Just when Wang Ye was recording his own changes.
Suddenly, the WeChat notification sound rang.
He took his phone out of his pocket and swiped the screen to open WeChat.
It was a long series of voice messages from his mother. Each message from his mother was 40 seconds long, so Wang Ye had no choice but to convert them to text.
"Little Ye, have you eaten yet? I talked to your cousin last night about you participating in the marathon. He said if you want to train, you can go to the running track at Fourth Elementary School, and he can guide you a bit. When you arrive at the school gate, call him to pick you up."
"It's that cousin Wang Liquan, he's getting engaged at the end of the month."
"Don't be shy to ask, Ah Quan is very enthusiastic. He said you can ask him anything you don't understand."
Wang Ye typed a line and sent it.
[Yeah, got it.]
After closing WeChat.
Wang Ye rubbed his chin and pondered for a while.
He actually had some impression of this cousin named Wang Liquan. Since childhood, this cousin lived next door to his house and often visited his home to play 4399 two-player games with him.
But after moving up to middle school, the two gradually lost contact.
They would only occasionally see each other while going out, but it was just a simple greeting.
For this cousin, Wang Ye could say he was familiar, yet also unfamiliar. But he had heard about some of Wang Liquan's feats and achievements.
It seemed he was... a Second-level Athlete?
Wang Ye's eyes slightly widened.
Before obtaining the system, he had no concept of a Second-level Athlete, but in his free time last night, he looked up the athlete project performance comparison table and compared his current performance.
His five-kilometer and ten-kilometer test results yesterday were barely close to the level of a Third-level Athlete. He was still far from reaching the level of a Second-level Athlete.
But those were just yesterday's results. After evolving today, Wang Ye didn't know if he could reach the standard of a Third-level Athlete. After all, last night after running, his Running Skill Level also improved to lv3, so his running ability should have advanced considerably.
Wang Ye squeezed his chin, pondered for a moment, and decided to check out the Fourth Elementary School later.
After all, Wang Liquan is a genuine national athlete, and his knowledge of sports is definitely much more than someone like him who is new to sports, so he might actually learn some useful skills from him.
Moreover, the plastic track on the playground is indeed more suitable for training than the track in the park. Occasionally changing the venue and breathing some fresh air is not a bad thing.
After a simple packing, Wang Ye took his sling bag and left the house.
The Fourth Elementary School is about five kilometers away from here.
Wang Ye took the subway, and it took half an hour to get there.
He got off the subway, bought some breakfast on the way, and ate while walking. After about ten minutes, he arrived at the entrance of the Fourth Elementary School. Inside the security pavilion at the gate, a middle-aged security guard in his forties or fifties was sitting on a deck chair, scrolling through short videos.
Wang Ye stood beside the school gate and dialed his cousin Wang Liquan's phone number.
Not long after, a dark-skinned, tall and thin young teacher jogged over and communicated with the security guard at the door. Soon, the security guard reluctantly turned off Douyin and pressed the door opener button on the workbench to open the door for him.
That dark-skinned young man was Wang Ye's cousin, Wang Liquan.
He greeted him and invited Wang Ye into the school, leading him towards the playground.
"I initially thought Aunt was exaggerating, but I didn't expect you to change so much." Wang Liquan laughed as they walked: "You were so fat a few years ago, with a gloomy expression, I thought you had become some big boss, didn't dare to talk to you."
"Haha, those years of overeating without control naturally made me fat like that. Recently realized my body was too unhealthy, so I trained hard and lost quite a bit," Wang Ye nodded.
In reality, his weight loss was even more exaggerated than it seemed on the surface. His true physique was hidden by clothing, making him look like a standard-fit sports enthusiast.
This loose, solid black athletic T-shirt just happened to hide his whole body with chiseled-like muscle lines and a very low body fat percentage, which is the so-called clothing that makes you appear thin, but reveals muscles when you take it off.
If Wang Liquan saw his current muscular state, he would surely be even more shocked.
Thinking about it, Wang Ye asked again: "Ah Quan, when do you have classes today? If you're busy, I won't take up too much of your time."
Upon hearing this, Wang Liquan waved his hand: "What are you talking about? Isn't it almost time for final exams? The students' physical education classes have been replaced by main courses."
"I see..." Wang Ye couldn't help but grin.
No matter the era, the physical education teacher is always the one with the weakest constitution.
Because whenever it's the day for physical education class, the physical education teacher will always call in sick because they feel unwell.
...
Soon, the two arrived at the track on the playground.
One could hear the sounds of reading coming from hundreds of meters away on the side of the teaching building.
Wang Ye casually threw his canvas bag on the ground and began warming up by bouncing and jumping.
Seeing this, Wang Liquan also started lunging and stretching his thigh and calf ligaments, and asked:
"Have you really decided to participate in the half marathon?"
Wang Ye nodded and replied: "Yeah, I'm not aiming to place, just want to safely and healthily complete the half marathon and experience the atmosphere."
Wang Liquan continued: "I'm not against you guys participating in the half marathon, it's just that forcibly running a half marathon without a sports foundation can easily lead to injuries, even sudden death."
"Actually, my running level is quite good now. I should be able to finish normally once the race starts." Wang Ye chuckled awkwardly.
However, Wang Liquan shook his head and said: "How is that possible, Aunt told me you just got out of the hospital a few days ago and are still recovering. You're in the rookie benefit period now, it's normal to have this mentality, but you'll understand more after practicing for a few more months."
His tone had a bit of a teasing note, clearly not quite believing it.
"That's true." Wang Ye nodded.
He's just started practicing running, and the progress is indeed very noticeable. His mentality has also swelled a bit, there's no denying it.
After a few minutes, the two finished their warm-ups.
Wang Liquan suggested: "Follow me for a couple of laps first, let me see how you're doing now."
"Alright, I'll listen to you." Wang Ye nodded.
Upon hearing this, Wang Liquan began jogging slowly on the track.
Meanwhile, Wang Ye closely followed behind him, matching his pace.
Their starting speed was not fast, about six minutes per kilometer pace, which is essentially jogging. For athletes, running at this speed should be simpler than walking.