At 8 o'clock in the morning.

"Swish—" The curtains were pulled open. Tang Song stretched widely, feeling extraordinarily refreshed. His sleep quality was surprisingly good, thanks to the sleep-enhancing effects of the passive skill Heartthrob Aura, which was much more effective than he had imagined. This filled him with confidence for his upcoming weight loss plan. After all, among the three dimensions of maintaining health (sleep, exercise, and diet), sleep was the most important.

"Pop!" Tang Song snapped his fingers with his left hand and simultaneously called upon the game system with his mind. "Swish!" The dazzling light screen of the system instantly unfolded, exuding an enchanting sci-fi vibe. Taking a deep breath, Tang Song spread his arms wide, unable to suppress the smile spreading across his face.

...

After a simple wash, he changed into a spring/autumn sports outfit and started jogging around the neighborhood. The bright sunshine filtered through the locust tree leaves, casting a warm glow. Looking around, it seemed as if a heavy layer of dust had been swept away from his world. The sky looked bluer, the trees greener, and the air fresher. Tang Song took a deep breath, feeling energized from head to toe. He even had the leisure to greet the elderly scavengers collecting recyclables.

But as he continued exercising, his legs began to tremble, his body gradually hunched over, and his pace slowed down. After pushing himself for a while longer, Tang Song plopped down on a stone bench by the roadside, his face flushed and hot, panting heavily. He took out his phone to check the exercise track: a total distance of 3.5 kilometers with an average pace of 7'26", which was pretty weak. Given his long period of inactivity and overweight condition, such results were expected.

After resting for a while, Tang Song dragged his tired body to a nearby breakfast shop, ordering unsweetened soy milk and two boiled eggs. After breakfast, he returned to his rental apartment and started formulating his weight loss plan. Having experienced multiple failed attempts before, he had some knowledge in this area. In simple terms, it was about controlling food intake and increasing physical activity to create a calorie deficit and burn excess fat.

However, this time, given the challenging task and the time limit, he had to go all out. He first downloaded a weight loss plan template from the internet. Then, he opened Little Red Book (TN: Little Red Book, aka ‘小红书’ which is the Chinese version of Instagram), searched for high-quality weight loss posts, and began compiling content suitable for himself. Time ticked away, and the content on his chart grew increasingly rich and detailed, including schedules, daily exercise types, water intake, fat-loss meal recipes, and phased weight-loss goals.

While searching for weight loss information, several popular posts caught Tang Song's attention. These were the recently viral "Transformation by Advice" posts, usually featuring keywords like "advice" and "transformation" in their titles. The content documented ordinary bloggers' transformative journeys, guided by extensive advice from enthusiastic netizens and executed through their strong willpower.

The high engagement made netizens feel like they were playing an interesting simulation game, actively offering professional and effective suggestions from various angles, covering weight loss, fashion, skincare, hairstyles, makeup, and posture, and helping bloggers improve their appearance and charisma comprehensively. Many ordinary people not only successfully transformed but also became popular influencers.

The more Tang Song read, the more excited he became. Given his current situation, the simplest and quickest way to enhance his charisma was to start with his appearance. According to the game's settings, fame and influence were also key components of charisma. This model perfectly suited him, saving him a lot of initial development time.

With this in mind, Tang Song finally made up his mind. He took a serious shower, changed into his everyday streetwear, fixed his hair, and adjusted the shooting angle. "Click—" A no-filter photo appeared in his album. Glancing at it, Tang Song felt an immediate surge of embarrassment and deleted it right away. He took several more shots from different angles and positions, but they all ended up deleted. It was just too awful to look at! It really took great courage to publicly post one's most unfiltered image online for thousands of netizens to see and mock.

After hesitating for a while, Tang Song pulled out a black shaping mask from a drawer. He put it on and checked himself in the mirror. Aside from covering his mouth and nose, his facial contours were still visible, which shouldn't affect the transformation process, and it would also keep him from being recognized. Once he got over his inner hurdle, Tang Song didn't hesitate any longer. He took a new full-body photo, uploaded it to Little Red Book, and created a post. Original content can be found at novelꞁire.net

Title: "Disappointed in my 25-year-old self, seeking transformation, open to advice"

Content: "Determined to improve but don't know where to start. Hoping for everyone's suggestions!"

Tags: #ordinarytransformation, #advice, #transformation, #comeback, #men

After posting, Tang Song anxiously sat in his chair, refreshing the post from time to time. However, his account was fairly new with no followers, mainly used for admiring pretty girls. The view count stayed in the single digits for a while, with no comments. He could only wait patiently.

...

In the bustling supermarket, Tang Song pushed a shopping cart, occasionally checking the list of ingredients for his fat-loss meals on his phone. Lettuce, cucumbers, sweet potatoes, strawberries, oranges, beef shank, fresh shrimp, chicken breast... He mostly picked the freshest items, not caring much about the price. Previously, he had always been frugal to save money for buying a house. Clothes and daily items were bought on Pinduoduo, meals were ordered with discount coupons, and fruits and snacks were rarely bought.

Now, the extra 200 yuan of daily income made him feel liberated. He didn't need to count every penny, feel guilty about spending, or worry about losing his income if he lost his job. For him now, this was a small taste of financial freedom.

After completing his purchases, Tang Song carried two full shopping bags back to his place. Soon, his previously empty refrigerator was packed to the brim. Tang Song currently rented a fully furnished one-bedroom apartment. Conveniently located and well-furnished, it cost him only 900 yuan a month. The reason for such a low price was that the landlord was his college classmate, Lu Ziming. Unlike Tang Song, a small-town youth, Lu Ziming came from a well-off family. His mother was a government official, his father a senior executive, and his family had wealth and connections, with several houses. Currently a third-year graduate student, he had already been arranged to intern at a large financial company, with a promising future.

...

At 12:30 PM, a meticulously prepared fat-loss meal was set on the dining table: pan-fried chicken breast, brown rice, and a vegetable salad (mainly lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers, with low-fat salad dressing). Tang Song eagerly adjusted the plating and took a photo before diving in. The taste was decent, though the chicken breast was a bit dry, possibly overcooked.

After lunch, Tang Song checked Little Red Book again. Within a few hours, his post had garnered over 100 views, 3 likes, and 5 comments. He opened the comments to find suggestions for losing weight.

[Typical fat nerd! Must have had a lot of Coke!]

[Your double chin can't even be hidden by the mask]

[No transformation will work unless you lose weight first. Start with that.]

Tang Song read through the comments seriously and replied to each: "Thanks for the advice! I've already set up a strict weight loss plan and am executing it." After browsing his phone for a while, Tang Song was about to head to his bedroom for a nap when he suddenly stopped. Looking around, he realized his place was in a state of disarray. Items were scattered everywhere, the balcony was cluttered, furniture and appliances were dusty, the floor was dirty, and the toilet and sink were yellowed and smelly.

"It's time for a thorough cleaning!" Tang Song took a deep breath and started to take action. A clean and tidy living environment and good living habits are all reflections of one's charisma and basic cultivation as a heartthrob. Change must start now, from every detail, from daily life!