at he was their secret weapon."That's my brother. He came here just to have a friendly match, but you guys will still face us!" Liu Rui quickly explained. In fact, among the three of them, Xu Yi Yang...Chapter 47 Don't Overthink

Walking along the street and crossing over an old pedestrian bridge, cars below were bustling. The tall buildings at night looked like large light boxes. Su Cen felt a sense of fantasy when he thought about it this way. In fact, only now could Su Cen have such awareness.

The majority of college students nearing graduation and those who work for a living in this city, the people hurrying to eat cheap dinners at night stalls, when they look up at the skyscrapers that are lit all night long, feel that these buildings are cold and distant, yet there's an underlying desire and yearning.

Everyone is imagining themselves standing on top of those high-rise buildings, looking out through floor-to-ceiling windows while enjoying air conditioning and the scent of coffee reminiscent of home. They would look down upon this world where countless people work for a living, without having to struggle in the city's "heat island" effect under intense sunlight that exhausts them like dogs.

This is a direct and straightforward ideal. Those who穿梭在城市街頭的，那些大學城裡的，每天帶著改變家庭命運而埋頭苦讀堅信知識就是力量這一信條的人們。

Most people are small characters, each striving step by step for better bread and milk tomorrow.

Whether they have entered society after university or just started their freshman year, everyone gradually understands the world more as they struggle through life's challenges, adapting to face a social food chain that is merciless without weapons.

Su Cen, endowed with foresight and insight, feels blessed. He can stand on the pedestrian bridge, enjoy the night view together with his former friends, without feeling lost about the future in this steel city. His goal is clear: he must always strive upward, fight against enemies, and climb to higher levels so as not to repeat the mistakes of his previous life by becoming someone else's stepping stone.

In Ling Ran’s view, Su Cen seems perpetually calm and secure. In high school, she thought that Su Cen was an outlier: he excelled academically, had clear goals, and achieved remarkable success in gaming. Her brother and Wang Weiwei first truly respected him in a small city's obscure internet cafe; since then, their lives seemed to change at a strange pace. They experienced the dramatic ups and downs of Wang Weiwei’s family life, transitioning from Xia Hai back to Rong Cheng. Although these years weren't dizzying with change, they were certainly eventful.

Sitting down on the flower bed at eleven o'clock, the 24-hour McDonald's emitted a warm glow. Ling Ran gently tapped her long legs against the ground and turned her head to smile at Su Cen: "Are you okay Didn't I just confuse you" "Don’t think that there’s something between us, right"

"Confused is an understatement; I have a clear understanding of my position with regards to you. If I were seriously considering anything else, I wouldn’t even know how I’d end up," Su Cen replied inwardly feeling somewhat disappointed. In truth, Ling Ran’s character was quite carefree and easy-going, which he admired. She could turn off her phone after leaving and completely disregard everyone trying to reach her or sit nonchalantly on the flower bed with him, drinking beer bought from a small store. This kind of interaction made everything seem unimportant.

"Good awareness; you’re not a complete lost cause," Ling Ran patted his shoulder and chuckled.

"I heard that you're quite popular in university. People say there's a Lady Lin at SISU who is very well-liked. You came to our school unannounced this time, which shows how confident and domineering you are. Must be tiresome dealing with senior students like me back at your school."

"So far, including love letters, I've had seven in total. Among these, there's a distinction between short-term observation, medium-term observation, and long-term observation. I'm not that aloof; people pursuing me means I'm still quite desirable. It can be rather gratifying at times. So, are you interested in being number eight You'd automatically fall into the short-term observation category."

Yu Cen scratched his head awkwardly and said, "You sure have a high opinion of me."

"But I tend to be picky about who I associate with. There's always an emotional barrier when it comes to those already taken. Not really interested. And besides, there aren't so few resources that I'd settle for someone like you." Ling Ruoer got up and gave Yu Cen a slight smile.

"Understandable, Miss Lin is graceful, beautiful, and intelligent—too many people would protest if you settled for less."

"Don't be so cheeky, you're not exactly a saint… Get up and move around. Lazy pig."

They then walked down Huaihai Road past upscale residential areas and famous landmarks, the bustling street scene overwhelming even though it was only 2001. A strong sense of the times greeted them.

"I have a few classmates from our school at SISU, some I nearly didn't recognize. We rarely talk to each other, almost never. Starting next month, I'll be busy with an international student reception project in my department. As part of the welcoming team, we might come into contact with your school. My father is doing well; you can see that on his official website. He's always talking about how establishing online diplomacy is timely and has great potential. Right now, he's guiding over two hundred websites under the News Bureau. Lately, he mentioned you and asked how you're doing. Do you have any interest in joining a state-owned enterprise after graduation"

Yu Cen was speechless, thinking to himself that Lin Guozhou really did cut straight to the point; he had barely started university life and already someone wanted to recruit him. While many who joined state institutions were high-achieving graduates, Yu Cen still planned on enjoying his four years of college thoroughly—there was plenty more he could do during his time at university.

"Uncle Wang seems quite steady in Chengdu; recently, they had a French investment solicitation event. I helped him out by getting some acquaintances involved. It looks like there's going to be a French project in the industrial park in Chengdu with several large French corporations being introduced. If this comes through as planned, Uncle Wang's accomplishments won't be low."

Although Ling Ruoer seemed somewhat rebellious, she was actually quite knowledgeable on targeted topics. Whenever Yu Cen saw her at government offices, he noticed that she was always reading, particularly about financial history; it was this kind of immersion that shaped her personality. Despite a wild and lively exterior, there was much depth to her psyche—certainly beyond what could be expected from someone her age.

This was more or less what Yu Cen could discern.

"Well, how is that Wei Dingding How's he doing recently" Su Can thought for a moment and felt that Wei Dingding didn't seem to have made as much progress with Ling Luoran as he had imagined. It was rather awkward that he kept staring at him, feeling like Wei Dingding saw him as a threat. He casually asked.

Ling Luoran glanced at him and said, "We haven’t been in touch for the past few weeks. I heard today that it’s David Du’s friend gathering, so he brought me here. Actually, this person is quite good—attentive and considerate, everything is perfect. Even my grandmother thinks they are a suitable match. But because of how perfect he is, there's nothing interesting about him. I would prefer if he had more flaws like you."

"From what I can see, it looks like I’m just here to襯托你們的追求者究竟有多麼優秀，從而襯托出林大小姐是如何出眾。"

"Isn’t that obvious to everyone It doesn’t need measuring. Well, it’s getting late, I should go now." Near the western end of the street, Ling Luoran stopped walking. It was midnight and a bit chilly; only a few scattered cars sped past on the road.

“Are you going back to the venue”

"Of course not. Lack of sleep is the biggest enemy for women. I have no interest in staying up all night with them, I still have classes tomorrow." Su Can waved his hand and a taxi on the opposite side slowed down, beginning to turn over. Then he said to Ling Luoran, "Let's go together, I’ll take you back to school first before heading back to Nan University. It’s quite convenient."

"Alright," Ling Luoran nodded her head, opened the rear door of the taxi that had pulled up in front of them, and with fingers pressed together made a gesture for him to enter, "I’ll get off soon; you sit inside."

When Ling Luoran sat down beside Su Can, he smelled a faint fragrance, something both unfamiliar yet familiar, hard to define but seemingly similar to the scent of body wash. But with Ling Luoran's warmth permeating through it, Su Can was somewhat distracted.

The taxi drove along and as night scenery receded from either side, Ling Shuran began feeling drowsy; her nose felt warm and fragrant, and she rested her head on Su Can’s shoulder.

This sort of thing happened sometimes before, but it was always in high school and the person wasn’t Su Can—it was Ling Luoran’s brother Lin Zouwu. Lin Zouwu had been taken advantage of and mocked by others all along, yet most people coveted his treatment. When Ling Luoran rested her head on Su Can’s shoulder now, Su Can suddenly felt a sense similar to what Lin Zouwu might have experienced, with the young lady's body lightly against him while he felt like a support for her.

A feeling of being relied upon, very fulfilling. Perhaps there was also a slight stirring in his heart.

Su Cen glanced at Lin Luoran, who was leaning against his shoulder. Black hair found its way out from between her ear and Su Cen's arm like a waterfall flowing over a ravine; the hair quality was excellent, with an alluring fragrance. The light from the taxi lane illuminated her facial features alternately, giving her a strong sense of three-dimensionality. Indeed, she looked very pretty.

She resembled a princess who had been sleeping for a long time, like characters in some fairy tales such as Grimm's Fairy Tales or Hans Christian Andersen’s stories that one might read before bedtime, not the adult versions.

The color of her lips was cherry-like, which, combined with Lin Luoran's maskless pure expression while asleep, made her very tempting.

Su Cen suppressed his impulses. If it were Tang Wu instead of Lin Luoran at this moment, he would probably have indulged himself without restraint and savored the sweetness.

However, Su Cen entertained a naughty thought that if he had secretly taken some inappropriate actions while she was asleep, Lin Luoran might not realize or feel anything when she woke up, thus unknowingly being taken advantage of. He quickly dismissed this idea, silently telling himself it was wicked.

Evidently, deep down, he was a person with low moral standards. So his gaze roamed over the tip of Lin Luoran's high nose and her lips, like a patrolling submarine that could also

.

Indeed, Su Cen didn't expect to experience a moment of warmth inside a taxi, reminiscent of the simple days from when he was in high school.

The taxi stopped. Shanghai International Studies University had arrived.

Before Su Cen could reach out to pat Lin Luoran's shoulder, her eyes, which were closed all along, suddenly opened. Her deep black eyes, long lashes, and large pupils stared directly at Su Cen, with a hint of playful amusement on the corners of her lips.

Su Cen felt a shiver down his spine.

Could it be that she hadn't fallen asleep at all! Was everything an act! gray Ford Focus and a red BMW parked at the entrance.The red BMW belonged to Zhou Rong. The gray Ford Focus was Mu Bian's car.Zhou Rong stood beside Mu Bian in an ostentatiously elegant outfit, while...