Over the weekend, in a 40-square-meter rented apartment in Hangzhou.
"Lin Chu, you have to come to my wedding with Xu Yue next month!"
"Yeah, don't worry, I'll... definitely be there."
After hanging up the phone, Lin Chu couldn't help letting out a silent sigh.
Time flew by too fast. Four years had slipped away in the blink of an eye since college graduation.
His former roommate had started a successful business, bought a house and a car, and was about to walk down the aisle with his girlfriend straight out of campus.
A textbook winner in life.
And what about himself?
After graduation, he had entered an ordinary company, working from early morning till late at night, a typical nine-to-fiver.
He worked overtime until his liver felt like it was going to explode, and ran errands until his legs cramped, yet there was no promotion or salary increase in sight.
He was nothing more than a pure beast of burden, and the kind just waiting to be slaughtered at that.
What made it even more awkward was that Li Yuwei, his college campus belle and the unrequited object of his former affections, was also returning from abroad to attend the wedding of her best friend, Xu Yue.
Speaking of her, she was his greatest regret.
Back then, although Lin Chu came from a minor, obscure county, he was considered quite a prominent figure at school due to his striking looks and stellar academic performance.
By chance at a campus debate competition, he met Li Yuwei, the campus belle of the same year, and the two quickly fell into a state of ambiguous romance, even becoming a hot topic around the campus for a while.
But good times never lasted. The gap between him and Li Yuwei gradually widened, most obviously in their spending habits.
Li Yuwei was a local Hangzhou native, and she always enjoyed the best food, drinks, and entertainment—a bona fide wealthy and beautiful goddess.
Even her cheapest meal cost as much as two or three months of his living expenses.
How was he supposed to compete with that?
Any man would feel a sense of inadequacy in that situation.
Although Li Yuwei didn't mind these things and sometimes even paid out of her own pocket, whenever Lin Chu insisted on paying for a meal, she would claim she had a discount card and ask him to just transfer a hundred yuan to her.
Only later did Lin Chu accidentally find out that those high-end restaurants costing over a thousand per person didn't have any discount cards at all; it was just a white lie Li Yuwei told to spare his pride.
This was a true testament to the old saying:
"Meeting the girl you most want to protect at an age when you are most powerless."
Money is a man's backbone, and without money, nothing is possible. Lin Chu had deeply realized back then that people were indeed divided into different social strata.
Li Yuwei was a well-bred, cultivated, and empathetic good girl, and precisely because of that, he didn't want to hold her back.
Later, learning that she planned to study abroad, Lin Chu tactfully distanced himself from her.
At the time, he had even solemnly promised Li Yuwei that one day he would stand before her as an outstanding man.
Thinking about it now, he was quite the damn braggart.
Years had passed, and not only had he failed to make any money, but he had also accumulated a host of health issues, degenerating from an ancestral-tier looker into someone resembling Su Daqiang.
He was carrying the body of a thirty-something with the soul of a twenty-something, and the decline brought on by middle-age spread was becoming increasingly obvious.
Lin Chu could already picture the awkward scene when Li Yuwei saw him and asked, "Are you... really still Lin Chu?"
He would definitely wish a hole would open up in the ground so he could crawl right into it!
"Sigh, they say good looks can be a meal ticket, and I used to be able to rely on my appearance, but now..."
He stood in front of the mirror in his rented apartment.
Looking at the big belly... the heavy dark circles, the swollen eye bags, the dull, yellowish skin... the dry, split hair...
It was simply too hideous to look at...
Time truly was a butcher's knife.
What a damn pain in the ass!
If only he could be a bit younger, a bit more handsome, and a bit wealthier...
Would he then have the confidence to stand before Li Yuwei?
Just as Lin Chu was sighing inwardly,
"Ding! The Supreme Male God Cultivation System is at your service!"
A loud electronic chime rang in his ear.
At the same time, a matching 3D character animation appeared.
Host: Lin Chu
Age: 24
Height: 182 cm
Weight: 183 lbs
Wealth Value: -3,134.6 RMB (Dirt poor)
Health Value: 60 (Sub-health)
Stamina Value: 60
Appearance: 70 (Mediocre, blending into the crowd, not even worth a single hair compared to the 99-appearance-rated readers)
Discharge Count: 2 times
Skills: None
Real Estate: None
Enterprises: None
Vehicle: Yadea electric scooter
...
[System User Manual: The Supreme Male God System aims to enhance the host's charm, allowing him to become a true male god!]
[1. By completing tasks issued by the system, the host will achieve comprehensive improvements in appearance, aesthetics, refinement, posture, assets, social status, and more!]
[2. Regularly posting your transformation plans and physical changes on social networking platforms will grant you random check-in rewards!]
[3. The current version is the initial 1.0 version, and the host's various growth milestones will be linked to system version upgrades!]
Holy crap?!
A system? Could it be the kind that frequently appeared in web novels?
Or were these just hallucinations caused by getting food poisoning from cheap takeout?
Lin Chu couldn't help drawing a sharp breath.
A sense of unreality flooded his entire body, and he rubbed his eyes.
The next second.
Crack!
A crisp sound of a slap echoed through the small room.
A burning pain stung his face, which let him know that none of this was a dream.
He was an avid veteran bookworm, having read countless divine tycoon and male god novels, and had even fantasized about similar scenarios.
Yet it had never felt so clear and real.
Turns out reading novels could actually make dreams come true!
If that was the case, then...
A male god-level appearance and charm, a healthy and vibrant body,
Limitless wealth to squander, and a prestigious social status—
The girl he missed out on all those years ago...
Wasn't she just within reach?!
While Lin Chu was marveling, he noticed the [Newbie Gift Package] in the top right corner of the system interface.
So he tapped to open it.
"Ding! Newbie Gift Package is being distributed..."
"Received 200,000 RMB in initial male god reward funds!"
"Received [Male God Hair and Skin Care Set]!"
"Received [Calming Sleep Tea]!"
"Received [Insight Technique 1.0]!"
[Male God Hair and Skin Care Set]: Contains facial cleanser, shampoo, shower gel, and other care products. With increased usage, it will permanently improve the host's hair and skin quality, saying goodbye to greasy men once and for all!
[Calming Sleep Tea]: Quickly helps the host improve sleep quality while relieving all physical fatigue and restoring body functions!
[Insight Technique 1.0]: Allows the host to view others' attribute values, with more features unlocked as it upgrades further!
["China Merchants Bank": Your account ending in 9800 received a deposit of RMB: 200,000 on January 27 at 12:21!]
Hoo!
Lin Chu took another deep breath. Although at first glance this newbie reward seemed unremarkable—lacking the top-tier limited supercars, skyscrapers, or tens of billions in cash that protagonists in other tycoon novels started with—
For someone in his current state, he was already more than satisfied!
Because he knew that with the system, who needed a bicycle?
Everything else was just a matter of time!
Just as he was feeling excited,
Promptly, another crisp electronic voice rang in his ear once again.
"Ding! Triggered newbie task [Initial Transformation]!"
"Task activation condition: Requires the host to upload their current true appearance to a social platform using the original camera without filters!"
"Task completion condition: Undergo a complete makeover from head to toe! The system will give a 5 to 20 times consumption cash-back based on a comprehensive rating of the host's hairstyle and outfit!"
"Task time limit: 6 hours!"