"Shen Yuan, let's end it here,"
"Don't contact me anymore in the future."
"I hope you find a more sensible girl."
In Star City, at the south gate of International Economics University, Shen Yuan's eyes widened in surprise, "Ting, to break up after three years of love, I didn't think you would be so heartless."
"Can you please not talk like you're some kind of pure love warrior? You know exactly how deep our feelings are."
"Also, don't call me 'Ting' anymore. To be honest, it's pretty tacky. Please call me by my full name, Zhou Wanting, thank you."
As they spoke, a black Audi A7 glided over and stopped steadily beside Zhou Wanting.
Zhou Wanting held her chin up proudly, brushing her bangs behind her ears, "I have to go, a friend is picking me up."
Shen Yuan stared blankly at his girlfriend of three years as she was about to open the car door and step into the passenger seat of the A7 and couldn't help but reach out his hand again, "Ting, wait."
"Didn't I tell you to stop calling me Ting?!"
Zhou Wanting paused and frowned slightly, "What else do you want?"
"Do you remember those brand-name bags I bought for you? They cost quite a bit at the time; can you return them to me?"
"Shen Yuan, have you no shame?"
"I slept with you for three years, and you're fussing over a few lousy bags, even wanting to take them back after breaking up?!"
"Uh...."
Shen Yuan was taken aback, paused for a moment, and then suggested, "How about this, when you're free, let's relive our past three years together. After all, we've been together for so long..."
"Fuck off!"
With a loud "bang," Zhou Wanting didn't look back, closed the car door mercilessly, leaving Shen Yuan standing there stunned.
"Damn it, I'm a bit of a loss, she wouldn't even give me a chance to recoup some interest."
He met Zhou Wanting three years ago, back when Shen Yuan had just become a freshman at International Economics University.
Being quite good-looking among the freshmen and driving a showy pink BMW Series 4 on registration day, he caught the attention of Zhou Wanting, a sophomore participating in the welcoming activities.
Under her relentless pursuit, Shen Yuan didn't hold back.
Truth be told, faced with a senior like Zhou Wanting, especially one from the flight attendant program with legs both long and white, and a well-proportioned figure, Shen Yuan thought no guy could resist.
In their three years together, not only did Shen Yuan learn a lot from his senior that wasn't in textbooks, but he also unlocked quite a bit of new "knowledge."
Of course, Shen Yuan didn't let his teacher of sorts go unrewarded.
His family was well-off; at that time, his parents had opened three overseas travel agencies with booming business making a killing, so Shen Yuan never lacked spending money.
He would buy Zhou Wanting gifts every month, from skincare to lipstick, from makeup to shoes, always mixing it up.
And he'd give her a bag each semester, Chanel, LV, Prada—he'd let Zhou Wanting choose anything under 50,000 yuan.
Unfortunately, good times don't last forever. Affected by that catastrophe, all industries were severely impacted; international travel was out of the question, let alone domestic.
Shen Yuan's parents thought the situation wouldn't last too long and struggled to keep the business afloat, but who knew it would turn into such a grueling marathon.
With airlines, tourist spots, and major company off-sites originally planned for international trips facing wave after wave of cancellations, what was more damning was that Old Shen had just opened the third branch that year.
Over three years, travel agency rental costs, utilities, employee wages, invested advertisements, online promotions, and extensive breaches of contract...
Various factors led to three travel agencies shrinking to two, then one, and eventually, the last one didn't last long either.
The family sold off two properties, and three cars, from ten million in assets they suddenly were in debt by over a million.
The Shen family had returned to square one, and Shen Yuan went from a rich second-generation to a debtor second-generation.
When the Shen family declared bankruptcy, Zhou Wanting had already been interning at an airline for a while, often meeting wealthy people, and with such an incident, she naturally kept her distance from Shen Yuan.
Zhou Wanting knew how to play it, starting with using her busy work as an excuse to see Shen Yuan less, then gradually reducing the frequency of WeChat and phone contact, and now formally proposing a breakup this return to school.
Actually, Shen Yuan didn't care much about this, after all, when they got together, it was a relationship of convenience, and Zhou Wanting leaving for money reasons was quite normal.
Who believes in pure love these days anyway!
The only thing he regretted was the money spent.
In the past, Shen Yuan was quite lavish, giving away designer bags on a whim, and buying high-end cosmetics without hesitating. Now, with the whole family crammed in a 70-square-meter rental, he realized the severity of the situation.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked Zhou Wanting for the bags back since one bag he once gave away easily now accounted for several months of his family's living expenses.
After becoming a debtor second-generation, his standard of living dropped drastically, trading driving a BMW for taking the bus, no longer visiting KTVs or bars, and daring only to eat fast food.
His social circle changed too; he used to be surrounded by fair-weather friends who'd dine and drink with him, but now that they knew about the bankruptcy, they all kept their distance.
Fortunately, Shen Yuan took after his dad's easygoing nature. He was always taught to be open-minded and optimistic, so he could take such a hit.
In short, life was tough, but he saw a silver lining in at least recognizing the fair-weather friends from before.
After mentally cursing a few more times, Shen Yuan pulled his thoughts back, hands still in his pockets, preparing to leave.
But just then, the driver's side window of the A7 slowly rolled down, and the smug, greasy, middle-aged man inside wearing glasses eyed Shen Yuan, "Young man, where are you headed? Need a lift?"
"No need, my home is close by."
Shen Yuan shook his head. Their current rental was only four bus stops away and could be considered convenient.
"No worries, Tingting and I aren't in a hurry, and the car isn't anything special, as long as you don't mind." the middle-aged man said with a smile.
Shen Yuan's eyelid twitched, thinking this guy really knows how to put on an act, an Audi A7, even the base model after taxes costs upward of 60K+, and here he is telling me not to sneer at it.
Shen Yuan could imagine with his toes that, once they got in the car, this guy would definitely bombard him with 360-degree spiral-like insults.
"Big brother, you're a good man, I appreciate the gesture, but I do live close by and it's not going to take long to walk."
A tinge of regret flashed through the middle-aged man's eyes, but in front of Zhou Wanting, he still maintained his composure, "Alright then, be safe on your way home."
"Mm, Wanting is a good girl, you must take good care of her."
The man was about to drive away when he heard this and first was a little startled, then somewhat moved. He hadn't expected Tingting's ex-boyfriend to be quite decent.
This is what you call magnanimity.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of Tingting!"
The middle-aged man patted his chest, and after giving Shen Yuan a sign, he prepared to raise the car window and leave.
"Big brother, wait a sec!"
"What's up?" The man stopped what he was doing and turned his head towards Shen Yuan.
"As men, we must provide the best for women. Wanting has many habits you should note down."
Shen Yuan counted off on his fingers, "First off, she likes to use Okamoto 001. Secondly, she doesn't like too high of a quality for her stockings. She also has two sets of nurse and police uniforms, which you won't need to worry about for now..."
"Hey, hold on, brother, wait, I'm not finished yet!"
Watching the A7 beat a hasty retreat, Shen Yuan muttered under his breath, "Shoot, I was just getting to the good part!"
[Ding!]
[Perfect Life System has finished loading!]
Host: Shen Yuan
Age: 21 years old
Height: 182CM
Weight: 72KG
Wealth Points: 87 yuan
Health Points: 72
Physical Strength: 75
Skills: None
Main Quest Progress: 0%
[A perfect life doesn't just require money as a foundation; it also needs the favor of the opposite sex.]
[Time-limited task: Spend money on a suitable opposite sex with a Feel-good Index over 60 and gain their favor]
[Task Reward: Any money spent on the opposite sex will be triple returned to the host, and if the opposite sex Feel-good Index increases by 3 points during this spending, an additional double cashback will be provided.]
[Note: Spending can only be made from savings or cash.]
A synthetic voice suddenly popped into Shen Yuan's mind and a panel appeared before his eyes, giving him a fright.
"I didn't get so worked up about being dumped that I'm having hallucinations and auditory hallucinations, did I?"
Shen Yuan closed his eyes, but the technological panel was still vividly hovering before his sight.
As he turned his head, the panel moved with his line of sight, always remaining directly in front of him.
Shen Yuan looked at the words "Perfect Life System" on the panel and suddenly something clicked.
He had a roommate in his dorm who was particularly fond of web novels, and Shen Yuan had heard him mention plenty of far-fetched plots.
Among them was the System, the mighty benefactor.
Could it be that this splash of extravagant fortune had fallen on him as well?
Shen Yuan wanted to confirm again, but the panel had disappeared and there were no other sounds in his head.
"Shen Yuan!"
A familiar female voice suddenly came to his ears, crisp and clear, interrupting Shen Yuan's thoughts. He turned his head and saw it was the young counselor Lih Xiao.
"Counselor."
Lih Xiao wasn't just Shen Yuan's counselor; she also taught the Business English course. She must have just finished teaching, holding two English textbooks in her hands, her pretty face looking at Shen Yuan with concern.
"I saw what happened just now, don't get discouraged, the next one will be better."
The counselor wasn't much older than the students, and today she was wearing a beige mini skirt that revealed two-thirds of her lovely legs, and a deep brown sweater with a wide neckline for her upper body.
Aside from the modern curves, what excited the boys even more was the black choker tied around the base of her white neck.
But before Shen Yuan could take a few more looks, the synthetic voice in his mind piped up again.
[Lih Xiao: Feel-good Index towards the host is 65.]
...