Passing Off the Fake As Genuine

The cool wind rushed in from the car window, blowing hard against Tang Hong's cheeks.

'What best?!'

'You don't even know just what kind of a situation I'm in right now!'

What he received was a very different answer from what he had imagined.

Tang Hong originally thought that she would ask him a few more questions. Then she would eventually realize that it was a mistake to leave him.

Afterwards, Tang Hong would decisively say that they should not see each other again and that what happened in the past should remain in the past.

He would then be able to prove himself and put an end to this inner demon of his. From then on, it could be considered that he had completely severed himself from the relationship.

He would no longer think of anything unnecessary.

But she acted so indifferently and calm as if she didn't care.

Tang Hong had nothing more to say. The saddest thing was not to be blocked and deleted by Jiao Xiaoyu, it was her name appearing in his list of friends, but he could no longer get her attention.

What else was there to say?

He was just a little bit unwilling.

He lost, but who won then? None of them.

"En."

Tang Hong replied.

"Thank you."

Then, he replied once more and expressed his gratitude.

At this moment, his feelings of wanting to brag, his excitement, and arrogance disappeared in the blink of an eye. Instead, emptiness and bewilderment filled Tang Hong's heart. "How can I be so childish, what am I trying to prove to her?"

Those thoughts came to an abrupt end as Tang Hong put away his phone.

'Ding dong!'

'Experience taking a taxi alone for the first time. Individual Value has increased by 1.'

The corners of his mouth barely curved up.

The joy of receiving this Individual Value point could not cover up his disappointment.

"We're almost there."

"To which terminal?" The taxi driver glanced at the rear-view mirror.

Tang Hong said softly, "I remembered the date wrongly. Let's go back to Yunhai University."

"Eh?"

The taxi driver was confused.

He couldn't help but turn around to look at Tang Hong.

He pouted and complained. "How can you remember the date wrongly, what's wrong with you? You're wasting my time."

"I'll pay you, don't worry." Tang Hong was a little tired. He simply closed his eyes.

Hearing that, the taxi driver felt relieved.

He was afraid that Tang Hong would not pay him.

After all, there were all sorts of people in this world…

In the end, the driver said no more as he continued to do his job. He secretly observed Tang Hong via the rear-view mirror… The youngster looked tired and reserved.

Meanwhile, various ridiculous situations kept appearing in the taxi driver's mind.

He struggled to remember…

What was that term that his daughter always mentioned?

He thought for a very long while, the cool breeze finally awakened his memory.

"A lapdog!"

"Yes, yes, yes… It's a lapdog!" At this moment, the thoughts of both the taxi driver and his daughter were in perfect sync.

A lapdog's money truly was easy to earn.

The taxi eventually left the speed-limited area of Yunhai City Airport.

Driving sixty kilometers per hour made him anxious.

After all, time was money for taxi drivers.

He stepped hard on the accelerator the moment the speed limit was no more.

Rumble!

Han Zhibin kicked open the dormitory room's door. Carrying two bags, he threw them over to the side and directly rushed to the bathroom. He was probably raring to relieve himself as what followed next was the flushing sound of the toilet.

Han Zhibin walked out and there was a relaxed look on his face.

"Tang Hong!"

His shout echoed throughout the entire dormitory room, but no one answered.

'He probably went to the library to study again…'

Han Zhibin froze for a moment. Then, he picked up the two bags that he had just thrown aside earlier. Pushing open the wooden door of the bedroom inside the dormitory room, he prepared to jump onto his bed.

"Damn! Tang Hong! What are you doing?"

Before he could even leap into the air, what came into his view was a familiar back surrounded by the air of loneliness and desolation. Tang Hong was sitting in front of the table in the room without moving nor saying a word.

Silence.

Dusk finally arrived.

It was accompanied by a slight breeze that briefly came through the windows.

The room remained quiet nevertheless.

Han Zhibin was a little shocked. "Hello? Tang Hong?"

"Eh?"

The figure stood up suddenly and turned.

It was Tang Hong who was working hard on being alone. "You're back? Don't disturb me."

As he spoke, he rolled his eyes. After three hours, he finally managed to achieve a bit of loneliness which immediately disappeared upon Han Zhibin's arrival. All of his efforts were instantly washed down the drain.

It was unfortunate, however, Tang Hong finally managed to verify his theory—It truly was just too easy for him to just sit down and stare blankly inside the dormitory room all alone. No matter how lonely and desolate he was feeling, it wasn't enough to make up for it.

In order to earn more Individual Value points, he had to do something more difficult.

It cannot be too easy.

"What did you buy?"

Tang Hong looked at the bags that Han Zhibin was carrying as he lazily stretched his body.

"It's a branded mouse and keyboard!" Han Zhibin puffed out his chest. "We bought it since it was on sale at the store. It costs more than one thousand Hua dollars for a set."

Tang Hong laughed. "Rich."

Han Zhibin shrugged and said, "Stop it. I am but a commoner…"

"These were all paid for by Boss Zeng."

Zeng Li's family was extremely well-off. This was a fact recognized by his classmates.

It was said that right after he got into college, his mother wanted to buy him a BMW. It was only because Zeng Li felt it was too flashy and it made him too high-profile that he got his mother to buy him a second-hand Audi A4L instead.

"Tang Hong."

Han Zhibin shook the two bags in his hands. "Take it. One of them is yours. You can't say no again this time. Boss Zeng has already bought it for you. Just take it."

Bam!

He placed one of the bags on Tang Hong's table.

"For me?"

Tang Hong was confused. He was a little reluctant, yet a little touched.

He didn't want to accept the mouse and keyboard that Zeng Li bought for no reason.

It was just too expensive, costing more than one thousand Hua dollars. It made Tang Hong confused as to how he was going to repay this debt.

However, Zeng Li and the others did not forget him even when they went out to play.

In fact, they even bought a set of mouse and keyboard for him without saying anything.

Han Zhibin also even brought it back for him…

It was difficult not to accept it."

"I'm going to play…"

Han Zhibin chuckled as he turned around to take out the laptop from the cabinet. He plugged it in and turned it on. It was obvious that he couldn't wait to try his newly-bought items out.

Without looking back, he said in a low voice. "Both me and Wu Jie got a set too."

"I understand."

Tang Hong opened the bag and looked at the new and exquisite mouse and keyboard.

He couldn't help but smile.

It was rare for students in these college dormitory rooms to be as close as brothers.

Even if there was—most cases were just them being brothers on the surface.

After all, who would be willing to address someone whom they only knew for a short while and was only slightly older than them as their Big Brother or even Second Brother? Furthermore, who would be willing to be the younger brother?

The dormitory room and even Tang Hong himself as well as his roommates weren't out of the ordinary. They would occasionally quarrel and get into small fights, but it was usually resolved by simply hanging out with each other.

If it was a more serious dispute, however, it would still be resolved by an overnight stay in an Internet Café. Of course, Tang Hong never understood the difference between an Internet Café and an Internet Saloon.

"This mouse…"

Tang Hong took off the mouse's plastic seal.

The surface of the blue-colored mouse felt quite good.

"So this is what a true matte surface feels like.

Tang Hong immediately turned red from embarrassment.

He remembered the 9.99 dollars shipping included black matte earphones.

He could still vividly remember that it seemed off and slippery.

As he thought about it, he took out the keyboard and looked at the bottom of the bag.

It was empty, there was no receipt.

It was probably thrown away by Zeng Li.

One must admit, even though Zeng Li was rich, he knew how to get along with others.

By throwing the receipt away, people wouldn't be intimidated by the prices of the items he was willing to gift to them.

"Ermmm… Han Zhibin, how much did you spend on your trip to Hangzhou?"

Tang Hong couldn't help but ask.

Han Zhibin faced the computer screen and logged into the League of Legends TGP.

"I don't know how much we spent. But Boss Zeng spent about 20,000."

"I meant that expense." Tang Hong asked reluctantly.

"Which?"

Han Zhibin was about to turn around when he suddenly understood what Tang Hong meant.

He chuckled without saying anything.

"I can't say it. The walls have ears."

Han Zhibin knew that trouble came from the mouth. He didn't tell Tang Hong anymore and just put on his headphones before he typed away, looking for someone to do a 'check' on his ranking.

Tang Hong kept the mouse and keyboard.

He then patted Han Zhibin's shoulder.

"Where is Zeng Li?"

Han Zhibin did not turn back. "He went to Sheng Yuan Cafeteria with Wu Jie."

"Sheng Yuan?"

Tang Hong was puzzled.

There was no such cafeteria in school.

"Sheng Yuan and Xin Yuan are obviously in the same building, yet are given two different names." Han Zhibin mumbled and clicked the mouse furiously.

He was engaged in an incomparably intense group battle.

Tang Hong urged him. "Stop playing, let's go eat something."

"You go ahead first! I must win!" Han Zhibin stared at the chat box at the bottom left corner of the screen. He had almost gotten a pentakill, he was just three people short from it.

Even so, he had gotten a great harvest.

Han Zhibin returned to the base to buy equipment.

"Aye."

Tang Hong shook his head. He put on his tracksuit jacket and went out for dinner.

The emergence of the [Power of One] support system, the theories on how to trigger an increase in Individual Value… The news about the invading gods from strange and different dimensions…

Transcendent beings…

The Yellow River Organization.

Hearing all about these in just two days made Tang Hong feel as if the world itself had changed.

If not for the increase in his Willpower, ordinary people like the previous him would've already let their imagination run wild. They might even lose the ability to think normally.

'I seem to be a little calmer and composed.'

'I'm also more focused than before.'

'Other than that, Willpower doesn't seem to have any other effects on my body.'

Tang Hong pondered on the changes brought about by the increase of willpower.

He felt that the idea of prioritizing the increase of the percentage value of Willpower should be correct. After all, the brain was the most important of the body.

It was easy to feel sleepy after eating.

Tang Hong chose to walk around to aid in his digestion.

He pulled out the earphones from the left pocket of his trousers and he saw that it had become tangled, like a ball of yarn.

Tang Hong was not in a hurry.

He untangled them slowly while strolling along the edge of the green playing field.

'System.'

Tang Hong thought.

The system interface immediately appeared.

The system interface itself along with its prompts might be coming from his brain itself. If not, then could it respond without a millisecond of lag? The process of summoning the system interface was still as smooth as ever.

Of course…

The support system could be a technology that far surpassed the current times.

Tang Hong stared at his individual value. "I only have two… Should I use it?"

Mortal: Extremely small and weak creature.

Willpower: 42%

Strength: 29%

Realm: 0.00

Individual value: 2

Tang Hong secretly thought to use his Individual Value points to raise the value in the Realm column.

Nothing happened.

But he was not disappointed.

He knew that the Realm column seemed to be something meaningless.

It neither increased nor decreased.

'Let's increase Willpower, then.'

The percentage value of willpower started flashing and soon became 44%.

The cold breeze of the night in the early weeks of May was refreshing. Leaves rustled as the wind blew. Tang Hong stood under one of the trees close to the exit of the playing field. Tang Hong felt as if something peculiar had happened, yet he couldn't quite grasp it.

He only felt a slight chill on his head.

"Did the temperature drop?"

Tang Hong shivered.

He was wearing short sleeves.

He did not continue his stroll.

He quickly returned to his dormitory room while listening to some music.

Tang Hong had just reached the door when he heard a barbell-like pompous laughter.

It was Wu Jie's voice.

"Look, guys! Look what I found. It's a fake car key!"

"It looks real!"

"That can be the perfect item for picking up girls at the nightclub!"

Soon after…

A gentle voice resounded. It was probably Zeng Li speaking. "Wu Jie. Put it back."

"Oh…"

Wu Jie smiled disapprovingly.

His bed happened to be next to Tang Hong's and he saw the key that was exposed from the corner of his eye.

Being a college student, his EQ wasn't that low. He knew not to touch other people's belongings without permission. However, the contour of the key looked incredibly familiar in his eyes. More precisely, it was extremely similar to Zeng Li's car keys.

Hence, Wu Jie couldn't help but take a second look. "Brother Zeng, it looks like your car keys, except there are two more letters at the back…"

"Without those words, I would have thought they were real." Wu Jie shrunk back and stuffed the key back into its place while helping Tang Hong smooth out the creases on his pillow in the process.

It would have been okay if he hadn't said anything.

But his words made Han Zhibin remove his headphones from his ear. He was in the middle of a queue for a game, so he had the leeway to turn around and ask. "What two letters? Made in China?"

"That's a string of letters…"

The handsome Zeng Li immediately beamed as he looked at Wu Jie.

Everyone got curious. Zeng Li was no exception.

Wu Jie: "Guess it."

Han Zhibin grunted. "Don't say it then. I'll continue playing my game."

Wu Jie rubbed his hands. "R8. It has R8 engraved on the back."

"What is that?" Han Zhibin looked at Zeng Li, confused.

Zeng Li was astonished, his mouth went wide open.

But he did not say anything.

Han Zhibin asked, "What situation is this?"

"It's a car model." Zeng Li said. Then, he added. "That model is very expensive."

"Oh…"

Han Zhibin simply let out a small voice of affirmation.

He wasn't interested, so he put on his headphones and played his game.

Wu Jie jumped off the bed and disappeared into the bathroom to wash up.

Only then was the dormitory door pushed open.

Tang Hong was finally back.

"You went out to study?

Zeng Li—who was sitting at the edge of the bed—said with a smile.

Zeng Li had a tall and straight stature. His legs were long which boosted his height to more than 1.8 meters. He was quite good-looking despite the fact that he was only in his singlets and shorts. He was the typical rich and tall handsome guy.

The only problem with him was that he truly liked to play around. After he told the others that he would bring them with him on his adventures, they have since become as close as brothers.

"Tang Hong, you went out to study again?" Han Zhibin saw Tang Hong with his earphones still in his ear.

A serious look seemed to be on Tang Hong's face. It seemed like he was deep in thoughts.

"No, I went out to eat." Tang Hong took off his earphones and asked Zeng Li. "How was your trip?"

Zeng Li replied with a nod. "It was okay. It's just a pity that you didn't join us. Let's go together next time. It must be quite boring staying in the room by yourself."

"Let's talk about it next time. You know I just broke up with my girlfriend."

Tang Hong took out his phone to charge it.

Zeng Li glared. "It's been two months, right? Who are you kidding?"

"Aye, mate. Time is relative." Tang Hong shook his head.

"Drama queen." Zeng Li rolled his eyes.

As they chatted, Wu Jie returned with a towel on his shoulders.

He smiled and looked at Tang Hong.

"Lao Tang, can you share your microeconomics homework with me?"

Tang Hong walked over to his desk and found the microeconomics homework that Wu Jie wanted to borrow. "Feel free. But remember to return it to me by tomorrow morning."

"OK."

Wu Jie didn't say anything anymore.

Although he pretended to scan Tang Hong's bed.

Zeng Li looked at Tang Hong, wanting to say something.

But instead, he turned around and watched a movie with the Youku app.

Only Han Zhibin was still indifferently playing his games with his headphones on.

On the other side of the headphones was a young lady's voice. "Heal me, heal me! Hurry up!"

Tang Hong: "…"

He secretly let out a sigh of relief.

How could he not see Wu Jie's furtive glance at his bed? It was fortunate that Wu Jie didn't ask him about it. After all, he didn't know if the key that Fang Nanxun gave to him was even real or fake. "He didn't tell me where the bungalow is either. I'll ask him on WeChat tomorrow…"

"And the entrance test!"

"It's absolutely not for the bonus rewards! It's to feed my family! Yes! I have to feed my family, so I must get first place!"

In the dimly lit corner of the dormitory room.

Wu Jie saw the faint excitement on Tang Hong's face. He wanted to say something, but he kept his silence in the end. To be honest, he was just a little worried that this roommate of his had suffered some kind of an injury to his head given that he was smiling all alone by himself.

It was an uneventful night.

The next morning…

Tang Hong tossed and turned before he eventually sat up. He opened his eyes and was immediately disappointed.

Where was that first sentence every day when he got up?

Where was that 'Individual Value has increased by 1'?

Why did it suddenly disappear?