Lin Ting snapped back to reality.
Flustered, she slammed her laptop shut with a “snap,” as if she had done something shameful.
Lu Hesheng leaned back in his chair, slow and deliberate, watching her. “What’s wrong? Don’t trust me?”
Lin Ting shook her head. “No.”
Of course she trusted him—she had picked tech stocks, and Lu Hesheng was an entrepreneur in that field. His judgment was probably accurate.
She just felt an inexplicable, almost humiliating inadequacy.
Secretly studying stocks, choosing a few likely-to-fail ones, and then having them exposed to him without any defense—it stung.
Lu Hesheng, clearly amused, kindly said, “From now on, if you want to buy anything, you can send it to me first. I’ll help you make money, okay?”
Lin Ting didn’t immediately respond. She knew there’s no such thing as a free lunch and didn’t want to owe someone unclear favors.
She asked seriously, “Do you have any conditions?”
Lu Hesheng looked at her—studious yet slightly guarded—and let out a low chuckle, leaning close to her ear and teasing:
“Little sister, what do you think I’d ask for?”
“Like… taking you out to eat, giving gifts, or… offering myself?”
Lin Ting felt her whole body go numb, a strange sense of déjà vu washing over her.
She felt like she’d heard that somewhere before.
Immediately, she backed out: “Forget it. You’re busy. I shouldn’t bother you.”
Lu Hesheng decided to stop teasing, reverting to his sleepy posture. “Alright, no more jokes. I haven’t thought about any conditions yet, so I’ll keep them for now.”
He went back to resting his head on the desk, seemingly intending to catch a few more winks.
Lin Ting couldn’t focus on her laptop either, lost in a wave of memories.
It was when she had just been admitted to Jing University, right at the boom of the internet age, when social apps were sprouting everywhere.
Lin Ting had followed the trend and downloaded a few apps.
Friends teased her, saying someone as pretty as her should post pictures online. She tried it, sharing some daily life photos, and did get a lot of attention and likes.
Until one day, back at the Lin residence, her stepmother Feng Wei saw the private messages on her phone and flew into a rage.
She snatched Lin Ting’s phone, slammed it to the ground, and pointed at her nose, scolding her for shamelessly flirting online and neglecting her studies.
That night, Lin Ting quietly hid all her posts, and her account gradually went quiet.
Among all the private messages, one account kept messaging her.
Its name was casual: “111.” The IP showed it was from the U.S., and the profile was empty, with no posts.
He repeatedly said he wanted to know her and claimed he was studying finance too, offering to teach her how to earn money.
At first, Lin Ting found him strange and ignored him.
But over time, his messages evolved from flirting to serious financial market insights, and they gradually became familiar.
They added each other on WeChat.
He did teach her a lot about finance, and it was all correct.
Lin Ting finally asked: 【Why are you being so nice to a stranger like me?】
111 replied after a few minutes: 【I like your face—it looks like the girl I like.】
Suddenly, Lin Ting understood this awkward persistence.
She felt a little grateful that, because of her face, she had received unexpected kindness.
She asked: 【So, do you have any conditions?】
111 replied immediately with a question: 【What do you want me to ask for?】
Hours later, when Lin Ting thought the conversation was over, 111 sent another message:
【Nothing, just call me哥哥 (brother).】
That’s how they became online friends, staying in touch intermittently for a year.
He guided her on assignments, company financials, and trading psychology.
He even once offered her a few million in seed money, claiming her small capital wouldn’t earn much even with talent.
Lin Ting never dared accept, politely refusing.
Eventually, he stopped mentioning it.
One day, her messages went unanswered. She thought this online connection was over.
A month later, he sent a message:
111: 【Sorry, I’ve been busy dealing with some things.】
【I’ve decided to pursue the girl I like in real life.】
Lin Ting sincerely wished him well: 【Good luck, I hope you succeed!】
111 never replied again, disappearing from her online life.
Later, she checked his social account out of habit. The IP had vanished; it seemed the account hadn’t been used for a long time.
With life and studies becoming busier, she gradually forgot about him… but she never forgot the lessons he taught. Those skills helped her earn a significant sum through trading, giving her confidence to leave the Lin family.
And now, memory and reality collided in an instant.
The coincidences were overwhelming. Her heart raced. She couldn’t help but seek the truth.
Could Lu Hesheng be that quiet 111?
Even if… even if the chance was only 0.01%, she didn’t want to be the timid girl again.
After a few minutes of mental preparation, she gathered courage and gently tapped the man beside her on the shoulder.
“Lu Hesheng… are you—”
“Exactly, the couple in the middle, near the back!”
The psychology professor’s voice rang through the microphone, cheerful and sudden.
“The girl in the pink sweater and the boy in black next to her—very eye-catching! Come up to the stage and demonstrate what we just discussed.”
Instantly, over two hundred pairs of eyes in the lecture hall focused on Lin Ting and Lu Hesheng.
The professor wasn’t on social media; he didn’t know their fame.
One was a well-known young master from a wealthy family, the other, a recognized academic beauty at Jing University.
No one could imagine these two, from completely different worlds, sitting together.
Whispers and discussions broke out around them, some secretly raising phones to snap photos.
Lin Ting’s heart jumped into her throat. Panic and fear gripped her.
Her mind went blank—she hadn’t heard a word of the lecture.
Fang Zhixiao spammed her with messages:
【Ahhhh I’m going to faint!!!】
【This is like an idol drama! Go, Lin Ting, you can do it!】
Lu Hesheng was long awake, frowning at the ruckus around him.
But when he saw the messages on her screen, he cooperated fully, standing up casually with hands in his pockets.
He looked at Lin Ting, frozen in place: “Come on, junior. What are you waiting for?”
“Want me to princess carry you up there?”