Chapter 15 - Hellish Training
“Next! Wang Wei!”
In the gym, the contestants were currently wearing short sports uniforms and lined up in three rows. In front of them, there was a monitor. One person at a time would stand in front of it for a second, and all of their physical data would appear on the connected computer.
“Wang Wei, your weight when you registered was only 48 kg, but now it’s gone up to 52.6 kg. I’m curious, what on earth did you do to gain nearly 4 kg in just one week?”
Zhuo Yiyan held a list compiling all of the contestants’ information. Looking away from the computer, he walked towards Wang Wei as he spoke to her; his voice containing a hint of teasing.
“How much do you eat every day?” someone sighed.
Wang Wei had a square face and small eyes, and when she heard that random remark, her face flushed bright red. With her skin tone slightly resembling the colour of wheat, it was usually unnoticeable whenever she blushed. However, this time, everyone could clearly see the embarrassment that she was currently feeling.
“I didn’t eat that much. I was just a little too happy after the first auditions were over,” Wang Wei mumbled resentfully.
Some of the contestants couldn’t help but laugh.
“Remember, if you want to have nice shapely legs, you must first control your mouth. When the fashion world considers fat to be beautiful, then you can be unaware of how much you consume,” Zhuo Yiyan said to Wang Wei, at the same time sweeping his eyes towards the other contestants.
Wang Wei dejectedly returned to her position in line.
“Alright, the next person is…” Zhuo Yiyan flipped over the page on his list. “Xu Jiaojiao.”
Sheng Jiaoyang moved closer to the automatic testing machine.
“Your registration weight was 47 kg. Now…” Zhuo Yiyan glanced at the computer screen. “Your weight hasn’t changed. That’s good. Return to your position in line.”
Sheng Jiaoyang returned to her position under everyone’s disdainful gaze.
“Next…”
After the test was completed, Zhuo Yiyan once again stood in front of everyone. He wasn’t a tall man, and he was shorter than most of the contestants. But, he stood in front of them all seeming larger than life with his ample confidence spread out around him like a cape.
“As of now, this part of the test is finished. But, before we move on, let me tell you all a few of my opinions and suggestions,” Zhuo Yiyan said. “The majority of you have managed to maintain a good weight, and I believe that not all of you have the type of physique where you can eat all you want without gaining an ounce of fat. It shows that your self restraint is superb, congratulations! Unfortunately, for those that seem to have a fluctuating weight…”
When Zhuo Yiyan mentioned the part about ‘fluctuating weight’, all the contestants laughed.
“Everyone here is an adult, oh…except the two girls that have yet to turn eighteen; Tan Shuang and Xu Jiaojiao. Anyway, after the past twenty years, everyone should now be clear about what kind of physique your body resembles. Behind every successful public figure is knowledge, not just chance. So, if you want to make it into the finals, you must first be strict with yourself and control your body’s appearance.”
“This week, the only thing all of you will need to do is exercise; tempering your body into the best shape it can be. There’ll be two fitness instructors for each team who’ll guide you in your training, and they’ll also be the ones who’ll judge your final fitness results.”
“Good luck, ladies!”
After Zhuo Yiyan finished speaking, he retreated to the side and let the fitness instructors introduce themselves.
The four fitness instructors were all tall and robust looking; their defined muscles causing the eyes of the girls’ to twinkle with lust. After introducing themselves, they gave a brief demonstration of their skills which resulted in the girls squealing like a bunch of fan-girls.
The two fitness instructors assigned to Sheng Jiaoyang’s team were called Gao Yao and Li Tianyi. Unfortunately, while the fitness instructors’ names were refined, once they started the workout sessions they resembled demons! Initially, all the contestants had wanted to get closer to them. However, once training had begun, they’d ended up crying bitter tears as they struggled to keep up.
On the other hand, the viewers watching the live broadcast couldn’t have been happier.
[Pfttt! Those screams are so miserable 2333333~~]
[2333333 +1]
[Girls, ganbatte! Do it again without having the fitness instructor guide you!!]
[Isn’t it just 50 sit-ups? Why are they screaming like the world will soon end?]
[I feel that the girls who are training with the most ruthless methods are the ones who’d been so joyful in the beginning. I can’t be the only one who thinks this, right?]
[The fitness instructor’s inner voice: Hmph! I dare you to try and seduce me once more. If something is meant to be, then it will happen on its own.]
[WAHAHAHA…]
The netizens spoke freely in the comments, while the contestants were still facing an endless abyss of suffering with their training.
Sheng Jiaoyang’s current state wasn’t at its best. Her body lacked any experience with exercise, and her muscles were weak. The training plan given out by the fitness instructors hadn’t even been one third completed, yet she was already incredibly exhausted. Compared to some of the contestants who you could tell regularly exercised with just one look, she was totally inadequate.
However, there was one thing she had that others couldn’t compare with, and that was her youthful body and her ability to recover many times faster than the older contestants. At the moment, she may be so tired that she couldn’t even move a finger, but in just a few minutes, her energy would start to slowly recover until she was once again lively and full of vigor.
Sometimes, when she felt that she couldn’t go on anymore, she would recall the condition of her past body.
In her previous body, she used to think that she would never be able to exercise. Many of her friends who were unaware of her condition had always tried to lure her out to play extreme sports with them. Back then, she had been so tempted, but she could only find clever excuses to reject them. This had resulted in people thinking that she was somewhat of a chicken.
Skydiving, gliding, skiing, surfing…Sheng Jiaoyang had wanted to try everything, but she couldn’t! She’d had to be responsible and consider her family and friends.
The only thing that she’d ever indulged in was driving, and she’d even ended up failing that.
Now that she has a healthy body, it would be a waste if she didn’t train it properly. She still want to try everything that she’d missed with her old body, so how could she give up such a good opportunity to try exercising.
With such a thought in her mind, her spirit became extremely excited. The physical fatigue she was feeling wouldn’t stop her from sticking to her beliefs.
Sweat soaked her clothes and short-hair. Her appearance would normally be considered embarrassing, but her eyes, which were usually foggy when she wasn’t wearing glasses, were now as bright as stars. In that moment, they were filled with an unwavering determination and a longing for a better future.
Without any complaints, she completed the exercises set out by the fitness instructors, differentiating her from other contestants that had been intentionally, and unintentionally, carrying on like pork chops. Her forbearance and persistence, which were unlike those of other girls her age, had caught the attention of the trainers who were struggling to supervise the training of the other contestants.
They were training during the day in the gym, and as evening fell, the two teams were taken out by the coaches to jog along the beach. After a day of training, all the contestants were extremely exhausted, and the dinner prepared by the program’s crew wasn’t enough to fill up their stomachs. Once dinner was finished, everyone washed their clothes, then returned to their respective rooms to rest.
This intense training continued for a week, and it was so tiring that the people who normally liked to cause trouble didn’t have the energy to plot anything. The atmosphere in villa became harmonious.
The greetings of the exhausted girls when they got up every morning went something like this:
“Are your legs feeling sore today?”
Such hellish training resulted in almost everyone losing weight, and for the few of them who were originally thin, they were now so thin that they appeared anorexic.
Sheng Jiaoyang was one of those who looked slightly too thin, and the baby fat on her cheeks had disappeared. However, although she looked thinner, her weight hadn’t actually changed. She appeared thinner because her skin was tightening, her waist had narrowed, and her collarbone could vaguely be seen.
Of course, these achievements were related to her positive attitude. She complied to every one of the coach’s commands when training, and she was no longer picky about taking supplements. With some of the contestants losing weight daily, she’d managed to avoid losing weight to the point of looking sickly.
On the last day, the coaches fairly scored the contestants’ performance and training results, and this score would be included in the final evaluation.
In these past few days, everyone had more or less complained that the coaches were too harsh. But, when they reached the end of their training, everyone was reluctant to part with them.
The night before, the two teams had gathered to discuss giving a gift to the coaches, but all they’d brought with them were women’s products. They couldn’t go out shopping, and they couldn’t give money either. Ultimately, they unanimously decided to give the coaches a farewell party.
The two captains, on behalf of the team members, went to find a few staff members. Then, they persuaded the crew to provide the ingredients and kitchen utensils that they needed.
As a veteran of the dark underbelly of the food industry, Sheng Jiaoyang consciously stayed away from the kitchen. Unfortunately, nobody was willing to let her slip away, so the important task of organising the beverages fell to her. This was something that had gained her the limelight from the very first day she’d come to the villa.
Everyone divided the work equally, and then they spent the afternoon preparing the food. All kinds of dishes, from chinese style to western style, were spread over the long table.
Sheng Jiaoyang had prepared a simple and tasty cocktail. When everyone’s wine glasses clinked together, it seemed that the misunderstandings and tension within the group had ended, and the room filled with laughter.
However, after the coaches had left, everyone felt depressed. Some of the contestants even cried while holding their wine glass in their hand.
“I don’t know what’s waiting for us tomorrow. These past few days, everyone has been training hard, so let's go to bed early today!” Luo Yi said as she stood up.
“No, I still want to drink. Xu Jiaojiao, give me another glass!” Qi Hua was the first to disagree. She extended her empty glass to Sheng Jiaoyang and spoke in a commanding tone.
“Forget it, Jiaojiao made a lot of cocktails today, and she’s also tired,” someone said in Sheng Jiaoyang’s defence.
“Yeah, it’s late now anyway. Let’s go to bed early!”
Because of their budding friendship with Luo Yi and Pu Mingyu, the other contestants had realised that the matter concerning Sheng Jiaoyang and Zhuo Yiyan was just slander started by Qi Hua. These days, Sheng Jiaoyang’s behaviour hadn’t seemed finicky at all, and coupled with being able to drink a cocktail made by Sheng Jiaoyang, quite a lot of people weren’t against her anymore.
Of course, Qi Hua was unaware of this. She only knew that the girls who shared a room with her were now speaking on Xu Jiaojiao’s behalf. She suddenly felt a fierce rage well up within her, and slapping the table as she stood up, she shouted, “Shut up!”
“It’s you who should shut up! I hope that tomorrow you won’t claim to have a hangover from drinking my cocktail.” Then, Sheng Jiaoyang got up and leisurely headed upstairs.
“Xu Jiaojiao, what did you just say?! Stop right there!”
Qi Hua’s sharp voice echoed throughout the dining room, but none of the contestants paid her any attention. One by one, they went back to their rooms to wash up and sleep.