A Different World

Liu Shang smiled, took Jiang Ruolin's hand, and headed toward the internet café behind them.

After entering the internet café, Liu Shang stopped Jiang Ruolin from choosing one of the cheaper computers in the main hall and instead booked a VIP room that cost twice as much.

Jiang Ruolin was a girl with high emotional intelligence and an exceptionally kind heart.

In his previous life, after learning about Liu Shang's family circumstances, she had always done everything she could to keep their spending down when they were together, while also finding ways to protect his self-esteem.

For example, she tried to eat at the cafeteria whenever possible, took on expenses that would not hurt a boy's pride, and now wanted to use a cheaper computer.

Unfortunately, he had never noticed those details back then.

Now that he had seen such a small gesture again, Liu Shang felt only greater gratitude and guilt.

"Using a computer in the main hall would be nice too. I prefer the lively atmosphere of an internet café."

"We should use the main hall when we come online in the future."

Faced with Jiang Ruolin's well-meaning lie, Liu Shang smiled. "You can't be too selfish in life."

"Just think about it. If a beautiful girl like you sat at a computer in the main hall, how many people's attention would you draw?"

"They wouldn't be able to chat properly, and they'd be distracted while gaming. We'd be indirectly causing them tremendous harm."

"So, your beauty should be reserved for me alone to admire and be intoxicated by."

Jiang Ruolin laughed at his teasing and lightly punched him, her face slightly red.

Amid their laughter and chatter, the computer finally finished booting up.

Looking at the icons for games like KartRider, The Frozen Throne, World of Warcraft, and Counter-Strike on the desktop, memories surged through Liu Shang's mind.

The university Liu Shang and Jiang Ruolin attended was a fairly renowned key institution specializing in petroleum studies.

Liu Shang studied petrochemical engineering, while Jiang Ruolin, whose English was exceptionally strong, had chosen economic and trade management in the petroleum field.

Although Jiang Ruolin had always kept a low profile at school, rumors about her family background had constantly circulated because of the circle she belonged to.

Even within that uppermost circle, she was a dazzling, radiant figure like a star.

One was a poor boy, the other a rich girl. In film and television dramas, such a setup made for a beautiful fairy tale.

But when placed in reality, most of them turned into tragedies.

A poor boy who had just entered university and had barely had any real contact with society would find it truly difficult to face the immense pressure of being under a spotlight, surrounded by all kinds of noise, stares, and criticism.

Under that pressure, Liu Shang's stubbornness and fierce self-esteem were magnified without limit.

Like a hedgehog full of hostility, he wounded Jiang Ruolin, that kind-hearted girl, with his spines.

Once, when Jiang Ruolin had cried in hurt and grievance, she said something Liu Shang would never forget for the rest of his life: "Before I met you, I had never cried this many times."

Being well matched in family background and social standing was an idea passed down since ancient times. Even if it was outdated, it was not entirely without reason.

In the end, their brief first love came to an end when Liu Shang chose to give up.

After graduating from university, Liu Shang was hired by an international oilfield services company.

A few years later, by a twist of fate, he became the chief assistant to Dr. Spender, one of the world's foremost petrochemical experts.

After that, Liu Shang went to the United States and worked at a world-class research center under Dr. Spender's guidance.

Until later, during a scientific project that could have sparked a new technological revolution, they encountered a catastrophic problem.

It brought disaster upon their entire laboratory: Dr. Spender was shot dead, the laboratory building was deliberately set on fire, and almost no one inside survived.

Those were also the hellish scenes Liu Shang had witnessed before his rebirth.

Finally, just as Liu Shang came back to his senses and was about to click open the browser, he noticed Jiang Ruolin sitting beside him in a daze.

"Didn't you say you came online to chat on QQ? Why aren't you doing anything now?"

(There was no mobile QQ at the time, much less WeChat. People could only communicate through expensive text messages or by going online at an internet café.)

Hearing Liu Shang's question, Jiang Ruolin could not help but sigh softly. "My QQ messages are probably about to explode right now..."

"It's all your fault..."

"I'll leave QQ unopened for now. I'll just watch you play games for a while."

Liu Shang smiled and gently squeezed Jiang Ruolin's little hand.

Then, with practiced ease, Liu Shang opened the browser, got past a low barrier, and carefully searched through numerous foreign information websites, entirely in English.

He had already tried many times. In this world, he simply could not find any information about Dr. Spender or the research center where he had worked.

It was as though Dr. Spender had never existed, with not even the slightest trace related to him remaining.

Aside from that, this world had not changed in any other way.

The various petroleum technologies were also progressing normally along their historical trajectories.

Of course, in Liu Shang's eyes now, they were so backward as to be beneath mention.

As this unfolded, Jiang Ruolin, who had been watching from the side, was already staring in stunned disbelief.

Her bright, lively eyes kept shifting between Liu Shang's face and the computer screen, filled with curiosity and undisguised shock and awe.

Influenced by her family environment and her father, Jiang Ruolin's English was extremely good, and she had also accumulated some knowledge of petroleum-related vocabulary.

Jiang Ruolin had always been extremely confident in her English ability.

Even if she could not compare with professionals, crushing her classmates would have been effortless.

Yet who could have imagined that Liu Shang would quietly stage such an absurdly dramatic reversal right before her eyes?

Leaving aside Liu Shang's computer skills and his proficiency with foreign websites and search tools, the English he kept typing at high speed alone was enough to leave Jiang Ruolin in awe.

At Jiang Ruolin's current level of English, she could understand only thirty to forty percent of it. She could vaguely tell that Liu Shang was searching for some doctor related to petrochemicals, as well as several well-known petroleum technology research institutions.

Not to mention Jiang Ruolin herself—even her father, who had always been active in the petroleum field, studied abroad, and participated in many international petroleum technology exchanges, probably could not match the English proficiency Liu Shang was displaying now.