Apocalypse Chapter 8: Chenggang Fitness Club

Chapter 8: Chenggang Fitness Club

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Jiang Xiaoheng hadn’t seen his dad for almost half a month. Although they would talk via video calls every day, chatting face-to-face was much more anticipated. Hearing that his dad was coming to his grandparents’ house for dinner, Jiang Xiaoheng started preparing early. His Beetle backpack was bulging, filled with goodies for his dad. At the moment, he was trying to squeeze a small bottle of drink into the bag. The young child was earnestly focused, with his head down, his face full of seriousness. From the side, you could see his long and dense eyelashes and his round chubby cheeks.

Lele lay beside Jiang Xiaoheng, occasionally nudging the Beetle backpack with his head. The drink that Jiang Xiaoheng had just managed to squeeze in fell to the ground again. Xiaoheng didn’t get angry; he just patted Lele’s head and picked up the drink to continue stuffing it into the bag.

Seeing Jiang Xiaoheng’s efforts, Chu Qiang couldn’t help but tease him, “Godson, let godfather have a sip of this drink in your hand? I’ll give you two bottles in return later.” 

Jiang Xiaoheng stopped his actions upon hearing this. After tilting his head in thought for a while, he handed the drink to Chu Qiang, saying, “Okay.”

Chu Qiang had barely inserted the straw into the bottle when he saw Jiang Xiaoheng staring at him eagerly. “Uncle, drink up! After you finish, let’s go to the supermarket together to buy Lele more drinks. One bottle equals two bottles, okay?” 

Chu Qiang almost choked. He chuckled, unable to laugh or cry, “You little heartless guy, all the stuff in your pocket was bought by me, and you’re still calculating with me.”

However, Jiang Xiaoheng didn’t see it that way. He spoke earnestly, “But it was uncle who first said he would give me two bottles back. Adults should keep their promises.”

Chu Qiang was about to say something, but then he saw his parents standing firmly on his side. “Exactly, you’re already an adult, competing with a child for a drink, isn’t it embarrassing?” 

“When will you find a girl and have a son like Xiaoheng? Then you’ll have made some contribution to our old Chu family.”

Realizing the situation wasn’t in his favor, Chu Qiang surrendered, holding his head in defeat. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll go to the supermarket right away and buy drinks to give back to him.”

Jiang Xiaoheng quickly hugged Chu Qiang’s leg. “Uncle, take me with you~ I want to go pick up dad~”

Chu Qiang held Jiang Xiaoheng with one hand and Lele’s dog leash with the other. He sighed helplessly. “What kind of karma is this? I was bullied by your dad when I was a child, and now I’m bullied by you. Are you two sent by heaven to tease me? Let’s go, let’s go.”

As the gate slowly closed, the voices of Chu Qiang and Jiang Xiaoheng gradually faded away. Watching the two figures, one big and one small, disappear downstairs, Aunt Chu couldn’t help but sigh deeply, “This child Xiaoheng takes after Rongrong, both in temperament and character. It’s good that the Jiang couple had foresight and made plans for Rongrong early on. With Xiaoheng, even when Rongrong gets older, he’ll have someone to rely on.”

Uncle Chu agreed, “Yes, after all, they’re both of the Jiang family bloodline, reliable because they know their roots. Besides, whoever raises a child is like whoever, I think Xiaoheng is just like Rongrong’s own.”

As evening approached, Jiang Rong finally arrived at Chu Qiang’s house from his hometown. As soon as the car stopped, someone knocked on his car window. Turning his head, Chu Qiang and his son were standing outside. When he rolled down the window, he heard Jiang Xiaoheng’s joyful call, “Dad, Dad~ I miss you so much!”

As soon as he got out of the car, Jiang Xiaoheng nestled into Jiang Rong’s arms like a koala. Having not seen his son for half a month, Jiang Rong did miss him, so the hug was longer and tighter than usual.

This scene made Chu Qiang feel a bit hurt. He stood on the side with the dog and snacks, feeling like a giant lampshade. “Hey, you two just stick together.”

After dinner, Jiang Rong took his son back to their house in Xintiandi. After getting used to the color scheme of the new house, he suddenly felt a bit strange looking at the current house.

However, Jiang Xiaoheng and Lele didn’t feel this way. One skillfully opened his sketchbook to draw, while the other plunged into the bowl of dog food, eating noisily. Watching the carefree child and dog, Jiang Rong sighed silently.

He hadn’t figured out how to explain to his son yet, to explain that they were leaving Xintiandi, to explain that they were leaving City C and returning to his hometown.

Just as Jiang Rong sat on the sofa lost in thought, suddenly a small bottle of drink appeared in front of him. Looking closely, Jiang Xiaoheng was watching him with concern. “Dad, what’s wrong? Are you not feeling well? Have some Lele, it’s delicious and good for you.”

Jiang Rong took the drink and then lifted his son and placed him on the nearby sofa. After contemplating for a moment, Jiang Rong finally spoke, “Xiaoheng, we’re going to move in a while.”

Jiang Xiaoheng’s eyes lit up with anticipation. “Are we moving to the new house?”

Jiang Rong nodded. “Yes.”

Jiang Xiaoheng cheered, “Great!”

Before his son could be happy for too long, Jiang Rong gave him a reality check. “Son, the new house isn’t as good as you think. You can’t run around anymore, and you might not see your current friends anymore.”

Jiang Xiaoheng tilted his head, trying to understand his father’s words. After a while, he looked at Jiang Rong and asked, “Will you be running around too, Dad?”

Jiang Rong smiled bitterly. “Dad can’t run around everywhere, only stay with Xiaoheng and Lele.”

Jiang Xiaoheng asked again, “Can I still see Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle?”

Chu Qiang’s hometown was only twenty minutes away from Jiang Rong’s hometown by car, even closer if they took the back roads. As long as they found a way to get Chu Qiang’s family back to their hometown before the Great Crisis, they would be neighbors. Jiang Rong replied without hesitation, “You can.”

Jiang Xiaoheng grinned, “Then when are we moving?”

Seeing his son’s reaction, Jiang Rong’s troubled heart gradually calmed down. He smiled and ruffled Jiang Xiaoheng’s soft hair. “We’ll move at the end of the month. But you have to promise Dad not to tell your friends about the move for now.”

Jiang Xiaoheng raised his little hand and said, “Hmm, I won’t tell them.”

After the house in his hometown was renovated, Jiang Rong felt a lot lighter. Now he finally had time to exercise. The gym recommended by Chu Qiang was called Chenggang Fitness Club, not far from Xintiandi Community.

The next day, after dropping Jiang Xiaoheng off at the daycare center, Jiang Rong made his way to the gym following the navigation.

In Jiang Rong’s imagination, a fitness club should be more upscale than a gym. The gym recommended by Chu Qiang should have a higher standard than others. However, when he saw the location of the gym clearly, his lips twitched uncontrollably.

The gym was located within a residential area, transformed from the community fitness center. When Jiang Rong arrived, he saw a dozen or so elderly people sitting at the entrance, chatting and enjoying the breeze. Behind the group of elderly chatterers, there was a crooked blackboard hanging on the wall with five big characters written on it: Chenggang Fitness Club.

Seeing such a storefront, Jiang Rong hesitated. He took out his phone and checked the conversation with Chu Qiang to confirm the address and name. Standing at the entrance of the venue, he felt a bit awkward.

If he didn’t know Chu Qiang well, Jiang Rong would have thought he was being fooled. But since he was already here, he decided to go in and see what charm this place had that made Chu Qiang, a fitness fanatic, recommend it so highly.

After taking a deep breath, Jiang Rong braved the gaze of the elderly people and walked into the gym. Jiang Rong had been to regular gyms before, but usually, gyms were filled with the smell of sweat, dark décor, and noisy background music. Just five minutes inside, and he would feel dizzy and overwhelmed.

However, this gym was different. As soon as he entered, he saw various fitness equipment. There was no dark decoration or noisy background music. The whole venue only had one elderly lady wiping the equipment with a cloth.

This scene reminded Jiang Rong of the community activity center in his previous residential area, giving him a sense of familiarity.

Seeing someone entering, the lady cleaning greeted with a smile, “Here to exercise? You can use these machines first. I’ve cleaned them.”

Jiang Rong smiled back, “Auntie, I’m new here. Could you tell me where the coaches are?”

The lady instantly understood Jiang Rong’s intention and pointed to a door at the back of the venue. “The boss is inside. You can go in.”

Jiang Rong scratched his cheek. Did he come too early? Were the coaches not working yet, and only the boss was here? Pondering this, he walked towards the door pointed out by the lady. When his fingers touched the doorknob, he felt that the door was quite heavy.

As soon as the door opened a crack, cheers from inside rushed out like boiling water, “Good! Well done, Guai!” 

“Keep it up!” 

Jiang Rong struggled to enter the room. But as soon as he stepped inside, something swished past his head with a ‘thud,’ sticking onto the door behind him. He looked up in confusion, only to see a shiny dagger nailed to the door. It made him break out in a cold sweat. If the dagger had been a few inches lower, it would have hit his head.

Looking around, Jiang Rong saw a wrestling ring in the room, with two people sparring on it. With just one glance, he couldn’t take his eyes off them.

One of them was wielding a dagger, moving it swiftly in the air, creating smooth arcs with each motion. Each rotation dazzled the eyes. Jiang Rong had only seen such fancy dagger movements in movies before and never expected to witness them firsthand.

What was even more impressive was the person sparring against the one with the dagger. He was barehanded, but he easily dodged and countered even the most ferocious attacks from the opponent.

There were four or five men standing by the ring, cheering. Seeing this group, Jiang Rong instantly understood why Chu Qiang had recommended him to this gym. Every person here had smooth muscle lines; their muscles weren’t exaggerated, but they were all strong. Beneath their muscular bodies lay powerful explosiveness and endurance. If he could train to be like them, he would wake up laughing even while asleep.

Men naturally had an interest in combat, and Jiang Rong couldn’t help but walk towards the ring. Indeed, the closer he got to the ring, the more he could feel the strength of the people on it. With the cheering from the side, he began to feel his blood boiling: this trip was worth it!

After observing for a while, Jiang Rong could tell the difference between the two fighters. The one facing away from him had the upper hand, despite the opponent holding a dagger. The opponent, although holding a dagger, was being suppressed and unable to fully utilize their skills.

The height of the ring meant Jiang Rong could only look up at the man facing away from him. He had a tall and straight figure, with muscular arms and a slender waist. Underneath his thin black T-shirt, his muscles were faintly visible. His legs in combat pants were unbelievably long.

He was in a half-bent stance, fists guarding his chest. Sunlight streamed in through the windows, illuminating him brightly, and sweat dripped down his tanned skin. In the next moment, he charged towards the opponent like lightning. Jiang Rong could only see a leg sweep, and the opponent, caught off guard, fell heavily to the ground, the dagger flying towards Jiang Rong.

Everything happened so fast that Jiang Rong couldn’t react. He foolishly stared at the direction of the ring.

As the dagger was about to hit Jiang Rong, just in the nick of time, the man facing away from him suddenly turned around, grabbed the handle of the dagger, and left Jiang Rong with a cool side view.

Jiang Rong was stunned for a moment, then couldn’t help but applaud, “Bravo!”

The lone applause caught everyone’s attention. The person who had fallen to the ground stood up, turned around, and said, “Hey? Who are you?”

Jiang Rong then remembered his purpose, “I’m here to exercise. I heard that Chenggang Fitness Club is very good.” As he spoke, Jiang Rong looked at the person who had blocked the dagger for him. With such skill, was he a coach? Or was he the boss of the gym?

As soon as the words fell, the person who had been knocked down stood up and said, “So you’re a new customer. You’ve come to the right place! Our coaches here are all very professional, whether it’s combat, wrestling, or boxing, we have everything you want!”

 

 

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