"I'm serious, Mom! I haven't even touched a computer or gaming console in weeks. Your son has been grinding it out at school—nose in the books and everything!"
Doug Feng protested righteously, lying through his teeth with the confidence of a seasoned actor. Still, he figured once the results of the placement exam came out, everyone would see him in a brand-new light anyway.
"Oh really? Then explain, you little rascal, why you got home even later than usual today?"
His mom, Mrs. Feng, stood with her arms crossed, tapping her foot. School ended at five. Normally, Doug would be home by five-thirty at the latest. Today, it was almost seven.
"Alright, alright," his dad interjected with a chuckle, trying to ease the tension. "Guizhen, the kid's under a lot of pressure. Even if he sneaks off for a little fun once in a while, it's not the end of the world. Besides, I've noticed he's been a lot more mature lately. Come on, dinner's getting cold."
"Thanks, Dad!" Doug beamed.
Mrs. Feng muttered something under her breath but ladled him a full bowl of rice anyway. Doug's stomach growled in approval. He'd barely had a few bites during his earlier chat with Hailey Tang.
"So, Doug," his dad asked, watching him closely, "how did the exam go today? You feeling confident about moving up?"
At the Feng family table, the topic of gaobu—a special extra year of study for students who didn't perform well on the college entrance exam—was practically a recurring theme. Doug remembered clearly: if it hadn't been for that car accident that his father was wrongly blamed for, the family would've had the savings to afford a gaobu year for him. That way, he wouldn't have had to settle for some third-rate university.
But this time around? He had the Favorability System. He didn't need any do-over year.
"Don't worry, Dad," he said confidently between mouthfuls. "No gaobu needed. I'm getting into a top university on the first try. Just wait—I'll make the Feng family proud."
His mom rolled her eyes. "You and your big talk. Your cousin just took the college entrance exam too, and she's a straight-A student. Instead of learning from her, you hang out with that group of gamer slackers all day."
Still, she handed him another bowl of soup.
"Confidence is good," his dad added, "but keep your feet on the ground. Don't get ahead of yourself."
"Got it, Dad!" Doug said with a grin. He downed the soup in one go, stood up, and headed for the door. "I'm gonna take a walk!"
Outside, the summer evening was just beginning to cool down. Doug stuck his hands in his pockets and felt the familiar crinkle of the lottery tickets—the very ones that included one first-place jackpot and fifteen second-place wins. His chest swelled with glee.
"Your boy's officially a millionaire," he muttered to himself. "With this kind of money, I can do anything. Buy a house, buy a car, take care of Mom's hospital bills… Heck, even date the goddess-level girls if I want."
In his last life, money had been the invisible wall that kept crushing him. No house, no girlfriend, not even enough to pay for his mom's medical treatments. The saying "no money, no dignity" wasn't just some cynical phrase—it was his reality. Society ran on cash, no matter how many holier-than-thou folks pretended otherwise.
And those self-righteous types? The moment they saw a fat stack of bills, they'd sell their souls and their so-called morals faster than you could say "jackpot."
Doug chuckled darkly, only to pause when a familiar sight caught his eye.
"Huh? Zhu Sis?"
He had wandered past the front of the Liang household. There, sitting on the steps with a melting ice cream cone in one hand and a faraway look in her eyes, was none other than Zhu Sis—aka Liang Yanzhu. She was spooning ice cream into her mouth with small, deliberate bites, completely absorbed in her thoughts.
"You're just gonna sit out here eating the good stuff alone?" Doug said, plopping down beside her without hesitation.
Their families had been next-door neighbors for over twenty years. Doug had known her since he was born. In many ways, Zhu Sis was more than just the girl next door—she was basically his big sister.
"Stinky brat, what are you doing here?" she said, snapping out of her thoughts.
She jabbed her spoon into the ice cream and reached over with her free hand to grab Doug by the ear in one smooth motion. "You think I forgot about the time you snuck into my room trying to spy on me while I was showering?"
"Wrongfully accused!" Doug cried, flailing. "That was a misunderstanding! Total accident, I swear!"
He muttered under his breath, "Not like we didn't bathe together all the time when we were little…"
"What was that?" Zhu Sis narrowed her eyes.
"I said… that was back when we were kids! Totally innocent times!" Doug backpedaled quickly. "I'm still just a clueless kid now, right?"
"You're still full of nonsense," she snorted.
But the memory had already returned for both of them—clear and vivid. Back in the day, the courtyard didn't have centralized water supply like it did now. Instead, all the houses shared a single well, and water had to be boiled in big batches. Every family used a giant wooden tub in the courtyard for bath time, and all the neighborhood kids would be tossed in together for a quick group scrub.
Doug remembered it like it was yesterday. And judging by the slight flush on Zhu Sis's face, so did she.
She'd lost her father young, and with her mother working long hours, it was often Doug's parents who looked after her. By the time she was eight and Doug was four or five, they'd shared more than a few splashy "duckling baths" in that old courtyard tub.
The kind of childhood memory that sticks with you—embarrassing, sweet, and deeply nostalgic.
Zhu Sis rolled her eyes again, but there was a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. "You're lucky I'm too tired to beat you up tonight."
Doug grinned. "Aw, you'd never hurt your favorite little brother."
She gave him a gentle shove. "Favorite, my foot."
As the stars began to peek out in the sky above, the two of them sat side by side on the old stone steps, sharing laughter, memories, and an ice cream that was rapidly melting into a sticky mess. For a moment, Doug forgot all about exams, pressure, and revenge plots. All that existed was the warm breeze, the echo of childhood, and the simple joy of being home.
But beneath that calm surface, Doug's eyes gleamed with purpose. He wasn't the same clueless kid anymore. Not with a fortune in his pocket and a system in his head.
Let the world watch—he was just getting started.