Mentioning Zhang Jingyi, Liu Chuanfeng could not help but picture that delicate, oval-shaped face of hers. It looked just like a freshly peeled hard-boiled egg, smooth and tender enough that one almost felt the urge to take a bite.
She possessed the classic grace of a southern beauty, and her soft, gentle voice was a delight to listen to, making her immensely popular around the campus.
Yet what many people did not know was that he and Zhang Jingyi had known each other for a long time; they could easily be described as childhood sweethearts who had grown up together. Their families had always kept in close contact, and in his past life, Liu Chuanfeng had turned her down simply because he had always regarded her like a younger sister.
The reason was quite straightforward: the two of them spent so much time together that, as the days went by, they simply saw each other as ordinary, leaving no room for any romantic spark.
On top of that, there was another campus belle in the school—Sun Qianyue. Unlike the conventional and proper Zhang Jingyi, Sun Qianyue was far more adept at makeup and fashion. Although opinions about her reputation were mixed, her popularity on campus was even higher.
More often than not, Sun Qianyue's every move effortlessly caught the attention of the boys.
Liu Chuanfeng, overflowing with adolescent hormones, was no exception. He even went on to look for girlfriends based on that exact type, until he finally realized at the age of thirty-two that the partner he had been dating for eight years seemed to have more than one boyfriend.
By that time, the four million yuan he had painstakingly saved up from his grueling entrepreneurial ventures had practically all been funneled into her.
The gallbladder that King Goujian tasted could not possibly have been as bitter as his heart was at that moment.
It was raining heavily that day, just as heavily as the day Chu Yuxun broke up with Murong Yunhai.
Yet she seemed to feel no reluctance to leave him. Not long after he turned away in helpless fury, a Porsche pulled up to pick her up.
His back as he walked away that day looked like a stray dog's. At the very moment he walked under a tree and felt on the verge of sudden enlightenment, a bolt of lightning struck him directly, granting him a rebirth.
"I have some lingering resentment. This ending does not do justice to a heart that once knowingly did the impossible; I put my utmost sincerity on the line, but in the end, the only one left with regrets was myself."
"The good die young, while villains live for a thousand years."
"Now that I’ve been reborn, it's a second chance given to me by the heavens. My ex-girlfriend can wait; good girls are simply people I can no longer afford to provoke."
"As for bad girls—well, I won't let them go."
"I must save all living souls and help my brothers experience different authorization codes."
And so, yesterday, he had turned down Zhang Jingyi once again. It was the exact same outcome as in his past life, save for the different lines.
According to his memories of the past life, her family would suffer a major upheaval during the summer vacation: her father would be involved in a very serious car accident, and after that, they would gradually lose touch—rumor had it she went abroad to study. In this lifetime, he had no desire to play the part of a devoted, lovesick fool; for a good girl like her, following her original path was also an excellent outcome.
"Because good girls cannot be let down, that's why I can't afford to provoke them."
What kind of outrageous statement was that? It almost sounded borderline rebellious. Wang Yaofa stared hard with his less-than-large eyes, trying to express his utter incomprehension. "Isn't looking for a good girl what romance is all about?"
"Why would anyone want to let down a good girl?"
"Besides, who in their right mind looks for a bad girl when they're seriously dating?"
"Are you out of your mind?"
Liu Chuanfeng retorted, "Aside from a pretty face, a gentle temperament, and good grades, what else is so great about Zhang Jingyi?"
"Being with her is just like drinking plain white rice porridge every single day—insipid and completely tasteless."
These words left Wang Yaofa utterly stunned and bewildered, his mouth hanging open as he struggled to find a response. "But, but she's the number one campus belle in our entire school!"
"If she casually grabbed some guy and told him she wanted to be his girlfriend, he'd probably go crazy with joy."
"You—sigh, I really have to hand it to you."
"You've already become the public enemy of countless boys. If word of what you just said gets out, you'll probably be beaten to a pulp the moment you step outside."
"Still calling it insipid and tasteless."
"Hah, completely blind to your own good fortune."
Wang Yaofa chewed on those words, a flash of insight suddenly striking him:
"Huh?"
"You're acting strange!"
"Don't tell me you actually like someone like Sun Qianyue?"
"What about it?"
"Is there something wrong with Sun Qianyue?"
Liu Chuanfeng retorted with another question, offering an answer that seemed to address nothing while somehow explaining everything. "What could possibly be wrong with her?"
"Is her personality not cheerful enough?"
"Is she not pretty enough?"
"Or is her figure not hot enough?"
Wang Yaofa could not quite guess what was on his mind. But as a good brother, he did not want to see his friend fall into a trap, suffer the bitterness of love, and set off down a path of no return, so he hurriedly urged him to turn back before it was too late. "It's not like I'm talking trash behind her back, but—"
As everyone knew, whenever that opening phrase was used, what followed was precisely that.
"Just look at girls like her, dressing up to the nines every single day, baring their little waists or legs, making people all itchy just looking at them. How is that the way a high school girl should dress? It's completely obvious that this girl is flighty."
"Sure, she has a cheerful and outgoing personality, but just look around her: so many guys swarming over her, sending her drinks and love letters every single day, and she never turns any of them down."
"A girl like that—out of a hundred contacts in her WeChat, eighty of them are guys, yet you never hear about her actually dating any of them. What does that tell you?"
"It means everyone is just a backup for her. To be able to swim through all of that like a fish in water—just how scheming must her mind be?"
"Tell me, could you ever feel at ease having a girl like that as your girlfriend?"
He was practically shouting that his brother was no match for her and would only end up as her plaything, though he had no idea Liu Chuanfeng was actually thinking, *Why would anyone want her as a girlfriend?*
Seeing that his good brother remained completely unmoved, the chubby guy continued to persuade him earnestly:
"Now look at Zhang Jingyi. She's also a campus belle, but she doesn't have many friends, her social circle is clean, and the only men around her, aside from you, are probably her dad. Her hobbies and interests don't go beyond studying and listening to music."
"A girl like that—how reassuring would it be to date her? Marrying her and bringing her home as a wife in the future would be the absolute best choice."
"If you don't cherish her now, you'll sooner or later regret it."
Wang Yaofa's tone was already tinged with exasperation, wishing nothing more than for his good friend to see the light. "If you miss out on such a good girl, you'll never find another one like her in this lifetime."
A flicker of surprise crossed the depths of Liu Chuanfeng's eyes. These words had come out of his mouth three or four years earlier than they had in his past life.
True to being Wang Defa's son, his head was screwed on straight. But then why could he see right through Sun Qianyue's game, yet remain completely blind to Technician Number Sixty-Six?
"Tell me, if I end up with Zhang Jingyi, I won't be able to come here with you anymore."
Liu Chuanfeng pointed toward the front entrance behind them and said gloomily.
"Ah, holy shit!"
Wang Yaofa turned around to look, catching sight of the gentle smile of the young receptionist in uniform standing right by the doorway. He slapped his thigh and cried out, "That's right!"
"Her old man investigates places like this."
"It's too dangerous. Do you think her dad is going to arrest us?"
Wang Defa was suddenly getting cold feet. He had acted on impulse the first time they snuck out, never stopping to think about the consequences—who would have thought the police were practically family?
"You are you, I am me. Don't lump us together."
Liu Chuanfeng immediately distanced himself. "You paid for everything, and you're the one who ordered the eight-eighty-eight package. All I know is I came for a back rub and didn't do a single other thing."
"Tch."
Wang Yaofa cast a sideways glance at him. "Just look at that face of yours."
"Not an ounce of loyalty."
"I brought you along to share the blessings, and you aren't even willing to share the hardships?"
Liu Chuanfeng gave a dry laugh. "Haven't you ever heard the saying: keep your brothers in your heart, but when trouble strikes, your brother plays his part—by disappearing?"
Before Wang Yaofa could even utter a retort, he added, "Of course, that's what other people do."
"As for my brothers, I am naturally fiercely loyal."
"If you get locked up inside, I'll go hook up with Zhang Jingyi, deploy a honeypot strategy, and help bail you out."
Wang Yaofa rolled his eyes and scoffed, "A honeypot strategy, my foot."
"By the time Old Zhang finds out you've been here too and even hit on his daughter, even if you didn't order a package, you'll still be hauled in here to keep me company for a couple of days."
"Seriously, do you really not want to be with her?"
"If she changes her mind and falls for someone else later on, don't come crying when there's no medicine for regret."
Wang Yaofa wanted to give it one last try.
Liu Chuanfeng waved a hand dismissively, looking completely unbothered. "A person can't just hang themselves from a single tree."
"The souls of good girls are all alike, but unique experiences are one in a million."
"Besides, our families are so close. If we actually got together and things went south later, breaking up would just be a huge headache."
"Leave all the bad girls to me, and save the good girls for the brothers."
"Uh..."
"You're making a huge sacrifice."
"Still, it's better to be faithful to one person."
Wang Yaofa paused for a moment, but stuck to his guns. Even though he went to bathhouses for massages, he still believed that devoted love was the greatest thing of all—from school uniforms to wedding gowns, from wedding gowns to burial shrouds, living and dying together for a lifetime was the only truly complete path.
"True."
Liu Chuanfeng nodded earnestly, wearing a completely sincere expression. "I never said I didn't want to be faithful. I just want to wait until I actually find a girlfriend before I start being faithful."
"But before that, I need to make some money first."
"A boy who has girls chasing after him needs three essential elements: a sweet mouth, a handsome face, and deep pockets."
"I've already got the first two down; all that's left is the last one."
"Once the semester starts, I'm heading to the Shanghai Theatre Academy. There are plenty of ambitious, gorgeous girls waiting for me there."
"When wealthy, embrace the path."
"When poor, gaze at the screen."
"My theory is already fully developed, and I'm ready to put it into practice!"