Chapter 4: The Joy of Growing Up

The curtains fluttered gently, letting in a sliver of sunlight.

The calendar on the wall was flipped by the breeze, rustling as two pages turned.

Faintly, there was also the trickling sound of a faucet being turned on.

Suddenly.

A harsh "ring-ring" sound shattered the quiet atmosphere.

The sliding door of the bathroom was pushed open with a clatter.

Fang Cheng walked out shirtless, rubbing his hands with a towel, wearing slippers, and quickly turned off the alarm.

He glanced at the time.

7:30.

He squinted at the morning light outside the window and let out a soft breath.

How wonderful would it be if he could take a refreshing shower after working out?

Unfortunately, the rental apartment was too small; there was no shower stall, so he could only give his body a simple wipe-down.

Thinking of this, Fang Cheng couldn't help but open his panel again to admire the fruits of his morning workout.

【Push-up experience +18】

【Boxing experience +3】

【Focus experience +2】

………………

【Skill Panel】

【Speed Reading lv1 (28/250)】

【Focus lv1 (65/250)】

【Cooking lv0 (34/100)】

【Cleaning lv0 (75/100)】

【Boxing lv0 (64/100)】

【Push-up lv0 (51/100)】

【Potential Activation (23:09:12)】

Two days had passed in the blink of an eye, and every skill had shown significant growth.

Especially the "Push-up" skill, which consumed most of his energy; the experience bar was already more than halfway full.

At this rate, it wouldn't take many more days to successfully upgrade to lv1.

After wiping his sweaty chest and back, Fang Cheng dampened the towel, rinsed it again, wrung it out, and hung it on the rack.

Then, he looked in the mirror and touched his face.

He didn't know if it was his imagination, but he felt his complexion was much ruddier, and his arms seemed to have grown some muscle.

He looked at the character panel again, but the attribute values remained the same as before.

Expecting significant physical improvement after just a few days of exercise was clearly unrealistic.

But if one looked closely, one could see a tiny percentage progress bar on the right side of the attribute column.

Concentrating on it to click in, a new interface popped up.

A screen full of notification messages was listed here.

………………

【You practiced boxing for 3 minutes, Constitution +0.001】

【You practiced boxing for 4 minutes, Strength +0.001】

【You practiced boxing for 5 minutes, Agility +0.001】

【You mopped the floor for 10 minutes, Constitution +0.001】

【You carried heavy objects for 5 minutes, Strength +0.001】

【You walked 1000 steps, Constitution +0.001】

【You walked 1200 steps, Agility +0.001】

【You slept for 7 hours, Spirit +0.001】

【You slept for 8 hours, Constitution +0.001】

【You practiced 5 push-ups, Strength +0.001】

………………

Scrolling down, the bottom was still visible.

Scrolling up, the initial messages could no longer be found.

Just like the skills, physical attributes could also be leveled up by grinding experience.

With every workout or movement, they were growing at a slow pace.

It was just that, to avoid cluttering the screen and distracting the host, they weren't displayed.

"Every message here, every point of increase, is proof of my hard work..."

Fang Cheng muttered to himself, his eyes shining with hopeful light, like a farmer inspecting the growth of his crops.

Although it was slow, many grains of sand make a tower, and much earth makes a mountain; quantitative change would eventually lead to qualitative change.

Especially seeing the Constitution attribute column already at 99% progress, his heart burned with excitement, and he clenched his fists.

"Hiss—"

It seemed the movement was too sudden, pulling a strained muscle, and Fang Cheng couldn't help but gasp.

While intense training had its benefits, recovery afterward was a headache.

For the past two days, Fang Cheng's arms, shoulders, and chest had been aching, sore, and weak.

If not for the assistance of the Focus skill, he probably wouldn't have been able to persist.

Because of this, his training efficiency had dropped quite a bit.

Fortunately, the panel only calculated the number of repetitions and did not track the average time spent.

Fang Cheng could choose to slow down and increase rest time to achieve the same goal.

According to his plan, the required 100 push-ups per day could be divided into 10 sets.

After waking up in the morning, he would try to complete the training task within an hour and a half.

If his stamina failed, he wouldn't force it; he would make up for it during breaks at work.

Every night after getting off work, depending on the situation, if he returned early, he would choose to do one or two extra sets as supplementary training.

A training volume of 100 push-ups seemed large.

But if broken down, it wasn't actually excessive.

The reason for his current state was mainly that his base physical condition was too poor.

Fang Cheng grimaced and shook his head, tidying up the bathroom.

He threw his sweat-soaked underwear and smelly socks into the creaky, old washing machine.

During his student days, because he spent all his time buried in books and rarely participated in extracurricular activities, his physical education grades were always at the bottom of the class.

It was only after he started working and doing manual labor that his physical fitness had improved slightly.

Once a person lives in a comfort zone for too long, they get used to it.

After getting used to it, they just muddle along, thinking the world is just like that.

Laziness, desire, lactic acid, dopamine...

The difficulties one needs to overcome in the process of becoming stronger are far greater than imagined.

"Just hang in there. Once the 'Potential Activation' cooldown resets, this situation should be alleviated."

"And tomorrow morning's training will unlock a new skill..."

At this thought, even though his whole body was still aching, Fang Cheng's fighting spirit was reignited.

He immediately put on his clothes and walked toward the bedroom.

Next was the time for morning self-study.

Ever since unlocking the "Push-up" skill, Fang Cheng felt as if he had undergone a transformation.

Because of this, he completely broke his night-owl habit of staying up late and sleeping in, becoming unprecedentedly disciplined.

5:00 to 7:30: Training, rest, washing up.

7:30 to 8:30: Postgraduate entrance exam self-study.

Then he would cook breakfast, eat, and catch the 9:05 bus to work on time.

A day's plan starts in the morning.

Fitness doesn't necessarily mean how much you train or what you become.

The most important thing is to persist every day and defeat that lazy, anxious, and negative version of yourself.

………………

*Tap, tap, tap.*

Two eggs were cracked into a bowl, and oil was heating in the pan.

The blade danced rapidly on the cutting board, mincing green onions, cucumbers, carrots, and chicken breast into fine bits.

Then, he added the ingredients and seasonings in order, and poured in all the leftover rice from the rice cooker.

He stir-fried it evenly, striving for every grain of rice to be coated in sauce.

Turn off the heat, take it out of the pan, and plate it.

【Cooking experience +1】

Sniffing the fragrance of the rice in the bowl, Fang Cheng looked satisfied.

Just like yesterday, he had made a simple egg fried rice.

"Even if I don't pass the postgraduate exam, I'm qualified to set up a breakfast stall. At least I definitely won't starve to death in this life..."

The physical exertion gave Fang Cheng an incredibly good appetite, and he ate three bowls in a row.

He licked the bottom of the pot clean before stopping, still feeling like he could eat more.

One had to know that his breakfast portion used to be just two steamed buns and a bag of soy milk.

He finished his meal quickly and washed the pots and pans.

8:49.

Fang Cheng put on his black fleece-lined jacket, laced up his Warrior sneakers, grabbed his bag, and went out to work.

Walking into the hallway, he saw that the door to Auntie He's place, diagonally across from his, had just opened.

A burst of a child's crying and nagging instructions drifted out.

"Xiumei, these two portions have chili added, those ones don't have any. The rice is pressed at the very bottom, remember not to spill the soup!"

"Oh."

Auntie He, wearing floral-patterned cotton pajamas, stood at the door, carefully instructing her daughter.

Looking up and seeing Fang Cheng passing by, she immediately revealed a smile.

"A-Cheng, working overtime on a Sunday?"

"Yes. Where are you all heading?"

"Your Uncle Zhou and his colleagues are working on a murder case; they haven't slept all night. I'm having Xiumei take them some hot soup to warm their stomachs."

As she spoke, there was a sudden "clatter" from inside the room, as if a bowl had been dropped, followed by an old man's rapid coughing.

"Oh my, my little ancestor, you're going to be the death of me... Mom told you to drink slowly, drink slowly, but you just won't listen..."

The door closed.

In the hallway, Fang Cheng and Zhou Xiumei walked one after the other.

Neither of them had any intention of talking.

Fang Cheng's pace was faster, and he had already walked down the stairs.

Zhou Xiumei still hadn't emerged from the dimly lit hallway.

She was wearing a white down jacket and cotton pants, a blue cloth headband on her head, and a wool scarf wrapped around her neck.

The bulky clothing didn't make her look plump and robust like her mother; instead, she appeared quite sluggish.

Her slender fingers held two large plastic bags, and her brows were slightly furrowed, full of caution.

There were probably a dozen boxed meals in the bags.

It was clear the weight was indeed heavy, and she was struggling.

Fang Cheng looked back.

Seeing this, he walked back up and took the bags.

"I'll help you take them to the station."

As their fingers touched, Zhou Xiumei's shoulders shrank slightly, and she wanted to refuse.

"No need..."

She looked up, happened to meet Fang Cheng's bright eyes, and immediately became like a startled deer, lowering her head to look away.

"Thank you."

Her voice was as thin as a mosquito's, and she didn't know if Fang Cheng had heard it.

Her cheeks, however, were like they had been stained by the morning glow, and her earlobes, hidden by her long hair, were burning hot.

Fang Cheng didn't pay much attention to it; he just felt a bit of pity for this frail neighbor girl.

Come to think of it, they had known each other since the first day he moved here, playing together.

From elementary school to junior high, they were also used to going to school and coming home together.

It seemed that they only started to grow distant from the first year of high school.

Later, he got into Dongdu University, and Zhou Xiumei took a leave of absence due to illness, so they rarely spoke alone.

Sunlight pierced through the old buildings that towered like cliffs on both sides, making the street flicker between light and shadow.

Walking out of the tenement building, Fang Cheng withdrew his thoughts and glanced at the girl who was half a step behind him.

Her feet, wearing small white shoes, stepped over the puddles of sewage, following him silently.

Her long hair hung softly over her shoulders, emitting a faint scent of shampoo.

A cold wind blew, lifting a few strands of hair, gently brushing her smooth forehead and jade-like nose.

It also obscured her eyes, which sparkled like black gems, and the blush on her cheeks that hadn't completely faded.

Although he had to catch the bus, Fang Cheng didn't seem in a hurry, accompanying her as she walked slowly.

The street was very narrow, with many breakfast stalls set up on both sides.

Steamed buns, egg pancakes, sticky rice cakes, lard and shrimp wontons—the aroma of various foods drifted into his nose.

Some neighbors who had woken up late simply wore slippers and wrapped themselves in cotton robes, sitting by the stalls to feast.

Walking along this old street that hadn't changed in over a decade with Zhou Xiumei, he felt as if he could see his childhood self, picking up bottles with a little girl in pigtails to sell for candy.

Fang Cheng shook his head and smiled.

Many people miss their childhood, mostly because they miss that carefree state of mind.

But he was different; he couldn't indulge in the past or escape reality.

Because he had to take the initiative to shoulder more responsibilities.

Walking out of the old factory street, the station wasn't far from the entrance.

A No. 13 bus, plastered with an advertisement for medical breast enhancement, happened to arrive.

The routes to the club and the Jiangbei District Police Station were not the same.

Fang Cheng handed the bags back to Zhou Xiumei and urged her

"Remember to walk slowly on the road, watch out for traffic, I'm off to work."

Zhou Xiumei's eyes were dazed for a moment.

It seemed their relationship hadn't been this harmonious for a long time.

She immediately lowered her head in embarrassment and responded in a soft voice

"Mm, you too..."

Fang Cheng smiled, turned, and ran toward the arriving bus.

Zhou Xiumei looked up, her mouth slightly open, wanting to say more.

In the end, she just stared at his retreating figure as he boarded the bus, without saying a word.

Under the refraction of the sunlight, her eyes were soft and bright, yet hazy.

She just felt that Fang Cheng seemed to have changed a little...

(End of chapter)