Han Feng stood in the group, but his gaze remained fixed on the aloof figure in the distance—Liu Mengran.
She wore a simple white shirt and a light-colored long skirt, her black hair cascading down to her waist, her skin as translucent as snow, and a beauty mark at the corner of her left eye that shone faintly in the sunlight. She looked down at the documents in her hands, her eyelashes slightly lowered, exuding an aloofness that seemed untouched by worldly concerns.
At that moment, Zero's voice rang out: System notification
Timeline change detected!
In the original timeline, Liu Mengran had been hiding her identity until university, but due to the influence of the host's rebirth, the Liu family brought her back to cultivate her ahead of schedule.
Liu Mengran's current initial favorability towards the host: 30 (unfamiliar but polite).
Han Feng's heart sank.
In her past life, Liu Mengran was only found by the Liu family when she was a sophomore in college. At that time, she still retained the gentleness of an ordinary girl. But now, she has been molded by her family into a true heiress, exuding elegance and a sense of distance in every gesture.
Just as he was lost in thought, Liu Mengran seemed to notice his gaze and looked up at him.
Their eyes met.
Her eyes were clear and calm, without a trace of emotion, as if she were looking at an insignificant passerby.
Han Feng's heart skipped a beat.
"Excuse me, is there something you need?" Liu Mengran asked, her voice as clear as a flowing spring, polite yet distant.
Han Feng then realized he had lost his composure and quickly adjusted his expression: "Sorry, I just felt you looked familiar."
Liu Mengran nodded slightly, said nothing more, and turned to continue processing the formalities.
System Zero: "Host, your flirting skills are comparable to those of an eighty-year-old cadre."
Han Feng: "...Shut up."
---
The Kyoto University forum erupted in chaos that evening.
Breaking News! The list of the most beautiful freshmen of 2023 has been released!
1. Liu Mengran (Department of Economics and Management) – Aloof and ethereal, the heiress of the Liu Family Consortium
2. Su Wanwan (Computer Science Department) – Red-haired stunner, hacker queen
3. Lin Yuqing (College of Liberal Arts) – A classically talented woman and a piano prodigy
[Hot Post] "A stunning encounter was spotted at the Department of Economics and Management's registration desk today! A suspected first meeting between a wealthy heiress and a mysterious supercar-driving man!"
(Attached are candid photos: Han Feng gazes intently at Liu Mengran's profile, his eyes deep; the sunlight falls on Liu Mengran's eyelashes as she looks up.)
The comments section exploded:
Holy crap! This guy's eyes are priceless! It's like he's looking at a lost treasure he's found again!
Has anyone uncovered the truth? The freshman who drives the Bugatti!
[Breaking news! This guy is a freshman in the Economics and Management Department, and he's already been voted the most handsome guy in the department by the girls!]
---
Living room of Villa No. 01, Kyoto Huafu.
Su Wanwan sat cross-legged on the sofa, holding a tablet computer and laughing so hard she almost fell over: "Han Feng! You're on the front page!"
Han Feng was chopping vegetables in the kitchen, and without turning his head, he said, "Turn off the heat."
"Hey! Aren't you curious about what everyone's saying about you and Liu Mengran?" Su Wanwan jumped over and deliberately read in a sweet, announcer's voice, "'Han Feng from the Economics and Management Department is exuding intense sexuality; he seems to have fallen in love with Goddess Liu at first sight—'"
"Crack!" Han Feng chopped the cleaver in his hand deep into the cutting board.
Su Wanwan immediately shut up, but her eyes still gleamed with gossip.
Han Feng took a deep breath and continued chopping vegetables: "Have you found any information on the Liu family?"
"Of course!" Su Wanwan magically produced an encrypted file. "Liu Mengran, 18 years old, only daughter of the Liu Group. She was fostered in Jiang City from a young age and was brought back to the Liu family in her senior year of high school. She has a cold personality and has countless suitors, but all of them have been rejected. Her nickname is 'Ice Queen'..."
She suddenly leaned closer, grinning mischievously, "But today, it seems this iceberg has melted a little bit because of your staring~"
Han Feng shoved a plate of stir-fried vegetables into her hands: "Take it out."
"Tch, boring." Su Wanwan pouted, then suddenly remembered something, "Oh right, there's someone on the forum betting on how long it will take you to win over Liu Mengran, odds of 1:10! I bet five thousand yuan on within three months!"
Han Feng finally turned to look at her, his eyes dangerous: "You're betting on me?"
Su Wanwan said matter-of-factly, "This is called intelligence investment! If you cooperate a bit, like deliberately showing off your abs in front of Liu Mengran tomorrow, we can make a fortune—"
Before he could finish speaking, Han Feng grabbed her by the back of her collar and threw her out of the kitchen.
System Zero: "Do you need me to hack the betting game? Split it 50/50."
Han Feng: "...Are you all really free?"
---
In the dead of night, Han Feng stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his phone screen lit up—it was the candid photo from the forum.
In the photo, the sunlight dances on Liu Mengran's eyelashes the moment she looks up, making her look unrealistically beautiful.
Han Feng gently stroked the screen, his eyes softening.
In this life, I will never let you face the storms alone again.
Even if it means melting an iceberg, I would do it willingly.
The day for formal classes arrived quickly. Although Han Feng had mastered all academic subjects given to him by the system, his goal was still to see Liu Mengran.
The moment Han Feng stepped into the lecture hall, the previously noisy discussions suddenly fell silent, followed by an even more enthusiastic burst of whispers.
"Look! It's that Bugatti guy from the forum!"
"He's even more handsome in person than in photos... those broad shoulders are amazing!"
"I heard he stared at Goddess Liu for ten seconds yesterday!"
Ignoring the gazes around him, Han Feng's eyes fell directly on the third row by the window—Liu Mengran was sitting alone, with an original English version of "Game Theory" open in front of her. Sunlight streamed through the glass window and fell on her, as if coating her with a hazy halo.
He walked over and sat down in the empty seat next to her.
Liu Mengran paused slightly as she turned the pages, but did not look up.
"Is anyone here?" Han Feng asked.
“No,” she said calmly, “but I suggest you change your seat.”
"Why?"
Liu Mengran finally raised her eyes, her amber pupils cold as ice: "You'll affect my concentration in class."
A few gasps of cold air came from the back of the classroom.
System Zero: "Host, you've been rejected."
Han Feng calmly took out a copy of "Game Theory" from his bag. The dense annotations on the pages instantly caught Liu Mengran's attention. This was, of course, thanks to the system; Zero had prepared the questions the professor would ask in class that day and had even checked Liu Mengran's recent study materials. This gave Han Feng such confidence.
“What a coincidence, I was also afraid of being delayed.” He turned to a page with a folded corner and pointed to a certain formula, “For example, this variant of Nash equilibrium, the professor will definitely ask about it later.”
A hint of surprise flashed in Liu Mengran's eyes—that was the difficult point she had marked last night.
The bell rang, and the white-haired professor, as expected, posed the question: "Who can explain dynamic game theory under incomplete information?"
The classroom was completely silent.
Just as Liu Mengran was about to raise her hand, Han Feng stood up and fluently recited John von Neumann's original argument, adding two cutting-edge case studies.
The professor's eyes lit up behind his glasses: "Very professional! What's your name?"
"Han Feng".
"Alright! Han, please sit down." The professor looked around. "Does anyone else have anything to add?"
Liu Mengran slowly raised her hand and pointed out the flaws in Han Feng's case in more concise language than Han Feng did, and then introduced the latest research in quantum game theory.
The entire classroom was stunned.
The professor's mustache twitched with excitement: "That was brilliant! Liu and Han, please stay after class!"
System Zero: "Oh wow, this system has detected an increase in Liu Mengran's competitive spirit. Favorability +5."
After class, at the corner of the corridor.
Liu Mengran, holding her books, stopped Han Feng: "You're not an ordinary freshman."
“You’re not an ordinary heiress either.” Han Feng looked directly into her eyes.
A gentle breeze wafted by, carrying the faint scent of gardenias from her hair.
"Why are you investigating me?" Liu Mengran suddenly asked.
Han Feng's heart skipped a beat: "What?"
“After you left yesterday, someone tried to hack into the Liu family database to look up my information.” She took a step forward, her aura suddenly becoming sharp. “The IP address points to Kyoto Huafu.”
System emergency alert: "That incompetent teammate Su Wanwan didn't erase any traces when she investigated Liu Mengran yesterday!!!"
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