Chapter Summaries

After discovering the Incubus Development System, Cheng Che began following its study and exercise missions as he prepared for the college entrance exam. He completed a study mission and ran home, where he encountered Wang Xiumei, his mother’s sworn enemy.

• Cheng Che read the system’s insulting attribute evaluation and saw that he needed to raise all four attributes to advance to Lesser Incubus.
• He paid close attention in class and worked through an English cloze test, then completed the five-hour study mission and gained intelligence.
• Cheng Che left school and jogged toward home instead of taking the bus.
• Wang Xiumei stopped her car and offered Cheng Che a ride, then criticized him for running during senior year.
• Wang Xiumei warned her son Zhou Hao not to imitate Cheng Che, while Zhou Hao turned up his earphones.

After completing a running quest, Cheng Che discovered that the system’s rewards improved his stamina, studying, and appearance. Seeing his parents’ hard work and noticing his faded acne marks, he resolved to improve his life and left for school eager to raise his charm.

• Cheng Che finished running home and received increases to his stamina and endurance from the completed quest.
• Cheng Che ate dinner with Cheng Jianguo and Jiang Xue, then completed a math mock exam with better focus and accuracy than usual.
• Cheng Che overheard his parents discussing their early morning work at the breakfast shop and silently vowed to change their fates.
• Cheng Che woke refreshed and received two quest rewards that raised his charm by one point.
• Cheng Che noticed that his acne marks had faded, checked his charm score of 48, and learned that charm also affected his height, proportions, posture, and voice.
• Cheng Che ate breakfast, packed his schoolbag, and headed out.

Cheng Che unlocked the active talent Total Concentration after his intelligence reached 60, just as his school announced a two-day mock exam. As classmates noticed his improving appearance and height, he ignored Zhao Lei’s mockery and focused on preparing for the exam.

• Cheng Che received an intelligence boost and unlocked the specialized trait lottery, which awarded him Total Concentration.
• Old Xu announced a whole-grade mock exam starting the next day and lasting two days.
• Guo Xin and Lin Xiao noticed Cheng Che’s acne marks had faded and that he seemed taller.
• Zhao Lei mocked Cheng Che for caring about his appearance instead of studying, while Guo Xin and Lin Xiao defended and encouraged him.
• Cheng Che left school determined to focus on the mock exam before pursuing his goal of attending Tsinghua or Peking.

Cheng Che returned home and discovered that Total Concentration let him finish three math papers in ninety minutes with strong results. After deactivating it, he collapsed from exhaustion, and Jiang Xue found him asleep and tucked him in.

• Cheng Che came home, and Jiang Xue noticed that his complexion had improved while Cheng Jianguo joked about his own youth.
• Cheng Che used up the last of his facial cleanser and toner, decided to look for a Saturday part-time job, and began working on three math papers.
• Cheng Che activated Total Concentration and completed all three papers in ninety minutes, answering most questions correctly.
• Cheng Che checked his answers, marveled at how much easier the work felt, and then collapsed into bed after deactivating Total Concentration.
• Jiang Xue found Cheng Che asleep in his school uniform, covered him with a blanket, and quietly left his room.

Cheng Che used Total Concentration to finish the morning mock exams quickly and showed that he could solve math problems well. His clear explanation impressed Lin Xiao and unsettled Zhao Lei, and Cheng Che went to lunch before the afternoon exams.

• Cheng Che brought Guo Xin a jianbing before Old Xu arranged the class for the mock exams.
• Cheng Che activated Total Concentration during the math and Chinese exams and worked through the papers quickly.
• Cheng Che wrote an essay about learning to walk alone before finding better company.
• Cheng Che explained a math problem to Lin Xiao, who praised his simple solution.
• Zhao Lei overheard Cheng Che's explanation and hurried out, shaken by the possibility that Cheng Che had solved the problem correctly.

After finishing the mock exams, Cheng Che asked Guo Xin to add him to a part-time job group and continued studying while tracking his system stats. At school, Old Xu discovered that Cheng Che had scored 508 and entered his results, with the grade-wide rankings due the next day.

• Cheng Che finished the English exam and told Lin Xiao he had missed only one cloze question, surprising her and Guo Xin.
• Cheng Che asked Guo Xin about weekend work, and Guo Xin added him to a group that posted daily-pay jobs.
• Cheng Che ran home, told Cheng Jianguo and Jiang Xue that he expected to score over 400, then reviewed his system stats and studied physics.
• Cheng Che posted in the part-time job group before going to sleep.
• Old Xu checked Cheng Che's mock exam scores, saw his total of 508 and math score of 128, and submitted his results for the grade-wide rankings.

Cheng Che gained a new stamina talent after his morning run, then stunned his classmates with a fifth-place math score and a major jump in the grade rankings. Zhao Lei was left humiliated after Cheng Che surpassed him by 38 points.

• Cheng Che completed a five-kilometer run, raised his stamina to 60, and gained the passive talent Ever-Full Power Reserves.
• Old Xu announced the math test scores, and Cheng Che placed fifth with 128 points while Zhao Lei scored 112.
• Cheng Che explained his alternate solution to the final math problem, impressing Old Xu and his classmates with its clear, concise method.
• Guo Xin found Cheng Che ranked 200th in the grade with 508 points, more than 100 points higher than his previous score.
• Zhao Lei saw that he had scored 470 points and ranked 380th, then hurried away as Guo Xin mocked him.

Cheng Che joined Class Five’s basketball game against Class Seven and used his improved stamina and shooting to lead his team to a buzzer-beating 48–47 victory. The chapter ended with his classmates celebrating around him while Zhao Lei sat ignored nearby.

• Liang Chao announced that Class Five would finally have PE, and the class headed to the sports field that afternoon.
• Cheng Che joined Liang Chao and Guo Xin in a basketball game against Class Seven, whose players quickly took an 18–5 lead.
• Cheng Che began scoring and helped Class Five close the gap, while Su Qingyue watched him play and Zhao Lei made disparaging remarks from the sidelines.
• With ten seconds left and Class Five trailing 46–47, Cheng Che sank a fading buzzer-beater to win the game 48–47.
• Class Five’s students piled onto Cheng Che in celebration, while Zhao Lei lowered his eyes to his English book and was left alone.

Cheng Che returned home with a mock-exam score of 508, and his parents celebrated and trusted him without question. That night, he accepted an invitation to check out a weekend job at a newly opened tennis court.

• Cheng Che met Wang Xiumei on his way home, and Zhou Hao told her that Cheng Che had scored higher than him in the mock exam.
• Wang Xiumei learned Cheng Che had ranked 200th with 508 points, then took Zhou Hao's phone away.
• Cheng Che showed his score report to Jiang Xue and Cheng Jianguo, who celebrated his result with a lavish dinner.
• Cheng Che received a message from Tennis Court Old Chen offering him a weekend part-time job at the new tennis court.
• Cheng Che agreed to visit the tennis court at nine the next morning.

Cheng Che went to the Spring City Sports Center for a part-time job and discovered a natural talent for tennis. Old Chen offered him the chance to work as a hitting partner, and Cheng Che agreed to practice at the hall.

• Cheng Che checked his system stats, exercised, and ate the breakfast Jiang Xue had left for him before heading to the tennis courts.
• Cheng Che met Old Chen and two other part-timers, toured the tennis hall, and agreed to the hundred-yuan daily job.
• Old Chen taught Cheng Che the basics of tennis, and Cheng Che quickly improved from missing shots to sustaining rallies and hitting a winning crosscourt forehand.
• Old Chen praised Cheng Che's natural dynamic vision, reaction speed, and stamina, then explained that hitting partners could earn two hundred yuan an hour.
• Cheng Che accepted the hitting-partner opportunity and asked Old Chen for a racket to practice with.

Cheng Che drew the passive talent Stars Surrounding the Moon after his charm reached 60, and discovered that it made him stand out in crowds. He accepted that his life would become more conspicuous and decided to enjoy the attention rather than flee from it.

• Cheng Che finished his part-time shift, kept the job from his parents, and learned that his family would attend the birthday celebration of Mr. Xu, his homeroom teacher’s father.
• Cheng Che studied with Total Concentration, slept, and received enough charm rewards to trigger a specialized trait draw.
• Cheng Che drew Stars Surrounding the Moon, a talent that amplified his presence under attention and pressure, though he initially disliked it.
• Cheng Che noticed students staring and taking pictures of him as he arrived at school, realizing the new talent was already affecting him.
• Guo Xin, Lin Xiao, and other classmates reacted to Cheng Che’s striking appearance, while Zhao Lei privately struggled with envy and disbelief.
• Cheng Che found that he could handle the attention without panicking and jokingly told Guo Xin to become his little lackey.

Cheng Che became a Lesser Incubus, unlocked three advancement trials, and chose to focus first on charm and intelligence. While working at the tennis center, he was unexpectedly selected by a beautiful customer to be her hitting partner, though he was unsure whether he could handle the job.

• Cheng Che gained the passive talent Enduring Progress Without Fail after completing his running mission and reaching 60 stamina.
• The system promoted Cheng Che to Lesser Incubus and introduced trials for charm, intelligence, and stamina, with daily mission rewards reduced to 0.3.
• Cheng Che accepted the first-stage charm and intelligence trials and prioritized drawing attention from a thousand people and placing in the top 100 on his next monthly exam.
• Cheng Che spent the next few days studying intensively while keeping up with school, running, and his part-time job.
• At the tennis center, Old Chen told Cheng Che that a customer had requested him as her hitting partner, despite Cheng Che having little experience.
• Cheng Che went to get a racket after Old Chen insisted he could play, while the other young employees questioned his ability.

Cheng Che used Total Concentration to learn tennis while playing his first paid hitting-partner session, surprising the woman and the coaches with his rapid improvement. Though he eventually lost a point as his stamina waned, the woman offered him a part-time job.

• Cheng Che studied a video of Federer’s one-handed backhand with Total Concentration before Old Chen brought him onto the court.
• Cheng Che missed the woman’s first two serves, then anticipated her next serve and returned it with a precise one-handed backhand.
• Cheng Che adapted quickly, chased down difficult shots, and kept rallying with the woman for more than twenty minutes as the watching coaches marveled at his play.
• Cheng Che’s concentration and stamina began to fade, and he lost a point before the match ended.
• The woman brought Cheng Che water and asked whether he was still interested in a part-time job.

Cheng Che agreed to appear in Yan Ruanning’s MV after learning the job would pay well and fit around his studies. That night, he chose tennis for his stamina trial and received a Tennis Gift Pack.

• Yan Ruanning introduced herself to Cheng Che, and Old Chen revealed that she was the champion of I Am the God of Song.
• Yan Ruanning offered Cheng Che a paid role playing tennis in her MV, and he accepted because the filming would take only one day in Spring City.
• Cheng Che scanned the QR code for Yan Ruanning’s assistant and received 200 yuan from Old Chen for his work that day.
• Cheng Che bought facial cleanser and toner on his way home, then recalled how satisfying it had felt to play tennis.
• Cheng Che told the system he chose tennis for his stamina trial, completing the stage mission and earning a Tennis Gift Pack.

Cheng Che opened his tennis gift pack and began a disciplined training routine, using the serve-training pack and planning to build his skills with the system’s rewards. He went to Spring City Sports Center for Yan Ruanning’s MV filming and was overwhelmed by the crowded, professional-looking set.

• Cheng Che opened the Tennis Gift Pack and received a well-fitted racket, a durable tennis ball, a Training Recovery Card, and four tennis training packs.
• Cheng Che planned to complete ten thousand serves and began practicing against a wall in the park each morning.
• Cheng Che kept up his tennis practice, schoolwork, and study routine as his system attributes and serve progress increased.
• Xiao Zhou invited Cheng Che to meet her at Spring City Sports Center for the MV filming, and he traveled there by subway.
• Xiao Zhou brought Cheng Che to the second-floor makeup room, where he froze at the sight of the crowded filming crew and equipment.

Cheng Che filmed his first scenes for Yan Ruanning’s music video, using [Total Concentration] to overcome his stiffness and impressing the crew with his natural presence on camera. After a long day of filming, he perked up when the shoot moved to the tennis court, his home turf.

• Cheng Che arrived at the filming set, where Yan Ruanning explained his two simple classroom scenes and Sister Liu applied light makeup while teasing him with questions.
• Cheng Che struggled through two stiff takes before activating [Total Concentration] and completing the classroom entrance scene naturally in one take.
• Cheng Che stood by the window for the second scene, and the director praised his photogenic, story-like appearance as the crew captured several more shots.
• Cheng Che watched Yan Ruanning repeat her scenes through the afternoon and realized how demanding filming could be.
• Cheng Che finished the day’s classroom filming, and Yan Ruanning announced that the crew would move to the tennis court, exciting him.

Cheng Che dominated a tennis match against Yan Ruanning while filming her music video, earned three thousand yuan, and told his parents about the job. As the monthly exam approached, he resolved to place in the top hundred.

• Cheng Che played Yan Ruanning in a filmed tennis match and won decisively with powerful serves and precise shots.
• The crew praised Cheng Che’s performance, and Yan Ruanning encouraged him to pursue professional tennis; Cheng Che said he would.
• Xiao Zhou paid Cheng Che three thousand yuan for filming, then walked him out while Yan Ruanning said his college entrance exam should come first.
• Cheng Che told Cheng Jianguo and Jiang Xue that he had filmed a music video with Yan Ruanning, and Jiang Xue excitedly recognized the singer.
• Before the monthly exam in four days, Cheng Che resolved to make the top hundred.

After completing the monthly exams, Cheng Che received two talents for placing in the grade’s top 100 and reviewed the next stages of his system trials. He believed he could pursue the academic and tennis goals, but still had no plan for the charisma trial.

• Cheng Che gave Guo Xin a jianbing, and Guo Xin noticed that Cheng Che had grown taller.
• Cheng Che completed the monthly exams with unusual confidence and kept to his normal routine afterward.
• The system announced that Cheng Che had completed the first intelligence trial and awarded him Sapiosexual Boy and Flash of Inspiration.
• Cheng Che examined the next intelligence, stamina, and charisma objectives and decided to focus on the first two while leaving the charisma trial for later.

Cheng Che ranked first in his class and thirtieth in the school with a total score of 630, while his 140 in math ranked third in the grade. Old Xu asked him to give a speech at the next day's flag-raising ceremony, giving Cheng Che the audience he needed for his mission.

• Cheng Che stayed unconcerned about Zhao Lei's improved math score, while Zhao Lei hoped to beat him.
• Old Xu announced Cheng Che's 140 in math, the highest score in the class and third in the grade, as Zhao Lei sat stunned with 121.
• Guo Xin found Cheng Che ranked thirtieth in the school with 630 points and loudly celebrated, drawing a crowd that Cheng Che fled.
• Old Xu stopped Cheng Che and asked him to give a three-to-five-minute speech at the next day's flag-raising ceremony.
• Cheng Che showed his report card to Cheng Jianguo and Jiang Xue, who celebrated his results, then began preparing his speech at home.

Yan Ruanning brought Old Xu’s forgotten speech to Spring City No. 13 Middle School and watched Cheng Che deliver his study-sharing address. Cheng Che’s system talents drew the attention of the entire school, completing the first stage of his charisma trial as Yan Ruanning stood captivated in the crowd.

• Yan Ruanning teased Old Xu over his praise and preparation for Cheng Che, then agreed to deliver the speech he had left at home.
• Old Xu encouraged Cheng Che before the flag-raising ceremony, and Cheng Che took the stage to speak to the school.
• Cheng Che’s talents, Stars Surrounding the Moon and Sapiosexual Boy, focused the crowd’s attention on him and made students and staff admire his presence.
• Cheng Che completed the first stage of the Charisma Trial by receiving the simultaneous attention of at least 1,000 people.
• Yan Ruanning arrived with the forgotten speech, recognized Cheng Che, and blushed as she watched him finish to thunderous applause.