Lin Yumeng hung up the phone, returned it to Su Chen, and then wrapped her arms around his waist.
"You trust me now, don't you?" Su Chen smiled and patted her head.
"Brother Chen, I have never suspected you of cheating. I know you are not that kind of guy." Lin Yumeng looked up at him lovingly.
"My silly girl." Su Chen's lips curved up in a pampering smile, then he kissed her on her forehead.
The love and tenderness between the two of them wrapped the hearts of the people around them with intense envy.
"Su Chen, I'm sorry, I…" Qian Manman apologized, her face clouded over in guilt. She was so ashamed of her behavior before that she was on the brink of crying as she felt that there was nothing she could say to express her apology.
"Me too. I did also suspect you. I'm sorry." Li Jia also apologized with a somber tone in her voice.
"It's okay. I know you guys did it for Mengmeng's sake. I'm happy that she has friends like you guys." Su Chen smiled and interrupted her.
"Um-hm!" Qian Manman nodded continuously like a chick pecking for rice seeds.
The three girls looked at each other and laughed joyously.
"Ah, look at them. That's so great! Such love, such friendship!"
"What has the girl done in her previous life to deserve all of this? I'm so jealous!"
"I know, right? I would trade ten years of my life to have such BFFs and a boyfriend like him."
"Let's go; let's go. I told you my Prince Charming is not the kind of guy who cheats. I wanna know who is the one spreading the rumor."
"The one who's behind all of this is low and despicable!"
"..."
The bystanders discussed the situation as they walked away.
"Let's go. I'll buy you girls a meal with some crayfish to get over the mess today and steady your nerves. I earned some money today," said Su Chen, a smile decorating his lips.
Excitement flashed in the girls' eyes.
"Should we invite Meng Lu as well?" Lin Yumeng asked.
"Humph! What for? She did not care about you at all!" Qian Manman sneered. She did not like Meng Lu and did not want to spend time with her.
Li Jia agreed with Qian Manman tacitly. She was wise and sensitive. She noticed Meng Lu's sly and crafty character on the first day of school. She did not think that Meng Lu was worth her time.
"But…" Lin Yumeng hesitated. She was kind-hearted. In her opinion, although Meng Lu was not very friendly with them, she still hoped that the four of them could get along in harmony.
"Let's just go. Leave her alone. I'm starving." Qian Manman grabbed Yumeng's arm and started walking.
In their dorm room, Meng Lu stared, coldness flickering in her eyes, at the four of them as they walked away.
She saw everything that had happened just now. Su Chen did not cheat on Lin Yumeng and was still spoiling her like always. When she saw the affection between them, jealousy burned through her again.
Moreover, the three girls going out without inviting her also planted a seed of hatred in her heart.
***
There was a street full of food vendors behind the University of Magic City. A wide variety of cuisines sold there in the evening.
Groups of students would go out for food every evening, especially in the hot summer air. Drinking beer, eating crayfish—life was great!
They stopped by a busy vendor, ordered two buckets of crayfish, kebabs, side dishes, and two crates of beer.
Of course, the four of them could not finish all that food, but Su Chen had already asked his three roommates to join them. Zheng Bin had eaten dinner and did not want to leave the room. Guo Lei and Pan Xiaojie were on their way.
"Brother Chen, you said you earned some money today? Weren't you playing video games in your room the whole day?" Lin Yumeng asked.
"Oh, I streamed my gaming sessions, and got presents that are worth around a thousand yuan!" Su Chen smiled and said proudly.
Previously, when he had been satisfied with muddling along, he could make do with the pocket money his parents gave him. He would never get a part-time job. This was the first time he earned money on his own. Although he had not actually received the money, he was still quite proud of himself.
"Wow, that much? Brother Chen, you are the greatest!" Lin Yumeng shrieked and turned into his little fan as usual. She looked at him with admiration.
"You can make that much money through video game streaming?" Qian Manman was curious.
"I'm just lucky, I guess. I got to know a popular game streamer in the game a while ago, and she invited me to participate in a match among video game streamers. They are all popular streamers from the platform Shark TV. That's how I became known." Su Chen smiled and explained.
"Shark TV? I often watch live gaming from this platform. What is the number of your channel? I'll subscribe." Qian Manman said frantically as she took her phone out.
Su Chen told her his channel number.
Qian Manman tapped the Shark TV app on her phone to open it and looked up his channel number. She then cried out. "Wow, you already have sixty thousand subscribers. You're such a bad*ss!"
Lin Yumeng also downloaded the app and subscribed to Su Chen's channel so that she could watch her boyfriend's live gaming.
"That sounds kinda fun!" she said.
After a while, Guo Lei and Pan Xiaojie arrived.
"Chen, what the hell was with the forum? Who's playing a prank on you?" asked Pan Xiaojie in a grim voice.
He told them about the situation on the phone just now, and they knew that the problem was resolved, but they were still pretty mad at the person who did that.
Su Chen shook his head and said, "No idea. That fellow used a new account to post the photo, and also an untraceable number to send the photo to Mengmeng."
"Would it be Shen Tianze and Zhao Tai?" Guo Lei guessed.
"Probably not. Even if they wanted to take revenge, they wouldn't choose this method." Pan Xiaojie shook his head.
The vendor brought the crayfish to their table.
"All right, let's not talk about that now. Eat first. We'll figure that out later," Su Chen smiled and brought that topic to an end. He then put on the gloves.
He already had an idea about how to find out who was behind the whole thing, but it would take some time.
They could not wait to start eating. After putting on gloves, they began devouring the crayfish.
When they were chit-chatting, Guo Lei and Pan Xiaojie learned about Su Chen's video game streaming career. They were both surprised and jealous.
Many boys who loved playing video games dreamed about being a video game streamer.
"Bro, can you ask Missy Qiaoqiao to bring me into the platform as well? I think I have the talent to be a video game streamer," Pan Xiaojie said somberly.
"With your skills? Forget about it!" Su Chen showed him no mercy.
"But I have got the look! So what if my gaming skills suck. Some streamers are also bronze players!" Pan Xiaojie said indignantly.
"Have you seen any bronze streamer who won games with his look? Plus, do you think you look better than Su Chen?" Qian Manman laughed and teased.
"Yeah, yeah. Jie, you should go home and inherit your family business. Gaming is just for fun!" Guo Lei placed the shelled crayfish on Qian Manman's plate and chimed in.
"You a**hole—you put gals before your pals! Your girlfriend is now more important than your bro, huh!" Pan Xiaojie got all worked up.
"So what?" Guo Lei shrugged.
"I…" Pan Xiaojie was left speechless.
"Ha-ha…" Su Chen and the others couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Well said! This is your prize," Qian Manman brought the crayfish she shelled to Guo Lei's mouth with a sweet smile.
"Awh! Manman, you're so sweet!" Guo Lei quickly ate it. A smile like a blossoming flower spread across his rugged face.
Su Chen and the others couldn't bear to look at them. This fellow had just been dating for a few days, but he had already gotten so deep in the art of public displays of affection that there was no turning back.