Does Shen Qingling Measure Up?

"Ahhh—"

Ruan Mingyi's frantic scream echoed through the 500-square-meter living room.

She nudged Ye Qiao beside her. "Qiao Qiao, wake up!"

Ye Qiao groggily opened her eyes. "Mm... Mingyi, you're awake? Are you hungry? Want me to have the kitchen make something?"

How could Ruan Mingyi possibly be in the mood to eat? She stared blankly ahead. "Did I do something unforgivable to a handsome guy today?"

Ye Qiao lazily stretched. "You remember now? I thought you'd forget. You said all sorts of outrageous things to him, hugged him, touched him... Good thing he had a nice temper and good manners, or he might've held it against you."

Ruan Mingyi buried her face in an eighty-thousand-yuan pillow, her muffled voice carrying a hint of shame. "Oh my God... How could I say something like that..."

She had actually asked whether he measured up?

But did Shen Qingling actually measure up?

With his height, it probably couldn't be too bad, right?

She hadn't even thought to test the waters back then. She only dared to flirt with words; if she actually had to do anything, she chickened out.

Ruan Mingyi had always been the restrained-but-wild type. Everything she had done to Shen Qingling yesterday could only be described as insane.

Whenever Ruan Mingyi thought of how lovestruck she had looked in front of Shen Qingling during the day, she wished she could travel back in time and slap her past self to death.

Ye Qiao comforted her, "Come on, don't take it too seriously. Just find a chance to apologize to him. He works at your family's café anyway, so it's not a huge problem."

"No, it's a huge problem."

"?"

Thinking of Shen Qingling's handsome face made her heart race again. Even the way the young man frowned and coldly rejected her had been so good-looking.

"Qiao Qiao, I really like that face. If none of these embarrassing things had happened, I could've maintained my cool dignity as a beautiful young heiress in front of him. Now, in his eyes, I'm probably just a lovesick perverted freak who harasses him."

"That's true. I couldn't even bear to watch you back then."

"What do I do? Do you think I still have a chance?"

"You're so pretty and rich. What man could reject you? As long as your mouth isn't so vicious, I think there's still hope. Besides, you were drunk then, so it's understandable. It's just..."

"Just what?"

"I think Shen Qingling is pretty aloof. He doesn't seem like the kind of man who'd live off a woman for money, either. He's probably different from the men you used to like."

Ruan Mingyi raised an eyebrow. "So what? Isn't that even better? I can't stay interested in a man who's easily swayed by money for more than a few days."

Ruan Mingyi quickly got someone to find Shen Qingling's WeChat, planning to use her usual methods to get close to him.

She got his WeChat, but Shen Qingling did not accept her request.

Ruan Mingyi frowned. Was he busy, or had he forgotten?

So she added the note "Ruan Mingyi," saying she wanted to apologize, and sent Shen Qingling another friend request. Unfortunately, Shen Qingling still did not accept it.

Meanwhile, Shen Qingling's phone lit up.

One glance was enough for him to know the friend request was from Ruan Mingyi.

077 asked, "Host, don't you plan to accept Ruan Mingyi's friend request?"

Shen Qingling said, "It's not that I can't accept it. I just can't accept it now. I can't let Ruan Mingyi get close to me too easily. Otherwise, once she gets me easily, she'll find it boring. She won't cherish it, much less give me her genuine feelings."

Ruan Mingyi's defining trait was that she was Lacking Love. She fell for anyone she met, and this kind of affection and love was shallow. It was not sincere at all.

Because she was Lacking Love, she needed someone to pour her feelings into. What she wanted was an outlet for her emotions. To her, it did not matter who the other person was. That was not real affection.

Shen Qingling did not want to become one of Ruan Mingyi's former, dispensable prey. What he wanted was her sincerity.

In fact, this also suggested that Ruan Mingyi's upbringing had probably been poor—not financially, but emotionally. Otherwise, with her family background, how could she possibly be Lacking Love?

Only because she had not received complete, sufficient love from her family had she developed this habit of falling for everyone she met and casually changing who she liked. People like her were even less likely to know how to love someone.

What Ruan Mingyi gave was not real love. She merely hoped to gain the love she wanted through this method.

But clearly, with such a warped personality when it came to love, it was difficult for her to obtain true love. So she had kept searching and searching, never finding anyone to love.

The more perfect a family was—where the parents loved each other and doted on their child—the more likely they were to raise a child with a healthy personality.

Such children were better at loving others. Their hearts were brighter and fuller. They would not try to seek extreme, intense love from others; instead, they were more willing to give love. Why would they long for something they already possessed?

Shen Qingling had seen many people like Ruan Mingyi, men and women alike. In the end, they only left the people who liked them bruised and battered.

Shen Qingling hoped he could change her, provided she could still be saved.

Shen Qingling glanced at the time on his phone. It was nearly midnight. He needed to sleep on schedule, and he still had an early class tomorrow morning. As a model straight-A student, he could not be late.

For the convenience of working part-time, the Original Host had rented a place off campus. It was not far from the school, only about a ten-minute walk away.

Early the next morning, Shen Qingling got up and opened his wardrobe. Seeing that it was filled with nothing but shirts, he fell silent.

Luckily, it was spring, so he still had jackets and trench coats to wear.

Otherwise, wearing the same white shirt every day would make people who did not know better think he wore the same outfit every day.

Shen Qingling put on a mask, slipped into a trench coat, and headed out.

The Original Host liked wearing masks, and Shen Qingling did too.

The Original Host wore one because he kept a low profile and did not want to draw too much attention.

For Shen Qingling, it was a habit formed from being an actor in his previous life. To keep people from recognizing him and to prevent paparazzi and obsessive fans from taking photos, he habitually wore a mask whenever he went out.

Shen Qingling arrived at the classroom early. The moment he entered, everyone's attention was drawn to him.

In his previous life, Shen Qingling had been a top-tier actor, with both popularity and acting skill. He had also been one of the few celebrities regularly featured in major fashion magazines. People said female celebrities made the biggest splash on red carpets, yet Shen Qingling outshone them every single time.

He seemed to possess an innate charisma that drew people in, especially in the way he walked and carried himself. No one could quite explain why, but he simply looked better than ordinary people.

Put vaguely, it was "star power." Put simply, he had an exceptionally attractive bearing.

In truth, Shen Qingling had undergone rigorous training for all of that. As an outstanding actor, every movement, every smile, every frown had been practiced countless times in front of a mirror.

He knew how to smile most beautifully and how to cry most movingly. A man like that among ordinary people was simply an overwhelming advantage. Few women could resist his charm.

Shen Qingling took off his mask and casually found a seat. As usual, hardly anyone dared to sit beside him.

Shen Qingling's aloofness was well known, which was why everyone automatically kept their distance. Otherwise, even if they sat beside him, all they would feel was a chill, as though they were humiliating themselves. No one wanted to go out of their way to be met with a cold face.

But today, there was more discussion about him than before.

"Hey, don't you think Shen Qingling seems even better-looking now?"

"I think so too. He seems different somehow, but his face is still the same face, and he's still the same person. It's so strange."

"Could it be because we saw that god-tier photo and now have fan goggles on?"

"Does Shen Qingling's face even need fan goggles? Isn't his handsomeness obvious? Even I, a guy, think he's handsome. That's an objective fact. There's no denying it."

"Handsome is handsome. I'm not saying he wasn't handsome before. It's just that he seems more refined today than he used to be."

"How can the same trench coat feel so different on him? When he walked in wearing a mask just now, it was like he was on a runway. Anyone who didn't know better would've thought some celebrity had entered."