The rain was an inconvenience Zhao Min couldn't afford. It soaked his thin jacket and made his single pair of presentable shoes slick on the pavement. He stood across from the towering glass and steel facade of the financial district—a world of order, wealth, and power he had never touched.
He was twenty-four, handsome enough to turn heads on the street, but right now, his eyes held only the vacant exhaustion of a man who knew he had lost. Zhao Min worked sixty hours a week at a small, cluttered electronics repair shop. His hands, usually nimble with circuit boards and wiring, were now clasped tight around a trivial, chipped piece of plastic: a keyring shaped like a faded blue dolphin.
It was Li Mei's keyring. A cheap souvenir they'd bought from a beach vendor on a rushed, one-day trip three years ago.
He waited, watching the executives hurry past. The meeting had been arranged over a tense, short phone call. Li Mei insisted they meet here, outside her new fiancé's office building. She wanted the finality of their breakup to be framed by the success she was now embracing.
A sleek, black Rolls-Royce Ghost pulled up to the curb. Its presence felt arrogant—a massive, silent display of inherited wealth. The rear door opened, and Li Mei emerged.
Zhao Min felt his breath catch, not from sadness, but from shock. This was not the girl who had shared instant noodles with him on his worn sofa. Her hair was styled to perfection, her high-collars and long coat whispered of European luxury, and her expression was one of cool, detached resolution. Standing a step behind her was Mr. Chen, the man who now held her future—a businessman whose tailored suit looked less like clothing and more like a suit of financial armor.
Li Mei walked toward Zhao Min, stopping just outside the range of his wet jacket.
"Min, you shouldn't have come," she said, her voice low, the tone professional and final. She didn't sound angry; she sounded disappointed, like a teacher correcting a failed test.
"I just... I brought this," Zhao Min managed, holding out the faded dolphin keyring. "I thought you'd want the memory."
Li Mei glanced at the keyring. She didn't reach for it. Her eyes briefly flicked to the damp cuffs of his pants, then settled back on his face, her gaze pitying.
"Min, we were children then. That's all this is—a memory of poverty," she said, her voice clear. "I can't live on memories. I can't live on promises of 'maybe.' I need security. Mr. Chen gives me that. He gives me a future that isn't dependent on hoping the rent gets paid."
Zhao Min felt a deep ache in his chest. "I'll quit the shop, Li Mei. I'll go back to school. I'll work nights. I swear, I'll—"
"Stop," she interrupted, a touch of genuine sadness entering her voice, quickly suppressed. "Your kindness is the best thing about you, Min. But your kindness is unlucky. Everything you touch stays small. You are content with mediocrity. I am not. I chose a different path." She looked toward the waiting car. "I chose fortune."
She delivered the final, crushing blow without flinching. "It's over. Take care of yourself."
She turned, walked back to the Rolls-Royce, and disappeared inside. The vehicle didn't linger. It moved silently into the affluent city traffic, taking not just Li Mei, but every single shared hope Zhao Min had ever held.
He stood in the cold rain, the tiny plastic dolphin digging into his palm. He finally understood. It wasn't just that he wasn't rich; it was that his very nature was a guarantee of failure.
In that moment, a powerful, wrenching emotion surged through him. It wasn't self-pity, or even anger at Li Mei. It was a profound, aching wish for her peace.
She was right, he thought, tears mixing with the rain on his face. She needs a good life. I truly hope she finds all the security and all the fortune she was looking for. I wish her all the luck in the world.
This selfless, agonizing act of relinquishing his final hope and replacing it with a pure blessing—this was the precise trigger.
A subtle, almost imperceptible flicker of light, visible only to the silent forces that govern destiny, occurred deep within the fabric of reality.
A new power was born from his immense sorrow. A System dedicated to Conduiting Affection into Destiny.
[Good Luck Conduction System] has been activated in response to an unparalleled act of selfless sorrow.
Conduit Status: Zhao Min (Affection Level: CRITICAL (Pure))
Target: Li Mei (Initial Affection State: -35 (Betrayal))
IMMEDIATE INITIATION: KARMA REVERSAL Protocol. Retrospective Luck Drain... Beginning.
Zhao Min remained oblivious. He felt only the icy emptiness. He looked down at the dolphin keyring. He didn't pick it up when it slipped from his fingers. He had nothing left to hold onto.
He turned and began the long, wet walk away from the financial district. His old life was already gone. He just didn't know his new one had begun.