「July 20, 2025.」
Sunday, 8:00 PM. A light evening breeze was blowing.
Modu, Min'an District, Building 5, Apartment 403.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK—!
"Who is it?"
Hearing the knock, Lin Shen put down the report he was pulling an all-nighter to finish and walked to the door, a little surprised.
'Who could it be this late?'
"Hello!"
"You are...?"
After opening the door, Lin Shen sized up the man before him, his expression puzzled.
He was good-looking with a clean-cut face. His pure white cotton T-shirt and beige straight-leg casual pants gave him a fashionable air.
He was twirling a Mercedes-Benz key in his hand, as if afraid no one would notice it.
"Hi, I'm Cheng Yue."
The man smiled and extended his right hand to Lin Shen.
"Gu Wanting's current boyfriend."
?
Lin Shen froze for a moment before realization dawned.
He didn't know Cheng Yue, but he was all too familiar with Gu Wanting!
After all, just a month ago, the two of them were still in bed playing a little game of "cops and robbers."
But they had a fight at the beginning of the month. Gu Wanting had angrily said she wanted to break up, and after she left, she never came back.
'And now, just over half a month later, she's already found a new boyfriend?'
Lin Shen's brow furrowed slightly, but he wasn't overly concerned or angry.
Because Gu Wanting was just too high-maintenance!
Not only did she pick fights over trivial things every day, but she also demanded clothes and gifts worth thousands of yuan every so often.
Of course, seeing as she was three years younger than him, Lin Shen did his best to satisfy her demands.
But how could he, with a monthly salary of only seven to eight thousand, possibly afford such a bottomless pit of desire?
Thus, Lin Shen had long held a grudge against Gu Wanting. Faced with her seamless rebound, he felt a flicker of annoyance but could otherwise accept it calmly.
'She was a hot potato. Good riddance.'
"Something I can help you with?"
"I'm here to pick up Wanting's things."
Seemingly expecting Lin Shen not to shake his hand, Cheng Yue struck a victor's pose, looking incredibly smug.
"She said she didn't want to see you, so she sent me instead."
"Come in."
"Thanks."
After entering, Cheng Yue looked around, critically examining the two-bedroom rental.
"It's so small? Wanting must have really suffered with you."
"Yeah, it was really tough."
Lin Shen sighed dramatically.
"I'm a man with a lot of stamina. I had to make her suffer every night."
???
Cheng Yue's brow tightened at his words. Just as he was about to say something, Lin Shen cut him off.
"The room's here. You can help her pack."
With that, Lin Shen led Cheng Yue to the bedroom. Far from being angry, he even thoughtfully found Gu Wanting's suitcase and opened the closet.
"Here! This is all her stuff. I bought her a lot of stockings. They're all disposable. Does she want the ripped ones back?"
"No!"
Cheng Yue's face turned ashen with anger. He started packing Gu Wanting's things with extreme speed, desperate to get out of there.
He had originally planned to use this opportunity to put Lin Shen in his place.
Instead, Lin Shen had completely turned the tables on him, making it seem like he was getting his leftovers!
Cheng Yue's heart filled with resentment.
Lin Shen, however, was completely relaxed. He leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, a mocking smile on his face.
"..."
"Shut up!"
Cheng Yue's face had turned a furious, beet-red. He glared at Lin Shen, fuming.
He clenched and unclenched his fists, but in the end, he just grabbed the suitcase and fled in disgrace.
"Hey! You're not done packing yet!"
SLAM—!
Watching Cheng Yue slam the door and leave, Lin Shen curled his lip in disdain, then collapsed onto the living room sofa in a daze.
'I guess I'm not as over it as I thought...'
Although Gu Wanting had long since exhausted his patience, Lin Shen still felt a strange pang of bitterness now that their three-year relationship had vanished into thin air.
The two had met on campus.
That year, he was a graduating senior, and she was a freshman.
Now, after struggling in the real world for three years, Lin Shen had believed his pure love would eventually blossom, but reality hit him like a ton of bricks.
As she neared graduation, Gu Wanting still ended up kicking him to the curb.
'So quick... only a fool would believe she hadn't already lined up a replacement!'
Anyone could see that Cheng Yue was the tall, rich, and handsome type who was popular on campus. He must have been in touch with Gu Wanting on the side.
'And me?'
'A corporate drone whose life is a complete mess?'
'A working stiff who leaves early and comes home late?'
'Turns out it's not about getting a master's or a Ph.D. It's about being born rich!'
Lin Shen covered his eyes with his arm and gave a self-deprecating laugh before picking up his phone and opening WeChat.
Sure enough, Gu Wanting had already changed her profile picture. She had even posted a provocative photo on her Moments of her and Cheng Yue holding hands in his Mercedes-Benz, making their relationship official.
"Damn it!"
The more Lin Shen thought about it, the angrier he got. He threw his phone hard onto the sofa, causing the screen to suddenly go black.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Lin Shen quickly grabbed the phone and pressed the power button on the side. A strange BZZZT-CRACKLE sound played, and a line of text suddenly appeared on the screen.
[Welcome to the Hacked Dreamboat System! "Alipay" has been automatically cracked! Current Main Quest Progress: 5%]
"What the hell?"
Lin Shen was completely bewildered, but at least his phone had turned on properly.
But he noticed that next to the original blue Alipay app, there was now a red app with the same icon.
It was named: [ReceivePal]
Huh?
'Did my phone get a virus?'
That was the first thing that came to Lin Shen's mind, but after thinking it over, he hesitated.
'Hacked Dreamboat System...'
'A system...'
'Hmm...'
"Probably not, right?"
Preparing for the worst, Lin Shen tentatively tapped on [ReceivePal] and found its interface was completely different from Alipay's.
Rather than a lifestyle app, it looked more like a game.
[ReceivePal LV.1]
[Decryption Effect: 500/day (Increases based on ReceivePal's level and the number of cracked apps)]
[Level Up Quest: Total Assets Exceed 10,000 (Completed!)]
[Reward: ReceivePal LV.1 → LV.2]
[Decryption Effect: 500/day → 700/day]
[Item: Low-Level Random Cracking Card x1 (Can be used to randomly crack any low-level app on the phone)]
[Level Up Quest: Total Assets Exceed 50,000 Yuan (42,000/50,000).]
'ReceivePal?'
Just as Lin Shen was staring blankly, his phone suddenly received a text message from his bank.
「Construction Bank: Your account ending in 7946 received a deposit of RMB 700 on July 20 at 20:56. Current balance: 42,700.」
HISS—!
Lin Shen sucked in a sharp breath and pinched his own cheek hard with his right hand.
When the sharp pain registered, he first froze, then his expression twisted into pure ecstasy.
'No way, man!'
'Is this for real?'
"Hahaha..."
Lin Shen clutched his phone and burst out laughing.
He hadn't laughed so freely in years, not since he'd entered the workforce.
He laughed until his head grew dizzy from lack of oxygen, tears streaming from his eyes.
But Lin Shen still couldn't stop, continuously venting his ecstatic emotions.
When his laughter finally subsided, exhausted, Lin Shen collapsed onto the sofa to rest, his mind still reeling in disbelief.
'The system... it's actually real?!'