"I was in the middle of showering, how was I supposed to hear you?" Hailey huffed, cheeks still tinged red. "And my mom—seriously, she left the door wide open just to buy groceries!"
She shifted the topic quickly, clearly trying to cover her embarrassment. "Anyway, I'll distract my mom and take her into the bedroom. Once you hear the door close, you better sneak out—quietly. And if anyone hears about what happened today…"
She raised a tiny clenched fist and puffed her cheeks. "You're dead meat, got it?"
Doug nodded quickly, pretending to be terrified while sneaking another glance at her. But something strange caught his eye. Floating just above Hailey's head… was a glowing red number: 4.
"What the…? Why is there a red number above her head too?" Doug blinked hard, half-expecting it to disappear. But it didn't.
He'd first seen it on Ms. Qing Fang, and now Hailey had one as well. What did the number mean? Why were they both red?
Before he could think more on it, Hailey snapped at him. "Hey! Turn around, Little Belly. I'm getting dressed."
Hailey had always called him "Little Belly" ever since they were kids. To her, Doug had always been the goofy, clingy little brother next door. But now, she was flustered—after all, he'd accidentally seen everything. And he didn't look much like a kid anymore either…
"Okay, okay!" Doug turned around, sighing. "I swear I won't peek…"
Still, he couldn't help sneaking a glance at her neatly folded nurse's uniform lying nearby. His mind, naturally, started to drift.
Rustle. Shuffle.
A few minutes later, Hailey emerged, fully dressed in her white nurse outfit, still dripping slightly from her half-dried hair. The sight was enough to leave Doug momentarily dazed.
He hadn't seen her in uniform for a long time—and now, after that incident, she looked even more dazzling than usual.
"Quit staring, perv. Haven't you seen enough?" she scolded, cheeks flushing again. "Stay hidden. When the coast is clear, run. And if anyone finds out, I swear I'll castrate you myself."
Doug snapped out of it and gave her a serious nod. Hailey adjusted her clothes and left the bathroom. Moments later, he heard a door slam shut.
That was his cue.
Doug bolted out of the bathroom like his life depended on it, tiptoed past the living room, and sprinted out the front door of the Liang household.
Ding!
Suddenly, a chime echoed in his mind.
Favor Points accumulated: 5. Minimum exchange threshold reached. Would you like to redeem a reward?
Doug stopped in his tracks, heart skipping a beat. "Wait, what the hell was that?"
A transparent screen popped up in front of him, like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. Only he could see it, hovering just above his field of vision.
Once he got back home, he sprawled out on his bed, still staring in disbelief at the glowing interface.
"What… is this? A future-tech AI? A system? Some kind of alien tech?"
The panel displayed rows of icons—some bright, some grayed out. There weren't any text descriptions, but strangely, Doug knew what each symbol meant as soon as he focused on it. It was like the knowledge just… downloaded into his brain.
"So this came with my second life? A Favor System?" he muttered, slowly realizing the truth.
Those floating red numbers he saw on Ms. Qing Fang and Hailey—they weren't hallucinations. They were Favor Points, earned during moments of romantic or emotional tension.
Apparently, the deeper the "intimacy" of the moment, the higher the Favor Points earned.
He'd gotten 1 point earlier from that awkward spill with Ms. Fang.
And from the very compromising situation with Hailey in the bathtub?
4 points. Jackpot.
"So the numbers reflect more than just good feelings—they measure attraction? Affection? Or maybe it's… potential?"
Doug continued exploring the system. There was a whole Exchange Shop, where Favor Points could be traded for future-tech and personal upgrades.
The current balance showed 5 points.
The available options?
Basic Physical Enhancement
Basic Intelligence Boost
Beginner Memory Upgrade
Each required exactly 5 points—the minimum.
Doug hesitated. "If I spend it all now… will the system disappear? What if it needs points to stay active?"
He wasn't about to risk losing something this powerful.
"Better wait until I have a bigger buffer. No need to rush," he muttered, trying to calm his racing thoughts.
Still, he couldn't help grinning like a madman.
"Man… the heavens really do favor me. Not only did I get reborn, I also got this cheat-level Favor System! If I can collect enough points…"
Doug glanced at the advanced rewards, his excitement quickly giving way to despair.
Some of the future-tech options were insane:
Advanced Gene Modification
Super AI Core
Personal Interstellar Craft
But the cost?
Tens of thousands—some in the hundreds of millions—of Favor Points.
He gulped.
"Wait… If I got 4 points from accidentally walking in on Hailey in the bath… that means I'd have to do that 25 more times just to get 100 points!"
He massaged his temples. This wasn't going to be easy.
Even so, Doug couldn't tear his eyes away from the rewards. The possibilities were endless—power, knowledge, even wealth.
"I just need to plan carefully. Start small. Stack points slowly. Maybe start dating? Or flirt more? Is that what the system wants?"
As he lay there thinking, the screen slowly dimmed, the interface folding away into the corner of his vision like a minimized app.
Doug's thoughts drifted into a chaotic mess of plans, fantasies, and what-ifs. Before long, he drifted off into a deep sleep.
And that night, he had the strangest dream.
He was flying through the stars on a ship powered by pure affection, chased by space cops for stealing kisses across galaxies…
But that's a story for another time.