Chapter 290: Saturday, November 2nd

November 2nd, Saturday.

6:30 AM.

Lin Li is doing his daily body tempering in the residential complex park.

He usually wakes up just past four, but today he thought he'd reward himself by getting up at five. As a result, he woke up several times between four and four-thirty, and every time he woke up, he felt like he'd been asleep for a long time.

Lin Li feels he has gradually evolved into a slice of toast—the moment he hears a "ding," he jumps right up.

For those who can never be leavened awake, Lin Li has decided to call them "dead-dough steamed buns."

"Hoo—"

Finishing his daily quota of body tempering, Lin Li lets out a long breath.

But then, he gives a soft click of his tongue.

This task, with no specific metrics and no progress bar, is truly quite difficult.

There are only about thirty days left until the task expires, but Lin Li still doesn't know what exactly counts as practicing to perfection.

After his martial arts talent improved, Lin Li went through the cultivation technique again over the course of a week, but he still didn't complete it.

He can only go through it again meticulously; if there are only ten or so days left and there's still no movement, he'll probably have to try some crazy extra training.

After all, Lin Li really hopes to get the reward for this task.

The core goal is the title—

【Fruit of Persistence: After equipping, when you are focused on a certain task, your efficiency in this task will slowly increase. The longer you remain focused on this task, the greater the increase. There is no upper limit to this increase. Removing the title does not reset the accumulated time.】

But being anxious is useless.

"Grandpa Zhou, I'm heading home, goodbye." Picking up the water bottle he'd brought and placed on the pavilion, Lin Li bids farewell to Zhou Youwei.

Zhou Youwei glances at Lin Li, his lips twitching slightly, wanting to speak but holding back.

Whenever Lin Li comes downstairs to practice, nine times out of ten he sees it clearly, and the one time he doesn't, he sees it sneakily.

Therefore, Zhou Youwei is the one who feels the changes in Lin Li the most.

Once upon a time, Lin Li's body was thin and weak, his movements powerless, but now, his expression is relaxed, and after finishing an hour and a half of practice every day, apart from his breathing being a bit heavy, no other signs of fatigue appear.

Furthermore, during that hour and a half, his movements are visibly powerful and contain the Dao; occasionally, one can even hear the wind from his punches.

This change is too great, and in the end, Zhou Youwei can't help but call out to Lin Li, asking without shame: "Lin Li, what exactly is the boxing style you've been practicing?"

"Just practicing randomly." Lin Li is stunned for a moment upon hearing this, and gives a perfunctory reply.

Zhou Youwei hums; as expected, he's still a secretive, evil little brat, saying such nonsense. He can't help but say sarcastically:

"Oh, oh, so that's 'practicing randomly,' then what kind of boxing have I been practicing my whole life until now?"

Lin Li answers instantly: "Tai Chi."

Zhou Youwei: "?"

Lin Li's eyes reveal a hint of clear concern: "Grandpa Zhou, have you forgotten about things like this?"

"..."

"Ha! Ha! Ha!"

"Lin Li, you should still just call me Little Zhou."

Facing Lin Li's concern, which is full of care for a dementia patient, Zhou Youwei smiles and points a finger at Lin Li.

Then he gets a stitch in his side.

"Little Zhou!"

It's not the first or second time Little Zhou has gotten a stitch. After Lin Li skillfully resolves it, he goes home, washes up, and sets off on his bike.

However, he isn't heading to the library, but to the training ground of the Xiren Driving School.

The regulations in Xiling state that of the twelve hours required before taking the Subject One exam, four must be watched and clocked in offline at the driving school or a location designated by the Vehicle Management Office.

Although Coach Yu said this driving school could handle the clock-in for him, for the sake of safety, Lin Li decided to come himself.

Anyway, for the video lessons, Lin Li can just put on his headphones and continue his own review plan, which won't really hinder his midterm exams.

"Coach." Seeing Yu Jianan waiting at the entrance again, Lin Li greets him.

"You're here early," Yu Jianan nods. After Lin Li gets closer, he yawns, then hands over a cigarette case and pops out a cigarette: "Want one?"

"No thanks, I don't smoke."

"Alright, then follow me." Hearing this, Yu Jianan puts the cigarette in his mouth back into the case; he doesn't smoke either.

Leading Lin Li into the training ground, he reminds him in a casual tone:

"Lin Li, once we get to the classroom, just clock in before each lesson, then do whatever you need to do. You can even go out, just don't go too far; you need to clock in after the lesson. As for the moments you need to put on a show, I'll remind you."

"Got it."

"Last time you came to our registration point, this time you're at the training ground, how is it? Do you think Xiren is the best driving school in Xiling now?"

Walking into the training ground, Yu Jianan shows Lin Li the surroundings, introducing it with some pride:

"Our training ground covers a total area as large as seven football fields; it is absolutely the number one training ground in Xiling!"

"Then how many football matches have been held here?" Lin Li asks curiously.

Yu Jianan: "(; o_o)?"

Eh?

"This... eh, football matches, eh... not a single one."

Yu Jianan touches the back of his neck, his brain seeming to crash, and says unconfidently.

"Tch." Lin Li curls his lip, a barely audible sound of disdain, "Looks good but useless."

But Yu Jianan, who is right beside him, hears it.

Yu Jianan is suddenly ashamed by the disdain; come to think of it, there really doesn't seem to be anything to be proud of... No, wait!!

Why are you looking down on Xiren in such a strange place!!

"I only mentioned football fields just now to visualize the area; I could have used basketball courts to describe it too," Yu Jianan says weakly.

"Then how many basketball matches have been held here?" Lin Li asks.

"There are quite a few of those; we have company internal matches every year," Yu Jianan says with a bit more confidence.

"Xiren is amazing, worthy of being a top-tier driving school." Lin Li immediately gives a thumbs up.

Yu Jianan: "?"

Yu Jianan scratches his head; although he was acknowledged, he feels something is wrong somewhere.

Then you ask me, then you ask me.

But the customer is God, and those willing to help him earn a little extra are the God of Gods. Yu Jianan keeps his smiling face and continues to introduce the driving school's training ground:

"The training cars here are all new, and we are also a Xiling test site. When the time comes, I can let you take the Subject Two and Subject Three exams right here, which will be much easier to pass. At other test sites, some of the cars... honestly, I don't even want to talk about them..."

Lin Li listens absent-mindedly; he doesn't really care about these things, as he doesn't think he won't pass.

In the apocalypse, that armored vehicle—with almost no guidance from Ye Jing—Lin Li adapted to it in just over ten minutes and even dared to speed.

Reversing into a garage or something, it couldn't possibly stump him.

His mecha synchronization index is right here.

"... By the way, Lin Li, after you get your driver's license, if you have any plans to buy a second-hand car, you can also ask me. Our driving school has a few cars we plan to sell, guaranteed to be good quality and cheap. After all, second-hand cars are very suitable for beginners; you won't feel bad if you bump or scratch them."

When introducing a batch of cars in the distance, Yu Jianan starts expanding his new business:

"It doesn't matter if you don't like these cars; I have many other second-hand car sources here. The documents, qualifications, and reports are all complete, and transferring ownership is easy..."

Hearing this, Lin Li smiles and shakes his head, pointing at himself: "Coach, I'm only eighteen, where would I get the money to buy a car?"

This statement is both sincere and insincere.

Lin Li currently has assets of forty to fifty million, but let alone the issue of liquidating them, even if he successfully liquidated them, Lin Li wouldn't dare buy a car.

There's no way to explain it.

"Then does anyone in your family..." Seeing Yu Jianan still intends to continue, Lin Li helplessly reaches out: "Coach, why don't you show me the car sources first."

"Alright, alright, alright!"

If he sells a car, he'll earn much more than just grabbing slots for people. Yu Jianan immediately takes out his phone excitedly and pulls up the information for Lin Li.

They happen to reach the classroom, and there is no one in the classroom yet. After Lin Li chooses a seat in the back row, he looks at the information for a while.

"The car is a good car, what a pity." Lin Li shakes his head.

"What's a pity?"

"It's a pity it isn't equipped with a Harmony cockpit, Turing chassis, Kirin chip, Taishan architecture, Eight-Dragon baseband, Lingxi communication, Xuanwu body, Kunlun glass, Pangu model, Qiankun smart driving, Kunpeng computing power, Giant Whale battery, Dayu wipers, Leigong antenna, Chaos seats, Dinghai divine axle, Five-Spirit differential lock, Honghuang charging cover, Taotie air intake grille, Xingtian car cover, Emperor glass water, Pixiu steering, Phoenix headlights, Nuwa tire repair.

And the price isn't the 7499 that 'everyone can afford,' so it's not in my consideration."

Lin Li shakes his head regretfully and says to Yu Jianan.

Yu Jianan: "?"

Not a fan! This kid is a hater of Huawei!

"Th-this..." Yu Jianan is speechless for a moment.

But Lin Li hasn't finished finding faults, and then he frowns and says to Yu Jianan:

"Besides, the time these cars can be driven is too short, right? The practicality is too low."

"Ah? What do you mean? The range of these cars is fine; a full tank of gas or a full charge starts at several hundred kilometers, right?" Yu Jianan is stunned again.

"I know, but look at these cars, didn't you write it down? It only takes 2.6 seconds per hundred kilometers, but the range is only 600 kilometers. Then if I charge it once, I can only drive for sixteen seconds?! Who can stand that?"

Lin Li frowns and shakes his head, looking disgusted.

Yu Jianan: "(; o_o)?"

Yu Jianan wants to speak but stops, his hand raises but then drops, his mouth making "aba aba" sounds, but he can't say anything.

Don't bother me, I'm grilling.

In the end, under Lin Li's sincere and pure gaze, Yu Jianan only leaves Lin Li with a "Sorry, my supply is not very good."

Then he walks out of the classroom with his phone, his steps stumbling as if he had lost his soul.

"Yu Jianan, remember, the customer is God, the customer is not an idiot, remember, the customer is God, the customer is not an idiot..."

Lin Li, who has excellent hearing, laughs with satisfaction after vaguely catching this sentence drifting in from outside the door.

At least it's quiet now.

No accidents happened. Doing his own thing, the driving school adjusted the speed to 1.25x, and one lesson is only 45 minutes, so at 10:30, the video lesson ended, and Lin Li clocked out.

"You finish clocking in the online course hours on the software in these two or three days, and I'll have someone grab a slot for next weekend. Saturday or Sunday?" Sending Lin Li to the door, Yu Jianan asks.

"Either is fine." Lin Li is indifferent.

"That's best." Yu Jianan nods.

Bidding farewell and leaving the driving school, Lin Li rides his bike to the library.

Arriving downstairs, Lin Li locks his bike and prepares to go upstairs.

"Lin Li, wait a moment~"

Hearing the familiar call from the side of the road, Lin Li stops and turns his head to look at Chen Yuying in the car.

People who are meant to meet will always meet.

The driver is the driver, not Chen Zhongping, hee hee, even more meant to meet.

Today, Chen Yuying is wearing a beige thin duffle coat. The moment she pushes the door open and gets out, a corner is lifted by the wind, revealing the decorative emblem on the mist-blue sweater inside.

Holding down the beret that was almost blown away, the pearl clip in her hair sparkles like stars in the sunlight.

【Wind Control】, activate.

Not allowed to blow like that.

Change the angle and keep blowing.

This looks even better, yay.

Getting out of the car in a hurry, her pleated skirt catches on the seatbelt buckle as it brushes past the door. She leans over to undo it, and Lin Li sees the skin on the back of her neck, slightly reddened from rubbing against the sweater collar, and the woven bracelet that slides down with her movements.

Hmm, it looks a bit like his own, but it also seems a bit different.

"Be there in a second!" It takes some time to undo, so Chen Yuying looks up and says to Lin Li first.

"Take your time." Lin Li has a smile on his face.

Finally, the button is undone from the entanglement. Even though there isn't much distance between them, Chen Yuying still runs over with one hand pressing on her hat.

Besides saying "Actually, your crush is quite obvious; the reason it hasn't been exposed is because the other person doesn't like you," a sentence that broke Chen Tianming's defense, Hayao Miyazaki also said another sentence—

"I don't know how much I like you, but if I'm going to see you, I must be running."

Fallen leaves spin and fall, brushing against her little leather shoes, the tips of which are stained with damp water marks from the library steps.

One can smell the faint floral fragrance floating in the wind, unable to tell if it comes from the green belt by the road or the fabric softener hidden in the folds of her fluttering coat.

The two get close, the young girl runs up the steps to Lin Li's side, gently smoothing her skirt with both hands, followed by a tacit, brief silence.

"Class monitor," Lin Li examines Chen Yuying today, and after thinking for a while, he breaks the silence with a smile: "Do you know what God added when making little girls?"

"What?" Chen Yuying asks curiously and expectantly.

"Spice, sugar, and everything nice." Lin Li looks directly into Chen Yuying's eyes and says slowly but firmly.

"I didn't know the recipe originally, but someone just told me."

Looking at each other for two seconds, perhaps because of the run just now, or perhaps because of shyness, her face is slightly red. She presses the brim of her hat down slightly, and responds with a slightly tangled voice: "Tch."

"Still 'tch'? Really hard to serve. But it's my turn, time to compliment me." Lin Li pats his chest and says, puffing out his chest.

Hearing this, Chen Yuying examines Lin Li seriously for a while, then looks at Lin Li's eyes first, then shifts her gaze away, her voice lower and unconfident: "It matches me very well..."

"You're cheating, class monitor. If you say 'matches well' as a universal answer every time I rack my brains to compliment you, what will I do?" Lin Li is stunned for a moment, then laughs, "Next time, you have to compliment me first!"

"Then next time it won't match well." Chen Yuying sticks out her tongue.

"Class monitor, don't belittle yourself. Although I am indeed getting more handsome, I can also see that you are also getting better. Be confident, next time you'll have a chance to be worthy of me."

Lin Li immediately tries to cheer Chen Yuying up seriously.

"That's not what I meant at all!" Chen Yuying is amused by Lin Li's shamelessness.

Then her movements pause, her hands crossed in front of her, squinting slightly. After catching Lin Li's gaze, she asks unconfidently:

"Lin Li, when you said you could see I was getting better, what were you referring to?"

"Of course it's all of you. Did you think I just felt this outfit of yours was very flattering to your figure, so I felt you seemed to have become more curvy and then said it? How could that be, I couldn't make such a comment."

The "down-to-earth" man Lin Li answers.

I should have asked confidently next time, Chen Yuying sighs.

So the duffle coat is buttoned up, and the scenery in front of Lin Li changes.

"Class monitor, and you didn't get my point. It seems I have to test you. Connecting to the previous context, if God added spice, sugar, and everything nice when making little girls, what did He add when making little boys?"

No matter how the scenery changes, it's still scenery. Lin Li is indifferent, turns his head, and continues walking toward the library, asking with a smile.

"Lightning, stars, and everything cool?" Chen Yuying thinks for a while and tries to answer.

"Wrong." Lin Li shakes his head.

"Then what is it?"

"It's Uranium-235." Lin Li gives the correct answer.

Chen Yuying: "?"

"What kind of little boy is that!" Chen Yuying's hand is raised high, and she taps Lin Li on the shoulder lightly.

"It's not a kind of boy, it's an island."

"I didn't ask you that."

"Let's go, let's go in. But class monitor, why did you come so late today? I thought you had arrived long ago." Lin Li pushes Chen Yuying from behind with a smile and walks with her toward the library, chatting at the same time.

"I also like and need to sleep in, I can't do what you do and get up at four or five every day." Chen Yuying answers as a matter of course.

"But last time you came right after me, not this late." Lin Li questions.

"Isn't it the same this time? And I was almost earlier than you." But Chen Yuying argues on strong grounds.

Then, seemingly feeling that this wasn't enough, Chen Yuying purses her lips and explains:

"During the monthly exam, I rested that Sunday, so I could get up early on Saturday. But I have to come to the library to study both days this week, so of course I have to rest well."

"So you're coming at this time tomorrow too?" Lin Li asks.

"I've slept enough today, I'll see about tomorrow, maybe I'll get up early." The two wait for the elevator, and Chen Yuying looks down at her little leather shoes to confirm if any water stains were brought in.

What I want to see is the information of "what time are you coming tomorrow."

You said last night that you were going to driving school for class first this morning, so why did I come so early? Everyone is sleeping, am I coming to study all alone?

No way, whether I study or not, my top ten in the grade is very stable.

"I see, then why not come earlier? Otherwise, I'll be bored alone tomorrow, those few are all lazy dogs." Lin Li says.

"Alright, then I'll reluctantly get up early once." Chen Yuying decides to obey him.

"Bai Bufan: I'm already here, why haven't you come yet? Are you still at the driving school?"

A message comes from the phone.

"Lin Li: On my way."

"Bai Bufan: Then bring me a bottle of Coke."

"Lin Li: Kidney stones?"

"Bai Bufan: I haven't had a drink in a week, it's not excessive to reward myself once. I'll drink water the rest of the time today."

"Lin Li: Pepsi or Coke?"

"Bai Bufan: I'm definitely a Coke person, Pepsi is toilet cleaner!"

"Lin Li: Cold or room temperature?"

"Bai Bufan: Cold, I guess."

"Lin Li: Bottle or can?"

"Bai Bufan: Either is fine, canned is best."

"Lin Li: Okay, not bringing it."

"Bai Bufan:?"

The door to the study room is pushed open, and he bumps right into Bai Bufan, who had just gotten up and was preparing to go to the hallway to greet Lin Li via voice message.

"Lin Li? You?" Bai Bufan is stunned.

Lin Li walks over with a smile and sits down beside Bai Bufan: "I know you're in a hurry, but don't be in a hurry yet. I didn't bring it because I'm already here, so I couldn't bring it."

"No? Ah?" Bai Bufan's anger dissipates, but not completely.

He asks with some confusion: "Then you could have just said you couldn't bring it, why ask me so much?"

"When you're bored, a dog runs over, do you tease it?"

Bai Bufan: "?"

"I was just taking the elevator, and I was bored. The dog happened to come, so I just went with the flow." Lin Li says as a matter of course.

"Lin Li."

"Hmm?"

"You can only be an outsider in this life."

"Why."

"Because everywhere you go is out of the province."

(End of chapter)