Chapter 1: The Blind Date Partner Is a Long-Legged Beauty

  In Meining City, Huaxia, the autumn afternoon sun was somewhat glaring. The ancient Binhai Road, with its marble-paved old street, rolled with hot vapor under the blazing sun. The heat was suffocating, and autumn cicadas hid in the camphor trees lining the street, crying weakly, mourning the final stretch of their lives.

  This was one of the most prosperous commercial streets in Meining City. However, since it was working hours and early autumn was scorching hot, people preferred staying at home or in air-conditioned offices rather than wandering aimlessly along the old shopping street lined with shop windows.

  At the street corner stood a café called Qiduo Coffee. Looking through its transparent floor-to-ceiling windows, it was almost empty inside. Only a diligent waitress stood straight at the door, arms crossed, with a faint, invisible smile, waiting for guests who might never come.

  The clock slowly slid toward 2:00 PM. Not far from the café, a yellow bus screeched to a stop at the bus station. The doors opened.

  Zhang Yang reluctantly stepped off the air-conditioned bus and into the suffocatingly hot old street. His destination was Qiduo Coffee at the street corner.

  Dressed in a black short-sleeved T-shirt and faded jeans, his 1.81-meter height, combined with his fair skin and slightly delicate face inherited from his family, gave Zhang Yang a refined, artistic look.

  This was his usual attire, but it didn’t quite match what he was doing today.

  He was a senior majoring in bioengineering in the Chemistry Department at Meining University. But today, he was here for a blind date.

  Zhang Yang was twenty-one, still a student. And given his major, he was destined to struggle after graduation. Postgraduate exams were his only way out. In other words, there was no logical reason for him to go on a blind date at the start of his senior year—especially skipping class to do it.

  The meeting place was Qiduo Coffee, next to Meining University’s affiliated Zhongshan Hospital, a well-known tertiary hospital. The location was chosen by the woman, because the matchmaker was a beautiful doctor from the hospital’s radiology department named Yang Jing.

  Zhang Yang had met the beautiful doctor many times—black hair, dark eyes, an oval face, skin as white as jade, and most importantly, his favorite feature—long legs. A perfect eight-head-ratio long-legged beauty. But his blind date wasn’t her—it was someone she introduced.

  One was a college student, the other a hospital’s belle. Why would she introduce a girl to Zhang Yang?

  The story had to start from the beginning of the year.

  Zhang Yang’s ancestral home was in Anping City, next to Meining. He lost his parents in a car accident at a young age, and his grandfather single-handedly raised him with great hardship until he got admitted to one of the province’s top 211 and 985 universities.

  But disaster struck again in this already broken family. During the second semester of his junior year, his grandfather was diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer. Against all odds, Zhang Yang insisted on selling the family’s only remaining asset—their house in Anping—to pay for his grandfather’s treatment.

  After more than a month of chemotherapy and radiation, the condition seemed to improve at first. But as his grandfather’s immune system rapidly declined, the old man eventually couldn’t fight the disease anymore and passed away less than two months later.

  His grandfather was talkative and tough. Even while enduring unbearable pain during treatment, he always smiled and comforted the other patients in the ward.

  On his deathbed, he clutched Zhang Yang’s hands tightly, unwilling to close his eyes until Yang Jing, with tears in her eyes, whispered something in his ear. Only then did he pass away with a faint smile.

  After arranging his grandfather’s funeral and finishing summer break, Dr. Yang finally told him the truth.

  “Your grandfather always wished to live long enough to see you start a family. But knowing he couldn’t, he entrusted your lifelong happiness to me—he asked me to find you a partner.”

  That led to the scene today. Not long after the new semester began, Dr. Yang told him she had found someone suitable and ordered him to arrive at Qiduo Café by 2:30 p.m.—no excuses, no being late.

  Zhang Yang slid his hand into his pocket, clutching the single crumpled hundred-yuan bill he had left, then glanced at the agreed-upon meeting token in his other hand—a copy of the Meining Daily—and slowly walked toward the café entrance.

  The sharp contrast between heat and cold made him feel strangely suffocated, sweat quickly breaking out on his forehead.

  A red BMW Z4 was parked outside the café. Zhang Yang glanced at it and thought it looked familiar, but didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he worried whether the money in his pocket would be enough for two cups of coffee as he pushed open the café door.

  At this point, the word “penniless” perfectly described Zhang Yang. His only house was sold, he owed distant relatives over sixty thousand yuan, and he still had a hefty student loan.

  Although he worked odd jobs daily and ran small street stalls whenever possible, life was still extremely hard.

  Luckily, he inherited his grandfather’s naturally optimistic nature. No matter how hard life was, as long as he was alive, there was hope. Still, given his current situation, let alone dating, he’d have to think twice before buying even a single rose.

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  The only reason he showed up today was because he felt indebted to Dr. Yang. Since she was kind enough to help, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse. Besides, he believed that after today, she’d have fulfilled his grandfather’s last wish, and there would be no next time.

  As the door opened, a wave of cool air greeted him. The waitress in a dark red uniform bowed slightly, her crescent eyes curving into a polite smile. “Welcome, sir. How many?”

  Zhang Yang lifted his gaze, scanning the café, and in one corner, he caught sight of an incredibly alluring side profile.

  She had long black hair cascading down, her hands resting on the table as she flipped through an unknown magazine. She wore a black-and-white striped V-neck fitted T-shirt that perfectly outlined her slender waist from the side.

  Because her arms rested on the table, her chest appeared even more prominent. Zhang Yang had seen many beautiful women before, but rarely one with such perfect proportions.

  From his angle, her chest was round and full, showing no sign of sagging—an absolutely flawless teardrop shape. Her lower half was covered by a purple pleated miniskirt, and the color contrast made her fair, delicate legs seem even whiter. Under the soft lighting, they gleamed faintly, almost reflective.

  Such a sight was enough to make any man’s heart race, yet it somehow didn’t feel like enough stimulation.

  The key point was her long legs—they weren’t just pale; even though she was sitting sideways, Zhang Yang could tell by eye that their proportions were golden. Slender and straight, her calves showed no hint of extra flesh.

  Yang Jing was an eight-head-ratio long-legged beauty, but this woman before him—she was undoubtedly one in a million, an eight-and-a-half-head goddess of perfect proportions. Judging by eye, her legs must be at least 1.2 meters long.

  He couldn’t see her face clearly from the side, but judging by her silhouette alone, Zhang Yang was certain—this was a stunning, city-toppling beauty.

  Other than her, there didn’t seem to be any other customers in the café.

  Zhang Yang checked the time—2:03 p.m. There were still twenty-seven minutes before the appointed time. By his estimation, the woman sitting sideways in front of him probably wasn’t his blind date.

  He took a deep breath and squeezed the crumpled hundred-yuan bill in his pocket. A latte cost thirty-six, two cups seventy-two. As long as the beauty didn’t like him—or wasn’t a big eater—he should have enough.

  He glanced at a table near the entrance and said, “Two people, someone else will be joining me later.”

  “Okay, sir!” the cute waitress replied with a bright smile and walked away.

  The sound of their exchange seemed to catch the attention of the woman quietly reading her magazine. She turned her head slightly, glanced at Zhang Yang, then went back to her magazine.

  But just that one glance turned Zhang Yang to stone. A beauty—of course, an absolute stunner—but this beauty was someone he knew.

  She was the English teaching assistant in the Chemistry Department—the most beautiful instructor not only in the department but the entire university. A year ago, she had just completed her master’s degree in English at Meining University’s Foreign Languages Department and had since become the youngest and most beautiful teaching assistant in Chemistry.

  Though she might not know Zhang Yang well, he was very familiar with her—seven consecutive years crowned as department belle, a signed model for a famous fashion magazine, and rumored to be the daughter of well-known entrepreneurs in Meining. The red Z4 outside was her car. She was the classic rich, beautiful, and brainy long-legged goddess.

  No one knew why she’d chosen to be a teaching assistant in the Chemistry Department, but Zhang Yang had suffered under her before. Last year, his English credits—four of them—were in her hands. Because he’d been caring for his grandfather, he’d scored miserably in English. This year’s retake class just happened to be taught by her again.

  But why was she here? Didn’t he have her class this afternoon?

  Zhang Yang glanced around, trying to find a corner out of her line of sight. This was dangerous—if she recognized him, he was finished.

  Just then, his phone rang. The loud ringtone drew another glance from the long-legged assistant, startling Zhang Yang. He ducked his head, turned his face toward the window, and carefully answered the call.

  It was Dr. Yang, her voice full of apology.

  “Sorry, sorry, I got the time wrong. Here’s the thing—my sister has a class later, so the meeting time was moved up to 2:00 p.m. The place is the same. Where are you now? You did bring the Meining Daily for identification, right?”

  “A class? Moved up to two?” Zhang Yang froze. So he was late? Why did he suddenly have a bad feeling about this?

  “Yes, my sister’s already there. Oh, and by the way, her name’s Yang Fei—she’s an English teaching assistant in your Chemistry Department…”

  “Yang Fei?” Zhang Yang instinctively turned his head, his face instantly pale. Damn—it was her! The beautiful TA’s name was Yang Fei!

  She was Dr. Yang’s sister?

  Was Dr. Yang out of her mind? She introduced his own teacher to him? Did she have any idea who he was?

  At that very moment, the beautiful TA’s gaze landed on him again. Her delicate face tightened slightly, willow brows furrowing as her bright eyes flickered thoughtfully. Then her brows relaxed, as if she’d figured something out. Her eyes turned cold as she shot him a piercing look. “Zhang Yang?” she asked, testingly.

  Zhang Yang didn’t answer. He muttered something vaguely into the phone—“got it”—and hung up quickly. Then he grabbed the nearby menu and used it to cover his face.

  God, Buddha, Bin Laden—please, please don’t let her recognize me! Zhang Yang prayed silently.

  But fate had other plans. He clearly heard the sound of Yang Fei standing up, her high heels striking crisply against the wooden floor as she approached.

  This was it—he was doomed. Everyone said Yang Fei could be ruthless, and it looked like his English retake this year was as good as gone.

  As the footsteps drew closer, Zhang Yang’s heart climbed into his throat. The sword of judgment was descending upon his head, and all he could do was wait.

  Just then, the sky outside suddenly darkened—as if an instant solar eclipse had occurred. Everything went black. A moment later, a terrifying white light ripped through the darkness, shooting straight from the heavens to the ground.

  “Boom!” With a deafening explosion, the world brightened again—as though nothing had happened at all.

  Was that an illusion? Zhang Yang rubbed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his mouth fell open, unable to close.

  Yang Fei’s Z4 had been completely wrecked in that instant. From the engine to the windshield, a massive hole had been blasted through it. The parts inside were twisted into scrap metal, jagged like demonic fangs pointing upward.

  How powerful must that impact have been?

  A meteorite?

  Staring through the glass window, Zhang Yang noticed even the spot beside his seat had a small, thumb-sized hole—probably from flying debris.

  Then he saw it. On the table in front of him lay a transparent crystal emitting an eerie blue glow, like a soft, luminous candy trembling faintly.

  Instinctively, Zhang Yang picked up the blue crystal. At once, his fingertips went numb as a powerful jolt surged through them. Then, the crystal vanished—as if it had melted into his palm.

  In his mind, a strange, metallic female voice suddenly echoed.

  【Nuwa System host-recognition protocol activated. Scanning genetic data… Male, blood type B… Conditions met. Beginning update…】

  “Beginning update?” Zhang Yang’s vision went black. In an instant, it felt like dozens of bricks smashed into his skull. The pain was excruciating—and he could clearly feel billions of neurons in his brain being devoured by countless invisible worms, leaving his mind completely blank.