14: Gym with background

"Add 50KG first."

Li Qinghe requested a not-too-exaggerated weight, bringing it to 335KG. When he lifted this weight, the entire barbell bent under the pressure.

Although it was still far from the 500KG deadlift record, in a gym, this weight was already considered a master-level achievement.

Under the gaze of the crowd's cameras and expectant eyes, Li Qinghe once again lifted the barbell with sheer force, earning another round of applause.

In the time that followed, Li Qinghe deliberately played with the minds of those few people, starting to increase the weight by 10KG, then another 10KG.

Each time, it looked a bit strenuous, but he still managed to lift it successfully.

This kept the emotions of those Vietnamese rich second-generation individuals on edge.

Seeing that the weight had already reached 380KG.

Li Qinghe didn't immediately grip the barbell. Instead, he looked up at the lens of his action camera and grinned: "I just want to ask if you're convinced."

Then, amidst the cheers of the crowd and the horrified looks of the Vietnamese rich second-generation individuals, he let out a roar and lifted the barbell.

"Truly amazing, a 4x bodyweight deadlift."

"This must be a gym record, right?"

The onlookers discussed animatedly, but Li Qinghe, after dropping the barbell onto the mat, pointed to the back of the crowd: "Is this what you Vietnamese call contractual spirit?"

This statement was a bit of a blanket accusation, but the three rich second-generation individuals who were trying to sneak away were stopped by several fitness coaches.

"You must do what you promised others; don't disgrace the Vietnamese people."

"Do you know who my father is?"

"No matter who your father is, agreements made at California Gym must be honored, or someone will come to remind you to fulfill your contract."

Faced with this situation, not only were the three rich second-generation individuals a bit surprised, but even Li Qinghe was taken aback.

He had originally planned to film their embarrassed escape as a conclusion.

But he hadn't expected the gym's connections to be so powerful. Judging by the coaches' attitude, it seemed the gym owner had a very strong background.

That's why they were so assertive.

Thinking about it, only someone with significant influence could open such a high-end gym in the best office building in Hanoi.

While the coaches blocked the rich second-generation individuals, they also pressed their hands against their suspended earphones, seemingly listening for instructions.

As one fitness coach whispered something, the eyes of the three rich second-generation individuals widened, as if they had heard something incredible.

Everyone could clearly see the change in their expressions.

The few of them exchanged a few words back and forth, then finally threw up their hands in resignation and lowered their heads.

Under the coaches' obstruction, the three rich second-generation individuals reluctantly returned to the weightlifting area.

Witnessed by the crowd's cameras and eyes, they very humiliatingly bowed and apologized to Li Qinghe's camera.

The onlookers politely gave another round of applause, though it was unclear if it was for Li Qinghe or for the apologizing individuals.

"A-He, still going?" After the onlookers had enjoyed the excitement and dispersed contentedly, Xiang Cao walked up to Li Qinghe with a smile and asked.

"Of course, I've just gotten into the zone. The three main lifts aren't done yet."

Li Qinghe twisted his wrist; the weight just now hadn't even reached his training limit.

"Then add more weight to the deadlift?" Xiang Cao bent down and picked up a barbell plate.

"Add another 100KG."

"Ah?" Xiang Cao looked hesitant.

In powerlifting, adding too much weight at once is not a good thing; a mistake could cause capillaries to burst.

In strength sports, nosebleeds and earbleeds are not uncommon.

Li Qinghe noticed Xiang Cao's hesitation and smiled, reassuring her: "That was just a warm-up and play. Now it's for real."

"480KG is already close to the record. The current highest official record is 501KG."

Xiang Cao said nothing more, just busied herself adding weight to the barbell.

After she was done, she straightened up and looked at Li Qinghe: "I really envy you Dragon Country People. When a country is strong, it produces all kinds of geniuses."

"Then you can marry into China."

Li Qinghe joked.

"Would anyone like a girl like me?" Xiang Cao crossed her arms, revealing clear abdominal muscles and an athletic V-line. Her arms weren't particularly muscular; instead, they looked somewhat slender.

"Don't you know some people like athletic girls like you?" Li Qinghe rubbed some chalk on his hands to increase friction.

Both he and Xiang Cao consciously avoided a certain issue. As part of the Dragon Country People cultural sphere, Vietnamese and Dragon Country People people tend to have traditional and conservative requirements in some aspects.

And for a female gym coach like Xiang Cao, her private life is generally quite open, especially since she studied in America for two years.

The story behind it would take several hours to tell.

So, unless a man doesn't mind this aspect or is purely looking for a casual fling, a man who is a bit of a clean freak generally wouldn't seek out a fitness coach.

Of course, nothing in the world is absolute, and every circle has its good and bad; the fitness world also has girls who remain untainted.

This is a matter of personal opinion.

The two did not continue discussing this topic. After Li Qinghe lifted 480KG, he then challenged the world official record of 501KG in front of the camera.

Putting other things aside, Xiang Cao was indeed a professional and excellent coach. Coupled with her cheerful and talkative personality, her approachability was maximized.

She cooperated very well with Li Qinghe in front of the camera, occasionally explaining some technical terms in Vietnamese and English, making the video's effect very outstanding.

After filming the deadlift segment, Li Qinghe also filmed squats and bench presses.

With a body weight of 95KG, he achieved a total score of 1000KG.

After all the projects were filmed, Xiang Cao thoughtfully gave Li Qinghe a relaxing massage.

Making Li Qinghe feel that the 1.6 million dong fee was very well spent.

After a morning of filming, there was a lot of material worth editing.

Li Qinghe bid a friendly farewell to Xiang Cao at the front desk, and they exchanged Zalo contact information.

With Xiang Cao's excellent cooperation, there might be opportunities to film several different content series with her.

Li Qinghe originally wanted to thank the gym owner, but Xiang Cao said the owner had already left the gym.

Li Qinghe understood that his wealth had not yet accumulated, and his social class had not yet leaped forward.

Helping him was merely a convenience for the gym owner. Li Qinghe kept this in mind, intending to communicate with this somewhat mysterious gym owner when he had the chance in the future.

Leaving California Gym, Li Qinghe quickly rode his motorcycle back to his rented room. He needed to go back and quickly edit a few segments to post.

The gym's betting content was an unexpected gain and definitely required careful editing.

After all, from another perspective, it was also a way of showing national prestige abroad, but the wording needed to be slightly controlled.

So as not to be used by some ill-intentioned people to stir up conflict.

Li Qinghe thought very clearly: he would interpret and edit it from the perspective of personal grievances and private conflicts. As for others wanting to extend its meaning, he would let them do so.

Since it was already noon, Li Qinghe had chicken pho for lunch again.

After a few months in Vietnam, he found that there were so many types of pho here. Fortunately, as a southerner from China, Li Qinghe was never averse to slurping pho.

So, eating pho every day had become a habit. When he got tired of it, he would switch to rice for a change of taste.

Back in the rented room, A Ying was still sleeping. The baguette he bought in the morning was untouched.

It seemed he had really tired her out last night.

Li Qinghe didn't wake her up. He took his laptop directly to the living room to edit and dub.

A Ying would probably wake up in the afternoon, so he would let her eat the baguette to tide her over, and then take her out for a big dinner in the evening.