[Central Plaza — September 15, 05:02 PM]
The Plaza was thick with end-of-day flow.
Students moved through it in clusters and singles, drifting toward dining halls, the dorms, and the campus exits. The light from the west had gone gold and long. The colonnade on the south side cast even columns of shadow across the stone.
Lin Feng cut through from the west, hands at his sides, phone in his pocket.
A boy three meters in front of him stopped to retie a shoelace and Lin Feng's line shifted a half-meter without him thinking about it. Two girls came the other way with a thermos between them, and he angled to give them the side of the path. The corrections were continuous.
Then Lin Feng sighed.
"Xiao Yue said someone would most likely make their move tonight."
"She must be referring to Weiwei…"
"And most likely…"
Lin Feng sighed again. "Weiwei is spying on me all day long..."
As if on cue, he tapped his pocket, then glanced down at it. It was empty.
"Right, and I need to buy cigarettes later. I hope they have one here..."
"How annoying…" Lin Feng then walked forward with a downcast expression, hands in his pockets.
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On the east side of the Plaza, Long Tian was walking fast on the crowded path.
As he walked by, the crowd looked at him, then stepped to the side, giving him way.
Long Tian then looked at his phone. The time was already a few minutes past five. The next bus would arrive at 05:15.
"Fuck… I actually forgot about the bus…" he said, his irritated voice not matching his cheerful expression. A smile even graced his lips and he brisk walked through the crowd.
He then looked at his system panel, and there, he saw a few lines of text on it.
[Conquest Points (CP): 2,250 CP]
[Available Cash: ¥26,000]
Long Tian slowed down slightly.
"Maybe I should just take a taxi or something…"
Then he shook his head and continued his brisk walking. "No, just because I have money now doesn't mean I should change myself and become a spendthrift!"
Long Tian kept walking. The people around him, whether men or women, students or professors, looked at him and gave way to him.
He continued on, walking forward with his chest up.
---------------------
As Long Tian walked quickly on the crowded path, he saw a man walking slowly, murmuring to himself with his hands in his pockets.
The man was wearing casual attire. There was nothing grand to him — he just looked downcast and dejected, as if he was being pulled in two different directions.
And he was walking right in front of him, about twenty meters away.
---------------------
"I wonder if convenience stores here sell cigarettes. I don't remember anyone in that novel being a smoker."
Lin Feng continued walking slowly.
"Are there even convenience stores here in this world? And damn, I also need to learn how the traffic rules in this world work."
He sighed again for the nth time. "Well, this might be better as it might make me stop smoking after all. And besides, smelling like cigarettes before going to a date with Weiwei might not be a good idea."
He then turned to his phone, looking at the map. The map led to the university's parking lot where he had parked his car this morning after delivering food to Xiao Yue.
After that, he typed convenience store into the map.
A few of them popped up on the map, and Lin Feng let out a sigh of relief.
After that, he placed his phone back in his pocket and kept his hands in his pockets.
Then, he looked ahead and saw a man, walking like he was chasing something, yet not urgent enough to warrant a run.
The man in front of him had well-kept golden hair; his clothes looked cheap. Despite that, they did not make him look like some pauper.
"Is that him?"
Lin Feng asked, keeping his pace as he walked in the opposite direction, toward this golden-haired man.
---------------------
Long Tian continued to walk fast, quickly closing the distance between them. Yet his eyes were on the silver-haired man.
Between him and that person was a student. Upon seeing him, the student quickly walked to the side and even nodded at him.
Yet, the student did not even make Long Tian turn his gaze. He just walked, his gaze on the silver-haired man, who seemed to be looking at him.
---------------------
Ten steps.
Lin Feng's line was dead center on Long Tian's line, the two of them on a collision course.
Seven steps.
Long Tian's expression changed from neutral to intrigued and curious. Lin Feng continued treading the same path.
Five steps.
Three steps.
Both the silver- and golden-haired students did not change course. The pace held. The line held.
Two steps. One meter.
Lin Feng was not adjusting at all.
One step.
Lin Feng was still not adjusting.
Then Long Tian's body twisted. His shoulders and hips rotating fast, an ungraceful flinch of the whole torso — the move his body made when the gap closed faster than expected. The pass happened at breath-distance.
The back of his arm grazed something. Or did not. The fabric of Lin Feng's shirt was right there at the edge of his peripheral vision and the air moved and he could not tell.
The man's pace did not change. His head did not turn.
Long Tian was now past Lin Feng.
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Then one step. Then, by the second step, his body resolved the twist.
Three steps.
Four.
Long Tian finally slowed down, his head turning to look back. His gaze then landed on the back of the man who still had his hands in his pockets, still walking slowly.
"What's wrong with him?"
"Wait, have I seen him before?"
Long Tian then turned his gaze forward, walking absentmindedly along the crowded path for a moment.
People in front of him continued to steer away from him, some of them nodding, wearing strange smiles as if they knew him.
Then he turned back. The silver-haired man was still walking, hands still in his pockets. He did not even turn to look back at him.
As if he hadn't even noticed him yet.
Then he faced forward again, walking straight, his face puzzled. Then he breathed a sigh of relief.
"I feel like I have seen that person before, but I can't quite place where..."
Then he shook his head.
"Is something wrong with that guy just now?"
Long Tian looked back again. This time, the man with silver hair had disappeared into the crowd.
"No matter, the guy must have problems in the head, or else how could he not have steered away from me?" he said, looking at the clock by the side of the path. The clock said 05:09 PM.
Seeing the time, he continued to brisk walk across the campus, and along the way, people continued to steer clear of him.
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[Female Dormitory, Building 8, Room 312 — 05:09 PM]
Students were walking back and forth along the narrow corridor. Outside, yellowish-red sunbeams pierced through the westward window, the light migrating slowly to the side of the farthest wall.
One of them, with a blazer over her shoulders, walked the corridor, humming a catchy romance song to herself.
Upon seeing the label 'Room 312', she halted, her hand unconsciously reaching for the doorknob.
Then she paused. "Oh right! My dormmates often don't spend the night here at the dorm." She sighed, reaching out for her shoulder bag to find the key. Moments later, her fingers found her key in a pocket of her shoulder bag.
She then inserted the key, expecting to hear a lock giving way, only to find the door already unlocked.
"That's strange. They were here already?" She opened the door, revealing the three bunk beds inside.
And on one of the beds, she found a familiar figure sleeping, her hand on her phone.
"Tingting?"
She called to the figure on the bed, causing Zhang Tingting to look toward the source of the voice.
"Yuting?" Zhang Tingting drowsily turned her head to the door. "Aren't you free today? Did you have some urgent meeting this afternoon? By the way, I sent you a message earlier. Did you read it?"
She then slowly sat up on the bed, rubbing her eyes. Soon, she saw more of her cousin, who looked at her, then at her phone, then back at her. Zhang Yuting was smiling sweetly, her cheeks flushed red.
Then she squinted, as if realizing what was happening.
"Hey… Yuting…" Zhang Tingting called her cousin's name, a teasing smile appearing on her lips. "Did someone ask you out on a date? I thought you told me you were going to become a nun or something."
Zhang Yuting froze, looking at her cousin like a deer caught in headlights.
"How did you know?"
It was Zhang Tingting's turn to be surprised, her eyes widening as she replied, "Wow… Someone really asked you out! Ohhh… Cousin! Tell me, tell me! Who is that boy? Which good-looking man out there has managed to make my pretty cousin go on a date with him?"
Zhang Yuting began to fidget in her spot, her face glowing redder. "It's a silly story actually. Earlier I met a guy in the library. He was handsome. And while clumsy, he began to hit on me, making an excuse that every other place in the library was occupied."
She then moved from the door and went inside, closing the door behind her. Then she placed her blazer and bag on the nearby chair by her desk. Meanwhile, Zhang Tingting's eyes narrowed, her mouth opening as if to ask her cousin a question, but Zhang Yuting cut her off and continued.
"To be honest, I found his silly entry quite cute," Zhang Yuting said, giggling for a moment before she continued. "Though I do admit, he is very handsome. Also he has a rare hair color, a golden one. It looks very good on him."
Zhang Yuting then placed her hands on her hips, looking at the window as if complaining to it. "Unlike some other rich guys out there who do nothing but flaunt their wealth."
"Anyway, Tingting… Hehehe… We went for coffee and then we walked together along the campus lake. We talked, shared our stories. And now…"
"Now what?" Zhang Tingting's drowsiness was gone, replaced by a wide grin. "Don't tell me…"
"Yes, Tingting!" Zhang Yuting's hands left her hips. She closed the distance between herself and Zhang Tingting, grabbed her hands, and clasped them softly. "He's now my boyfriend!"
Zhang Tingting looked carefully at her cousin. In her face, Zhang Yuting's eyes looked slightly glazed, as if something was missing from them, but she could not pin it down.
It was the same look Su Qingxue had worn earlier.
Her grin slowly disappeared from her face, as a question surfaced from deep within her.
"Yuting… Tell me the truth…" she asked her cousin, a tinge of fear audible in her voice. "Did this person text a girl this afternoon?"
"He did text someone this afternoon… It seemed like it was a girl. Wait…" Now it was Zhang Yuting's turn to look surprised. Then, with excitement, she asked, "Was it you? Really! Oh my God! This is good news. We could become real sisters now!"
Zhang Tingting looked at her as if Zhang Yuting had said that the sun had risen in the west, completely at a loss.
"Cousin! Hey? Was that you?"
Zhang Tingting shook her head, recovering her composure. "No… It was Qingxue."
"Ohh… So it was the campus belle. Good of her. She actually has taste!" Zhang Yuting nodded in approval.
"I mean, cousin… you don't mind sharing him with my… best friend?"
"No…" Zhang Yuting shrugged. "I would like to have him for myself… But…"
"But what?"
"How can I? He's a dragon among men. He is meant for greatness. I feel like he's my white moonlight. I am not worthy to have someone like him all for myself."
Zhang Tingting slid back on the bed, trying to move away from Zhang Yuting though her hand was still under her cousin's light grip.
"Re—Really?" Zhang Tingting said, trying to free herself from her.
"Yes!" Zhang Yuting leaned in, her face brightening. The grip on Zhang Tingting's hand did not adjust — still light, still cousin-light — but Zhang Tingting found she could not pull away from it.
Then she added, "Tingting, how about this. Let's go and meet with Long Tian. Oh, perfect, actually, Long Tian and I are going on a date by Wednesday. Why don't you come with me?"
"Uhmm… Ahhh…"
Zhang Tingting was at a loss for words. She looked again at her cousin's glazed eyes.
Then her phone suddenly lit up. An alarm sound came from it.
The two of them quickly looked at the phone. Zhang Yuting let go of her hand, slowly reaching for it — but Zhang Tingting got there first, snatching the phone and holding it close as if her life depended on it.
Then Zhang Tingting quickly swung her legs off the bed, grabbed her bag, and swiftly reached for the door.
"Tingting?"
"I have to go. I forgot something. A class thing. For tomorrow. I'm sorry, Yuting."
She was at the door. Her hand was on the handle. Then she stopped. Zhang Tingting turned one more time back to her cousin.
Zhang Yuting was just standing there, looking at her with expectant eyes, an eerie smile visible on her face.
"Tingting. Come with me by Wednesday. Let's have a double date with my boyfriend! Trust me, it's better than hanging out with that useless second-generation waste."
Zhang Tingting then opened the door and stepped through and pulled it shut behind her, the alarm on her phone still on and ringing loud.
---------------------
She walked as fast as her legs could bring her. When brisk walking wasn't enough, she jogged through the narrow corridors of the dorm, then into the staircase.
Once she was out, she bolted as fast as she could, the alarm sound reverberating through her ears like a war drum. A few moments later, she was already out of the dorm complex. Then, she leaned on the nearby tree.
Zhang Tingting looked back at the dorm building she had just run from. Her eyes turned towards a particular window on the third floor, and there she was.
Zhang Yuting was looking down at her, her body still.
She couldn't make out her cousin's face well, but she was sure she could see her smiling.
Zhang Tingting walked towards the other side of the tree, hiding herself away from her cousin's gaze.
Once her cousin was out of sight, she finally looked at her phone.
[Alarm: 05:24 PM — A dinner meeting with Lin Feng. Swipe right to snooze.]
Zhang Tingting leaned against the tree, sliding down it, not caring anymore whether her clothes would get dirty or not.
Even cancelled, even when he was with some other woman — his name was still the one on her screen.
"He… Haha… Hahahaha!"
Zhang Tingting laughed as loud as she could, her chef uniform looking dusty and dirty, the oil from her morning class starting to stain. Yet she did not care. She laughed while a few teardrops slid down her cheeks.
She continued to laugh there, like some madwoman, saying nothing, her phone alarm still ringing in her hand.
Around her, people looked at her. And none came to her at all.
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[Eastern District — 06:00 PM]
Long Tian unlocked the flimsy door at the end of the hall and stepped into the bedspacer, a four-square-meter room.
Foam on the floor. The vent in the wall leaking the neighbor's alarm — somebody had set an alarm for the evening and forgotten to turn it off. The bulb hanging from the ceiling.
He shut the door behind him, crossed to the foam, and sat down. He lay back, a big smile on his face.
"I… I actually have a girlfriend now," Long Tian said, stretching his arm up, his hand blocking the light of the bulb.
"I… I have become Yuting's boyfriend…"
His mind began to wander, replaying what had happened throughout the day. The library, the mess-up, the date in the café, the slow walk along the lake and their exchange of contacts.
A smile stayed on his lips, his hand hovering above him, its shadow casting over his face.
"And then… after this… we will go on dates. Hold hands together… watch movies… then a kiss during a sunset…"
Then a pause as Long Tian thought of more things after that. His face flushed slightly as his imagination wandered into those areas.
"That… That was embarrassing…" he said to no one, though a smile betrayed him. "Well, it is what it is… after all I will marry her in the end, have plenty of kids with her and then I'll be a good father and then…"
Long Tian paused.
"I would teach them. What nobody taught me. From the first step to the wedding. I would be there. I would be the father I never had."
He let himself imagine it for longer than he had let himself imagine anything since he was nine years old.
"What if I just stopped. What if I let it go. What if I just — became this. Just be happy."
Then he imagined the life of those protagonists in harem novels. All they do is power up. He conquers the first girl and by chapter 300, no one knows anymore who that person is and the protagonist has done nothing but improve and improve himself.
The protagonist will say he wants to become powerful — to reach the heavens — and will say he is doing it for those he loves.
"But where is the love and happiness with all of that? And who are they really doing it for?"
"And…"
Long Tian was silent for a moment, his hand playing with the beams of light from his old light bulb.
"Do I really need a system to be happy?"
---------------------
[⚠️ EMERGENCY PENALTY MISSION ⚠️]
[FORCEFUL SYSTEM INTERVENTION]
---------------------
The mission alarm hit him. He sat up so fast the foam shifted underneath him.
His vision went red. The pleasant evening shattered into the harsh pulsing rectangle of the system's emergency interface.
"No! No! No!"
---------------------
[⚠️ EMERGENCY PENALTY MISSION ⚠️]
[FORCEFUL SYSTEM INTERVENTION]
[PENALTY MISSION: DUAL DATING]
[REQUIREMENTS:]
├─ Meet Su Qingxue tomorrow
├─ Meet Zhang Yuting tomorrow
├─ Date both for minimum 2 hours each
├─ Maintain Zhang Yuting above 59
└─ Raise Su Qingxue to 70+
[TIME LIMIT: 23:59:59]
[FAILURE PENALTY:]
├─ Su Qingxue affection −70
├─ Zhang Yuting affection −100
├─ System privileges suspended 120 hrs
├─ System cash deposits −¥20,000
└─ All abilities locked 120 hrs
[Yes] [Yes]
---------------------
Long Tian read it three times. The penalty was at the bottom of the panel and his eye caught it first.
"Zhang Yuting affection −100?"
Long Tian then looked at Zhang Yuting's current affection. It was at 73.
"Wait… if I fail this mission… that means… am I going to lose Yuting?"
Long Tian's fist clenched, his teeth grinding as he looked at the two buttons that sat at the bottom of the panel.
[Yes] [Yes]
Long Tian fell back to his foam bed, the color disappearing from his face. Then he let out a self-deprecating laugh.
"Really? Is everything going to end like this?"
He lay there as a new panel appeared before him.
---------------------
[Time to Accept Emergency Mission: 00:10:00]
[Note: Failure to accept the emergency mission within the allocated time would constitute failure of the emergency mission]
[Time to Accept Emergency Mission: 00:09:59]
[Time to Accept Emergency Mission: 00:09:58]
---------------------
Long Tian looked at the screen before him as the countdown had begun, the expression on his face looking defeated. Then he let out a deep sigh.
"Should I… really do this?"
Long Tian asked no one in particular. Then as if to answer his question, his phone buzzed. He quickly grabbed his phone and read its new message.
[Zhang Yuting: Hi Brother Tian! 😊] Received: 06:06 PM
He stopped.
[Zhang Yuting: I had such a nice time today.] Received: 06:06 PM
And then a third one.
[Zhang Yuting: Also — I checked my schedule and it turns out I'm actually free tomorrow afternoon. If you don't want to wait until Wednesday, I'd love to see you sooner. No pressure though! 😊] Received: 06:07 PM
He read it many times.
The relief that arrived in his chest came as a wave, strong enough to scare him a little.
"Yuting actually wants to meet with me tomorrow?"
A warm feeling surged through him.
Long Tian then looked at his own reflection on his screen. The golden-haired man. The one abandoned in the woods during a lightning dance. The one found by forest patrolmen.
"Of course… Of course… The world will find a way for me. The people I hold dear will find a way for me."
"I will definitely not disappoint Yuting. If I am indeed the protagonist, then I will not let anyone write my life for me. I will not be like every other protagonist."
"I shall write my own fate."
As if possessed by something, Long Tian's fingers flew over the keyboard, typing his response to her.
[Long Tian: Yuting! 😊 Of course, I would love to.] Sent: 06:09 PM
[Long Tian: Tomorrow would be perfect. Where do you want to meet?] Sent: 06:09 PM
The dots appeared. Her replies came back almost immediately.
[Zhang Yuting: How about Cloud Nine, just like we planned? Same time, just one day earlier! 😊] Received: 06:10 PM
[Long Tian: Cloud Nine at 2. See you tomorrow.] Sent: 06:10 PM
[Zhang Yuting: See you tomorrow Brother Tian! 😊] Received: 06:10 PM
He then swiped out of Zhang Yuting's thread and opened Su Qingxue's. The earlier redirect-messages were still there. He did not read them. He scrolled past to the message field.
[Long Tian: Hey Qingxue. 😊 For tomorrow — how about Cloud Nine Café at 2? They have a quiet area in the back.] Sent: 06:11 PM
The reply landed in under a minute.
[Su Qingxue: Yes! I'd love to. 😊❤️] Received: 06:12 PM
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[DING!]
[MISSION ACCEPTED]
[TIMER: 23:59:59]
[TIMER: 23:59:58]
---------------------
Long Tian let go of his phone and raised one arm back into the light.
He returned to toying with the light from the dim light bulb, the shadows dancing right in front of his face.
"I am Long Tian," he said, looking at the light. "I will not be toyed with by anything, or anyone."
"I will not let anything or anyone stand in my way."
"I am a destined son of the heavens. A heavenly dragon."
Then he clenched his fist, as if grabbing the light coming from above.
"If anyone dares to take my beloved away from me, I will not spare them. Even if it's the system."
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[End of Chapter]