The negotiation ended at around the one and a half hours mark. As a token of concession, Worldly Entertainment Corp would offer a one time five hundred thousand dollar payment, and a future movie role with limited screen time (details to be determined by further negotiation). And from what Wu Xiaoming remembered about his arrangements with Douglass Kirkland, he could probably only get a little more than half that money, due to Douglass Kirkland being a semi high profile agent with a lot of connections.

“Thank you for your help, Douglass. ” Before sending the agent off, Wu Wentao shook hands with the man: “I wouldn’t be able to carry it out like that even if I tried my hardest.”

“Hey, no problem.” Douglass Kirkland fixed his eyes on Wu Xiaoming: “You take care, alright? For the time being, take a break and heal.”

“Thank you.” Wu Xiaoming nodded at the man. From his memories, this man came from a rich family and only became an agent for fun, it was kind of a surprise he would care as much for him and his family.

“Douglass, doesn’t Xiaoming still have that cameo?” Wu Wentao asked.

“Uh - yeah, but it’s gonna be next week. I don’t think that’s a good idea - ”

“It is if it’s just a brief cameo. He needs something to do - maybe a little more in life.” Wu Wentao turned to Wu Xiaoming: “What do you think, son?”

Even Wu Xiangyu tried to dissuade him: “Dad - I don’t think - ”

“It IS a good idea.” Wu Xiaoming raised his hand - being locked in a hospital and then in this house had him really cooped up: “I actually - I am actually feeling good. I need something to do, just like Dad said.”

“Well…” Douglass Kirkland raised an eyebrow at Wu Xiaoming: “In that case I’ll pick you up, next Tuesday. Stay in touch in case things change.”

“Xiaoming, are you sure? ” When they went back in, Wu Xiangyu asked: “You were just discharged, the doctor advised you to rest - ”

“I just need to get outta my head.” Wu Xiaoming shook his head: “I don’t want to fall back to - you know.”

“... okay.” Wu Xiangyu sighed: “If you insist - just don’t get too tired, okay?”

“It’s okay, Douglass is a good friend, he’ll watch out for him.” Wu Wentao smiled, patting Wu Xiaoming on the back: “Glad to see you’re up and about, son.”

“Alright, alright.” Wu Xiangyu checked his phone: “I need to go for a meeting. I’ll try to come back tonight for dinner. See you then.”

“Do we have a place where I can - work out a little?” Wu Xiaoming asked as his older brother left the house.

“Hmm, well  - ” Wu Wentao seemed pleasantly surprised: “We have a treadmill, a bench and some dumbbells in the basement, or if you want to stretch or do something light you can go to the third floor balcony. OR, if you want to practice your close quarter combat skills, I can spar with you there.”

“Oh!” Wu Xiangyu still had trouble remembering that Wu Wentao, his father in this world, was an accomplished martial artist and action star: “Maybe later - I feel like doing some stretches, maybe a few push ups in the sun, nothing too heavy.”

“Alright. Alright.” Wu Wentao nodded, smiling: “I’ll be in the house, let me know if you need anything.”

The balcony on the third floor was quite spacious, if his father wanted he could even expand the bathtub into a small pool. He put a mat close to the edge facing the next door neighbor’s house and began doing push ups, while marinating some thoughts in his mind.

There seemed to be no way for him to go back. His parents in the previous world must be really sad. They had not talked in a while, he was actually thinking about visiting them when the next Chinese New Year came. He wiped his tears a few times, then decided to just let it pour and not intervene.

What did Lu Yu want to say before he died in his home world? Oh, how good AND sad would it be, if she also had feelings for him. Too bad, he had been a good student and son, too good, even, and did not get to experience even one relationship.

But if there was a way to go back, he would still need to live to find it. And right now, it seemed that he would need to continue his battle in his dreams, as there was no way he could avoid it. Sure, there seemed to be a way for him to hide in a safe place and not engage at all - like his father’s house. But there was no guarantee that it would always be safe. Therefore, his own strength would be the only thing he could rely on.

As for why his ability manifested in the form of the game, the development of which he had been participating in, he had no idea. Just like he had no idea how he got here, or if this world was even real. The best basic assumption would be this is a real world, and he needed to treat it as such.

He finished thirty push ups, barely breaking a sweat. He himself was not experienced with drug use but it sure did not feel like the body of a drug addict. Though not terribly abusive, the previous Wu Xiaoming was an addict. And the reason for his OD might simply be he had too much from the stash he bought from a “friend”, or there was something wrong with that stash. He had no idea now, and he had no intention to find out unless he had to.

During a break, he took the opportunity to peek at the neighbor’s house. From his angle he could not see clearly what was inside - the windows were tinted, and none of them was open. It seemed that no one had been living there for a while, as unlike other houses in the community, no vehicle was parked around it.

But this neighbor’s house also had an open air third floor balcony. It had a pool, some lounge chairs, a large umbrella, and several sculpture art pieces placed in different corners with their own stands. After a quick glance, he counted four other sculptures and statues. One wooden tribal warrior, one glass swan, one wooden Qilin, and one wooden samurai. It was a strange mixture of several different styles and cultures.

 Even after careful examination, he could find nothing abnormal about the building next door. Something told him the abnormal painting and sculptures he fought in the ethereal realm definitely had something to do with something real inside the house. And what of that strange wide wooden chair?

In order to figure out the connection he missed, he probably should visit the same places both in real life and in the ethereal realm.