Rejected by the Campus Belle, I Find My True Love-Chapter 231 - 229 Tonight, I Will Return

Just when Xue Yang thought she would continue picking strawberries, Xiao Naimao took out the one she had previously set aside and inspected it closely.

"I really want to eat it," she whimpered softly. "It’s so fragrant..."

This was the first time she had ever seen such fresh strawberries. They had to be delicious.

Smiling, Xue Yang stood up and walked over to Lin Xi.

Lin Xi was still wrestling with herself, strawberry in hand, when she turned around and saw Xue Yang smiling at her.

"Xue Yang, aren’t you going to pick strawberries, too?"

"I’ve been picking these since I was a kid. You all go ahead; I’ll just watch."

"That’s so nice. Your childhood must have been very happy!"

Happy? He was happy, sure, but others probably weren’t.

Xue Yang recalled the time he had almost uprooted someone’s entire strawberry patch as a child. Fortunately, he was discovered early and stopped in time.

Why did I try to pull up their strawberries again?

He thought back and recalled the reason. He had mistaken the strawberry plants for weeds and, in the spirit of being helpful, had diligently set about "weeding" the patch. When he was eventually caught, his explanation made the adults not know whether to laugh or cry.

In the end, it was settled by his parents paying for the damages, though he never knew how much. All he knew was that when he got home that day, his father hit him for the first time.

"If you want to eat them, remember to wash them first," Xue Yang said. "I’ve already spoken with the owner’s wife. You can pick and eat as you please."

Lin Xi’s eyes instantly lit up. "Really?"

"Of course."

Upon hearing this, the other girls’ eyes lit up as well. They had been wanting to eat for a while but had been too embarrassed to ask. Now that Xue Yang had given them the green light, how could they possibly resist? 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Where can we find water to wash them?"

"Over there..."

Xue Yang pointed toward a hand-pump well in front of a thatched cottage but then hesitated. Then again... these young ladies have probably never seen anything like this before.

"I’ll get some water for you," he offered.

"Okay."

Xue Yang went over to the well and, with practiced movements, started working the pump handle. Sweet groundwater immediately began to gush from the spout.

"Xue Yang, you’re amazing! You can actually get water like this."

? Alright, these young ladies have probably never seen this kind of well. Explaining would be too much trouble. I’ll just let this beautiful misunderstanding continue.

Soon, a bucket was full. Xue Yang took a ladle, scooped some water into it, and washed the strawberries they had picked before letting them have a taste.

"Mmm, so sweet!"

The small batch of strawberries was finished in no time.

"Let’s go pick more! This time, let’s get a lot so we can take them back and enjoy them slowly tonight."

The seven of them, their spirits high, returned to the strawberry patch with their baskets. Now that they had tasted the fruit, they all bent down and began picking earnestly.

Xue Yang sat back down in his chair. Leaning back and rocking gently, he let his entire body relax.

He began to ponder a question. If they had filled their baskets or eaten their fill right away, they might have lost the desire to pick any more. But picking a few and eating a few keeps their interest piqued. Of course, the strawberries themselves have to be big, ripe, and sweet for anyone to want them in the first place. Similarly, the King’s Game could adopt this approach to boost everyone’s enthusiasm. First, we could hold competitions to keep everyone’s attention focused on the game. It’s just as I discussed with Yu Kexin from the beginning: a game isn’t just a game. It can embody a certain spirit—an esports spirit that aspires to something greater. So now, we need to recruit a few experienced and influential professional teams. Which teams we recruit is crucial. If they’re just ordinary teams with insufficient influence, the hype won’t last. If the hype isn’t sustained, players will quickly grow tired of the game and stop playing. Therefore, in addition to recruiting teams, we need other things to attract players.

"Xue Yang, try this one! Is it sweet?" Lin Xi held a large, red strawberry up to his mouth.

Without a second thought, Xue Yang took a bite. "Mmm, it’s very sweet."

Lin Xi immediately smiled like a blooming flower; she had scoured the entire strawberry field to find that one.

"You two, that’s enough! Do you have to be so lovey-dovey over a single strawberry? You’re making the rest of us jealous!"

Lin Xi pouted. "Si Wen, if you get a boyfriend, you won’t have to be jealous of others."

Lovey-dovey? Jealous? Get a boyfriend!

A lightbulb went off in Xue Yang’s mind.

That’s right! The dynamic between men and women has always been the hottest topic. And what do young people like most? A sense of ownership, of course. That includes romantic partners. Back in school, I often heard boys saying things like, ’That’s mine, don’t touch it.’ So, couldn’t the King’s Game also feature a type of relationship status—one that could be shown off to the world? For example, a ’Couple’ relationship. A ’Brotherhood.’ A ’Sisterhood.’ Things like that. Then we could leverage these relationships to spark discussions on topics young people love. For instance: ’You said you were going to bed, but then I ran into you in-game, boosting some other girl’s rank and pretending not to know me.’ Or: ’We’re officially a couple, but you hid our relationship status. What’s that supposed to mean?’

The problem that had troubled him all day was resolved with surprising ease, and Xue Yang’s mood lifted. He stood up and walked over to Lin Xi and the others, casually picking a strawberry and tossing it into his mouth.

Si Wen and the others watched, dumbfounded. You can just do that?

After they finished picking strawberries, Xue Yang took Lin Xi and the others to a nearby pond to watch the farmhouse owner catch fish. The owner coiled a large cast net over one arm, then threw it with a powerful swing. The net fanned out in the air like a beautiful flower before landing in the water. As he slowly reeled the net back in, lively fish could be seen struggling inside.

"Is that how you catch fish?" Lin Xi blinked, staring as if she’d seen something impossible.

"Every place has its own way of fishing."

"That’s incredible."

This farmhouse wasn’t well-known for its activities, but for its food. All the ingredients were raised by the owner himself and prepared on the spot, so everything was incredibly fresh.

Tonight’s dinner was to be cooked by the owner personally. There would be fish, chicken, duck, goose, and vegetables grown by the owner’s wife. Barbecuing was happening on one side while hearty dishes simmered in a large pot on the other. The scene was bustling with activity, and delicious aromas soon began to waft through the air.

Xue Yang’s group gathered around a table, chatting idly while they watched the owner cook.

"So, are you all heading back tonight?" Xue Yang asked.

"Yeah, we have a flight at dawn."

Since it was a private plane, their schedule wasn’t that strict. However, they had only planned to stay for one day. If they stayed any longer, their families would find out. After all, it was the eve of their college entrance exams, so their schedules were extremely tight.