1: I'm a jerk, so what?

"Chen Li, Yang Bin has been in a really bad mood lately. I'm planning to go with him to Sanya over the May Day holiday to relax."

"Liu Manman, we agreed to go to Gui City together. What do you mean by this?"

"You know Yang Bin is my close male friend. He needs me right now. What's wrong with me going out to cheer him up?"

"So in your heart, I'm not even worth one strand of your male friend's hair, is that it?"

The message was sent, sinking like a stone in the sea. Time ticked by, second by second...

Gritting his teeth, he sent another message: "...ignoring me again?"

Chen Li's eyelid twitched involuntarily. His clenched fist turned white at the knuckles, a scorching rage rushing straight to his head.

He stared fixedly at the cold message on his phone screen, his chest heaving violently.

That nearly uncontrollable anger clogged his chest for a moment before a sense of absurd powerlessness suddenly washed the fury away.

He gave a faint, twisted smile and let out a low, ambiguous chuckle.

Hah... playing this game again.

He shook his head, tossed his phone casually onto the desk, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long sigh as he stared at the ceiling.

This relationship should have ended long ago.

...

Chen Li, a junior at Qiongzhou University, an ordinary student from a small county town.

Coming from an average family, he got into this prestigious southern university through sheer hard work and study.

Two and a half years ago, he met Liu Manman at a club activity—the girl who would later become his girlfriend.

Liu Manman was a typical southern girl, with fair skin, delicate features, and a slender Figure.

During his freshman year, Chen Li managed, after a semester of relentless pursuit,

coupled with his own decent enough looks, to finally stand out from the crowd of suitors and successfully win Liu Manman's favor.

At that moment, he felt like the luckiest person in the world.

However, two years together gradually eroded his initial joy.

Liu Manman's material demands far exceeded his imagination—designer bags, high-end cosmetics, these were just the basics.

To satisfy her vanity and prevent her from losing face in front of her classmates, Chen Li spent all his time outside of classes working part-time jobs.

Bubble tea shop employee, tutor, package sorter... he'd done countless odd jobs,

using his own hard-earned money and part of the meager living expenses his parents scrimped to send him, barely maintaining Liu Manman's 'dignity'.

As for himself, he wore the same few clothes all year round, always chose the cheapest meal options in the Cafeteria, and couldn't bear to replace his five-year-old phone.

Even so, Liu Manman had never publicly acknowledged their relationship on social media.

For two years, their physical intimacy never went beyond holding hands. This May Day trip was something Liu Manman had suddenly agreed to half a month ago.

Chen Li had been thrilled for a long time, staying up late to plan the itinerary, book tickets, and reserve a Hotel.

Thinking he had finally weathered the storm and his happiness was about to arrive.

Now it seemed it was all a joke, a slap in the face at the last moment...

Looking around, the Dormitory was already more than half empty for the May Day holiday, with only his roommate Guo Zihong still hunched in front of his computer, typing away noisily.

The other two roommates' beds were long empty—one said he was going to Dali with his girlfriend for romance, the other had gone to Sanya.

The Dormitory was already cramped, and now the atmosphere felt stiflingly oppressive.

Chen Li felt particularly restless and couldn't sit still. He lasted less than two minutes playing a game at his computer before he couldn't take it anymore.

He simply threw down his mouse, climbed up to his bunk, and numbly started scrolling through short videos and those urban wish-fulfillment novels.

...

It wasn't until evening that Chen Li's phone suddenly vibrated. It was a message from his roommate Zhang Yixi, who had gone to Sanya.

"A Li, are you and Liu Manman in Sanya?"

Chen Li's heart sank heavily: "No."

"Uh... well, see for yourself. [An image]"

In the photo, a girl in a sexy swimsuit was kissing a tall guy under a palm tree.

Even though it was only a side profile, how could Chen Li not recognize her? It was Liu Manman, the girl he had given his all to for two years.

In an instant, he felt all the blood drain from his body, leaving his limbs icy cold. His breath caught in his throat.

The feeling was indescribable—deception, manipulation, humiliation... a tumult of emotions churned deep in his mind.

He took a deep breath, his fingers trembling as he opened the pinned chat window with Liu Manman: "So comforting your male friend involves kissing him?"

Half an hour later, Liu Manman finally replied: "What kissing? What are you talking about? You're being ridiculous."

"You think I'm blind? You were kissing pretty passionately under that palm tree."

"You... how do you know? We were just playing a game. Stop being so paranoid."

Looking at this message, Chen Li suddenly laughed.

"Hah, Liu Manman, you really have the guts to be trash but not the guts to admit it."

"Chen Li, are you sick? I told you it was a game. Why are you taking it so seriously?"

"Call me trash? Fine, I'm trash. What are you going to do about it? Even if I turned your head into a pasture, what could you do? Get lost, you poor, worthless loser."

I'm trash, so what? Poor, worthless loser?

This blatant betrayal and vicious insult exploded in his mind like a thunderclap. All his restraint now burst like a breached dam.

He took a deep breath, his fingers hovering over the screen, wanting to type out accusations or scathing words. He typed out a long string of heated text.

But just before pressing send, he paused. A wave of powerless exhaustion washed over the fire in his heart like a tide.

He suddenly felt that all arguments and questions had lost their meaning.

He deleted all the typed words and calmly typed just four characters: "F*ck your mother."

The moment the message was sent, a cold, unfeeling red exclamation mark abruptly stabbed into his view.

[Message sent, but rejected by recipient]

He stared at that red symbol, frozen for a few seconds. Then, the corner of his mouth twisted into a relieved, even somewhat self-mocking, cold smile.

So, there wasn't even a need for a final shred of dignity. Fine.

Not only did she admit it, she even beat him to it and deleted him first.

"A Li, what's wrong?" Guo Zihong sensed something was off and asked with concern.

"Nothing. Just got cheated on."

Guo Zihong's eyes widened: "Cheat... cheated on? What happened?"

Chen Li didn't answer. He walked over to the window by himself, took a steadying breath, and looked at the gradually darkening sky, a tumult of mixed emotions in his heart.

Two years of effort, and all it bought was a joke...

Not worth it. Really not worth it.

...

Late at night, the Dormitory was quiet except for Guo Zihong's soft snores.

Lying in bed, Chen Li stared at the ceiling, recalling every detail of the past two years. The more he thought, the more ridiculous he felt.

Suddenly, in his drowsy state, a mechanical voice sounded in his mind:

[Detected suitable host, meets system conditions]

[System binding in progress... 10%... 50%...]

What? A system?

Chen Li, an avid reader of web novels, was all too familiar with this term.

He sat up abruptly, looking around. Guo Zihong was still fast asleep. Nothing seemed unusual in the Dormitory.

The sound of the system's binding progress continued to echo in his mind...