1: Chapter 1: Double Cashback on Purchases, Plus Increased Lifespan!

Shenzhen, a certain financial building in Futian District.

At 5:30 PM, the sunset's afterglow shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows, casting a golden hue over the office area.

Zhang Qi sat in front of his computer, staring at the green K-line chart on the screen, but his eyes were unfocused.

He was twenty-nine years old, had decent looks, and his income could barely be considered middle-class in Shenzhen.

But today, he felt like the sky had collapsed.

Sun Qianwen, his girlfriend of three years, had sent him an eight-hundred-word breakup essay at noon.

The core message could be summed up in four words: You're not good enough.

Zhang Qi had been in a daze all afternoon, his mind filled with images of how he had poured his heart and soul into the relationship.

"Brother Qi, what are you spacing out for?"

A faint scent of Jo Malone Wild Bluebell perfume drifted over.

Zhang Qi snapped out of his daze and turned to look.

Standing by his workstation was a young girl wearing a well-tailored beige suit jacket over a low-cut silk camisole, her collarbones clear and delicate.

Below that were the rounded curves outlined by a hip-hugging skirt, and a pair of shapely long legs wrapped in sheer black stockings.

This was his young apprentice of several months, Qian Mengsheng.

A fashionable young beauty who had just graduated and was very savvy about fashion and reading the room.

"I'm not spacing out. I'm just tired from watching the market, and I'm in a bad mood."

Zhang Qi rubbed his temples and gave a casual, perfunctory reply.

Qian Mengsheng pulled up an office chair, sat down, rested her chin on her hands, and scanned Zhang Qi with her large, lightly made-up eyes.

"Give it a rest. With you looking so distracted, I could guess what's wrong even with my eyes closed."

Qian Mengsheng pouted.

"You must have been dumped by your girlfriend—oh wait, your ex-girlfriend, right?"

Zhang Qi's eye twitched, and he didn't speak.

This girl was great in every way, except for her sharp tongue.

Qian Mengsheng sighed, looking somewhat frustrated that he wasn't living up to expectations.

"Brother Qi, I don't mean to criticize, but you're good-looking, competent at work, and make tens of thousands a month. By all accounts, you should be a top-tier boyfriend in the dating market."

"Why can't you get rid of that nasty habit of being a simp?"

Zhang Qi gave a bitter smile.

He had been in a few relationships, and every time he went into them with marriage in mind, being completely obedient to the woman.

Handing over his salary, giving gifts on holidays, and taking on all the housework.

The result was always the same: his money would be spent, and the woman would leave.

Sun Qianwen was the same; she took his money to buy bags and cosmetics, only to turn around and complain that he wasn't ambitious enough and couldn't provide the life she wanted.

"What do you know? This is called being devoted."

Zhang Qi retorted stubbornly.

"Devoted, my foot. You're just moving yourself."

Qian Mengsheng rolled her eyes and tapped on Zhang Qi's desk.

"Brother Qi, take my advice: you need to learn to love yourself."

Zhang Qi was stunned.

"What 'laoji'?"

"It's 'love yourself.' You don't even know the internet memes? It just means loving yourself."

Qian Mengsheng counted on her fingers as she broke it down for him.

"If you took the money you spend on bags and jewelry for women and used it to buy yourself a couple of nice outfits, got a gym membership, or even just had a good meal, wouldn't that be better?"

"Only when a man learns to love himself first, spends money on himself, and improves his own value, will others look up to him."

Zhang Qi listened to Qian Mengsheng's nagging, feeling a sudden, inexplicable tug at his heart.

Yeah, he had been working his fingers to the bone for years, spending it all on others, and what did he have to show for it?

Damn it, he had lived for nearly thirty years in vain, not even seeing things as clearly as a girl who had just graduated...

Just as he was sighing to himself, a mechanical, synthesized voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

"Ding! Detected that the host's ideological awareness has met the standard, meeting the binding conditions."

"'Love Yourself' System successfully bound."

"This system is dedicated to cultivating the host into a perfect male god who loves himself and understands life. As long as you spend on yourself, you can receive double cash back."

"Note 1: For every million spent, reward Physique +1 (the limit for an ordinary person is 100 points; system rewards can exceed the limit)."

"Note 2: For every ten million spent, reward Skill +1 (can upgrade any skill to professional level, and can be upgraded repeatedly)."

"Note 3: For every one hundred million spent, reward Lifespan +1 (one point of lifespan equals one year, no upper limit)."

"Panel generated, please check it yourself, host."

Zhang Qi's heart skipped a beat.

A system?

He read plenty of web novels, so he was certainly no stranger to this.

Suppressing his wildly beating heart, he silently thought the word "Panel" in his mind.

A translucent light screen immediately appeared before his eyes.

"Host: Zhang Qi"

"Physique: 71"

"Lifespan: 74"

"Skills: None"

"Cumulative Consumption: 0 Yuan"

Zhang Qi took a deep breath, feeling the blood rushing to his head.

As long as he spent money on himself, he could get double cash back?

And if he spent a certain amount, he could add Physique, add Skills, and even add Lifespan?

This cheat was simply heaven-defying; if it was real, he was definitely going to take off!

"Brother Qi? Brother Qi?"

Qian Mengsheng waved her hand in front of his eyes, looking a bit confused.

"What are you spacing out for? Your face is all red—you didn't get a fever from being too stressed, did you?"

Zhang Qi snapped back to reality and glanced at the time in the bottom right corner of the computer; it was almost six o'clock.

"It's nothing, it was just a bit stuffy earlier."

He cleared his throat, trying to keep his tone calm.

Qian Mengsheng stood up and stretched, her curves fully displayed.

"Forget it, I can't be bothered with you, you stubborn old block. I have to stay late to finish a report, so I'm ordering takeout. Do you want to join? I'll treat you to trotters rice as a consolation."

Zhang Qi's mind was entirely on the system; he was just worrying about not having a chance to verify it.

"No need, I'll order my own."

He picked up his phone and opened WeChat to check his balance.

Because he had just bought Sun Qianwen a Chanel bag costing over twenty thousand last week, he only had a pitiful five thousand yuan left in his card.

This was his living expenses for the month.

Zhang Qi gritted his teeth and opened the food delivery app.

Usually, when he ordered takeout, he would hesitate for ages if it was over thirty yuan and look everywhere for red packets.

But today, he searched directly for the most expensive high-end Cantonese restaurant nearby.

An order of dried abalone, an order of fish maw chicken soup, and an order of Wagyu beef fried rice.

Including delivery fees, it came to a total of 1,200 yuan.

At the moment he clicked pay, Zhang Qi's fingers were trembling slightly.

If the system was fake, this meal would be a bit too extravagant.

Payment successful.

The delivery app jumped to the order interface.

Almost at the same time, that crisp notification sound echoed in his mind again.

"Ding! Detected that the host has spent 1,200 yuan on themselves, meeting the criteria for cash back."

"Double cash back triggered. 2,400 yuan has been transferred to the host's savings card ending in 9527. The source of funds is absolutely secure, please feel free to use it."

"Current cumulative consumption: 1,200 yuan."

Buzz.

The phone vibrated.

Zhang Qi immediately switched to the text message interface.

"Your savings account ending in 9527 received 2,400.00 RMB at 17:42. Current balance: 6,245.50 RMB."

Looking at the exact figures on the text message, Zhang Qi let out a long breath.

It was real.

The system was real.

The money really arrived.

Not only did he not lose money, he actually made a profit of 1,200.

Zhang Qi leaned back in his chair, the corners of his mouth curling up uncontrollably.

Screw love, screw being a simp.

I'm never going to be a simp again in this life; from now on, I'm going to live for myself!

Just as he was in a great mood, a WeChat message suddenly popped up at the top of his phone screen.

It was from Sun Qianwen.

Zhang Qi opened the conversation.

"Zhang Qi, can you stop dragging this out?"

"It's just a breakup; let's be mature and decent about it."

"Can you act like a man? Don't make me look down on you."

The words were dripping with impatience and condescension.

If this were an hour ago, seeing these words would have made Zhang Qi feel like he was being pricked by needles, and he would have sent a long, groveling voice message to beg her to stay.

But now.

Looking at those cold words on the screen, Zhang Qi felt nothing inside, and even felt like laughing.

He did laugh.

Calm, relaxed, and even a bit mocking.

His fingers tapped rapidly on the keyboard, without a moment's hesitation.

"Fine, let's break up then."

He clicked send.

After doing all this, he tossed his phone onto the table.

He turned to look at Qian Mengsheng, who was picking out her takeout.

"Mengsheng, forget about the trotters rice; tonight, Brother Qi is treating you to a big meal."