Chapter 8 Cheng Gang Gym
8. Chenggang Gym
Jiang Xiaoheng hadn't seen his father for more than half a month. Although the father and son would video chat a few times a day, nothing beats a face-to-face conversation when it comes to talking through a screen.
Hearing that his father was coming to his grandparents' house for dinner that evening, Jiang Xiaoheng started preparing early. His Beetle backpack was bulging, filled with nice things for his father. Right now, he was trying to stuff a small bottle of drink into his bag. The young boy had his head down, his face full of seriousness. From the side, you could see his long, thick eyelashes and round cheeks.
Lele lay down next to Jiang Xiaoheng, occasionally nudging his Beetle bag with her head, causing the drink Jiang Xiaoheng had painstakingly stuffed inside to fall to the ground. Xiaoheng wasn't angry; he patted Lele's head, picked up the drink, and continued stuffing it into the bag.
Seeing Jiang Xiaoheng trying so hard to stuff the drink in, Chu Qiang couldn't help but tease him, "Godson, why don't you let your godfather drink this bottle of beverage in your hand? I'll give you two back later."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xiaoheng stopped what he was doing. He tilted his head and thought about it seriously for a while before handing the drink to Chu Qiang. "Okay."
Just as Chu Qiang inserted the straw into the bottle, he saw Jiang Xiaoheng staring at him with bright eyes, "Uncle, drink up! After you finish, go to the supermarket with Xiaoheng to buy Leleduo. You can have two bottles after you finish one!"
Chu Qiang almost choked. He was both amused and exasperated. "You little ingrate, I bought everything in your pocket, and you're still trying to cheat me."
Jiang Xiaoheng disagreed. He argued righteously, "But it was Uncle who said he would return the two bottles to me first. Adults should keep their word."
Chu Qiang was about to say something when he saw his parents strongly siding with Jiang Xiaoheng. "That's right, you're such a grown man, fighting with a child for a drink, aren't you ashamed?" "When will you find a girl and have a son like Xiaoheng? Then you'll have made a contribution to our Chu family."
Seeing that things were going badly, Chu Qiang covered his head and ran away, saying, "I was wrong, I was wrong, I'll go to the supermarket right away to buy him a drink and return it to him."
Jiang Xiaoheng quickly hugged Chu Qiang's leg, "Uncle, take me with you~ I want to pick up my dad~"
Chu Qiang held Jiang Xiaoheng's hand with one hand and Lele's dog leash with the other. He sighed helplessly, "What sins have I committed? I was bullied by your father when I was a child, and now I'm being bullied by you. Are you two sent by God to torment me? Let's go, let's go."
The door closed slowly, and the voices of Chu Qiang and Jiang Xiaoheng gradually faded into the distance. Watching the two figures, one tall and one short, disappear downstairs, Aunt Chu sighed with emotion: "Xiaoheng is just like Rongrong; their temperaments and personalities are identical. Old Jiang and his wife were truly farsighted, planning ahead for Rongrong. With Xiaoheng, Rongrong will have someone to rely on when she gets older."
Uncle Chu responded, "Yes, after all, they are all of the Jiang family bloodline. They know their roots and are reliable. Besides, whoever raises them will be like them. I think Xiao Heng is like Rongrong's own son."
As evening approached, Jiang Rong finally arrived at Chu Qiang's house from his hometown. The car had barely stopped when someone knocked on the window. Turning around, he saw Chu Qiang and his son standing outside the car. As soon as he rolled down the window, Jiang Xiaoheng's cheerful voice rang out, "Daddy, Daddy~ I missed you so much!"
As soon as they got out of the car, Jiang Xiaoheng snuggled into Jiang Rong's arms like a koala. Jiang Rong hadn't seen her son for over half a month, and she really missed him, so her hug was longer and stronger than usual.
This scene hurt Chu Qiang a little. He stood to the side with his dog and snacks, feeling like a giant third wheel. "Hey, you two are just being lovey-dovey."
After dinner, Jiang Rong took his son back to their apartment in Xintiandi. Having gotten used to the color scheme of their new house, he found the current apartment somewhat unfamiliar.
Jiang Xiaoheng and Lele didn't seem to notice. One of them skillfully opened his notebook to draw, while the other buried his head in his dog food bowl and ate heartily. Watching the carefree child and dog, Jiang Rong sighed silently.
He hadn't figured out how to explain to his son that they were leaving Xintiandi and returning to their hometown from City C.
Just as Jiang Rong was sitting on the sofa lost in thought, a small bottle of beverage suddenly appeared in front of him. Looking closer, he saw Jiang Xiaoheng staring at him with concern. "Dad, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Here, have some Leleduo. It's delicious and good for you."
Jiang Rong took the drink and then picked up her son, placing him on the sofa beside her. After a moment's hesitation, Jiang Rong spoke up, "Xiao Heng, we're moving soon."
Jiang Xiaoheng's eyes were full of anticipation. "Are we moving into a new house?"
Jiang Rong nodded. "Yes."
Jiang Xiaoheng cheered, "Yay!"
Before her son could enjoy his happiness for long, Jiang Rong gave him a harsh lesson: "Son, the new house isn't as good as you think. You can't run around like that anymore. You might not see your friends again."
Jiang Xiaoheng tilted his head, trying to understand his father's words. After a while, he looked at Jiang Rong and asked, "Will Daddy run around everywhere?"
Jiang Rong smiled wryly, "Dad can't go anywhere either, he can only stay with Xiao Heng and Lele."
Jiang Xiaoheng then asked, "Will I be able to see my grandparents and uncle again?"
Chu Qiang's hometown is only a twenty-minute drive from Jiang Rong's hometown, and even closer if they take the back roads. If they can find a way to get Chu Qiang's family back home before the major crisis, they'll be neighbors. Jiang Rong replied without hesitation, "We can see them."
Jiang Xiaoheng chuckled, "So when are we moving?"
Seeing his son's reaction, Jiang Rong's conflicted heart gradually calmed down. He smiled and ruffled Jiang Xiaoheng's soft hair, "We're moving at the end of the month. But you have to promise Dad you won't tell your friends about the move yet, okay?"
Jiang Xiaoheng raised his little hand, "Hmm, I won't tell them."
After his house back home was renovated, Jiang Rong felt much less pressure, and he finally had time to exercise. Chu Qiang recommended a gym called Cheng Gang Gym, which wasn't far from the Xintiandi residential area.
The next day, after dropping Jiang Xiaoheng off at daycare, Jiang Rong followed the navigation and found her way to the vicinity of the gym.
In Jiang Rong's imagination, a gym was much more upscale than a fitness center, and the gym Chu Qiang recommended must be more sophisticated than others. However, when he saw the location of the gym, he couldn't help but twitch his lips.
The gym is located in a residential community and was converted from the community fitness center. When Jiang Rong found the place, she saw a dozen or so elderly men and women sitting at the entrance chatting and enjoying the breeze. Behind the group of elderly people, a crooked blackboard hung on the wall with five large characters written on it: Chenggang Gym.
Seeing the storefront, Jiang Rong hesitated. He took out his phone, scrolled to his chat with Chu Qiang, confirmed the address and name, and then stood at the entrance of the venue, utterly exasperated.
If Jiang Rong didn't know Chu Qiang's character well, she would have thought she'd been tricked. But since she was already there, she decided to let him go in and see what was so special about this place that made a fitness fanatic like Chu Qiang so enthusiastic.
Taking a deep breath, Jiang Rong reluctantly walked into the gym under the watchful eyes of a group of elderly men and women. Jiang Rong had been to ordinary gyms before, and generally, gyms always reeked of sweat, coupled with dark-colored decor and loud background music. Just five minutes in one would make him feel dizzy and lightheaded.
However, this gym was different. Upon entering, you were greeted by a variety of fitness equipment. There was no dark decor or loud background music; the only person in the entire gym was an older woman wiping the equipment with a rag.
This scene reminded Jiang Rong of the community center in her old neighborhood, and a strange sense of familiarity welled up inside her.
Upon seeing someone enter, the cleaning lady, who was tidying up, greeted them with a smile, "Coming to exercise? Use these machines first, I've cleaned them."
Jiang Rong smiled. "Auntie, I just arrived. May I ask who the coaches are here...?"
The woman immediately understood Jiang Rong's purpose. She pointed to a door at the back of the venue and said, "The boss is inside. Go in."
Jiang Rong scratched his cheek. Had he arrived too early? Were the coaches not at work yet, and only the boss was there? While pondering this, he walked towards the door the aunt had pointed to. When his fingers touched the doorknob, he felt that the door was surprisingly heavy.
The door had barely opened a crack when cheers erupted from inside like boiling water: "Good! Well done! Gangzi, go for it!" "Keep it up at this crucial moment!"
Jiang Rong struggled to squeeze through the door, but as soon as he entered, something whizzed past his head and slammed into the door behind him with a thud. He looked up in surprise and saw a gleaming, sharp knife nailed to the door. This made him break out in a cold sweat; if the knife had been a few inches shorter, it would have been stuck to his forehead.
Jiang Rong looked in that direction and saw a fighting ring in the room, where two people were fighting. He only glanced at it, but his eyes lit up and he couldn't take his eyes off it.
One of them was wielding a dagger, its sharp tip tracing fluid arcs through the air. Each turn was dazzling. Jiang Rong had only ever seen such flashy dagger dancing in movies before; she never imagined she would witness it in person.
That's not all; what's truly impressive is his fight against someone wielding a dagger. He stood unarmed with his back to Jiang Rong, and no matter how fierce the opponent's attacks, he easily dodged and neutralized them.
Four or five men stood cheering by the ring. Seeing them, Jiang Rong instantly understood why Chu Qiang had sent him to this gym. Everyone here had well-defined muscles; their muscles weren't exaggerated, but they were incredibly solid. Beneath their muscular physiques lay immense explosive power and endurance. If he could achieve that, he'd be laughing in his sleep.
Men have a natural interest in combat sports, and Jiang Rong found himself drawn to the ring. Sure enough, the closer he got to the ring, the more he could feel the strength of the fighters. Coupled with the cheers and encouragement from the crowd, he was already getting excited: this trip was worthwhile!
The two exchanged blows on the ring, and after a while, Jiang Rong could tell who was better. The man with his back to him was superior; despite holding a dagger, he was suppressed and unable to unleash his full power.
The height of the ring meant that Jiang Rong could only look up at the person with his back to him. This man was tall and strong, with long arms and a narrow waist. His muscles were faintly visible under his thin black T-shirt, and his legs were incredibly long under his trousers.
He lunged forward, fists raised to his chest. Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting a bright glow on him, beads of sweat trickling down his bronze skin. The next moment, he darted across like lightning, delivering a sweeping kick that sent the man wielding the dagger crashing to the ground, the dagger flying from his hand towards Jiang Rong.
All of this happened so fast that Jiang Rong couldn't react at all and was still staring blankly in the direction of the arena.
Just as the dagger was about to strike Jiang Rong, the person with their back to Jiang Rong suddenly turned around, grabbed the dagger's handle, and gave Jiang Rong a stylish sideways turn.
Jiang Rong was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but clap her hands: "Great!"
A lone clap rang out, drawing everyone's attention. The man who had fallen to the ground in a disheveled state rolled over, "Hey? Who are you?"
Jiang Rong then remembered his purpose for coming. "I want to exercise. I heard that Cheng Gang Gym is very good." As he spoke, Jiang Rong glanced at the person who had blocked the dagger for him. With such good skills, he must be a coach? Or the owner of the gym?
As soon as he finished speaking, the man who had been knocked down got up. "Oh, you're a new customer! You've come to the right place! Our coaches are all very professional. We have everything you need: fighting, grappling, boxing!"
Author's Note:
Jiang Rong: Wow! So cool! [Applause]
Old Cat: Right? You can rest assured about my choice of people.
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