After My Girlfriend Dumped Me, I Awakened the Dao System

"You actually came in that outfit, Adrian?" Adrian froze in front of the round table filled with crystal glasses and white porcelain plates. He glanced down at his flannel shirt, slightly faded at the elbows. Across from him, Sophia Lin sat in a black silk dress that shimmered under the chandelier of the luxurious Bund restaurant. "I came straight from the library, Sophia. I'm sorry I'm ten minutes late," Adrian replied softly, trying to pull out the chair next to her. "Don't sit there," cut in a man sitting across from Sophia. Lucas Han. He sipped his red wine with a deliberately elegant motion. "That chair is reserved for Sophia's Gucci bag. You can grab the wooden chair in the corner there if the waiter lets you." Sophia's other friends started whispering, covering their mouths with their hands. The suppressed laughter felt sharper than direct insults. "Lucas, stop joking around," said Adrian, though his voice began to tremble. He looked at Sophia, searching for support. "Sophia, I brought this for you. Happy birthday." Adrian pulled out a small box wrapped in simple gift paper from his jacket pocket. He had saved for three months, working part-time as a courier and computer repairman just to buy that silver necklace. Sophia just glanced at the box without interest. "Just keep it, Adrian. I don't need jewelry bought from scavenging junk." "It's not junk, I worked hard for this," Adrian retorted, his heart beginning to ache. "Hard work?" Lucas burst out laughing until several guests at other tables turned to look. "Adrian, listen. In a place like this, your hard work is only equivalent to the tip I give the parking attendant. Look at the bill on this table. The total is bigger than your tuition for two semesters. Do you think you deserve to be here?" "I'm here because Sophia invited me," Adrian insisted. Sophia finally looked at Adrian, but there was no warmth in her eyes. Only clear shame and disgust were visible. "I invited you because I wanted to end this directly, Adrian. I'm tired." Adrian seemed to forget how to breathe. "What do you mean?" "We're done. I can't keep being dragged down by your poverty," Sophia said in a flat, cold tone. "Every time we go out together, people look at me as if I'm doing charity work. I'm pretty, I have a future, and I need someone who can take care of me, not someone who's unsure about what to eat tomorrow morning." "But we've been together since freshman year. I've always been there for you, Sophia," Adrian's voice got softer, almost breaking. "I was naive back then," Sophia replied. She glanced at Lucas, who now casually put his arm around her shoulder. "Lucas is right. Love can't pay credit card bills. And frankly, I'm embarrassed every time my friends ask who my boyfriend is." Lucas smiled triumphantly. He took out his leather wallet, pulled out several of the highest denomination banknotes, and threw them towards Adrian. The money scattered across the polished floor. "Here, take it. Consider it taxi fare so you don't have to walk back to that narrow alley of yours," said Lucas. "Oh, and pay for that shabby shirt of yours too. The smell is starting to ruin my appetite." Adrian clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. Anger and humiliation surged in his chest, creating an unbearable tightness. He saw the money on the floor, saw the laughter on Sophia's friends' faces, and saw betrayal in the eyes of the girl he once loved. "Take the money, Adrian. Don't be so self-righteous," quipped one of Sophia's friends, a girl named Chloe. "You need it more than all of us." Adrian didn't take the money. He stood tall, even though his eyes felt hot. "I might be poor today, Lucas. But I have dignity that all of your father's money can't buy." Lucas scoffed. "Dignity won't fill your stomach, loser. Now get out of here before I call security to kick you out like a stray dog." Adrian looked at Sophia one last time. "You'll regret this, Sophia. Not because I'll get rich, but because you just threw away the only person who truly cared about you without looking at the numbers in your bank account." "Don't dream too high, Adrian. It hurts when you fall later," Sophia replied without emotion. Adrian turned and walked out of the restaurant. Every step felt heavy, as if the whole world was pressing down on his shoulders. As soon as he passed through the restaurant's large glass doors, the cold Shanghai air immediately pierced his skin. The dark night sky began to weep. At first, it was just a light drizzle, but within seconds, heavy rain poured down, soaking the city. Adrian kept walking, letting the rainwater mask the tears that finally fell. "All because of money," he thought bitterly. "This world only belongs to those who have power." He walked along the iconic Bund sidewalk, watching the lights of the skyscrapers reflect on the surface of the Huangpu River. Everything looked so beautiful, yet felt so distant and foreign to him. He felt like dust in the midst of this grandeur. His steps led him to a darker alley, away from the tourist crowds. His body shivered, but the fire in his heart grew even larger. This pain was too deep to simply forget. Suddenly, he felt his pants pocket. His hand touched something hard and cold. An old jade pendant, a heirloom from his father, which he always carried as a good luck charm. His father had once said this item was their family's most precious inheritance, even though Adrian had always considered it just an ordinary stone that couldn't be sold. He took out the pendant. Under the flickering street lamp, the jade stone, which was usually dull, seemed to emit a very faint green light. "This is all that's left of you, Dad," Adrian mumbled amid the roar of the rain. "This world is insane. They destroyed me just because I have nothing." Adrian tightly gripped the pendant, letting its sharp edges press against his palm. The pain in his hand didn't compare to the shattering of his dignity tonight. Just then, a flash of lightning struck the sky, illuminating the entire alley for one second. Adrian felt a strange vibration begin to spread from the jade pendant towards his wrist. The vibration felt hot, spreading rapidly through his bloodstream. "What is this?" Adrian tried to pull the pendant off, but his hands felt locked in place. The heat escalated into a burning pain, like a thousand needles simultaneously piercing his nerves. He collapsed onto the wet asphalt, letting out a stifled groan. Inside his head, a cold but authoritative mechanical voice suddenly echoed, shattering the night silence. [Energy circuit detected. Genetic match ninety-nine percent. Initializing Heavenly Dao Evolution System.] Adrian’s eyes widened. He stared at the pendant in his hand which now shone brightly, piercing the darkness of the rain. The light seemed to penetrate his skin pores. "What is happening to me?" he yelled, but his voice was swallowed by the roaring thunder. Adrian's vision began to blur. Amidst the extraordinary pain, he saw a transparent screen appear before his eyes, displaying rows of golden code spinning rapidly. "Soul synchronization begins. Welcome, new Host. Time to change your miserable destiny." Adrian fell face down, his consciousness slowly disappearing as the green light consumed his entire body in the silence of the dark alley.