Dragon Nation, Liao Province, Shengtian City, Tiexi District, Jianshe Avenue, Baogong Street—
"Good morning, family of Sanshang Delivery!"
At six-thirty in the morning, in front of a rundown storefront, more than twenty delivery riders in dirt-yellow uniforms stood in a line, chanting slogans half-heartedly:
"Good! Very good! Excellent!"
Station Master Wang Dali stood on a delivery box, raising his hand energetically:
"Our slogan is!"
"Running east and west, Sanshang is the best! Speed is key, Sanshang is worry-free!"
"Good! Today it's Jiang Ye's turn to lead the dance, right? Come on, everyone, give him a hand! Welcome Xiao Jiang!"
"Clap clap clap!"
In the crowd, Jiang Ye couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth.
He didn't quite understand.
It's almost 2026, why does something as embarrassingly ridiculous as the "money-grabbing dance" still exist?
Selling houses, selling cars, doing telemarketing, sure, but delivering takeout? Is it necessary?
Do all leaders love to watch their employees act like monkeys, no matter the company?
Even if it's just a small station master?
Jiang Ye sighed helplessly, dragging his feet to the front of the line.
Wang Dali glanced at him, not minding his attitude, and pressed a button, causing the station's broken speaker to blast out an ear-splitting beat:
"Say Yeah~~Yeah~~One, Two......"
Jiang Ye closed his eyes, swaying his body with the smallest possible movements, trying to show that he was only doing this to save face for the station master, lest he be laughed at by colleagues for "dancing with enthusiasm."
But even so, the overwhelming embarrassment was hard to bear, so he frantically consoled himself in his mind:
One more day, just one more day......
Tomorrow at this time, this damn, meaningless morning meeting, this ridiculous money-grabbing dance, will have nothing to do with me!
Hang in there, Jiang Ye, you're destined to be the king of bottled water!
......
Jiang Ye, 22 years old.
An ordinary appearance—one that would disappear instantly in a crowd.
An ordinary education—a senior at a third-tier university, currently in the internship period before graduation.
If there's anything unusual about him, it's probably that a year ago, like many web novel protagonists, he acquired a system.
Yes, a system.
The standard equipment for protagonists in urban cool novels, the indispensable ultimate cheat in harem stallion novels—a system.
As for why a chosen one, a system owner, ended up delivering takeout in Shengtian against the cold wind......
Ahem, to explain this, we have to go back to that life-changing afternoon last year, and the three enticing choices the system presented to him at its arrival—
[Ding! "Destiny Choice System" has been activated, please confirm the talent ability for the next year:]
[Option 1: Mastery of Singing and Dancing. You will gain mastery-level singing and dancing skills, greatly enhancing your stage charisma.]
[Option 2: Fountain of Wealth (Bottled Water Version). A 500ml bottle of pure mineral water will automatically generate in your exclusive space every second.]
[Option 3: Future Insight (Single-Event Version). Select a specific event to see its exact outcome one day later.]
Let's not talk about Jiang Ye's half-hour of dumbfounded disbelief, followed by inner ecstasy and rolling on his dorm bed in laughter after hearing the system prompt in his head.
Nor mention him rushing next door to punch that pretentious sports guy and sending a WeChat message to the campus belle saying, "Tonight at Dream Hotel, see you there."
Just focusing on these three options, Jiang Ye thought he had considered them thoroughly at the time.
The first one, mastery of singing and dancing.
Sounds okay, but without "rap" or "basketball," the appeal is halved.
Besides, with his plain face, even "mastery-level" might only earn a laugh from the boss at the company annual party.
Relying on this to make a living? Difficult!
Moreover, it's just a one-year trial; after a year, the skills disappear, leaving him exposed.
Pass!
The second one, a bottle of mineral water every second......
Jiang Ye stared at this option in silence for a long time.
This talent, if placed in a post-apocalyptic novel or a sci-fi story where water resources are depleted, would be a super cheat akin to a miracle, making him a coveted prize for all factions.
But the problem is, this is an urban tycoon harem stallion novel......
Hmm......
It just feels like being in the wrong genre.
Pass!
As for the third one......
"Future Insight," sounds grand, with a prestige rivaling Marvel's Ancient One.
But the limitations are many: it only looks one day ahead and requires selecting a specific event now.
For an ordinary college student's daily life, there's nothing worth foreseeing, making it seem quite useless, logically also a Pass.
However, in the end, Jiang Ye chose the third option without hesitation—his clever mind had thought of the "correct" way to use this ability!
Jiang Ye still clearly remembers how, a year ago, after selecting the third talent, he was so excited he trembled all over, almost shouting as he locked the "event" to be spied on as—the "Double Color Ball" lottery!
That's something that draws three times a week, with jackpots often reaching millions!
He only needed to see the winning numbers the day before the draw, buy the ticket accordingly, and wouldn't that be a sure way to defy fate and achieve financial freedom soon?
Internships, job hunting, postgraduate exams, all could go to hell!
Jiang Ye even had his follow-up plan ready:
Don't be too greedy, take it slow and steady, choose a draw with a rich prize pool every couple of months, and quietly empty it!
Perfect! A flawless plan!
So, on that sunny afternoon, with the excitement of soon conquering rich beauties, little lolitas, and busty elegant ladies, Jiang Ye used his insight ability.
When a string of numbers appeared in his mind, he ran to the lottery station near the school, bought 10 tickets with the same numbers, and kept the ticket close, beginning the excruciating wait.
On the night of the draw, Jiang Ye sat in front of his computer early, eyes glued to the screen.
And then......
There was no "then."
The seven numbers drawn live didn't match a single one on his ticket.
He missed the jackpot, and didn't even win a consolation prize of five bucks.
Leaving aside his disbelief, existential crisis, and the half-hour "customer complaint" to the unresponsive system......
In the following days, the undeterred Jiang Ye tried ten more times.
No miracle occurred.
Every time, the "future winning numbers" he spied on were completely different from the actual draw, the best result being three red and one blue, netting him ten bucks.
After a month of repeated experiments, data recording, and late-night philosophical pondering, Jiang Ye finally realized.
It wasn't that the system was unreliable, but damn it......
Ahem......
In short, the dream of defying fate through the lottery was completely shattered.
With the predetermined prediction event unchangeable, he fell into a year-long "sage time" of waiting for the system's ability to refresh with new options......
Waiting for the second year's new choices.
And when choosing an internship position in the first half of the year, Jiang Ye declined his roommates' team-up invitation, ignored the counselor's advice about "future prospects," and decisively chose "self-directed internship," returning to Shengtian to deliver takeout.
The reason was simple: peace and freedom, enough to support himself through this half-year without causing trouble for his family, that was enough.
Career planning, future development, all nonsense.
What development and planning can a business management undergrad have by waiting tables during an internship?
Besides, I'm a man with a system to back me up!
Even if...... just in case...... the next system options are still those blood-pressure-raising pitfalls from last time, it doesn't matter!
Jiang Ye is no longer the naive, foolish college student he was a year ago!
He has a new, more mature plan!
This time!
He must choose the second option!
Then immediately, right away! Rent the cheapest little warehouse, hang a "Brother Ye's Mineral Water Wholesale" sign!
With the endless, cost-free mineral water from the system space, sell it at prices lower than the market wholesale rate, starting with small shops and restaurants, gradually expanding!
Wouldn't that directly monopolize the local market and lead to the pinnacle of life?!
Perfect!
A genius-level idea!
......
Just as Jiang Ye's thoughts soared in the beautiful blueprint of being the "king of bottled water," the catchy "money-grabbing dance" finally came to an end.