I'm really looking forward to the arrival of this day.

Watching Long Aotian holding the ointment, the three guys slapped their chests in frustration: "This was a textbook hero-saves-the-beauty moment! Damn it, if I had stepped up back then, the music department’s campus belle would be mine now!"

"Next time, next time, guys, promise me—if something like this happens again, let me be the one!"

Long Aotian couldn’t help but laugh at their exaggerated reactions. "You guys are beyond ridiculous. We just met her properly today—we’re not even friends yet."

He had helped Lin Wanning, and while he considered it a simple favor with no expectation of anything in return, if she had brushed it off, he wouldn’t have minded.

But instead, Lin Wanning’s response made him feel that the person he’d helped had a decent character—not as cold as she appeared on the surface.

"You’re just sour grapes! That face, that icy, ethereal aura—she’s not just the music department’s goddess, she could easily be the entire university’s campus belle. Do you even understand the prestige of being a campus belle?"

"If a stunning, aloof beauty like that added me on QQ, my life would be complete!"

"Seriously! Just having a campus belle like her add you first would let me strut around University T like I own the place."

"Honestly, you guys don’t act like ‘Love Saints,’ ‘Love Knights,’ or ‘Love Kings’ at all," Long Aotian teased.

Though they’d only known each other for two days, the bond between guys could skyrocket faster than a rocket launch. And after calling each other "sworn brothers," what else even mattered?

"We were just talking big, hahaha..."

"But I don’t think Huang Fei’s ‘Ten Core Theories of Dating’ was just hot air."

Huang Fei had been about to admit he was still a naive virgin just pretending to be smooth, but hearing that, he immediately straightened up and smirked. "The Ten Core Theories are just the basics. Give me time, and I’ll come up with a hundred."

Laughter filled the air. Life like this was actually pretty fun.

And in their company, Long Aotian could clearly feel his own mindset growing younger.

Meeting new people, gathering for meals, sharing drinks, and talking big—it was all... nice.

......

"Wanning, where did you just go?" As soon as Lin Wanning returned to the private dining room, her girlfriends crowded around, grinning mischievously.

"I—I just went out to buy something," Lin Wanning murmured, leaning back slightly under their intense gazes and knowing smiles.

"Really~~?" The girls dragged out the word, their skepticism obvious.

"R-Really." Lin Wanning insisted earnestly—she had only gone out to buy ointment, after all.

"But we saw you walk back in with a handsome guy just now..." One of them glanced meaningfully outside the room.

Following her gaze, Lin Wanning spotted Long Aotian laughing with his roommates.

"Oh my god, you were gone for less than ten minutes, and our icy campus belle is already smitten..."

"N-No! He’s just the one who helped me last night." Realizing their misunderstanding, Lin Wanning hurried to explain.

That only made things worse.

The moment the words left her mouth, her three friends lit up with excitement.

"Did you add him on QQ?"

Under their relentless interrogation, Lin Wanning lowered her eyes slightly and gave a small nod. "...I did."

Even though this had happened to Lin Wanning, they seemed far more thrilled about it than she was.

"Did he ask to add you?"

"A hero saving a beauty, and the guy’s so handsome too—ugh, this feels even more exciting than a movie plot!"

"His figure looks great too. Is he from University T next door?"

Hearing that, the usually composed Lin Wanning suddenly remembered last night, when she’d helped apply iodine to his wounds...

A faint blush crept onto her fair, delicate face. Was his figure good? His broad back, his narrow but toned waist... Yeah, it was.

"Stop it, it’s not what you’re imagining." Lin Wanning had never been in a situation like this before, and being teased like this by her friends made her unbearably flustered.

She glanced outside again without thinking—but the table where Long Aotian had been was now empty.

High school life had been stifling and monotonous.

But university was colorful and free.

For many, the biggest changes began in college.

Some girls, plain and simple in high school, learned to dress up, apply makeup, and wear stylish outfits in university.

Some boys, who in high school loved ogling pretty girls and gossiping about who was the prettiest, only became even more obsessed with it in college.

Lin Wanning might have been just one of countless others like this. At the very least, being teased by her new friends didn’t irritate her.

After the meal, Lin Wanning and her friends headed back to campus.

On the way, they chatted and laughed.

Then one of the girls suddenly pointed toward the school gate. "Look, is that guy holding flowers about to confess?"

Everyone turned to look.

A slightly slender young man stood at the entrance, bouquet in hand. Suddenly, he spread his arms wide—then hugged himself.

"Is he rehearsing a confession? Let’s go check it out!"

The suggestion was instantly approved.

By the time the four reached the gate, a small crowd had already gathered.

"Hey, is this guy confessing to someone?" one of them whispered to a bystander.

"No idea. I just got here too and thought it was interesting, so I stayed to watch."

Hearing the murmurs, the young man turned his head.

The moment he did, his body stiffened—then he broke into a radiant smile.

Hand in his pocket, he sauntered toward them.

"Uh... I think he’s coming over here?"

Before they could react, he was already in front of them.

"Wanning, long time no see." He flashed another dazzling smile. "This is for you."

Lin Wanning stared at the flowers, her delicate brows furrowing slightly. Her expression remained cool and unreadable. She hadn’t expected to be part of the gossip she’d come to watch.

"Do I know you?"

Her unique voice made him chuckle. He flicked his hair back. "Seems like it’s been so long, your memory of me has faded!"

"Then let’s reintroduce ourselves. I’m Liangchen—Ye Liangchen." His voice was deep, with a hint of a husky tone, as he delivered the line with confidence.

Lin Wanning frowned, searching her mind for this person, then finally shook her head lightly. "I’m sorry, I don’t remember you."

With that, she turned to leave, disliking the feeling of being surrounded by onlookers.

Hearing this, Ye Liangchen chuckled. "Still as cold as ever."

He took a deep breath and slowly crouched down, saying, "It's alright. I’ll make you remember me, little by little."

As he spoke, he reached to lift the hem of Lin Wanning’s right pant leg.

"What are you doing?" Lin Wanning took a step back just before his hand could touch her, putting distance between them.

Her gaze turned even frostier as she looked down at Ye Liangchen, still crouched on the ground.

Ye Liangchen shook his head slowly, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "Stay still. You’re hurt. Let me take a look. You were always so reckless as a kid, and you haven’t changed a bit."

His tone carried an unsettling familiarity.

"Are you out of your mind?" Lin Wanning brushed past him and strode toward the school without another glance.

What the hell was that?

Some stranger acting like he knew her was one thing, but trying to roll up her pant leg out of nowhere? Total creep.

Back when she was in high school, her dormmate had secretly shown her some… questionable content.

The way those men in the videos obsessively fixated on girls’ legs had left her shocked and disgusted.

Sure, plenty of male classmates had whispered behind her back about how nice her legs were—"could play with them for ten thousand years" and all that—but they at least had the decency to keep it to themselves.

Yet here she was, experiencing it firsthand, in broad daylight, no less. Disgusting…

She could already feel goosebumps rising on her skin.

Watching Lin Wanning walk away, Ye Liangchen smirked, utterly unbothered. "Still shy, huh? When you finally remember me, you’ll regret calling me a lunatic."

That night, Lin Wanning never showed up. Later, Ye Liangchen figured it was because Long Aotian hadn’t cracked his skull open like in the original timeline.

But there was nothing he could do about it. Long Aotian had ended up with Hu Yuying, and the two were probably still running some street stall in a corner of Haiwan City. No way they’d come to Capital City just to play along with his plans.

Still, as a reincarnator, he knew how to make his own opportunities.

Today’s little stunt had worked perfectly. At the very least, he’d left a lasting impression on Lin Wanning.

First, he’d let her see him as the carefree, troublemaking type. Then, he’d gradually reveal another side of himself—because girls loved nothing more than a man with layers.

Once she thought she had him figured out, all he had to do was flip the script. And just like that, she’d be hooked.

Then, when the time was right, he’d casually drop the bombshell: he was actually her kindergarten desk mate. Everything would fall into place, just like in the dream.

In that dream, it had started with a simple pack of tissues—enough to make Wanning notice him.

Then, by chance, she’d seen him with Hu Yuying.

And when Li Qingxue launched her relentless "chase-the-husband-to-the-crematorium" campaign, Wanning would assume he was some two-timing scumbag.

After a series of misunderstandings and tangled conflicts, the truth would finally come out. And by then, she’d have already fallen for him without realizing it…

The thought made Ye Liangchen snicker under his breath. He turned his face to the sky, murmuring in a low voice, "Can’t wait for that day to come."

[Ah, had I known you’d be so reluctant to power up this story, I wouldn’t have come at all. Wrote two whole chapters, only for my spirit to soar—then crash at the sight of those dismal power-up stats.

In the end, this vulture overstepped. If you won’t power up, brothers and sisters, then so be it. But you’ve truly wounded this vulture’s heart—cold as shards of ice, it is.

Ah well… perhaps it’s my fault for expecting too much. A few power-ups should’ve been enough…]