Glancing at the time—only 9 p.m.—An Han rose from the stone bench and merged into the stream of night joggers, easing into a slow pace along the rubber track.
He had a habit of working out.
Every other day, he’d jog two kilometers around the campus track. Not for peak health—he just figured that since he was usually up to no good, running faster when getting beaten up might come in handy.
Of course, the real reason was school policy: log 100 kilometers per semester or fail PE.
Loopholes existed—like one guy running for the whole dorm—but An Han ran his own laps honestly.
After all, he was painfully thin. He hoped jogging might help him put on some solid weight.
After two laps, his breathing grew heavier. He slowed slightly and glanced around at the nearby girls.
With a campus ratio of roughly 40% guys to 60% girls—and decent-looking ones at that—finding a girlfriend shouldn’t be hard. Yet his entire dorm remained stubbornly single.
Chen Junjie had dated a few over the years, but every relationship ended.
“No one’s even approached me,” he muttered under his breath. The system’s rewards felt unreliable. He’d lingered on the track over half an hour—zero girls chatting him up.
He’d even pinned hopes on the “Affection” trait snagging him a pretty girlfriend.
“What even is this…” Suddenly drained, he sighed and sank onto the central grass field. Lying back weakly, he stared up at the pitch-black sky. “I really think my system’s broken.”
After all, what normal system tasks a guy with seducing another guy…
Letting out a soft, melancholic sigh, he noticed someone sit beside him.
“Wang Sheng? You jogging too?”
“Mm.”
Wang Sheng was his dormmate, bunking right below him. They shared a wardrobe and desks, so they got along fine.
Tall, lean, quiet, and introverted—but an exceptional gamer with a burning dream of going pro in e-sports.
An Han rarely teased him; Wang Sheng gave little reaction, nothing like the mental sparring he had with Wu Dongming.
“Haven’t seen you around today.”
“Went home.” Wang Sheng mimicked An Han, lying back with hands propped under his head.
Silence hung between them until Wang Sheng spoke: “A club invited me for a trial.”
“That’s great, isn’t it?”
“My family won’t allow it.”
[Option 1: Help Wang Sheng become a pro e-sports player. Reward…
Option 2: Comfort him. Reward…
Option 3: Ignore the topic. Reward: Random attribute point.]
An Han glanced at the popped-up system interface. Without checking rewards, he selected Option 3 without hesitation.
Not that he wouldn’t help—he followed e-sports, watched matches. But Wang Sheng was already in his twenties. Compared to sixteen- or seventeen-year-old pros, equally skilled but far more promising? Impossible task.
“What’s Long Ge up to in the dorm?” An Han asked.
[Task completed. Physique +1.]
Sure enough, Option 3 tasks were always the simplest.
A quiet thrill warmed An Han. He’d fixated on Option 1’s absurd rewards, but attribute points were sweet too.
He’d worried endlessly about staying scrawny—barely 100 pounds at nearly 1.7 meters, so thin a breeze might topple him.
“Seems he and Junjie are searching in the school group chat.”
“Figures…”
“Rumor says Long Ge likes that girl?” Wang Sheng murmured. “He’s actually catching on.”
“When will *you* catch on?”
He shook his head hastily. “Not me.”
“I’ll run two more laps.” Reward secured, An Han’s mood lifted. Feeling pleased, he stood and jogged off.
He realized: unless absolutely certain, Option 3 was the smoothest path forward.
So far, Physique and Charm each gained one point. Not much—but with tasks triggering this often, adding ten or twenty more felt effortless.
*Hope Physique gives me a little height too~*
He pushed the Wu Dongming-related task from his mind. After two more sweaty laps, he returned to the dorm.
Occasional jogging felt like torture, but he was used to it. And nothing beat showering post-run and collapsing straight into bed.
The moment he opened the dorm door, Long Ge and Chen Junjie at their desks turned to stare.
Startled, An Han stepped back instinctively, then flashed a wide smile. “Why the looks?”
*Did they find out?*
*Are my hidden girls’ clothes exposed?*
“An Han, confess and you’ll be treated leniently,” Chen Junjie said with theatrical sorrow. “That girl was definitely you in drag. I asked around—no one matches her.”
“Like hell!”
An Han kept his face perfectly innocent. “Do I look like someone who wears girls’ clothes?”
“Absolutely! You’re never up to any good anyway.”
An Han shot Chen Junjie a glare, glanced at the silent Long Xing, and strode to the wardrobe. “Messing around is for fun. Why turn it on myself?”
He crouched, peeked deep inside at the hidden clothes—relief washed over him.
No evidence meant he could keep denying.
Grabbing a basin and fresh clothes, he headed to the balcony bathroom. Moments later, he stuck his head out, fuming: “Chen Junjie! You used my shampoo again?!”
“So what! It’s an honor!”
“You asking for a beating?!”
“Like you could beat me?!”
*Just wait till my Physique maxes out—I’ll punch you till your face is a mess!*
“Watch your sleep tonight!” An Han grumbled. “Might shove a cockroach in your mouth!”
Before Chen Junjie could retort, he slammed the bathroom door shut.
Their feud likely started freshman year over bunk beds. An Han and Chen Junjie never quite got along.
But no worries. He couldn’t beat Chen Junjie before—but now he had the system~
Feeling pleased, An Han stripped in the bathroom and eagerly checked his abdomen.
Hmm. One Physique point—no abs made sense.
He turned to his biceps, clenched a fist to flex.
Why flat?
Unease prickled. He’d been thin before, but had *some* definition.
Why did his physique feel worse?
As warm water streamed down, he inspected himself. His once overly slender frame had filled out slightly—hands, wrists, waist, chest, legs now carried a soft layer of padding. He looked like he’d gained a few pounds overnight, landing squarely in normal weight range.
Overall, healthier. No longer that fragile, wind-blown look.
But the muscle definition… noticeably faded.
“So the system thinks I’m too thin and decided to fatten me up first?”
An Han nodded, relief softening his features. “Guess my system’s actually pretty reliable.”
