Chu Jiaojiao and Shen Qingling both attended universities in Jiang City, though the two universities were a bit far apart, about an hour and a half's journey. Whenever Chu Jiaojiao said she wanted to see Shen Qingling, he would go.
Shen Qingling's feelings for Chu Jiaojiao were not love or romantic affection; he simply regarded Chu Jiaojiao as a younger sister who needed protection.
Before that incident was exposed, although Chu Jiaojiao wasn't exceptionally kind to Shen Qingling, she provided ample emotional support.
She encouraged Shen Qingling to apply to Jiang University, cared about his studies and life, and treated him like a biological Brother, both admiring and relying on him. This made Shen Qingling, who had no family, consider Chu Jiaojiao as family.
Unfortunately, Chu Jiaojiao thought Shen Qingling was her simp, merely treating him as a backup. It was just a matter of moving her lips; only someone like Shen Qingling would take her words seriously.
If it weren't for the fact that he once gave her the opportunity to be adopted, was so easily fooled, and could bring her attention, she wouldn't bother wasting her thoughts on him.
Chu Jiaojiao gained ample attention and prestige because of Shen Qingling, her childhood friend. Shen Qingling was handsome and an academic ace at Jiang University. Every time he came to her school to find Chu Jiaojiao, she would receive envious glances from her classmates, which greatly satisfied her vanity.
Just then, Chu Jiaojiao's roommate walked past her and said with a smile, "Jiaojiao, chatting with that academic ace from Jiang University again?"
"Mhm, he said he wants to come see me this weekend."
"Wow, I'm really envious of you. Having such a good Brother! If I had such a handsome male god as a friend, I definitely wouldn't be able to resist pursuing him."
The other roommates in the dorm heard this and also came over to join the conversation.
"Exactly! Shen Qingling even trended on hot searches today. So many people are praising his looks. You really need to seize the opportunity, don't let him be snatched away by someone else."
"Jiaojiao, he's so good to you. Is he really not your boyfriend?"
Chu Jiaojiao's face immediately turned red.
Whenever a girl asked her if Shen Qingling was her boyfriend, she would just lower her head shyly.
She didn't want other girls to get close to Shen Qingling, so she neither admitted nor denied their relationship. This way, others would assume there was an ambiguous relationship between her and Shen Qingling and give up pursuing him.
If a boy asked, she would immediately deny it, saying they were just friends.
In front of boys, she had to maintain her single status; otherwise, how could she find a boyfriend with good conditions?
Chu Jiaojiao never considered dating Shen Qingling. In Chu Jiaojiao's eyes, although Shen Qingling was handsome, he had no money and a somewhat boring personality. Being a backup was great, but dating was uninteresting. She just wanted to enjoy his care and the attention he brought her.
"Jiaojiao, are you really not considering being more proactive? If you don't seize a handsome guy like this, he'll definitely be pursued by others."
"Manman makes a good point. I also advise you not to be so shy. An academic ace like Shen Qingling will definitely have a great future. If you marry him, you won't have to worry about anything later."
Chu Jiaojiao curved her eyes and smiled: "I know, you don't have to worry about me. I know what I'm doing."
As if! She would never date Shen Qingling. Being handsome couldn't feed her. These women were truly shallow, a bunch of brainless fools.
Of course, she knew that as an academic ace from Jiang University, Shen Qingling's income after graduation would certainly not be bad, but she looked down on that amount of money. She was going to marry into a wealthy family. No matter how capable Shen Qingling was, could he compare to a young master from a rich family?
Chu Jiaojiao was beautiful and believed that she shouldn't be an ordinary person in this life. She had a dream of marrying into a wealthy family. Her biggest dream in this life was to marry a rich second-generation heir and live a life of abundance, envied by everyone.
For this, almost all her living expenses were spent on buying clothes, makeup, and skincare, and she barely managed to get by each month with the pocket money Shen Qingling gave her.
Chu Jiaojiao waited a long time for Shen Qingling's reply but didn't take it seriously, putting him aside and ignoring him.
She didn't believe Shen Qingling could keep treating her like this. Wouldn't he be the one begging her to talk then?
This time, she couldn't easily respond to him. She would make him coax her properly before pretending to calm down. Let's see if he still dared to be so cold to her!
Shen Qingling naturally didn't take her seriously at all.
He downloaded the "Encounter" app, intending to see what people were discussing about him there.
The system told him he had gained a lot of points from a photo he just uploaded.
These girls were like his fans in his previous life; they would be moved by a handsome photo and develop affection for him.
All these feelings of affection could be converted into points. For him, why not? It was a sure-win business.
Shen Qingling was happy for less than three minutes when the system added, "Host, you need to be aware that when the affection these people feel for you turns into disgust due to negative news, these points will be deducted."
Shen Qingling: "...Got it."
He understood this too. Fans were a double-edged sword; used well, they were a sharp blade, but used poorly, they would stab him.
After the app finished downloading, he opened the software and registered a small account.
As soon as Shen Qingling clicked in, he saw the hot post discussing him, which was currently at the top. There were already over a thousand replies about him in the post.
"【L6: Shen Qingling is very low-key. Besides studying, he's always working. Plus, he's a very unapproachable person, which makes everyone hesitant. So, besides being handsome, there's not much to discuss about him, as no one really knows him well.】"
"【L7: Easygoing handsome guys are better. I only dare to secretly look at this type. I'd blush if I said one more word. If he gave me a cold shoulder and ignored me, I'd die of embarrassment.】"
"【L8: You guys don't understand. It's precisely this kind of unapproachable handsome guy that's attractive. Think about it, a high and mighty flower that no one can get, but you manage to win him over—that shows you have skill! I love this type, hehe.】"
"【L9: Exactly! Cold to everyone but uniquely gentle to you—just thinking about it is incredibly satisfying, isn't it? The perfect romance novel male lead.】"
"【L10: I wonder what Shen Qingling's face looks like during *that* moment (lustful emoji). Is it still that abstinent, indifferent look, or does he furrow his brows and moan in suppressed breaths?】
"【L11: Oh my god, just thinking about it makes me weak. Who has his contact info? I want to try flirting with him, challenge the impossible!】
...
The further down he scrolled, the more the comments in the thread deviated.
Some praised his handsomeness, some wanted to see his physique, some wanted his contact information, some posted his photos, and there were also some shocking, wolfish remarks...
Shen Qingling raised an eyebrow, not particularly surprised.
His fans in his previous life had also said these things often; Shen Qingling was already used to it.
In fact, women are also very lustful; he had discovered this long ago from dating so many girlfriends.
Female lust is divided into overt lust, secret lust, and those who are verbally very lustful but actually cowardly in real life, just for fun.
Most of Shen Qingling's fans were the third type; they only dared to be verbally lustful towards him online, with one wolfish remark after another, but in reality, they were usually too excited to speak when they saw him.
Very few women dared to say those things to his face. Such women were either extremely confident in themselves or were drunk and mesmerized by him to the point of incoherence.
However, he would soon encounter such a woman.