internal Organ Strengthening from the wealth store, his various physical qualities had been continuously growing.

Chen Fan estimated his current limit to be around one hundred and fifty kilograms, though it might increase in the future. After all, he had just turned nineteen, his body was still in the developmental stage, and the system's strengthening might not have reached its limit yet.