“Your posture is upright and your breathing is steady. You've done targeted muscle training to develop your combat capabilities, haven't you, Sister?”
“Judging by your posture and subconscious movements, you must be a Ranger. Improving your physical control and agility through specialized fitness guidance is truly a visionary choice.”
Even with a gun barrel nearly pressed against his forehead, Bai Xiaodu remained completely unfazed.
After all, bodyguards were ultimately just their master's dogs.
Without Xin Hai'an's command, they would never actually shoot him.
He had stripped down to a very thin white shirt. Turning slightly to show his profile, he lowered his shoulders and puffed out his chest.
Bai Xiaodu's height was typical of the fox-kin. Known for their dexterity and agility, members of this race usually stood between 165 and 175 centimeters tall.
With normal body proportions, bulky muscles would look extremely out of place on them. Thus, the type of fox-kin most favored by wealthy ladies was the lean, toned boy.
Lean muscle was hard to build with performance-enhancing drugs alone. To make a living as a fitness trainer, Bai Xiaodu had endured plenty of hard work.
That natural, fluid physique actually made Xin Hai'an's eyes light up.
His shoulders and back were broad and relaxed, his waist and abdomen tight. At a glance, one could tell he possessed considerable strength and energy when exercising.
The muscle lines peeking out from beneath his shirt were clean and defined without a speck of excess fat, radiating a naturally pristine, fair complexion.
Xin Hai'an couldn't help but nod slightly.
Compared to the rigid hardness of tensed muscles, his physique felt remarkably unique to the touch—supple yet highly resilient.
“Ahem.”
Bai Xiaodu cleared his throat.
“Uh, yes, you're touching the right spot, but the muscle engagement point for the abdomen should actually be a bit higher up.”
Her slender fingers suddenly froze. As if suddenly snapping back to reality, Xin Hai'an immediately pulled her leaning torso back, instantly reclaiming her cold and aloof demeanor.
Yet her fingers seemed to find no comfortable place to rest. She started to cross them again, only to end up brushing them past her nose instead.
Turning her head slightly, a faint blush crept up her exquisite profile, though she seemed to force it back down.
Her lips twitched, and she managed to squeeze out only a single sentence:
“Yes, you've trained well.”
By now, her interest had deepened.
A mere mortal with absolutely no magic or vital energy fluctuations—at best possessing slightly above-average physical fitness—had actually identified her class as a Ranger at a single glance.
She had originally intended to teach him a lesson for his insolence, but now, Xin Hai'an found herself thoroughly intrigued.
Tilting his head, which set his fox ears twitching, Bai Xiaodu smiled.
“To receive my client's approval is truly my greatest honor, Sister.”
The two bodyguards exchanged glances and silently, without making a sound, took a step back.
Since these two were already flirting to this extent, keeping their weapons drawn would only make them look like complete fools.
After a brief moment of thought, Xin Hai'an actually began to strip off her clothes, just as Bai Xiaodu had suggested.
The bodyguards on both sides almost had their eyes pop out of their heads.
This was completely out of character for their master. First, he had feigned illness to avoid coming to guide her in person, and then he had spoken such insolent words.
How was their master being so incredibly patient today?
She gathered her silver hair back into a high ponytail to prepare for the upcoming workout.
Tossing her coat onto the chair, her snug, light-black undershirt tightly outlined a slender figure that curved dramatically in all the right places.
Bai Xiaodu blinked.
Holy cow, talk about a slender frame bearing some serious fruit!
It wasn't a classic gym tank top outfit; she was just purely, breathtakingly beautiful.
Hiss...
Why did it feel like her original goal today wasn't to work out at all?
Banishing the thought from his mind, Bai Xiaodu completed his warm-up stretches and quickly walked over to the cable crossover machine.
This damn machine always had some gym hog hogging it forever whenever he went.
This one looked brand new. Bai Xiaodu had to admire his minotaur boss for managing to source a complete set in such a short time.
“This machine is called a cable crossover. It's great for training the chest and back, making it perfect for beginners looking to tone up as well as advanced muscle group training.”
Bai Xiaodu helped adjust the height.
“Since you've trained before, let's start with the lat pulldown. I need to assess the current condition of your latissimus dorsi, teres major, rhomboids, and lower-to-mid trapezius.”
“Then we can move on to designing your customized routine. Does that sound good, Sister Xin Hai'an?”
True to her usual style, Xin Hai'an merely offered a nonchalant hum. Settling herself onto the seat, she pulled down on the bar with curiosity.
She didn't even realize that although they had officially met only half an hour ago, Bai Xiaodu was already calling her “Sister” this and “Sister” that.
When the boundaries of a relationship are ambiguous, forms of address subconsciously influence a person's judgment.
And a piece of merchandise certainly shouldn't address its owner with such intimacy.
However, as Bai Xiaodu was inwardly celebrating the success of his plan, a slight smile played on Xin Hai'an's thin lips.
The look she cast his way carried a hint of mischief.
Indeed, she hadn't actually come here to work out.
As a noble vampire, while other parents on Blue Star were still worrying about how to give their children a head start in life,
Xin Hai'an had already crossed the finish line the moment she was born.
Due to the unique physiology of vampires, there was little difference in physical capability between males and females.
Thus, they maintained a belief in gender-neutral ecological niches. Xin Hai'an's eldest sister, acting as the primary heir, managed the Blue Star region's massive, integrated vampire industry.
Out of personal interest, Xin Hai'an had been assigned by her eldest sister to oversee the potion manufacturing industry.
Two thousand eight hundred years ago, when the Mage Emperor ascended the throne, he completely overturned the previous ideology of unifying all living beings.
The United Federation, then still known as the Empire, shifted its policy toward non-human species from preferential treatment and pacification to ruthless expulsion and slaughter.
War inevitably accelerated technological advancement, but it also brought immense consumption.
Magic flourished, and various potions providing enhancement and recovery effects became highly sought after.
Even though the Blue Star region was considered a minor backwater, this position was still an incredibly lucrative goldmine.
She took her work very seriously, and with her natural talent in potionology, she easily became the chief representative of the vampire clan's potion industry.
It was just that...
It seemed that no matter the world, once the younger generation matured both physically and mentally, the elders would always unite their voices on one particular subject.
Nagging them to get married.
Xin Hai'an was no exception to this fate.
However, her status was exceptionally unique. Having almost complete control over the vampire potion industry, only those of Elder rank were qualified to nag her about marriage.
Political and business alliances were for ornamental youngsters; they had absolutely nothing to do with her.
Perhaps the potion industry had hit a bottleneck, or perhaps she was simply tired of the constant nagging and wanted to do something to shut the elders up.
Or perhaps...
her maturing body was, consciously or otherwise, releasing a certain...
restless, stirring signal in the dead of night.
Ultimately, Xin Hai'an began to search for prey of her own.
An equal status? That was absolutely out of the question.
Xin Hai'an was only interested in males who could serve as pretty playthings.
She had to be on top of her eldest sister in golf rankings, on top of her third sister in cultivation progress, and on top in the race for the potion industry representative seat...
No matter what it was, she always had to be on top.
For a transcendent to toy with a mortal's feelings was a common, everyday occurrence.
On a very ordinary, casual day, a friend had sent her a photo album. Somewhere inside was a picture of an adorable, white-furred fox-kin's face.
And so, Xin Hai'an had come here.
She decided to emulate the playboys of her clan—whom she had originally despised the most—and find herself some entertainment.
She was highly satisfied with Bai Xiaodu's performance. In fact, she was so satisfied that she couldn't even find an excuse to make trouble for him.
An equal matchup was not what Xin Hai'an wanted. What she desired was control—and a control that would make the other party submit from the bottom of their heart, willingly accepting her dominance.
In that case... she could only start with transcendent knowledge.
Compared to the powerful physiques of Warriors, Rangers pursued agility and flexibility.
Their neural transmission was fast, their muscle groups reacted instantly, and they possessed explosive power.
Because of this, their training methods could never blindly copy standard fitness guides.
Otherwise, an excessively slow tempo could easily result in muscle strain.
The solution was for the instructor to be a Ranger or Mage with high enough Perception or Intelligence stats.
This would allow them to detect the student's muscle movements in real-time, helping them quickly adjust their breathing and exercise tempo.
For a mere mortal, this was an insurmountable chasm.
Therefore, if she caused a transcendent, a Supreme Gold Card holder, and a noble vampire to get injured during a one-on-one VIP guided workout, how would this adorable, hardworking little fox-kin ever make up for it?
Just thinking about it was incredibly amusing.
Perhaps she would simply have him take a shower, respectfully fold his clothes one by one starting with his underwear, and prostrate himself on the ground in a perfect dogeza. And then...
“Whoa! Sister Xin Hai'an,” Bai Xiaodu immediately interrupted, sensing something was off. “The posture for a lat pulldown should have you on the bottom, facing up! Why are you on top, pulling down?”
“And with so much force?!”
Rate on N.U.
