Chapter 285: Love at First Sight
Not far from the Finance Department building, a flower-lined path meandered through the campus like a hidden oasis untouched by time.
Beneath the warm sunlight, the Ancient Style Club bustled with activity. The props team and photographers moved about preparing for the shoot, setting up amidst scenery so picturesque it felt plucked from a painting—free of modern distractions, just serene beauty framed in delicate blossoms and swaying green.
Wang Haoran, dressed in elegant traditional robes, stood like a jade gentleman from a bygone age. His presence was refined yet effortlessly striking, as though he had stepped from a mural of a celestial noble. Beside him stood Mu Zhaozhao and Wen Jing, also in ancient dress, their charm dazzling under the soft golden light.
Soon, everything was in place. The first photo set began.
Once that session wrapped, the group made their way back into the Finance Building where two makeshift changing rooms had been set up. Everyone headed in separately to prepare for the second round.
Wang Haoran changed quickly and was the first to exit, heading alone toward the next location just a few hundred meters away.
But the moment he stepped out of the building, he stopped.
Coming toward him was a woman in traditional garb, her steps light, her bearing ethereal. She was a vision so arresting it felt as though the world around her had dimmed, and all light had gathered upon her alone.
Wang Haoran froze, struck dumb by her beauty.
“Stranger upon the path, fair as jade; noble son of the world, unmatched and peerless.” The line echoed in his mind. If he was the noble son, then surely—she was that stranger fair as jade.
But while he was merely stunned, the beauty before him… was utterly shaken.
She looked at him—and her world tilted.
“How can someone look like this…” she thought, heart pounding as though the drums of war were beating in her chest. “He looks like a banished immortal, too beautiful for this world…”
For a long moment, neither spoke. Their eyes met—and the air between them turned electric.
In just those few seconds of silence, the girl felt her heart leap into chaos, beating wildly with the first stirrings of affection. She didn’t want to look away, she simply couldn’t.
【Ding! Love At First Sight Card activated. Female lead Luo Qingqian’s Favorability toward Host has increased to 50 (Budding Affection)】
【Ding! Host has influenced the plot’s trajectory. Received 6000 Villain Points. Lin Chen’s Protagonist Halo -300, Host’s Villain Halo +300!】
Wang Haoran blinked, momentarily startled. Then he realized.
He had assumed this stunning girl in ancient costume was just another member of the Ancient Style Club. He never expected that she—of all people—would be Luo Qingqian, Lin Chen’s second sister.
The 【Love At First Sight Card】 he used had only been active for a couple of hours. He thought it would take much longer to encounter her… but here she was.
What a wonderful surprise.
“Ah, sorry—I almost bumped into you. Are you alright?” he said, his voice calm and warm, breaking the tension.
At the sound of his words, Luo Qingqian snapped out of her daze. Realizing her own uncharacteristic loss of composure, a blush rose to her cheeks as she quickly turned her gaze away.
“No, no—it was me who almost ran into you. I should be the one apologizing,” she replied softly, her voice like a whisper wrapped in silk. She lowered her head and smiled gently.
“Are you part of the Ancient Style Club?” Wang Haoran asked, pretending not to know her identity, fishing for conversation.
“Ancient Style Club?” She blinked, startled, then quickly nodded with a smile. “Yes, I am.”
Her background was too sensitive to reveal. But if this lie could bring her closer to him, then what harm was there?
“Really? What a coincidence. I’m a member too.” Wang Haoran smiled but didn’t press. “Strange, though. I don’t think I’ve seen you before. Are you new?”
“Yes, I just joined recently. It’s normal that you wouldn’t know me,” Luo Qingqian replied, playing along.
Just then, Mu Zhaozhao and Wen Jing came out from another exit. Mu Zhaozhao spotted Wang Haoran chatting with a woman dressed in ancient style and waved from afar.
“Come on, time to take photos!” she called out.
“Coming,” Wang Haoran answered. He turned to Luo Qingqian and said, “I have something to take care of. I’ll be going.”
He turned to leave.
After all, her Favorability was already at 50. There was no need to cling.
Still, just before turning away, he activated the 【Charm Halo】 on Luo Qingqian.
Cooldowns exist for a reason—best to start early.
The moment it activated, her Favorability jumped again—now 60 (Budding Affection).
Not only that, but Wang Haoran also received an additional 1000 Villain Points and 50 Halo Points.
The reward was notably more generous than what he’d gotten from other female leads. No surprise, really—Luo Qingqian’s protagonist attributes were among the highest.
Wang Haoran couldn’t help but wonder—when the time came to tackle Lin Chen’s mysterious eldest sister, the one with a female lead halo over 3000, just how outrageous would the rewards be?
“Wait!”
He heard her voice behind him—anxious, almost pleading.
“Yes?” Wang Haoran turned, feigning mild curiosity.
Luo Qingqian took a soft breath, summoning her courage. “I’m not familiar with this place… Would you mind showing me around a little?”
Ah, so she was afraid of losing him.
Wang Haoran knew her identity. Finding her later wouldn’t be an issue.
But Luo Qingqian didn’t know him. Seeing him walk away, she couldn’t bear it.
“I could, but I’m a bit busy right now,” he said with a cool tone.
After being burned by the 【Social Relationship Bond Card】 when he met Bian Suwen, he had learned. This time, with the 【Love At First Sight Card】 doing the work, he intended to enjoy being pursued.
And that meant playing hard to get.
“That’s fine. I’ll wait for you,” she responded quickly, her voice bright with eagerness.
“Alright.” Wang Haoran nodded faintly, then turned and walked back toward the shoot.
Luo Qingqian followed from a slight distance, afraid he might disappear if she let him out of sight.
Originally, she had come here to look for trouble—specifically, to deal with her seventh sister Qiu Qianwei’s boyfriend. According to Lin Chen, that man was Wang Haoran.
But at this moment, that mission was entirely forgotten.
She waited patiently for nearly an hour until the shoot ended.
“Thanks for waiting. Let’s go,” Wang Haoran said, skipping even changing clothes and coming straight to her once he was done.
“It wasn’t long. I don’t mind,” she replied with a bright smile.
The two of them, dressed in elegant ancient attire, strolled through the campus, turning heads everywhere they passed. Gasps and murmurs followed in their wake.
Wang Haoran didn’t enjoy the attention. He led her to a secluded spot in the Qingling campus, near a lotus pond shaded by weeping willows. The place was quiet, serene—a perfect setting.
“Let’s sit here for a bit,” he suggested.
“Mhm,” Luo Qingqian nodded obediently and sat beside him on the stone ledge by the water.
They sat in silence.
Wang Haoran, eager to experience what it felt like to be chased, said nothing.
Luo Qingqian, feeling shy, also waited—hoping he might make the first move. But when she peeked at him out of the corner of her eye, she saw him gazing intently at the lotus blossoms on the water.
He’s looking at the pond? What’s so pretty about that pond? I’m clearly prettier!
She sulked inwardly for a while, then finally couldn’t take it anymore.
“By the way, my name is Luo Qingqian. What’s yours?”
“Wang—” He was about to answer, but his voice halted mid-word. His gaze shifted.
A butterfly was fluttering toward them.
To anyone else, it looked utterly ordinary. But Wang Haoran caught a faint scent trailing behind it—an aroma laced with something unnatural.
A medicinal scent.
He recognized it immediately. In the 【Supreme Poison Scripture】, there was a mention of this very thing.
It was a special poison. One designed solely for women. So potent that even a celestial maiden, once exposed, would lose all self-restraint.
As Wang Haoran processed this, the butterfly flitted its wings and floated toward Luo Qingqian.
She, blissfully unaware of the danger, let out a soft chuckle and extended her slender finger, allowing the butterfly to land gently on her fingertip.
“Look, isn’t it beautiful?” she said, eyes shining—not at the insect, but at Wang Haoran. What she really wanted was for him to turn and look at her.
And he did.
But not for the reason she expected.
He stared at her with an odd expression, eyes laced with something unreadable. He was about to warn her, but she already touched it.
“Why… why are you staring at me like that? Is there something on my face?” Luo Qingqian asked, flustered yet secretly thrilled by his intense gaze.
But before she could finish smiling, her expression suddenly shifted.
She sensed it.
In the place where the butterfly landed, a trace of soft red mist curled along her pale fingertip, seeping up her slender wrist, then spreading swiftly across her snow-white arm—creeping ever higher, rushing toward the rest of her body like an invisible flame.
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