Thing is, all that money came from the system — clean as can be, no way anyone could find a single flaw even if they investigated. So naturally, Lin Feng wasn't worried at all.
"When I was trading crypto, the government hadn't issued any laws banning it yet! But now it's different!" Lin Feng said with a relaxed smile. "So, even if you wanted to trade now, you couldn't. Plus, virtual currency's risks outweigh the returns — it's not worth touching anymore."
As he spoke, he opened his mobile banking app and casually held the screen, showing the balance right in front of Chen Mo.
A long string of numbers — a bright, unmistakable "3" followed by five digits!
Over 300,000 yuan!
The moment Chen Mo saw that number, his face turned darker than the bottom of a wok, and his breathing quickened.
Which was exactly the effect Lin Feng wanted — You study finance, right? You play with money, right?!
I'm going to crush you in the field you're proudest of.
"See that? Over 300,000!" Wang Hao immediately jumped in, pointing at Chen Mo and hyping it up. "From now on, if you've got any finance questions, you'd better ask our Bro Feng!"
"Ah, Haozi, can't say it like that," Zhu Dawei said with mock seriousness, waving a hand. "A guy with your 'work-for-pay' mindset — even if Bro Feng wanted to teach you, you wouldn't get it!"
The two played off each other, unloading wave after wave of sarcasm, like they were trying to dig up every bamboo shoot on the mountain.
Chen Mo sat in his chair, dark-faced, chest heaving for a long moment.
Finally, he picked up his phone, opened WeChat, and deliberately spoke in a loud voice to send a voice message:
"Baby, I got the laptop you bought me, it's so nice! Love you!"
He launched his final counterattack by showing off his love life.
Seeing that, Lin Feng's mind stirred, but his face showed just the right amount of curiosity as he asked, feigning ignorance, "Not bad, Chen Mo — found yourself such a rich girlfriend."
"Pfft, so he's a kept man!" Wang Hao immediately seized the opening.
Zhu Dawei joined in with a weird shout, "Damn, people like this really exist in real life? I thought it was only in novels. What's it called again? Oh, right — a live-in son-in-law! If you have a kid in the future, will it take the mom's surname?"
Chen Mo's face flushed red from the jabs. He gave a cold snort and replied with thinly veiled sarcasm, "My girlfriend's from an ordinary family, not some rich person!"
"Oh?" Lin Feng, of course, knew Zhou Xiaomeng's background, so he acted surprised and pressed on, "Then her parents must give her a pretty generous monthly allowance, huh?"
"Don't try to trick me into talking!" Chen Mo said warily.
Lin Feng just smiled, not bothered, and analyzed it himself, "Even in an ordinary family, if they give her 1,500 yuan a month, that 7,000‑yuan laptop would take five months of saving — an entire semester — without spending a penny on anything else. Where'd your girlfriend get that kind of money?"
Hearing that, Chen Mo's heart sank.
Yeah…
When he and Xiaomeng went out for Haidilao, spending less than 400 yuan left her wincing, and she talked about it for days afterward.
Buying a 100‑plus yuan piece of clothing usually requires serious deliberation. How could she suddenly drop 7,000 yuan without blinking to buy him a laptop?
Seeing his words had taken effect and planted a seed of doubt in Chen Mo's mind, Lin Feng didn't press further — mission accomplished.
He leisurely unpacked his new laptop, grabbed the computer and his newly bought bed desk, and climbed onto his bunk.
Chen Mo, rattled by Lin Feng's few sentences, was like sitting on pins and needles.
The more he thought about it, the more off it felt; his mind was a tangled mess.
Xiaomeng's face scrunching up at the thought of spending money, and this 7,000‑yuan laptop simply wouldn't connect.
After sitting in agitation for a while, he suddenly stood up, face ugly, and slammed the door behind him — clearly going to call and confront Zhou Xiaomeng.
"Damn, Bro Feng, awesome!"
Seeing Chen Mo leave, Wang Hao and Zhu Dawei immediately crowded around Lin Feng's bed, lowered their voices, and excitedly gave him a thumbs-up.
"Divide-and-conquer tactic! Brutal! Just one casual sentence and you completely broke that guy's defense!"
Lin Feng shrugged and said calmly, "I was just stating facts. If a family buys a laptop for their own kid, that's normal. But what ordinary family would buy such an expensive laptop for their daughter's boyfriend? That money's shady."
"Masterful! Absolutely masterful!" Zhu Dawei was in awe. "Bro Feng, your brain — you'd be wasted if you didn't write The Art of War!"
The two launched into a storm of praise.
Suddenly, Wang Hao rubbed his hands together, looking at Lin Feng with eager eyes. "Uh… Bro Feng, now that you're loaded, if there's ever any way to make money in the future, think of us brothers, okay? Whether it's starting a business or whatever, we can help, be your assistants! We'll follow you from now on!"
Zhu Dawei nodded repeatedly, eyes full of longing.
Clearly, they'd fully bought into Lin Feng being a financial genius who made hundreds of thousands trading crypto.
"Sure, if there's an opportunity, our own people come first," Lin Feng said casually.
Wang Hao's words actually reminded him of something.
He was a student, not a rich second-gen, with no job, yet he suddenly had property under his name and a bank account with hundreds of thousands. That would raise suspicions.
He couldn't keep using "crypto trading" as an excuse — too many repeats, and it'd stop working.
Looks like it was time to set up some kind of business project as a cover, so his wealth could be explained logically as entrepreneurial profit.
As for whether to bring his buddies into the business, Lin Feng had no such plans. Relationships too close meant messy breakups, and since his money's origin was unspeakable, only he could know.
Lin Feng drew the bed curtain, blocking the outside view, and logged into his alt WeChat account.
The moment he came online, message alerts beep-beep-beeped nonstop.
The familiar rabbit avatar and another innocent-looking girl avatar both glowed with bright red unread counts.
Zhou Xiaomeng and Jiang Xiaoya — during the time he hadn't replied, each had sent dozens of messages.
Mengmeng: Ferry Bro, are you there?
Mengmeng: Why aren't you answering me? Sob sob…
Mengmeng: Brother, are you mad at Mengmeng? I wore the white stockings you like today~ [photo]
Little Bunny: Master, please reply, I miss you so much…
It's Xiaoya: Brother?
It's Xiaoya: Ferry Bro, did you see my messages?
It's Xiaoya: Are you busy? Take care of yourself, don't overwork.
It's Xiaoya: [cat peeking gif]
The two girls pulled out all the stops, competing to grab his attention.
The scene reminded Lin Feng of the girl he'd chased in high school.
His messages to her always vanished into silence.
He'd sent them one after another, afraid of bothering her, yet also afraid she wouldn't see them.
Such contradiction, such torment.
Never thought the tables would turn like this someday.