C1 No One Would Come If They Had No Money!
"You're Hu Yang, aren't you? Knowing full well I don't drink, you still brought two bottles of counterfeit wine on your first visit! It seems to me you're up to no good!"
The plump middle-aged woman eyed him with blatant scorn.
"Auntie, this wine was purchased at the Red Chestnut chain store; it's not counterfeit."
"If I say it's fake, it's fake!" she retorted, glaring at him. "Little Hu, you're from a rural area, aren't you? Is that why you think so narrowly? Do you really believe Maotai is the finest liquor out there? I'm not trying to belittle you, but I bet you've never even tasted Rémy Martin XO, have you? And a bottle of '82 Château Lafite? Surely, you haven't indulged in that either. For you, the cost must be astronomical—a single bottle would cost more than ten bottles of Maotai."
Hu Yang's spirits sank. He had spent an entire month's salary on those two bottles of Maotai, and Lin Xin's mother couldn't have cared less.
"Little Hu, have you bought a house in the city yet?"
"Not at the moment."
"What about a car?"
"I don't... own one."
"Any savings?"
"I've managed to save thirty thousand..."
"Thirty thousand? You call that savings? Do you have any idea how much Lin Xin gets for her yearly allowance? I'll tell you—it's no less than a hundred thousand!"
The more Hu Yang heard, the more stifled he felt, yet he couldn't afford to upset her. She was Lin Xin's mother, after all, and potentially his future mother-in-law.
"Little Hu, be honest with me, what's your annual income? Don't you dare lie!"
"With the year-end bonus included, roughly sixty thousand yuan..."
"You have the audacity to propose to my Lin Xin with a mere sixty thousand yuan? Did Liang Jingru fill you with that much courage?"
"Auntie, I promise to work hard," Hu Yang said, his frustration mounting to the point of near collapse.
"You're merely a graduate from a second-tier university, without even the credentials to step into a Fortune 500 company! What do you have to offer in your efforts?"
"I..." Tears welled up in Hu Yang's eyes, threatening to spill.
The woman's demeanor softened slightly as she inquired, "Lin Xin mentioned you've been an orphan since childhood, is that true?"
"Yes," Hu Yang breathed a sigh of relief, grateful for the sliver of compassion he sensed.
"Being an orphan has its perks. Your farmer parents left no pension, but at least their early deaths won't be a burden to you," the middle-aged woman said with a trace of disdain.
"What did you just say?" Hu Yang's temper flared, and he rose to his feet. "You may disdain me, but you have no right to insult my parents!"
"Lin Xin, see for yourself, this is the true character of a country person. His earlier politeness and manners were nothing but a charade. I simply spoke the truth and his worthless pride is now on full display!"
"Mom, Hu Yang really does have a good heart," Lin Xin murmured.
"Can a good heart feed you? I absolutely refuse this marriage! Take this counterfeit wine and leave; I never want to see you again!" the woman said sternly.
Hu Yang stared back at her, fury smoldering within him.
"Hu Yang, my mother is upset. Please, just go. We shouldn't see each other anymore," Lin Xin urged, pushing him toward the door.
Hu Yang remained still, a glimmer of desolation in his eyes. Pointing at the woman, he vowed through clenched teeth, "Don't underestimate me. There will come a day when you'll regret this!"
"Regret? The idea that my Lin Xin would marry someone like you is laughable! She would never marry a pauper!" the woman scoffed.
"Hu Yang, perhaps my mother is right. We should end things," Lin Xin said as she pushed him out and shut the door with a resounding slam.
Hu Yang's world went dark. Could it be that three years of love had come to such an abrupt end?
Inside, the woman's voice continued to berate Lin Xin, "If I catch you with someone like him again, I'll break your legs!"
"Mom, calm down. I never really liked him. He's just one of four boyfriends, the least important one. I only meant to have a little fun; I didn't expect him to take things so seriously and demand to meet the family!"
...
It was June, and thunder boomed as the rain came down in sheets. The streetlights glowed faintly as Hu Yang trudged home, soaked to the bone. In his humble rental, he bathed, changed clothes, and slumped into a chair, lost in a fog of despair.
Having just left Lin Xin's place, Hu Yang had boasted with grandeur, merely trying to salvage a shred of dignity for himself.
In all honesty, with nothing to his name, how could he demand respect from others?
With a wry smile, Hu Yang grabbed the bottle of Maotai from the table, gritted his teeth, and twisted off the cap.
Since the wine was no longer a gift option, he figured he might as well drink it himself!
Wow, that was fiery!
Hu Yang coughed violently twice. Despite being Maotai, it was incredibly tough to swallow!
*Ding!*
Suddenly, Hu Yang heard the sound of a computer booting up. His vision went black, and a computer-like screen materialized in his mind, complete with a blinking cursor.
Moments later, rows of bizarre symbols scrolled across the screen.
This wasn't English...
Nor was it Latin!
It wasn't Japanese or Korean, either!
They resembled the runes Taoists would draw, the kind Hu Yang had seen in ghost stories on TV.
Quickly, six characters appeared on the screen: System initiating...
*Ding!*
The screen brightened, resembling a computer desktop coming to life. Almost instantly, four bold words framed in gold emerged.
"Darknorth Immortal Wretch!"
Was this some newly developed game? One with interactive AI that could integrate directly into the human brain?
Hu Yang shook his head. The game's startup interface looked rough, and it seemed there was a typo—it should be "sword," not "wretch."
Off to the side, three small red characters read: Trial Version.
*Ding!*
The system booted up smoothly and proceeded automatically...
The screen darkened, revealing a backdrop of eerie, crumbling ruins. Then, three bright bars, each as thick as a finger, appeared before him, labeled: Heavenly Demon Temple, Demon Roulette, and Devil Storage.
Another typo, it seemed. Surely it was meant to be "Demon Storage"!
Devil?
A jolt ran through Hu Yang. Perhaps there was no mistake—had the system defaulted to naming it his storage?
In the lower right corner of the storage, a number: 692.
What could that number signify?
As he pondered, the number suddenly changed—+16, +15, and then it settled at 723!
In the lower left corner of the Devil Storage, there was an income option that piqued Hu Yang's interest. It was as if a mouse had clicked on it, and it sprang open to reveal a detailed list of numbers.
From Hsu Lili's mockery: +112, +125, +137...
From Lin Xin's disdain: +33, +36, +39...
From Zhang Shanshan's scorn: +12, +16, +15!
What was happening? It appeared that being scorned, mocked, or looked down upon translated into income for this system.
If that was indeed the case, this system was shamelessly cunning!
Considering Lin Xin's mother's surname was Hsu, Hsu Lili must be her name. But who was Zhang Shanshan? On my way back, I nearly collided with someone, who then gave me a cold sneer and a glare. Could that person have been Zhang Shanshan?
Was he obsessive? We merely brushed past each other, and it's been quite a while since I got home, yet he's still fixated on belittling me!
I was soaked from the rain and looked a bit disheveled at the time. Other than that, what reason did he have to despise me?
