Gan Yuan stepped away from the fitness machine, her gaze sweeping past the sneering Barbara and settling on Annie’s face.
When their eyes met, Annie’s lips curved into an elegant smile.
"Miss Gan, if you can’t do it, you might as well just admit defeat. Don’t get hurt."
Trying to play mind games with her?
"Thank you for your concern, Miss Annie, but rest assured, even if I get hurt, I won’t be asking you for medical expenses."
Gan Yuan walked slowly to the pull-up bar, looked up at the metal bar above, raised her hands, and on tiptoes, gripped the bar.
She took a light breath, tensed her arms, and her body gradually ascended. She completed a pull-up.
"Coach Gan, come on!" her student cheered, fists clenched, shouting encouragement. "Grip with both hands, be careful not to get hurt."
She relaxed her arms and then tensed again; Gan Yuan completed another.
Then a third, a fourth, a fifth...
Initially, no one, including her female student, had any faith in her. After all, for a girl to complete 24 pull-ups was already an incredibly formidable feat.
But as the numbers increased, everyone’s expression grew more serious.
The female student excitedly counted the numbers, soon joined by everyone else.
On the pull-up bar, although Gan Yuan appeared to struggle, she persevered with each one. And as the numbers neared 20, the previously dismissive Barbara finally looked serious.
She eyed Gan Yuan up and down, unable to comprehend how someone so slender, without any visible muscles, could perform such an action.
Everyone grew excited, watching her slowly lift her body upwards. As she was about to complete the 24th pull-up, everyone clenched their fists, sweating on her behalf.
Amidst the astonished gazes of Annie and Barbara, Gan Yuan successfully completed the 24th pull-up.
The female student almost jumped up in excitement. "Coach Gan, do one more, just one more and you win!"
Annie looked up, watching Gan Yuan on the pull-up bar, silently grinding her teeth.
While she still held back, Barbara could no longer hide her watchfulness, staring at Gan Yuan on the bar, wishing she could drag her down.
Atop the bar, Gan Yuan slowly bent her arms. As she moved, her body rose.
"Come on... just a little bit more!"
The female student clenched her fists, cheering her on.
The mockery in the eyes of the onlookers had long since turned into admiration, and they couldn’t help but root for Gan Yuan as she reached higher.
Gan Yuan’s head rose above the bar bit by bit, stopping only when her collarbone was level with it, completing a standard pull-up.
Her movements seemed strenuous, but her breathing rhythm remained steady.
In fact, she could have done this 25 more times; she simply chose not to reveal her full strength.
But simply beating Barbara this way would be letting her off too easily.
This time, she intended to teach her opponent a harsh lesson.
The female student shouted out the number. As soon as the voice faded, a light thud sounded from the floor. Gan Yuan had already feigned exhaustion and let go of the bar, falling to the ground.