Chapter 3 World 003 Part One (Thanks to Chen Ci for the old tune alliance)
“Why are you late today?” Chen Xudong asked, running up to Li Chengyi and stopping a meter in front of him, still bouncing in place to warm up.
“I got up a bit late, had a nightmare last night, slept badly,” Li Chengyi breathed out.
“You’ve been having nightmares lately, and you’ve been out of breath after just a few laps. Are you too weak?” Chen Xudong joked, playing with his index finger and showing a sleazy smile.
“Heh, weaker than you? A fitness trainer flirting with his own clients all day, and you have the nerve to talk about me?” Memories of his good friend in front of him constantly surfaced in Li Chengyi’s mind, making conversation come more naturally.
“That’s flirting? Do you know what professional capability is? Do you understand emotional value? Buying my classes gets you not just a good physique but also the long-lost care of love!” Chen Xudong shamelessly retorted while moving his fingers.
“Your face has gotten so thick, I can’t even look at you. Where’s Lin Sang?” Li Chengyi asked.
According to the memory of his predecessor, the three of them always exercised together, for nearly ten years, with little change.
“She’s over there, talking to someone.” Chen Xudong pointed into the distance. “She said we should start running, and she’ll come join us in a bit.”
Under a tree, a young girl in a light green fitted sports outfit was chatting with a few men and women of a similar age.
The girl had a high ponytail, shiny black hair, fair skin, and an occasionally visible sunny and extroverted smile when she spoke.
“Okay.” Li Chengyi shifted his gaze, “Shall we start running?”
“Sure.”
The two of them started to jog leisurely along the park’s red running track, side by side.
“You mentioned applying for jobs, how’s that going?” Chen Xudong casually asked.
“Difficult.” Li Chengyi was happy to chat more, which made the blurry memories in his mind become clearer.
“What’s so difficult? Isn’t your sister there? Ask her for help? She definitely has connections for jobs and such,” Chen Xudong said carelessly.
“I don’t want to find her.” Li Chengyi shook his head lightly. “You know my relationship with her is very bad.”
“No matter how bad, she’s still your blood sister. Swallow your pride, bow your head, and you’ll get much more opportunities than others, what’s wrong with that?” Chen Xudong disagreed.
“Let’s talk about it later. I think I can rely on myself,” Li Chengyi smiled, “I’m a man without great ambitions, as you know. I don’t seek glory and wealth; living a simple life is enough.”
“Naive.” Chen Xudong scoffed, “I think your sister has bullied you into stupidity. Nowadays, someone who doesn’t want to climb up will be laughed at if they say such things.”
“I’m not a competitive person. It’s probably just my nature,” saying this, Li Chengyi felt his memories gradually integrate with his predecessor’s.
The numerous emotions and perspectives of two lives began to subtly merge after this conversation.
“What about Lin Sang, I thought you always had some feelings for her?” Chen Xudong whispered again.
“Really? I was just joking,” Li Chengyi shook his head. The one interested was his predecessor, not him.
The three of them had been together for at least ten years.
Lin Sang wasn’t exactly beautiful but was very vibrant, youthful, and notably, had a great figure.
During their younger years, both Li Chengyi and Chen Xudong were somewhat moved by youthfulness, but as they got older, they increasingly focused on graduation and employment.
Their interest in Lin Sang gradually faded as well.
“If things get too tough, you can simply come help me at the gym. My family’s gym still lacks a receptionist,” Chen Xudong joked with a grin.
“Then it’s settled, you said it yourself, remember to keep a spot for me,” Li Chengyi joked along.
Among the three, the predecessor was always known for his good temperament, very gentle, not one to compete or quarrel with others.
So Chen Xudong also knew Li Chengyi would not get angry over such jokes.
“Hey, Little Yi, Xudong, help me out,” Lin Sang called to them from a distance.
Lin Sang’s features were quite distinctive: sword-like eyebrows, big eyes, a tall nose and small mouth. The features, when viewed separately, were quite alright, but combined gave a somewhat rugged impression. Even her smile felt cold.
If not for her noticeable figure, these facial features might have been more suitable on a man.
“What’s up?” Chen Xudong asked, walking over with Li Chengyi.
“Help move these drinks to the car,” Lin Sang pointed at two boxes of dark drinks on the ground.
Behind her, stood a few of the young men and women she had been chatting with earlier.
These individuals had a rather sophisticated appearance, their clothes and accessories detailed and high-end, clearly not cheap.
“Whose drinks are these?” Chen Xudong asked.
“Why ask so much? Just move them,” Lin Sang responded tersely.
Whenever the three of them were together, the other two guys always tended to side with her and help her out; this was not the first occurrence.
“This doesn’t seem right, after all, it’s our belongings,” a man in a cap hesitated.
“What’s the issue? It’s just lending a hand with something small,” Lin Sang smiled back. “Besides, they’re here exercising every day; moving a box of drinks is nothing, consider it a part of their workout.”
“Then thanks to Lin Sang and the brothers,” the cap-wearing man said graciously.
On their end, Li Chengyi hadn’t moved, but Chen Xudong was already picking up the boxes.
Seeing him still, Chen Xudong even quietly nudged his arm.
Was this being conditioned?
Li Chengyi inwardly rolled his eyes. Looking at Lin Sang, who was talking with those people, her wish to integrate and please them was clear to him.
Without a word, although he frowned internally, he chose not to act contrary to his predecessor’s nature.
After a sigh, he followed Chen Xudong’s lead, helping move all fifty bottles to a black SUV parked not too far away.
The SUV was parked at the entrance of the park.
Lin Sang didn’t come back to exercise but left with those people in the car, waving goodbye to him and Chen Xudong as a farewell.
The cap-wearing man also waved at them politely, like a leader.
“Thanks. We should exercise together sometime,” he said.
The others, from beginning to end, never glanced their way.
The cap-wearing man seemed to be the most pleasant among them.
The vehicle drove off, leaving a trail of dust behind.
Chen Xudong stood at the park entrance and sighed deeply.
“Miss Lin seems to have found a new objective,” he murmured.
“And you?” Li Chengyi asked.
“I’m just following in my father’s steps,” Chen Xudong said. “With the job market being what it is, what else can I do? As for you, better just humble yourself and go back to your sister.”
“You don’t understand,” Li Chengyi shook his head.
“Don’t understand my foot. The situation is as it is, better to bow to your own family than to others,” Chen Xudong cursed lightly.
Li Chengyi remained silent, simply quiet.
After finishing their run,
They chatted a lot over half an hour.
Li Chengyi also gained a deeper and more nuanced understanding of many details about his predecessor’s life.
Returning home, neither his parents nor his sister were there.
Li Chengyi recalled what his sister, Li Chengjiu, said the day before about bringing important guests home.
Hesitating for a moment, he still got up, changed his clothes, checked the alarm on his phone, and prepared to leave.
It was time to visit the school, as noted on the alarm: Mentor Chen Shan.
Seeing the name, Li Chengyi quickly recalled a good mentor he had met during his university years in his predecessor’s memories.
At one point, he was a favored student of the mentor. Unfortunately, later, the mentor recommended him to attend a better university for further studies. There, in a training session, he realized the limits of his intelligence.
His comprehension, thinking speed, and reaction time couldn’t keep up with the pace of the meetings, and he was among the bottom performers compared to most participants.
Additionally, his escalating arguments with his sister, Li Chengjiu, made the predecessor’s future in his field of study seem bleak, with no hope in sight.
Since then, Li Chengyi had been hit hard, never to recover. Eventually, he graduated as an ordinary undergraduate, not even attempting a postgraduate degree.
Looking at the reminder on his phone, Li Chengyi steadied himself. From yesterday to now, he finally had some time to truly understand this world.
In this information age, the best way to learn was right in his hands.
He turned off the reminder, adeptly opened the web browser on his phone, and immediately searched for: World map.
The phone screen refreshed, displaying numerous links and advertisements, including the one for “The Latest World Map.”
“Let’s just pick one,” Li Chengyi thought, choosing the most straightforward link without any flashy decorations and clicked on it.
The phone screen instantly turned white.
Centered, the words “Wenxin Tower” slowly emerged.
In the bottom right corner was the system in use: Yiguo Linglong Satellite Positioning System.
“Yiguo?” Li Chengyi was taken aback.
Soon, the screen’s whiteness faded, replaced by a giant pale blue planet.
Though the planet featured land masses and oceans, what shocked Li Chengyi most was the enormous words marked at its center.
— Di Yue (Earth-Moon).
Not Earth!
Earth-Moon!?
His related memories quickly surfaced.
Following another refresh due to the network speed, a much smaller planet appeared beside the so-called Earth-Moon — a pale white planet named White Star.
The two planets were eerily close together, their distance resembling that of the Earth and the Moon from his previous life.
However, White Star was clearly larger than the Moon.
Buzz.
At that moment, an important news pop-up automatically appeared on the phone.
“Security Chief of White Star, Teresa Os, has officially arrived in the capital of Hildistan, Okha, for a planned fifteen-day global security conference.”
“In response to the minor collapse of old buildings in the original city districts, Yiguo’s Housing and Construction Department issued an important notice to repair and replace buildings identified as level five danger zones, ensuring the regular living conditions of city residents.”
“Suoyang city district initiates a new round of water and electricity usage planning. City leaders personally visited the site, offering condolences to households in difficulty, providing financial aid to a few extremely needy families. It is understood that after this planning, over 1300 households will benefit, significantly improving the appearance and ambiance of Suoyang city.”
(End of chapter)
