"Han-jie, look, isn’t that Zhou Yi sitting in the corner?"
"Yeah, wasn’t he your simp before? Haven’t seen him bothering you lately."
"Han-jie has Young Master Gao now, of course she wouldn’t spare a glance for some poor guy like him."
Not far away in the cafeteria, Chu Han was eating with her friends.
In their eyes, Zhou Yi was nothing more than her devoted follower.
"Who would’ve thought he’d turn out so handsome. Han-jie, any regrets? Hehe."
"If you don’t like him, why not pass him to me? Do you have his WeChat? Send it to me!"
The moment Chu Han remembered Zhou Yi now had a rich, beautiful girl by his side—and had even blocked her on WeChat—the smile in her eyes dimmed slightly.
Stirring the soup in her bowl, she deliberately replied, "Why would I have a simp’s WeChat? If you want it, go ask him yourself."
"Ugh, I heard he’s hard to get. Otherwise, I’d have gone for it already."
"But why is he hanging out with Su Ning and her crew? She’s literally the ice queen."
Su Ning and Wang Yixin, along with a few other beauties, were hard to miss where they sat.
Chu Han usually dined outside with Gao Wenhao, but today, perhaps because he’d noticed her shifting attitude toward Zhou Yi, he’d left her behind in a fit of displeasure.
Chu Han couldn’t care less. Young Master Gao loved throwing tantrums to assert his superiority—she was used to it by now and refused to grovel for his attention.
But hearing Zhou Yi was here, and with Su Ning no less, her curiosity got the better of her.
Propping her chin on her hand, she scrutinized them and remarked, "That girl next to him… isn’t that Wang Yixin?"
A curly-haired girl beside her scoffed. "Tch. Of course it’s that two-faced snake. Looks like Zhou Yi’s about to get played."
Wang Yixin was no innocent flower—she took pleasure in toying with people’s emotions. One of Chu Han’s exes had fallen victim to her schemes before.
Chu Han narrowed her eyes, smirking. "Maybe she’s just making small talk. It’s not like she’d actually be into Zhou Yi. Sure, his face got an upgrade, but deep down, he’s still the same simp."
For some reason, Chu Han dreaded the idea of Zhou Yi improving himself.
She kept convincing herself that even with his newfound looks, he remained the same desperate guy from before.
Maybe, just maybe, part of her hoped his feelings for her hadn’t changed.
But that ship had sailed the moment he blocked her.
"Han-jie, you’ve got high standards, so you think no one would want Zhou Yi. But do you know how many girls are dying for his WeChat? The forum threads about him have thousands of replies."
"Speaking of which, I just heard something wild."
"What?"
"Apparently, Zhou Yi aced both his Chinese and math exams today—full marks. Plus, he got the only spot in their program for the math modeling competition."
Chu Han burst out laughing. "No way. He failed so many classes last year. Scoring perfect? That’s got to be a rumor."
Her friend pulled out her phone, showing her the forum posts.
"Look, it’s right here. A girl from Visual Communication Class 3 confirmed it. They say he even got their department’s only competition slot."
Chu Han froze as she read.
How was this possible? Zhou Yi, a perfect scorer? In a math competition?
"I heard an even crazier theory. Wanna know?"
"Spill."
"People in Visual Comm are speculating why Zhou Yi changed so much. Their conclusion? He was hiding his true abilities all along—like he’s got some insane background."
The rumor spread like wildfire, growing more exaggerated with each retelling. By the time it reached Chu Han’s circle, Zhou Yi was practically some hidden elite.
Chu Han was on the verge of an existential crisis.
Rolling her eyes, she snapped, "He’s an orphan. What ‘background’ could he possibly have? Visual Comm majors really live up to their creative reputations, huh?"
The girl shot back, "That’s exactly why it’s suspicious! Rumor has it he found his birth parents, and that’s when everything changed. Doesn’t that make you wonder? There’s gotta be more to it."
Chu Han eyed her skeptically. "People actually believe this?"
"Uh, yeah. Why else would guys like Wang Yang suddenly start eating with him? Zhou Yi never got that kind of treatment before."
"Exactly. Even Su Ning, who used to despise him, is sitting at the same table now. She must know something."
Chu Han’s gaze darted back to Zhou Yi, her mind racing.
If the rumors were true… was Zhou Yi actually a rich heir?
Not just book-smart, but a genius?
Had his whole ‘simp’ act been a facade?
She nearly stood up to confront him—but one glance at the crowd around him made her hesitate.
She couldn’t just march over. If Gao Wenhao found out, it’d be a disaster.
Still, she needed answers. If Zhou Yi turned out to be a bigger catch than Young Master Gao… had she bet on the wrong horse?
[Chu Han’s Regret +20, Affection +20.]
Zhou Yi paused at the system’s notification.
Scanning the room, he quickly spotted Chu Han.
Among the women the original Zhou Yi had simped for, Chu Han was the most mercenary.
Her affection and regret points were the easiest to manipulate—because she was a gold-digger, plain and simple.
But women like her grew harder to sway over time. Hearts didn’t factor into her calculations.
Zhou Yi guessed she’d heard the rumors.
Nothing else would’ve shaken her this much.
"System, what’s the benefit of gaining affection points from the women I’m supposed to take revenge on?"
"Plenty. While they aren’t ranked, the higher their affection, the more items you can unlock in the system store. Their individual affection points are called ‘Red Coins.’ Check the store now."
"My system store is already open?"
"Correct. You just hit Level 10."
Zhou Yi pulled up his stats panel:
[Name: Zhou Yi]
[Level: Lv10 (Silver)]
[Wealth: ¥8,739,380 (Affluent)]
[Appearance: 100 (Unrivaled)]
[Combat: 100 (Invincible)]
[IQ: 200 (Genius)]
[Reputation: 37 (Notable)]
[Attribute Points: 9,685]
[Mission Progress:]
[Xia Qiuzhi’s Regret: 10]
[Chu Han’s Regret: 20]
[Su Ning’s Regret: 10]
[Comeback Progress: 37]
[Affection Points Earned: 7,605]
[Devoted Followers: 0]
[Achievements Unlocked: None]
[Item/Skill Acquired: Photographic Memory, Exceptional Recall]
[Current Ranking: 60,652]
[Congratulations, Host! Level Up Achieved. System Store Now Unlocked]
he colors of other people’s emotions. Light red meant anxiety. Gray meant exhaustion. Orange meant excitement. Yellow... meant repression. At the same time, he could gain unlimited control over one of those colors. Pale cyan: relaxation. Using this ability, he started offering “two-yuan hugs,” spending an afternoon exchanging emotional-color experiences with others. Then came his final female customer of the day— a girl whose emotional color was pure black... —— A week later, Xu Chuan had become skilled at using pale cyan—Relaxation—treating it like a bottle of menthol balm whenever he needed it. That was when he discovered he had unlocked another unlimited emotional color: Purple, the color of fear. So these emotional colors refresh every week? Fine, I take it back—I’ll never call you useless again... —— Much later, after Xu Chuan had accumulated countless emotional abilities, one night, he suddenly found himself inside someone else’s dream. There, he could use the emotional colors he possessed to paint. And in her dream, he painted her a shower of pink shooting stars, spreading across the depths of the night sky...
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
't think I'm that capable, I'm just trying my best to stay alive. I've been kind all my life, never did anything bad, yet worldly suffering spared me not one bit. The human world is a nice place, but I won't come back in my next life. A kind young man, who wanted to just get by singing, but through repeated deceits and betrayals, has gone down an irredeemable path.
ions, keeping it grounded and realistic】 After quitting his job, office worker Su Yang accidentally binds with the "Enjoy Life System." As the name suggests, simply by indulging in life's pleasures, he can earn random rewards from the system—no need to spend money on beautiful women or grovel before anyone. Just enjoy, and the money follows, making it all about effortless fun. The system comes with a scanning feature, allowing him to establish a favorability bond with women rated 85 points or above. Every 20-point increase in favorability unlocks additional rewards. After suffering through over twenty years of hardship, Su Yang trembles with excitement, his dull eyes suddenly gleaming with newfound hope. "Enjoy life? How hard could that be?"
