Chapter 19: Missed Calls and Mixed Signals

The air was thick with unspoken feelings.

After their wordless walk, Lin Feng and Liu Xiaoyu had parted ways at the stairs of the campus library. No deciding to meet again. No referenceto what the stroll had suggested. Andstill both of them hung around just a little too long before stepping away.

And here, in his dorm room now, Lin Feng sat on his thin bed gazing at the ceiling.

His thoughts weren't on the system. Not his next prize. Not at all on cash.

They were on her.

The way her voice softened when she spoke of strife. The implicit promise in her eyes when she said everyone hassomething to keep hidden. He could still hear the gentle crunch of her steps walking alongside him. Still sense that strange stillness in his chest when their shoulders brushed, not quite by accident.

And yet…

He couldn't afford this.

He didn't have the luxury of time to savor feelings. He still had more than he could number to pay his parents back. He was still hanging by a thread, treading between survival and aspirations.

The world wasn't kind to the likes of him.

Not unless they had something to fight back.

A Familiar Ring

His phone rang.

He slowly turned his head. The screen lit up with a name he knew well.

Mom.

He snarled at it.

The room was silent aside from the soft buzz of the phone vibrating against the desk.

He knew she was calling. She was worried. Always worried. Most likelypinching together one more few hundred yuan to pay for his father's medicine, had he eaten well, was his clothing warm enough, was he studying diligently enough.

He hesitated.

The screen faded to black. The call was dropped.

A few seconds later, another call.

Again—Mom.

His finger paused above the screen.

He gritted his teeth and flipped the phone over, screen face down.

He couldn't call her then.

On the Other Side

Hundreds of kilometers away, in a quiet room dimly lit by a small TV, Lin Feng's mother stared at her phone.

Call declined.

She glanced over at her husband, who slept soundly for the first time in days. The new medication had paid off—temporarily at least. The fever was finally breaking. His coughing had abated. 

She would have liked to share the news with Lin Feng. To hear his voice. To let him know that his father was staying on. 

But the call hadn't connected.

She breathed out and set the phone back in the coat pocket.

"I'll try again tomorrow," she whispered.

Restless Thoughts

Back on campus, Lin Feng sat on the windowsill of the dorm hallway, where the night breeze was cool and quiet. Below, the distant hum of scooters and laughter filtered up from the main street.

He had a hundred things to do. Assignments. System alerts. A potential stock analysis he wanted to review. But his mind kept wandering.

To Liu Xiaoyu.

To the glint she directed at him—like he was superior to yet another poorstudent.

Why? he wondered to himself.

She could study alongside anyone. Converse with anyone. Why him?

He hadn't a clue. But he wasn't alonein thinking along those lines.

Liu Xiaoyu's Doubts

Liu Xiaoyu reclined on her desk, idlepen drumming against her notebook. Her roommate had already fallen asleep, yet she couldn't.

Lin Feng was not like the other guys. He did not try to be flashy. He did notjoke and flirt and boisterously try to be someone he was not.

And yet. there was something about him.

Something quietly strong.

He never asked for help, but somehow always managed to stay afloat. She'd noticed the small changes lately—newer outfits, sharper questions in school, even a quietness in his tone. As if he wasn't desperate anymore—just quietly ascending.

She didn't know why she was important.

But she was.

And that, more than anything, unsettled her.

System Prompt: A New Path

In Lin Feng's bedroom, the system screen on his phone lit up.

[Quest Alert: Small Steps, Big Eyes]

Objective: Continue forming emotional and social connections. The potential was among those around you.

Reward: "Perception Boost I" – Improved sensing of others' mood and micro-expressions.

Optional Bonus Quest Unlocked

Objective: Reconnect with family. Undelivered messages felt.

Reward: ¥1,500 cash + Emotional Resilience (Passive)

Lin Feng stared at the task, furrowedbrow.

He did not perceive this.

The system was pushing him toward others now—not just wealth. It wasprodding him to put money into people.

For a second, he remembered his mom's phone call once again. The way his dad would sit outside their countryhouse, looking at the fields with tired eyes. The way his mom would send him sweet buns when he left for school.

He swallowed hard.

Then leaned back in front of his desk.

The Next Morning

The sun was still rising when Lin Feng stepped out of the dorms, backpack slung across the shoulder.

His phone had buzzed a second time as he made his way towards the campus café.

This time it was a text message.

[Liu Xiaoyu]: Hi! If you're heading forthe café, would you mind if I hitch a ride with you? I have some class to catch before mine starts.

Lin Feng stared dully at the screen, assomething stirred within his chest.

For the first time in a while, he smiled