Chapter 4 A Different World
Liu Shang smiled, took Jiang Ruolin's hand, and led her toward the internet cafe behind them.
Once inside, Liu Shang waved off Jiang Ruolin's suggestion to get a cheaper computer in the main lobby and instead booked a VIP room that was twice as expensive.
Jiang Ruolin was a girl with high emotional intelligence and an incredibly kind heart.
In his previous life, after she learned about Liu Shang's financial situation, she always tried to keep their spending down whenever they were together, while simultaneously making sure not to wound his pride.
For example, she would suggest eating in the cafeteria as much as possible, try to cover shared expenses in a way that wouldn't make him feel inadequate, and now, she wanted to use a cheaper computer at the internet cafe.
Unfortunately, he hadn't paid attention to these details at the time.
But now, witnessing these small gestures again, Liu Shang felt an even deeper sense of warmth and guilt.
"Actually, the lobby is great, too. I prefer the lively atmosphere of an internet cafe."
"We can just choose a computer in the lobby next time," Liu Shang said with a smile, seeing through her considerate excuse.
"We have to think of others, you know."
"Just imagine," he continued, "how many people would be distracted if a beautiful girl like you sat out there in the main lobby?"
"They wouldn't be able to chat properly, and they'd lose focus on their games. Think of all the harm we'd indirectly cause."
"So, your beauty should be reserved for my eyes only, for me to admire and be mesmerized by."
Teased by his words, Jiang Ruolin blushed and gave him a light tap on the arm.
As they laughed and talked, the computer finally finished booting up.
Looking at the desktop icons for games like *Go Kart*, *Frozen Throne*, *World of Warcraft*, and *Counter-Strike*, flashes of memories returned to Liu Shang.
The university he and Jiang Ruolin attended was well-known for its petroleum programs.
Liu Shang majored in petrochemical engineering, while Jiang Ruolin, with her excellent command of English, had chosen international economics and trade with a focus on the petroleum industry.
Although Jiang Ruolin always kept a low profile at school, rumors about her family's background circulated constantly within her social circles.
Even among the university's elite, she shone as brightly as a star.
On one side, a poor boy; on the other, a rich girl. In movies and TV shows, such a plot becomes a beautiful fairy tale.
But in reality, it usually evolves into a tragedy.
For a poor boy who had just started university and had almost no real-world experience, it was incredibly difficult to face the immense pressure of a spotlight filled with gossip, stares, and criticism.
Under that pressure, Liu Shang's paranoia and overblown self-esteem were magnified infinitely.
He became like a hostile hedgehog, pricking the kind-hearted Jiang Ruolin with his defensiveness.
Liu Shang would never forget something she had once said through tears of sorrow and frustration: "Before I met you, I had never cried so much."
The ancient idea of being well-matched in social status, however backward it might seem, was not without merit.
Ultimately, their brief first love came to an end when Liu Shang chose to walk away.
After graduating from university, Liu Shang was hired by an international oil service company.
A few years later, by a stroke of luck, he became the primary assistant to Dr. Spender, the world's leading petrochemical expert.
After that, Liu Shang moved to the United States and, under Dr. Spender's guidance, worked in one of the world's top research centers.
Later, during their work on a technology that could have sparked a new scientific revolution, they encountered a fatal obstacle.
This brought disaster upon their entire laboratory: Dr. Spender was assassinated, the lab building was deliberately set on fire, and nearly everyone inside was killed.
That was the hellish scene Liu Shang had witnessed just before he was reborn.
Snapping out of his memories, Liu Shang was about to click the mouse to open the browser when he noticed Jiang Ruolin sitting quietly, lost in thought.
"Didn't you say you wanted to chat on QQ? Why are you just sitting there?"
(At this time, there was no mobile version of QQ, let alone WeChat; people could only communicate through expensive text messages or by logging on to a computer.)
Hearing Liu Shang's question, Jiang Ruolin couldn't help but sigh softly. "My QQ is probably blowing up with messages right now..."
"It's all your fault..."
"I'd better not log on just yet. I'll just watch you play some games."
Liu Shang smiled and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
Then, with practiced ease, he opened the browser, bypassed the firewall, and began meticulously searching various foreign information websites, all of them in English.
He searched repeatedly, but in this world, he could find no information about Dr. Spender or the research center where he had worked.
It was as if Dr. Spender, and anything related to him, had never existed.
Other than that, nothing else in this world had changed.
The history of petroleum technology was also proceeding along its original track.
Of course, in Liu Shang's eyes, those technologies were now laughably outdated and not even worth mentioning.
As this series of events unfolded, Jiang Ruolin, watching from the side, was completely stunned.
Her large, radiant eyes darted between Liu Shang's face and the computer screen, filled with a curiosity and shock that she couldn't hide.
Thanks to her family background and her father's influence, Jiang Ruolin's own English was excellent, and she had even accumulated a fair amount of specialized oil-related vocabulary.
She had always been extremely confident in her English ability.
Even if she wasn't on par with professional translators, she could easily run circles around other students.
But now, right before her eyes, Liu Shang was staging an unbelievable counter-performance.
Putting aside his computer skills and his familiarity with foreign websites and search tools, the speed and fluency with which he typed in English were enough to leave her amazed.
With her current English level, Jiang Ruolin could only understand about fifty to sixty percent of the content. She could vaguely tell that Liu Shang was searching for a Ph.D. expert related to the petrochemical industry, as well as several well-known petroleum technology research institutions.
Forget her own skills; she suspected that even her father—who had spent his life in the oil industry, studied abroad, and participated in numerous international technology exchanges—might not possess Liu Shang's level of English proficiency.