Early April, five in the morning.
His phone alarm went off right on time. Zhang Yang struggled in bed for a while, kicked off the thin blanket, then got up briskly, washed up, changed into loose, sweat-wicking clothes, and headed downstairs.
The apartment building was silent at five in the morning. Far beyond the hallway windows, the city skyline loomed extraordinarily tall.
Had you ever seen Magic City at five in the morning?
A month ago, Zhang Yang hadn't. For the past month, he'd seen it every day.
He took the elevator from the fifteenth floor down to the first. Then, starting on the first floor, he climbed all the way to the thirty-third, on an empty stomach. He repeated the cycle at least five times.
He'd kept up this repetitive, monotonous exercise for a month.
In the pitch-black stairwell, there was only the dim light and the sound of Zhang Yang's breathing. One step at a time, he climbed steadily upward.
"This is the third round." Zhang Yang glanced at his fitness band to make sure his heart rate was in the fat-burning zone. Sweat poured from his brow and dripped onto the steps, while his shirt was soaked through across most of his chest.
A month ago, he'd been just another office worker who got up at the last minute and clocked in right on the dot.
For years after graduation, his life had stayed the same. He'd grown more and more accustomed to his own mediocrity. After all, wasn't that how ordinary people lived? Their whole lives rolled along like wheels, passing by according to plan.
He hadn't thought there was anything wrong with being ordinary.
Until... until that day. He didn't even know who had egged him on, but somehow he'd posted a selfie on Little Blue Book and added a title.
[My big life decision is still up in the air. What do you think the problem is?]
He'd only meant to ask for advice. Even ordinary people hoped, deep down, to improve themselves. He'd never imagined that half an hour later, he'd be struck by lightning.
"Maybe start over."
"Do you have a pig's appetite every day? How'd you get so fat?"
"The problem? There are too many problems. I couldn't find a single thing that wasn't wrong, from head to toe."
"Dowdy and fat. Sigh, maybe try losing weight first and see if that helps."
It was like a bolt from the blue. Zhang Yang knew he was pretty fat and had no sense of style, but this was the first time in his life anyone had criticized him so harshly that he began to question everything.
Couldn't he even be an ordinary person? Or was everyone online a six-foot-two heartthrob?
Fortunately, the Advice-Listening System had descended from the heavens, and the wheels of fate had begun to turn...
Task: Lose 20 pounds in one month (current progress: 19.8 pounds)
Task Reward 1: No loose skin, ever
Task Reward 2: 5 experience points
Current Host Level: 1 (0/5)
Current Daily Cashback: 0
Zhang Yang glanced at the task progress, his eyes flashing with boundless motivation.
"Forget it. Today's the last day of the month. To be safe, I'm fasting for the whole day!"
Of course he knew that losing weight this way was extreme and unhealthy. But the opportunity was fleeting, and he had no choice but to be tough on himself!
Why was he pushing himself so hard? To level up!
The experience he'd get from completing this task would be enough to reach Level 2.
What did Level 2 mean? It meant his daily cashback would leap from zero to ten thousand, bringing in three hundred thousand a month! Three million six hundred and fifty thousand a year! Even in Magic City, that kind of income would put him at the very top of the working class.
According to incomplete statistics, of the ten million working people in Magic City, only 0.17 percent earned more than two million a year. If he made over three million, he'd be rarer still.
Twenty-five wasn't just the dividing line in his age. It was clearly the watershed of his life!
A complete transformation began today!
By the time Zhang Yang reached the top floor, drenched in sweat, the sky outside was already bright.
"I finally made it."
He wrung out the hem of his shirt, and sweat streamed down. He was completely drained and weak, but his heart was filled with an indescribable sense of fulfillment and achievement.
For thirty whole days, he'd climbed the stairs on an empty stomach, gone to bed early and gotten up early, avoided staying up late, and lived on oatmeal, potatoes, and boiled vegetables—not to mention the chicken breast he'd eaten until he felt sick...
Now his goal was within reach. It had all been worth it!
A little while later, Zhang Yang returned to his bachelor apartment.
The room was bright and spotless, kept reasonably clean and tidy. On the desk sat a huge two-kilogram tub of oatmeal, his breakfast every day. He usually had it with eggs and milk, plus some cucumber or other fruit and vegetables to keep his diet balanced.
But today, after hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth, skipped breakfast, took off his clothes, and went straight to shower.
After his shower, he stood in front of the mirror.
Zhang Yang looked at the loose skin on his body. His month of excessive dieting had made his figure sag even more.
Luckily, the system had thought of everything. Once he completed the task, the loose skin would disappear too. Otherwise, he'd look awful with everything hanging slack like this.
He opened his phone. The first post he'd ever made about his life on Little Blue Book was still getting replies.
Some were cutting jabs, but others were frank and sincere.
Still, he'd vanished after that first post, and quite a few users thought he'd just been talking.
"Anyway, no matter how much we say, it won't help if you don't change. Good luck!"
That was the most-liked reply.
Zhang Yang studied it for a long time, resisting the urge to post again. He left for work on an empty stomach.
Mingyang Media had only a few dozen employees. Among Magic City's countless advertising companies, it was insignificant.
At seven fifty, people began streaming beneath the office building.
At that hour, Zhang Yang had just clocked in.
An ordinary copywriter in the Planning Department, just another cog in the company machine, he'd worked diligently for two years. Only last month had he received his first monthly paycheck of a little over ten thousand.
He'd graduated from a junior college, had average abilities, and worked at a company with a limited platform. A salary like that was more or less his limit.
Zhang Yang had just sat down and poured himself a glass of water when a large head popped up from the workstation opposite his. It was Xiang Youde, who'd joined the company at the same time as him.
"Zhang Yang, look over there." Xiang Youde nodded toward a spot in the distance.
"What is it?" Zhang Yang glanced over. A tall, slim, handsome young man was standing beside a workstation, looking a little at a loss.
Wasn't that the guy who'd just joined last month?
"Bei Wei, didn't you say these were your favorite soup dumplings?" the young man asked, sounding rather foolish.
At her workstation, a fair-skinned woman with long black hair firmly pushed the breakfast back toward him.
That was Bei Wei, the prettiest woman in the company.
"Zhou Song, I really only think of you as a regular coworker. What are you thinking?" Bei Wei asked, her beautiful eyes widening in disbelief.
"H-how could that be?" The young man clearly hadn't expected Bei Wei to be so decisive. His lips moved weakly. "But you..."
Zhang Yang and Xiang Youde exchanged a glance, both of them completely unsurprised.
"There goes another one. That guy catches feelings way too easily."
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