Chapter 246: We Are Still Us

“This place of yours is really nice! Compared to you now, I really feel like a poor bastard.”

After a few bottles of beer, Qin Zhen’s words also became more frequent.

Chen Feng had moved to the No. 8 villa and had told him on the phone a month ago. However, he had been busy with work during that time and had not come over. Later, Chen Feng went on a European tour and was not at home. This was his first time here.

Seeing such a high-end villa with a swimming pool, and more importantly, two beautiful women living with him, this was a proper winner in life. How could he, a person of the same age, not be envious and jealous?

“I say, you kid, don’t get stuck in a dead end. It’s not good to compare yourself with anyone, but if you compare yourself with me, you’re destined to never be able to compare in this lifetime.” Chen Feng shook his head with a look of disdain.

“You kid are really pretentious. I want to hit you now,” Qin Zhen snorted.

“Don’t say I’m bragging. You might not be able to beat me now,” Chen Feng said with some pride.

His body’s various attributes were now soaring, especially in terms of strength. He had tested it last time when he backstabbed that masked man. It was quite powerful. A barbaric charge directly broke several of the other party’s ribs and made him spit blood.

And Qin Zhen didn’t know. Hearing this, he couldn’t help but laugh, “Fengzi, don’t brag about this. Do you believe I can beat you all over the floor with one hand? Don’t forget that in high school, we often played wrestling on the playground. How many times did you win against me?”

During that period in high school, after the evening self-study, many young couples would walk on the playground and be affectionate. There were also many students who ran at night. And Chen Feng and he often played wrestling on the lawn as physical exercise. The playground was dark, and the visibility was very low. It was very enjoyable to play. Chen Feng lost more than he won. After playing, the two of them would go to the washroom to take a cold shower together, even in the cold winter.

That was an unforgettable time for the two of them. A large part of their friendship should have been cultivated at that time.

And now Qin Zhen was a soldier. Not to mention anything else, he had practiced military boxing for several years. In addition, grappling and fighting were basic skills. How could an ordinary person like Chen Feng beat him?

Chen Feng couldn’t help but roll his eyes and say, “We haven’t been in contact for several years. Don’t you know that ‘after three days of separation, one should be looked at with new eyes’? What’s more, we have been separated for several years. If you don’t believe me, let’s arm wrestle later and see whose strength is greater.”

Chen Feng was not stupid. Although his body’s various qualities had been greatly improved now, he had not learned any grappling or fighting. If he really fought with Qin Zhen, he would most likely not be able to win. After all, Qin Zhen was a professional in this aspect. So, for safety’s sake, it was best to compare strength.

“You want to arm wrestle with me?” Qin Zhen shook his head with an amused look. “Don’t say I’m bullying you. I have strength training every day now. I lift a 20-jin dumbbell at least a hundred times with one hand every day. Have you exercised?”

“I’m too lazy to talk nonsense with you. Anyway, it’s just arm wrestling. Let’s do it now.”

Chen Feng couldn’t stand this guy’s smugness. If it were before, Chen Feng would certainly not have the confidence to challenge him, but now he had a cheat. Since he got a terminal illness and divorced, his body’s various qualities had become better. It was just that damn magical!

“Alright, you asked for it yourself. You want to lose face in front of these three beauties yourself. You can’t blame me.”

Qin Zhen was calm and composed, with the demeanor of a master.

Because they were all speaking in their hometown dialect, only Wu Mengting among the three women present could understand. Hearing that they were going to arm wrestle, she couldn’t help but say with some amusement in Mandarin, “Are you two bored? You’re so old, and you still want to arm wrestle?”

Hearing this, Wang Xuelin was a little excited and quickly asked, “Are you two going to arm wrestle? Interesting. Let’s start quickly. By the way, do you want to make a bet?”

As she spoke, she looked at the two women, Sun Xiaorui and Wu Mengting, and said with a smile, “Why don’t I make a bet with you two? If you lose, you’ll take me on your next trip, and all food and accommodation will be covered. If I lose, I’ll treat you to Fumanlou three times.”

Hearing this, the two women, Sun Xiaorui and Wu Mengting, both looked at Chen Feng.

Chen Feng looked at Wang Xuelin speechlessly and shook his head, “I know that on the surface, it seems that Qin Zhen won’t lose, but you really underestimate my strength. I think it’s better not to make a bet. Otherwise, if you lose, you might have to pay for your salary for the next few months.”

Although Wang Xuelin worked in the Civil Affairs Bureau and was now a small department leader, her salary was at most seven or eight thousand. Of course, other things like the housing fund were not included.

And a meal at Fumanlou would cost at least five or six thousand. For the five of them, plus drinks, a consumption of over ten thousand was very normal.

Wang Xuelin said with a smile, “I have confidence in my boyfriend.”

Qin Zhen also said with a confident look, “Don’t worry, I won’t lose.”

Seeing Qin Zhen’s smug look, Chen Feng was not polite and said directly, “Alright then. I’ve advised you. If you lose, you have to admit defeat. Treat us to Fumanlou three times.”

“Of course, you too. If you lose, you’ll take us on your next trip, and all food and accommodation will be covered.”

“OK! No problem!”

“Then let’s start. Where do we arm wrestle?”

Qin Zhen stood up impatiently. He was also a person who liked to show off, especially in front of beauties. And he was indeed a little envious and jealous of Chen Feng in his heart. He planned to make Chen Feng lose some face through arm wrestling, so that he could feel better in his heart.

Chen Feng looked at him with some sympathy. He didn’t know what kind of expression he would have when he was defeated later.

After looking around for a while, they quickly found a place to arm wrestle. It was a table that was originally used to place a vase. It was made of solid wood and was very sturdy.

After taking down the two vases, the two of them stood opposite each other across the table, then squatted down, and their right hands clasped each other.

“I’ll be the referee!”

Wang Xuelin volunteered. She went up and first let the two of them straighten their arms, then said, “I’ll count to three, and then you’ll exert your strength together. 1, 2, 3.”

Chen Feng and Qin Zhen exerted their strength against each other. At the beginning, Qin Zhen was still calm and relaxed. Then, he suddenly felt a great force from Chen Feng’s arm, and he almost couldn’t hold on.

He was so scared that he quickly pressed the table with one hand, and his whole body also tilted to the left, which stopped the decline. His arm changed from a thirty-degree right tilt to a fifteen-degree angle, and he gradually increased his strength, and the angle gradually decreased.

Seeing this, Qin Zhen finally regained his confidence, and a smile appeared on his face. Then he continued to increase his strength. He didn’t believe that Chen Feng could win against him.

Seeing him like this, Chen Feng couldn’t help but feel sympathy for him for a second.

He was still a little worried about whether he could win, after all, he had not practiced it himself, but as soon as he started, he was sure in his heart.

The reason was very simple. Chen Feng had just used at most six or seven points of his strength, while Qin Zhen had just used at least eight or nine points of his strength to be on par with him. This was clear at a glance.

If he wasn’t afraid that he would lose too badly, Chen Feng could have killed him in an instant. Of course, at the same time, in order to increase the sense of participation of the three women present, and the story of this arm wrestling, Chen Feng did not do so.

As Qin Zhen gradually increased his strength, he began to gain an advantage. His arm changed from a thirty-degree right tilt to a thirty-degree left tilt, a reversal.

However, when it was about forty-five degrees, a great force suddenly came from Chen Feng’s arm, and the advantage began to gradually shrink. The left tilt was thirty degrees, fifteen degrees, and finally his arm became a thirty-degree right tilt again.

“Come on! Come on! Qin Zhen, hurry up and put in more effort!” Wang Xuelin couldn’t help but cheer for Qin Zhen.

Seeing this, of course, Wu Mengting and Sun Xiaorui were not to be outdone. They quickly cheered for Chen Feng.

“Brother, put in more effort, finish him!”

“You’re almost there. Put in more effort, and you’ll win.”

At this time, Qin Zhen’s face was no longer calm and composed. Because he was trying hard, his expression looked a little constipated.

And Chen Feng’s side was much more normal. Although his face was serious, compared to Qin Zhen, he was much more calm and natural.

As Qin Zhen used all his strength, the advantage seemed to be turned back by him again.

But only Chen Feng himself knew that he was deliberately letting him win. If he won so easily, he would definitely lose face. In any case, Qin Zhen was one of his few true friends. He didn’t want to make things unpleasant because of this small bet.

So, the two of you pressed me and I pressed you, and they went back and forth for several rounds, but they couldn’t win with one blow.

“Damn, Fengzi, your endurance is too strong.”

After Qin Zhen gained the advantage again, he couldn’t help but complain with a red face. At this time, he was sweating all over.

Chen Feng was also sweating a little from acting so hard with him. He had to say that Qin Zhen’s hand strength was indeed great. It was just that he had met him, who had a cheat. Otherwise, an ordinary person would really not be able to win against him.

What’s more, even if Chen Feng had a cheat now, his advantage over him was not very big. At most, his strength was one or two levels greater.

“Do you still dare to say that you can definitely win against me now?”

“Damn! How did you practice, you kid? I really don’t believe it.”

After Qin Zhen finished speaking, he immediately closed his mouth and gritted his teeth, and once again increased his strength.

Chen Feng also closed his mouth and resisted with all his strength. He was also beginning to feel a little strained. He decided not to play anymore. They had been tossing back and forth for at least ten minutes just now, and they were both very tired.

So, this time Chen Feng also used all his strength. Then everyone saw Qin Zhen’s arm being pushed down by Chen Feng bit by bit. Finally, with a bang, it was heavily pressed on the table.

“Victory! Brother, you are the best!” Wu Mengting immediately clapped her hands and cheered.

Although Sun Xiaorui was a little more reserved, she also clapped her hands and cheered with a smile on her face.

Qin Zhen was panting, looking at Chen Feng with a face full of dissatisfaction and depression. Wang Xuelin even covered her face with her hands and wailed, “My salary for the next few months is gone. The food at Fumanlou is too expensive!”

“Don’t look at me like that. I told you that after three days of separation, one should be looked at with new eyes. See, I didn’t lie to you, did I?” Chen Feng said with a grin, and even raised his eyebrows at him.

Qin Zhen sighed, “Your kid’s hand strength is really beyond my expectation. It’s really been a few years since we’ve seen each other. You’ve become more and more unrecognizable to me.”

“We are no longer us, we are still us. So many things have changed over the years, but our friendship has never changed, don’t you think?” After Chen Feng said this with a serious face, he winked at Qin Zhen again.

Hearing these seemingly familiar and very literary words, and seeing his winking expression, Qin Zhen suddenly shivered, and a layer of goosebumps appeared all over his body.

“Damn, can you not be so mushy? My girlfriend is still watching from the side.”

Qin Zhen looked at Wang Xuelin with a somewhat guilty look. And Wang Xuelin was also looking at him at this time, and said with a look of annoyance and disgust, “You have a body of muscles for nothing. You actually lost to a fat otaku like Chen Feng in arm wrestling.”

Hearing this, Chen Feng pretended to be angry and said, “Leizhenzi, are you going to do something about it? Listen to what your girlfriend said. How am I a fat otaku?”

Qin Zhen said angrily, “You are a fat otaku. You often stay at home, and your stomach is so big. What’s wrong with what Xuelin said?”

Chen Feng was suddenly speechless. Although he had started to lose weight a few months ago, his five-month-old “pregnant belly” had not shrunk much. And he really didn’t like to go out and wander around. His social circle was also very small. He basically stayed at home when he had nothing to do.

Seeing that he couldn’t refute, everyone couldn’t help but laugh.

However, Wu Mengting still explained for Chen Feng, “Although he is still a little fat now, he is much better than before. He used to be 180 jin, but now he has lost weight to more than 160 jin.”

Qin Zhen looked Chen Feng up and down and nodded, “He’s a little thinner, but he’s still fat. Fengzi, I think you still need to strengthen your exercise and also control your diet.”

Chen Feng was heartbroken by his words and retaliated, “You two have to admit defeat. Three times at Fumanlou. The first time will be tonight. At that time, we will order all the signature dishes of Fumanlou.”

Wang Xuelin immediately stared at Chen Feng with the expression of looking at an enemy and gritted her teeth, “You’re ruthless.”

If all the signature dishes of Fumanlou were ordered, the price would be over ten thousand. Because there were “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall,” “Taishi Snake Soup,” “Cordyceps Stewed with Ginseng,” “Scallion Braised Sea Cucumber”… Most of them were for one person. For the five of them, just thinking about the price, plus other dishes and drinks, it would be over ten thousand for sure.

This time it was Chen Feng’s turn to laugh out loud. He teased, “Why don’t we just forget about it? I told you before that if you lose, you’ll have to pay for your salary for the next few months. But you didn’t listen.”

“Of course not.” Wang Xuelin said with a serious face, “I will definitely keep my word.”

Qin Zhen also pretended to be generous and said, “That’s right. Although we don’t have much money and we all have a fixed salary, we can’t compare with you. But we can still afford to treat you to Fumanlou three times.”

Hearing this, Wang Xuelin gave him a death stare and said directly, “You pay for it!”

Qin Zhen was stunned for a moment, then shouted, “Why? It’s not like I lost.”

Wang Xuelin said righteously, “Who told you to be so disappointing? I believed in you so much and thought you would definitely win, but you lost. You let me down so much! Don’t you think you should pay for it?”

Qin Zhen was suddenly speechless and couldn’t say anything.

Seeing him like this, everyone couldn’t help but laugh again.

Chen Feng patted his shoulder sympathetically. He had heard Qin Zhen say before that Wang Xuelin had a strong personality, and it was true. And she was originally his ex-girlfriend. Now that she had found him and reconciled, this silly boy Qin Zhen seemed to be trapped.

Looking at the situation today, one could completely imagine the miserable life of his good brother Qin Zhen in the future.

(End of chapter)