Jun Yang nodded to show that he understood what Feng Qi was referring to. This was something that they learned in the class for education strategy. Jun Yang was actually quite surprised that Feng Qi remembered it, perhaps his boyfriend paid more attention in class than he was willing to give him credit for. However, Jun Yang still could not grasp how that was related to his current situation and he posed that question to Feng Qi.

His boyfriend explained, “As you know, there are two types of motivation styles and strategies, intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivational style is more long-term but I think now we need a more immediate result.

“The story of the mule and the carrot is the most classic example of extrinsic motivational style at work. Seeing that his mule was too lazy to lift its feet, the merchant dangled a fat carrot on a string before its eyes. Trying to reach it, the mule moved forward, not knowing that the reward would always move forward with it because it was his owner who placed it there.”

At this point, Feng Qi smiled remembering the joke that Jun Yang was trying to make earlier. He continued by stressing, “Of course, I was not trying to call you a mule but I feel like the lesson is quite applicable to our situation.”

Jun Yang processed what Feng Qi had said and he asked in return, “You mean, you’re going to help me push further by dangling an external reward before my eyes?”

Feng Qi nodded. “That’s basically the idea, yes.”

Theoretically, it did sound like it’d work but there was one practical problem that Jun Yang could not overlook. “As much as I understand the sentiment, I could not imagine what you could have possibly used for the reward to fire up my motivation. I don’t actually have anything in mind at the moment that would help me persevere.”

“Hold that thought,” Feng Qi countered before continuing, “If I remember correctly, my precious boyfriend has a sweet tooth, yes?”

Jun Yang narrowed his eyes at Feng Qi, as he slowly had a grasp of the young man’s plan.

“From the look on your face, I believe you’ve already guessed it. I’ve prepared something sweet for you should you complete the session. So, do you think you’re up for the challenge?” Feng Qi asked with a hyped voice, probably trying to get Jun Yang pumping.

Unfortunately, the allure of sweet food on Jun Yang was not as deep as Feng Qi had hoped. Jun Yang balanced the exertion that he would have to go through to complete the session and the satisfaction that he would get from a sweet dessert in his mind and the scale was tipped unevenly to one side and it was the side that definitely did not make him feel any semblance of motivation.

Jun Yang groaned, still feeling the pain from exercise, “Feng Qi, I appreciate the effort but I don’t think I’ll be able to muster any motivation from the promise of a candy or cake. It is just not worth it. Perhaps my mind is not wired that way. Maybe I don’t feel the pull of the external reward as much as other people do.”

“Hmm…” Feng Qi hummed to himself while he was thinking. After some time, he put forth a counter-argument, “Or is it simply that the reward dangled before your eyes is not alluring enough. In that case, the solution is naturally to up the ante.”

“How do you plan to do that?” Jun Yang asked.

“Well, instead of providing the reward at the end of the whole session, how about I give you something sweet whenever you complete a sit-up?” Feng Qi offered. The suggestion was an interesting but… “Wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of the exercise?” Jun Yang frowned. “That means I’ll take in more calorie than the amount that I’ll burn. I fail to see how that is going to be good for an exercise.”

Feng Qi’s eyes twinkled like he had already predicted this problem and had come up with the solution for it. He urged, “It’ll be fine, Jun Yang. I have the perfect solution in mind to counteract that problem. Come on, quickly lie down. Just humor me and we’ll try this method for a while and we’ll call it a day if it does not work.”

Jun Yang narrowed his eyes suspiciously at his boyfriend. If he already had the solution, then wouldn’t he just share it with him? That was suspicious of him to say the least. However, in the end, Jun Yang decided to play along, after all, there was nothing for him to lose.

He moved into the accurate posture and readied himself to start another round of strenuous exercise. From his vantage point, he looked up at the sky and realized the sun was not as glaring as when they started. The day was beginning to set and Jun Yang made the decision to wrap this up as fast as he could so that Feng Qi would not be late for his shift at Mist Café.

Jun Yang pulled himself up, fighting against gravity that wanted to keep him grounded, quite literally. The familiar sense of soreness from before returned. Jun Yang gritted his teeth and tried to push himself up, knowing it would be much simpler once he got over the hump.

He took in a deep breath and breathed out, going over the hurdle. Jun Yang was halfway through the sit-up, he was in a seated position. He held that posture for a moment longer, trying to catch a temporary breather before he laid back down. Furthermore, he was waiting for the sweet treat Feng Qi promised.

He saw Feng Qi lean in and before he understood what was happening, Feng Qi leaned in way past the threshold that was necessary. Jun Yang was about to ask him what he was doing, when Feng Qi stopped him from talking by covering his lips with a kiss.

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DogFood

Might be taking a few days' break to seek inspiration.