Initially, she was quite energetic, but as she continued on, her waist area gradually felt like it was about to burn up. It was sore and painful. Ji Qingqing persisted till the 28th sit-up before collapsing onto the mat. She panted heavily as her two eyes soullessly stared at the ceiling above her. Was her bed too soft to sleep or did the desert taste too bad to eat - just why did she go to the gym to suffer like this?
Lu Lixingâs brow furrowed even more. âYour stamina is this bad?â
Ji Qingqing retorted back, âFor someone who usually doesnât exercise, itâs already good enough that I could achieve this.â
âAlright then, youâll have to train regularly in the future.â
â...â
âContinue.â
âHubby.â Ji Qingqing sat up during a sit-up and looked at Lu Lixing. âItâs my first day doing this, so give me some time to adjust. Letâs stop the training here and increase the intensity next time, okay?â
âThe intensity, huh.â Lu Lixing estimated the duration. âIn the gym, you spent ten minutes slow walking, another ten minutes jogging, and then you slow-walked again for ten minutes before stopping to rest. Afterwards, you did the planking exercise for two minutes and then you did 28 sit-upsâŚâ
âI did 29.â Ji Qingqing corrected him.
â... Even if I rounded it to 30 for you, the training time is less than an hour. Do you still think thatâs a lot of training?â
â... It does seem to be a little lacking. If that's the case, then could you come up with a training regime for me?â
Thank god she wasnât so hopeless, Lu Lixing thought to himself.
âThree sets of planking. Each set has three planks that last for one minute each. One set of sit-ups. Each set has three rounds consisting of 30 sit-ups each. And for the last segment, youâll need to jog for 30 minutes. Is that alright with you?â
Ji Qingqing pondered for a bit. âThere are three sets of planking and all these add up to nine minutes. How about IâŚâ
âNo.â
âThen sit-ups have three sets and each set has 30 sit-ups. Why donât IâŚâ
âNo.â
â... Fine, fine, letâs begin this.â
Ji Qingqing grimaced. She accepted her fate and went to lie face down. Under Lu Lixingâs supervision, she was âtorturedâ very harshly.
âI canât do this any longer!â
âJust persist for another ten seconds.â
â... Hubby, I donât want to train anymoreâŚâ
âDonât you want to tone your abdominal muscles? Rest for ten seconds⌠and continue holding that position.â
âI⌠Hubby, sob sob sob⌠please let me off.â
âFine, rest for ten seconds.â
***
âAlright, youâve rested enough. Continue to hold that position.â
â...â Thatâs not enough for me!
âHubby, let me rest for one more minute. Just one final minute. My hand feels sore.â
âNo, get up.â
âHubbyâŚâ
Putting on an expression of grimace, Ji Qingqing eventually completed the whole planking exercise with much suffering. After she was permitted to rest for five minutes, Lu Lixing held down her ankle. âStart doing 30 sit-ups.â
Ji Qingqing did one sit-up but didnât come up again after she laid back down.
âHubbyâŚâ
Her hubby was relentless. âDonât act pitiful. Get up.â
â???â Ji Qingqing blushed bright red and she abruptly sat up. âIâm not acting pitiful!â
âYouâre not allowed to act shamelessly too.â
âI wasn't doing that! Fine! Iâll do those sit-ups!â
Saying that she did another two sit-ups.
If she didnât show some real ability, he would definitely think she was totally useless!
Ji Qingqing steeled herself and started to battle Lu Lixing silently. In one go, she did 30 sit-ups. At the end of it, her abdominal area felt like it was on fire. She was so exhausted that she collapsed on the ground panting nonstop.
âRest for three minutes and do another 30 sit-ups.â
Ji Qinqging was speechless. âIâm really very tired.â
Lu Lixing softly instructed, âListen to me, you just need to persist for a bit more. If you donât, all that previous training would be wasted. Alright, get up.â
Ji Qingqing had zero energy to hear the gentleness in his words. Seeing that Lu Lixing was unwilling to âlet her offâ just yet, she gritted her teeth and sat up. Then she continued to complete the other two sets of sit-ups.
With multiple breaks in between, Ji Qingqing spent 20 minutes on sit-ups and planking. By the end of it, she was lying on the yoga mat, panting heavily. Her soul was close to leaving her body.
âRest for ten minutes, then start jogging. If you donât want to jog, then continue to rest.â
Ji Qingqing weakly acknowledged him. She sat at the side and watched him walk to the gym equipment to continue his training. The equipment that she couldnât even push, was pushed effortlessly by Lu Lixing. Occasionally, he would stop his training and rest for two minutes, but afterwards, he would inhale deeply and continue.
After some time, Lu Lixingâs chest and back area were soaked with a large patch of sweat. Beads of sweat had also started to roll down his forehead.
Ji Qinqging watched him for a while. After resting, she quietly went up the treadmill and began to jog.
Half an hour later, Lu Lixing finished his training. Using a towel to wipe the sweat on his face and neck, he walked over to Ji Qingqing and changed her treadmill settings to slow-walk mode.
Ji Qingqing panted heavily as she slow-walked. Five minutes later, she stepped down the treadmill with shaky legs.
Lu Lixing was absolutely right. Her body was too weak. Jogging was only slightly faster than walking, and yet it was so tiring that she nearly died from exhaustion.