Previously, after Ian Song defeated the Taekwondo Club president Jihyun Choi, he had a brief moment of fame at Waterwood University.
But on campus, there's never a shortage of new gossip. So, after disappearing for ten days, he was almost forgotten.
Besides, he spent nearly two years in the Great Qin World. Although his appearance hadn't changed much, his skin was now tanned bronze, and after holding high office, his whole demeanor had shifted noticeably.
So when he walked into the freshman Literature classroom, not a single classmate recognized him. Of course, this was also because he'd kept a pretty low profile since the start of term.
"Who is that guy? He seems so refined, so manly... I kind of want him to be my boyfriend."
Watching Ian Song take a seat at the back of the classroom, a short-haired girl whispered to her friend.
In fact, quite a few girls were secretly checking Ian out, all thinking that this bronze-skinned guy really had a masculine vibe.
"Hey, bro, which class are you from? You look kind of familiar."
The guy sitting next to Ian was a bespectacled student named Shane Shen, who looked at him curiously and asked.
"Shane Shen, it's me—Ian Song. It's only been ten days, surely you haven't forgotten me?" Ian smiled at him and said.
"Whoa, you're Ian Song?"
Shane Shen was shocked, "How did you change so much in just a few days?"
"It's not that dramatic. I just got a lot more tanned," Ian replied.
Shane nodded in agreement. Ian's skin used to be so fair it looked softer than most girls'. "You didn't go to Africa, did you?"
"Yeah, I took a trip around Africa," Ian nodded.
"You really went to Africa?" Shane couldn't believe he'd guessed right.
"Alright, the teacher's here," Ian reminded him.
After class, thanks to Shane Shen's big mouth, the whole class quickly learned that the manly, charismatic guy was actually Ian Song. Instantly, a bunch of girls became interested.
So in the second period, Ian's front, back, left, and right seats were all taken by girls.
This made the other guys super jealous. Some even wondered if they should tan their skin too, thinking it might make them more popular with the girls.
The five women in the Great Qin World were all absolute beauties, and Ian's emotions still hadn't fully recovered. So, he had zero interest in dealing with these girls.
So after Ian turned down three girls in a row, no one else dared to invite him.
College classes were pretty easy—well, at least for Ian.
Over the past few days, he'd talked with Meow-Meow. Once the 'Traversal Journey' was activated, he'd have to enter a second world within a month at most.
Originally, Ian planned to pick the Silver Gate for his next traversal.
But Meow-Meow told him that, before making a choice, he could freely pick any world behind the Bronze Gate, Silver Gate, or Gold Gate.
However, once a choice was made, he had to traverse three worlds before he could pick another gate.
In other words, he still had to pass through two more worlds behind the Bronze Gate before he could choose a world behind the Silver Gate.
And Meow-Meow also told him:
For the first traversal, the system would set the world's power level fairly low, as a way to protect him.
But for the second traversal—even if it was a low-tier world—the danger level would be much higher.
Waterwood University had a total of thirteen cafeterias.
After class, Ian headed straight to the nearest cafeteria.
He'd barely sat down and taken a bite when a girl sat down across from him.
"You don't mind if I sit here, do you?" Fiona Xiang asked with a smile.
"You're already sitting down—do you really expect me to chase you away?" Ian looked at her and replied.
"I was just being polite. You actually took it seriously." Fiona Xiang was a bit speechless, but her gaze lingered on Ian's face. "I heard people say you got a lot more tanned, and now that I see you, it's true. Honestly, you look much better this way."
"So you didn't like how I looked before?" Ian asked with a smile.
"You looked fine before too, but you were paler than most girls. Don't you think that's a bit much?"
"That does sound kind of reasonable." Ian nodded seriously.
"Pfft."
Fiona Xiang couldn't help but burst out laughing.
The two of them ate and chatted. The conversation wasn't anything special, but neither felt bored—in fact, there was a subtle warmth between them.
But then someone showed up and shattered the moment.
"Fiona Xiang, who is he?"
A tall, handsome guy shot Ian a cold look and questioned Fiona Xiang.
"What does it have to do with you?"
Fiona Xiang's smile vanished instantly, her tone turning cold.
"I told you, you're destined to be my woman. No one else is allowed near you. Anyone who tries will regret it for the rest of their life!" Harvey Yin growled, then glared at Ian. "Kid, don't you think you're an eyesore? Get lost now!"
"That's enough, Harvey Yin. I'm warning you—stop interfering in my life!" Fiona Xiang frowned, her tone full of annoyance.
"Fiona, are you done eating?"
Ian suddenly turned to Fiona Xiang and asked.
"Yeah," Fiona Xiang nodded.
"Me too. Let's go," Ian said with a smile.
"Alright."
They both stood up at the same time, treating Harvey Yin like he was invisible. As they walked out of the cafeteria, Harvey's face turned dark with rage. After all his threats, someone still dared to challenge his authority and get close to Fiona Xiang. Clearly, they must have a death wish.
With no classes that afternoon, Fiona Xiang suggested they go shopping, and Ian happily agreed.
They wandered for two hours but didn't buy a single thing.
Just as they were about to head to a nearby ice cream shop, four shady-looking young men blocked their way.
"That's the guy—get him!"
The leader pulled a steel pipe from his waist and swung it at Ian's head.
Ian caught it with one hand—the steel pipe was his now.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
All four thugs groaned as they were knocked to the ground.
Smack!
Ian tossed the steel pipe aside and nonchalantly said to Fiona Xiang, "Let's go get ice cream."
Fiona Xiang was a martial artist herself, so she wasn't surprised by what she saw. However, her eyes burned with anger—it was clear she knew exactly who had sent those thugs after Ian.
Ian had thought that after teaching those thugs a lesson, certain people would know better and back off.
But to his surprise, they'd barely been in the ice cream shop ten minutes when a group of police officers burst in and came straight for Ian.
"We've received a report from the public. You're suspected of intentional assault. Please come with us."
Ian frowned slightly and gave the lead officer a calm look. "Some people aren't the kind you want to mess with. If you don't want trouble, you'd better take your men and leave."
The lead officer sneered, "Now you're threatening law enforcement? That's another charge. Cuff him and take him away!"
As soon as he finished speaking, one of the officers stepped forward with handcuffs, ready to put them on Ian.
Ian didn't resist, but said coldly, "It's easy to invite trouble, but hard to get rid of it. I didn't want to make things difficult for you, but since you insist on being someone's pawn, don't blame me for what happens next."