20: Chapter 20 The Unseen Self

Xiao Su's photography exhibition lasted for a whole month.

On the final day of the exhibition, forty-seven photos were hanging on the wall.

Forty-seven people.

Forty-seven faces.

Forty-seven stories.

Lin Feng squatted at the entrance, looking at those photos, and suddenly remembered the new ability the system gave him—

[Able to perceive the emotional dimension of the target's "Unseen Self"]

He hadn't dared to use it.

It wasn't that he didn't want to.

It was that he didn't know what he would see if he did.

Until that afternoon.

A man came in.

Around forty years old, wearing an ordinary plaid shirt and glasses, he looked like a programmer.

He stood in front of the photo wall, looking at them one by one.

When he saw the seventh one, he stopped.

That was Maria's photo.

Lin Feng stared at him and activated the skill.

[Target: Unknown Male]

[Current Emotional Value: 6.7]

[Emotional Type: Calm + Curious]

[Unseen Self: Longing to be remembered]

[Description: He has spent his whole life working behind the scenes, and no one has ever remembered his name. He longs for the day when someone can call him by his name, instead of just "that programmer."]

Lin Feng was taken aback.

He stood up and walked over to the man.

"Are the photos good?"

The man turned his head to look at him and nodded: "They are."

Lin Feng pointed at Maria's photo: "What about this one?"

The man was silent for a second, then said: "Her eyes... are very special."

Lin Feng raised an eyebrow: "How so?"

The man thought for a moment and said earnestly: "Like the kind of person who has been through a lot but is still moving forward."

Lin Feng stared at him for three seconds.

Then he asked: "What's your name?"

The man was taken aback: "What?"

Lin Feng repeated: "What is your name?"

The man was silent for three seconds.

Then he spoke, his voice a bit raspy:

"Mike. My name is Mike."

Lin Feng nodded: "Mike, thank you for coming to see our photos."

Mike stared at him, his eyes suddenly turning red.

He lowered his head, rubbed his eyes, and whispered: "It's been a long time since anyone asked for my name."

Mike sat in the shop for the whole afternoon that day.

He ordered some fried chicken, sat in the corner, and ate slowly.

As he ate, he started talking to the person next to him.

Next to him was the old man.

The old man asked him: "What do you do?"

Mike said: "I'm a programmer."

The old man nodded: "You write code?"

Mike smiled: "Yes."

The old man pointed at himself: "I don't even know how to use a mobile phone."

Mike was stunned for a moment, then said: "Shall I teach you?"

The old man raised an eyebrow: "You're willing to teach me?"

Mike nodded: "I am."

The old man smiled: "Alright then. Next time you come, you teach me."

From then on, Mike came every week.

He taught the old man how to use a phone, how to send text messages, how to take photos, and how to watch videos.

The old man learned very slowly, but Mike was never impatient.

Once, the old man asked him: "Why are you so good to me?"

Mike thought for a while and said: "Because my dad passed away early. He didn't wait for me to teach him how to use a phone."

The old man was silent for a long time.

Then he took Mike's hand and said softly:

"Then you teach me from now on. Treat me like your dad."

Mike's eyes turned red.

Lin Feng squatted at the entrance, watching this scene, the corners of his mouth curling up.

Xiao Su leaned over and whispered: "Boss, did you know he would come from the start?"

Lin Feng turned to look at her: "What do you mean?"

Xiao Su pointed at Mike: "When he first came, you asked for his name. You never ask customers for their names."

Lin Feng was taken aback.

He thought for a moment and said: "Maybe I just wanted to ask that day."

Xiao Su stared at him for three seconds, then smiled.

"Boss, you really are a lunatic."

Lin Feng nodded: "I know."

Mike started bringing friends.

The first friend was named John, who was also a programmer.

John stood in front of the photo wall, looking for a long time.

Lin Feng activated the skill and scanned him.

[Target: John]

[Unseen Self: Longing to be recognized]

[Description: His code has never had errors, but no one has ever praised him. He longs for someone to say to him, "You did a great job."]

Lin Feng walked over to him and asked:

"How is your writing?"

John was stunned: "What?"

Lin Feng pointed at Mike: "He said you write good code."

John was stunned.

He turned to look at Mike, who was in the corner teaching the old man how to use the phone.

John was silent for three seconds, then whispered: "Did he really say that?"

Lin Feng nodded: "Really."

John lowered his head, his eyes turning red.

(That's right. It's just that simple.)

The second friend was named David. (Not the one from before.)

[Unseen Self: Longing to be needed]

The third one was named Sarah.

[Unseen Self: Longing to be heard]

The fourth one was named Tom.

[Unseen Self: Longing to be forgiven]

Everyone who came brought a part of themselves that had never been seen before.

They stood in front of the photo wall, looking at others' stories, and then their own stories were seen too.

A month later, there was a new sign in the shop.

It hung at the entrance, side by side with "The Boss is Miserable, Too."

It read:

[There are no strangers here. Only family members who haven't been seen yet.]

Lin Feng squatted under the sign, biting on a straw, looking across the street.

Joe squatted over next to him and asked: "Who wrote this sign?"

Lin Feng said: "Me."

Joe stared at the line of text for a long time.

Then he said: "Well written."

Lin Feng turned to look at him: "What makes it good?"

Joe thought for a moment and said earnestly:

"Because it's true."

After closing up in the evening, Lin Feng called everyone together.

He stood in the middle of the shop, looking at the group of people in front of him.

Maria, Mexican Guy, Bald Strong Man, Google Girl, the old man, Joe, Li Ming, Carlos, Lily, Xiao Su, Mike, John, David, Sarah, Tom—

A group of people who originally had no connection.

Now standing together, like family.

Lin Feng cleared his throat and said:

"There's something I want to tell you all."

Everyone looked at him.

Lin Feng paused, then said:

"Thank you."

Everyone was stunned.

Lin Feng continued: "Thank you for letting me see you. And thank you for letting me be seen."

He pointed at the photos on the wall:

"Every one of you has a story. No one listened before. Now someone does."

He pointed at himself:

"I didn't have one before either. Now I do."

He paused and smiled:

"So, thank you."

Silence.

Then Maria was the first to speak:

"Lin Feng, do you know—"

Lin Feng looked at her.

Maria smiled, the kind of smile that rippled from the bottom of her eyes:

"You really are a lunatic."

The others laughed.

Lin Feng also laughed.

He squatted down, biting on the straw, looking at the group of people in front of him.

Laughing, joking, like family.

The phone vibrated.

Lin Feng looked down and saw it was a system message.

[Ding—Congratulations to the host for completing the Volume 1 hidden main quest—]

[Quest Name: Make a group of people believe in the world again]

[Quest Completion: 100%]

[Volume 1 Reward: Emotional Perception Ability (Max Level)]

[Volume 2 Preview: The Tycoon's business empire is about to begin—]

[New Quest: Within three months, open 5 joint stores for Joe's Fried Chicken]

Lin Feng stared at the message, stunned for three seconds.

Then he smiled.

He put his phone back in his pocket and looked up at the group of people in front of him.

They were still laughing, joking, cursing each other, and loving each other.

Lin Feng suddenly remembered three months ago, when he was squatting on a street corner, handing out those coffee cups drawn with memes.

Back then, he only wanted to make money.

Now he had made money, and he had also gotten something else.

Something else—something more valuable than money.

And the system told him:

This was just the beginning.

[Volume 1 • From Being Deported to the Most Popular Worker in the US - End]