The Ultimate Glow-Up Guide for Straight Men - Chapter 2

When Shen Zhinan woke up, he found himself on a large bed in a hotel room. His hands were tied to the headboard with rope.

The room was huge and luxuriously decorated, clearly very expensive. Shen Zhinan felt incredibly hot. Waves of heat washed over his body one after another, and his entire frame felt as if ants were gnawing at his bones. It was itchy and painful. Specifically, at the back of his neck, something felt as if it were throbbing violently.

Shen Zhinan tried to break free from the ropes. He tried several times, but with his current strength, it was like an ant trying to shake a tree. His head was terrifyingly dizzy, and his limbs lacked any power. He simply could not break the shackles of the rope.

He was no fool. The manager had gone to great lengths to drug him and tie him up here. It was self-evident what awaited him if he remained. That plague-ridden, fat pig of a manager! It was one thing to be ugly, but his heart was so black!

Shen Zhinan forced himself to calm down. He observed the layout of the hotel room and noticed a full-length mirror not far from the bed. He seriously suspected that placing a mirror in such a spot was for some kind of “play.” He cursed the manager in his heart again. Between the drugging and the binding, this guy really was like an old sow wearing a bra: one trick after another!

Furthermore, the manager had not even removed the mask from his face. Did he want whoever was coming here to enjoy the thrill of “opening a blind box”?

Shen Zhinan used his feet to kick at the mirror. For the first time, he hated his height of 178cm. He wished he could turn into Luffy right now, shout “Gomu Gomu no,” and stretch his legs out. After a few attempts, he realized kicking would not work. He spotted the landline phone on the nightstand. With a sudden idea, he picked it up and smashed it hard against the mirror.

Bang!

After a loud crash, the mirror shattered. A shard flew to Shen Zhinan’s feet. He used both feet to “clamp” the glass. At the exact moment he used the shard to saw through the rope, he heard footsteps coming from outside the door. Then, he heard a “beep” at the entrance. The door opened.

Shen Zhinan snatched up an ashtray. The moment the lights flickered on, he smashed it against the pervert who had entered.

Unlike the fat-headed pervert he had imagined, the person who fell to the ground was wearing a mask, but it was clear his appearance was likely not bad. Shen Zhinan’s head was dizzy and he did not look closely; he just angrily kicked the person on the floor a few times.

“Damned gay man! A beast in human clothing! I hope you end up without descendants!”

To his surprise, the man was still conscious. He tightly grabbed Shen Zhinan’s ankle, his gaze burning: “You…”

Shen Zhinan struggled hard with his foot and finally broke free of the grip. This was no place to linger. He dragged his exhausted body and fled. He ran so quickly that he did not notice a small silver nameplate falling onto the room’s carpet during the struggle.

Rumble!

A clap of thunder sounded, and lightning tore through the dark curtain of the sky. A heavy rain smashed down against him, making his skin sting. Shen Zhinan was soaked to the bone. Exposed to the icy rain, his body was still incredibly hot. As if being pursued by something terrifying, he quickened his pace.

Shen Zhinan did not return to the dormitory. He always left early and returned late, rarely seeing his roommates more than a few times a day. Because of certain well-known reasons, the original “Shen Zhinan” had a poor reputation, and his roommates did not seem to like him much. Shen Zhinan thought this was fine; he didn’t have to waste energy dealing with them.

He found a small clinic. After the doctor prescribed some medicine, he started an IV drip. Shen Zhinan was exhausted after this night. He wanted to sleep, but that unbearable heat was still torturing him. He bit the back of his hand hard, forcing himself to stay calm so he wouldn’t make any unseemly sounds.

He felt something extremely bizarre: he actually felt as if a certain part of him was like a flower dripping nectar, with liquid seeping out. Shen Zhinan ran to the bathroom. When he wiped with a paper towel, he found his feeling was correct. Looking at the “nectar,” his whole body stiffened as if he had turned to stone.

His worldview was refreshed once again. Can a man really be… this wet?

In the two short months since he came to this world, his worldview had been refreshed many times. For instance, he found his body had become very strange. His frame was much thinner, his strength was smaller, his skin was whiter, and his butt was perkier. If Shen Zhinan’s shape before was “orz,” it had now become “or2.” It was a qualitative leap.

Shen Zhinan looked at the mirror over the sink. He said to himself in the reflection: “Shen Zhinan, everything besides life and death is a small matter, just a small matter.” Then he added another phrase: “Since I’m already here, I’m already here.”

Shen Zhinan slept in the clinic all night. He dreamed that he answered a phone call and all the money in his bank account vanished, which scared him awake. The phone alarm went off shortly after. He remembered he had to go to his tutoring job today to give a lesson to a child.

After the night of IV fluids, Shen Zhinan felt much more energetic. The heat and itching had completely disappeared. There was no time to go back to school for his teaching books; his backpack and the graded papers were still in the locker in the club’s staff changing room.

It was all that black-hearted manager’s fault! Thinking of last night, Shen Zhinan was fuming. He would not let that dead fat pig off easily!

Before going to class, Shen Zhinan went to a vegetable market. Just like in his original world, there were people selling clothes at the market for very cheap prices. He spent 58 dollars on a hoodie. Only after changing his outfit did he board the bus.

The place where Shen Zhinan taught was in a villa district with great greenery and a beautiful environment. He walked up the slope while munching on a savory pancake (jianbing guozi). The villas were separated by wide distances. He could vaguely hear the hum of a lawnmower in the distance or a piano fragment drifting from a window, all of which quickly dissipated in the wind.

It was very quiet here. But this silence was not the absence of sound; rather, all sounds were diluted by the vast space. Shen Zhinan had always felt that space was a very rare and expensive thing. When he was a child in the orphanage, a dozen kids slept in one room. Everyone had only a very narrow area. If you turned over at night, you would hit the person next to you. One of his life dreams was to live in a big villa like this.

He finished the last bite of his pancake next to a trash can outside a detached villa. He threw the plastic bag away, wiped his mouth, and pushed the door open to enter.

His student was an eighth-grade child named Fu Zihan. He mainly tutored him in math and physics. Although Fu Zihan’s test papers were left at the club, Shen Zhinan clearly remembered the areas where he had made mistakes.

He came to class today with nothing, but he still accurately listed all of Fu Zihan’s wrong answers and explained the corresponding knowledge points again. Fu Zihan said admiringly: “Teacher Shen, you are so amazing!”

“Keep it low-key,” Shen Zhinan said modestly. “Your biggest problem is not reading the questions carefully enough and not knowing how to categorize your mistakes.” Shen Zhinan continued in his teacher persona: “The most important thing in math is to be able to apply one principle to other cases. Once you do enough problems, you will find they all follow the same pattern. Often, as long as you grasp the intention of the person who wrote the question and recall the corresponding knowledge, you will get the points.”

Halfway through the lecture, Zhou Xin brought in a fruit plate: “Come, eat some fruit and take a break before continuing.”

Zhou Xin was Fu Zihan’s mother. She was a very gentle Omega. Shen Zhinan had rarely been treated so gently while growing up, and his heart could not help but soften. “Thank you, Auntie.”

Fu Zihan also said: “Thank you, Mom.”

Shen Zhinan taught Fu Zihan very seriously. Besides the generous pay and Zhou Xin’s kindness, another reason was that Fu Zihan was a very polite and lovable child. Also, Fu Zihan was very good-looking with a bit of “baby fat” on his face. His skin was white and tender, making him especially cute. Shen Zhinan really liked this kid. He thought that if Zhou Xin was willing, he could continue tutoring Fu Zihan until the ninth grade.

Zhou Xin’s phone rang at that moment. She answered a call, and her face suddenly became very pale. She said to Shen Zhinan: “Little Shen, let’s stop here for today. Zihan’s older brother has been hospitalized; we need to go see him.”

“What?! Big brother is in the hospital!” Fu Zihan quickly jumped down from his small stool, his tone anxious. It seemed he had a very good relationship with his brother.

“Okay,” Shen Zhinan nodded.

He was getting off work early today. Every Sunday afternoon was Shen Zhinan’s most relaxed time. He didn’t have classes or work, and he could have an entire afternoon to himself.

Since class ended before 10:00 AM, Shen Zhinan bought a new backpack. Passing the courier station on his way back to school, he opened the dormitory group chat and took on a few jobs to deliver packages. Large ones were five dollars, medium were three, and small were two. He delivered them directly to the dorm rooms. He took several orders until his backpack was bulging, and he held two more in his hands.

When he went to the noodle garden to eat, he saw someone requesting a delivery for oil-splashed noodles. He accepted that too. The school canteen tasted great and the prices were low; Shen Zhinan was very satisfied. The food here was similar to his world, so he could get used to it.

the student who requested the delivery emphasized adding extra vinegar. Shen Zhinan tucked the packages under his armpit and maintained that posture while adding vinegar to the takeout bag. Who knew that because the canteen was so crowded at that time, Shen Zhinan would be pushed by someone? The bag containing the noodles flew out of his hand and smashed directly onto someone’s clothes.

Oh no!

Shen Zhinan looked up and met a pair of gloomy eyes. It was Gu Yunshen. Things just went from bad to worse!

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to!” Shen Zhinan quickly bowed his head to apologize.

Gu Yunshen looked down at his oil-stained hoodie, then looked up and stared intently at Shen Zhinan with a very ugly expression: “Shen Zhinan, what kind of trick are you playing now!”

Everyone knew that the original “Shen Zhinan” liked Gu Yunshen. For the bag to land so perfectly on him was suspicious. It was no wonder Gu Yunshen used that tone. He thought Shen Zhinan had thrown it on him on purpose to get his attention!

Shen Zhinan felt that he could never clear his name now. But it was just such a coincidence; he couldn’t help it.

He braced himself and said: “Student Gu, how much did this hoodie cost? I will compensate you for…”

Before he could finish, Gu Yunshen’s sidekick, Ye Zheng, interrupted him: “This hoodie of our Brother Shen cost 58,000 dollars. Can you even afford to pay for it!”

What! A hoodie costs 58,000?! The one he bought today only cost 58!