chapter 1

John Lin, a 16-year-old high school student, lives in a humble neighborhood in Beitou with his single mother. He has an older brother who wants to be a soldier and attends an army college in Kaohsiung, and an older sister who uses her scholarship to study in Germany. John's mother works at a clothes business close to Beitou Market, and her pay barely covers his necessities.

When John started high school, he saw that everyone around him was using computers to play video games. Since he liked playing video games as well, he decided to take advantage of his birthday to get a gaming laptop. “Do you think I could make my own gaming laptop, Mom?” “No, you can't. Your job is to be a student, so you should focus on learning. Also, gaming laptops are not cheap they cost too much money, so we can't spend money on unnecessary things,” John's mother said. John is determined to persevere, even though he anticipated her saying it.

John began pleading with his mother, cleaning his room, and doing extra housework in an attempt to persuade her to change her mind. However, none of these strategies succeeded, and eventually his mother could take no more. “Okay, you can build your own gaming laptop, but I will only give you half the money. You should make money yourself. Also, you need to get 100 on your math and physics test, and other tests should be over 80, and the TOEIC test score needs to be over 600. Is that okay?” was the last thing his mother said to John. John instantly agreed, and ever since then, his schedule has become increasingly hectic.