The system chimed softly.
[Status]
Strength: 25
Wisdom: 42
Charm: 40
Physique: 40
Vitality: 38
Evaluation: "Clean and clear. Slightly eye-catching from certain angles."
Minor Skills:
• Cooking: 60
• Singing: 60
• Linguistics: 40
Main Skills (Passives):
• Savant – The function of the right lobe of the brain is all boosted.
• Youthful Beauty – A charm that's hard to ignore. Beginning of heaven-defying beauty.
Active Quests:
– "Male God's Body" – Progress: 30%
– "Foundation of the Mind" – Progress: 20%
Gu Xi stood in front of the mirror, half-awake but alert.
Something had shifted again.
Not just physically. But subtly. Viscerally.
He leaned closer.
His face was… gentle. The kind of soft, approachable look that made strangers instinctively smile when they passed by. Not beautiful in the show-stopping way Su Daji was. But charming. The cute-boy-next-door type. Bright eyes, flushed lips, a little sleepy but sweet. Someone who looked like he brought warmth wherever he went.
Gone was the gloom that used to hang around his eyes.
That must be the effect of [Youthful Beauty]—it erased that lingering shadow around him, the dead-fish aura that made people skip him in a crowd.
This was his maximum natural beauty—the peak of his born genetics, refined and polished by effort and stats.
And this was only 40.
Gu Xi licked his lips.
"What happens at 50… or 60?"
He'd only just started. This was a small milestone on a long path.
He turned from the mirror and sat down, mind still humming.
[Savant].
He could feel it.
He'd only glanced at the back of a shampoo bottle, but in three seconds he'd figured out how the dispenser pump was engineered—and how he'd redesign it for cheaper mass production. Earlier, he'd skimmed a news article and could recall the exact phrasing of two full paragraphs.
He looked at a wall painting and instinctively thought, Acrylic. Dry-brush. Color layering is inefficient.
"...Am I a genius now?" he muttered.
It wasn't just memory.
It was insight.
A subtle sharpening of the mind that let him see the world in layers—function, structure, flaw. He could feel ideas forming in the background without effort.
He looked down at his hands.
Still the same. Slight calluses from cooking. But somehow, they looked steadier now.
By the time he stepped outside, the early morning chill had crept in.
Same clothes as always—simple black joggers and a pale t-shirt. But for some reason, they fit better. Or rather, he fit them better.
His waist was narrower. His legs firmer. His neck straighter. His skin, glowing faintly in the sunrise, looked like something from a skincare ad.
He walked down the hall and was about to reach the door when—
A door behind him opened.
Gu Lin stepped out of her room, yawning, her hair tied in a loose bun. She was wearing a tank top and high-slit sports shorts, a hoodie draped over her shoulders.
Their eyes met.
She stopped walking.
There was a pause. A blink. A visible double-take.
"…Gu Xi?"
He looked at her, expression flat. "You expecting someone else?"
She frowned slightly, confused. "You look…"
He rolled his eyes. "PB&J is already on the counter. Just toast it. I'm going out for a jog. Don't touch my tea again, by the way."
He was almost out the door when her voice stopped him.
"Wait."
He turned slightly.
A second later, she ducked back into her room.
A beat passed.
She returned holding something in her hand—dark gloves, a little oversized but clean.
"It's getting colder," she said, not meeting his eyes. "These are too big, but… just wear them. Your hands look skinny."
Gu Xi took them without speaking.
"…Thanks."
He turned, but paused.
Then, just as he stepped onto the porch, he gave her a wide smile—cheeky, bright, like something that belonged to someone too pretty for their own good.
"I'll be back in twenty. Try not to burn the kitchen."
And then he jogged off.
Behind him, Gu Lin stood frozen for a moment, hand still outstretched.