One person: Starting with the Snow Drinking Blade

The following morning, when Nie Lingfeng stepped out of the dormitory gate of Building 3 in Songyuan again, he truly understood what "the sweet troubles brought by good looks" meant.

At 7:30 in the morning, he was carrying a thick book on data structures and algorithms, preparing to go to the teaching building to preview today's lessons. Just as he reached the lush locust tree near the dormitory entrance, he was stopped by three girls in floral dresses who appeared to be sophomores or juniors.

"J-junior!" The senior student, with a high ponytail and cute freckles on her cheeks, held a light pink envelope in her hands and handed it to Nie Lingfeng. Her voice trembled slightly with nervousness, "This...please accept this!"

Before Nie Lingfeng could even politely refuse or ask any questions, the senior student shoved the envelope into his hand and then turned and ran like a startled deer. Her two friends, giggling softly, waved at Nie Lingfeng and chased after her.

Nie Lingfeng: "..."

He looked down at the envelope in his hand. It was a carefully chosen light pink, with a faint lavender scent, and a small silver heart-shaped sticker sealed it. On the front of the envelope, a line of delicate handwriting read: "To that most dazzling transfer student."

Nie Lingfeng shook his head helplessly, folded the envelope in half, stuffed it into the side pocket of his backpack, and continued walking towards the teaching building.

As Nie Lingfeng approached the entrance of the third canteen, it was the peak breakfast season, and a long line of students was waiting to buy breakfast. Just as he reached the end of the line, he sensed two pairs of eyes glancing back at him frequently. They were two girls in tracksuits, seemingly just back from a morning run. They pretended to chat while stealing glances at him out of the corner of their eyes, and occasionally huddled together whispering something.

"Look, look! It's him! The new transfer student in Computer Science Class 3!"

"My god... He's already handsome enough in the forum photos, but his real-life aura... it's incredible! Look at him with his hair in a high ponytail, he looks so refreshing yet has an indescribable chivalrous air!"

"Should we ask for their WeChat? Maybe they're new here and don't have a girlfriend yet!"

"I don't dare... He seems a bit aloof. Why don't you go?"

"I...I don't dare either...Let me think about it some more..."

Nie Lingfeng silently shifted his body to the side, pretending to be engrossed in studying the breakfast menu with its slightly blurred handwriting posted above the cafeteria window, while inwardly sighing and rubbing his forehead.

After finally managing to buy two meat buns and a cup of soy milk, Nie Lingfeng found an empty table in the corner of the cafeteria and sat down. He had just taken a bite of the soft and juicy meat bun when a plate was slammed down across from him.

"Excuse me, is anyone here?" A girl with shoulder-length short hair and big, round eyes looked at him with her big eyes blinking as she held a tray, her face bearing a smile that was just right, a mixture of shyness and anticipation.

Nie Lingfeng looked around—there were at least a dozen empty tables in the cafeteria at the moment. He glanced at the girl's eyes, which seemed to say, "I want to sit here," then at the half-eaten bun in his hand, and finally nodded silently: "...No one's here, you can sit."

"Thank you!" The girl sat down happily and began to sip the millet porridge in her bowl. But her gaze seemed glued to Nie Lingfeng's face, glancing over every now and then, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.

Nie Lingfeng ate a simple breakfast with great discomfort, feeling it was even more mentally taxing than practicing his skills in the cold pool of Lingyun Cave all morning.

In the morning, in the large lecture hall for "Algorithm Design and Analysis".

Nie Lingfeng finally made it to class, found a seat at the back, and breathed a sigh of relief, thinking he could finally have some peace and quiet. On the podium, the old professor with gray hair and thick glasses finished calling roll, then suddenly pushed up his glasses, scanned the classroom, and finally fixed his gaze on Nie Lingfeng.

"We have a new student in our class today," the old professor said in a loud voice. "Let's welcome student Nie Lingfeng."

A burst of applause, albeit uneven, but still quite enthusiastic, rang out in the classroom, mixed with excited whispers from many girls and curious or scrutinizing glances from the boys.

"Nie Lingfeng," the professor said, looking at him, "I heard you transferred from the Computer Science and Technology program at Southwest University for Nationalities? What are the unique features of their program?"

Nie Lingfeng stood up, his mind racing to recall his hazy memories of his university computer science major from his previous life, trying to make his answer sound like that of a normal transfer student: "Uh... it's... not bad. The main curriculum is similar to here, with a strong emphasis on foundational courses like C, Java, data structures, and database principles."

"Yes, a solid foundation is very important." The professor nodded, seemingly satisfied. Then, he changed the subject and pointed to a complex dynamic programming algorithm problem he had written on the blackboard before class. "Come up here and write down the solution and pseudocode for this problem so that the students can see the level of our colleagues in Southwest China."

Nie Lingfeng stared at the densely packed conditions and symbols on the blackboard and remained silent for three seconds.

Ten years. A full ten years without touching a single line of code, a keyboard, or even an algorithm. Forget writing problem-solving strategies and pseudocode; now, if you ask him to turn on a computer, he'd probably have to first recall where the power button is usually.

"Professor," he took a deep breath, his face displaying a perfectly appropriate, apologetic, and sincere expression, "I just finished the transfer procedures, and I haven't had time to catch up on and review many of the course contents. This question... might be a bit too advanced for me, and I need some time to digest it."

The professor looked at him, adjusted his glasses, and his gaze behind the lenses was scrutinizing, but he finally nodded. "I understand. The transition period after transferring schools does require adjustment. Now, please sit down. However..." He paused, "You'll need to do well in the group course projects starting next week and catch up as quickly as possible."

"Thank you, Professor. I will definitely try my best." Nie Lingfeng breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down in his seat. A boy with black-rimmed glasses and a kind face quietly leaned over and whispered, "Dude, that's impressive. On your first day as a transfer student, you dared to tell Professor Liu, the 'Algorithm Killer,' that you 'need time.' Although he's strict, he's reasonable. If you're sincere, he won't make things difficult for you."

Nie Lingfeng smiled gratefully at him: "Thanks for the reminder."

After a whole day, Nie Lingfeng roughly tallied up his gains: seven direct or indirect attempts to strike up a conversation, three WeChat friend requests obtained through the class group or "by chance," two instances of physical contact where he "accidentally" bumped into him in the hallway or stairwell and blushed while saying "sorry, classmate," and countless gazes from different directions with complex meanings—most of which were curious and appreciative looks from girls, but also mixed with some boys' undisguised envy, jealousy, or pure scrutiny.

Back in dormitory 307 that evening, Nie Lingfeng threw his backpack onto the bed, collapsed onto the relatively soft mattress, and let out a long sigh. He felt that the mental and physical exertion of "playing" an ordinary college student that day was more tiring than practicing "Ten Directions Invincible" all day in Lingyun Cave.

"Brother Feng," Zhang Chulan suddenly poked his head out from the upper bunk, his hair disheveled, his eyes behind his glasses gleaming with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. His voice was low and mysterious, "There's something... I'd like to ask you."

"Hmm? What is it?" Nie Lingfeng replied lazily with his eyes closed.