"Why are you late today?" Chen Xudong asked. He stopped a meter in front of Li Chengyi and kept bouncing in place to warm up.
"I got up a little late, had a nightmare last night and didn't sleep well," Li Chengyi said, exhaling.
"You've been having nightmares every day lately, that's not good... A while back you were out of breath after just a few laps running, are you too frail?" Chen Xudong played with his index finger, revealing a sleazy smile.
"Heh, frailer than you? A fitness instructor who flirts with his own clients all day, and you have the nerve to talk?" Li Chengyi's mind was filled with information about the friend before him, making his speech more natural.
"That's flirting? Do you even know what professional ability is? Do you understand emotional value? My clients not only gain a great physique from my classes but also experience the long-lost care of love!" Chen Xudong shamelessly replied, continuing to warm up his fingers.
"Your skin is so thick I can't even look at it, 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 few changes.
"Over there, talking and chatting with someone." Chen Xudong pointed into the distance. "She told us to start running; she'll join in a bit."
Under a tree shade, a young girl in light green sportswear was talking and chatting with several men and women of about the same age.
The girl had her hair tied up in a high ponytail, her black hair shiny, her skin fair, and her occasional smile during conversation seemed sunny and outgoing.
"Alright." Li Chengyi withdrew his gaze, "Shall we start running?"
"Yeah."
The two jogged side by side along the park's red track, moving leisurely.
"Didn't you say you sent out resumes before? How's the job hunt going?" Chen Xudong casually asked.
"Tough." Li Chengyi was glad to chat; it made the fuzzy memories flooding his mind sharper.
"What's so tough about it? 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 ask her." Li Chengyi said calmly, shaking his head. "You know I don't get along well with her."
"No matter how bad your relationship is, she's still your sister. Swallow your pride, lower your head, and you'll get more opportunities than others. What's wrong with that?" Chen Xudong was indifferent.
"We'll talk about it later. I think I can manage on my own." Li Chengyi chuckled, "You know me, no grand ambitions. I don't seek wealth or status, just a peaceful life is enough."
"Naive." Chen Xudong snorted, "I think your sister has crushed your will. These days, someone who doesn't want to climb upwards would get laughed at if word got out."
"I'm not competitive. It's a matter of personality," Li Chengyi remarked, while his memory started to blend more with that of his predecessor.
The emotions, sensations, and values of his two lives began to merge faintly with these thoughts.
"What about Lin Sang? Haven't you always had a thing for her?" Chen Xudong lowered his voice again.
"Really? I was just joking before," Li Chengyi shook his head. The crush belonged to his predecessor, not him.
They had been together for at least ten years.
Lin Sang wasn't exactly beautiful, but she was vibrant and youthful, and importantly, had a great figure.
In their younger days, Li Chengyi and Chen Xudong felt some stirrings of adolescent attraction, but as they grew older, their focus shifted to graduation and employment.
Their interest in Lin Sang gradually waned.
"If all else fails, you can come help me; my family's fitness club still needs a receptionist," Chen Xudong joked with a grin.
"Alright then, remember you said it yourself, keep a spot for me," Li Chengyi played along, laughing.
Among the three of them, the predecessor had always been easygoing, mild-mannered, not competitive, and often avoided quarrels or antagonism with others.
So Chen Xudong knew that Li Chengyi wouldn't take such a joke to heart.
"Hey, Xiao Yi, East, do me a favor," Lin Sang called out to them from a distance, waving her hand.
Lin Sang had a rather distinctive face, with arched eyebrows, big eyes, a high nose, and a small mouth. Each feature was fine on its own, but together they gave an impression of severity, even when she smiled, it seemed cold.
If not for her pronounced figure, her face on a man, might actually seem more fitting.
"What's up?" Chen Xudong walked toward her with Li Chengyi.
"Help move these drinks to the car," Lin Sang pointed to two boxes of dark drinks on the ground.
Standing behind her were several of the men and women she had been chatting with earlier.
Their clothes and accessories were clearly more refined in material, details, and finishing, obviously not cheap.
"Whose drinks are these?" Chen Xudong asked.
"Why ask so many questions? When asked to move, just move," Lin Sang replied irritably.
When the three of them were together, the other two guys had always looked out for and aided her, and this wasn't the first time.
"Isn't that inappropriate? After all, it's our stuff," a man wearing a cap hesitated to say.
"What's inappropriate about it? It's a small favor out of courtesy," Lin Sang said with a smile. "Besides, they exercise here every day. Moving a box of water is nothing; consider it part of their workout."
"Then we're really grateful to Miss Lin Sang and the two brothers," the capped man said warmly.
On that note, Chen Xudong was the first to start moving things without waiting for Li Chengyi to react, who also gave Li Chengyi's arm a covert nudge.
Was this becoming a habit of being pushed around?
Li Chengyi thought to himself, looking at Lin Sang chatting with that group, the eagerness to fit into that circle was apparent on her face.
Without a word, and though frowning inside, he still didn't want to act contrary to his predecessor's nature.
Exhaling, he joined Chen Xudong in moving all fifty bottles from one box to a black SUV parked not far away.
The vehicle was stationed by the entrance of the park.
Lin Sang didn't join them for more exercise, but left with that group in the car. Before leaving, she waved at Chen Xudong and Li Chengyi as a farewell gesture.
The capped man gave them a leader-like wave goodbye too.
"Thanks, next time we have the chance, let's work out together."
As for the others, they had ignored them from beginning to end.
This cap-wearer was the most good-natured of the lot.
The car sped off, stirring up a trail of fine ash.
Chen Xudong stood at the entrance of the park and sighed deeply.
"Miss Lin seems to have found a small target," he muttered to himself.
"What about you?" Li Chengyi asked.
"Me...I'm just following in my father's footsteps," Chen Xudong replied. "With the job environment being so bad out there these days, what can you do? You should probably just suck it up and kowtow to your sister."
"You don't understand," Li Chengyi shook his head.
"Don't understand my ass. The big picture is like this, bowing to your own family is always better than bowing to strangers," Chen Xudong cursed.
Li Chengyi didn't say anything more, just fell silent.
After finishing the run.
In half an hour's time, he and Chen Xudong talked about a lot.
Memories of his predecessor's finer details became clearer and more nuanced.
When he got back home, his parents and sister were not there.
Li Chengyi recalled what his sister, Li Chengjiu, had mentioned yesterday about bringing a VIP guest home.
After hesitating, he still got up, changed his clothes, checked the memo alarm on his phone, and prepared to leave.
It was time for a trip to school; the alarm had a note: Mentor Chen Shan.
Seeing the name, Li Chengyi rapidly recalled a good mentor he met in university from his predecessor's life.
He was once a favored and outstanding student of the mentor, but, unfortunately... the mentor had recommended him for an advanced exchange program at a better university, where, on a more competitive platform, during a training session, he really saw the limits of his intelligence.
His comprehension, thinking speed, and reaction time all fell behind the pace of the meetings, and he was also at the bottom among most of the participants.
Additionally, the escalating arguments with his sister, Li Chengjiu, at that time made the predecessor feel a bleak future in his chosen field of study, without a glimmer of hope.
Since then, Li Chengyi was greatly affected and never recovered. Eventually, he just graduated as an ordinary undergraduate, not even attempting to pursue a master's degree.
Looking at the memo on his phone, Li Chengyi steadied himself. From yesterday to now, he finally had some time to truly understand the situation of this world.
And in the information age, the best way to understand was right in his hands.
He turned off the memo, deftly opened the browser on his phone, and first searched for: world map.
Click, the phone screen renewed instantly, showing a long list of various information and keywords.
'The latest world map.'
'Global satellite maps for download in high definition.'
'Oversized world map in high definition.'
'High-definition global map for a fee.'
A messy array of advertisements mixed with pictures of beautiful women were interspersed within.
Black background, white letters, densely packed, making it a bit difficult for him to decide which to choose at first glance.
'Just pick any,' Li Chengyi decided, selecting the most plain and simple link without any fancy decor and clicked on it.
The phone screen went white immediately.
In the center, three characters slowly emerged: Wenxin Tower.
In the bottom right corner was the name of the system in use: Linglong Satellite Positioning System of Yi Country.
'Yi Country?' Li Chengyi's heart skipped a beat.
Soon, the white on the phone screen faded, replaced by a gigantic pale blue planet.
The planet had land masses and oceans, but what shocked Li Chengyi the most was the giant inscription marked at the center of the planet.
——Earth-Moon.
It wasn't Earth!
It was Earth-Moon!?
Relevant memories quickly surfaced in his mind.
Then, as if the webpage refreshed due to the internet connection, on one side of this gigantic planet named Earth-Moon, another smaller planet appeared slowly—a tiny, ash-grey planet—White Star.
The two planets eerily sat next to each other, separated by a distance that resembled that between Earth and the Moon in his past life.
But White Star was visibly larger than the Moon by a significant margin.
Hum.
An important news alert automatically popped up at the top of the phone at that moment.
'White Star's Secretary of Security, Theresa Oslin, has officially arrived in Ogga, the capital of Hildistan, to commence the planned fifteen-day global security conference.'
'In response to minor building collapses due to aging infrastructure in the original city districts, Yi Country's Housing and Construction Department has issued an important notice: Surveyed houses rated at level five danger will undergo engineering repairs and replacement to ensure the normal living conditions of the city's residents.'
'Suiyang City Area commences a new round of water and electricity use planning, with city leaders personally visiting the site and offering their sympathies to families in difficult situations. For the most severely distressed households, appropriate assistance funds were provided.
It is understood that after this planning and remodeling, over one thousand three hundred households will benefit, which will play a significant role in thoroughly improving the appearance and environment of Suiyang City...'