Ma Ka patted his buddy on the shoulder sympathetically. "Don't bother looking. I told you, this woman's not for you. There are plenty of pretty girls out there. It's not worth the trouble."
Li Feng wasn't discouraged at all. "Don't worry, it's fine. I'm not asking for anything, so there's no pressure. I'm just enjoying the feeling."
"Geez, now you're playing philosopher again. Stop being so Platonic! There are cute girls everywhere in real life. You're giving up an entire forest for just one tree!"
But when the target got out of the car, even Ma Ka shut up. All those cute girls he'd talked about were thrown to the wind. The girl in front of them was truly gorgeous！
Tang Ling, mentioning the Tang family might not ring a bell for many, but bring up GAD Corporation and no one won't know it, because GAD is one of the main mecha manufacturers and R&D companies of the USE Human Alliance, a true mega-conglomerate that can influence politics—in this day and age, what's more profitable and influential than making mechas？
And eighteen-year-old Tang Ling is the only daughter of Tang Zhen, GAD's president who holds 73.5% of the shares—her importance goes without saying. Setting aside family background, Tang Ling's appearance is simply flawless: 1.75 meters tall, golden ratio proportions, paired with long golden hair, she looks incredibly noble, like a princess from a fairy tale. Her snow-white skin is clearly inherited from her mother—intermarriage between Evanthians and humans is common, and the second generation tends to produce geniuses more easily, those kinds of geniuses who combine beauty and intelligence.
Tang Ling doesn't have an overbearing aura, nor does she need one, because her beauty, intelligence, and family background are enough to scare off quite a few people. Many, like Li Feng, silently admire her from afar.
Of course, Li Feng is a different breed among the odd ones. He doesn't care about family background—though, admittedly, he was initially attracted by her looks. As someone once said, most people in this world are ordinary folks, and he considers himself one of them. What really impresses him is Tang Ling's personal strength: the new mecha system she helped research has already been put into use, and she tops the rankings in every subject—the exact opposite of Li Feng's miserable report card.
Actually, those things are secondary. Once, Li Feng inadvertently saw Tang Ling quietly thinking on the rooftop—just that moment was shaken by an incomparable scene, and from then on, a mark was left in his heart. But Li Feng is very self-aware: first love doesn't necessarily have to have a result, as long as it's meaningful.
So he wasn't as tired or burdened as Ma Ka imagined.
“Ahem, ahem, stop staring. What was someone saying just now？” Li Feng had to snap Ma Ka out of his daze over the pretty girl. This guy always said one thing but did the opposite.
Ma Ka couldn’t help but sigh. “This chick is a top-shelf babe. No wonder even a love-blind guy like you would fall for her. But she’s way out of our league. Let’s go, let’s go.”
Ma Ka’s family was also in business, so he was far richer than the average person. But compared to GAD, they were nothing. Once you reached that level, feelings weren’t just feelings anymore. Besides, Tang Ling was too outstanding—it was really hard to find a match for her.
As the two turned to leave, they didn’t notice that Tang Ling’s gaze also seemed to casually land on them. This had been going on for months. Tang Ling had a keen sense, and she could easily detect people with high mental strength. She had investigated that guy named Li Feng. His family was ordinary. To keep a low profile, he seemed obsessed with the Cosmic War game, his grades were horrible, but he was a decent person. Ma Ka beside him was his best buddy, whose family had some assets. But overall, they were just an unremarkable duo.
But ever since she accidentally ran into him on the top floor, whenever Li Feng looked at her, Tang Ling felt a very strange sensation. She knew this feeling was innate—only those who were powerful and threatening could catch her attention. This kind of power was multifaceted. For example, her father, though not a combatant himself, wielded immense authority, which also gave off a powerful aura. But this Li Feng guy, no matter how she looked at him, didn’t seem like a capable person. So how could he catch her attention？
And today, this feeling was even stronger. For a brief moment, she even felt suffocated. It was the first time in her life—not even her father or the Federation councilors had ever put such pressure on her.
Girls believe in their intuition, especially Tang Ling. Growing up in a family like hers meant she couldn’t be a naive little girl. Anyone who posed a threat had to be thoroughly investigated.
And Li Feng, as he left, also felt like someone was watching him, but he didn't think much of it. He dashed into the classroom laughing and joking with Ma Ka—small fries have their own way of life.
With graduation approaching, teachers kept rambling on about the future, never forgetting to set up role models. Naturally, Tang Ling was one of them. But it wasn't her family background they talked about—it was her personal ability. Thanks to her outstanding contributions to the mobile suit system and her excellent grades, the school had already decided to recommend her to one of humanity's five major military academies, the Arang A-Class Military Academy. Arang Academy had also welcomed her, and her acceptance letter had already been sent.
People have different fates. For Tang Ling, this sort of thing was a piece of cake, but for an average student, it was harder than reaching the sky. Li Feng was one of those guys—getting into Arang A-Class Military Academy was his dream. It would bring him closer to his ideal and let him study in the same academy as Tang Ling. But with his grades, even if the academy valued talent, they'd probably weed out someone like him.
The teacher was up there, passion spitting from every word, but Li Feng and Ma Ka had long stopped listening. Li Feng habitually sank into his imagination of piloting a mobile suit. He called this classroom training method 'meditation,' claiming he invented it. He said serious mental visualization could achieve thirty percent of the effect of actual training. Whether that was true or not was anyone's guess—probably just an excuse to zone out in class. Ma Ka, on the other hand, was more blatant, secretly fantasizing about hot girls.
But Ma Ka's grades were way better than Li Feng's.
As soon as the bell rang, the students shot out at laser speed, making the teacher shake his head. Li Feng and Ma Ka were leading the charge.
Meanwhile, on the rooftop, Tang Ling slowly put down her binoculars. Ever since she saw this Li Feng today, she'd been restless, unable to even focus on her studies. She'd observed him all day, and he seemed no different from any ordinary student. But her gut feeling told her the exact opposite.
Once a doubt arises, she must resolve it—a habit Tang Ling developed since childhood. She knew that if she didn't get to the bottom of it, she would definitely ponder it all day.