Seeing Li Jing, Huang Jun was evidently thrilled and walked over without caring about the puzzled looks from the people around them.
"Don’t touch me, you’re too sweaty."
Seeing Huang Jun drenched and about to give him a bear hug, Li Jing decisively took a step back.
Huang Jun could only awkwardly lower his hands that were in mid-air, then warmly suggested, "Let’s go to a room to talk, there are too many people here."
As he led Li Jing through the crowd, Huang Jun excitedly said, "Jingzi, you have no idea, I feel great right now. As long as I keep up with the training, I’ll be fine for the competition."
Li Jing glanced at the group in the back filming with their phones and asked, "Who are those people? Plants you hired?"
"Come on, you think so little of me? Would I need to hire plants?"
Hearing this, Huang Jun couldn’t help but roll his eyes and then explained, "I’ve been collaborating with Director He recently, and there’s been a decent flow, with over three hundred thousand followers, increasing every day.
Those people are just some content creators, filming me to gain some clout.
Director He said these people are also helping to promote me, so I shouldn’t pay them much mind, which is why more and more people are coming to film me."
Walking into a room that resembled an employee break room, Huang Jun immediately offered Li Jing a glass of water, then sat down together, grinning, "I really have to thank you for this. I feel like I’m getting closer and closer to my dream; I’ve even been dreaming about you these days..."
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Li Jing nearly spat out the water he just drank and quickly waved his hand, saying, "Thanking me is fine, but dreaming about me, that’s not necessary."
He could accept a beauty dreaming about him, but just the thought of this big muscular guy like Huang Jun dreaming of him gave him goosebumps all over.
"Hey, it’s just me being grateful to you. Once I become famous, I won’t forget you, brother!"
As Huang Jun talked, a similarly well-built but much older middle-aged man walked in.
Seeing this, Huang Jun immediately got up to introduce him to Li Jing, "Jingzi, this is the owner of our gym, who used to place in professional competitions. It’s thanks to Boss Zhou’s technique that I trained to this level."
"Don’t flatter me like that, it was just because you’re a talent, seeing you train aimlessly was such a waste that I decided to teach you. Now that you have a foreign coach, just train well with him; we still have a gap with overseas in this field."
Saying this, the middle-aged man warmly greeted Li Jing, "Hello, President Li, I’ve heard so much about you. I’m Zhou Shun, the gym owner here."
Seeing this, Li Jing shook hands and smiled, "Hello, Boss Zhou."
"I should be much older than you, if you don’t mind, you can call me Brother Zhou."
Zhou Shun seemed extremely forthright, warmly expressing to Li Jing, "You sponsoring Huang Jun has brought a lot of attention to our gym, I’ve been thinking of finding a chance to thank you and make friends."
"I’m just helping my brother, as long as it’s alright with you, Boss Zhou."
"Why would it bother me? People are constantly leaving comments asking about Huang Jun under our gym’s video account."
Zhou Shun laughed, "Some people are even coming here specifically to sign up just to see Huang Jun.
I must admit, in business, traffic is very important. By helping Huang Jun, you’re actually helping me. If there’s anything you need in the future, I’ll definitely help if I can."
Li Jing could clearly feel the goodwill from the boss and didn’t hesitate, immediately nodding, "Alright, thank you, Brother Zhou."
"Alright, alright, then I’ll call you Brother Li. Hahaha."
Seeing the other party being so agreeable, Zhou Shun’s smile became even brighter.
Actually, from the moment he entered the gym, Li Jing fully sensed the friendliness from the people around him.
Initially, he felt a bit strange, but after realizing they all knew he gave Huang Jun one million, he understood the reason.
As a famous A-list celebrity once said, "When I was poor and struggling, those around me were all bad people, scheming. When I was rich and famous, those around me were all good people, caring. The people are the same, only you’ve changed, so they change too."
It’s not about saying that the people in the gym were sycophants; it’s just how most people are.
When you have no money, everyone keeps their distance. Once you’re wealthy, even if they don’t flatter you, they’ll treat you kindly and avoid making an enemy of you.
This is a common trait for most people, which is why, after Li Jing was recognized after coming to the gym, the people around immediately became much warmer and friendlier.
After that, Li Jing and Zhou Shun chatted a bit more, then saw a foreigner walk in and call Huang Jun out.
Seeing the serious look on both faces, Li Jing raised his eyebrows and turned to ask Zhou Shun, "Brother Zhou, is Huang Jun going to train again?"
Zhou Shun shook his head and refilled Li Jing’s teacup, pausing momentarily before speaking in a low voice, "Doping."
Li Jing frowned, staring closely at Zhou Shun’s face.
"Sigh, this is actually an open secret in the fitness circle."
Zhou Shun explained helplessly seeing Li Jing’s expression, "It’s not that we want to dope, but all professional athletes in competitions do it; if you don’t, you can’t get a good ranking.
Moreover, these substances are not banned in competitions. We certainly wouldn’t use prohibited drugs."
Worried that Li Jing might overthink, he added, "Huang Jun has great talent, and the doping plan was jointly discussed with that foreign coach. The dosage is much lower compared to many professional athletes."
"Won’t doping affect health?" Li Jing frowned.
"Of course, it will, but Huang Jun’s dream is to get his professional card and stand on the world stage at the Olympia, and getting good results will also bring him bigger exposure, changing his life."
Zhou Shun looked at Li Jing, smiling complexly, "Do you think the top individuals in any field don’t sacrifice their health?
If you want to stay healthy, then don’t challenge the extreme. This is essentially a binary choice. And Huang Jun chose his dream, I respect his choice, and I hope you can understand it too."
Seeing Li Jing remain silent, Zhou Shun added in the end, "Doping is painful, no one wants to do it, but if you want to succeed, you can’t avoid it."
After listening to Zhou Shun, Li Jing remained silent, got up, and walked out of the room, without seeing Huang Jun’s figure, but on the gym’s promotional screen, Huang Jun’s training short video was playing.
Huang Jun’s eyes were wide open like a beast, veins bulging, muscles steel-like, blood vessels rising like a spider web.
He was sweating profusely, his neck and face were flushed red, desperately lifting a barbell weighing more than twice his weight, glaring forward, his momentum violent, as if to slice through all the brambles in his path!
At the final moment of the training footage, the gym’s slogan appeared:
"Surpass the human body’s limits, achieve a legend of passion.
To fulfill dreams, you must go all out!
Get moving, challenge your own limits with Huang Jun."
Looking at the words on the screen, Li Jing thought of the standee by the door where Huang Jun flashed his big white teeth, showing off his physique, perhaps this is the kind of life he wants.
If he didn’t have the system, to live the life he has now, he probably would have to go all out too.
No, probably not even going all out would be enough.
At most, he would barely settle in Celestial Sea City, burdened with a high mortgage, scraping by for decades.
Just like that bald coach at the gym, even if he wanted to compete with all his might, he didn’t have the funds or opportunities.
Without money, many people could not even have the chance to desperately pursue success.
Li Jing walked out of the gym and saw a few girls secretly taking pictures by his sports car, seemingly complaining about another parked Hyundai in the shot, saying it would need to be edited out afterward.
He didn’t go over to show off by unlocking his car, but rather quietly waited on the side, his gaze set towards the distant horizon:
"To live a good life in this world, damn, you really need money."