Although Chen Fan pretended to focus on his meal, he kept a close eye on Susan and her friends out of his peripheral vision. When he saw a handsome young man greet Susan and Liu Wei, a sense of forbearance filled his heart.
"What the hell is this chick up to?"
Even though Chen Fan couldn't hear Susan's words, he saw her pointing at the table where he and Yu Xuan were seated, which left him stunned.
"Susan, since Mr. Huang is giving us so much face, I think we should accept his offer," said the girl in the black dress next to Susan. Her words were neither hot nor cold, but subtly decisive. Her name was Zhang Qin Qin, a local from Donghai.
Her mother worked in the financial sector of Donghai, her father was a noted investment expert in the country and for herself, she was an excellent student admitted into the Economics and Management Studies at Donghai University based on merit, not connections.
Compared to Zhang Qin Qin, Susan's other two roommates were more ordinary; both were kids from average families who had worked hard academically for over a decade to finally earn a spot at Donghai University.
For them, they had spent their entire student life buried in their studies. They had never dealt with a situation like this.
"Susan, since Qin Qin has spoken, don't spoil my mood today. We're old classmates, plus the new batch of freshmen. We'll inevitably have to interact in the future. Let's have a meal together to build connections," the young man next to Liu Wei chimed in, speaking slowly with an elegant smile.
Upon hearing these two, Susan was taken aback.
She knew the young man in front was Huang Xiao Dong, a typical princeling. His father held a high office in the Donghai city government. His mother was equally powerful, serving as the Vice Chancellor of Donghai University.
Back in high school, Huang Xiao Dong had pursued her for three years. She wasn't particularly fond of him, but she didn't dislike him either.
After registering for the new session today, Huang Xiao Dong was waiting for her at the dormitory, trying to invite her to lunch.
Susan knew that even if she didn't like Chen Fan, she was, for now, his fiancée.
This relationship forbade her from happily accepting an invitation from another boy, especially when that boy was someone she didn't like.
So, she refused Huang Xiao Dong.
Encountering Huang Xiao Dong at Luxury Source was unexpected for her. But her intellect suggested that Huang Xiao Dong knew she would come here for lunch with Qin Qin and her group, which is why he waited for her.
The first time he invited her, she refused.
The second time, why would she accept?
Especially when… a certain jerk pretended not to know her and treated her like air. That ticked her off.
So when Huang Xiao Dong extended an invitation for the second time, she remembered Xiao Feng's invitation. She not only chose to refuse but also decided to use Xiao Feng's group as a shield.
She didn't mean to expose her relationship with Chen Fan, but she wanted to make it impossible for him to keep pretending.
However, when Zhang Qin Qin now took the initiative to accept and Huang Xiao Dong offered for the third time, it left her in a quandary.
She could refuse Huang Xiao Dong without care, but it was hard for her to say no to Qin Qin.
Even though it's only their first day of knowing each other, they are roommates after all and have to see each other every day. If she rejects Qin Qin's proposed idea, it would certainly cause problems in the future.
As she was hesitant, she subconsciously looked at Chen Fan in the distance.
In that moment, she made a realization: No matter how much I dislike this jerk, after all, I am his fiancée! If I accept an invitation from another guy in front of him, knowing his shameless habits, he'll surely tattle, and then my parents won't spare me!
Upon understanding this, Susan was about to make an excuse to persuade Qin Qin, when she found that the customer at the table next to Chen Fan had stood up to pay and leave.
"Qin Qin, it's our dormitory's first meal together, isn't it inappropriate to eat with outsiders? Let's just stick to the four of us," said Susan as she pointed towards the now-empty table, "There's a table free, let's go there!"
"Yeah, Qin Qin, we aren't used to eating meals with guys," hearing Susan's words, the other two girls in their dorm sheepishly chimed in.
Before coming to university, my father told me to get along well with Susan. Judging from the current situation, my father's decision was absolutely wrong! Although Su Qing Hai is a maverick in the Donghai business world, his daughter is far from it, hardly worth the effort to get along with. It's Huang Xiao Dong who is worth the effort to forge ties.
This streak of thoughts flashed through Qin Qin's mind, but she didn't insist on dining with Huang Xiao Dong. In her view, she didn't have to rush to fit into Huang Xiao Dong's circle. Her background and personal qualifications meant she could fit in at any time.
Seeing Qin Qin agree, Susan said no more and led the way to the now-empty table.
Seeing this, Huang Xiao Dong's face changed and anger shined in his eyes. Yet, he held himself back from intervening. Being rejected by Susan for three years, he knew that haste wouldn't help. In his mind, there would someday come a moment when Susan would kneel in submission at his feet!
While Huang Xiao Dong didn't fly into a rage, Liu Wei leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Brother Xiao Dong, that redneck who almost picked a fight with me is right next to that sissy. Those four runts dared to spoil our plans, we should teach them a lesson."
Huang Xiao Dong was aware that Susan's refusal was not due to Xiao Feng's invitation, but her refusal nevertheless irritated him. Now hearing Liu Wei's words, he directed his unpleasant gaze towards Chen Fan's table.
After a slight hesitation, Huang Xiao Dong's mouth curled up in a sinister smile, "In this case, let's get them out of the restaurant."
"Great!" Liu Wei had been waiting for just these words from Huang Xiao Dong and was filled with excitement.
Huang Xiao Dong seemed to know what Liu Wei was about to do, he shook his head and said, "Liu Wei, in front of Susan, we can't act like low-class thugs on the street. Even if we want to mess with someone, we have to do it with style."
Liu Wei was puzzled, his face full of confusion.
"Watch and learn," Huang Xiao Dong said with an arrogant smirk and walked towards the restaurant manager.
Meanwhile, Susan and her friends took seats next to Chen Fan's table, close enough that they could see each other by turning their heads.
"Beauty, my surname is Xiao, given name Feng. Xiao from Xiao Feng, the main character of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", and Feng from enjoying the maple forest at sunset"- Xiao Feng started, rising to his feet with a smile.
"Although she looks like Matsushima Maple, she only has the appearance and not the essence," Zhou Wen cast a sideways glance at Qin Qin, mentally making this remark.
Even Yu Xuan, who had been devouring his pork stew with glass noodles, lifted his head. When he saw Qin Qin's cold and proud expression, he simply filtered her out. Then his gaze lingered briefly on Susan, and finally it was locked onto a girl with a modest appearance sitting next to Susan.
"Little Xuan, remember your grandpa's words. When you look for a wife in the future, make sure to find a girl who can endure hardship. Such a girl knows how to look after a house," At this moment, his grandpa's teachings instinctively echoed in his mind.
Chen Fan, originally not wanting Susan to notice him, could not pretend anymore as she was now sitting beside him. Turning his attention upwards, his gaze ignored Susan and her friends unlike Xiao Feng's group.
Pretend! Let me see how long you can keep this up!
Susan snorted inwardly, then turned to Xiao Feng with an apologetic smile, "Sorry, but I'm not at all interested in the hero Qiao Feng. I only fancy Xu Zhu."
At Susan's words, the two girls sitting next to her couldn't help but giggle, but Qin Qin frowned, realizing she had underestimated Susan--Susan's refusal of Huang Xiao Dong was not because she wanted to accept Xiao Feng's invitation.
As for Xiao Feng, he was left stunned on the spot. He never dreamed that Susan would come up with such a classic line, and for a moment, he didn't know how to respond.
Initially, Chen Fan thought that it wasn't a good thing to be discovered by Susan. After all, he didn't want to expose his relationship with her, which would not only make him a public enemy in the eyes of Susan's so-called protective squad but would also impact Susan's future life.
However…seeing Susan's fiery intensity, he suddenly understood: Damn, compared to me, this chick probably even more reluctant to expose our relationship, right?
With this realization, Chen Fan's worries instantly disappeared. He flashed an obnoxious grin, brazenly saying to Susan, "Beauty, if you agree to be my girlfriend, I wouldn't mind acting as Xu Zhu or even a temple's floor sweeper!"