But just as Lin Xiqing imagined all sorts of scenarios that had absolutely nothing to do with Su Wen.
In the blink of an eye.
Su Wen had already vanished into the crowd.
He did not dare waste any time. Director Yan's lectures were brutal—not only was the failure rate high, but even the pass rate for retakes was abysmally low.
What rotten luck, majoring in physics.
By the time he reached the entrance to the lecture hall.
The classroom had already fallen silent and entered the lesson.
He was the only one awkwardly making his way from the back row to Jiang Menghan, whose seats on both sides were empty, under Director Yan's watchful gaze.
"Su Wen, right? Twenty minutes late. Deducting ten points from your attendance grade this semester."
Director Yan truly lived up to her name. Her first words were about deducting points.
She spotted Su Wen sneaking in at a glance.
Young people these days could skip class, but they still dressed themselves up quite nicely.
Could being handsome earn him extra points?
She asked sternly,
"Also, did you complete the physics group's model-building assignment I assigned yesterday?"
Su Wen was completely numb.
After spending half the day yesterday doing "volunteer labor," he had been so exhausted that he fell asleep immediately. Now it was truly a double blow.
He looked at Jiang Menghan beside him and received nothing but Miss Jiang's cold expression.
He had no choice but to make something up.
"Based on Professor Gu Liunian's paper published in a leading scientific journal, 'Constructing Shallow Activated Dark Matter Field Theory Through the Strong Interaction.'
"I used the Finnish Science Information Centre's open-source Elmer software to simulate a divergent field, but only obtained a Fluid-like Model."
"Professor Gu is a renowned theoretical physicist in recent years. This is a cutting-edge idea he proposed during his visit to All Souls College at Oxford University. It is already quite good that you were able to simulate a Fluid-like Model. Su Wen, I hope you will apply more of the seriousness you show in competitions to arriving on time for class."
He had finally escaped disaster.
Amid everyone's envious, jealous, and resentful stares, he finally sat down.
As for why they were envious, jealous, and resentful, it was not because he had answered so well. It was because this guy got to sit beside Jiang Menghan, the top-ranked student of the year and an icy beauty.
And.
Probably because he was rather handsome, too.
"Not a bad fabrication."
"Top student Jiang, if you're saving someone, see it through. If I couldn't answer, I might as well have skipped class."
Su Wen felt that rather than dying of embarrassment repeatedly, he might as well sleep a little longer.
"I don't think it would stump you."
"Please lower your opinion of me a little next time."
"Then get a zero next time. I'll make a post on the boss community to mock you."
"That's too much. Can you not go to extremes?"
"The model you mentioned just now, 'the Strong Interaction affects Dark Matter activation,' is quite interesting. After class, let's run a simulation in your room."
"Run a basic theoretical model—an unproven Dark Matter field theory model, no less? Do you want to completely scrap my secondhand graphics card?
"Let's talk about you posting on the boss community to mock me instead."
Su Wen's attitude was resolute.
Even if she was an icy beauty, she could not touch his graphics card.
This time.
Jiang Menghan had nothing more to say.
Time passed quickly.
Just like that.
Class was over.
The students around them were lively as they discussed what had happened yesterday.
Su Wen, who had slept through half the day and the entire night, was clearly somewhat out of touch. He asked the girl beside him,
"Did something major happen last night?"
Jiang Menghan gave him a slightly surprised look.
"I thought you knew. A big-budget movie released by an anonymous account at midnight caused a global sensation as soon as it came out."
Su Wen took out his phone.
Sure enough, it had taken over every major video site.
The movie was titled: "Alone, Saving Civilization's Only Home."
The plot spanned from the Cretaceous Period to the end of the Origin Era. Due to environmental deterioration and the destruction of the ozone layer, the planet's dark and sunlit sides developed an enormous day-night temperature difference.
The "Spaceship Faction" became the final choice, and humanity could only leave its home planet.
Three thousand years later, the protagonist, who had failed to depart in time because of the cryogenic plan, became the sole survivor.
By chance, he connected to the starship's communications channel.
Supported by the starship civilization's thousand years of technological leaps and the resources left behind by the old era.
The protagonist embarked on an incomparably lonely journey to save the world.
And Su Wen found that figure incredibly familiar.
It was his in-game appearance, adjusted slightly from his real features to look somewhat Eurasian.
Moreover, he wore a helmeted space life-support suit most of the time.
So aside from himself, probably no one connected the two.
"I once thought home was behind us, but now, we no longer have a homeland."
"No matter where the final outcome leads human history, we choose hope!"
Those two lines from the movie became trending phrases.
On that day.
From wandering bards by the Aegean Sea and sailors in Scandinavia to office workers in Northern California.
Everyone was shaken by this science-fiction epic, with its exquisitely crafted visuals and grand, sweeping story.
But at the same time.
Perhaps only Su Wen himself knew.
It was also a conversation between Qin Mingyuan and him across time.
And, three thousand years later, the final slogan when the starship returned and saw the Eden Life Cycle System blooming with flowers.
He nodded, though there was a little more calm in his voice.
"It really is moving."
Jiang Menghan felt something similar.
She disliked romance dramas that made people lose intelligence.
But who would not like a hard sci-fi epic that carried civilization as its banner and loneliness as its central theme?
"When I get back, I'm going to watch this movie properly again."
Su Wen understood that this was probably the result of the Time Travel game.
But he very much approved of the story.
Thinking of this.
He still had not used the appraisal he obtained yesterday.
So he looked at Miss Jiang beside him.
Appraisal: Jiang Menghan. Five Stars extraordinary potential. Extremely bad luck. She suffered widespread cold violence due to misfortune in both middle school and high school. Her will is firm. Requires a Mind Essence sacrifice or Origin knowledge of Space Folding and Warp Jump to activate her extraordinary potential.
Su Wen did not feel that he had encountered any terrible misfortune after knowing Jiang Menghan for so long.
At most, he had been formally removed from the Su family registry.
His savings had gone negative.
His residence had become an old house in Old Town.
And his bicycle rattled and clanked whenever he rode it.
At that thought, he suddenly felt as if he were truly about to wither, like a fallen leaf in autumn.
No wonder he often heard about people confessing to Miss Jiang and then crashing into trees or tripping on flat ground.
He had previously thought that although that icy beauty with the poor personality was certainly beautiful.
She was not beautiful enough to make people crash into trees.
Now that he had finished the appraisal.
Su Wen finally understood that Jiang Menghan really was a Treasure Girl.
There was not the slightest hint of sarcasm in those words.
Since he was already facing the threat of death.
Then any misfortune less than death was merely a joke to him.
On the contrary.
With her Five Stars extraordinary potential, she might become the key to changing civilization's future.
Before you continue