It was the second time that Chen Xiang had come there, and it was even more cramped than the first time.
The first time she came, there was probably not much of a crowd because of the facilities.
But that day, the boxing gym club was full of people, and…..full of only men.
She followed her brother inside, hunching her shoulders in a somewhat self-conscious manner, not daring to look around, and only when she heard him introduce who was who did she look up and give him a simple smile.
“Sister, this is our boss and our coach. You haven’t met him last time you were here.”
Her brother, Chen Yang, led her to the bottom of the boxing ring and called out to the man in the ring from one of the four corners, “Coach! This is my sister!”
The man in the ring was topless, revealing a large, muscular body. He found a towel and wiped his face indiscriminately then turned around and picked up the water bottle and raised his head to drink. With his gaze down, he glanced at the dirt clad rural woman under his eyes, and squeezed a response out of his throat, “Hmm.”
Chen Xiang raised her eyes and saw man’s adam’s apple rolling up and down. She looked away uncomfortably. Out of the corner of the eye, she saw the man’s bronzed abdominal muscles, and her ears turned all red.
She shrank behind Chen Yang, lowered her head and said, “… Hello coach, I’m Chen Xiang, Chen Yang’s sister. Thank you… Thank you for taking care of Chen Yang during this time. I, I… Thank you.”
The distance was a bit far, Chen Xiang’s voice was low, and the voices of other people in the club practicing boxing came one after another, causing Liao Jun to not hear what she was saying at all.
Chen Xiang kept her head down as she spoke. He glanced over and saw a head with twisted braid. The woman was wearing a gray plaid shirt and washed jeans underneath. Her feet were huddled in a pair of worn sports shoes. She looked extremely poor.
Many people on the sidelines noticed the commotion and looked over, some of them laughed softly with contempt and disdain in their eyes.
Chen Xiang was stared at by the surrounding people and felt uncomfortable. The bag in her hand was halfway through but she didn’t dare to pass it forward.
It was Chen Yang who took the bag from her and said to the coach, “Coach, this is made by my sister. It’s for you to eat.”
Liao Jun tumbled off the stage and walked straight over. His voice was a little thick with a raspy muffled tone, “Is there any braised pork?”
The last time Chen Xiang sent Chen Yang over, she had packed him a lot of food she had made herself. Chen Yang had shared some with everyone.
Liao Jun was the last one to eat it. Just that small piece of braised pork had appeased him for half a year, and now when he saw this woman from the countryside, the only thing he remembered was that she was a good cook. He had been around the city for many times, but he couldn’t find any braised pork that was better than hers.
He was a strong and sturdy man with a towering height. As soon as he came over, he was full of masculinity, with a strong smell of sweat and a sense of oppression that could not be ignored.
Chen Xiang unconsciously retreated. Her face was forced into a layer of sweat by the heat of the other party. Her clothes seemed to be wet and her body was too hot. Her voice sounded like she was scared. She answered with a bit of trembling undertone, “….yes.”
The man took the bag and smiled at her, “Thanks.”
Chen Xiang looked at the face in bewilderment and blushed with hindsight.
The man was tall with a muscular body. He had a knife-like sharp angular face with stubble on his chin and a dark complexion. When he stares at people, his gaze was a bit heavy, but when he smile…..he was a bit handsome.
Chen Xiang’s ears burned red, and she lowered her head and stammered in response, “No, no, don’t be polite. This… l should.”
Chen Yang took Chen Xiang to his dormitory, “Coach, I’ll take my sister away first.”
“Okay.”
Not long after Chen Yang left with Chen Xiang, a student came over and smiled at Liao Jun, “Boss, does Chen Yang’s sister likes you? Her face was so red just now.”
Liao Jun didn’t care, “Really?”
He just looked at the braised pork.
“Really, her face was as red as a monkey’s butt.” The student laughed as he said, “A rural bumpkin, don’t you see the clothes she’s wearing? So dirty.”
As the saying goes, ‘Take no gift, for the gift blinds the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous.’[1]
Liao Jun was eating the braised pork from the food package which he had just accepted from the other party. Hearing the student’s words, he frowned and became impatient, “It doesn’t matter if others are dirty or not. You practice your boxing.”
[1] Basically it means that if you take someone else’s stuff, and that person does something wrong, you have no right to talk about morals. If you eat someone’s food then you can’t be arrogant in front of them. Something about becoming a decent person/reciprocation.