Boys' dorm room.
Evan stared at his phone, scrolling through his chat with Emily. Something about it bugged him.
He just knew Emily must have seen him earlier—maybe when he was heading back to school, or when he parked his car that afternoon. That had to be it.
Why else would she suddenly chat for over two hours, the conversation just flowing, easy and natural? That kind of thing didn't just happen.
He wasn't anything special. Average looks, average height, nothing flashy about his family.
Honestly, there was no real reason for Emily to notice him. If she'd wanted to talk, she could've just chatted with him at lunch in the cafeteria.
She waited until evening and then, out of nowhere, started to chat. That only made sense if she'd seen him with the car. Otherwise, none of this lined up.
Evan let out a small smile, then sighed. So that's it. Money really does change things.
But now he was wondering—when exactly did Emily spot him? He didn't remember seeing her when he drove in. Whatever. It was already past midnight, and he was too tired to care.
"System, withdraw $200 for today," he said in his head.
His phone buzzed. A bank notification popped up. The money was in his account, just like that.
He slid his phone under his pillow, locked it, and got ready to sleep. No classes tomorrow morning, so he planned on sleeping in. But then, right as he was about to drift off, the system's voice chimed in his mind.
"Ding, the host has triggered a running check-in task.
You can pick one of these two options.
A: Run for 15 minutes every morning for seven days straight. Finish, and you get two rewards: $10000 cash and 3 centimeters added to your height. No side effects.
B: Don't run, and earn the title 'Lazy host.' This title isn't totally useless, but don't expect much from it."
"...?"
Evan's face twisted in disbelief. The choice was so obvious it was almost funny. Pick A, no question. Who wouldn't? Run for a week and get $10000.
But honestly, it wasn't the money that got him. It was the extra 3 centimeters of height. No side effects. That reward hit him hard.
If the system could boost his height, what about his looks? Height and appearance—stuff you're usually just stuck with, thanks to genetics. But if the rules had changed…
He felt his heart thump. Maybe, just maybe, he could finally look good.
"System, can you improve my appearance?" Evan asked, trying to sound calm, though he couldn't hide the excitement in his voice.
"Replying to host: It is possible."
It worked! Even though he'd guessed as much, hearing it for real made his eyes light up.
"The host's character attribute panel has been generated. Would you like to view it?"
"Show it."
A 3D virtual screen flickered into view.
Name: Evan
Age: 18
Height: 175 cm
Weight: 127
Appearance: 69
Height Score: 73
Luck: 80
Host receives $200 daily. Today's reward already claimed.
Evan glanced at his stats. Appearance: 69. No surprise. Average, just like he thought.
But that could change.
He zeroed in on the 'Luck' attribute. 80 points? What the heck was that supposed to mean?
"System, what's this 'luckl' stat about?"
The system answered, and Evan's expression got a little weird. He hadn't expected the system to pick up on that kind of thing. Was this really a proper system?
He decided to let it go for now. What he really cared about was his looks.
"How do I increase my appearance?"
The system replied, "Tasks will appear from time to time. Some of them give you free attribute points. You can use those to boost stats like appearance, height, or physique. Some rewards can directly raise your appearance. And there's also a lucky draw."
The gist was clear: Do tasks, earn points, get better-looking. Plus, this lottery thing.
"What's the lucky draw?" Evan asked.
"Some missions give you a disc lottery. The prizes are random—could be small stuff like tissues or lighters, or huge stuff like…an aircraft carrier. The bigger the prize, the lower the odds."
An aircraft carrier? Evan's heart skipped a beat.You could win anything, from a cheap lighter to something as wild as an aircraft carrier.
Of course, the pricier the prize, the slimmer your odds. Makes sense.
When Evan heard the system mention that the lottery could cough up an actual aircraft carrier, his heart started pounding. Who wouldn't get hyped over that?
He grilled the system with a few more questions, then finally decided to call it a night.
Still, she reached for her phone and set an alarm for 7 a.m. Got to stick to that morning run.
If you run seven days straight, more than 15 minutes each time, you score a $10000 cash prize. Not bad at all.
And there's another perk — your height goes up by three centimeters, no side effects. Right now, he stands at 175 cm. Pretty average. But tack on three more, and now you're looking at 178 cm. That's tall for a guy.
Honestly, the only thing Evan wished for was that this time, the running reward would be some kind of beauty bonus. No luck. But he wasn't in a rush. He'd take things one step at a time.
After setting the alarm and tucking his phone under the pillow, Evan closed his eyes. With all those possibilities ahead, he drifted off fast.
While he slept, Nathan stayed awake. Instead of sleeping, he jumped on Instagram Moments and posted a photo.
It was a selfie of Jasmine.
The caption? "I'm willing to be your knight forever, and protect you forever!"
After hitting post, Nathan felt a wave of happiness. He imagined Jasmine would see it in the morning and feel touched.
Maybe, if she's moved enough, she'll finally let him hold her hand.
------
At seven in the morning, Evan's alarm went off and pulled him from sleep.
Ryan, half-awake, fished his phone from under his pillow, killed his own alarm, and rolled out of bed. He must've moved pretty fast, because his eyes were barely open.
"Evan, man, where are you going? What time is it?" he mumbled.
He glanced at his phone while talking. When he saw it was only seven, his eyes went wide.
"Dude, seriously? It's barely seven. Why are you up already?"
Ryan didn't bother keeping his voice down, so Jack and Nathan stirred too.
Nathan looked rough—dark circles under his eyes, the works. He'd been up late last night, riding high after posting on his Moments, probably thinking about how Jasmine would see it. His mind just kept spinning, so he didn't crash until after four.
No wonder he felt wrecked now, like a zombie.
"Yeah, Evan, what's up with you? We don't even have class this morning, right?" Jack said, grabbing his phone, squinting at the time, then shooting Evan a confused look.
"I'm going for a run," Evan said, grinning. "You guys go back to sleep."
Ryan nodded, almost ready to drift off again—then he sat up, suddenly alert.
"Wait, what? You're actually going running? Are you feeling okay?" He stared at Evan like he'd grown a second head.
Seriously, who chooses a morning run over sleeping in at the dorm?
Jack chimed in too. "Evan, come on. If you're stressed about something, just say so. We'll help you out."
Nathan just looked at Evan, his face a mix of doubt and total disbelief. Honestly, who gets up this early to run? Instead, Nathan turned to face the wall and yanked the quilt over his head. He was done—sleep was calling.
Evan waved them off. "Nothing's wrong. I just felt like running. Go back to bed."
He headed for the bathroom to wash up, while Ryan and Jack just gawked at each other, still confused.
But Evan was already set on running. Who wouldn't be? Seven days of running gets you ten grand and a two-centimeter growth spurt, side effect–free. No way he'd pass that up.
"I'm telling you, Evan must've snapped or something. He actually wants to run," Ryan muttered to Jack while Evan brushed his teeth.
Jack nodded. "Seriously. Why bother if you don't have to?"
Neither of them had energy for more. They flopped back down, dead to the world.
A little later, Evan came out, saw his friends sleeping, and quietly grabbed a T-shirt and shorts. I changed, laced up my sneakers, and slipped out, making sure the door clicked shut behind me.
The track was the place to go. It wasn't right next door, but not far either.
Campus felt empty at seven. Evan strolled to the playground and, after ten minutes, finally reached the track.
There were already a bunch of people running.
Some folks let themselves slack off once they hit college, but others keep up the discipline. It's one of those things that sets people apart after graduation.
Evan stood by the rubber track, stretching his ankles. He found himself glancing at a woman jogging nearby—and he wasn't the only one sneaking a look.
She was beautiful. High ponytail, fair skin, striking features, long neck. Her tracksuit didn't reveal much, but you could still tell—slim waist, long legs, just a healthy, magnetic kind of energy.
Evan blinked. He hadn't expected to see her here. She was his counselor—Claire Wilson.
He remembered how, on the first day of school, Claire walked into their class meeting and the whole room went silent. Too pretty not to stare.
She was new to the job, fresh out of college herself, and honestly seemed more like a senior than a counselor.
Evan looked away, finished stretching, and got ready to run.
But just then, a woman's voice cut through the air—surprised, a little out of breath.
"Hey, Evan? You running too?"
Claire Wilson stopped and stared at Evan, her eyes wide. She looked genuinely surprised.
She definitely knew who Evan was. He sat in her class, after all. This was her first year as a counselor, so Claire made a point to remember every student's name. She prided herself on that. But honestly, Evan always struck her as the quiet type, sort of fading into the background.
Seeing him out here, jogging on the track, threw her off. She really hadn't expected it.
"Ms. Claire." Evan glanced up, realized who was talking to him, and gave a polite nod. "Yeah, I just came out for a run. Figured I should get some exercise."
"That's great. Better than sleeping in all morning, right?" Claire grinned at him, still a little taken aback.
She watched him for a second. He looked calm. Confident, even. Not shy or awkward like he seemed in class. It was almost like seeing a different person.
The whole thing surprised her, but she didn't dwell on it. She just smiled.
"All right, then. Go get 'em. I'm cheering you on."
She flashed him a smile—those dimples made her look even sweeter.
"Thanks, teacher," Evan said, and without another word, he started jogging again.
Claire waited until he'd put some distance between them, then set off herself. She ran with easy, practiced strides, her breath steady. Clearly, she did this pretty often.
A few guys on the track couldn't help glancing her way, but nobody had the nerve to actually talk to her. Some of the male teachers nearby got a little bolder, though.
Evan focused on his own run. At first, he figured thirty minutes would be a breeze. Ten minutes in, though, his breath caught in his throat and sweat dripped down his face. His arms and legs grew heavy, like someone had filled them with sand.
Out of nowhere, Claire appeared at his side. "Slow down. You're pushing too hard—take it easy or you'll burn out."
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