"He's my... my boyfriend..." Lin Lanxin's face flushed even redder, but her heart was filled with sweetness.
"Hello, I am Mu Ziling, Lanxin's friend," Mu Ziling said, casting another glance at Su Chen as she spoke.
"Su Chen!" Su Chen was a man of few words.
"Well, I won't disturb you two anymore!" Mu Ziling said with a smile, and then she left, feeling a bit curious, especially about Su Chen.
She had sensed a very, very, very faint aura of danger emanating from him.
A delusion?
Moreover, the way he looked at her, it was as if he knew her, even though this was clearly their first encounter.
What puzzled Mu Ziling the most was that Su Chen's gaze seemed to see through everything; in front of him, she felt oddly as if she had no secrets at all.
"What a strange person!" Mu Ziling muttered to herself, etching the name Su Chen deep into her memory.
Half an hour later.
At the Wanqian Grand Hotel, in the banquet hall on the third floor, Lin Lanxin and Su Chen, hand in hand, made their entrance.
"Lanxin, over here!" As soon as they arrived, someone called out to them.
Lin Lanxin looked towards a round glass table by the windows on one side of the banquet hall; it was already surrounded by a dozen or so people.
The woman who called out to Lin Lanxin was around the same age and not bad-looking, but compared to Lin Lanxin and Mu Ziling, she was far behind.
The woman wore a red blouse, a black knee-length skirt, her hair pinned up, and a somewhat heavy layer of makeup, her face filled with smiles.
"That's Zhang Qingmeng, a childhood classmate of mine. Her family used to be our neighbors. We both turned twenty this year, born in the same year; she's a few months older than me. After finishing junior high, she was sent abroad to study and has only returned a few days ago!" Lin Lanxin introduced Zhang Qingmeng to Su Chen, then looped her arm through his, and they headed over to the table.
The banquet hall contained no fewer than twenty tables, with attendees not knowing each other, but the hall was so large and luxurious that it didn't seem crowded.
Su Chen didn't like such environments; he preferred private rooms.
Of course, the hall here was in no way cheaper than private rooms at other hotels, since Wanqian Grand Hotel was the only one in Chengfeng City with a five-star level of luxury and was very expensive.
Perhaps this was why Zhang Qingmeng would rather have the banquet in such a hall instead of booking a private room at another hotel?
Soon.
Su Chen and Lin Lanxin reached the table.
Zhang Qingmeng enthusiastically grabbed Lin Lanxin, had her sit by her side, and introduced her to the others at the table, "This is my childhood best friend, Lin Lanxin, a big beauty, right? Didn't I tell you?"
"Hello everyone, I'm Lin Lanxin!" Lin Lanxin said softly, introducing herself with few words, and then she turned to Su Chen, "He's my boyfriend, Su Chen!"
Su Chen said nothing and took a seat beside Lin Lanxin.
At the table, besides Zhang Qingmeng, there were seven men and two women, all of similar age; at this moment, all of them were eying Lin Lanxin.
Clearly, Lin Lanxin's appearance was a surprise to them; she wasn't just ordinarily beautiful. Chengfeng University had around 30,000 students, and she was one of the top ten school beauties—her appearance and demeanor were beyond commonplace, truly one in ten thousand.
Suddenly, several eager voices spoke up:
"Miss Lin, I'm Chen Dahong, you're really beautiful. Earlier, Qing Meng said she had a gorgeous best friend, and we didn't believe her!"
"Miss Lin, I am Zheng Dongfeng, my family is in the timber business, and I am delighted to make your acquaintance!"
"I'm Yang Yu, and just like Qing Meng, I've recently returned from studying abroad. I attended Stanford University!"
......
The men who spoke all dressed very impressively, suited and booted. They looked at Lin Lanxin with burning eyes. Though they said they were introducing themselves, in fact, they were showing off their family backgrounds.
"Lanxin, let me toast to you, I'm Xuu Ming!" After most had finished their introductions, another man stood up at that moment.
He wore gold-rimmed glasses, his hair combed back, a high nose, and his complexion was somewhat pale, giving off the air of a scholarly type.
With a warm smile on his face, he stood up, holding a glass of wine, and downed it in one gulp.
Lin Lanxin was somewhat at a loss, because she didn't drink alcohol.
"Lanxin, what are you dawdling for? Young Master Xuu has toasted you; aren't you going to drink up quickly? It's rare for Young Master Xuu to toast anyone. You really are the luckiest girl alive!" Zhang Qingmeng whispered excitedly while nudging Lin Lanxin with her arm.
Luckiest girl alive? What kind of hearing does Su Chen have? Of course, he heard Zhang Qingmeng's words, and his eyes grew colder. Lanxin's childhood friend was not such a good person after all!
Meanwhile, the expressions of others at the same table varied.
First, the several men who had introduced themselves to Lin Lanxin and clearly showed interest in her, now looked slightly embarrassed.
If Xuu Ming hadn't shown his interest in Lin Lanxin it would be one thing, but now that he had, it would be suicidal to compete with him.
Then, the other two women at the table stared at Lin Lanxin with hostility. They were both interested in Xuu Ming, but he was interested in Lin Lanxin, so naturally, they were unhappy.
Su Chen didn't say anything and quietly sat there, eating his pastry.
"I don't drink alcohol!" Lin Lanxin finally spoke up.
"You... Lanxin, what can I even say to you? Young Master Xuu is one of the top bachelors in Chengfeng City. It's an honor for you that he's interested in you, and you're rejecting him? This is infuriating!" Zhang Qingmeng reproached, "Even if you don't drink alcohol, a little bit won't hurt!"
"I have a boyfriend!" Lin Lanxin frowned slightly, feeling unexpected and even more, disappointed.
She didn't expect Zhang Qingmeng to say such things. If she wasn't aware that Lin Lanxin had a boyfriend, it would be fine, but knowing full well, she still tried to set her up with Young Master Xuu. Her childhood bosom buddy seemed to have a character issue.
"Lanxin, if you can't drink, you can have a soft drink!" Xuu Ming said persistently, a faint smile on his face.
"Young Master Xuu, please call me Miss Lin! I'm not comfortable with people I'm not familiar with calling me Lanxin!" Lin Lanxin's voice grew colder.
"Hehe... Miss Lin is a bit haughty!" Xuu Ming's eyes narrowed slightly, and a hint of coldness appeared on his face. Clearly, anger was brewing within him, but he didn't burst out right away. Instead, he sat down and glanced at Su Chen again, "However, Miss Lin's taste leaves much to be desired!"
With that, Xuu Ming turned to Su Chen, "May I know what Young Master Su does for a living?"
"Student, Lanxin and I are classmates," Su Chen glanced at Xuu Ming.
"Young Master Su? Giggle... Young Master Xuu, the title 'gentleman' is not something just anyone can live up to. Not everyone can be like you..." One of the two other women at the table besides Zhang Qingmeng and Lin Lanxin interjected.
She was dressed in a blue cheongsam, wearing a string of pearls around her neck and a Chopin watch on her wrist, her entire attire screaming affluence.
Looking rather smug, she raised her hand adorned with a Jadeite Ring and pointed at Su Chen, "Young Master Su, you sure know how to live thriftily! You're fully embracing the traditional virtue of hard work. The clothes you're wearing altogether don't even cost one thousand yuan, do they? And they seem to have been washed for several years now—they're almost faded white! The suit on Young Master Xuu is probably expensive enough to buy you clothes for a hundred years!"
"Hahahaha..." After the woman finished, everyone at the table laughed, including Zhang Qingmeng.