Chapter 4: Determination

  Two days later, Zhang Chengyuan had basically recovered and didn't need to stay in the hospital wasting money anymore. This one hospitalization had already drained the Zhang family's savings of many years, not to mention the 20% of medical expenses that DSP Company had paid for him.

  However, this does not mean that DSP is a charity organization. Many Koreans believe that Korean entertainment companies are the most shameless "vampires" in the world, who have been exploiting artists' blood and sweat for generations. How could they spare unnecessary expenses to pay for Zhang Chengyuan's medical bills?

  It was only when the news of "DSP vehicle hits and kills pedestrian at midnight" broke out that public sentiment surged, and the company's image plummeted. Although later on, the Mapo Police Station promptly released the true situation, showing the video footage, proving that DSP did not bear any responsibility for the accident, but in order to restore the company's image, DSP's top management reluctantly paid a sum of medical expenses on behalf of Jang Sung-won and had Fin.K.L visit the injured several times. According to Lee Hyori's private account, this was still a result of Gil Jong-hwa's strong efforts, otherwise the penny-pinching directors would not have done so.

  Of course, DSP's efforts were not in vain. Not only did they perfectly resolve the car accident incident and restore the company's and Fin.K.L's image, but also made Fin.K.L more popular and loved, with their popularity soaring even higher, looking forward to a bright future.

  At the time of discharge, Fin.k.l four girls did not all appear, only Lee Hyori knew the news and secretly sneaked into the hospital to visit Jang Sung-won under the cover of her sisters. This moved Jang Sung-won deeply, although he didn't say any words of gratitude, but firmly remembered this matter in his heart, making up his mind to repay it in the future.

  Although he can be discharged from the hospital, Zhang Chengyuan's facial skin is severely damaged and new skin has not fully grown. In order not to scare passersby, his face is still wrapped in a layer of gauze. Therefore, although they have known each other for several weeks, Lee Hyori has not seen Zhang Chengyuan's appearance yet, which makes Lee Hyori somewhat regretful. She left her phone number and asked Zhang Chengyuan to contact her after he fully recovered, and sincerely said to Zhang Donghu: "A child as obedient as Chengyuan must have been very cute before, and will be even more so in the future."

  Zhang Donghu smiled and responded with a thank you. No matter what changes Zhang Chengyuan's appearance may have undergone, or whether he would be left with ugly scars, Zhang Donghu wouldn't mind, because his son being able to survive was already the greatest comfort heaven had given him, and he didn't dare hope for more. Moreover, he always believed that as long as a person is still alive, there is still hope in life, if one's appearance is ruined, then so be it, at worst they could wait until they earned enough money and send their son to the Meiren Street Hospital in Jixiangting to get plastic surgery.

  Accompanying Zhang Donghu and his son out of the hospital gate, Lee Hyori bid farewell and left, hurrying back to deal with her agent's daily supervision.

  After taking a taxi back home and having lunch, Zhang Donghu rushed to the company to handle the transfer of his position. Zhang Chengyuan, on the other hand, made a round of inspection around the whole house inside and out before returning to his bedroom to start practicing qigong.

  Zhang Chengyuan's bedroom was a bit narrow, and the furnishings were very simple. Except for a wardrobe and a desk, there was nothing else big in it. In order to relieve the space, even the bed was not placed, and at night when sleeping, the quilt was directly laid on the floor.

  Sleeping on the floor was once a habit of the vast majority of Koreans, with most not because they couldn't afford to buy a bed, but because they found it more comfortable and warmer to sleep on the floor due to the radiant heat from the floor. Additionally, perhaps there is another reason why some people think that putting up a bed is both a waste of space and money. In the capital circle of Seoul, nearly half of Korea's population lives in an area with extremely high population density, resulting in narrow living spaces for ordinary families. If there are more people at home, two or three people usually squeeze into a small room, so they naturally don't want to let beds occupy human activity space.

  Fortunately, Zhang Chengyuan was a Taoist who had experienced wind and rain in his previous life, so he didn't mind these things. He sat down with his legs crossed, removed the gauze from his face, took out a mirror and looked at himself, frowning tightly - it was really unbearable to look at, like a lion that had been stripped of its mane, ashamed to be seen by other lions. Although he didn't think he was handsome or elegant in his previous life, he could be considered to have a unique temperament and a refined appearance, but now his face was pockmarked and looked terrible, everyone who saw him would cover their faces and walk away, how could they consider him a wise and enlightened person?

  A true practitioner should have the demeanor of a true practitioner. Although good looks don't directly help in pursuing the Great Way, when it comes to exorcising demons, accumulating merit, and spreading faith in the world, how can one not have a decent appearance? Think about it, if every renowned cultivator looked like Zhu Bajie or Pigsy, wouldn't they be seen as a gathering place for demons and monsters by the people of the world?

  Regardless of whether it's from a monk's psychological perspective or the eyes of secular people, Jang Sung-yoon needs to have a good appearance. He doesn't want to be treated like a monster and avoided in the future. In Korea, beauty is not only a courtesy but also a means of survival. Men with handsome appearances and beautiful women often find it easier to succeed than ordinary people, which is almost a universal standard around the world, but especially so in Korea. Not only have celebrities triggered plastic surgery trends, high school students follow suit during winter and summer breaks, and even some lawmakers join in, as if they can't survive without getting plastic surgery. At this rate, it's likely that even the President of Korea will get plastic surgery in a few years.

  Plastic surgery has become a trend and fashion in Korea, with the general public having a relatively tolerant attitude towards this new thing that was originally introduced from the West and is now being promoted by Koreans. In such an atmosphere, Korea has become a world-renowned country for plastic surgery, with artificial beauties and handsome men constantly emerging, and beautiful women and handsome men can be seen everywhere on the streets of Seoul, becoming a beautiful scenery.

  But in Zhang Chengyuan's heart, allowing others to cut his face with a knife is a dangerous move that puts the power of life and death and happiness in the hands of others, which is unbearable. How can he be a self-cultivating person who pursues himself, and yet endure being cut by a knife unknowingly? Now, if he allows others to slaughter him again, wouldn't that be extremely foolish? One's own life should naturally be grasped in one's own hands.

  More importantly, with modern medical means to plastic surgery, not only is it easy to be recognized, but also the sequelae are inevitable. It often takes only a decade or even shorter time to return to work, and the cost is too high. With Zhang's current economic strength, he cannot afford it. Otherwise, he would have done further skin plastic surgery in the hospital as soon as he came out.

  The skin is not intact, but Zhang Chengyuan has his own way. This is not a difficult task for the cultivator either. When the spiritual energy fills the cultivator's body, every part of the body will be full of vitality, and any harmful substances to the human body, such as bacteria, oil, impurities, etc., will be excluded from the body, making the body stronger and healthier, and the skin naturally becomes smooth and delicate like a baby.

  Unfortunately, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth has been destroyed by human industrialization, so even in environmentally beautiful nature reserves, it is no longer possible to quickly absorb pure and abundant spiritual energy as before. In a densely populated metropolis like Seoul, it's many times slower. If in his previous life, Zhang Chengyuan could make his skin perfectly reborn in just a few hours, now even if he practices meditation for five or six hours every day, he would need to practice continuously for at least a month.

  Apart from his skin, Zhang Chengyuan is also extremely dissatisfied with his height and figure. Not only is he weak and short, but if the original Zhang Chengyuan wasn't constantly bullied by others, he wouldn't be in this situation now. When Zhang Chengyuan got out of bed and stood on the ground, he found that he was actually half a head shorter than Lee Hyori, who was wearing boots, and suddenly felt extremely embarrassed. His father, Zhang Donghu, is 185cm tall, but as his son, at the age of 16 or 17, he hasn't even reached 170cm, showing just how much of a failure this guy is.

  Zhang Chengyuan was unhappy, so he made up his mind to reshape his image. Even if he couldn't become a respected immortal like in his previous life, he wanted to strive to become an extraordinary and transcendent figure.

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