The Influence of Light

While waiting for his new glasses to be made, Chen Jue deliberately found a chain fast-food restaurant nearby to have a meal. He had now adjusted his biological rhythm, and even his eating times were much earlier than before.

Back when he worked at Taisheng Finance, he often delayed dinner until seven or eight in the evening, sometimes skipping dinner altogether and combining it with a late-night snack. He cared little for the consequences, indulging himself for the sheer pleasure of eating. But such irregular eating habits resulted in digestive dysfunction, endocrine imbalance, and indirectly, his obesity.

According to information he’d found online these past few days, if someone eats at the same time every day, it’s like setting a clock for the stomach, liver, muscles, and pancreas—these organs prepare in advance for digestion. The benefit is that the digestive and metabolic systems function more efficiently and normally. Conversely, if the body is constantly subjected to binge eating, the digestive system is thrown into disorder. For example, the liver’s ability to process blood sugar declines, leading to elevated blood glucose after meals, which in severe cases can result in conditions like diabetes.

“Work at sunrise, rest at sunset,” he mused. “If I followed the rural schedule, I’d eat, watch some television, then go straight to bed.” Chen Jue thought of his late grandparents. In his childhood memories, the elders in the countryside always ate early, some even starting to cook as early as four in the afternoon, dining promptly at five. Their lifestyle was much healthier than that of city dwellers.

Of course, this was also related to the lighting environment. Cities are filled with artificial lighting, especially the glow from mobile phones, which stimulates the retina at night, suppressing the release of sleep-inducing melatonin and activating appetite neurons in the hypothalamus. That’s why so many night owls develop the habit of late-night snacking—the ambient light disrupts the body’s natural rhythms.

After his meal, Chen Jue returned to the optical shop. A new pair of glasses, along with three sets of lenses, cost him less than three hundred yuan. Though he could have found cheaper options online, he didn’t want to wait for shipping, so he simply got everything sorted in the store. He ordered several sets of lenses with decreasing prescriptions because, after practicing eye exercises, he felt that with persistence, he might soon be able to discard his glasses altogether. For now, needing to drive, he still had to wear them until his eyesight fully recovered.

Driving back to his apartment, he collected several packages from the delivery locker. Along with imported cod liver oil he’d purchased online, his new body fat scale had also arrived. Upstairs, he unpacked it and checked the scale, which came with electrodes but lacked the advanced features of the five-thousand-yuan model at the gym.

He shed his jacket and shoes, stepped onto the scale, and watched the numbers jump: “Weight 80.5 kg, body fat 29.8%?” He cheered inwardly—finally, he was losing weight! Compared to his initial measurements, he’d dropped six kilograms and reduced his body fat by 3.4%. Twelve pounds lost in half a month—few would believe it.

According to the formula BMI = weight ÷ height squared, Chen Jue’s BMI had fallen from 27 to 25.4, shifting from obese to overweight. BMI, or Body Mass Index, is a widely used international standard to gauge whether a person’s weight is healthy. In China, four categories are used: BMI below 18.5 is underweight, 18.5–24 is normal, 24–28 is overweight, and 28 or above is obese. Besides measuring fatness, BMI also correlates with risks for hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and stroke—the higher the BMI, the greater the risk.

Chen Jue had not understood any of this before. He only learned about it after taking a fitness trial class and researching online. “I didn’t expect to lose weight so quickly,” he thought. He looked in the bathroom mirror, scrutinizing his reflection.

His face had changed noticeably. The double chin had receded, his lips were no longer dark, and even his skin had lost its greasy, greyish cast. His eyes were brighter, his complexion rosier. He felt his abdomen—though the belly remained, he could now discern the outline of muscles beneath the fat. Something he never would have dared imagine before.

“If I keep training like this, in another half month I’ll be back to my old weight?” His heart stirred with excitement. He rummaged through his suitcase and found a group photo from his college graduation. His twenty-one-year-old self was full-haired and sunny, not especially robust—just over 140 pounds—but nowhere near fat. That was the age when he felt most spirited; though he had little money, he brimmed with confidence, believing he could make his mark in society, never imagining the years that would slip by after entering the workforce.

“Luckily, there’s still half a year until I turn thirty—I can still make amends! Keep exercising, regain my youth!” Chen Jue clenched his fists, cheering himself on.

After resting in the apartment for half an hour, he changed into his workout clothes, took his car downstairs, and circled around Laxi Street. That evening, he became the city hunter once more, though after yesterday’s ruthless clearing, the illicit diners had been intimidated by their companions’ demise. In two hours, Chen Jue eliminated eighteen rats, earning 1,750 points of proficiency in throwing concealed weapons. As for attribute points, he gained only 0.01 in free attributes.

“My efficiency at night is slipping,” he thought. “Should I try cockroaches next time?” He’d considered shooting at those southern cockroaches near the local trash stations, as their numbers far exceeded those of the rats. However, the dim lighting near the bins and the cockroaches’ natural camouflage made it hard to spot such small moving targets with his current nearsightedness. After several failed attempts, he returned to hunting the larger rodents.

“Who knows if the cod liver oil will help,” he mused. “I’ll try it for a while—if it really improves my night vision, practicing with cockroaches will definitely boost my throwing proficiency!” Back in his apartment, Chen Jue took the translucent cod liver oil capsules as instructed, showered, tossed his dirty clothes into the washer on a timer, and went to bed. Having hunted near the trash station, he needed a thorough wash.

Before sleeping, he checked his current attributes:

——————
Character: Chen Jue
Strength: 0.89+
Constitution: 1.11+
Spirit: 1.08+
Skills: [Throwing Concealed Weapons Lv5][Eye Exercises Lv2][Climbing Lv1][Horse Stance Lv0][Pinching Acupoints Lv0][Basic Tai Chi]
Free attribute points: 0.05
(Character evaluation: No change)
——————

“The four Tai Chi skills can wait; better to boost constitution first!” he decided. “Higher constitution means better vitality, longer daily exercise, and maybe improved sleep quality.” He invested his accumulated attribute points into constitution, raising the stat to 1.16.

Immediately, a warm current spread through his body, making him feel comfortably warm all over, and he soon drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, as usual, he woke at 5:40. Upon awakening, he felt no reluctance to leave his bed—the moment he tossed off the covers, he sprang up as if wound by a clockwork mechanism.

He visited the bathroom, released the water, then took the clothes from the washer to hang them on the balcony. Seeing the sky tinged with red, Chen Jue went upstairs to practice his eye exercises. Half an hour later, the sun had risen above the city skyline, and his panel prompted him:

——————
[Chime~]
[You completed a perfect eye massage. Your eyesight has improved slightly.]
[Constitution attribute +0.01]
——————
[Chime~]
[Skill proficiency reached 100%. Skill level increased.]
[Eye Exercises Lv2 → Mastery]
[Your understanding of the eight eye massage techniques is now at its peak. There are no blind spots in the acupoints, muscle groups, and nerves around your eye sockets.]
[Your finger massage skills have increased dramatically, making your effect comparable to the creator of this eye care exercise.]
——————

“Only three levels to reach mastery?” Chen Jue was surprised. Sunlight warmed his eyes, and his vision felt noticeably sharper than yesterday. This eye exercise was his shortest skill progression so far; other skills like skipping stones and the twelve Tai Chi forms only reached their peak at level four. The eight-segment eye exercise wasn’t that difficult—after all, even kindergarteners could master it, making improvement fast.

After half an hour of red light therapy and eye massage, Chen Jue headed downstairs to the park. The four new Tai Chi forms he learned yesterday still felt awkward—he needed to practice with Teacher Zhao for a few more days.

Just as he entered the park and passed the chess tables crowded with elderly men, he spotted a familiar figure: the beautiful and kind-hearted Wu Fang had finally appeared again! “Has the hype died down, so no fans are bothering her anymore?” Chen Jue was delighted—a man can’t help but smile when he sees an attractive woman in the morning.

Wu Fang had grown even more radiant since their last meeting; days of publicity had enhanced her vivaciousness and graceful figure. He was about to greet her when he noticed, besides Old Wu watching nearby, a young man in black workout clothes who was enthusiastically offering her water and a towel, chatting cheerfully and clearly close to her.

“No way—has someone already made a move?” Chen Jue’s heart skipped a beat, fearing he’d encountered a rival. But Wu Fang spotted him and took the initiative to greet him: “Long time no see, Master Chen!”

“Huh?” she said, “Have you been losing weight recently? You look much slimmer!” She curiously sized him up, surprised to find that the chubby young man she remembered had transformed almost completely. Not only was there no trace of his former ‘flabbiness,’ but even the signs of obesity had faded. Now, Chen Jue appeared particularly upright, his eyes bright and sharp from recent eye exercises, brimming with vigor and an indescribable keenness.

“I have been slimming down—lost over ten pounds, and it’s working well,” Chen Jue replied cheerfully.

The young man in black came over curiously, “Sis, is this the dart expert you told Grandpa about?”

“Sis?” Chen Jue pricked up his ears. Was he a relative, or a brother? Looking closer, the young man’s features did resemble Wu Fang’s, and Chen Jue’s tension eased. He quietly slipped the bright silver dart he’d been fingering back into his sleeve.