Elegance never goes out of style.

"Not easy at all!"

"Finally, all my three attributes have broken through 1!"

Looking at the new personal evaluation on the panel, Chen Jue couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement in his heart.

Ever since he accidentally activated this attribute panel, he had persisted in daily exercise and training, spending nearly three weeks in total to finally bring his physical fitness up to a relatively healthy state.

According to the panel’s repeated assessments, this “1.00” integer seems to be the qualifying line for the attributes of a standard adult male.

Whether it was strength, constitution, or spirit, only after surpassing 1.00 could one be considered up to standard; anything below that, the panel would rate as subpar or subhealthy.

Chen Jue’s highest attribute now was constitution, already well above the passing line.

The benefits of high constitution went beyond simply feeling energetic and full of stamina each day. Lactic acid metabolized and broke down faster, his body’s self-healing and recovery abilities improved, allowing him to adapt more easily to intense physical training. Even the gallstone in his gallbladder, with the aid of medication, was slowly dissolving.

This made Chen Jue all the more grateful that, when he first acquired the panel, he had poured all his free attribute points into [Constitution]. What a wise choice that was!

If he’d focused on [Strength] or [Spirit] instead, perhaps he’d still be plagued by injuries and illnesses, and the efficiency of improvement certainly wouldn’t compare to that gained from boosting [Constitution].

...

Taking a break after completing 30 Hannibal pull-ups, Chen Jue suppressed his excitement and headed to the spectator stands beside the equipment area to relax his muscles.

As he rested, he continued to study the panel’s prompts.

"The friendly reminder here—does it mean I should look for a new treatment approach for my gallstones?" Chen Jue muttered inwardly, recalling the clinical medicine courses he had signed up for.

Besides the [Human Anatomy] class he had attended today, there were seven more related medical courses waiting for him.

Since the combination of exercise and Western medicine was working rather slowly, he decided to follow the panel's friendly suggestion and try different approaches.

After all, ever since acquiring the panel, his body had only improved.

Except for that one time when he poured points into [Constitution] and managed to cheat his way through the Silver Brick Challenge, injuring his left hand in the process, Chen Jue had never suffered any negative effects from the panel.

"It's a pity today is Friday. If I want to attend more classes, I’ll have to wait until next week." Chen Jue sighed lightly, beginning to realize that, aside from a strong body, knowledge was equally important for a person.

...

After a short rest, once the soreness in his muscles had eased, Chen Jue joined Wang Xin for several more sets of ten Hannibal pull-ups.

He was just starting to learn this high-level street calisthenics routine, so his body needed time to adapt.

Of the five legendary street workout moves mentioned earlier, only the simplest—[Double Arm Lever]—could Chen Jue attempt directly, since its technique is very similar to high pull-ups.

The others, like the Human Flag, Front Lever, and Russian Planche, he couldn’t manage yet, as those require tremendous core strength.

Chen Jue had only just begun core training a few days ago, so that was still his weak point.

As for the one-arm pull-up, Chen Jue tested himself on the bar and found that, going all out, he could now do one or two, though his form was imperfect and he just barely managed to get his chin over the bar.

"Single-hand grip strength: 85kg. Single-arm pulling force: over 80kg."

"So this is only the standard for an adult male?"

"What kind of evaluation would I get if I raised my attributes to 2, or even 3 and above?" Chen Jue began to look forward to it.

It was just like leveling up in a game!

Watching his previously feeble abilities slowly improve, the sense of achievement and satisfaction was irresistible for any man.

...

He trained at the track and field stadium until after five o’clock, when his phone chimed with a WeChat notification.

Upon answering, he found out it was Jiang Zhe. Taking advantage of Friday evening, he had managed to escape his wife’s ironclad curfew and wanted to invite Chen Jue to Jingtanghui to use up those remaining cash vouchers and, at the same time, talk some sense into Chen Jue.

After all, on the day the chubby guy died suddenly, Chen Jue had been in a very strange state.

He hadn’t just been a little down; he was on the verge of depression, overwhelmed with hopelessness.

These past few days, he’d transitioned from the workplace to school, rushing about with barely a moment’s rest, and hadn’t had the chance to talk much with Jiang Zhe.

His old college roommate couldn’t help but worry about Chen Jue’s mental state.

As it happened, Chen Jue had just finished working out and was feeling a bit tired, so he thought a massage would be a good way to relax, plus a seafood buffet to replenish the protein and minerals needed for muscle and bone growth.

But upon arriving at Jingtanghui, in addition to seeing Jiang Zhe, Chen Jue was surprised to run into another former college roommate—the fifth in their dorm, Wang Wei.

"Wang Wei! What brings you to Hangzhou?"

"Missing your old man?" Chen Jue greeted him with a hearty slap on the back; it really had been years since they’d met.

Of course, with old friends, you had to poke fun at each other.

How else could anyone see the depth of their friendship if they didn’t tease each other a bit?

Wang Wei pushed Chen Jue away with a look of disgust. "If you’re my dad, then Jiang’s the little brother! Even if I have to go down as a dog, I’ll take you both with me!"

"I’ll bite you first, heartless old man, and then I’ll bite little brother Jiang!"

After these jokes, Wang Wei even barked playfully twice, making the receptionist at Jingtanghui laugh aloud.

Wang Wei was the joker of dorm 404, the fifth in rank, a top gamer and a master of banter.

Back in college, he’d reached King rank in League of Legends’ Ionia server, and even ranked in the Dota ladder’s top 100—proficient in both games. Right after graduation, he joined a pro esports team.

Though he never achieved any major titles, he made a name for himself in the esports scene.

But in recent years, as he grew older, Wang Wei’s skills declined, so he retired to run a game-boosting studio, taking on jobs to grind accounts in Genshin Impact, LoL, or Dota, earning quite a bit.

This time he was in Hangzhou because he’d accepted a gig from a local sponsor to coach someone in-person, and used his free evening to catch up with Jiang Zhe and Chen Jue.

But after Wang Wei’s “little brother” joke, Jiang Zhe was displeased, flicking the three cash vouchers in his hand with an air of authority. "Who are you calling little brother?"

"I am! I’m the little brother! Daddy Jiang! You promised this meal’s on you!" Wang Wei immediately grabbed his leg, his shameless nature on full display.

...

The three of them made a raucous entrance into Jingtanghui’s buffet area, stuffed themselves, then headed to a private room to pick their massage therapists from a tablet, each calling in a technician.

"Damn! What’s with these prices for veggies? The cost of living in Hangzhou is insane!" Wang Wei stared at the price list in shock.

Back in his pro days, Wang Wei had gone to high-end clubs with his team bosses.

But after retiring, without a wealthy patron, at most he’d splurge a few dozen yuan at a roadside massage parlor when tired from boosting accounts.

He had to pay his studio staff, after all—he pinched pennies where he could.

Now, back in a place like Jingtanghui, Wang Wei couldn’t help but marvel, "Jiang, Chen, you guys have really made it in Hangzhou! You come to places like this all the time?"

"If you ever strike it rich, don’t forget your little brother."

Lying facedown on the massage bed, Jiang Zhe replied, "Made it? We’re still working ourselves to the bone! But you, fifth brother, if you manage to please your sponsor, don’t forget us if you ever get lucky!"

"Rich my ass! Every cent I make is hard-earned, scraped together bit by bit," Wang Wei grumbled. The game boosting and companionship business wasn’t necessarily any easier than a regular job.

Not only did he have to grind accounts all day, he also had to be an expert conversationalist and keep people happy.

Meanwhile, Chen Jue, listening to Wang Wei’s stories of the past few years and enjoying the skillful hands of technician No. 36, Xiaobai, let slip the news that he had resigned from his job.

This left both Jiang Zhe and Wang Wei dumbfounded.

"What???"

"Fourth brother, didn’t you work so hard to get into Hengtong? You’re quitting just because of that incident?" Jiang Zhe lifted his head in concern.

After all, Chen Jue had found that new job through Jiang Zhe’s connections, and quitting after only a few days was more than Jiang Zhe had expected.

"It’s better to quit. Working all year and still not saving enough to buy a house—what’s the point? Might as well lie flat and avoid getting reaped like a field of leeks," Chen Jue replied, recounting the story of witnessing a colleague’s sudden death to Wang Wei.

Wang Wei's face went pale at the tale!

He too spent long hours at the computer, neglected exercise, sometimes pulled all-nighters on boost jobs, and often felt his heart skip or his chest tighten.

When he was younger, he didn’t care, but hearing about someone under thirty dying suddenly right next to Chen Jue, he became wary.

During a break between massages and a soak in the hot spring, Wang Wei glanced at Chen Jue’s increasingly muscular physique, patted his own flabby belly, and asked, "Fourth brother, do you think it’s too late for me to start working out now?"

"Of course it’s not too late!"

"And you too, Jiang—better sign up for a gym, you’re skinny as a whippet."

Looking at his two roommates’ builds, Wang Wei was on the heavy side, much like Chen Jue before the panel; Jiang Zhe, on the other hand, was tall but rail-thin, almost 190cm but skin and bones, as if hollowed out.

Among the three, Chen Jue was in the best shape.

His thick arms showed clear muscle contours, and even his waist and abs had visible definition.

He might not match professional trainers or athletes, but among ordinary people, he was certainly robust.

...

The three of them chatted and got massages at Jingtanghui, and even after leaving, they lingered at the roadside, reminiscing about their school days.

Wang Wei took out a green pack of cigarettes from his pocket, saying he’d gotten them from his sponsor.

"Wow! Green Panda cigarettes!"

"Why didn’t you break these out sooner?" Jiang Zhe, who worked on construction sites and was no stranger to cigarettes, recognized the rarity of these green Panda packs—some collector’s editions were hard to buy even with money.

He quickly grabbed two, handing one to Chen Jue.

Chen Jue didn’t refuse. Just as he reached for Jiang Zhe’s lighter, Wang Wei pretentiously produced an ornate box of matches, claiming he’d learned this stylish, retro way to light cigarettes from a wealthy client.

Striking the match against the box, he used the tiny orange flame to light their cigarettes—instantly elevating the entire act to a new level of sophistication.

"Only the rich really know how to enjoy themselves!" Jiang Zhe puffed away, finding that not only was lighting a fine cigarette with a match more elegant, but the flavor itself seemed richer.

But Chen Jue stared at the box of matches in a daze, as a novel idea suddenly flashed through his mind.

"Friction creates heat! The ignition point of a match head is pretty low, only a bit over 200 degrees..." As this thought took hold, Chen Jue abandoned his post-smoke squat by the curb.

He went to his car, retrieved a deck of playing cards he used for practice, and asked Wang Wei to hold a match aloft.

"Fourth brother, what are you up to?"

"Putting on a magic show?"

Jiang Zhe and Wang Wei were both baffled, just as they couldn’t comprehend why Chen Jue would quit his job and “lie flat” before thirty.

Standing three or four meters away, Chen Jue drew a card and flicked it. The spinning card sliced through the night and zipped right past the tip of the match Wang Wei was holding.

The next instant, they saw the blackened tip of the match begin to smolder, and a tiny flame burst forth.

The sight left both Jiang Zhe and Wang Wei utterly stunned, exclaiming in unison.

Even Chen Jue himself couldn’t help but laugh at the little flame dancing in the night, for now he knew exactly what he’d film for his next viral video.