Chapter 001: Dreams and Reality (Part One)

I said, young handsome man, your energy is truly abundant every day. Why not come up and keep your sister company? It’s quite bothersome for us when you kick the door every morning; your sister has just fallen asleep.

Standing in front of the mirror above the sink, with a mouth full of white foam, holding an ivory-colored rubber toothbrush in his mouth, he raised a red ceramic mug high and foolishly smiled at his reflection in the mirror, saying: "Hee hee hee, it's the one-week anniversary of running away from home! Cheers!"

Suddenly, a faint sound of a jet engine came from nearby. Immediately, a jet-powered skateboard, bright red in color and adorned with colorful hip-hop graffiti and a golden cloud, flew in front of Bai Bai, hovering beneath his feet

Bai Bai's family has a long-standing tradition of running a martial arts school, and the "Bai Style Martial Arts School" holds a significant position among the eight major martial arts schools in the capital. However, when it came to Bai Bai's generation, he expressed a firm unwillingness to take over the martial arts school and follow in his father's footsteps. This led to intense conflicts between father and son over the inheritance of the school, nearly resulting in a severance of their father-son relationship

Uncle Zhong watched the busy figure of Bai Bai rushing into the kitchen and suddenly smiled slightly, "Being young is truly wonderful, full of vitality, haha. If dreams begin with getting up early, then doesn't that mean I have never had a dream in my entire life?"

Suddenly, a young man around 20 years old draped a white towel over Uncle Zhong's shoulder, then tied another towel around his own neck, making a knot, and walked towards the bustling kitchen in the back.

"Dreams are a luxury, Uncle Zhong, something that people like us cannot afford. So let's face reality. It's time to start working; don't let that kid steal the spotlight. When the salary is settled at the end of the month, I don't want to be left behind by him."

Uncle Zhong paused for a moment, looked at the young man with a buzz cut leaving, and said with a smile: "Xiao Li, ever since this kid came to the restaurant, haven't you noticed some changes around here? Xiao Li? Xiao Li? Hey! You little rascal, how dare you ignore me!"

Suddenly, a soft, fluffy white goose feather pillow flew through the air like a shooting star, accurately striking the mechanical chicken alarm clock and knocking it off the bedside table

Although in people's perception, a city like Jingguo, renowned for its ancient civilization, seems incompatible with high technology, the great people of Jingguo have managed to perfectly integrate technology with ancient civilization

Above the entrance of this restaurant, at a height of over 40 centimeters, hangs an old sign framed with colorful neon lights, inscribed with the words "Love it or leave it." This should be the name of the restaurant.

In the year 2055, a time of advanced technology, traffic has not only been confined to the land but has also shifted to the skies

It is truly unbearably noisy

The sound of the boy kicking the door was so loud that the surrounding neighbors opened their windows, glaring at the boy who was up to no good at the door, their anger making their teeth grind.

Although the decor of this small restaurant is quite unremarkable, one might even say it is virtually non-existent, for some reason, the uniquely casual name has not deterred customers from coming here to dine

Ahoy! Nimbus, we are setting off

Latest international news: Yesterday, the international government issued a statement announcing a reduction in the number of martial arts schools open worldwide, imposing restrictions on their operations. The international government believes that in an era where technological weaponry is highly advanced and the physical condition and literacy levels of the populace are on the rise, the role of martial arts schools has become less significant. To conserve resources, the government will begin closing some martial arts schools in certain regions in the near future, reallocating those resources to the research and development of technological weaponry. However, this viewpoint has faced significant opposition from numerous martial artists. As of early this morning, a large number of protesting martial artists have gathered in front of the international government, and the situation is concerning. For further details, please follow our station's ongoing coverage.

My heavens! Ahem! Ahem!

Everyone is not mistaken; this somewhat neurotic, delusional, overly optimistic sixteen-year-old boy is the protagonist of the story, Bai Bai. I do not deny that aside from his face, this guy has little else of value. He is the kind of person who, if thrown into a crowd wearing a mask, would be completely unremarkable, very ordinary. Moreover, with his personality, he would certainly attract a group of people ready to greet him with punches and kicks. He is the kind of person who, if thrown into a crowd wearing a mask, would be completely unremarkable, very ordinary. Moreover, with his personality, he would certainly attract a group of people ready to greet him with punches and kicks.

Bang

This restaurant appears to have been around for some time; the originally orange-yellow paint on the walls has faded and peeled in places. Although the windows are relatively clean, fine cracks are visible around the window frames. The round roof, alternating in red and white, resembles an umbrella, with several patches of paint curling up, akin to wild grass growing on the roof, standing quite firm.

In the bathroom, the incessant sound of Bai Bai's furious teeth brushing can be heard, leading me to suspect whether he is brushing a set of false teeth. I estimate that his toothbrush is on the verge of losing its bristles.

The mechanical chicken's body already has multiple dents, clearly indicating that it is greeted "affectionately" by its owner every morning

"I said, you have only just been here for a week, yet you are more enthusiastic than any of us. What exactly do you want to do with the library?" said the middle-aged man, holding a Marlboro cigarette in his mouth, rubbing his sleepy eyes as he spoke.

The middle-aged man, known as Uncle Zhong, looked bewildered as he grasped his head, the ash on the cigarette in his mouth having burned quite long without falling off

Soon, the sound of running water and washing could be heard from the bathroom

As soon as he stepped out of the door, Bai Bai stuffed his fingers into his mouth and let out a whistle, calling out for the so-called "Cloud of Transformation" like a foolish Sun Wukong.

A distinctive restaurant in Jingguo, located 10 kilometers away from Jingguo Qingbei High School, had someone kicking the steel automatic lift gate in a fit of rage early in the morning

After finishing dressing in white, she wolfed down two sandwiches and drank a cup of overnight milk, then grabbed a black leather handbag and hurriedly left the old room, which was merely 20 square meters.

Suddenly, he let out a big yawn, reluctantly climbed out of bed, casually picked up the television remote from his bedside, pressed the red power button on it, and turned on the 2010 Jingguo-manufactured "Pioneer" color television, which would even smoke when starting up, as he walked towards the bathroom

On a simple folding bed, a boy around sixteen years old lay on it, irritably rubbing his messy short white hair. He then twisted his waist with force, turned, and performed a nimble somersault, landing on his back. With his eyes still hazy from sleep, he stared at the dirty ceiling, which was covered in layers of dust and had several cracks.

The ancient-style palatial architecture stands tall throughout the capital, interspersed with numerous transparent organic glass skyways, giving this city with traditional charm a touch of modern technological freshness, which is truly remarkable

A pale yellow mechanical chicken alarm clock stands alone on the bedside table next to a simple steel-framed folding bed, incessantly squawking. Its shrill sound resembles a death knell, causing a sense of agitation in the heart.

The young man did not turn his head at all, as if he had not heard, continuing to kick the door fiercely, looking just like a little hunting dog desperate to relieve itself.

After a commotion from the youth, the steel gate finally rose reluctantly and lazily, revealing a middle-aged man in his forties with a protruding belly, wearing a white T-shirt that exposed half of his round belly.

Cloud-Somersault

Open the door, open the door! What time is it that the door is still not open! The guests will be arriving soon!

Having said that, he poured the entire mouthwash from the mug into his mouth to rinse away the toothpaste foam.

The young boy, as white as a gust of wind, passed by the middle-aged man and headed straight for the kitchen of the restaurant

With a graceful leap onto the skateboard, he gazed at the bustling traffic in the air before breaking into a charming smile. He then stepped onto the Nimbus and flew out from the doorway of the 23rd-floor apartment, entering the aerial roadway, and soon vanished from sight

And his dream is ... ...

In the television, the news anchor is dressed neatly and professionally, with a serious expression, reporting on some significant events that occurred yesterday in Jingguo and internationally. It seems that in recent days, Jingguo has been somewhat turbulent, with strange incidents occurring frequently.

On the balcony of the fourth floor of a residential building opposite the restaurant, a seductive woman dressed in a red lace nightgown, her slightly disheveled hair still exuding allure, and a light makeup adorning her face, elegantly yawns while smiling down at the young man below who is fiercely kicking the restaurant's door.

Uncle Zhong borrowed it! https://www.hetushu.com The dream starts with getting up early. Haven't you heard this saying?

Good morning, citizens of Jingguo City. It is now 7:30 AM on June 11, 2055, Monday. We will now broadcast the latest hot news. According to our station's latest report, yesterday, the heiress of the Jingguo First Financial Group, Qin Mofei, confirmed that she has been kidnapped. This case has shocked the nation and is referred to as the largest kidnapping case in history. Currently, the Jingguo International Culinary Group has dispatched international major crime experts to search for the heiress, Qin Mofei

Hey! You little brat, what are you doing up so early every day! It's only 8 o'clock! 8 o'clock! Do you believe I will come down and crush you!

For Bai Bai, wielding swords and staffs is not his dream

Voice-controlled jet-powered mechanical energy hoverboard, the latest product from Jingguo, a dream for skateboard enthusiasts

Bai Bai! Bai Bai! It's time to get up! It's time to get up! Bai Bai has gotten up!

But who would have thought that suddenly a gurgling sound came from his throat, and he actually swallowed that mouthwash in one gulp

Before long, the sounds of frying and cooking began to emanate from the kitchen, and after an hour, this small restaurant named "Love It or Leave It" finally welcomed a new day of life

Racing swiftly along the nearly one hundred meters high roadway, looking up at the intersecting and crisscrossing traffic above, I feel that a new day has begun, accompanied by an indescribable sense of ease in my heart

Since he had a big argument with his father and left home a week ago, he feels that he is now truly free. No one is there to manage him, no one to restrict him, and no one to interfere with his dreams. Perhaps only in this way can he wholeheartedly pursue his ideals

Ah?

Knock knock! Knock knock knock!