Chapter 2
Chapter 002 Confessing to Myself
This sudden event instantly plunged the entire basketball court into silence.
Ling Mo stood there holding the ball, dumbfounded as he stared at the girl before him, almost unable to believe she was calling out to him.
But the girl was indeed handing a bottle of mineral water to him.
This left him pleasantly surprised.
In the past, his looks had attracted girls, but his dense personality had unknowingly kept many admirers at bay. However, he had always pursued love based solely on attraction, so he didn’t feel too regretful.
But Xia Xinyan was definitely an exception.
Who is she?
Before enrolling, she sparked the entire school’s anticipation, and after joining Linjiang University, she never dropped from the top of the school’s goddess rankings—a legendary beauty who rivals even the most popular female celebrities of today, with an innocence they could never imitate.
Moreover, she was the daughter of the Xia Family Group, practically born with a golden key. Even if she never worked again, she could enjoy a luxurious life for the rest of her days.
Some say that marrying her would place you at the pinnacle of life, truly living like the protagonist of a rich son-in-law novel.
But how could someone like her possibly have much in common with an ordinary person?
Ling Mo had never imagined there would be a day when Xia Xinyan would take the initiative to talk to him, making him feel as if he were dreaming.
Until the girl’s voice pulled him back to reality, “You… don’t want to?”
He looked up to see her slightly furrowing her brows, seemingly troubled and a touch of hidden disappointment.
Before Ling Mo could respond, his friends began to egg him on.
“Of course he wants to—who wouldn’t want the Xia Miss’s invitation? This guy would probably wake up smiling in his dreams!”
“Hey, are you mute? Quick, say something! Don’t keep her waiting!”
“What’s with the basketball now? Hurry up! There are others waiting to play!”
…
Amidst the teasing of the crowd, Ling Mo awkwardly passed the basketball to those around him and accepted Xia Xinyan’s water. “Okay… okay, where are we going?”
“Let’s take a walk by the lake,” Xia Xinyan smiled slightly, “just stroll and chat… and stuff.”
“…Sure.”
After the two left, a wave of gossip ignited in the basketball court.
“What the hell?! When did that guy Ling Mo get close to the campus beauty?!”
“Who would have guessed that the dude had this in him? We talked about being in the doghouse together, and he’s gone full-on hound!”
“Damn! We’ve got to ask him about this when he gets back to the dorm!”
“Ah… why? Why would the Xia Miss be interested in that guy?! Aside from being good-looking, what else does he have?”
“But he’s still better-looking than you, what are you going to do about it? Maybe the Xia Miss just prefers this type? You going to style yourself for it?”
“I’ll admit it, I’m jealous.”
…
The lake was an artificial one by the school.
As they walked along the way, neither spoke.
Ling Mo didn’t know what to say, while Xia Xinyan… was afraid that once she opened her mouth, she wouldn’t be able to resist mocking him.
She truly realized, from a third-person perspective, just how silly she had been in the past.
Come on! A beauty! A campus goddess! A rich young lady! This is literally a dream come true, why not just say something to make the scene fit?! If she didn’t take the initiative, where would the story go? Did she really think a pretty face was enough for everyone to flock to her?! Wake up, you silly!
…But now it turns out she really did land in a pie falling from the sky.
It was inexplicably bothersome.
Knowing herself well, she figured Ling Mo, though outwardly serious now, probably had even thought of the name for their second child already.
But even if he had a lot of inner dialogues, this guy… well, she had never really made the first move herself; that’s why, until her past death, she had never dated anyone.
She hadn’t even held a girl’s hand.
This was the biggest regret after her death.
So now that she’s back, it had her feeling conflicted.
Logically, coming back to life should mean fixing past regrets, rewriting the tragic past—but who told her anyone gets reborn in the third person?!
Who was she supposed to help rewrite regrets for, this silly guy standing in front of her? Should she let him hit on girls while she eavesdropped outside the door?
No way.
She felt this was already bordering on ethical issues—this current Ling Mo, does he count as herself anymore?
【Hello, yes he does. Theoretically, the host and the original self have a similar soul disturbance, to the point where they’re closer than twins, but you don’t share bloodlines, so you can still conduct mating operations.】
【Friendly reminder: The higher the soul matching degree, the more pleasure gained during mating.】
“…”
Xia Xinyan smiled gently.
Suddenly, she wondered what would happen if she killed Ling Mo right now.
【Not recommended, as it would put the system into a non-operational state.】
Wasn’t she unable to operate in her last life too?
【The abilities gold finger lies upon the host’s original self; the host’s current identity theoretically cannot match the previous level.】
“…Tough talk.”
“Hmm?” Hearing Xia Xinyan speak finally, Ling Mo perked up with all his attention. “What… did you just say?”
“I just said…” Xia Xinyan switched to a gentle smile. “Are we just going to keep walking like this? Don’t you plan to do something?”
Ling Mo paused, “I… uh… what should we… do?”
Silly guy.
Xia Xinyan mentally cursed again.
If this guy could even apply a fraction of the flirty skills he used with his buddies to a girl, he’d probably already be a master at dating.
He couldn’t expect a girl to take the initiative; how was he ever going to date anyone?
Taking a deep breath, Xia Xinyan smiled and said, “I heard you want to rent a place to live? Have you picked a spot yet? What do you think about sharing a place?”
She had always wanted to rent a place during university, given the situation with her roommate—enough said. But she never found a suitable spot or housemate, so she couldn’t move out until she graduated.
Nobody knew her better than herself; facing her former self was incredibly easy.
She could even predict what his next line would be—
“Ah… we still… don’t really know each other, right? Why would the Xia Miss want to share a place with me?”
And be ready with the response: “Because I like you.”
The simplest way to deal with a dense guy is to just go straight for it.
Sure enough, Ling Mo looked utterly stunned.
But just doing this wasn’t enough to completely stop him from thinking; there was one more step she needed to take—
That was, stepping forward and giving him a hug.
Gently wrapping her arms around his neck, body pressed close, she could even feel his breath. This ambiguous posture made Ling Mo freeze up completely.
Xia Xinyan maintained that gentle smile on her face. “I’ve been noticing you for quite a while. The boyfriend of my dreams is someone like you… sunny, dedicated, gentle, considerate… and who works out.”
…She suddenly realized her former self genuinely had no virtues to speak of.
She had to search for words just to compliment herself.
But while Xia Xinyan’s mind flooded with such thoughts, Ling Mo was completely dumbfounded.
He had never been so praised by a girl before, let alone have such intimate contact with one.
This is what… it feels like to hug a girl?
And that faint, lingering fragrance…
Even at that moment, he still couldn’t help but think, “I… ah… I’m sorry, even though I really like you too… but… this doesn’t count as dating, does it? We haven’t spent time together… I hope we can spend time together first, get to know each other before deciding. I don’t want to make a girl regret because of my irresponsibility.”
Xia Xinyan: “…”
She knew it.
Silly guy.
Sighing, she released Ling Mo. “So, how about we live together as friends for a while? What do you think?”
