Lin Feng awoke the next day earlier than his normal time. He had no idea why. His alarm had not yet gone off. He had no particular class he was waiting for.
Yet there was something differentabout him.
Slowly, he got out of bed, letting the sunlight pour into his tiny, cluttered dorm room. For a moment, he simply sat, staring up at the ceiling, quietly.
Yesterday, he had made a decision that could shape the rest of his life.
He had invested.
It wasn't much—¥3,000 out of the ¥4,600 he had accumulated so far. But it was a statement to himself: He wasn't going to drift through college, scrounging along and waiting for a miracle to happen.
He was going to create opportunities.
The Campus Returns to Routine
As he stepped outside, the university campus was already alive.
Bicycles whizzed past. Autumn-coatedgirls passed in small clusters, chattering and laughing. Some students sat under trees going over notes, while others lingered outsidethe campus convenience store buying breakfast.
Lin Feng strolled inconspicuously, head bowed, thin book clutched in hand.
From the outside, he was just as he had always been—another broke, quiet student. Still dressed in last year's frayed jacket. Still carrying a scratched phone. Still unseen by the masses.
But inside, it was storming.
He headed to the library and parkedhimself in the economics section, not to study for exams, but to research. Investment textbooks, business gurus' biographies, and texts on reading financial markets.
He wasn't just a college studentanymore.
He was an investor now, at least a small one.
And he knew—if he didn't pick up fast, he'd fall behind.
Encounters in the Cafeteria
By lunchtime, Lin Feng's stomach was rumbling. He had not eaten the nightbefore.
He strolled over to the student cafeteria and ordered the cheapest set meal—¥9 rice with oil-stirfriedcabbage and two slices of pork.
It tasted like oil and salt, but he washed it down.
He was barely finished when a croakyvoice bellowed out behind him.
"Well, well. Lo and behold. If it's notLin Feng the ghost."
He knew the voice.
Zhang Hao.
Rich, arrogant, and never far from a group of groupies hanging on his every utterance, Zhang Hao was theopposite of Lin Feng—garish, wasteful, and used to getting his way.
Lin Feng said nothing.
Zhang Hao sat down across from him, grinning. He was sporting a designer hoodie, his phone on the table flickingthrough messages.
He snickered. "Hey, man, still eating peasant food?"
Some of the students beside him glanced at him and giggled. Lin Feng kept quiet.
"I've heard you've been roaming the east gate these days. Looking for part-time work again?"
Lin Feng looked at him with a calm expression. "What I do is not yourconcern."
"Oh, I don't care," Zhang Hao mocked. "I just wonder how a person like you survives here. Your kind always getsexhausted after the second year."
Before Lin Feng was able to say anything, another person walked by—Wu Kai.
He leaned against the table and eyedLin Feng, then Zhang Hao.
"Alright here?" he said casually.
Zhang Hao's brow sprang up. "And what are you?"
Wu Kai didn't reply. He turned his eyes on Lin Feng instead. "Stop by later this evening. I'll walk you through the renovation plans."
Lin Feng nodded. Wu Kai noddedcurtly and departed.
Zhang Hao watched the exchange with narrowed eyes.
"Renovation plans?" he growled. "What's a poor dude like you gonnado?"
But Lin Feng said nothing. He stood up, tray in hand, and left.
System Prompt – Progress
He strolled towards the dorm, phone vibrating gently in his pocket.
He opened it to see a new system message:
[Progress Log Updated]
Current Passive Investments: 1
Café Expansion – Expected ROI: Variable (Based on sales)
Est. Passive Monthly Profit (5% share): ¥350–¥500
Performance bonus if monthly profit ismore than ¥10,000
A small smile creased Lin Feng's face.
It wasn't much. But it was a beginning.
That estimated income—¥350 to ¥500 a month—would cover food. Or books. Or even allow him to invest some more.
And above all, it was money he wouldn't have to earn by using his time.
It was the beginning of financial leverage.
And financial leverage was freedom.
A Chance Meeting
That night, after school, Lin Feng wentto the East Gate café stand once more. The sky had clouded up, and the first whiffs of rain rustled in the wind.
Wu Kai stood there, taping out additional shelf space.
"You came," he said, standing up.
Lin Feng nodded. "You promised toshow me the plans."
Wu Kai pulled out a roll of paper from under the counter and spread it across a crate.
The new design was simple but efficient—an expanded drink menu, a small refrigerator for desserts, and a new shelf for takeaway packaging.
"It'll take a few weeks to get everything installed. I've already contacted the supplier," Wu Kai said. "Once it's ready, I'll begin delivering to the dorm areas."
Lin Feng examined the plans silently.
"You're serious about this," he said.
Wu Kai smiled. "Of course. I didn't attend business school to waste my time."
He looked at Lin Feng directly. "And neither did you, right?"
For a moment, something like mutual comprehension passed between them.
Not just two students.
Two people trying to defy gravity.
Trying to climb up.
Back to the Dorm
That night, Lin Feng returned to his room fatigued but resolute.
He sat down with a notebook, took outa blank page, and began scribblingdown ideas.
Continue investment vehicle research
Keep track of passive income from café
Investigate new side hustles (delivery, tutoring?)
Examine system to seek out undervalued physical commoditiesagain
He was not going to rush.
He was not going to chase glamorousresults.
This was not a dash.
It had been a war that had dragged on for ages, and he was merely settingdown the first few stones of his foundation.
Outside, the city lights flashed and sparkled.
Inside, a single student hunched over a notebook, the gentle hum of purpose hanging in the air.