It was a beautiful day with clear skies and brilliant sunshine.
In front of the bustling teaching building at a prestigious university in the capital, a tall, handsome man dressed in expensive clothing stood with a face as dark as storm clouds. He reached out to stop a girl who was about to leave.
The girl had delicate features and an exceptionally refined, scholarly aura. Her lustrous black hair cascaded casually over her slender shoulders, and her small, oval face was adorned with eyebrows like spring mountains and eyes like autumn waters.
Wherever she went in a crowd, she was the kind of girl who would immediately catch attention for her striking beauty and elegant demeanor.
It was no surprise that she often attracted the admiration and pursuit of many young men. And now, it seemed she was facing yet another confession from an admirer.
However, this admirer’s expression was far from pleasant—it appeared this confession was about to end in rejection.
At this moment, the girl’s pretty face was frosty, her round almond eyes filled with intense disgust and contempt. Clearly, she loathed the man who had stopped her.
“Qiu Yunzheng, don’t be so ungrateful when I’m giving you face!”
Wang Wende’s expression was dark, his eyes shadowed with resentment as he glared fixedly at the graceful girl who had rejected him time and again.
His vicious words twisted his otherwise handsome face into something ugly and distorted.
“Oh, have a safe trip. Don’t let me keep you.”
Qiu Yunzheng looked at Wang Wende with utter annoyance, as if he were a persistent fly that had been bothering her for nearly three years.
She was utterly fed up. She had thought that by submitting her graduation report early, she could finally break free from Wang Wende.
Who would have thought that he would collude with several teaching assistants to intercept her application to the archaeology research department for further studies?
He then tried to blackmail her, threatening that unless she agreed to be his girlfriend, she would never get approval for the job she wanted.
To be fair, Wang Wende was decent-looking—tall and well-built, with a wealthy family. He was often seen arriving at school in luxury cars, and under normal circumstances, he might have been considered a catch.
But according to rumors Yunzheng had heard, he changed girlfriends as often as he changed clothes.
Even now, many girls still fought over him, a situation that had caused Yunzheng no small amount of trouble.
If not for this, frugal as she was, she wouldn’t have moved off-campus to rent her own apartment two years ago.
The most critical point was that Wang Wende lacked even basic moral integrity.
Among the many girlfriends he cycled through, quite a few had originally been in relationships. He used money, threats, and manipulation to break them up, only to discard them once he got what he wanted.
In Yunzheng’s eyes, Wang Wende didn’t truly care for her.
To put it bluntly, he was selfish and fickle, more concerned with his own pride and image. She had tactfully rejected him for three years, and only as graduation approached did he finally reveal his violent and impulsive nature.
What mattered most was that throughout the three years he had pursued Yunzheng…
Nor had he forgotten to pursue the female seniors and juniors he fancied or found interesting. So even if Qiu Yunzheng were blind, she would never agree to this scumbag’s advances.
Wang Wende belonged to the Wang family, who held some influence in the capital. While this might be insignificant to the truly privileged elites, for an orphan like Qiu Yunzheng—parentless, powerless, and without connections—he was someone who could easily manipulate her.
Over the past three years, Qiu Yunzheng had repeatedly endured and retreated, fearing that any misstep might provoke Wang Wende into a rage where he would resort to extreme measures against her.
But Qiu Yunzheng was not without her limits. She had already tolerated enough over these three years. Even when classmates urged her to compromise, she held her ground, especially now as graduation approached.
At worst… at worst, she would leave the capital. She refused to believe Wang Wende could truly control everything.
Finally breaking free from Wang Wende, Qiu Yunzheng headed straight back to her small rented room.
Watching her retreating figure, Wang Wende’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he struggled to suppress the urge to destroy everything. His eyes burned with an extreme, obsessive madness toward Qiu Yunzheng, casting a sinister aura around him.
Passersby and onlooking students shivered involuntarily at the sight and hurried away, not wanting to draw his ire. After all, Wang Wende’s reputation at the university was notorious—everyone resented him but dared not speak up.
As for how much Wang Wende truly loved Qiu Yunzheng, even he probably didn’t believe it himself. In essence, after three years of pursuit, he had only moved himself, failing to win her over. His initial intentions had long since warped.
Whether it’s a person or an object, once it becomes unattainable, obsession takes root. He would scheme relentlessly to possess it, and if still unsuccessful, he would grow ruthless and irrational, his humanity twisting beyond recognition.
Barely holding herself together, Qiu Yunzheng collapsed onto her small bed the moment she reached her rented room, her body aching as if every bone had come loose. She was too exhausted, mentally and physically, to utter a word.
Her beautiful almond-shaped eyes glistened with unshed tears, filled with grievance, as she stared fixedly at the ceiling.
Her heart swelled with grievance and frustration. She truly didn’t know what she had done wrong. Since childhood, her aloof nature and striking looks had brought her nothing but trouble.
Normally, beautiful people should be well-liked.
But her reserved, slow-to-warm personality made her appear cold and distant, discouraging others from approaching her. Thus, she never formed close friendships.
Yet those who grew familiar with her knew Qiu Yunzheng had a gentle heart and enjoyed bringing joy to others.
Wang Wende’s relentless pursuit, however, had tarnished her reputation throughout university. Some even claimed “it takes two to tango,” accusing her of leading him on.
The sudden distance from her once-close friend and roommate, with whom she had shared deep conversations and compatibility, nearly broke her.
If not for her calm temperament, self-reliance, ability to endure solitude, and emotional resilience, she would have likely dropped out long ago.
Qiu Yunzheng truly loved her history major. Gazing at those ancient artifacts—whether obscure or long-settled in the river of time—filled her heart with tranquility and a sense of redemption.
Ding-dong.
Her phone chimed. Someone had sent her a WeChat message. No matter how reluctant she was to deal with it, she still pulled out her phone to check, clinging to a sliver of hope regarding the application report she had submitted.
She hoped that some professor might see her application and directly help her resolve this farce.
But no. When it rains, it pours. Good fortune never seemed to favor her. She had been fired.
Qiu Yunzheng had previously taken on a tutoring job, and now her employer subtly hinted that she might have offended someone. With no other choice, they had to let her go, though they did pay out her entire month’s salary.
Perhaps this was a silver lining in her misfortune? No, not really.
Just then, she received another notice from her landlord: this month was the final renewal period, and she needed to move out as soon as possible—with only a week left in the month.
Thump!
Furious, Qiu Yunzheng slammed her phone onto the bed, no longer able to suppress the grievance welling up inside her.
She rolled over and wrapped herself in her blanket like a caterpillar, unable to hold back her tears. Perhaps she had truly reached the end of her rope.
This was a small habit of hers: whenever she felt unhappy or wronged, she would cocoon herself in her blanket and cry, finding immense comfort in the sense of security it provided.
Ding. Scanning in progress. Connecting… Hello, I am 288, the Treasure Hunt Live Stream System. Nice to meet you.
“Huh?”
Qiu Yunzheng let out a questioning sound, her voice slightly choked with tears.
“Hello, Host. 288 is aware of your troubles. However, as long as you complete the tasks issued by the System, you will receive corresponding rewards. Moreover, once you confirm your agreement to bind, completing Task One will activate the live stream. Unlocking viewer numbers will also grant rewards and Points from stream donations. Points can be exchanged for various gifts, such as your country’s currency, jewelry, and more—everything you could want.”
Qiu Yunzheng: “Oh? What if I can’t complete them, or if I refuse to bind?”
“Adhering to a human-centric approach, if you decline, the System will unbind from you and erase all related memories. If you fail tasks, Points will be deducted. When Points reach zero, the System will unbind, but memories will remain intact, and no harm will come to you, Host.”
288’s voice was gentle and feminine—not the robotic tone often described in traditional novels. Hearing it made Qiu Yunzheng feel as though she were conversing with a real person, easing her sorrow somewhat.
“Besides, Host, you don’t have many other options right now, do you? Cooperating with 288 is a no-lose situation.”
After careful consideration, Qiu Yunzheng found the System’s reasoning sound.
If everything 288 said was true, binding with a System posed no real danger—and surely, things couldn’t get much worse than her current predicament.
Once resolved, a faint, almost imperceptible glint flashed in Qiu Yunzheng’s eyes before she agreed.
“Alright, let’s bind.”
“Very well, Host. May we have a pleasant journey together.”