hollywood billionaire

Chapter 573 A Shura Field of Swords Fighting Each Other
"35, 36, 37..."

“That’s right, don’t give up, baby…”

"40, 41, 42..."

"Almost done, just hang in there..."

"No, I can't hold on any longer."

Han Yi's arms went limp, and he collapsed onto the yoga mat, too exhausted to even catch his breath.

The Hungarian supermodel is very meticulous in her work. She agreed to be Han Yi's fitness coach, so she followed the plan strictly and without hesitation.

She made him go to bed promptly at 10 p.m. the night before. To ensure they could both fall asleep easily, Barbara even thoughtfully prepared a melatonin pill for each of them.

At 5:30 a.m. the next morning, three hours before dawn in London, Barbara opened her eyes the moment her phone alarm went off, showing no sign of wanting to sleep in.

Immediately afterwards, she turned around and pulled Han Yi, who was fast asleep and dreaming of dating his two other girlfriends, out of bed.

The two chatted in bed for a while, from "Do you care if I buy a football team?" to "Happy Wife, Happy Life". As they talked, the atmosphere suddenly heated up, and they instantly reached the point where they couldn't control themselves and their passion was ignited.

To save time, Barbara even moved the battleground from the bedroom to the shower room—after the fight, she would immediately start showering, which was incredibly efficient.

The two then changed into workout clothes. Han Yi hadn't brought any sports equipment with him on this trip to England. The outfit he was wearing was something Barbara had specially asked Aiden to stop by Harrods for a moment on their way back from Selhurst Park yesterday, before they met up with Turki again at the Ritz. She rushed in and picked it out for her boyfriend in less than twenty minutes.

With everything ready, the two finally arrived at the gym on the top floor of the Ritz Hotel at exactly seven o'clock.

It wasn't that Barbara broke her promise to drag Han Yi out of bed at six o'clock to work out, but rather that the gym at the Ritz Hotel in London didn't open until seven o'clock.

It happened to be Sunday, and the not-so-large gym was empty except for the two of them. This suited Barbara perfectly, because in this setting, she could undisturbedly torture her new student.

After ten minutes of dynamic stretching, there are three sets of goblet squats, 10-12 repetitions per set. Then, three sets of push-ups, each to exhaustion. Next, three sets of static lunges, 3 repetitions per leg. Finally, three sets of planks, holding each plank for 60 seconds.

This strength training program works the quadriceps, glutes, chest muscles, shoulder muscles, triceps, leg muscles, and other core muscle groups simultaneously, perfectly aligning with Barbara Pavin's habit of engaging every part of her body during each workout.

"It's a bit of a pity, but you've done a great job, baby." Barbara chuckled, squatted down, and pinched Han Yi's left cheek. "You only broke down in the last group, which is quite admirable for a beginner."

“I haven’t worked out since high school…” Han Yi’s face was full of pain. “Towards the end, I couldn’t feel my body anymore; it was all my willpower that kept me going.”

“It’s not that exaggerated.” Barbara pouted. “Today, I’ve arranged a basic training program for you based on the principle of gradual progression. The primary goal is to activate your metabolism and then establish a stable and consistent exercise habit without causing excessive fatigue. In other words, I haven’t even increased the intensity yet.”

"I know." Han Yi struggled to get up from the yoga mat. "But didn't I just exercise before coming to the gym?"

“That doesn’t count.” Recalling the scenes in the King’s bed and the shower, Barbara’s pretty face flushed slightly. “I was the one who was moving most of the time.”

"That was true just now... but I didn't stay completely still, in the end..."

"Alright, alright, other people could come in at any moment. What if they hear us?" Barbara quickly covered Han Yi's mouth. "Rest for sixty seconds, then get up and do five minutes of static stretching with me, and then do forty-five minutes of incline climbing on the treadmill next to us. Then we'll be all done."

"?!!"

Barbara didn't know what her boyfriend, whose mouth she had covered, had said, but judging from his surprised, indignant, and desperate look, it probably wasn't anything nice.

“You’re training with a Victoria’s Secret Angel, baby, so you should know that you’re going to be treated to the highest standards.”

"I know." Han Yi pried Barbara's hands away, panting, "I just didn't expect it to be like this..."

"Of course, the highest standard I'm referring to is the highest standard for girls."

Barbara's next sentence instantly silenced Han Yi's complaints.

“If you think this is too harsh, please let me know, and starting tomorrow I can train you using the standards of a child model.”

This move is too cruel.

Han Yi grimaced as he straightened up and staggered toward the treadmill. To avoid being looked down upon by his girlfriend, the last vestiges of his male dignity were instantly ignited by the words "child model," transforming into a surge of grief and indignation.

"I'll help you set it up, baby." Barbara followed with light steps, her energetic demeanor a stark and tragic contrast to Han Yi's. She tapped the panel a few times.

"Alright, let's start with a comfortable slope."

The treadmill slowly started.

Han Yi took his first step, and then he felt his ankle almost break on the spot.

"This...this is what you mean by...comfortable?" He gripped the handrail, feeling as if he wasn't walking, but pushing a broken-down truck uphill. "Is this slope...designed for rock climbing?"

“Only 12%, darling.” Barbara easily jumped onto another treadmill next to her. She didn’t even turn it on. She just stood sideways on one leg and did a few elegant Pilates stretches, while admiring her boyfriend’s heroic posture like a supervisor.

"Don't slouch, honey, engage your core!" she instructed. "Head up, chest out, imagine you're walking on the runway at Milan Fashion Week, with cameras everywhere."

Han Yi didn't reply, but secretly glanced at the timer.

【03:47】

Forty-five minutes?
Han Yi's vision blurred for a moment. He wanted to rush out the door and flee, but he wasn't confident he could outrun Barbara in his current state.

And... is he really going to admit defeat and train his children according to the standards of child models?

He doesn't want to sit at the same table as the kids!
Chinese men live their entire lives for their reputation. Therefore, even though he looked like a zombie that had just crawled out of his grave by the end, Han Yi gritted his teeth and completed the forty-five-minute uphill training.

When the timer reached 45:00, Han Yi pressed the stop button almost by sheer willpower. He felt as if his legs no longer belonged to him, but had become two strands of lead-filled, trembling spaghetti.

He tumbled off the treadmill, and if Barbara hadn't caught him in time, he had no doubt he would have collapsed to the ground, unable to get up again.

“This is the man I, Barbara Pavon, am.”

Barbara's voice was filled with undisguised pride and amusement. She looked around; the huge gym was still empty except for the two of them, so quiet that the only sound was Han Yi's exaggerated panting, as if he were about to die.

She half-helped, half-supported Han Yi to sit down on a low stool in the equipment area, twisted open a bottle of mineral water, and handed it to her boyfriend.

"I...I think I need...artificial respiration..." Han Yi tilted his head back and gulped down a large mouthful of mineral water. After a while, he spoke haltingly.

"You're exhausted, and you're still thinking about this?" Looking at his pitiful and disheveled appearance, yet still unable to forget her adorable, goofy antics, Barbara couldn't help but chuckle. She bent down, cupped her boyfriend's sweat-drenched face, and unabashedly gave him a rewarding kiss.

"Here, I've given you CPR." She gently wiped the sweat from his nose with her fingertips. "How does it feel? Did you enjoy working out?"

It took Han Yi a full three seconds to refocus his gaze, giving his girlfriend a look that said, "Are you crazy or am I crazy?"

“Pleasure?” His voice was hoarse, as if it had been sanded. “You call that…pleasure? I only felt torture, pure torture, without any embellishment. I felt my soul tried to leave my body at least three times, wanting to report to the next cycle of reincarnation ahead of time.”

"Yes, that's it!" Barbara snapped her fingers excitedly, as if Han Yi had hit the nail on the head. "That's the feeling!"

"what?"

“The soul leaves the body. That’s the ultimate balance, the most pleasurable delirium one can achieve after exercise.” Barbara sat down next to him. “I’m asking you, just now, especially in those last ten minutes on the treadmill, when you were exhausted and felt like you couldn’t go on for another second… what was your brain thinking?”

"I wasn't thinking about anything." Han Yi looked up and recalled for a moment before answering honestly, "Because I was too tired, I simply didn't have the energy to think."

When was the last time you had absolutely no thoughts on your mind?

"I……"

Han Yi opened his mouth and realized that he hadn't had this kind of complete emptiness in a long time.

Even in his dreams, countless thoughts raced through his mind like electric currents.

For example, the dream I had last night.

One minute he's on a date with Xiaoru, the next he's on a date with Youzhen, and then he's on a date with both of them...

As they made their appointment, the two girls pulled out knives from their pockets and started slashing at each other.

Han Yi, who was unarmed, tried to break up the fight but was slashed by the blade and bled profusely.

Just when Xiaoru and Youzhen had finally calmed down, Han Yi in his dream was horrified to find that Barbara had stormed over with a knife in her arms again.

Moreover, in his bizarre dream, the Hungarian girl was carrying a Guan Dao (a type of halberd).

This was Han Yi's daily life after dating three girlfriends in a row. If his dreams didn't involve work, they were always filled with bizarre and inexplicable scenes that felt incredibly real and terrifying at the time, leaving him no peace for a moment.

And those last ten minutes of climbing the incline on the treadmill...

His mind went blank.

Only those who have experienced it know how relaxing this emptiness can be.

It's like the meditation of a high monk, or a complete system reset.

At that moment, Han Yi's brain, which had been running at high speed 24/7, filled with all sorts of difficult questions like "how to get three girlfriends to live in peace," was finally forced to press the pause button in the face of extreme physical fatigue.

All the anxieties, calculations, desires, and fears... those chaotic thoughts that never cease like background noise in daily life are utterly insignificant in the face of a 12% slope and a heart rate on the verge of sudden death.

They were automatically removed, blocked, and isolated in a remote place.

The world has been simplified to its extreme.

There is no past, and there is no future.

Only the present moment matters.

There is only this step, and the next step.

There is only this one breath, and the next breath.

Only the burning sensation of my calf muscles being stretched to their limit and the heavy thumping sound of my heart pounding against my chest.

This is a state of being stripped of all impurities. It's not about contemplating how to exist, but simply existing.

“That’s the meaning of exercise, baby.” Barbara’s voice softened as she looked at Han Yi, who was deep in thought. “It not only makes your body better, but more importantly, it helps you clear out the thoughts, anxieties, and stress that are constantly piling up in your brain.”

“I don’t care at all about the extra few pounds you have on your stomach; in fact, I think it’s quite cute. I like the imperfections you show, which are part of your usual perfection, but I still agree to help you with your fitness and training.”

"Why? Because I know very well that you are usually too busy, and your mind is constantly occupied by thoughts, information, and the noise they bring. I hope that you can get a short break through exercise. I know that you can't really unload all your burdens, but at least you can put them down temporarily in these ten minutes, take a breath, and face the new day in a more relaxed state."

After listening to Barbara's gentle narration, Han Yi let out a long sigh of relief. As he exhaled, his strength seemed to return to his body. He reached out and tucked a strand of damp hair that had clung to Barbara's cheek from her exercise behind her ear.

“Thank you, darling,” he whispered. “You…you are the perfect girlfriend every man dreams of.”

Han Yi tried to move his sore shoulders, but the pain made him grimace immediately. He quickly added, "I wouldn't dare say I've fallen in love with working out now, because, damn... this thing hurts way too much."

“I feel like I’m dying of pain right now, and I can’t even imagine what I’ll be like tomorrow morning.” Han Yi shook his head and gave a wry smile, but his eyes were incredibly serious. “But… I really enjoyed that emptiness I just experienced. That perfect sense of nothingness. You’re right, baby. At this stage of my life, that’s a true luxury for me.”

“So, I promise you.” He placed his hand on the back of her hand, “I will keep exercising like this. Even after this trip ends and we say goodbye, I will continue.”

"Because I want to become a better version of myself for you." His gaze was fixed on her eyes, unwavering.

"It's not about having a better physique or more developed muscles... it's about being a better version of myself in spirit. A purer, lighter version of myself. Until the next time we meet."

“I like the way you joke,” Barbara said, flipping her hand upwards to grasp Han Yi’s hand in return, her smile sweet. “But I like you even more now… open and honest with me.”

She leaned in and gently placed another kiss on his lips.

"Moreover, we are far from saying goodbye."

"Let's rest for a few more minutes, go back to our room to change, and then go downstairs for breakfast. I'll teach you how to use the hotel's buffet to prepare nutritious and delicious healthy meals when you're traveling."

"Then, we packed our bags early and headed to the airport as soon as possible."

"Because there's still a whole Paris waiting for us to explore, isn't there?"

(End of this chapter)