"After all, he went through so much!"
Speaking of the once hot topic of their class, another girl also felt deeply, "He was only a sophomore, and while we were all busy preparing for the CET-4 and CET-6, he already started a business, which shows he knew what society values..."
"Hey, Miao Xiaoling, didn't you used to have a crush on Zhou Wang?"
Yu Peipei teased with a sinister smile, "I remember you even wrote a love letter, but never sent it..."
"Peipei, stop spouting nonsense."
Fang Lu corrected Yu Peipei with a sense of justice, "Miao Xiaoling isn't just used to liking him, she clearly still likes him a lot!"
"Ah, I'm going to fight you guys!"
With flushed cheeks, Miao Xiaoling lunged forward, and the girls instantly turned the scene into a ruckus.
Li Cheng, sitting to the side, shook his head; he wasn't surprised to hear such juicy gossip. When Zhou Wang hadn't fallen into despair yet, there were plenty of girls who liked him.
It was a pity that Brother Dog was just too eager to prove himself, or maybe, was he also trying to be worthy of Ding Yi back then?
Li Cheng, considering himself to be logical, couldn't help but feel sorry for Zhou Wang. During your freshman and sophomore years, so many girls were waiting for you, and yet you hung your hopes on just one.
Now it's too late, you haven't reached Western Paradise, nor can you return to Eastern Earth Great Tang.
Thinking of this, Li Cheng even felt a bit sorry for Zhou Wang, tempted to send him a message to comfort him!
"Hello, everyone, long time no see!"
At this moment, Ding Yi finally managed to free herself from being entangled by a few BFFs taking pictures.
"Ding Yi, happy birthday!"
"Girl, you look absolutely stunning today..."
Seeing Ding Yi coming over, everyone stopped their playfighting, and the girls all flocked to her, leaving only Li Cheng and another boy sitting behind.
They themselves weren't close with Ding Yi, but their girlfriends were all on good terms with her, so they were purely accompanying them, sharing a sense of mutual understanding at that moment.
After Ding Yi finished cozying up with the group of girls, she suddenly remembered something, smacked her smooth forehead, "Oh yeah, Lu Lu, Peipei, and Xiao Yuan, don't you all want to apply for master's degree at our university? I'll introduce someone to you, she might be helpful to you."
"I myself can't give you any advice, after all, you know, I was recommended for admission, hehe..."
Seeing Ding Yi's smug expression, the girls broke out into laughter again, then saw Ding Yi leave and head back to the inner hall, soon coming back with another girl.
This was clearly an older sister, what truly captured the girls were the looks and the abstinent-style cool temperament of this sister; it hit them right in the excitement zone.
"Ah, kill me now!"
Especially Fang Lu, a seasoned fujoshi, who was shouting in her heart.
Seeing Jiang Mo come over, Li Cheng, Yu Peipei, and others who had just been in the lobby found her appearance somewhat surprising; wasn't this the same elder sister they'd seen earlier?
"She is Jiang Mo, a senior, and also a disciple of Professor Wang Hongying. She was two grades above us during undergraduate studies and got into grad school by her own merit. Any questions you have can be asked to her!"
Ding Yi introduced her to everyone and let Jiang Mo sit down, then looked up strangely herself.
Everyone seemed to have arrived, and the dishes were almost ready to be served, but why was Lu Jin taking so long to come back?
...
At the backdoor of the Chinese restaurant's kitchen, Lu Jin stood there in astonishment. In front of him was the deputy manager of the catering department, Liu Zhiming, who had arranged the private room for him today.
His family was in the lighting engineering business, and there were plenty of banquets and receptions usually, as they often entertained guests at this hotel restaurant, Lu Jin got to be quite familiar with Manager Liu.
It was precisely because he had heard from this very Manager Liu that their catering department's "great stabilizing needle", the executive chef Luo Wenle, would be on duty at the hotel these days, that Lu Jin was intrigued.
Through his parents' introduction, he had known Ding Yi for quite some time.
Given the disparity between their families' backgrounds, his parents had always been supportive of him winning over Ding Yi, even disregarding that fact, just Ding Yi's outstanding looks alone were enough to make Lu Jin's heart flutter incessantly.
Yet, even though Lu Jin had always been successful in wooing girls, he just couldn't seem to close the distance with Ding Yi.
He felt they had grown quite familiar with each other, but Lu Jin could tell that Ding Yi's friendliness towards him was only superficial. After half a year, he still hadn't managed to have a one-on-one date with her.
Mr. Lu was anxious!
All of his usual tricks—his sense of humor, willingness to spend money, ability to organize gatherings, being a master of dice games—seemed utterly useless in front of a girl like Ding Yi.
Fortunately, he had come to understand Ding Yi somewhat and knew she was a standard foodie.
So, he took advantage of Luo Wenle's gimmick and indeed successfully persuaded Ding Yi, securing a reservation for her birthday banquet at the restaurant, which, in Lu Jin's view, was a significant step forward.
I'm the one organizing your birthday party, so that must count for more than just a regular friend, right?
But now...
"Chef Luo doesn't have time?"
After waiting for quite a while, what Lu Jin got in return was this response, and naturally, he found it hard to accept.
"Um, I'm sorry, Mr. Lu... I had actually checked with Chef Luo in advance, and he was more than happy to help, but something urgent came up at the last minute..."
Liu Zhiming appeared quite embarrassed on the outside, but inside he was actually quite composed, even somewhat disdainful.
He certainly knew what was going on.
Normally, Luo Wenle would be willing to cook personally to maintain the relationship with an important client like Lu Jin, but just his luck, that distinguished guest staying in the presidential suite also decided to dine at the restaurant today.
Compared with that guest, Lu Jin's priority was pushed back.
While Lu Jin's company might spend a good two hundred thousand over the course of the year at the restaurant, that guest alone had racked up a bill close to four hundred thousand just for their stay, in less than half a month.
And keep in mind, that's just for accommodation.
The difference in importance was clear at a glance.
If Liu Zhiming had really been proactive, he could have reserved Chef Luo's time in advance—and even for the hotel's reputation, Chef Luo would have prioritized Lu Jin. But the problem was—
Liu Zhiming didn't actually care, and the reason was simple.
Although he was familiar with Liu Zhiming and his company held many banquets at the restaurant, Mr. Lu certainly had his way with kickbacks!
Being wealthy doesn't conflict with being stingy.
Personally, Liu Zhiming hadn't benefited much from Lu Jin.
So, while Liu Zhiming showed a regretful façade, he was actually undisturbed at heart, merely making up a tactful excuse to appease Lu Jin.
"Mr. Lu, rest assured, I will arrange for our top-ranked head chef to cook for you personally to ensure your satisfaction!"
Seeing Lu Jin's displeased expression, Liu Zhiming quickly patted his chest with a smile and said.
"Well... okay then."
At this point, even Lu Jin couldn't possibly drag Chef Luo here. Given Luo's status, he didn't owe Lu Jin any favors. Even though it felt as distasteful as swallowing a fly, he reluctantly nodded.
On the way back to the private room, Lu Jin furrowed his brow, pondering how to explain the situation to Ding Yi, when he inadvertently bumped into another person coming his way.
"Don't you have eyes?"
Feeling particularly irritable, Lu Jin didn't bother to apologize; instead, he looked up annoyedly, only to meet the frowning gaze of the other person.