"Zhong Ze, isn't my request perfectly reasonable? My brother is short of 400,000 yuan for his new house. Since we're going to be family soon, what's the problem with helping out?" Zheng Wanxi rested her chin on her hand, her eyes sparkling with anticipation, in a Starbucks in Hanyang City.

Zhong Ze silently stirred his now cold Americano, his brows furrowed deeply. He and Zheng Wanxi had been dating for over a year, and the most intimate they had gotten was holding hands. For someone like him, who had been hopping between odd jobs three years after graduation, 400,000 yuan was as unreachable as the stars in the sky.

"What, you can't even manage such a small thing?" Seeing Zhong Ze's prolonged silence, the anticipation in Zheng Wanxi's eyes gradually turned into dissatisfaction, her tone hardening.

Zhong Ze struggled to speak, "Wanxi, you know my situation. Where am I supposed to get that kind of money?"

"You still have that house in your hometown, don't you? Since you're not planning to go back, why not just sell it?" Zheng Wanxi said without hesitation.

Her words hit Zhong Ze like a sledgehammer to the chest. That house was all his parents had left him, his last safety net. Watching Zheng Wanxi's growing impatience, he felt utterly powerless.

Her aggressive tone echoed through the café, "You can't even handle such a small matter. I must have been blind to have fallen for a penniless guy like you!"

Just as the air grew thick with tension, her phone rang, breaking the awkward silence.

Zheng Wanxi hurriedly ducked into a corner to answer her phone, inadvertently dropping a hospital test report in the process. The A4 sheet fluttered to the ground, and Zhong Ze bent down to pick it up, intending to return it to its owner. However, the glaring words "Hospital" immediately caught his attention. After a moment of hesitation, he unfolded the report.

【Hanyang Maternal and Child Health Hospital Test Report】

【Zheng Wanxi, Female, 27 years old.】

【Test Item: Progesterone 18ng/mL.】

【Serum Human Chorionic Gonadotropin

HCG

: 4220mIU/ml】

【Diagnosis: 4 weeks pregnant.】

Reading this, Zhong Ze felt as if he had been struck by lightning, his entire body turning cold. The woman who usually acted so reserved, blushing at the mere thought of holding hands, was already carrying someone else's child! His fists clenched tightly, his chest heaving with emotion. An overwhelming wave of anger and humiliation washed over him, his mind buzzing with the shock. In that moment, the absurd truth of this so-called love became painfully clear. Zhong Ze's heart pounded violently as the horrifying reality stared him in the face.

He had been made a fool of, unwittingly raising another man's child. A bitter chuckle escaped his lips. This woman had truly played her cards well—not only did she want him to sell his house to help her brother, but she also expected him to raise someone else's child. As Zhong Ze reflected on all he had sacrificed, a heavy weight pressed against his chest.

To ensure Zheng Wanxi could live a comfortable life, he had worked himself to the bone, pinching every penny to the extreme. Each month, he barely scraped by on a meager 500 yuan, surviving on the cheapest steamed buns and pickled vegetables. And for what? This was the thanks he got?

Just as he was lost in his thoughts, Zheng Wanxi sauntered back into the room. She was about to speak when her eyes landed on the medical report lying on the table. In an instant, her expression shifted subtly, and she fumbled to grab the paper.

"Is there nothing you’d like to explain?" Zhong Ze’s voice was icy, cutting through the air like a winter wind.

Zheng Wanxi steadied herself, meeting his gaze head-on. "Since you already know, there’s no point in hiding it. Yes, I’m pregnant."

"Haven’t I been good enough to you? Why would you do this to me?" Zhong Ze’s voice trembled with a mix of pain and confusion.

"You’ve been good to me, I’ll admit that," Zheng Wanxi sighed, her tone softening slightly, as if recalling the efforts Zhong Ze had made over the years. "But you don’t truly understand what I want." Her face was earnest as she spoke, "People who truly love each other should be able to forgive and move forward. Why can’t you give us another chance?"

Hearing this, Zhong Ze couldn’t help but let out a cold laugh inside. This woman had the audacity to downplay her infidelity and pregnancy as if it were nothing more than spilling a glass of water during dinner—something trivial and easily overlooked.

"Do you think I’m some kind of dog you can kick around and still expect me to wag my tail for you?" Zhong Ze’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

This was the first time Zheng Wanxi had heard Zhong Ze speak with such biting harshness. Her gentle demeanor vanished in an instant, replaced by a sharp, piercing glare. "And what about you? Are you completely blameless in all of this?" she shot back, turning the tables on him.

Zhong Ze was momentarily speechless, stunned by her audacity. He could hardly believe what he was hearing.

Without another word, Zheng Wanxi reached for the expensive LV bag beside her and placed it gently on the table. The gilded logo gleamed under the light, its brilliance almost mocking, stinging Zhong Ze’s eyes.

"Do you have any idea how much this bag costs? Nearly thirty thousand," Zheng Wanxi sneered coldly. "For you, it might take months to save up that much, but for some people, it's just pocket change for a single lunch."

"Any decent apartment in the city starts at a few million. With your meager salary, you'll never afford one, not even if you work your whole life."

"Being with a poor loser like you is nothing but a waste of time!"

Listening to her brutal words, Zhong Ze finally saw the truth for what it was.

In her eyes, poverty was the greatest sin.

The harsh reality shattered Zhong Ze's romantic illusions into pieces.

In this world, money was always the coldest litmus test.

"Get out of my sight, right now! From this moment on, we're done!" Zhong Ze's voice was icy, his knuckles turning white from clenching his fists.

Zheng Wanxi curled her lip in disdain. "Oh, look who's putting on airs now. As if someone as pathetic as you could ever deserve me. I must have been blind to even consider you."

"If it weren't for pity, I would've dumped you long ago. Did you really think I cared about you? Dream on!"

Her words dripped with contempt. "You're nothing but a clown, thinking your hard work could change anything. But face it—poor people stay poor. There's no escaping it."

Watching Zheng Wanxi storm off, Zhong Ze shut his eyes tightly, his heart feeling as though it had been sliced open.

To hell with sincerity.

To hell with effort.

All he craved now was money—lots and lots of it.

But how?

What could an ordinary guy like him possibly do to strike it rich?

Just as he was sinking into despair, a mechanical voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

*Ding! Optimal host detected. System binding in progress...*

*System binding successful.*

*System status: Inactive.*

*Activation condition: Spend a cumulative total of 100 million Chinese yuan on the opposite sex.*

A string of unfamiliar words abruptly appeared in Zhong Ze's thoughts.

"A system? Isn’t that something straight out of a novel?"

Zhong Ze snapped out of his gloomy mood in an instant, his heart racing uncontrollably.

But the excitement was fleeting.

When he carefully considered the astronomical activation condition, his expression immediately fell.

"A hundred million? What kind of rich-people system is this?"

He instinctively pulled out his phone to check his bank balance, and the pitiful sum of just over 8,000 yuan stung his eyes.

Zhong Ze couldn’t help but vent, "What the hell is this? Are you messing with me? This so-called system is just a joke! At best, it’s a system; at worst, it’s completely useless!"

"Seriously, even systems are snobbish now, only looking for some rich kid as a host. Why not add another requirement—must live in the posh neighborhoods of the capital?"

He was on the verge of tears. "This isn’t a system. It’s a trap..."