With something to look forward to, it felt as if the next week came faster than ever. Li Ming happily finished his shift, kissed Zhao Chen goodbye who had just arrived to start his own shift and then went to freshen up before making his way over to the gym.

He was more than a little early when he arrived but he figured that it would be a good thing to show some initiative. Also, there was a chance that Zhu Yi might want to add a few more remarks before they started the course. They had messaged each other a lot over the last few days but that didn’t mean that there couldn’t be some last-minute advice.

He greeted the staff member at the front desk, went to put his things away, and then walked to the corridor in the back, past the smaller rooms and to the bigger ones where the course would be held later on.

You could see into the room through a small window in the door but it was barely enough to check if somebody was already in there or not. Li Ming took a quick glance and noticed that there indeed seemed to be a person but it wasn’t Zhu Yi. Most likely, this was still the course before theirs.

He went to lean on the opposite wall of the corridor and pulled out his phone, checking the schedule that Zhu Yi had sent him at their first meeting. According to this, he didn’t have a course right now but instead one of the few private lessons. From how Zhu Yi had sounded over the last few days, he was doing all of them here, so he was likely in one of the other rooms and would come over here right after. The session wouldn’t end for another ten or so minutes though.

Li Ming closed the schedule and leaned back, wondering what he should do now. He was a bit nervous about this so talking to somebody or at least texting would have helped him calm down. But Zhu Yi was still in his personal training session, Zhao Chen was working, and everyone else was probably too.

He glanced up at the ceiling. Actually, his mother should be at home right now. But he hadn’t told her about the courses yet. It wasn’t that he didn’t want her to know but that he knew that she would be really excited about this.

When he had been younger, his mother suggested he become a teacher like her. She had always thought he had what it took. But he hadn’t ever seen himself doing that.

Had she been disappointed? Maybe a little. She had still said that it was important for him to find something he would like though. After all, even though every job could keep a roof over your head, life would be much smoother if you had one you liked. At least that was what she had said.

He did know that she had worried though. After all, how long could you work as a security guard? One day, your body would stop being as flexible and you might not be able to offer the performance your employer wanted or needed. On top of that, you could easily be injured if something dangerous happened.

Back then, he had talked to her for a long time before she realized that just because there was some risk involved, that didn’t mean he shouldn’t do it. After all, everything came with risk, and as long as you kept that risk in mind, it was worth it. Also, it was possible to transfer to different positions in the future.

Now, there was an opportunity to switch to something else and it was even something that would bring him closer to what she had originally envisioned for him. How could she not be excited? But especially because of that, he hadn’t wanted to tell her anything before he wasn’t sure it would work out. If it did … well, he knew what he’d be doing the next time he had a free day. He smiled to himself just thinking of the expression she would make.

Just then, the door to the room next to him opened and he looked up.

Zhu Yi stepped out, noticed him, and then paused in his steps. For a moment, he just gawked at him, then he turned back to the young man that came out of the room behind him, the two of them bid their farewell.

Zhu Yi waited for him to leave and then rushed over to Li Ming’s side, his eyes sparkling. “Oh, my god, you are perfect! How do I have such good eyesight?!”

Li Ming raised his brows, not having expected that outburst. Then, he glanced down at himself before looking back up. “Is it the suit?” He had been dressed slightly more casual when they met for the first time last week so maybe Zhu Yi was surprised. Not that he thought that he looked a special type of way that would make people go nuts over him in a suit. But then, Zhu Yi was more passionate than the average person.

Zhu Yi shook his head, then nodded, and then simply motioned up and down. “It’s everything. Everything! It’s the suit, that smile you just had, you leaning against the wall like that. My participants will love you. I mean, I love you! Gosh, I need to show you to my girlfriend. She saw your texts and finally admitted you weren’t half-bad but she still doesn’t believe me when I tell her just how great you are. How about a double-date on the weekend or something? I would also love to get to know your boyfriend better.”

Li Ming’s brows climbed even higher but he still hesitantly nodded. “Well, I wouldn’t mind although that depends on our shifts. I managed to switch to more stable ones but it’s different for Ah Chen. Also, maybe you’d rather wait to see how today turns out?”

Zhu Yi just waved. “Seeing you like this, I have absolutely no doubt. In the worst case, I’ll work double as hard to whip you into shape in terms of teaching for this to work out. I’ll tell you: I won’t let you go! I will have you sign the contract right this evening, the minute the course ends!” In fact, he had it in his bag over in the locker room, and right now, he really felt like running over and handing it to Li Ming, the test run be damned.