Chapter 1: The System Arrived Too Early

Zhennan is a small county town in the south, where the late summer heat is unbearable.

As Jiang Nian just returned home, the refrigerator door opened, and a blast of white mist hit his face.

He searched for a while, finally finding a few slices of bread left over from the morning, and forced himself to take a few bites. Only after something settled in his stomach did he finally recover.

With a buzz, his phone vibrated; someone was calling him.

Le Zhi, the class life committee member with a face full of acne and a flashy demeanor, had added everyone's QQ. He claimed it was to unite the classmates, but in reality, he just wanted to get close to the girls.

"Jiang Nian, Zhou Yuting is looking for people to hang out. She asked me to ask if you're coming?" Le Zhi's voice carried a hint of encouragement; he had once said he liked Zhou Yuting.

To be precise, almost no boy in the class disliked Zhou Yuting, including Jiang Nian.

Zhou Yuting had a melon-seed face and willow-leaf eyebrows, a slender waist and long legs, and beneath her summer uniform lay breasts as soft as the ridge lines of spring mountains. She was smart and wealthy, serving as the class study committee member.

"I'm not going."

"Really not going? Do you still remember the matter of Zhou Yuting's birthday banquet?" Le Zhi advised, "Is it really necessary? She didn't mean it; it was just a joke."

At the mention of the birthday banquet, Jiang Nian's anger flared.

A while ago, Zhou Yuting celebrated her birthday, and six or seven people gathered for a meal.

Out of kindness, Jiang Nian voluntarily went to a convenience store not far away to buy Water Soluble C100. When he returned, he heard Liu Feipeng and several girls mocking him.

"He probably made an excuse to run away. The dishes we ordered at our table were indeed quite expensive. He probably thought it was AA, not knowing that Da Peng is paying for tonight's expenses."

"Yeah, and he even said that terrible drink tasted good. He's missing out on a few coins."

"Haha, he's a warm guy, ranking right behind a dog."

The group laughed, making Jiang Nian, standing outside the private room, feel bitter. He heard Zhou Yuting's laughter; although they usually got along well, she didn't say a word in his defense.

Since then, Jiang Nian saw through them; what a bunch of scum.

If it weren't for Zhou Yuting's birthday banquet, he wouldn't have wanted to go at all. Acting superior just because they have money, their sense of superiority built entirely on stepping on others; ugly on the outside but wild on the inside.

If I had money, I wouldn't even look at someone like Zhou Yuting. I really misjudged them before; damn it, so this is how they see me!

"I'm not going; let them play by themselves," Jiang Nian sneered.

Le Zhi replied, "Alright, I'll tell the beautiful Miss Zhou."

Jiang Nian put down his phone, leaned back on the sofa, and let out a long, melancholy sigh. The world has truly changed; when did doing good deeds start being seen as acting like a clown!

His chest heaved up and down; without money, you get bullied; with money, everything you do is right.

At the peak of his anger, a ding sounded in his mind. A translucent panel floated before his eyes, with line after line of white text slowly appearing.

[At eighteen, you were admitted to an ordinary second-tier university. After graduation, you entered a large company, working overtime until your liver exploded, running errands until your legs cramped, yet never got a promotion or raise.

At twenty-eight, your parents earnestly urged you, a man with no achievements, to go on a blind date. To protect your self-esteem, they carefully handed you a bank card with savings.

At thirty, the bride price exploded to 588,000. You gritted your teeth and took out a loan to buy a house and a car for 1.34 million. Five gold pieces cost 80,000, the gratitude gift 128,000, the change-of-address fee 30,000, and the boarding and alighting gifts 66,000.

At the wedding, the master of ceremonies asked the bride if she was willing to marry you. She said no. At that moment, your ears rang incessantly, and in a daze, the bride's face seemed strangely unfamiliar.

At thirty-two, you still got married, but you and your wife were united in name only. In a luxury hotel, guests were as numerous as clouds, and every face was beaming with smiles.

The bouquet was thrown high into the air, like a white dove flying in the sky.

At thirty-five, you lost your job, and your wife became increasingly dissatisfied with you. You had no children, your medical reports got worse with each checkup, and arguments became more frequent.

At thirty-eight, a suitcase rolled across the floor as your wife, with a cold face, cursed you as a good-for-nothing. A phone with a shattered screen lit up; it was a call from your parents, ringing continuously.

Amidst the ruins, you lowered your head and lit a cigarette.

Host: Jiang Nian, Divorce Counterattack System loaded.......

Do you have the courage... at this age of forty... to begin... a counterattack on your life?]

On the sofa, Jiang Nian stared at the words in his mind, completely stunned.

Divorce? Thirty-eight years old?

Huh?

Wait... is the person described on this panel really me? Jiang Nian... the name was correct. He stood there in a daze for over ten minutes, his skin crawling with goosebumps.

Suddenly, he looked up sharply, realizing something.

"That's wrong; I'm only eighteen!"

Holy crap, did this system arrive too early?

Looking at the last line of small white text frozen on the panel: Do you have the courage... at the crossroads of your thirties/forties... to begin... a counterattack on your life?

He reached out; vaguely, two choices appeared: Yes or No.

There was actually nothing to hesitate about. If this system was fake, he could just treat it as a simulation game. If it was real, he had even more reason not to give up.

Jiang Nian knew clearly how humble a person could be because of poverty. He was relatively lucky; at least when the sky fell, his parents would hold it up, and his standard of living wasn't bad.

But what about later? If he couldn't hold up a sky for his parents, what then?

In this world, a person can be incompetent but cannot be without money. Effort doesn't always yield returns; choose the wrong direction, and one mistake leads to another.

Choice: Yes!

The panel buzzed, then a line of small text appeared.

[Divorce Counterattack Game loaded. Host: Jiang Nian, Male, Age: 38.

Your marriage failed. Standing at the crossroads of your forties, you remembered your childhood sweetheart. After marriage, you cut off all contact, and there has been no news of her since.

Re-establish contact with Xu Qianqian. Reward: 300 RMB.]

After reading, Jiang Nian couldn't help but pout; why was this system so pretentious?

But it didn't matter; as long as it gave money, it was fine.

Re-establish contact with Xu Qianqian, his childhood sweetheart who had fallen out with him. Hmm... he stood up and paced around the living room for a while. He opened the front door, looked at Xu Qianqian's house across the hall, and fell into deep thought.

Hmm...

Knock, knock, knock!!!

Jiang Nian knocked without holding back, "Xu Qianqian, what are you doing!?"

A moment later, hurried footsteps echoed from behind the door; before the person even arrived, a crisp, clear voice pierced out.

"Get lost, Jiang Nian, do you want to die!"

Splash, the door was pulled open, revealing a delicate, pouting little face.

A graceful young girl appeared, about one meter sixty-something tall, wearing a beige knit top, her chest heaving as if hiding treasure.

The girl's eyes were lively, her skin fair, her brows like distant mountains, her smooth long hair tied back with a rubber band. He had never noticed before; she was truly a beauty in the making.

Unfortunately, the two had been at odds since childhood, and their relationship had deteriorated sharply since middle school.

Stealing Xu Qianqian's ice cream, releasing the turtle she raised into the sewer.

Xu Qianqian had a slight cold, yet he had carried her to the hospital in a princess carry without a word of explanation, causing her to miss the exam, while Jiang Nian achieved the only first place in the entire class in his life.

With such misdeeds, he should thank Xu Qianqian for the grace of not killing him, given that he had lived this long.