Chapter 3 Hobbies

The movie ended.

The dumbbell in Luo Di’s hand was already covered in sweat; he had no intention of resting and immediately changed into his running shoes, preparing for his night run.

【8:00 PM】

The brightness on the streets still approached that of daytime.

This was all thanks to the high-density streetlights and the permanent luminous panels affixed to the surface of every building.

Additionally, every street had “sanitation workers” on 24-hour rotating shifts; they wore luminous devices all over their bodies and primarily patrolled Corners that were prone to insufficient lighting, regularly performing streetlight maintenance.

Luo Di put on his headphones, his music library filled with BGM from genre films, and began his night run around a park not far from his home.

His pace was “three minutes and thirty seconds.”

However, not long after he started, he felt a gust of wind from behind.

Another night runner caught up, a person significantly taller and more muscular than Luo Di.

They brushed past each other without any exchange, but a slight smile played on the other’s lips.

The two were actually long-acquainted running buddies, having met on the park track six months prior. Luo Di couldn’t keep up with the other’s pace, but it didn’t affect his mindset.

Three hours later, in the park restroom,

Luo Di stood before the sink, wringing sweat from his shirt.

When he looked up, what reflected back was a sallow, youthful face, his short, straight black hair matted with sweat. He looked slightly older than a high school student, seemingly a bit undernourished.

Just then—whoosh!

A bundle of something suddenly flew from the public restroom entrance.

Luo Di’s reaction speed was astonishing; he instantly raised his hand and steadily caught the flying object.

It was a bottle of vitamin drink.

The running buddy he had just met also came into the public restroom, squeezing in beside Luo Di at the sink, using a towel he carried to wipe sweat from his forehead. Despite the high pace, the person’s breathing was almost imperceptible.

“Thanks.”

Luo Di gulped down the nutritional drink with a German label. This new type of energy drink was quite expensive, making it difficult for a high school student like him to afford.

Reflected in the mirror was a blond man, his handsome and mature face showing a slight stubble, clearly not of the same nationality as Luo Di.

However, what came out of his mouth was slightly accented Mandarin: “Advancement next year?”

“Yes.”

“That’s a shame. If you were Advancing this year, I could directly connect you. Your perseverance and physical condition have already met the company’s recruitment average.

Next year will be a different situation; we’ll talk about it then.”

As he spoke, the blond man even reached out and squeezed Luo Di’s arm, nodding up and down, looking very satisfied.

“Oh, right~ with your qualifications, you should be able to undergo ‘Social Practice’ early.

I happen to have an opening here; are you interested? If you complete it early, next year you’ll only need to focus on physical and mental training, and it can also avoid the possibility of a ‘Practice accident’ before Advancement.”

Luo Di was a bit surprised; such a valuable Practice opportunity had suddenly appeared twice today.

“I already have an appointment; I expect to start Practice in about a week.”

“Oh? No wonder. Such an excellent young person like you must be a key cultivation target at school. Can you reveal the Practice direction? What type is it?

If it’s arranged by the school, it should be relatively conservative.”

“I’m not sure.”

The blond man had initially wanted to try and persuade him further, but felt he might be meddling too much, and ultimately just reached out to pat Luo Di’s shoulder.

“Oh, right~ take this.”

A moderately thick off-white business card was handed to Luo Di, with Roman script displaying personal information.

Although the two had known each other for half a year,

the other party, due to work reasons, had not exchanged contact information.

【Frederic Luo Fei】

Communication Number: LOFI – ██████

“During Practice, if you encounter unexpected danger, dial this number, and I will come immediately. Of course, you can also dial it if you encounter any special situations normally.

Of course, it’s only for 【Danger】.”

Luo Fei specifically used Russian to emphasize the word “Danger.”

“Thank you.”

Although the two usually only communicated about running, Luo Di knew very well that Luo Fei’s identity was quite unusual, and having an intersection with such a person might be of great help to his subsequent Advancement.

“See you tomorrow night.”

Luo Fei left.

Luo Di continued to examine the tasteful business card, but unfortunately, there was no company-related information on it, only the name and phone number.

Tonight’s conversation made him look forward to the upcoming “Social Practice” even more.

Practice was divided into many different methods, with corresponding varying difficulties.

If he could leave a high-difficulty Practice stamp on his personal file, there would be a greater probability of directly joining a “company” upon Advancement. In Luo Di’s opinion, a talent as excellent as the class monitor should not choose simple Practice projects.

It was midnight on the way home, and the city streets were still brightly lit, maintaining the same brightness as during the day.

Upon returning home, Luo Di routinely checked every curved Corner of the house to ensure that the long-lasting lights were functioning properly, and only after feeding the Corner parrot hanging on the balcony did he climb onto his personal bed.

Sleep time also required the lights to remain on.

It wasn’t just Luo Di;

everyone living there was the same. Everyone had long been accustomed to sleeping in the light; darkness, on the contrary, would make them uncomfortable and unable to sleep.

【One Week Passed】

Luo Di wasn’t keen on the concept of holidays; apart from buying groceries and night runs, he stayed home doing things he enjoyed. Besides watching DVDs, he would also set aside some time for drawing.

He enjoyed and was skilled at sketching character images from movies.

Occasionally, when inspiration struck, he would even design a character image that fit the B-movie style, focusing particularly on mask design. Luo Di hoped that one day he could wear the mask from his drafts to events like comic conventions or Halloween.

Currently,

he was staring at a mask drawing he had designed, currently his most satisfying one, affixed to the left side of his desk, planning to have it custom-made at a leather shop before the day he successfully Achieved Advancement.

Just as he was mesmerized staring at the mask drawing,

Buzz~ a vibration from his wrist pulled his thoughts back to reality. This was also the first call he had received since National Foundation Day.

As soon as he slid the green answer button, the voice from the other end almost rushed out.

“Luo Di! Tomorrow is the Practice day, so you need to come out today. Everyone will meet up beforehand and then go buy some things needed for Practice.”

“Do we need to buy anything?”

“Of course! My Practice area is in the suburbs, so we need to prepare a lot of things in advance.”

“Class monitor, can you roughly tell me what we need? If I have it at home, I won’t need to buy it.”

“Oh, don’t worry! Since I’m asking for your help, I’ll definitely cover the Practice-related expenses. Pick whatever you want, and make sure to pick the good stuff.

The only thing you need to contribute is yourself~ after all, you’re the only one in the class who surpasses me in sports performance.

As long as we successfully pass this Practice, my family might even give you a substantial bonus.”

“Oh.”

“One hour later, meet at Terminal Supermarket.”