At five in the afternoon, An Bao's mental fatigue had lessened considerably, but his brain felt tight and strained, unable to think flexibly—it was probably like he had swapped out his cerebral cortex. An Bao was no longer surprised by such things.
The toads said: "Now begins the second trial: physical exercise. An Bao must perform seventy consecutive push-ups. The form must be absolutely standard, without any pauses; they must be completed in one continuous set. The deadline is for you to decide yourself. Once decided, it cannot be changed—the starting position of the first push-up marks the beginning, and you only get one chance. Pass the second trial, and congratulations, you succeed. Fail, and it's on to the third trial."
An Bao thought for a moment. He could barely manage seventy-one push-ups, but there would definitely be pauses, so he needed to train more. Since the deadline was self-imposed, he decided to challenge himself one month later. During this period, he used dumbbell bench presses instead of push-ups for training.
On the third day of the second trial, his mother asked him to accompany her to the traditional market. As a foreign bride, his mother couldn't read Chinese, didn't know how to ride a motorcycle or drive a car, so she often relied on An Bao when going out. And for these three days, An Bao's cerebral cortex had remained tight and strained, his thinking sluggish.
He had to overcome the annoyances of daily life.