The Rejected Man's Rise

“You who hate yourself have awakened the Dream Lover System.”The voice rang directly in my mind.My pulse quickened.I looked around. “Who’s there?”“This,” the feminine voice said, almost dripping with sarcasm, “is the Dream Lover System. Let me show your stats.”An aerial screen popped in front of my eyes.[Name: Caleb J. ColeHeight: 179 cmWeight: 282 poundsCharm rating: 9/100.Health: pathetic.Wealth: nearly zero.Hair: disappearing.]My eyes swelled out of the sockets.I rubbed my eyes and looked again.The window was still there. Floating in the air. How’s this possible?Am I dreaming?I pinched myself, and it hurt.I don’t think I’m dreaming.“W-What is this?” My pulse did not slow down a bit. “What are you?”“I’m a supernatural system that will assist you in achieving your dreams,” the voice replied. “My name is Dreamie.”“Supernatural, you say?” I swallowed my breath as I felt heat rising in my body. “Is this really a dream then?”“Only a few people have activated me over

“Get out of my chair,” Caleb said without hesitation.Mike paused in a bit of disbelief. “Huh?”Did Caleb, an easy pushover, dare refuse him?He looked at Sherry, smiling furiously.Sherry also looked at Caleb as if he made a big mistake, but he didn’t even blink.“Are you going to get up, or do y0u want me to talk to Madam CEO?” Caleb asked.“Pfft,” Mike almost burst into a smile. “You think our CEO would waste her precious time on you? Did she even talk to you once in the time she’s been here?” He got up at once. “But I’ll humor you and leave this spot for now. However, you will come begging to me soon and do everything I tell you to do.”Saying that he walked away with hands in pockets.“Who’s going to move these items?” Caleb said coldly.Mike forced out a smile. “This guy…” The vein in his neck throbbed. He glanced at a couple of coworkers.They quickly moved the items back to his desk and brought Caleb’s belongings back to his desk.Caleb sat down and just did his work.Sherry k

Caleb and the brunette standing before him were living in opposite worlds.She was dressed to the T and was perfect in every regard—wealth, status, and physique.She looked her absolute best.But Caleb was wearing the clothes he had bought over two years ago, and his leather belt had a dozen cracks in it and could snap any moment. His shoes did not have any polish done recently, but her shoes did not have a speck of dust on them.She was in a class of her own.He was 28. She was 24.They both stared at each other for a good few seconds without exchanging a word.Neither of them blinked as if they didn’t want to back down.Eventually, she looked at his car and saw the broken headlight. “I’ll pay for the repairs.” She took out her checkbook.“No thanks,” Caleb uttered coldly, then got into his car and left quickly.She frowned. “What’s his issue? I said I’d pay. Why did he reject my goodwill? Did he still not get over the past? He better not file a complaint in court later. Since he’s wo

Caleb stood in front of the wardrobe, staring at the right half of it.He hadn’t opened that side of the wardrobe in years.Now, he did.Most of the clothes sagged with neglect. Shirts bought two sizes ago. Jackets that remembered better days than he did.He pushed all of them aside and then stopped.The big old blazer lay there, inviting him like a quiet challenge.Navy, clean-lined, tailored enough to forgive his body without lying about it.It was his dad’s blazer.He sprayed some perfume on, then slipped it on and paused, surprised by the weight. Not heavy. Just anchoring.The shoulders sat where shoulders were supposed to be, not drooping, not pleading.He adjusted his sleeves, feeling the fabric settle, and for a moment the mirror didn’t feel hostile.The suit went well on top of the white shirt.He didn’t become handsome all of a sudden. But he felt decently put together. He looked like someone who had decided to show up.Caleb looked at his dad’s photo on the wall. “How do I lo

One after another, the investors of Grand Little Interiors arrived at the party.Edward happily interacted with them and talked about the future of the company.And Edward got his eyes on one of his important business partners, Gregory Potter and his son Jared.Jared was a young and successful entrepreneur and was the same age as Rita. He was athletic and handsome with dark brown curly hair. He was also 185 cm tall. He didn’t recklessly spend money, so Edward was thinking of wedding them together, though he was yet to talk to Gregory about it.Gregory was a partner of Grand Little Interiors, but he didn’t own any stake. Rather, he brought investors and received some commission in return. He was also the one who actually brought the Phantom Dream Investments this time, whereas Mike’s uncle just smoothened the process.“Uncle, I know that our company has focused mostly on co-living spaces and franchise homes,” Jared said. “But right now the trend is ready-to-install interiors. We can in