Perhaps another personality advantage brought about by being sensible is that An Yan is very easy to coax. At least, that was the conclusion Xu Qingfeng drew based on his own judgment of people.
An Yan still had classes in the afternoon. Once his emotional state recovered, he was able to return to his studies normally. Having finished his tasks for the day, Xu Qingfeng now had his own leisure time, so he naturally went to do the things he enjoyed.
The things he liked.
In his view, the body was very important. In his daily life, besides fitness, he paid a great deal of attention to health preservation. Secondly, he had a penchant for faith; people in business have always preferred to believe in Feng Shui rather than ignore it. He even planned to take ten days to half a month off in the future to stay in a temple for a while. Doing some charitable donations along the way would also be quite good.
But those were all future plans. For now, the most suitable place to go was the gym.
The private trainer employed at the gym grinned and greeted him warmly upon seeing him. “Brother Xu, you’re really disciplined! You trained to that extent the day before yesterday, and here you are again today. Have your muscles recovered yet?”
As he spoke, the trainer reached out directly to squeeze the muscles of Xu Qingfeng’s upper arm. Seeing that the other party didn’t express any shared dislike, he squeezed a few more times.
Xu Qingfeng, who didn’t have much of a conscious sense of being “groped” by a member of the same sex, actually began to share his recent insights. He pulled his arm away, flexed, and pointed at his bulging biceps with a smile. “The fitness plan you formulated is indeed very effective. It’s quite impressive to reach this level in such a short time.”
The trainer’s internal pride spread across his face, thinking to himself Of course! If I didn’t have some real skill, how could I have remained the No. 1 trainer for three consecutive years?
“However, I think I’ll train on my own from now on, so I won’t be renewing the classes. It’s been hard on you during this period.”
The trainer’s satisfied expression stiffened, and cracks began to appear. A sense of massive loss couldn’t be hidden it wasn’t entirely because Xu Qingfeng wouldn’t be buying more classes; it was the heavy disappointment of realizing he could no longer have close contact with such a charismatic man…
“Without a professional trainer watching over you and giving guidance, it’s easy to get injured training by yourself.”
“I can give you the lowest discount for renewing. After all, we’ve known each other for so long; I’m not even looking to make money off you, let’s just consider it making a friend.”
“I also know that Brother Xu clearly isn’t short on money, and you might not care for this small discount, but my boss is running a business after all…”
Xu Qingfeng maintained a smile while listening to the other man’s persuasion. Just when the trainer thought their financial relationship could be maintained, Xu gently delivered his closing statement. “I’m sorry, but I already have many years of experience. I can train by myself.”
That was right.
Xu Qingfeng was that kind of person; once his decision was made, there was no possibility of it changing. Moreover, although his sexual orientation was straight, his IQ and EQ were intact. It wasn’t that he couldn’t see the little hidden thoughts the trainer had toward him.
Having stayed in this world for a long time, he had learned how to protect himself well. For example: don’t easily go topless in the gym, even if he used to like doing so; public showers need to be locked properly to prevent someone from slipping in to entice him into “picking up the soap”; and he had to remain firm about not getting drunk at business dinners, otherwise, when he opened his eyes, those “Little Zeros” who were more delicate than women would already be sitting in his lap.
After finishing his daily workout, the driver sent him home.
The temperature was volatile; yesterday it was less than 20 degrees, but today it had broken past 30. Wearing a thick wool coat made him feel a bit stifled, and he had sweated slightly on the way, which forced him to go to the bedroom to wash up again to get rid of that sticky feeling.
The air conditioning was on throughout the house, making the temperature just right.
When he came out of the bathroom, he only loosely wrapped a bath towel around his lower half. He held a small towel, casually and even somewhat roughly drying his soft, wet hair as water droplets continued to fall.
As the master bedroom, his room was naturally very large, featuring a mirror that occupied an entire wall. Currently, the primary function of this mirror was for him to appreciate the daily changes in his body and his recent fitness results.
This is a habit most fitness enthusiasts have; after all, sculpting a body has many similarities to an art student working on a sculpture. Witnessing one’s body become increasingly perfect naturally makes one feel happy.
Xu Qingfeng knew that although he was still in his prime, he wasn’t young anymore, so he paid even more attention to sculpting his physique. He naturally couldn’t control the laws of nature, but he could control his own body.
In the mirror, his body had not a trace of fat broad shoulders, a narrow waist, well-defined abdominal muscles with water droplets sliding across them, and lean, powerful legs…
Xu Qingfeng surveyed himself with satisfaction, but it felt like admiring it alone wasn’t quite enough. He felt a desire to share, and the only friend he could share this with, other than Huo Xiu, was no one else.
Naturally, he picked up his phone and took a quick snap. He didn’t care about the angle or pick through them meticulously. He just wanted to show off his hard work from the past few months.
In the photo, one hand held the phone, blocking his face, while the other was still drying his jet-black hair. His beautiful, healthy body had excellent proportions, with nothing but the towel covering his lower body. Even though it was just a casual shot, it was still exceptionally good-looking.
Xu Qingfeng was quite satisfied not with his body, but with the results of his fitness.
After the photo was sent, Xu Qingfeng added a sentence.
How is it? Does it look good?
Only after sending it did he realize he had seemingly missed a key point. He should have added two words before “look good”…
Trained as.
But there was no way to withdraw and edit it. Besides, Huo Xiu was very smart; he would surely understand the meaning. He took it for granted that Huo Xiu wouldn’t think of him as such a narcissistic person.
Xu Qingfeng was certain of this.
In a cool-toned piano room, there were no decorations other than the piano itself. It was empty and devoid of human warmth, which was consistent with its owner’s “frigid” style.
Another special feature was the large, open bay window. The white curtains were very thin and easily stirred by the wind; the wind and fabric flipped, creating an ambiguous arc.
The man sitting by the piano was tall and slender. His white shirt and well-groomed hair made him look clean and refreshed. Those large, well-defined hands had once leaped skillfully across the black and white keys. The soft, pleasant piano music combined with the scene to create a sense of peaceful, quiet time.
It was as if the whole world had gone still.
A top-tier listener could perceive the performer’s mood from the music, but no matter who it was, no one could glimpse even a hint of Huo Xiu’s thoughts from his playing. Perhaps it was because they were hidden too deeply, or perhaps because he was originally too calm and lacked emotional fluctuations, or there was another possibility… that he hadn’t yet met the person who could stir his heart.
Suddenly, a noise intruded upon the steady and soft piano music.
“Ding-dong~”
It was the default message notification sound of a mobile phone. The volume wasn’t loud, but the musician’s sharp ears caught it easily.
Huo Xiu’s playing stopped. He probably knew who the sender was. Actually, he could have ignored it, but he still stood up and walked toward the phone.
When the screen opened, Xu Qingfeng’s photo jumped into view.
A thin layer of muscle covered the mature man’s body. The face couldn’t be seen, but the slightly tilted chin made the curve of the neck more beautiful, and the Adam’s apple showed a masculine sexual tension…
Water droplets slid down the texture of his skin. Although it was a static photo, it seemed as if they had come to life.
After a long time, Huo Xiu slowly typed two words.
Good looking.
After putting down the phone, he picked up a water glass and expressionlessly downed the entire glass of water in one go. He didn’t continue practicing the piano but instead left the room.
On the other end, Xu Qingfeng’s mood soared even higher after receiving the reply. Sure enough, the chicken breast he’d eaten lately hadn’t been in vain, and the sweat hadn’t flowed for nothing. Otherwise, how could he have received such a beautiful result?
From then on, he continued to maintain this good habit.
The Gu Group’s main industry was food; after all, it was something everyone needed. Lately, having been quite successful in the business world, they naturally attracted media attention and received an invitation to a highly well-known interview program.
The reason this show could attract a large audience was mostly due to the host’s sharp and direct interview style, because the more aggressive it was, the more the audience wanted to see the interviewee’s awkward or authentic side. Many of the direct questions were exactly what the audience wanted to know.
Xu Qingfeng liked to keep a low profile. He didn’t want to show off so loudly just after gaining a foothold and taking real power in the company. Moreover, he didn’t like being aggressively questioned by a host about things he didn’t want to answer.
Just as he was about to have his secretary decline the invitation, he inadvertently remembered something.
In the original story, wasn’t there a part about this? It was just that Xu Qingfeng, the ordinary cannon fodder, didn’t participate; it was Huo Xiu’s solo interview. Furthermore, something incredible happened during that interview. If that storm hadn’t been successfully navigated, Huo Xiu’s career as a pianist might have ended right there.
“Has Huo Xiu also received an invitation for this program?”
“This… I’m not quite sure, but I can check for you.”
Xu Qingfeng interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on them. After a moment of deep thought, he said, “No need. I’ll go to this program. But have the production team send over the interview questions to our side first so we can prepare.”
Being prepared was Xu Qingfeng’s style of doing things.
“I’m sorry, Chairman Xu. Although I also want to communicate with them about this, this program never provides a script in advance. It’s always been that way.”
He didn’t make things difficult for the secretary; after all, it wasn’t the secretary’s fault.
He didn’t know whether to praise the program for being “real” or to say they were very good at making things difficult for people. Xu Qingfeng’s only concern was that the host wouldn’t just care about the Gu Group but would also interview him about his private life.
Regarding his love life, Xu Qingfeng truly had nothing to say; saying anything would only be embarrassing enough to make his toes curl.
But then he thought of another point: as a powerful domestic capitalist, whether the production team dared to offend him would determine the future direction of the show. He estimated that those shrewd people wouldn’t do anything stupid.
A much more relaxed Xu Qingfeng reached his final conclusion then he would just wing it. After all, he hadn’t been around all these years for nothing; would he really be afraid of a sharp-tongued host?