Chapter 2: Congratulations, You've Lived Another Day

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A Good Deed a Day.

Host: Li Wenyu, 20 years old.

Cherish every day. Congratulations, you have lived one more day; attribute point +1.

Screenwriter: (72/100).
Director: (49/100).
Fitness: (58/100).
Driving: (67/100).
Car Handling: (65/100).
……

On July 4th, Li Wenyu woke up in his dormitory and glanced at his system plug-in panel, feeling a bit wistful. Of course, it was delightful to be reborn with a cheat like this. Yet the system’s repeated phrase—“Congratulations, you have lived one more day”—made it hard for him to keep a straight face. After all, he had been reborn, not thrust into some post-apocalyptic wasteland. Was earning an automatic attribute point each day really necessary? He had been reborn for just over a month and, aside from the daily point, had not discovered any other way to increase his attributes.

Each skill on the panel, regardless of type, ranged from 0 to 100. Reaching 100 meant standing at the very pinnacle of human capability in that area.

If fitness were broken down into sprints or long-distance running, and his attribute was over 90, with a bit of training, he could dominate the Olympics year after year! Without scandal or injury, he could easily sweep the gold medals.

Once an attribute hit 100, he could continue to surpass human limits.

Since his rebirth, all the experience from his previous life was retained in this body. His screenwriting started at 72; over the past month, he’d allocated all 30 points to directing, raising it from 19 to 49.

After a moment’s reflection, Li Wenyu added another point to directing, bringing it to a total of 50. He washed up and went to buy a ticket home, needing to settle his travel permit so he could conveniently join a crew for further study.

His roommate, Lao Wang, was even bolder, often mingling with Ning Hao and other classmates, rarely spending a night in the dorm. Their cohort, all at level 99, would soon enter their junior year.

……

A few days later.

At Hong Kong Island Airport, Li Wenyu walked out of the gate to see a handsome young man, over 1.7 meters tall, holding a sign printed with his name. After a brief exchange, the young man grinned, “Hey, you’re really a screenwriter? You look like you belong in the acting department. Brother Rong is waiting in the van outside. Let’s go.”

“I’ll be your dedicated assistant and Cantonese interpreter from now on—always on call, no need for you to pay.”

Li Wenyu said in surprise, “Brother Rong came to pick me up? I’m flattered.”

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He was a reborn man with a cheat; the future would not be unkind to him. But the status of Jackie Rong in the film industry in 2001…

Some time later, he boarded the van and, in close proximity to this superstar, could not help but marvel. Even if the man’s preferences were unique, his charisma was undeniable.

Amidst the banter, Li Wenyu took the opportunity to glance at the other’s status; only he could see the system panel that flashed into view.

Target Observed: Jackie Rong

Acting: (93/100).
Singing: (91/100).
Health: (21/100).
……

Would you like to add an attribute point to the target?

If you add a point to the target, you may reclaim it at any time; if the target dies unexpectedly, reclamation fails.

Li Wenyu nearly wrenched his back—he could add points to others? And reclaim them at will? Wasn’t this just lending?

He had previously checked the status of some teachers and classmates at school, and, knowing about their future prospects, had even finagled a meal and a photo with Ning Hao.

In 2001, Ning Hao had already won the Best Director award at the Beijing College Student Film Festival with a student film; he was in the cinematography department. Both Li Wenyu and Lao Wang, his roommate, were “astonished” by his student accolades.

Grass is just a plant, but Li Wenyu had been astonished for many years in his previous life. Now, in this new life, he merely took a photo and nothing more.

This was the first time, in real life, he saw the option to add attribute points to others.

He quickly grasped the system’s explanation. Since Jackie Rong’s diagnosis with depression, he had tried every conceivable treatment. In April 2003, he committed suicide; now, less than two years remained.

The last two years… 100 is the full value for health, yet he had only 21 now? In November 2002, he had already attempted suicide and was rescued.

Apparently, only when an observation target was as ill as a terminal cancer patient would the option to add points appear.

Li Wenyu glanced at his own balance—zero for now. He would have to wait until tomorrow to try giving Jackie Rong a point. The system was reliable: 365 days a year meant 365 points, enough to push any skill or physical attribute to the human limit.

For example, driving and car handling.

His script had garnered the appreciation of Brother Rong, who offered him 150,000 in cash plus full room and board, personally brought him into the crew to learn, and even assigned him a translator and assistant at his own expense.

In that case, he could simply save up a month’s worth of points and lend them to Rong, pushing his health to 60. Then he would not end up like in the original timeline. With 60 points—barely passing—he should be able to live another ten years, shouldn’t he?

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Speaking of which, before Jackie Rong’s two real suicide attempts… how many times had he contemplated it in private? Perhaps that was why he was especially fond of “Tsuen Wan by the Sea.” Besides its awards potential, the protagonist’s state mirrored his own; he could simply act as himself.

Once he lent Jackie Rong some health points, he could take his time deciding when to reclaim them in the years to come.

……

August 22nd, the End of Heat.

On a certain film set, as the director’s voice called out the wrap, the previously orderly set relaxed into a lighter, more cheerful atmosphere.

The final shot of the wrap was not performed by Jackie Rong. Standing behind the monitor, he smiled at Li Wenyu, “Impressive, Ayu. Your talent is improving rapidly. Even Brother Sheng has praised you more than once. Who knows, maybe one day you’ll be the great director sitting here, judging my performance.”

The director of “Tsuen Wan by the Sea” was Er Dongsheng. Regardless of their personal relationship, in these two years Jackie Rong had worked with him on “Gunman” and would soon collaborate again on “Inner Senses.” For this kind of realistic, art-house script, Director Er was in his element.

The film wrapped in less than fifty days.

Those nearly fifty days had been Li Wenyu’s time to integrate into the crew and hone his skills. With two lifetimes of study at the Beijing Film Academy, plus his system’s boost to over sixty in directing, he quickly became a competent, professional director.

Learning under Er Dongsheng had been immensely rewarding.

At this, Er Dongsheng laughed, “Ayu is a quick learner—young people are like that. But Brother Rong, you were a bit odd… At first, when you played that zombie-like, hollowed-out state, it seemed entirely natural, as if you weren’t acting at all.”

“But over the last two weeks, that was actual acting, wasn’t it? You gave me a very strange impression.”

Indeed—before the shoot, his health was actually just 21 out of 100. Now, Jackie Rong’s health had reached 62.

Li Wenyu had raised him to 62, then started improving his own directing skill, allowing himself to leap from novice to competent. A high baseline meant rapid progress.

Those 41 points would stay with Brother Rong for now—as a kind of mobile bank. The system allowed him to reclaim them at any time, regardless of distance—a fitting way to repay the man’s mentorship and support.

Jackie Rong gave a sheepish grin and clapped his hands. “Have I cured myself by acting in a depressive film? Though I’ve never stopped medication and have been in treatment all along, I just feel that the more I acted, the better I felt.”

Depression is an illness of the emotions—a persistent low mood. To act in a profoundly bleak film, centered on a life that even love and redemption cannot salvage, a sorrow that circles back to its origin… yet, the more he acted, the better he felt.

It was bizarre, and utterly unscientific.

Originally, he had simply been drawn to the script, thinking the protagonist’s zombie-like state mirrored his own.

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