"Opportunity"

As a third-year student who was just about to get busy with internships, Ning Yu had originally thought her luck was pretty good today.

At first, seeing that the weather outside was nice, she had planned to visit a shopping center near the university district with her best roommate, browse around, and buy a few things to properly treat the friend who had helped her rush out a major course project assignment just two days ago.

But before heading out, Ning Yu happened to notice a red dot on an app on her phone. The notification said that a pair of new headphones she had preordered had arrived at the relevant specialty store, and its location was not far from one of the shopping centers she often visited.

Perfect timing. Last night, while taking a walk along the street with her best friend, she had seen rows of chain ice cream and milk tea shops by the roadside and failed to resist...

Well, thinking back on it now, Ning Yu had to admit that she seemed to have eaten... quite a bit more than "a little" of those "low-calorie" desserts.

But it was fine! Since she had been the one paying, her best friend and roommate, Fang Yishu, had obviously eaten even more than she had!

That awful little glutton!

Still, after looking at her roommate's well-proportioned figure and considering how Fang Yishu usually took freelance jobs outside doing Photoshop work, video editing, submitting articles to newsletters, and even running all over the place to shoot short videos, her daily calorie burn was clearly beyond comparison with that of a "delicate, weak little woman" like Ning Yu...

So, after finishing their shopping that morning and feeling that the fatigue in her body was not yet too obvious, Ning Yu made an unusually tough decision today—

No taking the car!

She would treat it as extra exercise and use her own two legs to walk directly from the shopping center to the specialty store several kilometers away to pick up her things!

...And so, things quickly turned into the following—

"Su Su, I really can't walk anymore. Can we rest for a while?"

"...Su Su, how about we just take a taxi? I'll pay. The sun is so strong today..."

"Su Su, weakly asking for help..."

Seeing the expression on Fang Yishu's face—both annoyed and amused, practically saying, "There's really nothing I can do with you"—as she effortlessly took the bags containing Ning Yu's summer clothes again, yet stubbornly refused to agree to take a car, Ning Yu knew this girl was probably planning to teach her a "profound lesson"!

"Wuwuwu, Su Su, Sister Su Su, my dear Su Su... I admit I was talking too big before. I shouldn't have said something as ridiculous as 'It's only a few kilometers.' Please forgive me..."

Putting on a pitiful expression as she "begged bitterly," Ning Yu saw that Fang Yishu still would not relent. She was practically about to squeeze out a few "crocodile tears" to show her sincere repentance!

Just then, she spotted a spacious, air-conditioned convenience store by the roadside. There were even several seats for customers inside. Her eyes immediately lit up, and after turning the corner, she coaxed and dragged Fang Yishu inside by force. After buying two bottles of water, she happily rested her feet for nearly half an hour.

Great! She felt like she could do this again!

To the automatically played message of "Welcome to visit again," the two chatted and laughed as they walked out of the convenience store, opened their sun umbrellas, and continued onward. But they soon noticed a motionless figure sitting on a bench beneath the shade of a tree by the roadside in the distance...

...And then things became this somewhat awkward situation.

Seeing that she had accidentally knocked the other person's glasses off, Ning Yu froze. Her face immediately reddened slightly, and just as she came back to herself and prepared to pick them up, her gaze unintentionally swept across his face.

The instant she saw it, her entire body went still.

Even the faint blush across her cheeks and the tips of her ears suddenly seemed to burn hotter.

It was an extraordinarily youthful face. Once those unfashionable black-framed glasses had fallen away, they could no longer conceal the refined elegance of his handsome features. He was like a freshly unearthed jade disc from deep in the mountains, exceptionally eye-catching.

Ning Yu almost instinctively recalled that saying from ancient times—A gentleman is like jade, carved and polished.

Especially those bright yet deep eyes that had previously been hidden behind the lenses, black and gleaming. For some reason... they gave her the illusion that they were indescribably beautiful?

Beside her, the short-haired Fang Yishu was equally dumbstruck.

But she did have some social experience. Stung by the faint indifference in his gaze, she quickly came back to her senses!

Then she turned her head and saw that her best friend was still standing there in a red-faced daze, and a trace of embarrassed irritation surged into her heart.

Fang Yishu could no longer hold herself back. Her face was filled with an expression that practically spelled out, "Kid, Mom is very disappointed in you," and she simply reached out from behind to poke Ning Yu with some force, trying to snap her silly girl out of it!

"Ah Yu! Wake up! What are you spacing out for?! Hurry up and apologize to this classmate!"

That said, it would have been even better if one could ignore the faint flush that had quietly risen around the ears of this seemingly poised girl as well.

Noticing the term "classmate" used by the short-haired girl, and seeing the little interactions between these two fairly youthful and pretty girls, even the clear, foolish undertone in their eyes—

As if realizing something, the faint chill in someone's gaze quietly faded away.

Forget it.

Even though he had actively weakened his own senses to a great extent in order to "block out" outside interference and quietly accelerate his thoughts, being suddenly interrupted just now had indeed displeased him somewhat.

But during that period, he had happened to sort through several rather subtle conjectures. At this moment, Li Yun was actually in a fairly good mood.

As for these two, they looked like nothing more than a pair of young college students with little experience in the world. In particular, at a glance, he had not sensed the "flavor" of any clear malice within their vague, shallow emotions...

They were merely two rash young people he had met by chance.

Since they had meant no harm and had not truly caused any trouble yet, there was no need to take things too seriously.

A faintly old-fashioned state of mind surfaced within him.

Come to think of it, the term "classmate" was rather novel and nostalgic...

Ever since graduating from university several years ago and becoming an ordinary corporate drone as well as a blessed warrior of the new century, Li Yun had not heard anyone address him that way in a long time.

Without much intention of paying attention to the two girls, he casually picked up the black-framed glasses from the ground, expressionlessly blew the dust off them, and put them back on.

Just as he stood and prepared to leave, the long-haired girl, who had already suffered a merciless blow from her best friend, finally managed to come back to her senses. She hurriedly reached out, her fingertips trembling slightly. "S-Sorry, classmate, I really didn't mean to! I just... I just accidentally bumped into your glasses... Your eyes aren't hurt, are they...?"

Her voice grew softer and softer.

Ning Yu did not know what was wrong with her.

Born locally into a fairly well-off family, quick-witted, and praised as a little beauty by everyone since childhood, with delicate brows and lovely features, she had been the envy of many peers throughout her life.

And because of that, the approval and confidence she had always held in herself naturally nurtured a poised and graceful air in her words and actions.

But the calm, socially adept composure she usually displayed in front of others suddenly became hesitant and stammering now, as though something invisible had caught in her throat.

Her heart pounded wildly, while her mind was blank. In the blink of an eye, she seemed unable to think through or explain anything clearly.

Left with no choice, she immediately cast a pleading look at her best friend beside her—

"Su Su, save me!"

As a friend who knew her better than anyone, Fang Yishu easily understood the meaning in her eyes. She took a deep breath and instinctively smoothed the hair at her temples, which she had carefully styled before leaving home, only to despairingly discover that it had already been soaked through with sweat and even felt somewhat messy.

Even without a mirror, she knew her hair must look rather disheveled right now.

...But there was no other way.

With a casual sweep of her hand through her hair, and the heroic, fearless air of someone marching to the execution ground, the short-haired girl boldly stepped forward and reached out to block Li Yun's path.

Seeing his gaze turn back toward her, she deliberately blinked with practiced sophistication, curled her lips, revealed two playful little canine teeth, and flashed an especially dazzling smile. "Hello, classmate. Can I add you on WeChat?"

Completely ignoring the repeated signals Ning Yu sent with her eyes toward her phone, which ultimately received no response beyond a subtle expression of disbelief, as though she had been stabbed in the back, this clearly more poised girl remained perfectly natural.

As soon as the words left her mouth, she swiftly pulled out her phone from the cute panda-shaped crossbody bag at her waist. She even pointed familiarly at the phone Li Yun was holding at his side, smiling as she watched this "classmate" who appeared to be around their age.

A certain Main God administrator could not help falling silent for a moment.

In more than twenty years of life, he had never dated anyone as others did. Yet even with no experience at all, he could tell that this girl's intentions were "impure."

[...Main God, this is hitting on someone, right?]

[Based on the compiled information regarding surface-level human behavior on the internet, your judgment is correct... Yes, this is what is known as "hitting on someone."]

In that soundless, accelerated exchange, the calm voice seemed to reveal a hint of amusement, as though it were enjoying the show.

[Administrator, if this truly troubles you, I can directly "erase" the two members of your species before you, without leaving behind any substantive traceable evidence.]

[...Tsk, Main God, you seem a little too extreme.]

He continued to gaze calmly at the girl before him.

As he quietly rejected the clearly unserious "suggestion" from this world-shaking Main God that loved life, even Li Yun could not help clicking his tongue.

...Perhaps it was only an illusion, but he seemed to sense that the Main God was deliberately teasing him.

While considering that he should briefly inspect the exact development of the Main God's "human behavior information database" after returning later, he thought calmly to himself.

Still, there was no need to hesitate too much over such a trivial matter.

Very quickly, before the moment came when the others might begin to feel awkward, the "not much, but enough" emotional intelligence he had developed as a former corporate drone played a minor role in saving the situation—

Li Yun nodded slightly, took the initiative to unlock his phone, and agreed to the girl's request.

"Hello, I'm Li Yun."

"Hello, classmate. My name is Fang Yishu, and this is my classmate Ning Yu..."

...He did not take the initiative to correct her mistaken assumption that he was a "classmate."

Li Yun did not care much about what others thought, but he somewhat appreciated the still-clean-minded college student before him—her decisive judgment, her clear goal, her obvious capacity for action, and her courage and attitude in making a straightforward first move.

It was rare.

Not every adult possessed even this much quality at the same time.

...But it was not enough.

In a sense, this girl with beads of sweat still clinging to her temples was indeed an uncut gem. She could even be considered the same type of person he had once been.

After all, someone who knew what they wanted, knew what they should do, and dared to act on it might, even in the Main God Game, have some hope of carving out a place for herself.

The premise, however, was that she also possessed the resilience to face adversity, the wisdom to solve problems, and a little bit of luck...

Of course, such things could not be demanded too strongly. Fortunately, Miss Fang was still young and theoretically had many opportunities ahead of her to train and grow.

Then naturally, she was worthy of such an opportunity.

—In the literal sense, an "opportunity."

[Main God, add Miss Fang to the Visitor selection list for the next round of the Main God Game. Arrange a more suitable world for her newcomer assessment.]

[Understood.]

At the end of the day, tending one sheep was tending, and tending a flock was tending.

Slightly moved, this young passerby who had unconsciously begun to assume part of the role of an "administrator" generously gave her an unknown "unexpected surprise."

After all, when Main God's Wheel was about to begin its next rotation, what did one more potentially promising "Visitor" matter?

It was merely a casual action prompted by a bit of curiosity.

After a brief exchange with the young college student, Miss Fang Yishu, who remained completely unaware that the trajectory of her life had already been thoroughly diverted from this point onward—

He decisively rejected her smiling and enthusiastic suggestion of, "It's so hot out. Why are we standing here chatting? How about I treat you to something cold at a nearby drink shop? Consider it my apology to Ah Yu," and, before the situation could become even more awkward, Li Yun tactfully took the initiative to excuse himself.

The emotional intelligence of a corporate drone.JPG

The people who had met by chance and already exchanged contact information parted ways, like drifting catkins brushing past one another in the wind.

Ning Yu, who had barely managed to say anything and could only awkwardly remain a peripheral figure at the side, even forgot to raise the sun umbrella in her hand.

Beneath the shade of the tree, the young girl simply stared blankly at the slender, upright back beneath the sunlight, watching until it walked farther and farther away, quietly merging into the end of the crowd where light and shadow interwove, until not even a trace of it remained visible.

Only then did she seem to wake from a dream. Her fingers tightly clenched the hem of her clothes, and the heat that had only just faded from the tips of her ears quietly crept back.

Beside her, Fang Yishu let out a long breath, as though she had just finished a breath-holding contest. Relieved, she casually patted her chest. "Wow, that was way too awkward..."

"With the way things were just now, does that guy completely not know how to get close to people? Talking to him almost made me start doubting my own charm..."

Picking up the shopping bags from the ground, the short-haired girl turned to look at Ning Yu. Seeing that she still wore that absent-minded, unsettled expression, she could not help leaning close to tease her. She wrapped an arm around her best friend's shoulders and lowered her voice like an old mother coaxing her child. "What's wrong, Ah Yu? Are you unhappy? You saw it too, right? That guy isn't exactly easy to talk to. I really did my best, there's nothing else I can do..."

Ning Yu did not answer. She merely pressed her lips together.

That fleeting glimpse from when his black-framed glasses had fallen off was simply too brief, like a weightless feather unexpectedly falling into the lake of her heart. Only now did it finally send out clearer and clearer ripples.

That sharply defined face, and... those eyes within it, so deep they shook one's very soul, impossible to truly describe even a fraction of their beauty.

They almost made her think of dim stars quietly burning for countless ages in the boundless depths of space from scientific documentaries...

Cold, yet heart-shaking.

She could even clearly recall his indifferent expression when he lowered his eyes and blew the dust from the lenses, as well as that instant after he put the glasses back on, when his gaze was once again separated from her by two thin lenses.

That faint gaze, ultimately hidden behind the glasses, as though even time itself had paused for it...

Fang Yishu was still chattering beside her. "It's okay. If it really doesn't work out, I'll find a chance to forward his number to you later..."

But Ning Yu quietly pressed her fingertips to her wrist, feeling her heartbeat, noticeably faster than usual, pulse beneath them.

It was strange, yet somehow natural.

In that instant, she suddenly felt an unprompted melancholy, along with a vague, indescribable anticipation.

...Amid the vast sea of people, who knew whether she would ever have the chance to encounter those stirring eyes again?