Now that figure skating had been approved, the next step was to find an extracurricular class for Li Nan to learn it.

To be honest, figure skating classes were even rarer than guitar lessons, and for a moment, Li Wenqing had no idea where to enroll Li Nan. She returned to her room, feeling troubled.

Shen Xudong followed her into the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Li Wenqing glanced at him. “If you close the door, won’t it just get stuffy in here?”

“I just want to have a little secret talk with you.” Shen Xudong grinned and leaned in closer, raising his index finger to his lips. “Just for a bit. Once I’m done talking, I’ll open the door again. Okay, sis?”

Li Wenqing was speechless. She turned her head away, feeling a little embarrassed. “You’re not a kid anymore. Why do you still call me that?”

“No matter what, you’re still my big sister. Didn’t you say that yourself when we were little?” Shen Xudong’s smile grew even brighter as he sat beside her. “You look so troubled. If it’s such a hassle, why did you agree to that kid’s request?”

Li Wenqing glared at him. “What do you mean, ‘that kid’? Weren’t you the one who called me in advance, trying to talk me out of scolding Xiao Nan?”

“That’s different.”

Shen Xudong said, “I was just afraid you’d get upset when you suddenly heard that Xiao Nan wanted to switch classes. Getting angry isn’t good for your health, so I was giving you a heads-up in advance.”

“You and your endless reasoning.”

After saying that, Li Wenqing went back to worrying. “Tell me, where exactly did Xiao Nan even learn about figure skating? And why does he suddenly want to become an athlete? Being an athlete is so tough. Can he really handle it?”

Shen Xudong, however, was unfazed. “What’s the big deal? Don’t you know our son by now? Is he the type who can endure hardship? If it really gets tough, I bet he won’t last long anyway.”

“Then why did you still let me agree to it?”

“That’s different,” Shen Xudong replied. “If you don’t agree, he’ll just keep pestering you until you give in. How long do you think you can resist his begging? Besides, even if you refuse, wouldn’t Mom and Dad agree anyway? Just like with the guitar lessons. You barely turned your head, and those two had already taken Xiao Nan to sign up. What could you do? In the end, you had no choice but to accept it.”

Shen Xudong felt that their family only appeared to have a strict mother and a gentle father, but in reality, the so-called “strict” mother, Li Wenqing, was actually soft-hearted. The moment Xiao Nan acted a little cute and spoiled, she would immediately give in — probably even faster than the grandparents.

“Since you’re going to agree anyway, why not just say yes from the start? That way, Xiao Nan will remember your kindness. Plus, you can use this opportunity to make him agree to your conditions. Haven’t you been worrying about his studies for a long time? Isn’t this the perfect chance?”

“Oh, and you’ve also been worried about those gossiping people talking nonsense in front of Xiao Nan. Now that he’s busy with ballet and figure skating classes while keeping up with his studies, where would he find the time to be influenced by them? I’d say this is killing three birds with one stone.”

Li Wenqing thought about what Shen Xudong said and was surprised to find that every word made perfect sense.

“No wonder you’re you.”

Shen Xudong truly lived up to his role as a teacher — his clever mind was far sharper than hers, a businesswoman.

Feeling proud, Shen Xudong leaned in, seeking praise. “Of course! Whose little brother do you think I am?”

“Get lost, get lost—” Li Wenqing pushed his face away. “How old are you already?”

With this matter settled, Li Wenqing let out a sigh. “But seriously, what exactly is figure skating? Are there even any extracurricular classes for it these days?”

This was beyond Shen Xudong’s knowledge. After thinking for a moment, he said, “I’m not too sure about that. But I remember there’s an ice rink at the department store. There should be some classes nearby, right? I’ll go check it out when I have time. If the reviews are good, I’ll sign Xiao Nan up.”

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you then.”

…

While his parents were still worrying about finding a figure skating class, Li Nan had already slipped out of the house and was heading toward the department store.

The system, after being bombarded with a bunch of twisted logic from Li Nan, fell completely silent — as if it either accepted his reasoning or simply crashed from the confusion.

Either way, it stopped talking. Li Nan was more than happy with the peace and quiet. Since it was still early, he figured he could make a quick trip to the department store and get his hands on the 【Sims Acting Training Room】 that the system had mentioned.

From the system’s description, the item seemed quite useful, and Li Nan was very tempted. There was no better time than now, especially with plenty of time before dinner.

Li Nan wasn’t exactly sure why the system insisted on him checking in at that specific location, but it was obvious that there was something there that caught the system’s attention. His curiosity was fully piqued.

The department store wasn’t far from Li Nan’s house. A few stops on the bus and he was there. As soon as he got off, a wave of heat hit him, and a thin layer of sweat immediately formed on his forehead.

Originally, Li Hongguo and Qiao Cuiping were reluctant to let him leave the house, especially since he had just “suffered from heatstroke” earlier that morning. How could he be running around outside again within half a day? Was he fully recovered already?

But Li Nan managed to slip out with an excuse — grabbing a practice workbook and claiming he was going to study with a friend. After all, no elder would stop a child who was eager to learn.

And so, Li Nan successfully escaped.

Standing in front of the department store, the system activated its auto-navigation feature as promised. The moment Li Nan approached the designated check-in point, a futuristic AR navigation interface, similar to modern map apps, appeared before his eyes.

The dotted line guided Li Nan’s steps forward, and when he shifted his gaze, those lines would move with him, never obstructing his view. It was quite a fascinating experience.

Li Nan was a little surprised, suddenly feeling as if he were the protagonist of one of those sci-fi blockbusters, equipped with all sorts of surreal technological gadgets.

Following the system’s guidance, Li Nan climbed up to the fifth floor of the shopping mall. This floor was mostly filled with restaurants, with various Western-style dining establishments imported from abroad scattered across the entire floor. Li Nan even spotted two KFC outlets, but there were no other local Chinese delicacies to be found.

Li Nan sighed. During this period, China was still in the early stages of rapid development. The economy wasn’t very advanced, and naturally, there was a kind of “admiration” for the more developed foreign countries. As a result, most of the restaurants that had opened in the shopping mall were foreign ones.

However, by the time Li Nan had been reborn, the restaurants in the mall had all transformed into places serving Chinese delicacies from all over the country. By that time, the people of China had come to appreciate the wide variety of delicious dishes their country had to offer, and once-expensive Western restaurants had become the cheapest and least popular places to visit.

Li Nan found the designated check-in location as instructed by the system. It was the entrance to a Western restaurant. He looked around, but didn’t notice anything particularly special. He wondered what the system wanted him to do here.

Pulling his scattered thoughts together, Li Nan summoned the system and opened the mall panel to check in.

【Checking in…】

【Check-in successful!】

【Congratulations, you’ve received a reward: 【Simulated Life Acting Training Room 1-hour Experience Voucher】 x1】

【Simulated Life Acting Training Room 1-Hour Experience Voucher】

Description: This voucher allows the user to assume the identity of a specific character and experience their life for one hour.

Li Nan was extremely satisfied. This item was incredibly useful to him.

Having successfully checked in, Li Nan didn’t plan on staying here long. However, when he was coming up earlier, he had spotted an ice rink on the basement level of the mall.

That sight had stirred something inside him, making him eager to experience the sensation of skating on that rink.

Li Nan reached into his pocket and found that the money he had grabbed before leaving was quite a bit, enough for him to skate for an hour or two.

In a great mood, Li Nan began walking toward the ice rink. But after just a few steps, a middle-aged man ran up from behind and stopped him.

“Hey, kid, wait up!”

Li Nan turned in confusion to look at the man. He wore glasses perched on his nose, dressed quite neatly in a white shirt and suit trousers. However, there were dark circles under his eyes, making him appear quite worn-out.

He didn’t seem like someone with a respectable demeanor.

Li Nan hadn’t forgotten that his current appearance was still that of a ten-year-old child. If he encountered a human trafficker who tried to forcefully take him away, he might not even be able to struggle free.

He cautiously took a step back and asked the man, “What do you want?”

“No, no, no—don’t misunderstand!” The middle-aged man quickly waved his hands. “I’m a good person!”

Li Nan: “…”

Which bad person would ever admit to being a bad person?

Perhaps sensing Li Nan’s disbelief, the middle-aged man hastily pulled out a business card from his pocket and handed it to Li Nan. “Here’s my business card. I’m really not a bad person!”

Li Nan took the card and glanced at it.

Director Song Yongsong
Practice Phone: 1xxxxxxxxxx

Seeing that name, Li Nan froze for a moment before blurting out, “Director Song You Song?”

As soon as the words left Li Nan’s mouth, the middle-aged man looked at him with surprise. “You know me? How did you know my nickname is ‘Song You Song’?”

Li Nan realized he had misspoken and shook his head. “No, I don’t know you. I just thought the name sounded a bit awkward, so I read it out loud. Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Song Yongsong laughed heartily. “My friends all call me that. I’m used to it.”

Li Nan secretly sized up the middle-aged man in front of him and finally saw some familiar traces of the future in his features.

Director Song Yongsong was a very famous director in the future that Li Nan knew. His debut film The Victim’s Self-Rescue Handbook had won numerous awards upon release, making him a genius director.

In Li Nan’s previous life, he had even tried out for a role in one of his films, but was rejected in the first round and never even got to meet the director. So, Li Nan hadn’t recognized the famous director at first.

Thinking about it, this time period was probably around when the director was filming his first movie, right?

So, what did he want with him?

Li Nan, curious, looked at him and asked, “So, what did you stop me for?”

“Eh? I didn’t say?” Song Yongsong appeared a bit flustered as he gathered his words. “Well, you see, I just saw you outside the restaurant, and I felt that your aura is perfect for the young version of the male lead in the movie I’m about to shoot.”

Song Yongsong’s expression grew a bit excited. “You’re perfect for it! Exactly like the male lead I envisioned—no, actually, you look like you just stepped out of my movie!”

Li Nan: ?

Li Nan thought back to the male lead of this genius director’s debut film… Huh, didn’t he remember that this male lead was a high-IQ criminal???

Did he really look like such a bad seed?! Ah?!

“You’re so beautiful…” Song Yongsong gazed at Li Nan’s delicate features, mumbling to himself, “Those eyes, that nose… you’re like the male lead straight out of the script!”

Li Nan: ?

Ah, so it was just because he was handsome.

But in his previous life, Li Nan had never heard of this genius director being so neurotic.

There was no doubt that Li Nan was good-looking. Both Shen Xudong and Li Wenqing had excellent looks, and Li Nan inherited the best features of both. He had been the prettiest child in the neighborhood, always the one the other kids fought to play with. As he grew up, he didn’t lose his looks—otherwise, he wouldn’t have ventured into the entertainment industry.

After he became an athlete, he was often featured in lists of the best-looking figure skaters in history. Fans of figure skating even affectionately called him: The older the man, the more attractive he becomes.

It was clear that before his rebirth, he had never aged badly.

“Would you be willing to play the male lead in my movie?” Song Yongsong suddenly grabbed Li Nan’s hand. “I can even extend the filming period and wait for you to grow up! You’re absolutely the muse I’ve always dreamed of!”

Li Nan was taken aback. Before he could respond, the system in his mind spoke up first.

【How about it? An invitation from a famous director from the future—are you going to refuse, host? This is an opportunity that many people spend their whole lives yearning for but can hardly ever attain, and it’s right in front of you. Do you really have the courage to turn it down?】

The voice was full of temptation, as if it could draw out the deepest desires within a person. Li Nan was momentarily distracted but quickly snapped back to reality, a chill running down his spine.

So that was the system’s plan!

Under the guise of a simple check-in, it had led him here to meet this genius director. If he still had any lingering attachment to the entertainment industry, he likely would have already agreed by now.

No wonder… no wonder the system had offered him the 【Simulated Life Acting Training Room】 experience voucher. It was a well-calculated move, certain that he would choose to accept the movie offer.

Yes, this offer was indeed hard to resist. After all, this was the debut film of a genius director, which had won countless awards. And the director had promised to wait for him to grow up and film—if he followed the same path as in his past life, it was almost guaranteed to be a string of trophies and honors.

Who could remain unmoved? Who wouldn’t be touched?

Unfortunately, Li Nan was unmoved.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t want to become an actor, and I don’t want to act.” Li Nan withdrew his hand and took a few steps back, maintaining some distance from Song Yongchong. “Sorry, but please find someone else.”

Li Nan bowed to Song Yongsong, then turned to leave.

He had already wasted too much time here. He needed to hurry up and enjoy the wonderful feeling that the ice surface brought him.

“What!” Song Yongsong was struck as if by lightning, chasing after him with questions. “Why? Is there something wrong? If you have any concerns, feel free to bring them up. I can satisfy all of them…”

“Director!” Li Nan interrupted Song Yongsong’s relentless talk, helpless. “I’m truly not interested in acting, and I already have a goal. I’ll spend my entire life working toward that goal.”

“You should be able to understand what I mean, right?”