MTL NOVEL Chapter 40: 40.
Early the next morning, the sun was shining brightly.
Gu Ran got up early and prepared a hearty breakfast for himself.
Maria had told him to pay attention to nutrition…
His breakfast consisted of:
A large glass of whole milk, Two boiled eggs, And a bowl of quick-cook wontons stuffed with pork, celery, and corn.
The wontons were something he had found at a Chinese supermarket a while back—way more expensive than in China, but at least the taste was authentic.
Just as he finished heating up the wontons, Sophie came down the stairs, looking exhausted.
"Morning, Sophie!" Gu Ran greeted cheerfully.
He felt a little regretful about falling asleep last night and missing the chance to grind talent points from Sophie.
But logically, she should be happy about it, right?
After all, she didn't have to do midnight push-ups last night.
"Don't talk to me!" Sophie snapped, her angry shout shaking the whole house.
Gu Ran blinked innocently.
…What's going on?
Was she mad because he didn't text her last night?
That didn't make sense—Sophie hated those push-ups, didn't she?
She should be celebrating, not yelling.
Or…
Did she somehow find out about Susanna?
Wait!
There was nothing between him and Susanna!
At most, they touched hands, and that was all her doing!
Sigh. Seventeen-year-old girls are impossible to understand…
Mature women are much better…
At least with them, a single slap can tell you how mad they are…
Gu Ran cut off his own train of thought and cleared his throat. "Sophie, I can explain… I swear, nothing happened between me and Susanna."
Sophie had already walked past him, but at those words, she immediately spun around, furious.
"WHAT did you just say?! So you do have something to hide from me?!"
Oh, sh*t!
He said too much!
Gu Ran quickly corrected himself. "No, no! There's nothing! We really didn't do anything! It was just a small hand touch. In the UK, that doesn't mean anything, haha…"
"Oh, really?!"
Sophie grabbed a chair.
"In the UK, THIS doesn't mean anything either, right?!"
What the hell?!
You're about to commit murder—how does this 'not mean anything'?!
Gu Ran quickly grabbed her slender arms. "Sophie, calm down… This is your own chair!"
Sophie struggled, trying to break free, but Gu Ran's grip was too strong.
Realizing she couldn't overpower him, she threw the chair aside.
Then, suddenly, her eyes welled up with tears.
Gu Ran froze on the spot.
As a pure straight male with 17+12 years of experience, he could not comprehend why she was crying.
They were supposed to be faking this relationship.
Was she actually catching feelings?
But she never said anything…
If she doesn't say anything, how am I supposed to know?
What if I'm overthinking this?
Just as Gu Ran was trying to figure things out, a familiar system notification popped up in his mind:
"Ding~"
"Detected 100 points of negative emotions from Sophie Turner. Generating system bubble…"
Oh, hell yes!
Gu Ran's heart leaped with excitement.
Even though he missed last night's grind, he was getting it back first thing in the morning!
Sophie, you're amazing!
No matter why she was upset—just for giving him this talent point, she was worth keeping around!
Sophie, my golden goose!
As soon as he saw the bright red talent bubble appear at Sophie's feet, Gu Ran couldn't contain his excitement—
He leaned in and planted a quick kiss on her cheek!
Sophie froze completely.
Her light blue eyes widened, filled with a mixture of:
Confusion, Shyness, Panic, And even… a hint of joy.
…Oh sh*t.
Gu Ran's scalp tingled.
Damn this young body! It's too reckless!
That kiss was completely instinctive—his brain didn't even have time to stop it!
He was definitely a respectable gentleman—but this body…?
Well, that was another story.
It wasn't his fault—if anything, this just proved how excellent his physique was.
But now what?
How the hell was he supposed to explain this?!
Should he say:
"Sophie, I'm actually a reborn soul, and my mind hasn't fully synced with my body yet?"
Or:
"Sophie, yes, I touched your A before. Yes, I just kissed you. Yes, it looks like I'm pushing my luck—but deep down, I'm actually a great guy."
Hell no!
This was bad.
Sophie was already mad enough to throw a chair—what was she going to do now?!
"PERVERT!!!"
Sophie suddenly turned and ran out the door, covering her face.
…Huh?
Why did she sound a little… shy?
Gu Ran clenched his fist and stomped his foot.
"…What a disaster!"
He didn't chase after Sophie.
For one, he still had to collect his talent bubble.
And even if he caught up to her, he had no idea what to say.
Picking up girls was never his strong suit!
Forget it—he'd deal with her later.
Gu Ran tapped the talent bubble with his foot, and the brilliant red orb exploded into radiant streaks of light, surging into his body.
"Ding~"
"Collected a talent point from a perfect system bubble. Daily progress: 1/10."
Hell yes!
A rare but not-too-hard-to-get talent point—secured!
At that moment, Andrew and Sally came downstairs, still half-asleep.
"What's going on?"
"Oh, nothing, Uncle Andrew, Aunt Sally," Gu Ran quickly grabbed his bag and rushed toward the door. "I'm heading to school."
Andrew glanced at the breakfast left on the table. "Gu, need a ride?"
Gu Ran waved without looking back. "No thanks! I'll run there!"
"Alright! Give it your best!"
As soon as Gu Ran was out the door, Andrew rubbed his hands together excitedly.
"Finally! I get to try what Chinese breakfast tastes like…"
Gu Ran jogged all the way to school.
He didn't rush to spend his talent point.
Instead, during the morning classes, he carefully analyzed his attribute distribution.
Stat allocation is a science.
Especially in the early game, when every attribute is weak—a single mistake could mean wasting valuable opportunities.
It required deep football knowledge and experience to make the best investment.
Fortunately, Gu Ran had twelve extra years of football knowledge compared to everyone else in this world.
For now, his main priority was still physical attributes.
Technical and mental stats could wait until he reached the professional level.
After all, physical strength is the foundation of everything.
Without strong core attributes, even the best skills would be useless.
As Gu Ran was still deep in thought—
A small pink note suddenly landed on his desk.
…What the hell?
(End of Chapter.)
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