Julian sighed as the sun slowly descended, casting golden light across New Port City's skyline.
It was currently Evening rush hour.
A time when most people were heading home to families or friends, yet here he was, still on the job.
"Sometimes I wish I could just get a System and quit my job like all those main protagonists in novels," he muttered, gripping the handles of his scooter as he navigated through the roads.
His GPS chimed in his ear, giving him directions, but his mind wasn't on the delivery.
He was thinking about life.
He was Julian Wilson, twenty years old, broke college student, and an orphan with no one in the world to fall back on.
His life was painfully average — average looks, average grades, average everything. The only thing that made him different was his obsession with webnovels.
But again, novels didn't pay the bills.
Delivering pizza did.
The scooter hummed as he turned at the next street, squinting at the glowing screen on his phone.
Surprisingly, the delivery address was taking him toward the college district.
"Huh? My college?" He frowned, slowing down at the turn. "Figures."
Julian couldn't complain, though.
This was his life.
Riding through streets he knew like the back of his hand, weaving past honking cars, and trying not to think too much about the fact that his rent was due in a week.
What he could think about, however, was novels.
Always novels.
When he wasn't in class or working, he was reading.
Fantasy was pretty good, sci-fi was exciting, but his favorite genre by far was Urban.
Why?
Because the protagonists were often like him — lonely, broke and totally abandoned by everyone.
But then fate smiled on them.
A mysterious system would descend from the heavens, binding itself to their souls and showering them with money, skills, and power.
"What's there not to enjoy?" he muttered to himself, leaning back slightly on the scooter as the traffic thinned.
But even as he said it, his lips curved into a dry smile.
"It's grown more cliché lately…"
Just yesterday, he'd tried picking up a new urban series, but he couldn't get past the first three chapters.
They were all the same. Some variation of the same formula:
Your girlfriend cheats on you with a rich guy.
You're humiliated in public.
You either get hit by a car, or beaten up by the guy's goons.
And then bam! a system descends from the sky.
Julian groaned just thinking about it.
"The part that makes no sense," he muttered, dodging a pedestrian who stepped off the curb, "is why a system called Infinite Wealth System would give you Taekwondo as your first skill. Like… how is that even connected?"
He shook his head. "It's just annoying."
Finally, the GPS pinged and announced that he'd arrived. The address led him to a small park not far from his college.
Kids were running around, laughter echoing through the air, while the golden rays of sunset stretched across the benches and trees.
He parked his scooter near the entrance, killed the engine, and unstrapped the insulated pizza box from the carrier.
"Oi! Pizza boy!"
Julian turned toward the voice.
A man stood near the park fountain, waving lazily.
He was tall, broad-shouldered, with long black hair that framed an unreasonably handsome face.
A face much better than Julian's own average one — so much that envy pricked in his chest.
Next to the man stood a girl.
Julian blinked.
He recognized her instantly.
Irene Carter.
One of the campus beauties.
Her shoulder-length black hair shimmered in the sunlight, her deep blue eyes framed by naturally long lashes.
She wore the college's uniform: a crisp white blouse tucked into a navy skirt.
On her, though, the outfit looked far from ordinary. Her curvy figure filled it out in ways that drew stares everywhere she went.
And now she was standing next to some middle-aged rich man with a face fit for a movie star.
Julian forced his thoughts aside, put on a professional smile, and walked over.
"Coming~" he called out, balancing the box in one hand.
The man took the pizza and casually slid some bills into Julian's palm.
Exactly the right amount — no tip.
Julian nodded, pocketed the cash, and turned to leave.
That was when it happened.
A third man came running up the path, breathless and wild-eyed.
His clothes were simple, cheaper than everyone else's, and his messy brown hair looked like it hadn't been combed in days.
He stopped right in front of Irene and her companion, his voice cracking as he shouted:
"Irene! You were cheating?!"
The entire park seemed to still for a moment. The laughter of children quieted.
A few passersby turned to watch.
Julian froze, still holding his helmet in one hand.
'Oh no,' he thought immediately. 'This… this is exactly one of those scenes.'
"I thought we were dating!" the newcomer shouted, his fists trembling.
Irene's eyes darted away, guilt flickering across her face for a second before she straightened her shoulders.
"Mark… I… it's not what you think—"
"Not what I think?!" His voice cracked louder this time, desperate. "You're standing here with him, Irene! You're in your uniform — you came straight here after class and you're holding hands! You told me you were going home! How could you?"
The rich man rested a hand on Irene's shoulder, the smile on his face was mocking.
"Kid," he said smoothly, "you should leave. Irene deserves better than struggling with a poor college student who can't even pay his own bills. How are you going to take care of her? Buy her nice things? Keep her comfortable?"
Julian nearly snorted out loud.
'Oh my god, this is literally chapter one of every single urban cliché novel ever written.'
He pressed a hand against his mouth, pretending to cough, because otherwise he might actually laugh.
Meanwhile, Mark — the poor student looked crushed.
His eyes were wet, his lips quivering. "I… I loved you, Irene… I gave you everything I could!"
Irene bit her lip, then whispered coldly, "I'm sorry, Mark. But… he's right. You can't give me the life I want. This isn't a novel where love conquers everything. Reality doesn't work that way."
Julian winced.
'Ouch. Brutal. Also… wow, the author who's writing this scene in real time needs to tone it down, it's too on-the-nose.'
He stood there awkwardly with his helmet under his arm, pretending not to watch, but unable to look away.
Mark stumbled backward, shaking his head. "So… you were just using me all this time?"
The rich man chuckled, brushing back his hair. "Get lost, kid. Don't embarrass yourself further."
Julian shook his head slowly.
The scene was painful to watch, not because it was shocking, but because of how predictable it all was.
'First comes the humiliation,' Julian thought dryly. 'Then either the guy gets beaten up by bodyguards, or he storms off and gets hit by a car. By tomorrow, he'll awaken the Heavenly Cheat System of Infinite Revenge or something.'
Julian exhaled and turned away, finally deciding he'd seen enough.
He slid his helmet on, muttering under his breath, "Cringe. Absolute cringe. Still… I kinda feel bad for the guy."
He strapped himself onto the scooter again and drove off.
For a brief moment, he thought of himself.
'We're not so different, him and I,' Julian realized. 'Both poor students, both struggling… both invisible to the world.'
He shook the thought away and started the engine.
'Whoo who cares? I'm finally done with work!' He thought excitedly and drove off.