Exercise Science Laboratory

The morning sunlight streamed through the car window, casting a warm glow on the passenger seat. Lu Yuning tilted her head slightly, gazing at the rapidly receding cityscape outside.

Maybe it was the awkward mishap from last night—the tips of her ears still carried a faint blush. Her hands fidgeted nervously with the seatbelt as she occasionally stole glances at Su Bai, who was focused on driving.

Su Bai noticed her gaze and turned his head with a smile. “What’s up? Didn’t sleep well last night?”

“No… not at all,” Lu Yuning said, like a kitten caught by its tail, quickly averting her eyes. Her voice was barely a whisper. “Just had a dream last night—it was all about different kinds of windproof fabrics and breathable mesh. My head’s all over the place.”

Su Bai chuckled. “That’s occupational hazard talking. But the place I’m taking you today should give you plenty of inspiration.”

“Where are we going today?” Lu Yuning asked curiously.

“Jiangcheng University, the Sports Science Lab.” Su Bai rested his hands on the steering wheel and explained calmly, “Yesterday I asked Coach Wang from the gym. There aren’t many channels for custom sports gear in China, but the research teams at universities have actually been working on related studies all along. Jiangcheng University just happens to have a research group specializing in sports biomechanics and sports science.”

The Mercedes-Benz G-Class sped along smoothly, soon entering the Jiangcheng University campus and coming to a steady stop in front of a slightly worn-out research building.

As they got out of the car, they saw a man in his fifties standing at the entrance of the lab. He wore a gray sports jacket and a pair of black-rimmed glasses, his hair already thinning. He was craning his neck anxiously toward the driveway. When he spotted Su Bai stepping out of the car, his usually stern face instantly broke into a big, enthusiastic smile as he jogged over to greet them.

“President Su! Ah, I’ve been waiting for you like I’ve been waiting for the stars and the moon. Finally, you’re here!”

The middle-aged man extended both hands from a distance, his warmth almost over the top.

Su Bai shook his hand and smiled. “Professor Tang, right? Sorry about that—traffic was a bit heavy. Hope you haven’t been waiting too long.”

“Not at all, not at all! President Su taking the time to visit our humble lab is a great honor. Please, come in, come in!” Professor Tang waved his hands repeatedly, his face creased with smiles.

Professor Tang’s excitement was genuine.

Nowadays, everyone at Jiangcheng University knew the name of Baiye Holdings.

Especially recently, when Su Bai dumped ten million in research funding into Professor Luo’s team at Shenxi Tech and even bought the entire company outright, giving Chen Yusheng absolute academic freedom. That news had spread like wildfire among Jiangda’s professors. Countless of them were secretly green with envy.

Professor Tang’s sports science group was an unfashionable field at the university—neither liked nor supported. Their research budget was pitifully small, and many of their devices desperately needed upgrades they couldn’t afford.

When Baiye Holdings called yesterday saying President Su wanted to check out their lab, Professor Tang was so thrilled he couldn’t sleep a wink all night. This morning, he’d gathered his grad students to clean the lab until it was spotless.

If he could hitch a ride on Baiye Holdings’ wagon and secure some investment, his team would no longer have to worry about funding for research.

“President Su, and this is?” Professor Tang glanced at Lu Yuning standing beside Su Bai and asked politely.

“This is the chief designer for the apparel brand under Baiye Holdings, Lu Yuning,” Su Bai introduced. “I brought her here today mainly to learn about your lab’s capabilities in sports biomechanics data collection and analysis.”

“Designer Lu, nice to meet you—so young and talented!” Professor Tang quickly greeted her, then gestured with his hand. “Come, President Su, Designer Lu, let me show you our equipment.”

Inside the lab, various high-precision testing instruments were arranged. Although some of the machines had slightly worn casings, they were clearly well-maintained.

Several graduate students in white lab coats were inside, sneaking curious looks at Su Bai and Lu Yuning while whispering to each other.

“President Su, take a look over here.” Professor Tang pointed to a row of metal plates embedded in the floor. “These are three-dimensional force plates imported from Germany. Anyone walking, running, or jumping on them can have their foot pressure distribution, force direction, and magnitude captured at extremely high frequencies. They’re essential for studying cushioning and support performance in athletic shoes.”

Lu Yuning’s eyes lit up at this. She couldn’t help stepping forward to examine the force plates closely.

“And those cameras over there?” she asked, gesturing at the dozen or so high-frequency cameras mounted around the room.

“Designer Lu truly has an eye for professionalism!” Professor Tang threw in a timely compliment. “This is an infrared 3D motion capture system. Test subjects wear reflective markers on their bodies while moving on the force plates. The cameras record the angle changes and movement trajectories of every joint in real time. By combining data from both the force plates and the motion capture system, we can build a complete biomechanical model of the human body.”

With that, Professor Tang signaled to a grad student nearby. “Xiao Li, bring out the pressure-sensing test system for sports apparel and show it to President Su and Designer Lu.”

“Got it, advisor!”

A grad student named Xiao Li hurried over with a box. Inside was a special vest covered in tiny wires and adhesive patches.

“President Su, this is a flexible pressure-sensor fabric we developed ourselves.” Professor Tang spoke with a hint of pride. “When worn during physical activity, the sensors transmit real-time data on skin pressure across different parts of the body to the computer. It’s extremely helpful for developing high-support, high-comfort sports bras or compression wear.”

Lu Yuning reached out to touch the sensor patches on the vest, then glanced at the waveform charts displayed on the computer screen. Her expression turned serious.

She turned to Professor Tang and asked softly, “Professor Tang, what’s the dynamic sampling frequency of this flexible sensor system? And during sweating or intense friction, does the data drift significantly?”

Professor Tang froze for a moment. He had assumed Lu Yuning was just a regular designer who sketched outfits and chased trends. He didn’t expect her to zero in on the core physical parameters and material performance right away.

“Well… in dynamic conditions, our sampling frequency is around 200 Hertz. As for sweat interference, we currently use a hydrophobic coating for protection, which keeps data error within five percent during short periods. If the exercise lasts too long, some signal degradation does occur.” Professor Tang answered, a bit embarrassed.

Lu Yuning nodded thoughtfully, then pointed to a nearby instrument and asked a few more questions about fabric stretch recovery and skin surface shear forces.

Professor Tang wiped the fine sweat from his forehead, answering earnestly while secretly marveling inside. This stunningly beautiful young woman—who seemed almost unreal—had an alarmingly solid foundation in ergonomics and textile mechanics.

Su Bai stood nearby, watching Lu Yuning’s focused and professional demeanor, a gentle smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Professor Tang led the two of them on a tour around the lab, introducing all the equipment and ongoing projects in detail.

Finally, they returned to the lab’s break area.

Professor Tang personally poured water for Su Bai and Lu Yuning, then nervously rubbed his hands together and probed: “Mr. Su, Designer Lu, that’s roughly what our group has to offer. Although the university’s funding is limited, we rank among the top domestic universities in data collection and mechanical modeling. If White Night Holdings has any R&D needs in this area, we would be more than happy to engage in deep collaboration...”

Su Bai did not respond immediately. Instead, he turned to Lu Yuning and asked softly, “Ningning, what do you think? Are the conditions here sufficient for our needs?”

Lu Yuning clutched her water cup, pondering for a moment.

She looked up at Su Bai and said earnestly, “This equipment and data collection system are sufficient for clothing pattern adjustments and pressure testing. However, I only know clothing design and ergonomic tailoring. Sports science is a very complex system—equipment alone isn’t enough. To create truly top-tier sportswear, we still need to bring in a core specialist in sports science to participate.”