Chapitre 15: 1-2

Yu Qingyu spent the whole day trying to adjust to his new life as Fu Zhiren. It turned out to be much harder than he expected. Although the world was familiar to him, as it was similar to his own, Fu Zhiren's job in the financial department was not. And without Chen Rumin's boosted intelligence, he wasn't able to process all the knowledge and skills the system had implemented in him quickly.

As a result, he was completely exhausted, and fell into a deep slumber as soon as his head hit the pillow.

He slept soundly the whole night, until suddenly the ringing of his phone woke him up. He squinted his eyes, looking at the screen, and picked it up, still half asleep. "Hello?"

"Where are you!? It's already past 6!" Jiang Lu screamed at him through the phone.

Yu Qingyu moved the phone away from his ear and slowly got up, rubbing his forehead. "And?"

Jiang Lu was silent for a moment. "…Did you forget? We have training today!"

That finally woke Yu Qingyu up. "Sorry! Am I late? I overslept!"

A long sigh could be heard from the other side. "Then hurry up!" he rushed him and ended the call, not waiting for the answer.

'520! Why didn't you wake me up? Again!' Yu Qingyu complained to the system, quickly getting dressed.

[I did. But you told me to just let you sleep.] 520 protested.

Yu Qingyu sighed and grabbed his gym bag. 'I must have been still asleep then. Next time, just wake me up regardless of what I say!'

He ran out of his apartment, grabbed his bike, and cycled to the public gym in which Jiang Lu had booked a slot for them.

When he arrived, everyone else had already started the training. There was a total of 5 people there, including Jiang Lu and Ye Chaodan, who was leading the training. Seeing him come in, Jiang Lu passed the ball to one of the teammates and walked over.

He was around the same height as Yu Qingyu's current body, maybe an inch taller, and just like Yu Qingyu, still quite athletic, despite having a desk job. He had short hair, sharp eyes, thin lips, and pale skin. His looks were at least above average, although perhaps slightly less handsome than Yu Qingyu's, especially with the deep frown he had on his face.

"Finally!" Jiang Lu glared at Yu Qingyu angrily. "What's up with you today?"

"Sorry, I just had a busy day yesterday and was very tired…" Yu Qingyu apologized, but inwardly, he wanted to roll his eyes. 'Isn't he a bit too harsh? I was just late to one training! It's not the end of the world!' he complained to 520.

[He cares a lot about the bet. He always had an inferiority complex against Su Yongkan, trying to beat him at sports and academics ever since primary school, but has never succeeded. Now, even at his workplace, Su Yongkan received a promotion faster than him. That's why it's a bit of a sensitive topic.]

Yu Qingyu sighed, changing his shoes on the side. 'But that's still not a reason to snap at his best friend like that. Besides, I want to win the bet as much as he does!'

Suddenly, he heard a voice from behind. "Hey, don't worry about it. You haven't missed much."

Yu Qingyu turned his head, looking at the source of the voice. Ye Chaodan was standing right behind him.

He was a very tall and muscular man, with warm and cheerful eyes and a chiseled jawline, with a hint of a one day stubble. His straight, medium-length hair were falling loosely on his broad shoulders. He was wearing a tank top and shorts, showing off a lot of his nicely tanned skin.

"Take your time and warm up properly. There's no need to rush so much," he reassured Yu Qingyu with a smile.

Yu Qingyu returned the smile with gratitude. "Yeah, thanks."

'He's much nicer than I expected! I thought that a professional player would be strict with the training!'

[You are just a group of amateurs, who used to play basketball as teens, preparing for an amateur match. It is natural that he won't expect you to fully dedicate yourself to the training as professional players do. You have other responsibilities, after all.]

'Yeah, but still. It's nice how he's so understanding.' Yu Qingyu finished tying his shoes and stood up. 'By the way… How am I supposed to warm up?'

Back in his world, Yu Qingyu hasn't been an active type of person. 520 already transferred all of Fu Zhiren's basketball knowledge and skills to him, but his general knowledge when it came to doing sports was still lacking.

[I will guide you through a simple warm-up routine. And I recommend you get moving, unless you want to have an argument with Jiang Lu. Ye Chaodan might have said it's fine, but Jiang Lu still thinks otherwise.]

'Yes, I'm moving, I'm moving!'

Soon, Yu Qingyu joined the rest of the team, and started diligently doing all the exercises, following Ye Chaodan's guidance. He needed to win the match even more than Jiang Lu, after all. His life depended on it!

***

In the evening, Yu Qingyu returned to his apartment tired, but in a great mood. Aside from the little mishap in the morning, the day has gone well. He did well both at the training and at work. Seeing him give his all during the practice, Jiang Lu calmed down, and even apologized for his earlier behavior.

Moreover, nobody noticed anything weird about him. It was convenient that the original Fu Zhiren's personality was similar to his own, so he didn't even need to act, he could just be himself.

He made himself dinner, grabbed a beer, and turned on a movie on his laptop to relax a bit before going to sleep. It's been almost a month since he had watched or read anything just for fun. He didn't have time for it in any of the previous worlds.

Suddenly, when he was getting ready for bed, 520, who had been quiet the whole evening, interrupted him.

[Host… There is something I think you should know.]

Yu Qingyu paused. Most of the time, although not exactly monotonous, 520's voice didn't contain any discernible emotions. However, now it seemed slightly hesitant, or perhaps worried?

'What is it?' Yu Qingyu asked, feeling slightly alarmed.

[Another system has just entered this world.]