"Didn't expect you could act!" Summer Pengfei matched Cold Siyu's gaze, then strode toward the horizontal bar.
Hidden in a rarely visited corner, someone had been quietly watching Summer Pengfei's every move — that person was Ye Zhiqiu. Seeing Cold Siyu lose control and Summer Pengfei instinctively rushing toward her, Ye Zhiqiu felt a surge of mixed emotions.
Ye Zhiqiu told herself that Summer Pengfei approached Cold Siyu only because he needed help with history. Thinking this, she felt somewhat relieved.
Jiang Meidan came over and took Ye Zhiqiu's arm. "Zhiqiu, come on, let's watch the boys do pull-ups!"
Ye Zhiqiu shook her head. "I'm fine here. Why should I watch them?"
"Suit yourself, I'm going." Jiang Meidan walked toward the bars.
Hua Kedu also dragged Cold Siyu over. "Come, Siyu, let's watch the hunks show off their stamina!"
The girls abandoned sit-ups and collectively migrated to the pull-up area. Ye Zhiqiu hesitated but eventually followed.
The boys lined up, practicing one by one. Because Summer Pengfei had left earlier, he ended up at the back of the line.
When it was Liu Xudong's turn, he confidently grabbed the bar and performed twelve pull-ups in a row.
"Wow! Impressive! Liu is really athletic!" Jiang Meidan praised — she always enjoyed complimenting handsome boys. "Come on, everyone, applause!"
The girls cooperated with a short round of clapping.
Then it was the chubby Song Xinkuan's turn. His bulky body swung helplessly under the bar. Even with full effort, he couldn't get his chin above it. He let go, discouraged.
"Xiaobao, up!" Coach Wang Dalong watched his star pupil with burning hope.
Wang Xiaobao didn't disappoint — he did eighteen pull-ups in one go, one of the top performances among the boys. He proudly dropped down… but no applause came.
Boy after boy took their turn, but no one surpassed Xiaobao's record.
Finally, it was Summer Pengfei's turn.
"Pengfei, go!"
"Pengfei, you got this!"
Wherever Summer Pengfei went, cheers from the girls followed.
He calmly approached the bar, jumped, and grabbed it.
Cold Siyu stared coldly at the figure hanging on the bar. His long, fair fingers looked suited for piano, not athletics. She assumed this refined-looking academic star probably had below-average physical strength.
"I bet he can't even do five," Liu Xudong muttered to Zhou Yang. Watching your buddy suffer is painful; watching him thrive is more painful; watching him take first place is the worst pain.
"One, two, three, four, five…"
The girls automatically counted. Summer Pengfei paused after the fifth.
"See? He's out of battery already!" Liu Xudong said gleefully. "Knew he couldn't do it!"
"Six, seven, eight, nine, ten… forty-eight, forty-nine!"
After a moment's pause, Summer Pengfei suddenly powered up like a high-voltage generator, pumping out pull-ups nonstop — forty-nine perfect reps before dropping down lightly.
"No way…" Liu Xudong was stunned. The gap was soul-crushing. Why were they even the same species?
Cold Siyu was also shocked — only now did she remember that Summer Pengfei carried the bloodline of a combat-monster-level prodigy.
His overly handsome appearance had made her mistake him for a weak scholar.
"Pengfei is so cool!"
"He's so handsome!"
"How are you this amazing?!"
Thunderous applause and screams erupted. The girls practically went feral.
The boys were speechless. Wang Xiaobao was the first to protest:
"Summer Pengfei, I've never seen you work out! How did you get that insane arm strength?!"
Pengfei raised a brow. "Do I need to issue a public notice every time I train?"
Coach Wang Dalong shouted, "Any girls want to try a pull-up?"
Every boy and girl turned to look at Cold Siyu, but she pulled Hua Kedu into hiding. She had zero intention of stealing the spotlight.
Summer Pengfei walked out of the crowd. Ye Zhiqiu, abandoning her usual reserved demeanor, walked gracefully toward him and handed him a drink.
"Pengfei, have some." She said softly.
Pengfei took it and drank without fuss.
Two ultra-beautiful teens standing together in the sunlight — it was dazzling.
"I wish I were as pretty as Ye Zhiqiu."
"I heard her father is a vocal professor, her mother's a dancer. She passed piano Level-8, singing Level-8, dance Level-11."
"She's got the figure, the aura — if I were a guy, I'd definitely marry her!"
Just like Summer Pengfei, Ye Zhiqiu was the center of attention and gossip.
Liu Xudong ran up and punched Pengfei's chest. "You unbelievable bastard! How many can you really do? I know you had more in you!"
Pengfei said calmly, "It's better if you don't know. It'll only hurt more."
...
Meanwhile, Hua Kedu munched bread with one hand and clung to Cold Siyu's arm with the other, joining the gossip crowd.
"Siyu, why is there no handsome guy who likes me?"
Cold Siyu snatched her bread. "Eat, eat, eat! You've eaten yourself into a panda shape and still can't control yourself! Even in the Tang Dynasty you'd be overweight. Looking like this, if you want admiration, your choices are either becoming a national treasure or a rich lady."
Hua Kedu frowned. "Becoming a panda is out… so how do I become a rich lady?"
"Fastest way is in your dreams," Cold Siyu said.
But Hua Kedu persisted: "My dad sells veggies, my mom sells fruit — small business folks. They work hard just to keep me in school. I can't rely on them. I have to rely on myself. So how can I improve my own strength?"
"First cultural rise, then economic breakthrough," Cold Siyu sighed. "But seriously, why can't you just think about losing weight first?"
Enlightenment struck Hua Kedu. "Right! From today on, you supervise my diet!"
Cold Siyu shoved the bread back into her hand. "Start with resisting temptation. Throw it in the trash."
Hua Kedu walked to the bin… then shoved the bread into her mouth.
"Forget it, wasting food is wrong. I'll start losing weight after I finish this!"
...
After P.E., Hua Kedu dragged Cold Siyu to the hall where the grade's honor boards were posted. "I'm going to follow the path of cultural rise. Gotta learn from the strong!"
Tianxiang High School had 30 11th-grade classes — 10 liberal arts, 20 sciences. After each exam, the top 100 liberal arts students and top 200 science students were listed on the honor board. Students who would eventually enter top universities mostly came from this list.
"I'm curious — Summer Pengfei only scored thirty-nine in history yet still ranked first in liberal arts. How strong must his other subjects be?!"
"Let's take a look and find out."