Chapter 3: Encouragement from the System
Lin Bai, rarely losing his composure, spat out a curse as he propped himself up and kept running.
The second lap, the third lap...
After the third lap, Lin Bai felt aching in his calves, and his feet throbbed with pain, as if they no longer belonged to him.
Fifteen hundred meters meant almost four laps, and only a few minutes remained. The pace slowed with each step, and Lin Bai doubted he could finish the task.
“Hey? Lin Bai, you’re running too?”
Just as Lin Bai was bent over, gasping for air, a fragrant breeze swept past him, followed by a graceful silhouette.
Turning his head, he saw Qin Ruowei jogging up beside him, doing a few stretches.
Compared to Lin Bai’s amateurish style, Qin Ruowei was decidedly professional—from her gear to her movements.
Lin Bai waved weakly, too exhausted to speak.
“How many laps did you run to end up like this?” Qin Ruowei asked, curious.
Lin Bai raised three fingers.
“Thirty laps?!” Qin Ruowei’s voice rose, her beautiful eyes wide.
“Three... three laps.”
“Three laps?!”
This time, Qin Ruowei sounded even more shocked. She looked Lin Bai up and down, then bent over with laughter.
“You’re in this state after just three laps? Are you even trying? I’ll head off, you rest up.”
With that, Qin Ruowei strode away on her long legs, the fragrance fading.
Watching her retreat, Lin Bai’s mind echoed with the words “Are you even trying?” He punched his thigh heavily.
“Damn legs! Move!”
...
Driven by the power of a woman’s words, Lin Bai finally finished the fifteen hundred meters just under fifteen minutes, collapsing onto the lawn in exhaustion.
[Beep! Congratulations, Host, for completing the 1500-meter run.]
Lin Bai had no strength to respond to the system. After resting for a while, he struggled to his feet, removing his shoes.
He’d bought the shoes online for less than thirty yuan. His feet were blistered, and the shoes stank terribly.
Luckily, the field wasn’t crowded, so Lin Bai dared to take them off.
Thinking of the four sets of thirty push-ups and four sets of seventy sit-ups still ahead, Lin Bai lay back on the grass, utterly despondent.
After a while, Qin Ruowei finished her run, walking slowly toward the exit.
Passing not far from Lin Bai, she caught a whiff of something unpleasant, covered her nose, and quickened her pace.
He noted her reaction, glancing at his misshapen knockoff sneakers with a fierce look in his eyes.
After that, Lin Bai spent nearly an hour completing four sets of thirty push-ups.
By the time he finished, night had fallen. It was past seven, and he dragged his aching body back to the dorm.
It was a four-person room; the other three were locals. Two had gone home, leaving only one playing League of Legends.
“Whoa, Lin Bai, did you just crawl out of a sewer? You stink! Go shower!”
Zhao Fangting operated mouse and keyboard without turning around.
“Go for it, go for it! Start! Attack their AD!”
Zhao Fangting’s face was pressed close to the laptop screen, the keyboard clicking furiously.
Lin Bai glanced over, dropped his bag, changed into slippers, grabbed his toiletries, and went to shower.
Afterwards, he felt much refreshed, climbed into bed, hooked his feet into the gap at the bed’s end, put his hands behind his head, took a deep breath, and began sit-ups.
Seventy sit-ups might mean nothing to someone used to it, but for Lin Bai it was an ordeal.
He managed barely thirty before collapsing, his chest heaving on the bed. His phone lay nearby; he was tempted to scroll through videos, watch dramas...
[Beep! Reminder, Host: Think about Chen Shuya! She’s probably rolling in bed with Li Yu right now.]
The system’s abrupt words made Lin Bai sit up straight, shouting angrily, “Shut up!”
Down below, Zhao Fangting’s mouse jerked, his neck shrank back, and he removed his headphones to stare at Lin Bai in confusion.
“Huh?”
“Sorry, I wasn’t talking to you. Play on,” Lin Bai waved a hand and lay back down.
Zhao Fangting sniffed, put his headphones back on.
“Ah! My cannon cart—”
Lin Bai paid no mind. The system’s words were harsh and stung, but they were the truth!
[Beep! Reminder, Host: Avoiding the problem won’t solve it. Women respect strength. When you have eight-pack abs and enough money, only then will you reclaim your lost dignity.]
The system rambled on.
Lin Bai placed his hands behind his head, his gaze growing fierce as he resumed sit-ups.
[Beep! That’s right! Think of your parents...]
[Think about your monthly living allowance, only five hundred...]
[Think about how you gave up a top university for Chen Shuya...]
“Ah!—”
The system kept tearing open Lin Bai’s wounds, exposing them raw.
After the final sit-up, Lin Bai roared and punched the wall hard.
Thud!
Down below, Zhao Fangting flinched, his headphones falling off. He got up, turned, and nervously twisted his fingers.
“Lin Bai, um... can I finish this game before I stop?”
Lin Bai ignored him—because today, he had finally completed the system’s assigned tasks.
[Beep! Congratulations, Host, on completing the first day’s check-in for the side quest. Progress: 1/7. Please keep it up and continue striving.]
Task completed, Lin Bai exhaled deeply, picked up his phone, and opened WeChat.
He scrolled through Moments; the top post was from Chen Shuya, showing her in sunglasses, dressed lightly, holding a milk tea, with the dazzling nightscape of Jiangcheng behind her. The caption read:
“This is exactly the adulthood I wanted.”
Looking at Chen Shuya in the photo, Lin Bai felt deeply conflicted—resentful of her materialistic nature, bitter about the cost of his own devotion.
At the root of it all was his poverty. Poverty was the culprit. Poverty was the original sin.
The system was right: Only with enough strength could he reclaim his lost dignity.
As night fell and exhaustion swept over him, Lin Bai soon drifted to sleep. On the glowing phone screen, Chen Shuya smiled sweetly.
...
The next day.
Lin Bai rose early as usual and headed to the south field to run laps.
Yesterday’s intense exercise left him aching all over.
Yet this soreness also stimulated a fragile nerve inside him. Only through pain could he briefly forget Chen Shuya, forget all those unhappy things.
“By the way, System, can I withdraw yesterday’s subsidy now?”
After a lap, Lin Bai sat on the grass, removed his shoes, grimacing in pain.
[Beep! Please don’t call me System, call me ‘the invincible, most handsome, all-powerful system in history’...]
“I want to withdraw yesterday’s subsidy!”
[Subsidy of 100 yuan has been issued. Please check your account.]
Sure enough, Lin Bai received a text on his bank card confirming the deposit.
[Your account ending in 6832 has received 100 yuan. Current balance: 564.8 yuan.]
Seeing the balance, Lin Bai made up his mind, opened TikTok’s store, found the official flagship shop for Erke, selected a pair of genuine sneakers, paid 165 yuan, and placed the order.