Chu Han Begins to Regret

"Han-jie, look, isn’t that Zhou Yi sitting in the corner?"

"Yeah, wasn’t he your simp before? Haven’t seen him bothering you lately."

"Han-jie has Young Master Gao now, of course she wouldn’t spare a glance for some poor guy like him."

Not far away in the cafeteria, Chu Han was eating with her friends.

In their eyes, Zhou Yi was nothing more than her devoted follower.

"Who would’ve thought he’d turn out so handsome. Han-jie, any regrets? Hehe."

"If you don’t like him, why not pass him to me? Do you have his WeChat? Send it to me!"

The moment Chu Han remembered Zhou Yi now had a rich, beautiful girl by his side—and had even blocked her on WeChat—the smile in her eyes dimmed slightly.

Stirring the soup in her bowl, she deliberately replied, "Why would I have a simp’s WeChat? If you want it, go ask him yourself."

"Ugh, I heard he’s hard to get. Otherwise, I’d have gone for it already."

"But why is he hanging out with Su Ning and her crew? She’s literally the ice queen."

Su Ning and Wang Yixin, along with a few other beauties, were hard to miss where they sat.

Chu Han usually dined outside with Gao Wenhao, but today, perhaps because he’d noticed her shifting attitude toward Zhou Yi, he’d left her behind in a fit of displeasure.

Chu Han couldn’t care less. Young Master Gao loved throwing tantrums to assert his superiority—she was used to it by now and refused to grovel for his attention.

But hearing Zhou Yi was here, and with Su Ning no less, her curiosity got the better of her.

Propping her chin on her hand, she scrutinized them and remarked, "That girl next to him… isn’t that Wang Yixin?"

A curly-haired girl beside her scoffed. "Tch. Of course it’s that two-faced snake. Looks like Zhou Yi’s about to get played."

Wang Yixin was no innocent flower—she took pleasure in toying with people’s emotions. One of Chu Han’s exes had fallen victim to her schemes before.

Chu Han narrowed her eyes, smirking. "Maybe she’s just making small talk. It’s not like she’d actually be into Zhou Yi. Sure, his face got an upgrade, but deep down, he’s still the same simp."

For some reason, Chu Han dreaded the idea of Zhou Yi improving himself.

She kept convincing herself that even with his newfound looks, he remained the same desperate guy from before.

Maybe, just maybe, part of her hoped his feelings for her hadn’t changed.

But that ship had sailed the moment he blocked her.

"Han-jie, you’ve got high standards, so you think no one would want Zhou Yi. But do you know how many girls are dying for his WeChat? The forum threads about him have thousands of replies."

"Speaking of which, I just heard something wild."

"What?"

"Apparently, Zhou Yi aced both his Chinese and math exams today—full marks. Plus, he got the only spot in their program for the math modeling competition."

Chu Han burst out laughing. "No way. He failed so many classes last year. Scoring perfect? That’s got to be a rumor."

Her friend pulled out her phone, showing her the forum posts.

"Look, it’s right here. A girl from Visual Communication Class 3 confirmed it. They say he even got their department’s only competition slot."

Chu Han froze as she read.

How was this possible? Zhou Yi, a perfect scorer? In a math competition?

"I heard an even crazier theory. Wanna know?"

"Spill."

"People in Visual Comm are speculating why Zhou Yi changed so much. Their conclusion? He was hiding his true abilities all along—like he’s got some insane background."

The rumor spread like wildfire, growing more exaggerated with each retelling. By the time it reached Chu Han’s circle, Zhou Yi was practically some hidden elite.

Chu Han was on the verge of an existential crisis.

Rolling her eyes, she snapped, "He’s an orphan. What ‘background’ could he possibly have? Visual Comm majors really live up to their creative reputations, huh?"

The girl shot back, "That’s exactly why it’s suspicious! Rumor has it he found his birth parents, and that’s when everything changed. Doesn’t that make you wonder? There’s gotta be more to it."

Chu Han eyed her skeptically. "People actually believe this?"

"Uh, yeah. Why else would guys like Wang Yang suddenly start eating with him? Zhou Yi never got that kind of treatment before."

"Exactly. Even Su Ning, who used to despise him, is sitting at the same table now. She must know something."

Chu Han’s gaze darted back to Zhou Yi, her mind racing.

If the rumors were true… was Zhou Yi actually a rich heir?

Not just book-smart, but a genius?

Had his whole ‘simp’ act been a facade?

She nearly stood up to confront him—but one glance at the crowd around him made her hesitate.

She couldn’t just march over. If Gao Wenhao found out, it’d be a disaster.

Still, she needed answers. If Zhou Yi turned out to be a bigger catch than Young Master Gao… had she bet on the wrong horse?

[Chu Han’s Regret +20, Affection +20.]

Zhou Yi paused at the system’s notification.

Scanning the room, he quickly spotted Chu Han.

Among the women the original Zhou Yi had simped for, Chu Han was the most mercenary.

Her affection and regret points were the easiest to manipulate—because she was a gold-digger, plain and simple.

But women like her grew harder to sway over time. Hearts didn’t factor into her calculations.

Zhou Yi guessed she’d heard the rumors.

Nothing else would’ve shaken her this much.

"System, what’s the benefit of gaining affection points from the women I’m supposed to take revenge on?"

"Plenty. While they aren’t ranked, the higher their affection, the more items you can unlock in the system store. Their individual affection points are called ‘Red Coins.’ Check the store now."

"My system store is already open?"

"Correct. You just hit Level 10."

Zhou Yi pulled up his stats panel:

[Name: Zhou Yi]

[Level: Lv10 (Silver)]

[Wealth: ¥8,739,380 (Affluent)]

[Appearance: 100 (Unrivaled)]

[Combat: 100 (Invincible)]

[IQ: 200 (Genius)]

[Reputation: 37 (Notable)]

[Attribute Points: 9,685]

[Mission Progress:]

[Xia Qiuzhi’s Regret: 10]

[Chu Han’s Regret: 20]

[Su Ning’s Regret: 10]

[Comeback Progress: 37]

[Affection Points Earned: 7,605]

[Devoted Followers: 0]

[Achievements Unlocked: None]

[Item/Skill Acquired: Photographic Memory, Exceptional Recall]

[Current Ranking: 60,652]

[Congratulations, Host! Level Up Achieved. System Store Now Unlocked]