They don't actually think I like them, do they?

"Then let me ask it another way."

"What's the first thing you'll do once the company grows?"

"Buy Yan Yuli."

Lin Han answered almost without hesitation.

"After all, I promised her."

The air became quiet for a moment.

Mangzi stared blankly at Lin Han.

Lin Han then realized that there seemed to be something wrong with what he said.

Combining what I said earlier, it seems to have become:

The reason I worked so hard was because I promised to help Yan Yuli regain her freedom.

The truth is, Yan Yuli did give Lin Han a lot of motivation on his path to success. However, even without Yan Yuli, Lin Han would have eventually started his own business, because he has never been the type to be someone else's lackey.

"This was just a side effect."

"Senior Yan Yuli has been very kind to me."

Lin Han added two sentences of explanation.

Lin Han wasn't usually a meticulous speaker, but since the person he was talking to was Mang Zi, he felt it was necessary to add those two sentences.

"Is it just a matter of gratitude for being recognized and appreciated...?" Mangzi asked softly.

"Ah."

“You really did a lot for her.”

"well enough."

"Lin Han, let me tell you something."

Mangzi took a deep breath and nodded slightly.

"What I hate most in my life is people who do nothing but cry all day long and wait for others to save them."

Lin Han stared wide-eyed at Mang Zi.

This sentence is very referential; it's practically a direct reference.

“Her situation is much more complicated.”

Yan Yuli's situation cannot be explained to Mangzi in just a few words.

Besides, Lin Han guessed that Mangzi didn't want to hear it either.

"Perhaps that's true. But I firmly believe that destiny is in our own hands," Mangzi said.

Lin Han raised his head and looked at Mang Zi.

Mangzi tilted his head slightly and smiled gently.

Through countless days and nights, Mangzi created his own path to survival with his own hands.

Someone like her wouldn't have survived this long if she had fantasized about relying on others.

Looking into Mangzi's eyes, Lin Han's pupils gradually dilated, as if he had grasped something.

He has always tried his best to be a pillar of support for his senior.

But it seems they never realized that the petite idol in front of them, who always looked so well-behaved and adorable, was actually silently serving as their support.

Whenever faced with a desperate situation, whether physical or mental, someone would reach out to Lin Han, pull him out of the abyss.

It must be Miss Mangzi.

Seeing that Lin Han just stared wide-eyed and didn't say anything.

Mangzi turned his head back, raised it, and looked at the sky, expressionless.

In fact, it's more accurate to say I'm a little envious than to say I hate it.

Yan Yuli is never wrong.

As a girl, who wouldn't want the person they love to be someone they can rely on? There's nothing happier than that.

Even the grain of rice is the same.

She was simply forced to grow up at the age when she should have been protected the most, becoming strong enough to protect anyone she cared about within her sight.

However, since returning to society, she has always wanted to be a normal girl.

Be a normal 19-year-old girl who can cry and laugh freely, and like someone freely.

You can shed your tears in front of the person you like, reveal your most vulnerable side, and receive a promise from them.

Yan Yuli is the kind of girl she admires the most.

The saying "fate is in your own hands" is Mangzi's motto, but it also contains a sense of helplessness.

It's not that I shouldn't be able to control my own destiny, but rather, I hope to have a partner who can accompany me on my journey through life...

"Sister Mangzi."

Just then, Lin Han sat up from the carpet.

"Ok?"

"If... I mean if... there comes a day when you need me."

Lin Han spoke without much confidence, because Mang Zi was so powerful, both physically and mentally. Even Lin Han, who had lived two lives, was far inferior to her.

Does someone like Mangzi really need himself?

But Lin Han still said it:

"If Sister Mangzi ever needs me, I will come to your side as soon as you give the order!"

114. An Unexpected Guest

Mangzi was stunned. She stared into Lin Han's eyes for a full three seconds.

Three seconds later, Mangzi burst out laughing.

She quickly covered her face, her body trembling with embarrassment.

"Oh dear, why are you suddenly saying such cheesy things to someone!"

Lin Han's face immediately turned red.

Damn it, I finally mustered up the courage to say it, and it turned out to be cheesy!

"Grass!"

Lin Han got angry. He stood up and reached out to pry Mangzi's hand off her face.

Suddenly, Mangzi let go of Lin Han's hand, quickly stood up, and kissed Lin Han on the face.

Lin Han was stunned, his entire body frozen in place.

Before he could react, Mangzi suddenly hugged Lin Han again and kissed Lin Han's neck.

"Hmm."

After an hour of natural air drying, the water stains on Mangzi's wet swimsuit had almost completely disappeared, and it felt cool and refreshing against Lin Han's skin.

The parts not covered by the swimsuit, pressed against Lin Han's body, still radiated warmth, transmitting this warmth to Lin Han.

Lin Han's expression went from initial surprise to gradually calming down.

He knows.

I've never been good at pushing people away.

......

My Sunday trip to the water park with Mangzi has come to an end.

Back home, Lin Han took another shower, complaining about the poor condition of the water park's shower facilities.

After all, Lin Han spends an hour doing manual labor every time she takes a bath. If she takes a bath in a public bathroom, Lin Han is afraid that the next person who walks into the bathroom will slip on the milk.

After all, it's a small matter if someone falls to their death; Lin Han doesn't want his descendants to be trampled underfoot by other scoundrels.

Lin Han could stuff them into tissues, throw them down the drain, or splatter them on the wall, computer, or even flush them down the toilet when he went to the toilet—he could dispose of them however he wanted.

But we can't let someone trample us to death.

While taking a shower, Lin Han suddenly thought of a question.

Why are systems no longer issuing tasks when people travel these days? Without tasks, the sources of rewards have also decreased significantly.

In the past, whenever he went on a long trip with a girl, he would assign her a few tasks, such as increasing her favorability or achieving a few accomplishments.

After much thought, Lin Han came to a conclusion.

In the past, I was extremely reluctant to develop any relationships with girls, and most of the time I was driven forward by the system's rewards.

Now, although Lin Han can't say he wants to, he's at least no longer opposed to developing a relationship with a girl, and the system isn't pressuring him anymore.

This is fucked up.

Is this what you'd call a Honkai Impact 3rd system? Its main purpose is to annoy Lin Han and never let him get anything for nothing.

For the next few days, Lin Han prepared for Friday's lecture.

I thought that for such an important lecture, even if the college didn't provide a script, they would at least offer some feedback on the content.

Surprisingly, aside from a theme of "classical music and popular music," the academy said nothing else.

It's all thanks to Lin Han's preparations!

Are you overconfident?!

Just because Lin Han can write songs doesn't mean he can write speeches; he's not an academic!

For something like this, any professor in their fifties or sixties would be more effective than Lin Han.

As a freshman, he was facing an audience entirely composed of people older than himself.

Tremendous stress!

A lecture of this caliber, coupled with the speaker's status as a public figure, inevitably leads to the leak of footage.

If Lin Han were to lose face, it wouldn't just be a matter of losing face at school; it would be a matter of losing face in the entertainment industry.

It was a task that was already unpopular with passersby, and if he messed it up, Lin Han's public image would plummet.

What should I talk about...?

Late at night, Lin Han sat at his desk, pondering this question repeatedly.

Lin Han finally had a chance to talk to top music intellectuals, people who could potentially become big names in the music or entertainment industry. What should he say to them?

As he pondered this question, Lin Han slowly drifted off to sleep.

Before we knew it, the day of the lecture arrived.

The lecture was scheduled to start at 4 p.m., but preparations were already underway throughout the campus from the morning.

Inside the art academy, Lin Han's poster was placed in the most prominent position.

It is said that the audience seats for this lecture were fully booked a week in advance, and the college urgently changed the venue, moving Lin Han to the largest lecture hall in the entire school.

Even so, it was still not enough, so the college opened more than ten classrooms at the same time to broadcast the lectures live.

Based on the estimated number of students in the art college, and considering that students have generally not been very enthusiastic about these "voluntary attendance" lectures, the originally booked classrooms were more than enough.

Unexpectedly, the academy seriously underestimated Lin Han's popularity.

Not only were students from this college vying for reserved spots, but students from other colleges of Baijing University were also quite enthusiastic. In fact, many students from other universities went through a series of complicated and lengthy procedures just to secure a seat at Lin Han's lecture!

Many students no longer even dream of getting a seat in the lecture hall; they'd be happy with any room that's used for broadcasting!

On the school's official forum, the topic has already topped the trending list.

"Beep beep! I need a kind person with a seat in the front row of the lecture hall to do a live stream, please!"