8:00 AM.
"Whoosh—" The curtains were suddenly drawn open.
Tang Song stretched lazily, feeling wonderfully refreshed.
His sleep quality had been surprisingly good.
The sleep-enhancing effects of the Passive Skill "Attractive Man Halo" were much more amazing than he had imagined!
This filled him with confidence for his upcoming weight loss plan.
Among the three dimensions of maintaining health (sleep, exercise, diet), sleep is the most important.
"Pop!" Tang Song snapped his fingers crisply with his left hand while simultaneously summoning the game system with his mind.
"Swish!" The colorful system interface unfolded instantly, exuding an intoxicating sci-fi vibe.
Tang Song took a deep breath, spread his arms in a rather chuunibyou fashion, his lips curling into a smile that even the Bridge of Peace couldn't contain.
…
After a quick wash, he changed into a set of spring and autumn sports attire and began to jog slowly around the neighborhood.
The bright sunlight filtered through the locust tree leaves onto his body, warm and soothing.
As far as he could see, his world seemed to have been swept free of a thick layer of dust.
The sky was bluer, the trees greener, the air fresher.
Tang Song took a deep breath, feeling full of energy from head to toe!
He even had the leisure to greet the elderly scavengers searching for recyclables.
However, as the exercise wore on, his legs started to tremble, his body gradually bent, and his pace slowed more and more.
After gritting his teeth and persisting for a while, Tang Song sat down on a stone bench by the road, face red and hot, huffing and puffing heavily.
He took out his phone to check the exercise route.
The entire run was 3.5 kilometers, with an average pace of 7'26", which could be described as extremely poor.
Lack of exercise over a long period, coupled with excessive weight, made such results rather normal.
After resting for a while, Tang Song dragged his weary body to a nearby breakfast shop.
He ordered a cup of unsweetened soy milk and two boiled eggs.
After breakfast, he returned to his rented apartment.
Tang Song began to devise his weight loss plan.
Due to several unsuccessful attempts in the past, he had some insights into the matter.
In short, it was about controlling diet and exercise, creating as much of a calorie deficit as possible to burn off excess fat.
However, since this time it related to a challenge task and there was a time limit, he had to give it his all.
He started by downloading a weight loss plan template from the internet.
Then, he began to search for high-quality weight loss experience posts, organizing content suitable for himself.
As time tick-tocked away, the content on the spreadsheet became richer and more detailed.
It included sleep schedule, daily exercise types, water intake, fat-reduction meal plans, and progressive weight loss targets, among other things.
While searching for weight loss material, Tang Song noticed several highly popular posts on Little Red Book.
They related to the recent internet craze, the "Advisory Body."
The titles often contained keywords like "advice," "transformation," and the like.
The content documented ordinary bloggers transforming and making a comeback through their own strong execution, following advice from the enthusiastic online community.
The strong sense of participation made readers feel as though they were playing an interesting character cultivation game, their enthusiasm soaring as they became cyber-world spiritual shareholders, constantly offering professional and effective suggestions from various angles.
There were tips on weight loss, fashion, skin care, hairstyles, makeup, posture...
They were essentially helping the bloggers enhance their appearance from all angles.
Many ordinary people not only made successful comebacks but also became somewhat famous internet celebrities.
The more Tang Song read, the more tempted he became.
With his current situation, the simplest and quickest way to increase charm was to start with his appearance.
Moreover, according to the game's settings, both fame and influence were important components of charm value.
This mode fit him perfectly and would save him a lot of developmental time in the early stages.
With this thought, Tang Song finally made up his mind.
He took a serious bath, changed into casual street clothes, styled his hair, and adjusted the camera angle.
"Click—"
A no-filter selfie appeared in his gallery.
Tang Song glanced at it and instantly, his sense of shame exploded, leading him to delete the photo immediately.
He tried different angles and positions for a few more shots, but the result was still delete, delete, delete.
It was simply unbearable to look at! Just too damn bad!
It's undeniable that it takes enormous courage to boldly post one's truest self online, subjected to the scrutiny and ridicule of thousands of netizens.
After hesitating for a while, Tang Song took out a black shaping face mask from the drawer.
He put it on and looked at himself in the mirror.
Apart from his mouth and nose being covered, the contours of his face were still clear. It shouldn't affect the transformation effect, and he wouldn't be recognized.
Once he got over his internal hurdle, Tang Song stopped hesitating and took a new full-body photo.
He uploaded the picture and created a post.
Title: Disappointed in my 25-year-old self, seeking transformation, open to advice
Content: I've resolved to improve but don't know where to start. I hope to receive everyone's suggestions!
Topics: #AverageJoeMakeover, #OpenToAdvice, #Transformation, #Comeback, #Male
After clicking "post".
Tang Song sat anxiously in his chair, refreshing the post from time to time.
However, his Little Red Book account was pretty inactive, mostly used to admire beautiful ladies and occasionally to check out some experience notes.
With single-digit views in a short time, naturally, there weren't any comments.
He could only quietly wait for the blossom to unfold.
...
In the bustling department store.
Tang Song pushed his cart, occasionally scanning his phone for the fat-loss meal ingredient list.
Lettuce, cucumber, sweet potato, strawberries, oranges, beef shank, fresh shrimp, chicken breast...
He essentially chose the freshest ones without caring much about the price.
In the past, he had always lived frugally to save money to buy a house.
His clothes and daily essentials came straight from Pinduoduo, food delivery was always ordered with coupons, and he rarely bought snacks or fruits.
But now, an extra 200 yuan in daily income had given him a sense of breaking free from constraints.
No need to count every penny, no need to feel guilty about spending, no more worries about being unemployed without a source of income.
For him now, this was a small taste of financial freedom.
After completing his shopping, Tang Song returned to his residence with two bags brimming with groceries.
Soon, the previously empty refrigerator was stuffed full.
The apartment Tang Song currently rented was a well-furnished one-bedroom.
Convenient transportation, prime location, fully furnished, monthly rent of 900.
The reason it was so affordable was that the landlord was his college classmate, Lu Ziming.
Unlike Tang Song, a small-town youth, Lu Ziming's family was very well-off.
His mother was in the civil service, his father a corporate executive. They had wealth, connections, and several properties.
Lu Ziming, who was a third-year graduate student, had already been assigned an internship at a large financial company and had a bright future ahead of him.
...
At half-past noon, Tang Song served up the carefully prepared fat-loss meal.
Pan-fried chicken breast, brown rice, and a vegetable salad (mainly lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers).
Tang Song enthusiastically arranged the plate, adjusted the angle, and took a photo before beginning to eat heartily.
The taste was decent, but the chicken breast was a bit dry, probably overcooked.
After lunch, Tang Song opened Little Red Book once more.
A few hours had passed, and the views on his post had surpassed 100.
He had received 3 likes and 5 comments.
He opened the comments to read them; most of them were advising him to lose weight.
[A standard chubby geek! You've definitely not skimped on the sugary drinks!]
[Even the mask can't cover your double chin.]
[It's useless to change if you don't slim down first, start by losing weight.]
After reading the comments carefully, Tang Song replied one by one, "Thank you for the suggestions! I've already made a strict weight loss plan and am in the process of following it."
After scrolling through his phone a bit longer, Tang Song was about to go back to his bedroom for a nap when he suddenly stopped.
He looked around.
The room was in a state of chaos, with items strewn about, a cluttered balcony, dust on the furniture and appliances, grimy floors, and a toilet and washbasin that were yellowed and foul-smelling...
"It's time for a thorough cleaning!" Tang Song took a deep breath and got moving.
A clean and tidy living environment and good habits reflect one's charm and are essential qualities of an Attractive Man.
Change starts now, from the little things, from everyday life!