The news that Qin Tian was not only a top student but also a young and successful entrepreneur quickly spread across the Jiangda campus. Many students, driven by intense curiosity, came to see for themselves and were astonished by the internet cafe's decor and ambiance. Those who already frequented internet cafes immediately pulled out their IDs to sign up for membership. Even those who weren't regular visitors opened memberships and deposited some funds to show their support. With such a pleasant environment, it would be a great place to research and write papers, even if they didn't play games. The female students, in particular, admired and adored Qin Tian, spending quite lavishly.
After the successful opening day of the Tianming Internet Cafe branch, business not only maintained but continued to boom for several days, even surpassing the highest daily revenue records of other branches. Zhao Mingliang called multiple times to share the good news. Qin Tian, pleased, comfortably continued to be a hands-off owner.
As days passed, the Mayan prophecy of the end of the world soon arrived. Qin Tian, the reborn butterfly, clearly hadn't caused the catastrophic changes that would make the prophecy come true. December 21st, as he remembered, was an exceptionally peaceful and calm day, at least for those around him. It was a Friday, and there was only one major class in the afternoon. The approaching final exams had caused the freshmen, who had been relaxing since their military training, to buckle down. Classroom discipline had improved significantly, and everyone listened attentively, with a single goal: to pass!
Jiangda, as a leading national university, had strict academic requirements, with a consistently high failure rate. Cheating to pass final exams was nearly impossible. Furthermore, failing a course was troublesome; the university had no make-up exams, and failing meant retaking the course. This made students at Jiangda, especially those with lower continuous assessment scores, take the upcoming final exams very seriously.
The ringing of the dismissal bell broke the quiet classroom atmosphere. Unlike high school, university professors rarely stayed late. After announcing the end of class, the professor on the podium quickly gathered their belongings, grabbed their laptop bag, and briskly left the classroom. In the now noisy classroom, students began to chat. "Going to the study room?" "Dream on, there won't be any spots if we go now. Let's study in the dorms!" "The dorms lack that study vibe. Before you know it, you'll open your computer and play a game." "I've uninstalled my games. I'll download them again after the exams and when the holiday starts." "Whoa... that's intense!"
"What rubbish about the end of the world? Nothing's happened, and we still have to worry about exams, sigh!" "Yeah, it's amazing how convincing those people online were." "Haha... I even saw a guy who said there would be a global zombie outbreak today. He arrogantly argued with his boss, quit his job, and spent all his money on weapons and supplies to hide at home. Hilarious." "No way, really? He's quite a character!"
"Nuannuan, are you heading back to the dorms to study, or...?" Qin Tian asked Xia Nuannuan beside him as they left the classroom. Xia Nuannuan turned to him and shook her head, "I think I've learned enough, and the exams should be fine. I'll skip studying. Shall we go out?" "Sure, where to?" Qin Tian nodded with a smile. "Anywhere. I just want to be with you. It's only a little past three, and there are still eight or nine hours left in today. What if the Earth is really hit by an asteroid or disaster strikes? At least we'd die together, right?" Xia Nuannuan said with a smile.
"What nonsense are you talking, that's unlucky!" Qin Tian said with amusement, flicking her forehead with his finger. Xia Nuannuan clutched her textbook in her left hand, touched her forehead with her right, then hooked her arm through his, pouting, "I'm just saying, 'what if'." "We'd die together, oh, how romantic!" A familiar teasing voice called from behind, followed by the cheerful laughter of several girls. "Siqi!" Xia Nuannuan's face flushed red, and she turned to glare at Shen Siqi in annoyance. Shen Siqi raised her eyebrows with a mischievous smile. "You're still laughing at me. Hurry up and go find your Chen Zhuang. Don't let it be a regret if you two haven't gotten together by the time the world ends!" Xia Nuannuan retorted with feigned seriousness. "Wh-what 'my' Chen Zhuang? I don't know what you're talking about." Shen Siqi feigned ignorance. Cheng Meng and the others nearby watched with smiles, amused by the unfolding drama.
"Zhuang Ge!" Qin Tian suddenly shouted behind the girls. "Hm?" Chen Zhuang and a few others walked out of the classroom and responded to his call. "Your Shen Siqi says she wants to spend the end of the world with you," Qin Tian said with a smile. "Ah?" Chen Zhuang was stunned. Realizing what was happening, his excited gaze fell on Shen Siqi. "Qin Tian!!" Shen Siqi's entire face turned crimson with embarrassment, and she stamped her foot in anger. "Nuannuan, let's run!" Qin Tian grabbed Xia Nuannuan's hand and said urgently. "Mhmm!" Xia Nuannuan nodded repeatedly, her eyes curving into crescent moons. They both took off running, Xia Nuannuan's happy laughter like tinkling bells.
They ran all the way to the staircase, where Qin Tian turned and shouted again. "Zhuang Ge, I can only help you this much!" "Siqi, you can do it!" Xia Nuannuan also called out to Shen Siqi. "Xia Nuannuan, don't run!" Shen Siqi shouted angrily. "Heehee... We're going, bye-bye!" Xia Nuannuan waved goodbye with a smile and quickly descended the stairs with Qin Tian. "These two... even if the world truly ended, they'd probably face it with smiles and no regrets!" Cheng Meng exclaimed with a wry smile. The girls beside her nodded in agreement, their eyes filled with envy.
"Um... Siqi!" Chen Zhuang gathered his courage and quickly approached Shen Siqi. Cheng Meng and the others glanced at him and immediately slowed their pace, creating space for the two of them. "What?" Shen Siqi didn't even look at him and quickened her pace. Chen Zhuang hurried to catch up, his voice flustered, "I, I know Brother Tian was just talking nonsense, but he's right. Today, I, I want to be with you!" Shen Siqi's footsteps became even faster, and from behind, her earlobes seemed to be blushing. "Don't walk so fast!" "Just today?" "What?" "I said, you only want to be together today?" "No, I misspoke. I mean, starting today." "Hmph, too casual." "Then let's go out together, have dinner, watch a movie, or something." Chen Zhuang invited with a silly grin. Shen Siqi glanced at him, her face red, and said, "I'll go back to the dorm to change first." "Okay, okay, then I'll wait for you below your dorm to pick you up later." "Mhmm!"