Saturday, Lie still maintained a healthy routine, getting up early to run.

By mid-November, the weather had already turned quite chilly. Han Lie was dressed in thin, long athletic pants and a short-sleeved shirt, the contours of muscles faintly visible on his body.

He opened the panel, and the data had undergone significant changes.

[Basic Attributes: Strength 70, Agility 70, Constitution 70, Intelligence 70]

[Secondary Attributes: Appearance 79, Physique 74, Health 75, Special 75]

[Knowledge: Mathematics Level 3, English Level 3, Accounting Level 3, Finance Level 3, Law Level 3, Marketing Level 3, Literature Level 3, Psychology Level 3]

[Skills: Driving Level 3, Driving Technique Level 3, Cooking Level 3, Craftsmanship Level 4, Stock Trading Level 3, Writing Level 4, Billiards Level 3, Singing Level 3, Smooth Talking Level 3, Acting Level 3, Tugging Level 3, Inciting Level 3]

[Cash: 3,839]

[Experience: 2,520]

In terms of basic attributes, Strength, Agility, and Constitution had each increased by +1 through exercise, while Intelligence was gained easily through chanting.

As for secondary attributes, with the increase in body weight, his Appearance naturally improved.

However, this wasn't his normal state. Rather, it was because he had been too skinny before; now that his face had filled out, he had suddenly reached his peak Appearance.

His most striking features, in order, were: clear eyes, white and neatly aligned teeth, clean and lustrous skin, a face with well-defined lines and deep contours, and a straight nose bridge.

He wasn't the kind of flawless, 360-degree beauty that could withstand intense scrutiny, but at first glance, he was already quite handsome.

The precise numbers for his Physique were:

Height 179.8 cm, weight 137.5 pounds, waist 78.2 cm, leg length 101.7 cm, calf circumference 18.8 cm.

Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and long legs—overall, his figure was already excellent. It was just that his body fat percentage wasn't well controlled, so his abdominal muscles weren't very defined.

From an average person's perspective, his physique still appeared lean, not bulky.

A less noticeable but extremely critical data point was Health. It meant he was full of energy every day, with hardly any minor health issues. After a night's sleep following high-intensity study and work, he would wake up fully revitalized.

Compared to the suboptimal health common among those over thirty, this was indeed a golden period.

Unfortunately, some of this energy wasn't channeled correctly and was all wasted.

In terms of knowledge and skills, the fastest improving areas were Finance, Literature, Stock Trading, and the Four Rogue Skills.

[Stock Trading, 98,520/200,000]

The crucial skill of Stock Trading only needed another 100,000 Consumption Experience to level up easily.

Meanwhile, Acting, Smooth Talking, Tugging, and Inciting—the Four Rogue Skills—were progressing even faster than Stock Trading.

Lie firmly denied it being a matter of personal character.

It's simply a matter of talent; what can I do about it?

As for cash and experience... they were indeed a bit pitiful.

If it were someone else with such a powerful consumption system, they probably would have started living it up long ago.

But Han Lie was a man who had been severely chastened by moderation; he wasn't in the least bit anxious.

With such limited initial capital and a low margin for error, one had to maintain a stable mentality and not rush for success.

For a late-game hero, biding one's time and accumulating strength before making a decisive move is the right way to go.

Halfway through his workout, Xi Luting arrived.

Today, she seemed somewhat distracted.

Han Lie didn't ask anything, but he understood clearly.

Yesterday, Brother Ham and Little Cucumber had another chat about that problematic part of the storyline.

They hadn't delved too deep, but it still put pressure on her.

The performance of *The Goddess CEO* was steadily improving. With her one-third revenue share reaching hundreds of thousands, she grew increasingly anxious about potential gains and losses.

Regarding that plotline, I can outline the sequence of events clearly enough, but I struggle to truly depict the emotions of Xi Mengjun's sister, as well as Xi Mengjun's own psychological state. And yet, in the female-oriented genre, psychological description is paramount. If it's not nuanced enough, it's better not to write it at all. The transition from the victim's struggle and turmoil to indulgent submission must be incredibly smooth and natural. And writing the psychological changes of the female lead, Little Xi, is even harder—the collapse of her faith, her love turning to hate, yet still loving to a ridiculously melodramatic degree, and hating without the slightest sense of cathartic release…

Xi Luting racked her brain until it ached.

From a character design perspective, Little Xi, the strong female lead entangled in a deeply abusive relationship, shared some commonalities with Xi Luting herself, but the differences were more pronounced.

If I hated a man to the absolute extreme, I would definitely not bear his child as some melodramatic form of revenge. Given the slightest chance, I'd send him straight to prison. If I really lacked the power to do that… I'd rather have a child with his father than let him off easy! I'd cuckold you to your face every day, scream my head off in bed in the middle of the night—how would you like that? If you had a son with another woman, as soon as he turned fourteen, I'd make my move on him. When I'm in a good mood, I'll call you 'Dad-in-law'; when I'm in a bad mood, I'll call you 'son.' Exciting, isn't it?

In any case, Queen Ting was no ordinary woman.

The crux of the problem was this: her writing skills weren't advanced enough for her to create fictional narratives detached from her own reality, yet her personality made it difficult to comprehend the motivations of her characters.

Anyone who has written a novel should understand. New authors typically can't create protagonists whose values deviate too drastically from their own. If they force it, the writing will inevitably feel awkward and fail to resonate with readers.

Thus, Xi Luting was terribly conflicted.

Han Lie could more or less sense her turmoil, but he hadn't expected her to have considered things so deeply.

Indeed, the thought processes of an over-imaginer are hard for normal people to keep up with.

After finishing their workout, the two of them went for breakfast together—soy milk and fried dough sticks, a very simple meal.

Xi Luting raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Yo, taking it easy on me today, huh?"

Han Lie seriously reminded her, "Don't eat too much at lunch either; we have a big meal tonight."

PFFT!

Xi Luting couldn't stand his sudden deadpan humor. You claim you're not short on cash, yet you mooch off us every day. And now you're going to a beautiful woman's house for a meal and still plan to go with an empty stomach? So, are you a domineering CEO or just a husky?

But she also found this side of Han Lie very real and grounded, not pretentious at all. Any other man invited by Pan Ge would surely act as dignified as possible, afraid of not appearing cultured and refined. Being polite is good, but overdoing it is just boring.

Isn't it his authenticity and independence that I like about this 'dog man'?

"Then let's have a quick lunch and leave together at 5 p.m.?"

Xi Luting wanted to stick with Han Lie a bit longer, but Han Lie thought for a moment and declined.

"Forget it. A friend might come to see me today. You go ahead."

Xi Luting didn't overthink it and casually nodded, "Alright then, see you tonight."

They waved goodbye and headed back to their respective homes.

They'd barely been apart for two minutes when Han Lie received a message from Chen Yanfei:

"Are you up? We're setting off!"

****

Breaking it up to prevent plot explosions, more to come.

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