Nian Ueno

Jiang Weixi thought she was seeing things and froze on the spot.

Everyone else was sitting, but she was standing, standing out from the crowd.

The man on the podium naturally spotted her at a glance.

Jiang Weixi blinked and glanced at it again.

That's right.

The man standing on the podium in the School of Economics and Management's lecture hall was Ji Dongxun.

Their eyes met.

Ji Dongxun wore a black suit jacket, with the top button of his white shirt fastened to the last button. He wore rimless glasses, looking more refined than usual, like a scholar.

His face remained as cold and stern as ever, and his eyes were still sharp.

Ji Dongxun was specially invited to give a lecture.

Professor Zhou, who is in charge of teaching this course, is standing to the side of the podium, organizing everyone to sign in.

"Open the learning platform, scan the QR code to check in, limited to two minutes."

Ji Dongxun's gaze did not linger on her for long; he simply swept it over her casually.

Jiang Weixi wasn't sure if he recognized her, so she quickly squeezed into a corner to sit down, took out her phone, logged into Ji Xingzhou's account, located him, scanned the QR code, and successfully checked in.

The students around were whispering among themselves.

"That's Ji Dongxun? He looks much younger than in the photos."

"I heard he only confirmed his arrival this morning; he'd been in meetings in City B before that."

"OMG, he's a hundred times more handsome in person than in photos, ahhh..."

"Keep your voice down."

"He walks with a swagger, doesn't he...?"

"Stop talking, stop talking, he's looking this way."

"So what exactly is this lesson about?"

"Who cares what they say? As long as they can see the person, that's enough."

"Professor Zhou said he invited him to give a lecture on great power rivalry and economic strategy or something like that."

"Someone of this caliber actually came to our school to give a lecture?"

"I heard they were Professor Zhou's former students, and they only came out of respect for their teacher."

Jiang Weixi felt a heavy weight sinking down in her lower abdomen, making her feel a little uncomfortable, so she rested her head on the table.

No wonder there were so many people in the classroom today; there were more people auditing the class than actually attending. It turns out they all came to see Ji Dongxun because of his reputation.

Teacher Zhou tapped the microphone: "Students, please be quiet."

"Today's lesson has invited Comrade Ji Dongxun to give a special report on geopolitics and military-economic strategy."

Applause erupted.

It was very lively.

It was more than ten times more enthusiastic than a regular class.

It was no longer the lifeless atmosphere of the past.

Everyone is full of passion today.

A girl in the row in front of Jiang Weixi clapped so hard her palms turned red.

Jiang Weixi also clapped along.

Ji Xingzhou studied finance, and she has been covering more than half of his classes in the past year and a half.

Almost all of them are courses related to making money.

Jiang Weixi's interest was piqued at the mention of money.

Back then, when I filled out my college application, everything was related to money.

As a result, I was assigned to the Philosophy Department.

The philosophy courses weren't bad; she could even read Nietzsche, Kant, and Heidegger.

Philosophy taught her to see the world clearly.

Finance taught her to change the world—no, it taught her how to make money.

The term "making money" sounds vulgar, but Jiang Weixi never thought it was vulgar.

Because money is her life.

After the applause subsided, Ji Dongxun nodded slightly, skipped the pleasantries and cut straight to the point.

"I'll be discussing three issues today."

"First, the basic assessment of the current international security situation."

"Second, the logical starting point of the military-economic mobilization mechanism."

Third, strategic composure in the great power game.

"current……"

Jiang Weixi kept her head slightly lowered, occasionally glancing up at him, not daring to stare at him for too long, afraid of making eye contact with him.

Several female classmates nearby were discussing what brand Ji Dongxun's cufflinks were.

Most people's attention is not on the content.

"I didn't really understand what he was saying, but he had a very pleasant voice."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"They came to see people."

Jiang Weixi absentmindedly twirled her pen, while the swooning voices of the girls around her reached her ears.

"Ahhh... he looked so cool taking off his clothes just now..."

"Great body proportions, broad shoulders and narrow waist, I bet he's hiding six-pack abs under his shirt."

"I can't take it anymore, I really want him to take off another layer."

"Ahhh... I want to marry Mr. Ji."

The classroom was a bit stuffy, so Ji Dongxun casually took off his suit jacket and draped it over the chair next to him.

Unexpectedly, this small gesture excited the girls for a long time.

Jiang Weixi lifted her eyelids and quickly glanced at the podium.

He wore a white shirt, tucked into his trousers, and the buckle on his belt gleamed coldly; his every move exuded an air of nobility.

She suddenly remembered that night when he was drunk... she had seen him without clothes on.

Jiang Weixi picked up her textbook and fanned herself, feeling a bit hot and her mind wandering.

That night was the second time she had seen Ji Dongxun.

She first met Ji Dongxun in the summer when she was seventeen.

That summer, torrential rains caused a flood in Xunshuijian, and she happened to be trapped there.

Ji Dongxun led a rescue team to provide support.

The flood was dangerous, she couldn't swim, and was abandoned by her own father.

In her most desperate moment, a rescuer swam towards her against the raging waves and reached out to grab her.

He supported her waist and brought her ashore.

She stared at him for a long time, trying to remember his face.

She had asked him his name at the time, but he didn't tell her.

Later, she found out his name by looking up news online.

……

The bell rang, signaling the end of get out of class.

Jiang Weixi snapped out of her thoughts and quickly packed her things to prepare for her next class, which was her major course.

There was a lot of people blocking the entrance because Ji Dongxun was still on the podium.

Jiang Weixi pushed through the crowd and hurried toward another teaching building.

There is a certain distance between the two buildings.

By the time she arrived, almost everyone had arrived in the classroom; there were only about twenty people in total.

There aren't many people who study philosophy.

The classroom for this class is very small.

Jiang Weixi found a corner in the back row and sat down, preparing to produce the necessary documents.

This lesson will cover "Selected Readings from Original Works of Western Philosophy".

The lecturer, surnamed Shen, was a middle-aged woman with an air of scholarly refinement who preferred talking about life rather than money.

Teacher Shen doesn't like standing on the podium; she prefers to stand in the aisle to give lectures and then randomly call on students to answer questions.

Everyone listened attentively in her classes because they didn't want to be speechless when called upon to answer a question, as that would be very embarrassing.

Jiang Weixi was taking notes when a message popped up on her phone.

[Ji Xingzhou: Have you signed up for the course?]

[Signed.]

[Ji Xingzhou: Do you have class later?]

[Yes. I'm online right now. What's up? Is there something you need?]

[Ji Xingzhou: That's alright then, you go to class first, I have a basketball game at A University.]

Ji Xingzhou would always invite her to his competitions because Jiang Weixi was a good photographer and could accurately capture his handsome moments.

Then he can post his handsome photos on his various social media accounts.

But now Jiang Weixi is not going to skip class to watch his game, and only replies with one sentence.

[Keep it up!]

University A, basketball court.

It was a bright, sunny day, with the sky a clear, deep blue.

Having just finished the first match, Ji Xingzhou and several other teammates were resting on a bench outside the court.

Teammate Zhang Da crushed a water bottle, threw it at his feet, and joked, "Captain, why didn't your girlfriend come to watch your game today?"

Everyone on the basketball team knew that Ji Xingzhou had a gentle, beautiful, and very clingy girlfriend with a lovely voice. She would cheer for him from the sidelines during every game and bring him water afterward, praising how handsome he was. This made the single guys quite envious.

After finishing his water, Ji Xingzhou tossed the bottle into the trash can with a basketball-shooting motion, his expression indifferent: "She's in class."

Li Meng walked over, hooked his arm around his shoulder with one hand, and held his phone in the other: "Bro, I saw Xu Manzhen's latest Instagram post says she's finished her studies and is preparing to go back to China..."

Ji Xingzhou glanced at him but didn't say anything.

Li Meng was Ji Xingzhou's basketball teammate, college roommate, and high school classmate.

Xu Manzhen and Ji Xingzhou were also high school classmates.

Li Meng knew them all.

Ji Xingzhou is a prominent figure in his generation.

Back then, Ji Xingzhou and Xu Manzhen's relationship caused quite a stir; half the school knew about it.

Zhang Da and the others, hearing the name for the first time, asked curiously, "Who is Xu Manzhen?"

Ji Xingzhou was not interested and had no desire to answer.

Li Meng found a photo on Instagram of a girl smiling brightly on a California beach.

"This is my first love on the journey."

Zhang Da's eyes widened slightly: "I thought Xingzhou's first love was..."

He thought it was Jiang Weixi.

Ji Xingzhou's gaze swept over the photo on Li Meng's phone, a subtle ripple appearing in his eyes.

In the photo, the California sun shines brightly, and the girl's smile is even brighter.

It seems she's been quite happy during the breakup period.

Ji Xingzhou felt a strange mix of emotions.

When boys get together, they're bound to gossip.

Several teammates listened with great interest as Li Meng recounted their captain Ji Xingzhou's arrogant past in high school...

Zhang Da suddenly asked, "Captain, now, in your heart, which is more important, your first love or your current girlfriend?"

Li Meng answered for him first: "Is there even a question? It's definitely his first love..."

Ji Xingzhou did not refute, thus acquiescing.

Zhang Da suddenly felt sorry for Jiang Weixi.

Such a gentle and kind girl must be very sad if she gets dumped.

He has a simple and honest personality; he says whatever comes to mind.

"Captain, if you and Xiao Jiang break up, can I pursue her?"