Xiao Ruoyu

"I'm sorry, Xiao Mi'er! I have to head over to Xiao Shenshen's live stream for a bit!"

"Me too, me too! It's so lively over there! Haha!"

"I'm not there for Xiao Shenshen. I just want to see how many rockets Boss Yan will send. I'm practically losing my mind!"

"You traitors! Scoundrels… wait for me!!"

As Xiao Mi'er watched yet another dozen nobles leave her stream, she felt utterly helpless. She wanted to cry but had no tears left.

Boss Yan was simply too rich. With more than ten thousand super rockets flying in rapid succession, the sheer force of the traffic he generated was unimaginable.

People are naturally curious. They love to join in the excitement. If you send dozens or even hundreds of rockets, it might not cause much of a stir.

After all, that's become somewhat routine in the world of live streaming. Shark Live, for example, had been around for years, and they were no stranger to wealthy users who could send a few hundred rockets in one go.

But for someone to send more than ten thousand super rockets all at once? That had never happened before! It was unprecedented! A feat unmatched in the platform's entire history.

Since its inception, Shark Live had never witnessed such an extravagant display of wealth in a single session.

But today, the user known as "A Lonely Cigarette" had done it. This mysterious and sudden super-rich figure had, within just a few days, become the undisputed king of the wealthy on the platform.

And it wasn't just on Shark Live where he was making waves. He was also throwing massive gifts on Douyin, each time going bigger and more outrageous than the last.

In just three attempts, he had spent nearly fifty million yuan! That's half a billion in gifts—at that rate, he might as well become a shareholder of Shark Live!

Watching as her live stream's popularity steadily declined, Xiao Mi'er made up her mind.

She had to apologize to Boss Yan. She had to explain why she hadn't accepted his invitation earlier. Offending such a powerful figure would mean she might as well quit this line of work!

She grabbed her phone and opened her WeChat, quickly typing out a message.

"Brother Yan, I'm so sorry about earlier! My stream was really busy, and I couldn't respond properly.

Actually, I do have some free time in the coming days, and I've been thinking of taking a trip to Hansung. Would you be willing to be my guide?"

After finishing the message, Xiao Mi'er immediately hit send.

Meanwhile, Chen Yuan was still busy sending rockets. His finger was sore from tapping the screen for two hours straight. Fortunately, his body had been strengthened; otherwise, he might not have been able to keep it up.

"Ding!"

Suddenly, a WeChat notification popped up. To his surprise, it was from Xiao Mi'er.

Chen Yuan opened the message and was left dumbfounded.

What was this all about? She'd declined his dinner invitation earlier, but now she suddenly had time to fly from Magic City to Hansung for a trip?

This change in attitude was a bit too abrupt! Could it be that she had finally realized the 'depth' of his personality? That must be it!

Chen Yuan chuckled to himself and nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, enough for today. I'm done sending rockets. This is getting tiring, and my phone's almost out of battery."

"This is an iPhone 12, and yet the battery life is this poor? Unbelievable!"

The moment Chen Yuan stopped sending rockets, it took the viewers of Shark Live a full five minutes to recover.

"It's over! Finally over!"

"Twelve thousand seven hundred super rockets! My God, he sent twelve thousand seven hundred super rockets in total!"

"Welcome back, Dragon Emperor!"

"Holy crap, Dragon Emperor, you're back! Did you know you've been dethroned? Someone snatched your top spot!"

"Before I met Boss Yan, I thought sending a hundred rockets made someone a rich tycoon. Now, if you don't send a thousand super rockets, I'd be embarrassed to even try to flex!"

Xiao Shenshen's stream was still buzzing with excitement, but Chen Yuan had quietly left without anyone noticing.

Before he knew it, the morning classes had ended. Chen Yuan realized he'd spent the entire morning sending rockets. He hadn't even paid attention to the lecture.

College professors, except for the academic advisors, rarely bothered with students' individual performance. If you genuinely wanted to learn and asked questions, they would gladly help. But if you were content with slacking off, no one was going to push you. It was all up to the students themselves.

Generally, those sitting in the front rows were serious about their studies, often preparing for graduate school. Those in the back rows, on the other hand, were just trying to scrape by, hoping to pass their exams with the bare minimum.

Huda University was a first-tier school, but it wasn't among the prestigious 985 or 211 universities.

Compared to the likes of Wuhan University, Huazhong University, Central South University, and Polytechnic University, it ranked a tier lower.

Looking back, Chen Yuan's high school performance had been mediocre at best—somewhere in the upper middle range. Honestly, with his grades, he wouldn't have qualified for a first-tier university.

But everything changed one day when he found out that the girl he had secretly admired for three years, Xiao Ruoyu, was aiming to get into Wuhan University.

That's when he suddenly decided to start working hard.

In those youthful romance movies, the male protagonist often spent three years in mediocrity, only to turn everything around in the last three months, studying like mad to chase after his dream girl. And during the college entrance exams, he would miraculously catapult into the top ten of the school.

It's an inspiring story, sure. But in real life, such dramatic success stories are rare. Chen Yuan's experience was a classic example of failure.

He had convinced himself that he, too, could turn his life around in the final three months before the exams, that he could attend the same university as Xiao Ruoyu. Even if he couldn't be her boyfriend, just being in the same school, quietly watching over her, would have been enough for him.

He had to admit, his efforts during those three months had made a difference. His grades had improved quite a bit, but it still wasn't enough to meet Wuhan University's cutoff.

So, he failed.

Xiao Ruoyu went on to get accepted into Wuhan University, one of the top ten universities in China. Meanwhile, Chen Yuan ended up at Huda. Though it was still a first-tier university, the gap between the two was significant.

Once he entered college, Chen Yuan tried to forget Xiao Ruoyu by pursuing another girl, Lin Shutong. At first, it was just an attempt to move on, but somehow, he ended up falling deeper and deeper, eventually becoming Lin Shutong's lovesick puppy.

Did he really love Lin Shutong and completely forget about Xiao Ruoyu?

Chen Yuan wasn't so sure. After three years of being devoted to Lin Shutong, he wasn't driven by genuine love—he had simply convinced himself he couldn't give up after all he had done.

It wasn't until he recalled the warm, spring-like image of Xiao Ruoyu in his mind that he realized he had never truly let go of her.

For three years in high school, because of his crush on Xiao Ruoyu, Chen Yuan would be the first to sneak into the classroom each morning to clean her desk and chair.

After evening study sessions, he would secretly follow her home, waiting in the shadows just to catch a glimpse of her smile. He even fought someone once for carving her name into a desk.

He would lend her books just for a chance to see her and say a few words, and during class, he'd often daydream while staring at her.

Xiao Ruoyu's name had dominated his entire youth.

She was so extraordinary, so perfect, that Chen Yuan never even dared to confess his feelings.

When he began his studies at Huda, he knew that their lives had become two parallel lines—lines that would never intersect again.