Starting Check-in Reward: Tomson Riviera

’Since this is version 2.0, it probably won’t mess with me at the drop of a hat like version 1.0 did, right?’

Ye Ling suddenly felt like his life was full again. He even ran to the gym, powered through more than ten barbell hack squats in one go, and then ran on the treadmill for half an hour.

That’s life for you.

You have to strive for something. You can’t just be a lazy bum all day, can you?

...

Monday.

The weather was overcast.

Ye Ling looked at the sky outside his window and couldn’t help but sigh and shake his head.

This damned weather was getting more and more abnormal.

It was sunny without a cloud in the sky just yesterday, but today it was completely overcast.

’Didn’t I check the weather forecast? I think it said a typhoon was coming soon?’

"I’m heading to school. Don’t forget to eat since you’re home alone," Ye Ling called out as he walked straight out the door.

At that moment, Ye Ling couldn’t help but reflect on something.

’Being an art student is so damn good!’

Never mind the light course load; a huge portion of the self-study periods were optional—you could go if you felt like it, or just skip...

Just as Ye Ling arrived at school, a light drizzle began to fall outside.

Rainy days are always a bit of a drag, and for Ye Ling, who was already feeling a little out of sorts, it was just too damn depressing!

"Brother Ling, how was your Saturday?"

Suddenly, that guy He Jian sidled up to him, winking with a mischievous look on his face.

"Saturday? What do you know now?"

Ye Ling immediately raised an eyebrow and shot a glance at He Jian.

"Heh heh, Brother Ling, don’t even pretend. Your girl already posted on her Moments. It was brutal for all us single guys." He Jian immediately gave him a suggestive look.

"Moments?"

Ye Ling froze for a second.

He really wasn’t pretending. Ever since he got the system, he had basically never touched a thing like Moments.

Couldn’t be helped.

His life was just too full.

’Who has time to scroll through Moments to see what’s up?’

After all, the people who scrolled through Moments the most were usually the ones who had nothing better to do in real life.

If your life was actually interesting, who would be constantly scrolling through Moments and posting update after update?

That’s why there’s a saying online that’s pretty on point: if a girl posts on her Moments more than ten times a day, go for it. She’s definitely single!

You’ve got a shot!

"Er..."

Hearing Ye Ling’s words, He Jian was left a little speechless.

’What the heck.’

’Why is it that a guy who pays zero attention to what’s going on around him can get a girlfriend?’

’Meanwhile, I pay attention to all the girls around me every single day, and I’m still a lonely, single guy?’

If Ye Ling knew what he was thinking, he would surely sigh in great disappointment.

’This kid is hopeless.’

’Single?’

’Serves him right!’

At this point, class was about to start, so Ye Ling didn’t waste any more time bantering with the guy. He sat down and opened the comments section.

He didn’t have many friends on WeChat, so it was easy to find Ning Ruoxi’s post.

The photos were all familiar; they were basically all from Saturday, arranged in a nine-square grid with a photo of him and Ning Ruoxi in the center.

’Having you in this life. [Heart.jpg]’

Seeing Ning Ruoxi’s caption, a smile couldn’t help but tug at the corners of Ye Ling’s lips.

’I didn’t expect this.’

’That silly girl actually posted something so sappy?’

And below this post, there were over twenty comments.

’He Jian: Damn! Way to rub it in! I’m so jealous!’

’Yang Yefeng: Wishing you and Brother Ling a long and happy life together!’

’Yang Yu: Suddenly, the fried chicken in my hand doesn’t taste so good anymore.’

’Luo Yue: BOOHOOOHOOO, Ruoruo, you really did find someone new and forget your old love! I’ll never forgive you!’

’Zhou Ya: ???’ 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

’Qin Xuan: Please, have some consideration for us single people.’

...

Ye Ling couldn’t help but smile and casually tapped on Luo Yue’s comment to reply.

’Who the hell is talking about new and old loves? Ruoruo is mine. Scram, you little brat, okay?’

After posting that comment, Ye Ling sent a WeChat message to Ning Ruoxi.

’Wifey, nice post. I’m very pleased.’

Just then, Zhou Xing arrived in the classroom and began his lecture.

Ye Ling had a good deal of respect for the old professor, so he switched his phone to silent and started paying serious attention to the lecture.

The class passed quickly, and soon it was almost noon.

"Brother Ling, want to get lunch with us?" Yang Yu asked.

"Sure," Ye Ling nodded, accepting the offer.

’After all, since my wifey isn’t around, I guess I have to hang out with these rough guys~’

When they got to the cafeteria, He Jian and the others started scanning the crowd for something.

"Can you guys stop being so shifty? You look like a bunch of perverts."

Ye Ling rolled his eyes in exasperation.

’I’m suddenly regretting coming to lunch with these guys. This is so damn embarrassing!’

"Heh heh, Brother Ling, isn’t the mixer coming up soon? We’re just trying to scout out some targets early."

He Jian rubbed his head, then suddenly spotted something. He pointed to a spot not far away and said in a low voice, "Brother Ling, look at that girl over there in the white sweatshirt."

"Oh?"

Ye Ling raised an eyebrow and looked over.

There was only one person in the crowd wearing a white sweatshirt, so she was easy to spot.

The girl was the cute type, about a seven or eight out of ten in looks, basically on the same level as Qin Xuan.

"What about her? Is she your target?"

Ye Ling said, looking at He Jian with a slight smile.

"No, that’s Lin Xue," He Jian said mischievously.

"Lin Xue?"

Ye Ling raised an eyebrow. The name sounded a little familiar.

After thinking for a moment, he finally remembered where he’d seen it.

’Last time in the group chat, didn’t Yang Yu say he wanted to pursue this Lin Xue?’

"She is pretty cute."

Ye Ling nodded and glanced at Yang Yu.

"But... I get the feeling your chances are pretty slim."

In that moment.

Ye Ling was fully channeling his humanitarian spirit.

To prevent Yang Yu from being too crushed by a future rejection, he was giving him a little "vaccination" in advance.

Our Brother Ling truly is the teammate of the year!

"Alright, I get it."

Hearing this, Yang Yu shot Ye Ling a resentful look.

"If you like her, why wait for the mixer? Why not just ask for her contact info directly?"

Ye Ling finally voiced his confusion.

In his eyes, the whole point of a mixer was just to provide an opportunity to discover someone. Now that the discovery part was done, what was the point of the mixer?

"It’s not that easy to get her contact info."

Yang Yu said, his expression turning pained again.

A beautiful girl on Lin Xue’s level must have a lot of pursuers.

’Me, asking for her WeChat?’

’She’d probably just shut me down immediately!’

"Listen up. When a guy is chasing a girl, the most important thing is to be shameless. And this shamelessness isn’t just about your actions, but more importantly, your mentality."

Ye Ling then said profoundly, "Yang Yu, you need to fully embrace your shameless spirit. Tell yourself that you are completely worthy of Lin Xue. A real relationship has to start on equal footing, otherwise you’re just a backup option! Applaud if you understood!"