The bowl of Lamian noodles sat steaming before him. Li Chen picked up his chopsticks and lifted a bundle of noodles from the broth, the long strands glistening as they stretched upward.
He leaned in and slurped them down in one smooth breath.
The noodles were springy and smooth, carrying the rich flavor of the soup straight onto his tongue.
He had to admit—this really hit the spot.
Chewy, elastic, and deeply satisfying.
While eating, Li Chen opened his Moments.
The post he had shared earlier already had quite a few likes and comments.
He glanced through them, and his gaze stopped on one particular comment.
Yi Ziyi: [Looks like there are still a lot of people]
Li Chen's heart skipped a beat, and then his eyes lit up.
In every man's heart, there is someone he can never forget—a white moonlight.
And Yi Ziyi was his.
Back in their third year of middle school, the school reorganized classes, and the two of them were assigned to the same one. Coincidentally, they even became desk mates for over half a semester.
Yi Ziyi not only had excellent grades—always ranking in the top ten of the grade—but was also exceptionally pretty.
With daily interactions, their relationship grew closer and closer, to the point where they could talk about almost anything.
As a boy just beginning to experience first love, Li Chen gradually fell for this pure and lovely girl.
However, as a "good student" in the eyes of teachers and parents, he had no intention of early romance.
On top of that, uncertain of her feelings and afraid to confess rashly, he buried those emotions deep in his heart.
Later, although they both got into the best high school in the county, they weren't in the same class, and their relationship gradually drifted apart.
Still, Li Chen's feelings for her never diminished.
Occasionally running into her on campus, walking together for a short distance and exchanging a few words, was enough to make him happy all day.
He planned to confess to her after the college entrance exam. If she agreed, they'd be together. If she didn't, he'd chase her until she did.
However, in the second semester of his senior year, tragedy struck.
His parents and older brother were involved in a car accident while working in Jiangnan Province. None of the three survived.
A once-happy family of four was suddenly reduced to just him.
The enormous blow caused his grades to plummet.
In the end, he only managed to get into Weicheng College, an ordinary second-tier university.
Yi Ziyi, on the other hand, entered Qilu Medical University, enrolling in an eight-year combined medical program that would lead directly to a doctorate.
The huge gap between them filled Li Chen with inferiority, and the words of confession never made it out of his mouth.
After entering university, he still couldn't forget her.
So even though he looked decent and quite a few female classmates liked him, he never dated anyone.
Because unconsciously, he always compared them to Yi Ziyi—and after that, there was no "after."
It really is true what they say: you shouldn't meet someone too stunning when you're young.
After graduating from university, Li Chen left Weicheng and went to the provincial sub-capital, Nanjing City, to work.
When he learned that Yi Ziyi still had four more years to study at Qilu University and didn't have a boyfriend, hope reigned in his heart, and he became full of motivation.
He wanted to work hard during those four years, make a lot of money, and become rich.
That way, he could use money to bridge the gap between them and stand proudly before her to express his feelings.
But as a graduate from a second-tier university, alone in a big city, merely surviving already took all his strength.
Making big money was nothing more than a pipe dream.
So after being battered by reality time and time again, he helplessly gave up on that unrealistic fantasy.
And completely abandoned all thoughts of Yi Ziyi…
Until now.
Everything had changed.
He had a system. He truly had money now!
So the thoughts and desires he had buried deep in his heart surged back once again…
"Yi Ziyi's looks are definitely above 80!"
Thinking this, Li Chen opened her Moments.
After finding a photo, he activated the scan.
[Name: Yi Ziyi]
[Age: 25]
[Appearance: 85]
[Figure: 86]
[Simultaneous Partners: 0]
Her looks really were above 80!
And she had zero partners!
Looking at Yi Ziyi's information, Li Chen was overjoyed.
After all these years, she was still exactly as she had been.
This was an enormous and pleasant surprise.
He had scanned so many women earlier—anyone with even a bit of looks usually had some history.
But Yi Ziyi was different.
As expected of his white moonlight.
Li Chen exited her Moments, returned to his own post, and replied to her comment:
[Yeah, there are quite a lot. Only just got to eat now]
After replying, he opened the camera and took a photo of the bowl on the table.
Then he opened their chat window.
The last time they had chatted was three years ago, when he expressed concern for her during a special period while she was doing hospital residency training.
After that, they never chatted again.
Their only connection was the occasional like or comment on Moments.
Li Chen sent her the photo he had just taken.
Then he waited somewhat nervously for a reply, his heart unexpectedly pounding.
Yi Ziyi: [Are you deliberately trying to tempt me?]
Yi Ziyi's message came very quickly.
Seeing it, Li Chen smiled. The tone was exactly the same as before—unchanged.
He relaxed immediately and typed back:
Li Chen: [Haha, maybe a little [grinning face emoji]]
Yi Ziyi: [It looks amazing. Is it really that good?]
Li Chen: [Of course it's tasty. Otherwise, why would I tempt you? [smirking face emoji]]
Yi Ziyi: [Ahhh [frustrated face emoji] [frustrated face emoji]]
Yi Ziyi: [I just got back to the dorm. My takeout won't arrive for another half hour. I'm starving [bitter face emoji] [bitter face emoji]]
Back to the dorm?
Li Chen frowned slightly in confusion.
She was in an eight-year program and should have graduated in the first half of this year. Why was she still living in the dorms?
After thinking for a moment, Li Chen typed:
Li Chen: [Are you still in Jicheng?]
Yi Ziyi: [Yeah]
While Jicheng was far from Haidong, Li Chen already made plans to reach there by tomorrow.
Yi Ziyi: [I'm so sick of staying here. I was supposed to leave this year, but I got delayed and have to stay another year [disappointed face emoji]]
So she had delayed graduation—no wonder she was still in the dorm.
But that made sense. Doctoral programs were extremely hard to finish on time. Delays were very common.
Li Chen: [You dislike Jicheng that much? I think it's pretty good]
Yi Ziyi: [It's not that I dislike Jicheng. I just don't want to study anymore—it's too exhausting]
Yi Ziyi: [I've been depressed for years. I'm almost at my limit]
Yi Ziyi: [Choosing to study medicine was like letting water leak into my brain; doing a PhD is like taking that water-filled brain and slamming it in a door.]
Seeing this string of messages, Li Chen felt a little surprised.
Although Yi Ziyi looked cute, she was actually very strong inside.
For her to say this meant she was genuinely struggling.
Li Chen: [Studying medicine really is brutal. Being able to make it to a PhD already means you're amazing!]
Yi Ziyi: [Not amazing. If I were, I wouldn't be depressed all the time or delayed]
Yi Ziyi: [I really don't want to keep studying. Even after graduating, work won't be easy. This isn't the life I want. But I can't quit either—I'm already this far]
Reading these words, Li Chen felt a wave of emotion.
So she hadn't had it easy these past few years either—and he had no idea. You couldn't tell at all from her Moments.
But for him now, this was actually good news.
If she was struggling, raising her favorability would be far easier.
Li Chen immediately replied:
Li Chen: [Don't be so down. I'll go to Jicheng tomorrow. Let's hang out all day, relax, and have some fun]
Li Chen: [The day after tomorrow is Saturday—you should have time, right?]
Yi Ziyi: [Sure. We haven't seen each other in a long time—four or five years, right?]
Li Chen: [Yeah, more than five years. Last time was winter break of my junior year]
Yi Ziyi: [Then let's meet on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Quancheng Square. I'll treat you to lunch [grinning face emoji]]
Yi Ziyi: [But I've been really broke lately. Delayed graduation means no salary, and my advisor doesn't give much. I can't afford anything fancy—don't mind it]
Broke?
Broke was good!
Only if she was short on money could he spend freely.
Still, he needed to test whether the system account funds could actually be used.
Even though he trusted the system, he'd only feel at ease after testing it.
After thinking for a moment, Li Chen replied:
[Haha, you're still studying—how could I let you treat me?]
[You know Jicheng well. Just be my tour guide tomorrow. Leave everything else to me!]
Then he immediately clicked on the red packet and entered the maximum amount of 200.
Message: [For milk tea—consider it your tour guide fee for tomorrow]
After putting the money into the red packet and selecting the system's bank card for payment, he sent it.
The system account immediately showed an expenditure of 200, with a remaining balance of 9,800.
Meanwhile, the balances in WeChat and his salary card didn't change at all.
Seeing this, the stone in Li Chen's heart finally dropped.
Now he could spend money boldly and without worry!
Yi Ziyi: [It's not hard, and I don't need a tour guide fee. But since you're treating me to milk tea, I won't be polite—hehe]
The next second, Yi Ziyi accepted the red packet.
But just a few seconds later, she sent one back.
Yi Ziyi: [Milk tea doesn't cost that much. 20 yuan is enough. I'm returning the rest to you]
Seeing this message, Li Chen smiled knowingly.
The reason he chose to send her a 200-yuan red packet instead of transferring a large sum was because, based on his understanding of Yi Ziyi, she definitely wouldn't accept it if it were too much.
That would only make things awkward and backfire.
Yet even so, she still returned most of it.
On this point alone, Yi Ziyi and Zhao Yuting were worlds apart.
Li Chen: [Alright, see you on Saturday!]
He didn't argue over it—after all, it was only a bit over a hundred yuan.
And what he planned to spend on her later would be far, far, far more than that.