Chapter 319: Chapter 319

Zhao Dazhuang reached out and held Zhao Meimei in his arms, speaking earnestly, "In this life, you have to have a goal. You admire your big brother and want him to always like you too. So you have to work towards that. You have to become beautiful, capable, and outstanding for your brother to keep liking you. Got it?" Follow current ɴᴏᴠᴇʟs on noᴠelfire.net

Zhao Meimei nodded vigorously.

Liu Xiue poked her head out from the kitchen and yelled at the father-daughter duo having a heart-to-heart on the sofa, "All you know is reaching out to eat! Hurry up and help me peel some onions!"

At that critical moment, Zhao Dazhuang immediately pushed his precious daughter to the front line, "Off you go, your training opportunity has come!"

Just as she was about to stand up from the sofa, her mom shouted again, "Zhao Dazhuang, hurry up! Waiting for the pan to heat!"

Zhao Meimei laughed, "Dad, mom is calling you!"

Zhao Dazhuang jumped up from the sofa and charged into the kitchen while complaining, "You just spoil her too much! Too much motherly love ruins the child!"

Liu Xiue shot back, "As if you weren’t the one pregnant for ten months and giving birth. You don’t feel the pain! Meimei, when you earn money later, don’t support him, okay!"

Zhao Dazhuang: "What are you talking about? You better stop causing discord between us. We’re family; our bond is like blood thicker than water, even if bones are broken, they’re connected by tendons. Who else would my daughter support if not me!"

Zhao Meimei listened to her parents bickering in the kitchen, silently pondering her dad’s earlier words, and the more she thought about them, the more they made sense. Suddenly, a strong sense of urgency arose within her.

Since the end of the October holiday, Zhao Meimei noticed Zhang Jiahui began blatantly and subtly trying to please her. In class, whenever she was called to answer questions, if she got them right, Zhang Jiahui would certainly give kind and generous praise. After classes, unable to catch her a few times, Zhang Jiahui would find the time near the end of class to walk to Zhao Meimei’s desk and openly try to get closer to her.

Although it was mostly about academics, the concern was evident.

Peng Hui, hanging onto Zhao Meimei’s arm, chuckled mischievously, "Hey, if I didn’t know Mr. Zhang was aiming for your brother, I’d almost suspect she has her eye on you, nagging all day long! Tsk-tsk!!"

Zhao Meimei rolled her eyes, "Bah!"

Peng Hui, with her sharp tongue, spoke things Zhao Meimei disliked hearing, "But I’d say, actually your rival is pretty strong—she’s beautiful, highly educated, and has a gentle personality. She seems like the bird-in-nest type. If you hadn’t acted early to win over your brother, you would’ve been out of the picture!"

Zhao Meimei glared at Peng Hui, but before she could retort, Qian Simeng spoke up, "What’s this? You shouldn’t be talking about Meimei like that, it’s completely boosting others’ morale and undermining our own. Whose side are you on?"

Peng Hui replied, "Aren’t I encouraging her in a roundabout way?"

Zhao Meimei sneered, suddenly grabbed Peng Hui’s neck with her arm, pulling her into an embrace, and locked her arm tightly around Peng Hui’s slender neck, "Encouragement alone isn’t enough! I’m planning to get a gym membership; you be my sparring partner. Training alone is kind of boring and hard to stick with."

Peng Hui was stunned, "Gym membership?"

Zhao Meimei pinched the now slightly round belly she got from recent indulgence, and seriously nodded, "I plan to get some abs in shape. By next summer, I’ll be able to wear those crop tops, just like those girls at the music academy you saw; aren’t you envious?"

Peng Hui pinched her own waist and felt a bit tempted, "You’re serious right? Don’t fool me into joining only to not train yourself."

Zhao Meimei said with determination, "I’ll definitely stick to it. This is by striving to fulfill my pursuits. I have a goal to fight for."

Peng Hui teased her, "What kind of pursuit is that? You just want to look good!"

Zhao Meimei squinted her eyes with a smile on her lips, "I’m not doing this just for myself; I’m doing it to please the one who appreciates me!"

There’s a gym center just across the street from the school, fairly large in size, serving college students and residents from nearby housing communities.

Zhao Meimei went all in, getting an annual membership. Peng Hui followed suit, but Qian Simeng initially didn’t plan on getting one. In her words, her motto was life is about staying still. But once at the gym center and seeing the handsome trainers, Qian Simeng changed her mind immediately and joined as a member more enthusiastically than Zhao Meimei.

Zhao Meimei’s goal was clear: enhance her curves and tone her abs. The trainer designed a comprehensive workout plan for her, two hours a day.

Zhao Meimei hadn’t exercised properly from a young age; she liked rambunctious play. Though she had great physical stamina when it came to running and jumping, since she started middle school, the burden of studying took over, leaving no energy for exercise.

In the first week of starting the workout, Zhao Meimei was virtually tortured to madness with excruciating muscle pains.

Peng Hui, pounding her stiff calves, complained, "I don’t even dare to wear heels now; every step hurts, and I feel like a walking mummy!"

Qian Simeng helped Zhao Meimei rub her shoulder, "I didn’t really feel that tired."

Peng Hui spat at her, "You didn’t even work out seriously. Of course, you wouldn’t be tired; in two hours, you spent half an hour chatting with the trainer, barely ran for two minutes on the treadmill and spent another few minutes doing sit-ups. Each activity never exceeded three minutes."

Qian Simeng giggled, "If not for wanting more conversations with the trainer, I’d be too lazy to move even for those few minutes."

Shi Yang was away for nine days this time, spending a week taking orders and specially visiting Qian Jinqiu at a few headquarters stores, learning more about their sales techniques and display arrangements for cabinet products.

Shi Yang’s flight arrived in the provincial capital in the afternoon. He went to the company first to sort out some matters briefly, and looking at the time being right, he called Zhao Meimei.

Shi Yang called just as Zhao Meimei was leaving the gym.

Zhao Meimei asked excitedly, "Brother, you’re back?"

Shi Yang laughed, "Just about to head home from the company. What do you fancy for dinner tonight, going out or cooking at home?"

Zhao Meimei actually craved mutton hot pot, but recalling her dad’s teachings, she swallowed the words down, "A new restaurant opened downstairs in the neighborhood, their stir-fry is really good. It’s on my way home from school. I’ll pack some dishes up and we’ll eat at home."

Shi Yang, actually feeling quite tired himself, immediately agreed upon hearing this, "Alright, I’ll head straight home later."

Listening to Shi Yang’s straightforward answer, Zhao Meimei silently thought that her dad was really right.