Financial Independence through Cracked Apps-Chapter 35: [Pill]
August 6, 2025, Wednesday.
17°C to 26°C, with moderate to heavy rain, a level-three southeasterly wind, and 66% humidity.
"According to the Central Weather Bureau, due to a Jianghuai cyclone, Modu is expected to experience a full day of heavy rainfall starting today..."
POUR—!
Deep, ink-black clouds hung low in the sky. Fat raindrops hammered against the window, RAT-A-TAT-TAT, scattering into sparkling droplets.
This was the scene that greeted Lin Shen as he sat on the edge of his bed, gazing out the window.
At 8:00 AM, Modu was dim and gloomy.
’Looks like I won’t be able to go out today.’
Suddenly, a profound sense of desolation and loneliness bloomed in Lin Shen’s heart.
He liked the rain, but weather like this often made him feel lonely.
Lin Shen took a few deep breaths, got out of bed, and went to the bathroom to wash up. There, he happened to run into Gu Wanqing.
"You’re up, Brother-in-law!"
Gu Wanqing had just washed her face, and her still-damp skin looked exceptionally supple and smooth.
"It’s raining."
"Mm."
Unable to resist, Lin Shen reached out and pinched her cheek. She was just too cute.
"Let’s not go out this morning. We’ll see how things look this afternoon, okay?"
"Okay~"
Previously, whenever Lin Shen pinched her cheek, Gu Wanqing would usually just laugh it off.
This time, however, she shyly averted her gaze, her heart suddenly racing.
After the little incident last night while watching the fireworks at Disney, she felt their relationship had undergone a subtle change.
She found herself feeling shy yet expectant in the face of his affectionate gestures.
’Could I... really be falling for my brother-in-law?’
A thought stirred in Gu Wanqing’s mind.
Meanwhile, after washing up, Lin Shen laid a yoga mat in the living room and began his workout.
He warmed up with fat-burning exercises like jumping jacks and high knees, followed by push-ups and sit-ups to work his chest and abs.
Then came horse stances and Kegel exercises to improve his masculine functions.
HUFF—PUFF—!
Sweat streamed down Lin Shen’s cheeks, drenching his quick-dry shirt.
Seeing this, Gu Wanqing thoughtfully prepared a towel and some electrolyte water for him.
At 10:30 AM, his two-hour workout was over.
Lin Shen took a quick shower. When he came out, he saw the rain showed no signs of letting up.
The sky had brightened slightly, though, and he could vaguely make out a solid blanket of greyish-white clouds.
At that moment, Gu Wanqing was in the kitchen, prepping ingredients for lunch.
Watching her busy figure, ripples once again disturbed the calm surface of Lin Shen’s heart.
’A rainy day, free from the pressures of work and the worries of life. Alone with a girl in a small apartment, watching her cook.’
’This was the kind of life countless guys dreamed of!’
’Only someone who had experienced it firsthand could truly appreciate the wonderful, cozy feeling.’
Lin Shen smiled. He felt like the happiest man in the world!
He walked to the balcony, slid the window open a crack, and closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he let the summer breeze, carrying a fine mist of rain, wash over his face.
’Pure bliss.’
"Lunch is ready!"
At 12:00 PM sharp, Gu Wanqing brought the food out from the kitchen.
Scrambled eggs with tomatoes, savory eggplant, and a seaweed egg drop soup.
It was a simple meal of two dishes and a soup, but Lin Shen ate with great relish.
After lunch, he helped Gu Wanqing with the dishes.
The rain had lightened up a little, but it was still a bit too heavy to go out.
So, Lin Shen retrieved the book *Living* from his bedroom and sat on the living room carpet, ready to read.
Seeing this, Gu Wanqing found a thin blanket and asked with a cheerful grin,
"Brother-in-law! Can I sit next to you?"
"Of course."
"Hehe."
With his permission, Gu Wanqing settled down on the carpet shoulder-to-shoulder with Lin Shen. Leaning back against the edge of the sofa, she started playing on her phone.
Outside, the rain drizzled on, punctuated by occasional flashes of lightning and rumbles of thunder.
Inside, Lin Shen quietly turned the pages of the book in his lap, while Gu Wanqing, nestled beside him, slowly let her head droop.
Soon,
THUMP—!
The sudden weight on his shoulder startled Lin Shen, pulling him out of the story he was immersed in.
He turned his head to find Gu Wanqing fast asleep.
Her lovely eyes were closed, her cheek resting on his shoulder. Her soft breaths against his neck sent his mind racing.
’She really was beautiful up close.’
’Especially her fair, flawless skin; it was so smooth and supple, giving her an air of pure, youthful innocence.’
’So this is the beauty of an eighteen-year-old girl, huh?’
Lin Shen marveled internally.
He gently tucked the blanket around her before immersing himself in his book once more.
...
「6:00 PM.」
The moderate rain had tapered off into a fine, endless drizzle. Lead-gray clouds sank slowly toward the horizon.
Lin Shen closed his copy of *Living*. Gazing at the gloomy sky, he was suddenly struck by a sense of melancholy so profound it felt like a lonely death.
Although the protagonist was named Fugui, his life had nothing to do with the ’fortune’ or ’nobility’ his name suggested.
In the end, he lost every friend and family member, left with only an old ox for company.
But at least he was still living.
Lin Shen let out a long, deep sigh.
’If I were to read *Living* closely, it would probably take me a week to finish,’ he thought.
But Lin Shen couldn’t bear to experience that profound sorrow, so he had skipped over large parts of the story.
He took out his phone and saw that, sure enough, the Sports Health app was showing a red ’1’ notification, indicating a completed task.
[Upgrade Mission: Read a book that interests you and enrich your inner world. (Complete)]
[Reward: Sports Health Lv. 7 → Lv. 8]
[Exercise Efficacy Boost: 60% → 65%]
[Item: Concentration Pill (When consumed, increases your focus.)]
[New Upgrade Mission: Learn a sport you have never tried before.]
’A Concentration Pill?’
Lin Shen tapped the item to check its description and found that it boosted focus by stimulating the brain’s neurons.
As a result, his learning ability would also be enhanced.
"That matches the new mission pretty well," Lin Shen muttered.
There were plenty of sports he had never tried before, so picking one to practice wouldn’t be difficult.
Anyone could do it, as long as they had the time.
Just as Lin Shen was lost in thought, Gu Wanqing began to stir.
She rubbed her drowsy eyes and looked around in a daze before her gaze landed blankly on Lin Shen.
"Brother-in-law... what time is it?"
As everyone knows, there’s a certain soft, husky quality to a girl’s voice right after she wakes up that’s incredibly pleasant to the ear.
Paired with Gu Wanqing’s pretty, delicate features, it made Lin Shen break into an appreciative smile.
"Six o’clock."
"Six o’clock!?"
Gu Wanqing’s eyes shot open as full consciousness flooded back.
"I slept for five hours?"
"You’ve been running all over the place lately. You must be exhausted."
"But napping for too long just makes you more tired!"
Gu Wanqing stretched, feeling like her whole body had fallen apart. She let out a few cute, whiny groans.
The corners of Lin Shen’s mouth turned up, and he suddenly suggested,
"How about we go for a walk, then? It looks like the rain has let up."
"Yay!"
Gu Wanqing wasn’t one to sit still at home.
The thought of going for a walk in the rain with Lin Shen that evening filled her with excitement. At the same time, she secretly wondered if something might happen between them.
