Because of their departure time, the two happened to meet at the entrance of Yin Hailing's residential compound.
However, when Yin Hailing saw Ling Yi, she acted as if she didn't recognize him and turned to walk towards the intersection.
This left Ling Yi, who was about to reach out to greet him, frozen in place.
Ling Yi instantly understood why Yin Hailing did this: she was afraid of being discovered by acquaintances.
Although Ling Yi understood Yin Hailing's actions, he still felt uneasy.
Why is she afraid of running into acquaintances? Is it because she's afraid of gossip? That's only one aspect. Another aspect is that, deep down, Yin Hailing rejects any connection with Ling Yi.
Ling Yi couldn't help but recall the bloody and arduous story between himself and Yin Hailing in his later life, and couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle softly.
He turned and headed in another direction.
Anyway, the system reward had already been received; it only gave Yin Hailing a reason to come out, it didn't say that she had to accompany Yin Hailing to the internet cafe.
As for the decrease in Affection, Ling Yi had a rough idea.
Not only does Ling Yi believe he led Yin Hailing astray, but Yin Hailing herself probably also believes that Ling Yi led her astray, which is why she became a "bad girl" who frequents internet cafes.
If it weren't for Ling Yi, how could she, a well-behaved girl, have become a "bad girl"?
He shook his head, no longer thinking about Yin Hailing, and wandered aimlessly through the streets.
At this time, Dafeng City had not yet undergone urban planning and renovation, and it was full of old residential areas.
There are almost no tall buildings. The tallest building in the entire Dafeng City is the Wujiu Commercial Building, but it only has nine floors.
Ling Yi is now walking in the direction of the Wujiu Commercial Building.
Every now and then, you'll see a woman walking by, staring at the data of Vow Power overhead.
Every woman has her own little, temporary wishes.
Ling Yi really wants to help everyone fulfill their wishes and earn Vow Power Points and system rewards, but the timing is often wrong, or the wishes are too bizarre to be fulfilled.
For example, what if the woman across the street who just came out of the pharmacy wants her husband to avoid being a "three-second man" (meaning he only lasts three seconds)?
Take, for example, the girl in the car right now. She wants to find a foreign husband. What's wrong with her? Does she think domestic men aren't powerful enough? What a load of rubbish.
Even if Ling Yi could help, let alone not be able to, he wouldn't.
Besides, his looks only score 80 points. Half of that 80 points probably comes from makeup. If you take away the makeup, he'd be considered to have lost if his looks only score 60.
[Ding, Yin Hailing's Affection for you -5]
Ling Yi paused for a moment, then continued walking forward.
He knew that Yin Hailing's Affection for him had decreased because she had discovered he had stood her up.
Ling Yi didn't care about this at all, but the next moment, Yin Hailing's wish was refreshed.
[ Yin Hailing!]
[Appearance value: 92]
[ Affection: 50]
[Current wish: Ling Yi is late? I'm too scared to go to the internet cafe alone. Why isn't Ling Yi here yet? It's been half an hour. I hope Ling Yi can come soon.]
Ling Yi clicked his tongue. Should he go and fulfill this wish?
As long as I appear in front of Yin Hailing, I can get system rewards.
After a brief hesitation, Ling Yi made his decision.
"Hmm, earning rewards, isn't shameful."
He's not really a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy; he wouldn't act impulsively at this age.
In less than twenty minutes, Ling Yi appeared at the entrance of the bookstore and saw Yin Hailing standing under the shade of a tree, pouting and looking in his direction.
Ling Yi quickly ran over and said apologetically, "Sorry, something happened on the way, which made me late. Did you keep me waiting?"
"It wasn't that long!" Although Yin Hailing was dissatisfied, she certainly wouldn't say it out loud.
[Ding, Yin Hailing's Affection for you -5]
Ling Yi was speechless. "We've come this far, and your Affection has actually decreased? I just don't understand. You can never guess a girl's thoughts!"
[Ding! You have helped Yin Hailing fulfill her wish. Vow Power Points +1, Learning Card x1, Cash x5000]
[Ding, wish list refreshed]
Ling Yi looked up at the top of Yin Hailing.
[Current wish: I'm so thirsty! I wish I had a drink. It's all Ling Yi's fault; he made me wait for almost an hour. I hate him!]
Yin Hailing had probably never waited for anyone like this before, especially a man, who was also the class's notorious underachiever and the teacher's bad student.
If it weren't for the fact that she didn't want others to know about her internet use, but she was too afraid to go to an internet cafe alone and could only wait for Ling Yi.
This naturally made Yin Hailing extremely frustrated.
"Let's go, it's almost 2 o'clock, let's go to the internet cafe first!"
It's the same internet cafe as yesterday, and I'm in the same spot as yesterday.
Ling Yi went to the front desk to pay and turn on the machine. When he returned, he had two bottles of drinks in his hand.
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting so long. I'll buy you a drink."
Receiving the ice-cold drink immediately lifted Yin Hailing's spirits considerably.
The Affection was restored by 5 points, and Ling Yi was also given another Martial Power Card and 10,000 yuan in cash.
Martial Power Card: Grants strength points upon use.
This "Martial Power Card" is vaguely described, but it seems to be a good thing for enhancing Combat.
Ling Yi used both of his Martial Power Card immediately.
The next moment, Ling Yi felt his body enveloped by a warm current, and he could clearly feel the Changes in his body.
His originally somewhat thin body has become much fuller, like it's been inflated, transforming him from a skinny monkey into a muscular young man.
Fortunately, the clothes covered it, so it wasn't very noticeable from the outside.
At the same time, Ling Yi felt that his hearing, vision, and Perception of the outside world had all improved significantly.
But you can selectively hear what you want to hear and see what you want to see.
For example, Ling Yi could clearly detect the traces of a fly flying by and the sound of its wings vibrating from ten meters away.
However, Ling Yi can actively block out other voices during this process.
"This is fucking amazing! If I got a hundred or two hundred Martial Power Card, wouldn't I be able to Tribulation Transcendence Ascension?"
As expected of a cheat code, it truly lives up to its name.
With a thought, Ling Yi opened the system interface.
[ Vow Power System Version 1.0 ]
[ Vow Power Points: 8]
[ Vow Power Store ][Click to expand]
{ Healing Card: 50 Vow Power Points } [Click to Buy]
{ Rebate Card: 10 Vow Power Points } [Click to Buy]
{ Learning Card: 10 Vow Power Points } [Click to Buy]
{ Martial Power Card: 20 Vow Power Points } [Click to Buy]
[Wish List][Click to Expand]
{1. Yin Hailing } [ Click to View ]
[ System Space: Rebate Card x1, Learning Card x2, Cash x50754]
Yin Hailing, completely oblivious to Ling Yi's Changes, took a sip of her ice-cold drink, turned on her computer, logged into her Penguin account, and started chatting with people.
Ling Yi, having been bombarded with all sorts of colorful and sensational content on the internet in later generations, couldn't understand what was Hao Liao about chatting.
But then I thought about how I, in my previous life, had also been addicted to chatting with netizens for a while, and even had an online romance for a period of time, so I could probably understand it.
Ling Yi had an online romance? Yes, back in '97, when I first started using Tencent's Penguin platform, I had an online romance.
At that time, the other person was a junior at Imperial Capital University. Her name was Yuan Haiqing, and she was a girl from the south.
The lovers not only chatted endlessly on Penguin, but also spent at least three hours a week on long-distance calls.
They then exchanged letters, gifts, and photos.
The two maintained this relationship for a year and a half, until Yuan Haiqing graduated from university and returned to his hometown. Their contact decreased, and eventually, they lost touch.
Speaking of this, there's still a box in the split-level room of our house, containing over a hundred letters and more than a dozen gifts sent by Yuan Haiqing.
Among the items were watches, greeting cards, beaded bracelets, and dozens of photos, but the most valuable item was a pager with a Chinese character display.
Young people these days probably haven't seen this before; only people in their thirties or forties have.
Unfortunately, Ling Yi barely used this thing, and now the platform is gone.
Strictly speaking, Yuan Haiqing was Ling Yi's true First Love.
Ling Yi and Yin Hailing stayed at the internet cafe until 5 p. m., and only after Ling Yi urged them did Yin Hailing reluctantly leave.
"Class monitor, you should go to internet cafes less often in the future!" Ling Yi said to Yin Hailing after leaving the internet cafe.
Yin Hailing never expected Ling Yi to tell her these things.
"You're smart, you study well, and you got into Baihai City University of Finance and Economics with the second-highest score in North Leaf Province. Your future is limitless. Playing around will only lead to ruin, and that's not just a saying."
The phrase "indulging in frivolous pursuits leads to the loss of ambition" struck Yin Hailing's heart like a cold rain.
Yes, her behavior these past two days has definitely been a bit of a waste of time and energy.
I lost all interest in reading; my mind was constantly occupied with my Penguin account and chatting with online friends. I even lost my appetite.
Isn't this just indulging in frivolous pursuits and neglecting one's duties?
Ling Yi has a deep understanding of these four words.
How did Ling Yi High School become so disastrous? It's all because of these four words.
If Yin Hailing becomes addicted to the internet because of herself, then in college, without supervision, she might ruin her life if she lets herself go.
[Ding, Yin Hailing's Affection towards you +10]
[Ding, Yin Hailing's Affection towards you +5]
Affection has returned to 60 points.
This means that Yin Hailing listened to Ling Yi's words and realized her mistake.
Ling Yi immediately changed the subject. "I'm going to Baihai City tomorrow."
"Huh? What are you going to Baihai City for?"
"You forgot? I applied to Baihai City College of Finance and Economics."
"You also got into Baihai City Finance and Economics?" Yin Hailing was surprised. She hadn't actually paid any attention to which university Ling Yi had applied to.
"It's a finance and economics college, not a finance and economics university. A single word makes a world of difference. Baihai City College of Finance and Economics is a junior college."
Is it also in Baihai City?
"Yes, it's also in Baihai City. Besides, I'm planning to transfer to a four-year university, so I might even become your senior."
Yin Hailing didn't understand, and looked at him with a face full of confusion.
"If I can complete the college's courses within a year, I can apply for a bachelor's degree program. Once I get into Baihai City University of Finance and Economics, I'll most likely start directly from the third year, which means I'll be a year ahead of you."
"You can do that?"
Of course, that's possible, but the process isn't easy.
To complete a bachelor's degree program after a junior college degree within a year, there's a lot to learn.
Fortunately, Ling Yi has a cheat code: as long as he uses more Learning Card, he can easily transfer to a four-year university in a year.
"Isn't school supposed to start in September? What are you doing in Baihai City now?"
"Make money!" Ling Yi laughed.