Chapter 1

Chapter 2: The First Date with Sophie Turner

The spring breeze of May swept south along the Southampton port, following the route where the Titanic had set sail, blowing towards the vast and deep English Channel.

The ancient and tidy seaside street was bustling with people. Although it wasn't yet summer, the street was already filled with young and beautiful girls in miniskirts.

Gu Ran stood outside the Costa coffee shop at the seaside corner, his eyes wide as saucers, staring blankly at the reflective glass of the coffee shop—

He wasn't looking at the miniskirts fluttering in the wind, nor was he looking at the blonde couple inside the coffee shop practicing their ventriloquism.

He was just looking at himself in the reflective glass.

The young, handsome, and utterly confused version of himself.

He pulled out his iPhone 4 to check the time: 11:38 AM on May 20, 2010...

Did I really get reborn?

And, did I get reborn back to the high school days when I was studying in the UK in 2010?

Just a few minutes ago, Gu Ran's last memory was from November 17, 2022, when he had witnessed the shocking elimination of the Beijing Guoan team by the county-level team that his two regular soccer buddies played for. He and his teammates had partied all night until they passed out.

When he came to, he was standing outside this Costa coffee shop in Southampton?

Everything happened so suddenly...

I didn't even get to watch the Qatar World Cup!

Feeling the familiar sea breeze of Southampton and looking at his reflection in the glass,

Gu Ran tried to control his emotions.

But he couldn't hold it in...

He burst into a silly, wide grin.

I've made a profit... I've made a profit, ah ah ah!

After reading so many web novels, it's finally my turn to be reborn!

All the regrets and unresolved issues from the first half of my life, all those wrong choices...

I can finally...

Wait, hold on! Don't jinx it!

No matter what, at least I've earned 12 years of youth!

"Beep beep beep—"

At that moment, the iPhone 4 suddenly rang.

Caller: Sophie Turner.

Gu Ran's eyebrows twitched slightly, and a memory from the past surfaced.

Sophie Turner, Gu Ran's classmate during his time studying in the UK, and the daughter of his landlord.

Sophie was the school beauty at the private high school in Southampton, not only academically and morally excellent but also showing great talent in acting at a young age, making her the leading actress in the school drama club.

And no one knew that in just half a year, Sophie Turner would land the role of "Sansa" in the classic American TV series "Game of Thrones," and she would become a world-renowned star through her outstanding acting.

Before his rebirth, Gu Ran naturally didn't know that Sophie would become a world-famous star.

Back then, he was a typical bookworm, focused solely on his studies and striving to get into Southampton University.

He didn't pay much attention to the beautiful daughter of his landlord and her acting career until a few years later when he saw "A Song of Ice and Fire" on screen and realized he had missed out on a future superstar...

Cough, cough...

After a self-deprecating chuckle, Gu Ran quickly adjusted his emotions and answered the call.

"Good afternoon..."

Before Gu Ran could finish his greeting, Sophie's angry voice came through: "Shit! You stood outside the coffee shop grinning like an idiot for five whole minutes, and then you greet me with 'good afternoon'? Gu, are you trying to make me a laughingstock in front of the whole school by dating a moron???"

"Uh..."

At that moment, Gu Ran remembered that in his past life, he and Sophie had indeed had a "relationship" that lasted a month.

Of course, it was a fake relationship.

To get rid of the persistent senior students, Sophie had asked the tenant, Gu Ran, to pretend to be her boyfriend and go on dates from time to time to discourage the endless suitors.

In Sophie's view, these immature boys were just clueless kids, not worth her time as a goddess.

As a reward, Sophie agreed to help Gu Ran with his "British Poetry Recitation" and correct his accent when she had free time.

And today, this coffee shop was the place for their first "public date."

Of course, in his previous life, this fake relationship only lasted four weeks before Sophie got the opportunity to audition for "Game of Thrones" and never returned to school until Gu Ran graduated from high school.

The two of them thus went their separate ways and never crossed paths again.

"..."

After a long silence, Sophie on the other end of the phone said angrily, "I said so much, and you only respond with a single interjection? Even though we're just acting, you should still respect the contract, right? Hmph, all you Chinese do is study and do problems; you can't even act in a date in real life? Can you please come in already? Stop dawdling outside!"

With that, she hung up the phone.

Heh, this little girl has quite a temper.

Gu Ran smiled helplessly, put his phone away, and pushed open the door to the coffee shop.

The coffee shop was dimly lit, and the aroma of coffee beans filled the air.

The romantic melody of the "Titanic" theme song played softly in the background.

As Gu Ran looked around for his "girlfriend," he didn't notice a waitress carrying a tray hurrying towards him.

Coincidentally, the waitress was also focused on keeping the cups on her tray steady and didn't see Gu Ran standing in the aisle.

Bang!

The two collided.

Gu Ran, quick on his feet, grabbed the tray to help the waitress.

Fortunately, he managed to steady the tray.

However, the cups on the tray still fell to the ground, spilling coffee everywhere.

"Sorry, sir!" the waitress apologized quickly.

"It's okay."

Gu Ran replied automatically, but then a system notification suddenly rang in his head.

"Light~"

"Detected 38 points of negative emotion from Tina Simpson, generating a bubble..."

Tina Simpson is the waitress in front of me?

38 points of negative emotion?

I didn't expect this polite apology to hide so much resentment...

Well, the coffee spilled, and she has to clean the floor and make a new cup.

She might even get scolded by customers or her boss.

Wait!

Bubble?

???

Could it be that I not only got reborn but also gained a special ability...

Gu Ran's heart raced as he noticed a dimly glowing bubble that had appeared at the waitress's feet.

A bubble about twenty centimeters in diameter... Gu Ran looked around and saw that neither the waitress, who was now crouching to clean up the mess, nor the other customers who were looking over, showed any surprise.

Can only I see it?

Gu Ran walked over to the bubble without drawing attention and nudged it with his foot.

The dimly glowing bubble shattered upon contact, turning into a thread of light that merged into Gu Ran's body.

"Host has obtained the skill 'Pour-Over +1' from the broken bubble, today's collection progress: 1/10."

...

Pour-Over?

Gu Ran felt a strange surge of information in his mind and instantly understood the skill: it allows one to continuously pour-over coffee, tea, and other mixed beverages for an hour without feeling hand fatigue.

Gu Ran: "..."

What do I need a skill to "pour-over coffee and tea for an hour" for?

I'm not going to work in a coffee shop!

And what's so great about not feeling hand fatigue?

Is this even considered a skill?

What a rip-off!

Gu Ran couldn't help but complain inwardly.

"Gu, over here! What are you standing there for?"

From a corner of the coffee shop, a tall and beautiful girl poked her head out and called to him.

It was 16-year-old Sophie Turner.

Despite being only 16, Sophie was already 175 cm tall, with blonde hair, blue eyes, and a perfect face. Her only flaw was her A-cup chest.

Since they were pretending to be on a date, Sophie Turner had put on a beautiful makeup. When she stood up, her pink A-line skirt and long, slender legs were particularly noticeable at the coffee table.

At that moment, Sophie had her long arms elegantly crossed in front of her chest, and her slightly chubby face clearly showed her annoyance.

"Light~"

"Detected 17 points of negative emotion from Sophie Turner, generating a bubble..."

"Is this even possible???"

Gu Ran, who felt he hadn't done anything, was momentarily stunned. He quickly reacted, his face showing a strange expression, and walked straight toward the bubble in front of Sophie Turner, who was five meters away.

(End of Chapter)