MTLNOVEL Ch. 8
Crack—
Pop—
Back home, Guan Ren didn’t spend a single moment brooding over the minor setbacks of the day. The first thing he did upon entering his bedroom was to turn on the computer.
……
At this point in time, there weren’t any specialized “writing software” programs. A Word document was an essential tool for any serious writer.
But for reasons unknown, the Word version on Guan Ren’s home computer was still the 2003 edition. Every time he opened it, an incredibly annoying little paperclip “desktop assistant” would pop up, loudly offering its useless help. It was more irritating than even the little lion mascot from the Ruixing antivirus software.
Because the software was so outdated, Guan Ren had to dig up tutorials just to disable it. Then he copied the intro he’d written on his phone from his email’s file transfer folder and continued working on the beginning of his novel.
……
To be fair, in terms of equipment, everything from the laggy computer to the 30hz monitor and the flimsy membrane keyboard (clearly repurposed from a hotel front desk) made Guan Ren extremely uncomfortable. He was used to writing with a mechanical keyboard laid out in the Alice style while a video stream played in the background.
But as the saying goes, “Rebirth is the ultimate cheat.”
This young body and its boundless energy were more than enough to help Guan Ren overlook the flaws in his surroundings.
In just two hours of focused writing, he cranked out a solid three chapters—ten thousand words in total—without any wrist pain, despite the basic keyboard layout. The idea of tendonitis didn’t even cross his mind.
In his previous life, after long hours of drafting at his company job, he’d come home and write until late. At the worst of times, he would often be jolted awake in the middle of the night by the pain in his arms and fingers.
If it hadn’t been for that female supervisor who pitied him and gave him extended leave, he might have ended up needing surgery.
Even though his current body was free of such issues, Guan Ren didn’t plan to push himself too hard.
The younger his body was, the more he treasured it. He didn’t want to overdraw his stamina and end up regretting it.
“Time to submit the manuscript.”
At that time, the editors’ contact info hadn’t been made public yet on the official Qidian website. As a confident, dimensionally descended author, Guan Ren had no intention of just blindly submitting and waiting for a site editor to review his work. If he wanted to submit “internally,” he needed to find an editor’s email address on the forum.
“Red Fox… Cat Fang… White Light…”
Looking over the names of those familiar editors, Guan Ren stroked his chin, recalling quite a few who showed real promise. In the end, he sent his “Golden Three Chapters” to Cat Fang.
“All done!”
Now, all that was left was to wait for a response.
After submitting the manuscript, Guan Ren flopped down on his single bed, buried himself in a quilt scented with the faint decay of dead dust mites, and took a deep breath of imagined sunlight. Lying on his back with his hands behind his head, he stared blankly at the ceiling, lost in thought.
Even though he was only a second-year high school student, he could now proudly say he was a man with a career…
When a man has a career, even stepping in dog poop on the street feels like a power move.
And Guan Ren was still so young.
“…Once I get my first paycheck, I’ll buy a phone… no, two phones, then upgrade the computer… Hmm… maybe a new TV too, plus clothes and shoes…”
“…Now that I think about it, should I redecorate the bedroom… make one of those so-called gaming rooms?… Not just the bedroom, maybe put in a new bathtub and toilet in the bathroom too… damn, might as well renovate everything… that Little Swan washing machine has been whining for over a decade now…”
“…Hmm? Why not just buy a new house altogether…”
Guan Ren began to daydream.
But it was inevitable.
Whenever you buy something new, everything else suddenly seems mismatched. One fantasy led to another, and before long, he was imagining an entirely new home.
Unlike most people, though, Guan Ren’s fantasies weren’t entirely out of reach.
And so, drifting through his beautiful reverie, Guan Ren unknowingly slipped into sleep.
---
“System, display status panel.”
Ding!
“Host: Guan Ren. Attractiveness: ★★★★★. Academics: ★☆☆☆☆. Stamina: ★★★☆☆. Cooking… uh… ★★★★☆ maybe…”
It was early Saturday morning. Standing in front of a full-length mirror, Guan Ren mimicked the mechanical voice in a cringey tone, inspecting himself closely and giving himself a quick status assessment.
“Now that I’ve found a way to earn money, as long as I put my mind to it, my grades will improve bit by bit… The next priority really should be physical fitness…”
From hugging Luo Xiaobei yesterday to all the writing afterward, Guan Ren had resolved to start building a strong and healthy body.
In 2011, fitness wasn’t yet trendy among people his age.
Forget about “systematic training.” Guan Ren recalled that even the concept of “night running” only became popular years later when it suddenly caught on online and spread among young people.
Of course, Guan Ren wasn’t interested in extreme bodybuilding or chugging protein powder.
He definitely didn’t want to end up with a weirdly pointy head.
He had just three goals:
First, to be able to indulge in meat-heavy meals without worry.
Second, to confidently show off with seafood and beer.
Third, to be able to stand up while pedaling a bike.
To be specific…
Guan Ren decided he’d test his strength by lifting Luo Xiaobei.
If he could easily lift her and do squats at the same time, that would mean his training was nearly complete.
After that, he could cut back to just maintenance workouts to ensure his body was fit enough to fully enjoy life.
……
With that, Guan Ren pulled out an old white short-sleeve T-shirt—one with a wrinkled, saggy collar—and paired it with his school uniform pants.
As for shoes…
This year, canvas sneakers and skate shoes were all the rage, and that’s pretty much what Guan Ren had.
In the end, after digging through the shoe cabinet and tossing aside all sorts of fragrant high heels belonging to someone else, he finally unearthed a pair of old-fashioned mesh running shoes from the very back.
“Ugh… these are ugly…”
Guan Ren grimaced.
But who would have guessed that in the future, these clunky shoes would make a trendy comeback under the fancy name “dad shoes.”
Then again, looks didn’t matter. Guan Ren wasn’t trying to impress anyone.
After lacing up his sneakers, he grabbed his Meizu MP3 player.
Plugging in a generic pair of wired earphones with transparent cords, he threaded the line from under his shirt and out the collar, popped the buds into his ears, and headed downstairs.
---
“Hey, going for a run, kid?”
“Morning, Uncle Lin.”
“Morning, morning! Not bad! When you’ve got some free time, come play a game of chess with this old man.”
“Sure thing!”
After greeting the residential security guard, Guan Ren continued walking toward the Jiangzhou County No. 2 High School track field. Once he arrived, he started jogging along the newly built rubber track laid down just last year.
At this hour, the track wasn’t entirely empty.
Here and there were a few scattered figures.
Some elderly folks taking a morning stroll.
Some middle-aged men with slight paunches dressed in basketball jerseys.
And with the school team off for the weekend, Guan Ren easily became the most eye-catching figure on the track.
Huff… puff…
Under the dazzling golden morning sunlight, his strong, steady breaths accompanied each stride. The silhouette of this vibrant youth moved swiftly along the track. His sharply contoured, handsome face looked both delicate and clean-cut, yet retained a rugged masculinity.
If there had been a camera on hand at that moment, the scene could have been captured as a genuine thing of beauty.
Especially his hairstyle—not too long, not too short, with a vaguely American-style forward spike.
In this era, where the remnants of the “Shamate” trend still lingered and high school boys were obsessed with bangs, Guan Ren stood out just by confidently showing his clean forehead. That alone made him dazzling.
Particularly in the eyes of those middle-aged women who had long grown tired of the “Shamate” look.
“Hey hey, look at that kid. He’s out running early in the morning.”
“He really is… Tsk, if my lazy son could just crawl out of bed on a Saturday morning, I’d be thanking the heavens.”
“Ugh, they’re all the same…”
“Looks like he’s from No. 2 High as well. And I gotta say, the boy’s actually quite good-looking.”
“Appearance doesn’t matter. It’s his vibe. So sunny! You can tell at a glance he’s a good kid…”
“For real. Sigh. Not like mine at all. The more I think about it, the angrier I get!”
…
By the trackside, two middle-aged women who had just finished grocery shopping were passing by the school and were full of praise for Guan Ren.
One of them, wearing a high-neck sweater and wide-leg pants, with short, softly curled hair, kept insisting that “looks aren’t important.” But as Guan Ren’s running figure drew nearer, she couldn’t help but admit to herself—this kid really was kind of handsome.
Although…
Why did he look vaguely familiar?
As Guan Ren got closer and closer, the woman narrowed her eyes in puzzlement.
“I’ll head out the west gate first. We’re not going the same way.”
“Alright.”
Su Ping gave a slight smile, waving goodbye to her casual market acquaintance, and turned back to continue observing the “sunny, outgoing young man” on the track.
“Eh?”
By now, Guan Ren had run close enough for Su Ping to recognize him at a glance.
“Guan Ren?”
“?”
Hearing the voice, Guan Ren turned his head, surprised.
“Auntie Su?”
What a coincidence. He was just out for a jog and bumped into Luo Xiaobei’s mom.
---
Smack!
Elsewhere, inside a certain residential home, a bedroom door slammed open with a bang.
Startled by the noise, Zhang Chi, who had been lying under his quilt laughing at something on his phone, jerked in shock. Sitting up like a man revived from the dead, he stared blankly at his mother, who had stormed into the room with a face full of irritation.
“Mom, wh-what’s going on?”
“What’s going on? You’re asking me what’s going on? Sleep, sleep, sleep! That’s all you do. Sleep all day! Get up now!”
“But… Mom, it’s Saturday…”
“So what if it’s Saturday? Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?!”
The irate woman spoke as she yanked the covers off him with lightning speed. She pulled open the curtains and then flung the windows wide open with a loud rumble.
“Go outside and take a look! Other kids are out jogging at the crack of dawn. And then look at you! Hiding in your room like a hermit crab afraid of daylight!”
“I…”
“I’m giving you five minutes! If you’re not up by then, forget about eating today!”
Bang!
The bedroom door slammed shut again.
Zhang Chi, having just received a completely unprovoked scolding, was utterly confused and miserable. He had no idea what had triggered his mom’s sudden rage.
What the hell did I even do?!