I’m just running for the sake of it.

After leaving the internet cafe, Chen Yuan headed straight for the school's track field. He had just unlocked a new ability—'Agility Enhancement'—and was eager to test it out. However, he quickly realized that the field was unusually crowded today.

"Hey, why is the track so packed today?" Chen Yuan asked the prettiest girl he could spot nearby.

"You don't know?" she responded with a friendly smile. "The athletics department is hosting a sprinting competition today. They're selecting candidates for national second-level athletes."

"Oh, that explains it," Chen Yuan nodded. "By the way, could I add you on WeChat?"

The girl's demeanor instantly changed. She crossed her arms and pointed at a guy warming up on the track in a red vest. "Sorry, I have a boyfriend. That's him right there."

Chen Yuan narrowed his eyes. "Li Yang?"

"You know my boyfriend?" Her tone softened a bit, curiosity piqued.

"Know him? We were classmates in high school. He was our school's sprinting champion back in the day."

"Wow, I didn't realize he was that good in high school! I thought he was just boasting." She looked proud as she turned her gaze back to her boyfriend on the track.

Chen Yuan and Li Yang indeed had history—but not the friendly kind. In fact, they had fought before. The fight stemmed from Li Yang's attempt to pursue Xiao Ruoyu, a girl Chen Yuan had been interested in. Li Yang wasn't just a talented athlete; he had a reputation for being a player. Back in high school, after his sprinting victory, he switched girlfriends as often as he changed clothes.

Chen Yuan didn't care about Li Yang's love life—until it involved Xiao Ruoyu. Their rivalry escalated, and they ended up in a physical altercation. Chen Yuan lost that fight, with Li Yang humiliating him by pinning him to the ground and slapping him across the face. It was a moment of disgrace that Chen Yuan had never fully recovered from.

As Chen Yuan stood there reminiscing, a notification from his system jolted him back to the present.

Ding! Simp Mode Activated!

Name: He Zhiying

Age: 19 years

Height: 169 cm

Weight: 50 kg

Attractiveness Score: 8.2/10

Current Favorability Toward Host: -5

The system had locked He Zhiying, the girl in front of him, into a 'simp relationship.' If Chen Yuan could raise her favorability above 95 points, the tables would turn, and she would become his simp. If successful, he would be rewarded with a 10% 'Simp Coin' bonus, 22 skill points, and the skill 'Dance Mastery.'

Chen Yuan blinked, stunned by the notification. "So, the system wants me to steal Li Yang's girl? What kind of twisted plot is this?"

He shook his head in disbelief. Years ago, he despised players like Li Yang. Now, he was being pushed into a similar role by this strange system. The irony of it all almost made him laugh.

Curiosity piqued, he took a closer look at He Zhiying. She was indeed stunning—probably the most attractive girl on the entire track. With a beauty score of 8.2, she was even more beautiful than Xu Lele or Lin Shutong, the other women in Chen Yuan's life. And at 19, she was likely a freshman.

Suddenly, the atmosphere around the track shifted.

"Look! The race is about to start!"

"Go, Li Yang!" He Zhiying jumped up, enthusiastically cheering for her boyfriend.

Chen Yuan didn't push the issue of adding her on WeChat. If he persisted, it would make him no different from a street thug, and he didn't want to come across that way. Instead, he casually walked onto the rubber track while the crowd's attention was focused on the race.

Two coaches were standing nearby, discussing Li Yang's potential.

"Li Yang's got talent," one of them said. "His best time is 10.12 seconds in the 100-meter dash. That qualifies him to be a backup for the national team, and he's still got room to grow."

"Absolutely," the other agreed. "He's the most promising sprinter in this year's group."

The signal gun fired, and the runners sprang into action. The athletes from the sports department charged forward like a pack of wild cheetahs, their movements fluid and powerful. Li Yang, running in the center lane, quickly took the lead, his form and speed on par with national-level athletes.

"Wait… Who's that?" one of the coaches asked, eyes widening.

A figure dressed in casual clothes had joined the race late, but to everyone's surprise, he was gaining ground at an astonishing rate. Even though he had started several meters behind, he overtook one runner after another, leaving the professional athletes in the dust. In the final stretch, he pulled ahead of Li Yang, crossing the finish line with a two- to three-meter lead.

The crowd erupted in shock.

"Nine seconds… 9.63 seconds for 100 meters! Holy—he broke 10 seconds!" one of the coaches shouted, almost unable to believe his eyes.

"Are you kidding me? He started nearly a second late! If he gave it his all, he could be a world-class contender!"

"This guy's a prodigy! A total genius!" another coach exclaimed.

"Hey, wait!" one of the coaches ran after Chen Yuan. "Are you interested in joining the national team?"

Chen Yuan glanced back, shaking his head. "Nah, I was just messing around. Who knew these sports guys would be so slow?"

With that, he walked off the track, leaving the stunned crowd behind, still buzzing over what they had just witnessed.