The next day at noon, near the entrance of the construction site, Shane was rarely setting up the stall with Fiona.
Besides their breakfast stall, a skinny old Latino man had also recently arrived next to the site to sell burritos.
Actually, the old man had scoped out the spot yesterday but hadn't started selling.
Shane was afraid he might find trouble with Fiona, so he tagged along to see what the situation was.
But while they were setting up, the old Latino man had no intention of causing them trouble; he just minded his own business, rolling burritos and selling his goods.
"He's probably just here to sell stuff, not to fight," Shane observed the nearby alleyways again.
"Didn't see any young guys hiding in there looking for trouble either. He doesn't look like he wants trouble."
"Our prices are already cheap, and theirs are even cheaper than ours?!" Fiona was a bit annoyed.
"We aren't the only ones in the South Side who need to eat," Shane interrupted what Fiona wanted to continue saying.
"Besides those at the construction site who want to eat well and get full, there are always some who want to save a few bucks just to fill their stomachs. He sells his cheap stuff, we sell ours. It's all normal."
Shane had already started arranging the items one by one.
"If he gives you trouble, don't get into a conflict with him. Just tell our regular customers from the site, then notify me. They should all help. But if we don't provoke him, they probably won't bother us either."
He knew Fiona was a bit irritable because of the reduced income, but there was no helping it; that's just how the streets were.
After the lunch rush, this small stall did divert some customers, but Shane's "Fill-Up Combo" still sold well, and the two stalls coexisted peacefully.
...
In the afternoon, at the South Side Iron Gym.
"Coach... I... can I drink some water first?"
Kevin was sitting on a chair with no regard for his image, his face flushed red, sweating like rain.
His tank top clung tightly to his round belly.
"Finish this set of squats first," Shane stood aside with his arms crossed, expressionless.
"Hurry up and finish this set. 8 more. Come on, you can do it."
"Oh God..." Kevin wailed. "Shane, this wasn't the attitude and tone you had when you were fattening me up."
"If I didn't use a nice attitude, how could I have fattened you up?"
"True, that makes sense." Kevin took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and trembled as he bent his knees again, sticking his butt out, his round body beginning to rise and fall with difficulty.
"1... 2... Fck, my legs don't feel like mine anymore."
V leaned against the doorframe. She didn't need to come to the bar today, but she wanted to see Kevin's first official training session, so she came to watch.
"Go, my Mr. Michelin! The waves your butt is making have more rhythm than the musical I watched last night."
"V," Kevin shouted tragically, "can you say something nice?"
"Sure," V agreed. "The way you're sweating looks just like a melting human-shaped stick of butter. Very vivid~"
Kevin was so angry he almost couldn't catch his breath.
He finally finished the last one with difficulty, then flopped directly onto the floor without caring about his image.
"I can't do it, really can't do it. I don't want to train anymore. Don't make me train. Just let me live with this fat body forever."
Shane walked up. "Get up, don't lie down. Walk around slowly in place. Lying down right after exercise can easily cause a heart attack."
Shane half-dragged Kevin up, making him walk slowly to rest.
A few minutes later...
"Alright, rest time is over. Now start resistance band rows, 10 per set. Hurry, hurry! Do you want to spend your whole life with your 'good friend' on your belly?"
Kevin grabbed the resistance band from the floor, his movements crooked, his fat jiggling wildly with his pulling motions.
"Tighten your back... Imagine you're crushing a walnut with your elbows..." Shane corrected his posture from the side.
"I... think what I'm crushing... is very likely my own ribs..."
Next were glute bridges... When Kevin finally finished the glute bridges, he was panting so hard he didn't sound human.
V walked over at this time and encouraged him, "Wow, Kevin, you look so handsome when you're serious. I can't wait to touch your abs."
Kevin made a pose to show off his muscles. "Mmhmm, baby, you'll see them soon. But training is over for today, let me catch my breath first."
"Over? You're celebrating a bit too early," Shane started adding extra to Kevin's training.
"Four more sets of farmer's walks, 30 seconds per set. Chop chop."
"Hey, Shane, this isn't right. I just looked at your course plan; this wasn't in it."
Kevin screamed directly.
"Free upgrade, private customization. Who told us to be brothers?" Shane said without changing his expression.
Can't help it. If he wanted the video effect to be good, he had to add some extra ingredients.
By then, some viewers who bought the course and watched the video would ask: "Coach, Coach, how did this fat guy lose weight so fast?"
Shane: Is there a possibility that you're eating the wrong things? — Please buy my diet plan.
What? You say you bought the diet plan and your weight loss speed only increased a little bit?
That's actually because you lack the coach's real-time correction and secret extra training. Would you like to consider the $79.99 twice-a-week online guidance package?
...
Finally, the afternoon training ended with a long sigh from Kevin.
This time he didn't even sit; he collapsed on the soft mat like a puddle of mud again.
Shane was reviewing the footage. The video was full of pain, struggle, sweat, and of course, Kevin's jiggling fat.
However, with Kevin's foundation, plus his training plan, Kevin's Michelin tires would soon become spare tires.
At this moment, Kevin, lying on the ground, looked at Shane and asked: "Tomorrow... do we have to train tomorrow?"
Shane started packing up some equipment on the floor. "No training tomorrow."
Kevin's eyes lit up, instantly reviving on the spot: "Really?!"
"Really," Shane nodded. "Giving you two days of rest to let your muscles recover. We'll increase the intensity slowly later."
Kevin subconsciously ignored Shane's "increase slowly" part and only heard "rest two days."
"Thank God, Shane. I knew you still had some humanity left in you..."
"Don't thank me so fast," Shane raised his hand to interrupt Kevin directly. "Giving you rest doesn't mean letting you go drink beer and eat burgers to celebrate."
Kevin's face froze. What he wanted most right now was to stuff a piece of pizza into his stomach.
"Then what do I do?"
"You can't stay up late every day. Sleep at least 8 hours. Drink plenty of water every day. And stick strictly to the fitness meals I gave you."
"Come on, the stuff you want me to eat chews like rubber and candles."
V poked Kevin's head hard from the side.
"I don't care what it tastes like to you. If you dare celebrate with burgers or pizza, you're sleeping on the sofa for the next few months."
Kevin immediately changed his tune. "I suddenly feel broccoli and chicken breast are quite delicious too."
...