Chapter 16: When the Dust Settles
Sunlight filtering through dorm curtains was weak and wan. Lin Feng awakened from a murmured stillness, his phone under his pillow, screen out.
He did not want to get up.
His body ached, not from exhaustion but from that woeful burden that followed momentous choices—the kind that deprived you of something. The recollection of last eveninglingered. The transfer. The ¥8,000 gone in an instant. The compensationthat came, as abrupt as it was comforting.
Five shares of CATL.
He blinked his eyes, then pulled out his phone and opened the system interface again. The shares remained, listed with care, their glow dimmed in gold.
[CATL – 5 shares]
Market Value: ¥1,280 (¥256 per share)
That had been last night's worth. Farfrom what he had given up just then, but better than nothing.
He opened the stock market app. The pre-market section was buzzing. Red and green flashed everywhere. He wasn't expecting anything big to happen. CATL was a blue-chip, steadyperformer. It wasn't like he'd won a lottery ticket.
Still, his breath caught when he readthe headline:
"EV Battery Giant CATL Jumps 25% After Securing Long-Term Supply PactWith European Automaker."
His thumb hesitated.
He clicked on the CATL listing again.
¥256 → ¥320 per share.
Then, ¥337.
And still on the up.
His heart began to beat fast, but he forced himself to stay cool.
This was not fantasy. This was the actual market. And this kind of movement—especially from a playersuch as CATL—meant serious momentum.
¥337 × 5 = ¥1,685
Almost ¥400 more than last night.
The app buzzed.
[System Notification]
"Investment Growth Detected – CATL Holdings +31.6%"
→ You had faith in a long-term stock.
→ You didn't sell out in panic.
→ You demonstrated patience in adversity.
Hidden Quest Fulfilled: "Strategic Patience"
Reward: ¥3,000 Cash + 1 Silver-tier Investment Draw
Lin Feng stared before the screen, barely breathing.
Three thousand.
It was… unbelievable.
He slept with ¥145, having no clue how he'd make do next week—and now he'd got ¥4,685 worth of cash and shares. Over night, he'd becomewealthier, not by luck but because he stood it out.
Not because he executed a flashy trade or tried to scam the system—but because he gave, waited out the long game, and trusted.
It was not like the internet revenge-fantasy stories. No detonation of an explosive "face-slapping" today. No sports car. No rich girl in love with him.
Just implied, profound development.
Breakfast with Ground Underfoot
He treated himself to something different that morning: soy milk and fried dough sticks, hot off the campus vendor. ¥7, out of his price range.
It felt strange spending money again.
Not lavishly, but with a slightlylessened dread.
His phone rang as he was chewing.
[Liu Xiaoyu]: Are you free tonight? I want to ask you something.
He raised an eyebrow, then replied.
[Lin Feng]: Sure. Library or somewhere else?
[Liu Xiaoyu]: Library. But… perhapssomewhere quieter later on. If that's alright.
She didn't normally talk like that.
He had no idea what it signified, but he didn't question it.
Returning to Class
Classes seemed different that day.
He remained the same Lin Feng—bashful, demure, unadorned attire. Remained overlooked by the boys who wore watches costing a semester's fee, remained unnoticed by the girls who glanced at WeChat followers and car keys.
But something within him had changed.
He didn't flinch as he passed by Lu Chen, crying loudly about his new tablet and flaunting his thousand-yuan sneakers. He did not feel that same inferiority complex.
Because Lin Feng knew at heart: those guys wouldn't last very long in the real world.
He didn't want to look wealthy. He wanted to be wealthy—the kind of wealthy that couldn't be taken away from him by a bad month or a stock downturn.
Evening System Draw
Lin Feng returned to his dorm after class.
He hadn't forgotten the reward: a Silver-tier Investment Draw.
He called upon the system.
[Use Silver-tier Investment Draw?]
He clicked yes.
A wheel appeared, turning faster than it had previously. Names flashed past: small enterprises, franchise names, logistics apps, fintech startups…
It decelerated.
And halted.
[You were rewarded: 3% Stake in "Tianyu Self-Storage Co." – Approximate Monthly Return: ¥320–¥450]
A self-storage company?
He frowned.
Not sexy—but solid, growing, and smart in a city where real estate was expensive. The kind of business that thrived quietly behind the scenes.
And most importantly—it meant that monthly passive income was now a reality.
Status Update – End of Chapter 16
Category Amount
Cash Balance ¥3,000 (reward) + ¥145 (remaining) = ¥3,145
CATL Stock (5 shares) ¥1,685
New Passive Investment ¥320–¥450/month from Tianyu
Total Net Worth ~¥4,830–¥5,100
Lin Feng leaned back in his chair.
No one on campus knew.
No one could see it yet.
But slowly—quietly—he was on the move.