I suggest you investigate; this person doesn't seem to be a first-time reborn individual.

In late September, the air in Jiangning is already filled with the sweet fragrance of osmanthus, the leaves of the sycamore trees are beginning to turn yellow, the summer heat is fading, and it is the most pleasant time of year.

Mid-Autumn Festival has arrived in the blink of an eye.

Lin Ran stared blankly at the mooncake with cloud patterns in front of him, then at Huang Lingyue across from him.

"Did you make this yourself?"

Huang Lingyue wore an apricot-colored long-sleeved shirt, with a short skirt and stockings on her lower body. She nodded, her eyes sparkling with anticipation: "Try it, I've tried several recipes."

Lin Ran raised an eyebrow, took out a salted egg yolk flavored pastry, examined it, and felt that it looked pretty good. The pastry was golden and glossy, and you could smell a rich aroma of milk and flour.

Take a bite.

In the first second, the teeth pierced through the puff pastry, and the sensation was normal.

The next second, instead of the expected egg yolk, it was a whole peppercorn, making my temples throb with numbness.

In the third second, the cloyingly sweet lotus seed paste and the salty, bitter egg yolk took over the entire mouth.

In the fourth second, I felt a little dizzy, and I didn't know if Mint had cheated on me or Lao Gan Ma had cheated on me.

Lin Ran's face almost turned green. He closed his eyes, his Adam's apple bobbed with difficulty, and he barely managed to swallow.

Even the toughest man would fall silent after eating it, and Shennong would weep after tasting it.

Is this even fit for human consumption?

How come such a smart girl makes making a mooncake look like she's developing a chemical weapon?

Didn't this girl know to try it herself before giving it away?

Huang Lingyue looked at Lin Ran with anticipation, waiting for praise: "How does it taste?"

Lin Ran remained expressionless: "The taste... is very unique. It's the most unforgettable mooncake I've ever eaten."

"Really?" Huang Lingyue's eyebrows curved. "I added quite a few new ingredients."

Lin Ran forced a smile and silently packed up the rest: "This flavor is so unique, I'll enjoy it slowly when I get back."

"I have some more!" Huang Lingyue suddenly took out a beautifully packaged little box from her bag. "You can share it with your roommate when you get back. I want to see you finish it."

A hint of disorientation appeared in Lin Ran's eyes.

What terrible things did he do in his past life?

Oh, maybe it's because I feel indebted to this girl.

This girl, proud to the core, has an unapproachable, icy exterior, but only in front of him does she reveal a rare gentleness.

In his past life, he only felt that Huang Lingyue made him feel suffocated, that his space was being invaded, and he even subconsciously began to resist.

Thus began arguments and a cold war.

Then came her words: "Lin Ran, I'm sorry, I think I might prefer girls."

He remembers how he felt at the time: bewilderment, anger, shame, and a sense of relief.

Why didn't I think back then that this was the most decisive way for an extremely proud girl to leave after realizing she had become a burden to the other person?

She would rather he misunderstand her sexual orientation, rather he hate her betrayal, than let him know that she had made a hasty exit for fear of annoying him.

Damn it, I owe you something.

Seeing her expectant eyes, I gritted my teeth and stuffed it into my mouth.

After finishing his meal, Lin Ran took a bottle of mineral water from the armrest box and gulped it down.

Before he could catch his breath, a hand grabbed his wrist.

Huang Lingyue had moved closer to him without him noticing. She placed his hand on her thigh, which was covered by black stockings. She knew Lin Ran liked this.

Then a pair of soft lips kissed me.

……

On the other side, Jinding Square.

Wang Jiaonu was dressed in a sharp suit today, standing beside the temporary stage, directing the workers to make the final arrangements.

"Move the backdrop five centimeters to the left! Yes, right there!"

"Place the raffle box upright! Under the spotlight!"

"The edge of the red carpet is curling up, use tape to fix it!"

As the workers adjusted the layout of the mall's atrium according to instructions, they muttered to Wang Jiaonu, "Manager Wang, we've been working on this all morning, why haven't the students shown up yet?"

Based on past experience with mall events, people would have already arrived early to reserve their spots by this time.

Wang Jiaonu frowned. He was actually a little puzzled, but looking at the number of applicants in the backstage area calmed him down a bit.

Tang Chen is a ruthless person; he has already pushed the number of applicants for the Golden Tripod to over 5.

More than 50,000 people signed up! Even if only one-tenth of them can come in person, that's still 5,000 people! Enough to pack the atrium to the brim.

"What's the rush? College students like to sleep in. The peak time is around noon. Make sure the registration desk is ready and have a few extra staff so we don't get flustered later."

It's unclear whether he was explaining it to the workers or comforting himself.

"Okay." The worker didn't ask any more questions and continued working.

Wang Jiaonu walked to the side of the stage, opened her laptop, and checked the backend data again: 50127. She then opened several university campus forums. The number of replies to the pinned posts about "a shopping mall dating event" had exceeded a thousand, making it incredibly lively.

Everything met expectations, and even exceeded them.

But for some reason, he always felt like there was a weight on his heart that he couldn't shake off.

Lin Ran's face floated before his eyes like a ghost.

Just then, an older woman wearing a floral shirt strolled over, stopped in front of the prize display stand, and looked at the phone.

"Miss, is this a free lucky draw? Do you give away eggs?"

The young girl glanced at Wang Jiaonu, and after receiving a signal, spoke up: "Auntie, this is a prize for our mall's week-long couples' event. Have you signed up?"

"Huh? What registration?"

"I need to make friends on the website so I can participate in the prize draw today."

The old woman's face was creased with wrinkles, and she looked at the staff member as if he were a fool.

"How can you talk like that? I'm sixty-eight years old, what kind of couples' activity am I supposed to participate in? Your mall doesn't even give out eggs at your promotions anymore. Didn't you used to give out eggs during holidays?"

"I'm sorry, Auntie, our lucky draw is only open to customers who participate in the event."

The middle-aged woman curled her lip and said, "You're crazy." Then she walked unsteadily toward the fresh produce section with her hands behind her back.

"These young people nowadays, they can't even understand an event..."

Staff member: "..."

Wang Jiaonu: "..."

It was 1:30 p.m., half an hour before the event officially started.

A medley of love songs was playing from the sound system in the central courtyard of the Golden Tripod, and all the stage lights were on, casting crisscrossing pink beams. Staff members in uniform stood in a row at the registration desk, with a thick stack of sign-in sheets in front of them.

Aside from a few scattered customers from the mall watching the spectacle, the number of people actually participating in the event could be counted on one hand.

Three men and two women, who appeared to be strangers, stood in different corners, heads down, scrolling through their phones. Occasionally, they would glance at the stage, their faces showing confusion.

Where are the people? Weren't they supposed to be packed with people?

Looking at the deserted scene, Wang Jiaonu vaguely felt that something was wrong.

This is fucking weird, isn't it?

With over 5 people registered, even if only one percent showed up, there shouldn't be so few people, right?