Reborn not to be a beast of burden, I set the rules.

October 1st, National Day.

The morning sunlight fell on the windowsill of Dormitory 7 in Taoyuan, warm and gentle, with the unique tenderness of early autumn.

Ye Ming had just finished packing his things when his phone rang.

"Ye Ming, I'm downstairs. Come down and see me off!"

Ruan Xing's voice popped out from the receiver, carrying her usual liveliness.

Ye Ming went downstairs.

Ruan Xing stood by the roadside outside the dormitory building, dragging a pink suitcase.

The morning sunlight slanted in from the east, gilding her with a faint golden edge.

She has a classic oval face, delicate features, and her eyes curve into crescent moons when she smiles.

Her shoulder-length, straight, layered hair, with the ends slightly curled outwards, was a little messy in the morning breeze. She casually brushed it aside, revealing her smooth forehead.

She was slender, with her collarbone faintly visible at the neckline. Her legs, encased in light-colored jeans, were thin and straight with clean, crisp lines. Her wrists were so thin that one worried the suitcase might drag her away.

"Don't actually spend all seven days of the National Day holiday in the computer lab, you'll go crazy!" She waved with a grin, her wisps of hair swaying in the sunlight. "I'll bring you something delicious when I get back!"

Ye Ming looked at her, his gaze softening.

This little girl.

Drive carefully and be safe.

Ruan Xing paused for a moment, then smiled even more broadly. "Okay! See you later!"

She skipped away, dragging her suitcase, the sunlight falling on her back, casting a long shadow.

Back in the dormitory, Zhou Lei and Lin Hao were carrying their luggage at the door.

Zhou Lei looked up and saw Ye Ming returning from outside. He then glanced at the empty corridor behind him.

"Hey, so early in the morning, who are you delivering this to?"

Ye Ming ignored him and went into the dormitory.

Lin Hao peeked out into the corridor, saw nothing, pursed his lips, and retreated.

Zhou Lei leaned close to Lin Hao's ear and whispered, "I saw her at the window just now. It was a woman, and she was quite pretty."

Lin Hao raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

The two dragged their luggage out, and as they passed the door of room 204, Zhou Lei called out to them, "Let's go! Happy National Day!"

Ye Ming hummed in agreement.

Chen Mo sat at his desk reading a book, then looked up and waved to them.

The dormitory quieted down.

Chen Mo closed the book and looked at Ye Ming: "Want to go have breakfast together?"

Just as Ye Ming was about to nod, his phone rang again.

This time it's Xu Wei.

"Ye Ming, I'm almost at the east gate of the school. Could you come and see me off?"

Ye Ming paused for a moment: "Now?"

"Now! Hurry, hurry, I'm waiting for you!"

Ye Ming hung up the phone and looked at Chen Mo.

"You go ahead, I have something to do."

Chen Mo didn't ask any further questions, and nodded: "Do you need me to bring you breakfast?"

"Thank you so much." Ye Ming went downstairs to the east gate of the school.

Outside the East Gate, cars come and go, and people throng.

Xu Wei was standing by the roadside, pushing her suitcase, and replying to messages with her head down.

She was wearing a light-colored cardigan over a tight-fitting crew-neck T-shirt that accentuated her curves.

Her facial features appeared exceptionally defined in the sunlight, with bright eyebrows and eyes, full lips, and healthy, fair skin.

Her long, wavy hair cascaded over her shoulders, swaying gently as she looked up.

She has a well-proportioned figure, with curves in all the right places.

Her legs were straight and long, with smooth calf muscle lines, giving her a bright and radiant aura.

Fresh and dazzling.

Upon seeing Ye Minglai, her eyes curved into crescent moons.

"You're really something, coming all this way to deliver it." She deliberately put on a stern face. "Don't even think about getting away for the National Day holiday. I'm definitely going to have you go shopping with me. You have to carry my bags and be a truly great person this once!"

Ye Ming looked at her, especially her big, wavy hair, which he guessed was freshly done and suited her very well.

The sunlight fell on her face, bright and dazzling, her beautiful and three-dimensional features almost pricking one's heart.

I changed my hairstyle, and it looks pretty good.

"Okay," he said with a smile.

Xu Wei paused for a moment, then felt a little embarrassed. "Then it's settled!"

She waved and dragged her suitcase toward the taxi parked by the roadside.

Her long, wavy hair swung behind her, and her slender legs ran incredibly fast.

After getting into the car, Xu Wei stroked her hair and glanced back. Ye Ming had already turned and walked away, not looking this way.

She pouted and muttered, "Isn't it good-looking? How come this guy didn't show any emotion at all?"

Ye Ming turned around and walked back, not noticing that two people were peeking into his direction from the bus stop not far away.

Zhou Lei's eyes widened in disbelief, and he almost dropped the luggage he was carrying.

Lin Hao also raised his head, his gaze following the taxi.

"Holy shit." Zhou Lei had been holding back for a long time, and only managed to utter these two words.

Lin Hao's eyes were complicated. After a moment of silence, he said, "I usually only think the class monitor of Class 3 is pretty, but today she changed her hairstyle and clothes, and she looks like a celebrity."

After waiting for a long time, the bus arrived. Once on board and seated, Zhou Lei finally couldn't resist taking out his phone.

He sent a message in QQ group Taoqi204:

Zhou Lei: @Chen Mo, are you still in the dorm? Ye Ming just went to see someone off again. Do you know who he saw off?

Chen Mo: I don't know, he didn't say.

Zhou Lei: The class monitor of Class 3 who attends classes with me every day! He changed to a new wavy hairstyle today, and with the sunlight shining on him, he looks just as good as a big star! Even better than this morning!

Lin Hao: The one who was skinny this morning... well, you know what I mean.

Zhou Lei: ? ? ? What does that mean? You don't know anything.

Lin Hao: Anyway, it looks pretty good.

Zhou Lei: Ye Ming usually seems quiet and reserved, spending all his time studying programming, so how come all the girls he meets are more and more beautiful?

Chen Mo: You saw two?

Zhou Lei: Yeah! The first one had supermodel legs, shoulder-length hair, and was quite pretty. The second one was even more amazing—her figure and her aura were incredible!

Lin Hao: He must have picked all the flowers in the School of Humanities.

Zhou Lei: @Chen Mo, you live in the same room with him every day, haven't you noticed any special skills he has?

Chen Mo: ...No. You also share a room with him, how come you didn't discover any special techniques?

Zhou Lei: I don't believe it! You guys have to teach me when you get back, I want to date too!

Lin Hao: You can't learn it. Gamers are content with just games.

Zhou Lei: Get out!

When Ye Ming returned to the dormitory, Chen Mo had already finished breakfast and come back. There was a takeout of soy milk and steamed buns on the table.

"I brought this for you," Chen Mo said, pointing.

Ye Ming smiled and said, "Thank you, I'll pay you how much."

"It's not much money. You can treat me to breakfast next time," Chen Mo replied with a smile.

Ye Ming sat down to eat breakfast, and Chen Mo hesitated for a moment before suddenly speaking.

"Zhou Lei and the others just said in the group chat that you gave two girls a ride this morning."

Ye Ming swallowed a mouthful of steamed bun and nodded.

"Hmm, I haven't checked the group chat yet. One person is a classmate, and the other... is also a classmate."

Chen Mo glanced at him and chuckled.

"They say all the girls you know are pretty."

Ye Ming didn't reply and continued eating breakfast.

Chen Mo didn't ask any more questions and turned a page of the book.

Unbeknownst to me, the atmosphere in dormitory 204 was much more harmonious than in my previous life.

After finishing breakfast, Ye Ming tidied up.

Chen Mo asked, "Are we going to the library later? I'm planning to spend the whole day there."

Ye Ming shook his head: "I have something to do today, I have an appointment with someone."

"Is it a girl?" Chen Mo asked.

After hesitating for a moment, Ye Ming nodded.

"Is it pretty?" Chen Mo asked again.

Ye Ming recalled Shen Zhiyi's appearance—cool and aloof eyebrows, a light blue skirt, and skin that shone brightly in the sunlight.

This question cannot be answered.

He thought for a moment, then remained silent.

Seeing Ye Ming's silence, Chen Mo immediately understood and also fell silent. He packed up his books, walked to the door, thought for a moment, then turned around and gave Ye Ming a thumbs up.

"I give up!"

Ye Ming felt that his friend Chen Mo from his past life and Chen Mo in this life were gradually merging together, so he couldn't help but laugh and wave to him.

The dormitory quieted down, and Ye Ming quickly read a book for a while. His phone alarm went off at 9:15.

He picked up his schoolbag and went out again.

Shen Zhiyi was already waiting at the East Gate.

She stood by the roadside, the sunlight shining obliquely from the east, falling on her.

A light blue dress, the hem just reaching her knees, revealing a section of smooth calves.

White canvas shoes, with the laces tied neatly.

Her long, jet-black hair cascaded over her shoulders, the ends curling slightly inwards as it swayed gently in the wind.

Her pale skin shone brightly in the sunlight, her eyebrows and eyes were delicate and gentle, her nose was slender and smooth, and her lips were light and graceful.

She is slender but not thin, with a well-proportioned frame and smooth shoulder and neck lines, exuding a scholarly air when she stands there.

She looked down at her phone, her hair falling down to cover half of her face.

She stood quietly, like a handful of moonlight that one dared not touch, yet she possessed an indescribable intellectual charm.

Ye Ming paused for a moment.

Here we go again.

He took a deep breath.

In my past life, I went on blind dates, got married, got divorced... all those messy things.

It finally feels right.

Only then did he walk over.

"Have you been waiting long?" he asked gently.

Shen Zhiyi looked up at Ye Ming and felt a halo around her. Despite his ordinary appearance, it made her breath catch and her ears turn red.

"I just...I just arrived, let's go."

She put her phone in her pocket and casually tidied her wind-blown hair.

The two walked side by side toward the bus stop.

They boarded the bus, which wasn't crowded, and sat in the last row.

Shen Zhiyi leaned against the window, sunlight falling on her profile, making her pale skin almost transparent.

The carriage was quiet, with only the hum of the engine.

After one stop, Shen Zhiyi suddenly spoke softly.

"Yesterday...did you go to Zhujiang Road alone?"

Ye Ming turned his head to look at her.

"Yeah, I made an appointment with Senior Li Yue, but we got separated."

Shen Zhiyi nodded.

She paused, then continued.

"The waters over there are very deep; it's easy for someone to get scammed."

Ye Ming looked at her and thought she was extremely cute.

My heart skipped a beat.

Stay calm.

She didn't look at him, or rather, she was secretly watching him through the window, and her ears turned red again.

"But now I'm here," she suddenly said, her voice soft but her tone earnest.

Ye Ming was taken aback.

Again? Can you please stop saying such ambiguous things?

But these words carried extra weight when they came from her mouth.

"I go there often; several shop owners there know me. They can't fool me, so they can't fool you either."

After she finished speaking, she pursed her lips, as if she had used up all her courage to say those words.

Sunlight fell on her profile, and her eyelashes trembled gently in the light and shadow.

Ye Ming looked at her.

A strange feeling suddenly welled up inside me, like discovering a spring that never stops flowing in a long-parched desert.

"Okay, I believe you," he said.

Shen Zhiyi was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at him.

"Then... let's see what I'm capable of."

She pursed her lips, and the corners of her eyes subtly curved into a smile.

After a while, Ye Ming asked.

What did you buy yesterday?

Shen Zhiyi paused.

"Components, I want to make a small thing."

"What little thing?"

Shen Zhiyi hesitated for a moment: "It's not finished yet, it's just... do you know Android?"