The scent of old paper lingered in the narrow aisles of the family bookstore. Dust motes floated lazily in the sunlight streaming through the front windows, catching on the wooden shelves stacked to the brim.
Li Wei balanced on the small step ladder, rearranging a row of thick encyclopedias. It was an ordinary morning — the same as every other day — and he'd grown used to the rhythm of cleaning, adjusting, and stacking.
But today, something caught his eye.
Wedged between two dictionaries was a book unlike any other in the store. It was completely white — no cover design, no title — except for a single, bold line printed across the center:
> Becoming a Billionaire by Spending Money
Li Wei frowned. He flipped it open. Page after page, nothing. Pure white.
"Huh…" he muttered under his breath, setting it down on the counter.
His phone buzzed.
> [Would you like to start the story?]
Li Wei blinked. "What the hell is this?" he murmured, thumb hovering. Curiosity won. He tapped {START}.
Another notification popped up immediately:
> [The amount spent by the HOST will be multiplied by 2.5×]
He stared at it for a few seconds before snorting. "Yeah, right. Probably some dumb spam."
Sliding his phone back into his pocket, he went back to work.
By early afternoon, the store was spotless. He collapsed into the armchair behind the counter, only to be interrupted by his phone ringing.
"Yo, Li Wei! Come over, let's hang out!" his friend shouted over the line.
Half an hour later, Li Wei was at his friend's apartment, lounging in the living room with two others, trading jokes about college life. He was in his final year of graduation, but the conversation soon turned to a topic that made his stomach tighten — the campus beauty.
She'd been his first crush, though he'd never confessed. Hearing his friends talk about her so casually irritated him, and he slipped out to the balcony for some fresh air.
That's when his phone rang again.
"Ge! My card got declined at the store," his younger sister said in a rush. "Can you pay for me? I'll pay you back later."
"Sure. Send me the link," Li Wei replied.
His bank balance read 6,703 yuan.
After paying for her purchase, he checked again.
10,303 yuan.
Li Wei froze. "…What?"
He immediately called his sister.
"You got the payment?"
"Yeah! Thanks, Ge!"
Ending the call, he pulled up the earlier notification:
> [The amount spent by the HOST will be multiplied by 2.5×]
His pulse quickened. Could this… be real?
He decided to test it.
Back in the living room, he grinned. "Let's order pizza. My treat."
The food arrived, he paid — and sure enough, his balance jumped again.
It was real.
He kept his face neutral, but inside, his thoughts were racing. This kind of system… if people found out, the chaos would be unimaginable. Best to keep it to himself.
On the way home, he stopped at a branded clothing store, a luxury watch shop, a phone store, and a jewelry shop. By the time he returned to their modest two-story house, he was carrying more shopping bags than he could count.
His parents stared.
"Where did you get the money for all this?" his mother asked.
"I had some savings and invested a bit. Got lucky," Li Wei lied smoothly.
That night, they ate dinner together, chatting about the family bookstore. But upstairs, lying in bed, Li Wei stared at the ceiling, the events of the day running through his mind.
He had a system. And this was only the beginning.