Chapter 3: The Playboy's Wisdom
The Christ University library was a sanctuary of hushed whispers and fluorescent hum. Aarav was deep into his research, hunched over a towering stack of engineering textbooks. He was trying to dissect the Principle of Minimum Drag, not just to satisfy Mr. Ranganathan, but to truly understand the physics that governed the world he had died and returned to.
The knowledge from his future MBA courses was a chaotic jumble in his mind, occasionally merging with the fundamental physics he should have learned two years ago. He found the section he needed, scribbled notes frantically, and felt a triumphant rush—a completely foreign emotion compared to the hesitant resignation of his past self.
"Aarav, my brother, look at you!" a loud, playful voice boomed, completely shattering the library's delicate silence.
Aarav winced, shoving his notes toward the center of the desk just as a muscular arm draped itself over his shoulder.
It was Akash, his best friend since the beginning of college. Akash was everything Aarav wasn't: effortlessly stylish, perpetually late, and an absolute magnet for attention. He had the easy confidence of a man who knew he looked good and never met a challenge he couldn't charm his way out of.
"You're actually studying on a Thursday afternoon? Did Ranganathan threaten to deduct marks from your soul?" Akash lowered his voice to a theatrical whisper, leaning in close. "And why do you look like you've solved cold fusion and fought a tiger this morning?"
Aarav managed a tired smile. "I was late for physics. I have to submit a five-page analysis by morning or I run forty laps".
Akash whistled low. "Forty laps? That old buzzard is serious. Wait—you argued your way out of the running? That's new, man. The old Aarav would have been halfway through lap ten by now". He squinted. "You've changed. I like it".
Akash pulled up a chair and shoved Aarav's books to one side, making room for a massive takeaway coffee cup. "Don't worry about the report. I'll make sure my cousin prints out something dense and five pages long. You focus on the real mission".
"What mission?" Aarav asked, knowing exactly the answer.
Akash leaned forward, his eyes bright with mischief. "The mission, my friend, to stop being a textbook and start being a hero. Ayushi. You saw her, didn't you? That's why you got caught daydreaming".
Aarav's defenses melted away. He needed a confidant, someone who knew his heart's deepest, most secret desire—even if he couldn't share the cosmic stakes.
"I saw her," Aarav confirmed, a raw tenderness in his voice. "Akash, I can't mess this up again. I spent the last two years of my life regretting that I never told her how I felt. I can't just go up to her and blurt out 'I love you' like a maniac".
Akash threw his head back and laughed, but quickly clamped his hand over his mouth at the librarian's glare.
"Aarav, my saintly brother. That is precisely what you don't do. You're talking to a professional here," Akash said, tapping his chest. "Girls like Ayushi—the intelligent, graceful ones—they don't want a confession; they want a story. You have to build a narrative".
Akash ticked off points on his fingers:
The Common Ground Strategy: "She's in your class, right? What's her hardest subject? Whatever it is, you suddenly become a master tutor. No, scratch that. You become a fellow sufferer. 'Hey Ayushi, this thermodynamics is killing me. Can we suffer through it together?'"
The Rescue Mission: "She works part-time, doesn't she? Find out where. If she needs a ride, you just 'happen' to be going that way. If her shift ends late, you're the security detail. You create scenarios where she needs your help, and you are flawlessly there".
The Reverse Psychology (The Playbook Move): "The most important one. You are focused on your work, on your future, on your passion. You are too busy to chase her. You become a prize that she might have to chase, just a little. Girls like Ayushi are used to adoration. Give her respect, give her support, but never, ever give her your soul on a platter on the first date".
Aarav listened, his heart pounding. The old Aarav would have dismissed this as playboy nonsense. But the new Aarav saw the strategy. This was not about games; this was about building a connection—a foundation he had failed to build before. He needed a legitimate reason to be near her for the next two years.
"She's extremely focused on the upcoming MBA Business Plan Competition," Aarav mused, remembering how she had poured her energy into it in the previous timeline. "She's doing a solo presentation".
Akash snapped his fingers. "Perfect! She's passionate, you're brilliant. You offer to join her team. Two minds, one goal—and it's a brilliant way to spend hours together without it being a 'date.' You help her win, she sees you as a partner, a capable man, and maybe, just maybe, she starts to see the love in your eyes instead of just the help".
Aarav stared at the five-page analysis for Ranganathan, then at Akash. He realized the most efficient way to achieve his mission (minimum drag) was exactly as Akash suggested.
"The Business Plan Competition," Aarav whispered, a fierce determination in his eyes. "That's it. That's my in".