Achieving Sam's Club Freedom

It was company policy; almost everyone had to take a turn about once every two months.

"Bei Wei, you took a day off last week. How about you come in tomorrow instead? We can count it as a compensatory day off, okay?" Wang Shijie asked, looking at Bei Wei.

"I'm fine with that." Bei Wei nodded, as if she'd expected it.

"I'll find one more male colleague." Wang Shijie looked around, then turned to Zhang Yang. "Zhang Yang, you're assigned to work tomorrow."

When they heard it was Zhang Yang, several young single guys in the office immediately breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Brother Zhang? Oh, then it was fine. They could relax.

In their eyes, Zhang Yang was harmless, by far the least threatening guy around. There was no way he could become a rival in their pursuit of Bei Wei.

"Sure." Zhang Yang nodded too.

He was planning to pick up his car tomorrow morning, but he could give Bei Wei a heads-up and slip out for half a day.

Everyone often helped each other out like this. It wouldn't be a problem.

After arranging the weekend shifts, Supervisor Wang announced that they could clock out. The office emptied in an instant as everyone headed off to enjoy their long-awaited weekend.

After work, Zhang Yang saw Bei Wei getting ready to leave with her bag and went over to tell her about it.

"Sure, Brother Zhang. Go take care of what you need to do. I can cover for you for a while." Bei Wei nodded and readily agreed.

"Thanks. I'll treat you to a meal sometime," Zhang Yang said casually.

"That generous, huh?" Bei Wei looked at him with an amused smile. "Brother Zhang, then... I'll hold you to that?"

"Absolutely. Your Brother Zhang can afford one meal." Zhang Yang waved a hand. "You pick the place, and you choose the time."

With an income of over ten thousand a day, he had the confidence to say that. He couldn't afford some outrageously expensive meal costing hundreds of thousands, but a few thousand was no problem. Even in Magic City, several thousand for a meal for two was more than enough to make it a nice outing.

"I'm just joking, Brother Zhang." Bei Wei pressed her lips together lightly. "If it's convenient, just bring me something to eat tomorrow while you're out. I don't really feel like ordering takeout."

That was simply the kind of person she was. She wouldn't take advantage of an offer the way some women did, much less treat someone's polite words as a serious promise and put them in an awkward position.

"Sure. I'll bring you lunch tomorrow." Zhang Yang made a mental note of it.

After work, Zhang Yang eagerly made a trip to the nearby Sam's Club.

It was his first day earning over ten thousand a day, and he wanted to enjoy Sam's Club freedom.

Today was destined to be a major shopping spree.

Usually, he would never choose to shop at Sam's Club. He lived alone, and the huge packages—often costing hundreds—were hardly his first choice.

He was better off shopping at the wet market, the supermarket, or the convenience store downstairs...

But now, Sam's Club, here he came.

He grabbed ten bags of salmon slices that cost nearly three hundred yuan per kilogram. He also took seven or eight bags of cod chunks at two hundred yuan per kilogram, along with plenty of blueberries on the stem, which cost eighty yuan per half-kilo. Fruit couldn't be stockpiled for long, so he could always buy more once he'd eaten it all.

He also grabbed plenty of things he'd long coveted but never dared buy because of the price, like beef short ribs and cashews.

Money that you didn't spend was just a number.

He might have spent several thousand in one go today, which seemed like a lot. But once he went home and slept, he'd open his eyes and—huh? There was another ten thousand.

If he wasn't buying a car, a house, or luxury goods, how could he ever spend it all?

Pushing a shopping cart piled high and carrying bag after bag of loot, Zhang Yang headed home with his arms full.

It was pitch-black outside, while the little studio apartment glowed with light from every corner.

"Up, down, and everywhere else... I finally managed to cram it all in." Zhang Yang shut the fridge and let out a long breath.

The no-name fridge, usually almost empty, was now packed to the brim, every last gap stuffed.

People said that having food at home put your mind at ease. The most basic definition of a comfortable life was having plenty to eat and wear, and that was exactly how Zhang Yang felt right now.

"I'll have these tonight." Zhang Yang took out a pack of beef short ribs and cut himself a piece of salmon.

That evening, he happily spent a good while cooking.

He blanched the short ribs, then stewed them until they were tender and falling off the bone. He sliced the salmon and even tried arranging it on a plate, then washed a large bowl of cherries.

With a hiss, he opened a bottle of zero-sugar Coke and poured himself a full glass.

With the window half open, he sat at the table and felt the evening breeze as he looked at the few dishes before him—simple in appearance, yet plentiful. He took a big gulp of Coke and savored the joy of Sam's Club freedom.

"Right, let's check Little Blue Book."

The system still hadn't done anything, but he couldn't help wanting to check the comments on today's new post.

"Is this really the same person!?"

"You sure you didn't already lose the weight a month ago and just post it now to fool us?"

"Please, please, please—tell us how you did it! How?"

"It's definitely the same person. You look so much more energetic after losing the weight, oh my god! I'm getting excited!"

"There's hope, there's hope! A month ago, it looked hopeless, but now? There's still tons of room for improvement!"

"Your skin isn't loose or saggy, and you look younger. How did you do it?"

From top to bottom, every comment was full of disbelief.

If Zhang Yang had only lost weight but ended up with loose, sagging skin, plenty of people would have said the weight loss made him look older. But thanks to the system, he didn't have a single bit of excess skin anywhere, from head to toe.

The results were so dramatic that he looked like a completely different person compared with a month ago.

Zhang Yang spent some time chatting with commenters and shared his weight-loss experience. Of course, he shared the good advice, but left out extreme methods like fasting to lose weight.

"I wouldn't call it experience. I can only say I tested what worked through practice."

"When it comes to fat loss, rest matters more than diet, and diet matters more than exercise. If you have a lot of weight to lose, managing your diet and creating a calorie deficit while maintaining your basal metabolic rate is enough to make progress."

So many people were asking for weight-loss advice, and so many women wanted to slim down. Zhang Yang wasn't a professional, so he could only answer based on what he'd experienced and what he knew.

But people were focusing on the wrong things. He still hadn't seen any of the suggestions he'd asked for.

So he asked again.

"Be patient." Zhang Yang closed Little Blue Book, got up to clear the dishes, then went downstairs for a walk to help digest his meal.

Living alone far from home in Magic City, he was actually enjoying a comfortable, carefree life—especially now.

Before, his days had consisted of nothing but work and going home. He'd never taken a leisurely stroll like this, wandering through the nearby park. It was as if the pace of life had suddenly slowed down.

There were young women walking their dogs, people out for a night run, influencers livestreaming outdoors, and children with their hair tied in little tufts, running around and having fun in the park.

Magic City's appeal lay not only in its prosperity, but also in the everyday life that could be found all over the city.

On his way back, Zhang Yang received a call from his father, Zhang Zhaohai. The two chatted briefly before his dad got straight to the point.

"By the way, want me to add you on WeChat later?"

"Setting me up with someone?" He was used to this sort of thing and wasn't really opposed to it.

Some things seemed like melodramatic plot twists, but they were actually common in everyday life—especially for someone his age, twenty-five.

"Yeah. She's the niece of one of your mom's former coworkers. She works in Magic City too, and she's pretty good all around. Make the most of the opportunity." Zhang Zhaohai spoke earnestly. "You're twenty-five this year. Once this year's over, the dating market won't be the same."

Men had a dating market too. If a guy was average in every other way, his age might be the only thing he had going for him.

After twenty-five, he'd be closing in on thirty.

If he wasn't much to look at, had an average job and an ordinary family background, and was approaching thirty, things would be very difficult...

Fortunately, Zhang Yang had turned an age milestone into a watershed moment in his life.

"Okay, send her details over. I'll add her later." He would politely decline if the match seemed unreliable, but since his own mother was arranging it, he had to humor her.

A little while later, his mother, Song Wenqin, sent him the woman's WeChat.

Zhang Yang added her, then stopped by the fruit shop outside his apartment and picked up a bag of fruit that looked especially sweet. Carrying the bag, he headed home.