The rain poured down in thick, merciless sheets, the kind that drowned every sound beneath it, turning the entire world into a blur of grey and neon reflections. Cars hissed through puddles, horns blared in the distance, and yet somehow, in the middle of all that city noise, Lin Feng felt nothing but silence.
A cold, choking silence.
His breath came out in uneven clouds. His hands trembled, his clothes were soaked, and his heart throbbed painfully in his chest. But none of that mattered. None of that could compare to the moment that burned itself into his eyes—
The moment he saw Xiao Yan.
His girlfriend of five years.
In the backseat of a luxury black sedan.
With his closest friend, Chen Rui.
Her legs wrapped around him.
Her fingers digging into his back.
Her lips locked with his.
Her soft, breathless moans echoing off the windows.
Moans Lin Feng never heard from her.
Moans she never allowed him to hear.
Five years together.
Five years of holding hands.
Five years of gentle hugs.
Five years of "not until marriage, Feng… I want our first time to be special."
Five years of blue‑balling him.
Five years of controlling the pace.
Five years of making him wait.
Only for her to give her body to someone else like it was nothing.
Lin Feng stood frozen under the flickering streetlamp, raindrops running down his face not that it mattered. He couldn't tell which was rain and which were tears anymore.
He staggered closer to the car.
His voice cracked painfully.
"Xiao… Yan?"
The windows were fogged, but the shapes inside were unmistakable. The sound of skin against skin, the wet rhythm of movement, the breathless gasps—
"Ah… Rui… slow… someone might see us"
"I locked the doors. Don't worry," Chen Rui whispered before crashing his lips against hers again.
Lin Feng's heart shattered.
He slammed his fist against the car door.
Bang!
"XIAO YAN!!!"
Everything inside the car erupted in chaos.
Her voice trembled.
"L-Lin Feng?!"
Chen Rui muttered something under his breath. "Damn idiot's here already?"
The back door creaked open, and the two of them scrambled to adjust their clothes. Xiao Yan's lipstick was smeared, her blouse half‑buttoned, her hair disheveled—and she still looked beautiful to him.
But now, that beauty only cut deeper.
Chen Rui stepped out first, adjusting his pants shamelessly, smirking as if he'd done nothing wrong.
"Well… if it isn't the loyal puppy."
Lin Feng felt something inside him break.
His fists clenched.
"You… you two… how could you?"
Xiao Yan stepped out next, clutching her purse like a shield. For a moment, she looked ashamed. Guilty. Her eyes reddened. Her lips trembled.
She always know that a day like this will come when the love veil that she have been using to mask her self will be revealed .
But now she have been caught there is no going back she thought.
The moment he stepped forward
the moment she realized he wasn't walking away,
her shame melted into arrogance.
As if he was the one inconveniencing them.
"Lin Feng," she said coldly, "don't make a scene."
Lin Feng felt dizzy.
He laughed. A broken, painful laugh.
"Make a scene? You— You were f*cking my friend in a car!"
Xiao Yan crossed her arms. "Watch your tone."
That sentence stabbed deeper than the cheating itself.
Even now, she acted like she had authority over him.
Even now, she acted like she was the victim.
Chen Rui leaned against the car, smirking.
"Let's not pretend here, Feng. You never satisfied her. Hell, you never even touched her."
Lin Feng trembled.
"Because she said she wanted to wait until marriage!"
Chen Rui barked a laugh.
"And you believed that? Bro, she gave it up to me after one date."
Lin Feng felt like vomiting.
He turned to Xiao Yan.
"Is… is that true?"
Xiao Yan exhaled sharply as if he annoyed her.
"Yes, Lin Feng. I wasn't ready… with you. You were too gentle, too patient. Too… weak. I needed more. And Rui gave it to me."
Lin Feng's vision blurred.
"You said you loved me."
Xiao Yan shrugged.
"I loved the idea of you. But you? You were never confident. Never bold. Never… a man."
A memory stabbed him,
FLASHBACK 1 — Their First Anniversary
Xiao Yan had worn a white dress, smiling softly as she held a small gift box.
"Feng, I know you want more," she whispered shyly, "but… I want our first time to be perfect. After marriage. Okay?"
He remembered hugging her gently.
He remembered whispering, "Of course. I'll wait as long as you need."
He remembered thinking she was the one.
The flashback shattered under her present smirk.
"You waited for what? Five years?" Chen Rui mocked. "Bro, I smashed her on month two."
Lin Feng's legs nearly gave out.
Xiao Yan stepped closer, her heels splashing in the puddles.
"Lin Feng, listen carefully," she said calmly, "I don't want a coward. I want a man who takes what he wants. You? You're the type to ask for permission."
She leaned closer, her perfume mixing with the rain.
"You were never a man in my eyes."
Those words burned into his soul.
Chen Rui laughed loudly.
"Hear that? Even she knows you're useless."
Lin Feng's fists shook violently.
He couldn't breathe.
His heart felt like it was being crushed.
Xiao Yan sighed impatiently.
"Just go home, Lin Feng. Stop embarrassing yourself."
He stared at her, rain streaming down his face.
"I… I loved you…"
She scoffed.
"You loved an illusion."
Chen Rui waved his hand dismissively.
"Enough talking. Boys!"
Five thugs stepped out from the alleyway behind the car, holding pipes, sticks, and one even cracked his knuckles eagerly.
Lin Feng stumbled back.
"W-What…?"
Chen Rui shoved his hands into his pockets.
"You saw too much. And honestly? I've always wanted to beat that pathetic politeness out of you."
The thugs closed in.
"Teach him a lesson," Chen Rui ordered lazily. "Nothing too serious—yet."
Xiao Yan watched, arms folded, expression unreadable.
Lin Feng's entire world spun.
His breath caught.
His heart thundered.
The first thug swung a metal pipe.
Lin Feng barely ducked.
Instinct.
Pure instinct.
His hand grabbed a loose brick from the ground and smashed it against the thug's shoulder.
CRACK!
"ARGH!"
The man fell.
A second thug lunged.
Lin Feng elbowed him sharply in the temple.
Another fell.
The remaining three hesitated, shocked.
Rain hammered the ground.
Lin Feng's breathing was ragged.
His limbs trembled.
But his eyes—
his eyes were burning with something unfamiliar.
Xiao Yan noticed.
Her brows lifted slightly.
"Still… pathetic," she muttered anyway.
But Chen Rui frowned.
"What the f*ck? You two useless idiots can't handle one low-life?"
The remaining thugs rushed him.
One tackled him from behind.
Another punched his ribs.
Another kicked him in the stomach.
Lin Feng collapsed into the mud, coughing, choking, bleeding.
Xiao Yan watched silently.
Chen Rui yawned.
"Boring. Finish him already."
Lin Feng tried standing, but a boot slammed into his back.
Pain exploded across his spine.
His breath caught.
His chest burned.
He reached a hand forward—
wanting to grab something, anything.
He caught a memory instead—
FLASHBACK 2 — When She Was Sick
Two years ago.
Xiao Yan had caught the flu.
High fever.
Weak voice.
"Feng… stay with me… keep me warm."
He stayed awake all night.
Prepared porridge.
Held her hand.
Wrapped her in blankets.
Even skipped work the next day.
She had hugged him weakly.
"You're the best thing that ever happened to me…"
But now she looked at him like garbage.
His fingers curled into the mud.
His vision blurred.
His heart screamed.
Xiao Yan stepped closer.
"Lin Feng… just stay down. This doesn't concern you anymore."
He wanted to scream.
He wanted to fight.
He wanted to cry.
He wanted to disappear.
But all he managed was a whisper
"Why…?"
Chen Rui walked over and crouched in front of him.
"Simple," he said coldly. "You're weak. Useless. And honestly? It feels damn good to take something from you."
He leaned in.
"And she enjoyed every second of it."
Lin Feng's heart shattered.
His breath trembled.
Rain mixed with blood on his cheek.
He felt himself slipping away.
Falling.
Breaking.
He whispered to himself—
"This… this can't be how it ends…"
Then—
A sound.
A voice.
Inside his mind.
> [DING.]
Host detected in critical emotional collapse.
Scanning compatibility…
99.8% match.
Lin Feng froze.
His breath hitched.
The voice echoed again—calm, cold, mechanical, and terrifyingly clear.
> Host: Lin Feng.
Do you want to live?
His heart stopped.
The world went silent.
He thought he was hallucinating.
He thought the pain broke his mind.
But the voice repeated—
> Do you want power?
Do you want revenge?
Do you want strength to crush everything that hurt you?
His fingers twitched.
He whispered—
"Y… yes…"
> Then accept the Binding Oath.
Accept the System.
Accept your rise.
Lightning tore across the sky.
Lin Feng felt something ignite inside him—
like embers being fed oxygen for the first time.
He whispered—
"I… accept…"
> [SYSTEM ACTIVATED]