Can My Friend Give It a Try

“Brother Qiang, I've seen you on my feed!” a passerby laughed.

“Right? We never do anything fake. Bottom line is, whoever can lift it, I pay them. Simple as that. I brought a ton of cash today. I've always heard there are a lot of gym bros in this city, so I figured I'd come here and see if that's actually true!”

“How much does that dumbbell weigh?” another passerby asked.

“120 kilos.”

“120... kilos?”

“Yeah, of course. If a 120-pound dumbbell could be lifted by any average guy, there'd be nothing worth challenging about it.”

“Is this your heaviest dumbbell?”

“Not at all. I also have a 130 kg and a 160 kg here. But even lifting 120 is super rare, so I didn't bring those two out. Still, if someone manages 120 kg and wants to try a heavier one, I'll pull it out for them.” The man called Brother Qiang laughed.

“So what's the prize if someone lifts the 160 kg one?”

“Haha, that's probably impossible, but since you asked, I'll answer: if anyone today lifts both 120 kg and 160 kg successfully, I'll give out a cash prize of 10,000 on the spot!”

Brother Qiang paused for a second, then raised his hand and corrected himself: “No, no—20,000!”

At that, the crowd erupted.

“Holy crap!”

“For real?!”

“It has to be real! I've got over three million followers on Douyin, and I'm live-streaming this whole thing. If I couldn't back it up, who would keep following me? Right? Haha.”

“Alright, alright—so can anyone try?”

“Anyone at all. It doesn't cost a cent. It's a free challenge. If you think you can do it, come on up. The whole point of this challenge is to promote fitness for everyone. The men of our country have got to be strong!”

“Well said! Then I'll go first!” A burly guy around 1.85 meters tall and maybe 90 kilos raised his hand.

Brother Qiang glanced at him and smiled: “Great! You've got the build for it, that looks promising. When you're ready, come on up!”

Su Yang and Han So-yeon were standing further back watching. Han So-yeon laughed and said, “This actually looks kinda fun.”

“You want to give it a try?”

Han So-yeon nodded: “Yeah, I want to try the 120 kg one. With both hands, I think I can do it.”

“Really? That's 240 pounds, you know? You're that strong?”

“Don't judge me by my size. I've got decent strength. I hit the gym regularly when I have time.”

“Is that so? Alright, let's move a bit closer then.”

“Okay.” The two of them squeezed into the crowd.

By now, the young man was standing right in front of the 120 kg dumbbell. Brother Qiang briefly explained how to do it, and then the guy bent down and grabbed the dumbbell bar with his right hand.

“Hoo!” He took a deep breath, shifted his footing, then strained with all his might to pull the dumbbell upward.

The crowd watched him with rapt attention, cheering him on.

“Push!”

“Lift it!”

The noise drew even more passersby. But no matter how hard he tried, the dumbbell wouldn't budge.

“Hoo!! Up!” He tried again, but the dumbbell remained welded to the ground.

“Watch your lower back!” Brother Qiang noticed the guy struggling and walked over to shout.

The guy let go of the bar and shook his head with a laugh: “No good, no good. Way too heavy.”

“Haha, your strength is probably fine, but your grip is a bit weak. If you can't hold it, it's hard to lift.”

“I'm out. Someone else have a go.” Looking a little embarrassed, the young man turned and slipped back into the crowd, quietly slinking away.

Brother Qiang then addressed the crowd again: “This thing definitely has some difficulty, so everyone should know their limits. Don't throw out your back.”

Just then a middle-aged woman asked: “Is that dumbbell rigged or bolted to the ground?”

“Hey? Ma'am, what are you saying? Didn't I just demonstrate it earlier? You all saw it, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, a big influencer like him wouldn't fake it.”

“Right. If you think something's wrong, go check it out yourself.”

“That's right. This is just a regular dumbbell pulled straight from the gym. Anyone who thinks there's an issue is welcome to inspect it.”

Hearing that, the middle-aged woman fell silent.

“Alright, moving on—who's the next warrior?” Brother Qiang spread his arms and looked at the crowd, waiting for someone to step up.

Then a plus-sized girl in tight yoga pants walked forward.

She was around 1.75 meters tall, wearing a pink fitted training tank top and gray yoga pants. She looked at least 70 kilos, with a very striking figure—narrow waist, wide hips, and legs thicker than most men's waists.

Brother Qiang saw her and said, “Welcome, welcome! How come you guys aren't braver than this lady? What's your name, miss?”

“Just call me Chenchen.”

“Chenchen, right? You ready?”

“Ready. Women can use both hands, right?”

“Yes, but you've got to straighten up fully. I already explained the rules.”

“I know. I've seen your videos.”

“Then you know the rules for sure. Come on, lift it and you get 3,000.”

“Alright.” The gym girl stepped up, planted her feet on either side of the dumbbell.

Su Yang lowered his voice and asked, “Think she can lift it?”

Han So-yeon nodded: “I think she might. She's pretty solid.”

Su Yang shook his head and smiled: “I'm not so sure. It's not just about body weight. Grip strength, core, and leg power all matter.”

As they spoke, the girl bent down, grabbed the dumbbell bar with both hands, and heaved upward.

The dumbbell came up about ten centimeters, and the crowd cheered: “Damn! That's amazing, girl! Pull!”

She strained with everything she had, her face turning bright red, but she couldn't get it any higher.

Thud!

She let go, and the dumbbell slammed back to the ground.

Brother Qiang stepped up and praised her: “Not bad, not bad at all! Lifting it at all is already impressive. But you were still a bit short.”

“No worries, I just wanted to try.” The girl smiled, unfazed, and stepped to the side.

“Ma'am, see? The dumbbell works fine, right? People can lift it, right?” Brother Qiang said, grinning at the middle-aged woman who had doubted him earlier.

The woman nodded: “Fair enough, fair enough. Good energy.”

“Haha, we've got to have good energy. Alright, who's the next challenger?”

He'd barely finished when Su Yang turned to Han So-yeon and said, “Go on, So-yeon. Didn't you want to try?”

“I want to watch a bit more first.”

“Almost nobody's lifted it. You should go.”

“Fine.” Han So-yeon nodded, raised her hand, and stepped forward.

When Brother Qiang saw a gorgeous woman coming up, he laughed: “Miss, do you want to challenge?”

Han So-yeon nodded with a smile: “I want to try.”

A voice from the crowd called out: “Miss! You're way too skinny for that! That gym girl earlier was struggling, and she's way more built than you. No way you can do it.”

Brother Qiang waved his hand: “Hey, can't say that. Lifting a dumbbell isn't about weight. Anyone can try.”

“Go for it, miss. Don't worry about what people say. Just give it your best!” Brother Qiang encouraged Han So-yeon.

Su Yang stood to the side with his arms crossed, smiling and nodding.

This Brother Qiang looked to be in his mid-thirties by his face, all rippling muscle and broad in frame — looked like he was into bodybuilding. Su Yang made a point of checking the look he'd given Han So-yeon earlier; it was perfectly clear, without a hint of lechery. Seemed like he genuinely was promoting fitness, and his first impression wasn't half bad.

Han So-yeon nodded, walked over, and stood among the dumbbells. She took a moment to prepare, then bent down and grabbed hold with both hands.

"Take a deep breath, focus all your strength into your arms, your waist, and your thighs, then pull hard," Brother Qiang said from the side.

Han So-yeon exhaled sharply, then suddenly launched into it — the dumbbell left the ground in an instant.

"Whoa! Nice! Don't let up, keep going!!"

Han So-yeon clenched her teeth, both hands gripping the dumbbell as she tried to straighten up.

Su Yang crouched nearby, smacking the floor: "Come on, So-yeon! So close!!"

Everyone watched her, eyes fixed. She'd already lifted it higher than the fitness girl from earlier, but she was still a hair short — couldn't quite lock out her back.

Thud!!

Han So-yeon lost her breath, and the dumbbell slammed back to the ground.

"Oh!! That was close!! Almost had it!!" The onlookers groaned in sympathy.

Brother Qiang rushed over and steadied the dumbbell as it rolled to one side. He hoisted it back into place, then gave Han So-yeon a thumbs-up: "Not bad at all, miss. Small frame, but you got it up that high — that's seriously impressive. You're the strongest girl we've seen all day!"

Han So-yeon shook her head with a small laugh: "It's definitely too heavy."

"Of course it is. If it weren't heavy, there'd be no point in the challenge, right? Miss, you want to take a break and give it another go?"

"No need. Can my friend try?" Han So-yeon said, gesturing to Su Yang, who was standing two meters away.