1: Chapter 1: A Humiliating Breakup, and the System Arrives!

Parallel world, Blue Star.

Dragon Kingdom.

The twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month, Yuntian City.

The festive atmosphere of the New Year was thick and inescapable.

Shops were draped in red lanterns, the roadsides were lined with stalls selling New Year goods, and the crowds shopping for the holiday were bustling.

Laughter and cheer were wrapped in the scent of festive cooking, and the whole street was alive with the bustle of the approaching New Year.

Yet, all this liveliness had absolutely nothing to do with Wang Yang.

He stood in the parking lot by the side entrance of the Shopping Mall, clutching a freshly baked sweet potato in his hand.

Five yuan a jin; he had stood in front of the stall hesitating for ten minutes before he could bring himself to buy it.

Liu Qian loved these, and he wanted to give her a surprise.

Surprise, my ass.

Beside a black Mercedes-Benz, Liu Qian was being pressed against the car door and kissed.

The man was wearing designer clothes, and the watch on his wrist was blindingly ostentatious.

One hand was kneading Liu Qian's butt, while the other held an LV paper bag.

Liu Qian had her arms wrapped around his neck, practically hanging off him, and cooed coquettishly after the kiss.

"Young Master Zhang, you are so good to me~"

Wang Yang's brain exploded with a buzz.

The roasted sweet potato in his hand burned his palm, but he felt as if his blood had been drained, his entire body turning ice-cold.

He didn't know how he managed to walk over.

"Liu Qian."

His voice was dry and hoarse.

Liu Qian's body stiffened, and she turned her head.

The bashful look on her face vanished instantly.

She didn't even make a move to get off him, just leaned against the man's chest, frowning.

"Why are you here?"

The man, called Young Master Zhang, squinted at Wang Yang.

His gaze swept over the clothes Wang Yang was wearing and the five-yuan-a-jin roasted sweet potato in his hand.

A look of undisguised mockery tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Yo, Qianqian, is this that 'dumb dog' boyfriend you mentioned?"

He deliberately emphasized the words 'dumb dog'.

"Just this? Dressed like a ragpicker, and what's that in his hand? A roasted sweet potato? Hahahaha, fuck, in this day and age, there's still someone trying to woo a girl with a roasted sweet potato?"

Liu Qian felt embarrassed and pushed at Young Master Zhang, wanting to stand up.

But Young Master Zhang pulled her waist tighter, drawing her back into his embrace, and whispered in her ear.

"What are you running for? Let him see clearly whose woman you are."

Wang Yang clenched his fists.

The roasted sweet potato was crushed to a pulp, and the piping hot potato mash squeezed out between his fingers, but he couldn't feel the pain.

"Liu Qian," he stared fixedly into her eyes. "We've been together for three years. Three years."

"So what if it's been three years?" Liu Qian finally spoke, her voice shrill and piercing.

"How dare you even mention three years to me? In three years, have you saved enough for a down payment? In three years, have you ever bought me a piece of clothing worth more than two thousand yuan?"

Wang Yang's throat tightened.

"My monthly salary is six thousand five hundred. I send one thousand to my mom, and the remaining five thousand plus is basically spent on you—"

"Spent on me?" Liu Qian interrupted him directly, tilting her head back and laughing wildly.

"Spent my ass! What does five thousand plus get you? Is it enough for rent? Is it enough to take me out for a good meal? In the three years I've been with you, the most expensive meal you've taken me to was three hundred yuan! Three hundred yuan! Do you know how much a meal with Young Master Zhang costs? Five thousand eight hundred! That's enough for three months of your fucking salary!"

Young Master Zhang added fuel to the fire from the side.

"Actually, it should be four months. With his meager salary, can he even do math?"

Liu Qian immediately put on a smiling face and turned to kiss him on the cheek.

"Oh right, I forgot. Five thousand eight hundred is enough for four months of his salary."

Wang Yang's eyes turned red.

It wasn't because he wanted to cry; it was the blood rushing to his head.

"Liu Qian, I fucking scrimp and save every month, take the bus, eat simple meals, buy you lipstick and dresses. Whenever you said you wanted something, when have I ever treated you poorly?"

"Not treated me poorly?" Liu Qian sneered.

"You call that not treated me poorly? You made me use a three-hundred-yuan lipstick for two years! The dresses were from Taobao for one hundred and fifty, shipping included! Do you know what kind of bags my colleagues carry? Coach! Over three thousand! Have you ever bought me a bag worth more than five hundred yuan?"

She became more and more agitated as she spoke, eventually breaking free from Young Master Zhang's embrace.

She walked up to Wang Yang in her high heels and pointed at his nose, cursing.

"Wang Yang, wake up! With that pittance you earn a month, it's barely enough to support yourself, and you still want to marry me? What are you going to use to marry me?"

"You—"

"You what? You just want to say you've treated me well? Treated me well, my ass!"

Liu Qian's voice was sharp enough to pierce an eardrum.

"I don't want that trash you buy me by scrimping and saving! I want money! I want a lifestyle! I want the life you can't afford to give me!"

"I eat Japanese and French cuisine with Young Master Zhang, and you give me roasted sweet potato? That five-yuan-a-jin piece of crap, and you have the nerve to bring it to me?"

She snatched the already crushed roasted sweet potato from Wang Yang's hand and slammed it onto the ground.

She even ground it with her high heel. Potato mash splattered everywhere.

"See that? This is just like you, mud that can't be plastered onto a wall!"

Young Master Zhang applauded from the side.

"Well said, Qianqian. Keep going, let him hear clearly how much he's actually worth."

Wang Yang stared at her fixedly.

Three years of feelings, three years of pouring his heart and soul out, and this is what he got in return?

"What are you looking at?" Liu Qian felt unnerved by his gaze and took a step back.

Young Master Zhang walked over at this moment, wrapped an arm around Liu Qian's waist, and looked down at Wang Yang.

"Brother, accept your fate. A poor loser like you doesn't deserve to be in a relationship."

He pulled a stack of cash from his wallet, at least two or three thousand, and slapped it directly onto Wang Yang's face.

The bills drifted down like snowflakes.

"Take it, it's a reward for you. Consider it a service fee for serving Qianqian for these past three years. Take it and go buy yourself a new pair of underwear, don't come out exposing your ass and embarrassing yourself. Stay away from her in the future. Seeing a pathetic loser like you is bad luck."

Wang Yang's knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists. He took a step forward.

"Yo, you want to throw hands?" Young Master Zhang laughed and reached out to poke Wang Yang in the chest.

"Come on, hit me. Hit me right here. I'm letting you hit me. Do you believe that if you hit me, I'll make sure you can't survive in Yuntian City? My dad is sworn brothers with the chief of the Police Station. Do you believe that if you lift a finger against me today, I'll have you spending the New Year in the detention center?"

Liu Qian added fuel to the fire from the side.

"Wang Yang, don't be stupid! Do you know what kind of background Young Master Zhang has? If you dare touch him, you're finished! Do you still want to survive in Yuntian City?"

Wang Yang stared at Young Master Zhang's smug face, at Liu Qian's look of disgust, and at the banknotes scattered on the ground.

He suddenly laughed.

He laughed until his eyes turned red, laughed until his whole body trembled.

"Liu Qian, three years. After three years, this is what you say to me?"

"So what if it's three years?" Liu Qian said impatiently.

"In three years, you should have recognized what kind of pathetic state you're in! A poor loser should just stay single and not come out to plague people!"

"Fine." Wang Yang nodded, enunciating every word.

"Remember what you said today."

Liu Qian felt unnerved by his gaze, but didn't hold back her tongue.

"So what if I remember? I'm afraid you won't! Wang Yang, let me tell you, don't be jealous when I live a good life later. Jealousy won't do you any good; this is all you'll ever amount to in this life! A poor loser, forever stepped on by others!"

Young Master Zhang wrapped his arm around her and walked toward the car. Before getting in, he turned back and added one more sentence.

"A poor loser should accept his fate. Maybe you'll be born into a better family next life, don't come out and embarrass yourself."

The car door slammed shut with a bang.

The exhaust from the Mercedes-Benz sprayed all over Wang Yang, and it sped away.

A crowd of onlookers had long since gathered around.

"Tsk tsk, this young man is quite pitiful."

"What's pitiful about it? If he can't keep a woman, he should blame his own lack of ability."

"That woman's words were really venomous."

"What's venomous? She's telling the truth. Poverty is the original sin. If you have no money, don't date. What's the point? You're just asking for humiliation."

Every comment pierced Wang Yang's ears like a knife.

He stood in place, watching the Mercedes-Benz disappear around the street corner.

On the ground lay the crushed roasted sweet potato and the scattered red banknotes.

He bent down and picked them up, one by one.

Not because he was short of money.

It was because this, goddammit, was the humiliation he had traded three years of scrimping and saving for.

After picking up the last one, he straightened up, clutching the stack of money so tightly his knuckles turned white.

The twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month, ten days until the New Year.

Other families were busy preparing New Year goods and looking forward to reunions, while he had been slapped in the face in public, his heart crushed, and cursed for being a poor loser who didn't deserve to live.

Having lived for twenty-four years, this was the first time Wang Yang knew what despair meant.

He turned and walked into the cold wind.

Behind him was the bustling Shopping Mall, the crowds shopping for the New Year, and laughter and cheer.

That warmth had absolutely nothing to do with him.

...

The old apartment building had no elevator, and the voice-activated lights in the hallway flickered on and off.

Wang Yang climbed to the sixth floor step by step, took out his key, and opened the door to the ten-square-meter rental room.

The wall plaster was indeed crumbling.

There was indeed a musty smell. The bed was broken, the cabinet was broken, and the table was broken too.

The only small electric heater was turned on, but it couldn't warm this cold, damp room.

Wang Yang closed the door and slid down with his back against the door panel.

He buried his face in his knees, his shoulders shaking, but he made no sound.

What was a man crying for? Who was there to see him cry?

Just at this moment—

[Ding! Detected that the host is at a low point in life, emotional fluctuations meet the criteria, binding conditions met!]

[Multi-Children Multi-Blessings System is binding...]

[Binding successful!]

Wang Yang jerked his head up.

What the hell?

He was stunned, tears still hanging on his face, the whole person frozen in place.

Wang Yang was a veteran bookworm who had been immersed in web novels for ten years, having read over a hundred system novels on Tomato.

Previously, he only thought of it as reading for entertainment; he hadn't dared to dream.

A system that only existed in novels had actually fallen on his head!

Multi-Children Multi-Blessings System...

These five words made Wang Yang's blood surge instantly.

But the next second, his blood ran half-cold.