Rejecting Tsinghua and Peking Universities: I Will Lead Harbin Institute of Technology to World Lead

The hot pot boils, the red oil sizzles, and the aroma mingles with the steam.

Lin Feng ate the tender tripe, but felt something was missing.

He looked up at Shen Moran, whose cheeks were already flushed with a beautiful blush.

"Senior, eating hot pot alone is a bit dry, how about... having some wine?" he asked tentatively.

"Drinking? Of course!" Shen Moran's eyes lit up, and the cheerful spirit of a girl from Chongqing came through.

"Eating hot pot without drinking alcohol is like eating noodles without garlic—it loses half the flavor!"

She agreed readily, her eyes sparkling with eager anticipation.

Lin Feng smiled, called over a waiter, and whispered a few instructions.

Soon, several green glass bottles, emitting cold air and bearing familiar logos, were brought in.

"Mountain City Beer?!" Shen Moran was stunned again the moment she saw the bottle.

This authentic beer, which is popular only in and around Chongqing and has almost disappeared outside of Sichuan and Chongqing, has actually appeared in a hot pot restaurant in Harbin, thousands of miles away!

"How...how come this is here?" She picked up a bottle, the cool touch feeling so real.

"I brought it from Chongqing. I'm keeping it here so I can have a few bites with hot pot," Lin Feng explained with a smile as he skillfully opened the bottle cap with a bottle opener.

Bubbles rise up, accompanied by the delicate aroma of malt.

"Here, senior, have a taste and see if it tastes right." Lin Feng handed over a bottle.

Shen Moran took it, and the bottle mouths touched, making a crisp sound.

"Cheers to...reunion and hot pot!"

She found an excuse, tilted her head back, and took a big gulp.

The refreshing beer diluted the spiciness of the hot pot, and the familiar taste of home, mixed with the company of the people in front of her, filled her with an indescribable sense of satisfaction and... courage.

Wine is a wondrous thing.

After three bottles of beer, Shen Moran's fair cheeks were flushed red, and his eyes were misty with moisture, making them appear even brighter and... more direct.

Before I knew it, I had started talking, and those words that had been hidden in my heart for many years seemed to have found an outlet.

"Senior, which hotel are you staying at? It's getting late, let me take you back to rest."

Lin Feng noticed that she was already somewhat drunk and asked her considerately.

"I'm not going back." Shen Moran shook her head, cupping her slightly flushed cheeks in her hands, her gaze fixed intently on Lin Feng.

"Junior Lin, do you... know why I came to Harbin Institute of Technology this time?"

Her voice carried a hint of tipsiness and a subtle tension.

Lin Feng's fingers, which were holding the wine glass, paused slightly.

Of course he guessed it.

From her appearance at the gate of Tsinghua University to her current presence on the campus of Harbin Institute of Technology, the answer is already obvious.

He didn't speak, but simply watched her quietly, waiting for her to continue.

Inside the private room, only the soft bubbling of the hot pot could be heard.

"I came here... just to find you."

Shen Moran's voice was soft, yet exceptionally clear, carrying a do-or-die determination.

"You saved me twice. Without you, I might... not be who I am now."

"Twice?" Lin Feng frowned slightly.

The only time he remembered was in the capital.

"Yes, twice." Shen Moran nodded vigorously, her eyes glazed but serious.

"The first time... you may have long forgotten. But I remember it clearly, every single detail."

Her thoughts seemed to drift back to that sweltering and thrilling summer night several years ago.

"Back then, I was a freshman in high school, and you were still a... junior high student."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but laugh, her eyes softening.

"But your name has already spread throughout the entire school. You're the genius in the teachers' eyes, the academic god in the classmates' eyes... I've always been secretly watching you too."

That night, after evening self-study, I walked home alone. Taking the shortest route, I walked down a quiet alley with hardly anyone around.

Her voice lowered, tinged with lingering fear.

"Then... I ran into a few thugs from outside the school. They stopped me, said some inappropriate things, and started touching me inappropriately... I was terrified, struggled desperately, and screamed for help, but that road was too remote..."

Shen Moran took a deep breath, as if she could still feel the fear from that time.

"You appeared when I was at my most desperate."

Her eyes lit up instantly, as if she had seen that light again.

"You were carrying a backpack, so you must have just finished studying. When you saw what was happening, you rushed over without saying a word, shielded me behind you, and shouted at the group of thugs."

"They saw you as just a student, not particularly tall, and didn't take you seriously at all. Instead, they became even more arrogant, wanting to drag you down with them..."

"And then?" Lin Feng couldn't help but ask.

This memory was indeed rather vague in his mind.

For him, that time was the most important memory of Fuxi.

"And then?" Shen Moran looked at him, her eyes filled with admiration and gratitude.

"Then, you did it. I still remember how you looked, your eyes were so cold, and your movements were so fast."

"You were all alone, facing four or five thugs with sticks, and you weren't afraid at all. You beat them all down in no time, and the fiercest one even tried to get up, but you kicked him and sent him flying a long way..."

She gestured with exaggerated words, but the light in her eyes was incredibly genuine.

They ran away in a panic. In the alley, all that was left was me, stunned, and... you, standing there like a god of war.

Shen Moran's face turned even redder, whether from the alcohol or the shyness brought on by memories, it was hard to tell.

You turned around, looked at me, and then said…

She imitated Lin Feng's perhaps naive yet composed tone at the time:

"Senior, are you alright? Go home quickly, and don't walk on these back paths alone in the future."

"After saying that, you left. You didn't even wait for me to thank you."

Her voice carried a hint of grievance, but even more so, it expressed her deep appreciation.

"But those words, that silhouette, have been etched into my heart since that day. I can never forget them."

Lin Feng listened quietly.

Long-buried memories are awakened; that blurry night, that blurry figure, gradually become clear.

It turns out that the seeds of fate had been quietly sown so long ago.

"After that, I never walked that path again. And... I started studying like crazy."

A hint of determination crept into Shen Moran's voice.

"Because I know you are so outstanding, so outstanding that people look up to you. If I don't work hard, I will only fall further and further behind you."

"I worked incredibly hard to get into the best art school in Beijing. I thought that if we all went to Beijing, we'd eventually have a chance..."

She smiled wryly.

"As a result, you skipped a grade to take the college entrance examination that year and became the top scorer in the country, but you chose Harbin Institute of Technology. I was disappointed for a long time at that time."

"But I think that even if you are at Harbin Institute of Technology, you will definitely be the brightest star. So I dared not slack off at all in college, filming, practicing, studying... and finally achieved a little bit of success."

Her gaze softened and became expectant.

"My original plan was to come to Harbin Institute of Technology to find you after I graduated from university and had enough confidence and achievements. No matter what the outcome, I wanted to tell you my feelings in person and leave no regrets."

"But..." Her tone suddenly became agitated, trembling with the relief of surviving a disaster.

"That night in the capital... and you appeared like a hero again, rescuing me from the abyss... I suddenly felt that I couldn't wait any longer."

"Life is too unpredictable, and there are too many unexpected events. I don't want to wait any longer, and I don't want any more regrets."

Shen Moran put down her wine glass, her hands nervously twisting together, her knuckles turning slightly white.

She raised her head, her eyes glazed with intoxication yet unusually brave, and looked directly into Lin Feng's eyes.

Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes were clear and burning, filled with a resolute determination to go all in.

"Junior Lin, Lin Feng."

She spoke clearly, word by word:

"From that night in my first year of high school, someone took up residence in my heart."

"That person is you."

I like you. Not out of gratitude, not just a fleeting impulse.

"It was a full five years of cautiously looking up, desperately trying to catch up, and... a secret crush that I dared not utter."

"I know there's a huge gap between us. You are a star in the sky, and I'm just one of the people on earth who look up to you."

"But... I still want to tell you. Even if I get rejected, even if we can't be friends anymore... I still want to say it."

"Lin Feng, I like you."

"Do you... feel even the slightest bit different about me?"

After he finished speaking, the private room fell silent.

Only the hot pot continued to boil tirelessly, the steam blurring their vision, yet making their heartbeats clearly audible.

Shen Moran held her breath, awaiting her fate.

Lin Feng looked at the girl in front of him, who had mustered all her courage and offered him her whole heart.

The trepidation, anticipation, fear, and solitary courage in those clear eyes were so real and moving.

His cold, hardened heart seemed to have been stirred by a hot pebble thrown into it, creating ripples that had never been seen before.