Lin Shuang stared at her phone, debating how exactly she should reply to Jiang Mo. In the end, she decided to just forward him the short, viral essay her roommates had sent her, quickly tacking on a message of her own.
"Be honest with me," her text read. "Throughout elementary, middle, high school, or even now in college... did you ever have an ethereal, effortlessly beautiful goddess who became the one that got away?1 No cap, that's actually low-key a massive deal."
A moment later, his reply flashed on the screen. "Do I need to read the link you sent first?"
"Forget the essay," Lin Shuang typed back instantly, her fingers flying over the keyboard. "Answer my question first."
"I don't recall anyone fitting the description of an 'ethereal goddess' at any school I've ever attended," Jiang Mo replied. "And I don't do unrequited pining. I understand. I'll take care of it."
Lin Shuang bit her lip, sending a one-word follow-up. "Are you really that certain?"
A quiet sigh slipped past Jiang Mo's lips on the other end of the line. But as he thought about it, a smile tugged at his mouth. It meant that he, her fiancé, finally occupied a significant amount of real estate in Miss Lin's heart. She was starting to care about him, wanting to know his past, even getting a little jealous... That realization alone was enough to flood him with genuine warmth.
After a moment's thought, he pressed down on the voice note icon.
"I just did a quick search," his deep, smooth voice played back to her, steady and neutral. "The term implies someone who forever holds your heart but remains forever out of reach. I don't have anyone or anything that fits that category, Miss Lin. Because everything I've ever wanted, I either already have, or I'm well on my way to claiming it."
There was a brief pause before his tone softened with an amused, comforting lilt. "So you don't need to worry. Aside from you, the only people I've ever hugged are my parents, my college roommates, and my high school homeroom teacher at graduation. I understand the situation entirely."
As the voice note cut off, Lin Shuang buried her burning face straight into the cool surface of her desk.
(Ugh, why did I have to be so incredibly high-maintenance?2) It was literally so cringe of me. She hadn't actually meant to interrogate him; she had just been nervous and wanted an excuse to explain why she'd called him out of the blue earlier. What if Jiang Mo thought she was just a paranoid, pampered brat? That would be an absolute L.
The final class before lunch always dragged on like an absolute eternity. The moment the bell finally rang, the students surged toward the door in a frantic, disorganized stampede, barely waiting for the professor to officially dismiss them.
Lin Shuang had already told her roommates not to wait up for her, but her classroom was on the third floor. By the time she stepped out, the stairwells were entirely gridlocked. It took her over five agonizing minutes just to break free from the crowd and sprint out of the academic building.
"Mr. Jiang!" she called out, waving her hand.
Even amidst the sea of overlapping students, Jiang Mo's impressive six-foot-three stature made him instantly recognizable.
"I'm so sorry! There were way too many people on the stairs," Lin Shuang panted, hurriedly smoothing down her bangs. Before she could even adjust, Jiang Mo effortlessly reached down and took the heavy textbooks from her arms.
"It's fine. I told you there was no need to rush," Jiang Mo said, his tone perfectly calm and even. Sweeping his free arm around her waist, he pulled her into a brief, reassuring embrace that lasted just a few seconds. "Lead the way. What are you in the mood for today? I'll handle the logistics."
Though university life offered the endless convenience of food delivery apps, the majority of students still opted for the campus cafeteria—it was cheap, delicious, and convenient. The only downside was the massive, slow-moving lines that formed precisely at noon.
Both of them decided on the braised pork rice bowls. Brimming with a sudden burst of playful confidence, Lin Shuang proudly slid her campus student ID card across the counter to him. "My treat," she declared with a grin. "Go ahead and scan it - no PIN required. It's totally fine."
"Then I won't be polite," Jiang Mo said with a soft chuckle, taking the card and tapping it against the reader. As he carried their steaming bowls over to an open table, he offered a gentle, thoroughly amused warning. "Just so you know, Miss Lin... your account balance is currently sitting at exactly three dollars. I suggest you reload that soon."
"...Next time I'll just Venmo you," Lin Shuang muttered, her lips twisting into a tiny pout as she sat down and began aggressively prodding at her pork rice with a chopstick. Bruh, that was so embarrassing.
She looked up, her expression softening into something genuinely apologetic. "Look, I'm really sorry about those messages I sent this morning. Just ignore them. My brain was completely fried from the lecture and I wasn't thinking straight. I promise I'm usually not that needy and unreasonable when I'm fully functional. Like, I'm low-key normal normally."
"I actually read through the whole essay you forwarded," Jiang Mo replied, taking a bite of his food. "To be honest, it made me pretty happy. The fact that Miss Lin is asking me these things... it proves you're actually taking our engagement seriously, right? I appreciate the clarity."
"Did you think I wasn't being serious before?" she asked, tilting her head.
"Not exactly," Jiang Mo explained, maintaining his calm, measured delivery. "It's just... early on, during our blind date, I felt like you were treating it with a child's curiosity, like something to show off. And later, when we ran into each other in the game, I thought you were only clinging to me out of fear and survival instinct. I figured that was the baseline."
Jiang Mo had honestly believed that, initially, Lin Shuang viewed him as a novelty. And within the terrifying confines of the Infinite Stream game, her reliance on him felt like a byproduct of sheer terror. But now that she was throwing tantrums, getting jealous, and digging into his romantic past? It meant she was genuinely looking at him as a partner. She actually wanted to marry him.
"Oh, right. I bought some gifts for your roommates and left them in the car," he added casually. "You can take them up to your dorm before your afternoon class. I've already arranged everything."
"...You didn't even tell me," Lin Shuang said, the wave of guilt hitting her so intense that she practically tried to shrink her head into her jacket collar. That's actually wild, he's being so nice.
If she were being entirely honest with herself, she did love Jiang Mo. If she didn't, there was no way she would have endured reading an eight-hundred-thousand-word web novel featuring a protagonist she initially couldn't stand. When she had first transmigrated into this world as a doomed cannon-fodder character, her immediate instinct had been unadulterated terror. But it was impossible to say there wasn't a tiny, secret part of her that was thrilled. She was getting to interact with a breathtakingly real version of the main character - and she had somehow ended up on a blind date and engaged to him. No matter how she looked at it, she was incredibly lucky.
Seeing her look so utterly dejected and lost in her own head, Jiang Mo let out a low laugh. "They aren't gifts for you, so I didn't think I needed to clear it with you first. There's no need to stress over it."
Lin Shuang: "..."
(Are you serious right now?)
Unbelievable. The profound, soul-searching aura of self-reflection she had been cultivating was instantly shattered by his teasing. That is actually foul, ngl.
She narrowed her eyes, instantly pivoting into an indignant interrogation. "Wait a minute. Does that mean you didn't buy a gift for me at all? Like, actually zero?"
"I didn't know what you liked yet, so I didn't want to guess," Jiang Mo said smoothly.
"......Hmph. Fine, whatever. It's not like I'm lacking anything anyway. I'm literally fine," she huffed, turning her head away.
The midday break between classes was quite generous. In her borrowed memories of this life, Lin Shuang usually spent this time retreating to her dorm room for a quick power nap or scrolling mindlessly through her smartphone in bed. But with Jiang Mo here, she contentedly leaned back against the passenger seat of his car, basking in the crisp, cool air conditioning.
"Do you have plans for this afternoon, Mr. Jiang?" she asked, glancing over at him.
"Nothing on the schedule," Jiang Mo replied, checking his watch. "Once your class starts, I'll probably just head back and take a nap myself, then come right back to pick you up when you're done. I'll make sure the timing aligns perfectly."
"Alright," Lin Shuang murmured. She had secretly hoped to drag Jiang Mo into the lecture hall with her - it was just a massive, multi-class public elective where the professor didn't know the students and the students didn't know the professor. But she decided against pushing it because that would be a bit much.
Setting her phone aside, she closed her eyes, preparing to drift off. But barely two minutes into the silence, Jiang Mo's phone erupted into a loud ringtone.
The man glanced down at the string of unfamiliar digits lighting up the screen. His brows knitted together slightly as he swiped to answer. "Hello? Jiang Mo speaking."
"Per protocol, I must apologize for the disturbance," a woman's anxious, highly formal voice floated through the speaker. "This is He Man. I am deeply regretful regarding the incident that transpired this morning. My brother formally requests the opportunity to host a dinner in your honor to express our profound apologies. We would be honored if you and your fiancée would consider attending."
"That won't be necessary, Miss He," Jiang Mo stated coldly, his voice standard and unyielding. "I've already forgotten about this morning's incident. Let's leave it at that. There is no need for further action."
"But if the matter is truly resolved, why did the head instructor report that you have requested an immediate cancellation of your archery range membership?" He Man pressed, her grip visibly tightening on her phone on the other end as she maintained her rigid, bureaucratic composure. "I must convey our utmost sincerity, Jiang Mo. On behalf of my brother, we remain deeply apologetic..."
Jiang Mo cut her off by silently ending the call, casting a quiet glance over toward the passenger seat.
Lin Shuang's eyes were half-open, fixed entirely on him in a deadpan, unblinking glare. Staaare... He's low-key hiding something, ngl.
"A minor issue came up this morning," Jiang Mo explained smoothly, reaching over to give her head a reassuring pat as he walked her through the events at the range. "That's all it was. She probably managed to wheedle my number out of the head coach. But I've already withdrawn from the course, so there's zero chance of ever crossing paths with her again. I've completely closed that loop."
Lin Shuang let out a small, disappointed sigh. "So you're just giving up archery entirely? That's such a waste. Like, you'd low-key look insanely cool doing it, no cap."
The image of him drawing back a massive bow, paired with that devastating face and build, consistently hitting a perfect bullseye? He would look absolutely breathtaking, high-key fire. She had actually been secretly planning a day where she could tag along to the range just to watch him.
"I only dropped those useless, introductory classes," Jiang Mo said, tapping his fingers rhythmically against the steering wheel with a sharp, knowing grin. "If you want to go, we can rent out a private lane whenever you want. I'll handle the reservations. More importantly... aren't you going to get a little jealous?"
Summary:
Lin Shuang interrogates her fiancé Jiang Mo via text messages regarding his past romantic ideals before meeting him for a lunch date on her university campus. While dining together at the busy campus cafeteria, Jiang Mo addresses her hidden insecurities and validates her jealousy as a sign of her growing emotional investment in their engagement. Their quiet post-lunch conversation inside his car is abruptly disrupted by a phone call from an anxious woman named He Man, leaving Jiang Mo's ultimate intentions with a mysterious shooting range conflict completely unresolved.
Trivia:
Jiang Mo stands at an impressive height of nearly 190 centimeters (six-foot-three).
Lin Shuang's student ID card balance had only three dollars left on it during their meal.
Lin Shuang read over eight hundred thousand words of the original web novel despite disliking the main characters initially.
Jiang Mo canceled his entire shooting range membership rather than just ignoring the troublesome girl's brother.
Translation Notes:
1 ↩ An idiom literally translating to "white moonlight," which refers to an idealized, unattainable person from one's past who remains a permanent object of affection but stays forever out of reach.
2 ↩ An idiom meaning to pester unreasonably, make a scene out of nothing, or act in an excessively needy, high-maintenance, and vexatiously stubborn manner.
Notes:
• Lin Shuang - Lin Shuang is a college student transmigrated as a cannon fodder in an infinite game. To survive its horrors, she adopts a detached persona, clinging to the male lead for security while finding solace in small rewards like cake. Navigating the original owner's complex social ties with anxiety, she hides her true self, focusing solely on comfort and survival within the deadly, surreal game world.
• Jiang Mo - A cold, calculated strategist in the Infinite Stream, he masks a predatory nature with a gentle persona. As a former boxer living a solitary, tidy life, he balances lethal survival skills with a guarded temperament. He acts as a devoted protector to Lin Shuang, navigating the game's dangers with detached pragmatism and a methodical, controlled approach to both combat and his personal life.
• Shuang - A college student who transmigrated into a web novel as a doomed side character, Lin Shuang is a delicate-featured girl with bangs. Anxious to survive the infinite game, she masks her desperation by playing the opportunist, clinging to the male protagonist, Jiang Mo. Navigating the game’s dangers, she monitors forums and leverages their growing closeness—even renting an apartment to stay near him.
• Jiang - Jiang Mo, a towering 6'3" former police academy student and athlete, is a top-tier survivalist in the Main God Space. Known for his powerful stature, sharp martial arts, and archery skills, he balances a pragmatic, stoic exterior with deep, trauma-rooted protectiveness. A weary-looking yet fit solo-ranker, he masks his intense devotion to his partner and fiancée, Lin Shuang, with cynical humor.
• Lin - A university junior and Jiang Mo’s fiancée, she is a resilient survivor who transmigrated into a doomed supporting role in a web novel. With a delicate build and bangs, she masks her vulnerability with a clever, observant nature. After trading her sedentary life for tactical combat with a Tang dao, she meticulously practices origami survival skills and exercises with Jiang Mo to forge vital alliances.
• Mo - Jiang Mo, known as Silent Jiang in the Main God’s Game, is a towering 6’3” martial artist and archer. Once a righteous police academy student, he is now hyper-vigilant yet remains calm and protective. He serves as a devoted mentor to Lin Shuang, with whom he shares a disciplined, evolving relationship—from forced laps to a deliberate, mutual commitment toward marriage, balancing his aloofness with care.
• He - A fierce, aggressive man who storms into a private training range to confront Jiang Mo over an alleged emotional deception involving his sister. A woman who speaks with strict, anxious bureaucratic formality over the phone. She is the sister of a man who caused an incident at an archery range.
• Man - The given name of He Man, a woman who speaks with strict, anxious bureaucratic formality over the phone. She is the sister of a man who caused an incident at an archery range.