Therefore, he had specially prepared this meal with the sole purpose of inviting Campus Belle Gu out and presenting her with some gifts to salvage his image in her eyes.
He had booked a private dining room at Peace Residence for Saturday night in advance and paid for everything. Yet Gu Chenxi had rejected his invitation on the grounds of her studies, leaving Chen Junjie feeling deeply depressed. Consequently, he had found a junior schoolmate to accompany him out for dinner instead.
While the junior schoolmate was not bad-looking by any means, compared to Gu Chenxi, she was worlds apart.
As Chen Junjie brought his junior schoolmate to the restaurant to wait for their food, a friend of his at JiaoDa sent him a video. The video captured Kong Liu and Gu Chenxi singing "Small Dimples" together the previous night.
This made him furious. However, his good upbringing prevented him from flying into a rage and overturning the table on the spot. But after waiting for an hour without a single dish being served, his stomach was already growling with hunger as he watched dishes constantly being carried upstairs past the doorway.
Moreover, those dishes... somehow looked very similar to the ones he had ordered.
Chen Junjie decided to go out and ask someone about it. As soon as he stepped out, he saw the lobby manager followed by two pretty waitresses carrying the very same pigeon and fish dishes he had ordered on his menu, heading this way. Thinking they were being delivered to his own private room, he watched as they walked straight upstairs instead.
At this point, Chen Junjie completely erupted. He rushed upstairs, determined to demand an explanation.
The female waitresses at the entrance were no match for a grown man, so they could only watch as he barged in.
The moment Chen Junjie burst through the door, his eyes locked onto the dishes on the table. Good grief—five out of the eight dishes were the ones he had ordered! At that moment, Chen Junjie's attention was entirely consumed by the spread of food, completely failing to notice Gu Chenxi and Kong Liu sitting at the table.
He immediately glared at the lobby manager and demanded, "What is the meaning of this? We were here first! What right do you have to serve our dishes to their table?"
Hearing Chen Junjie's words, Kong Liu finally understood why the food had been served so quickly tonight. It turned out that this idiot Wang Wu, in his eagerness to please him, had directly taken the dishes ordered by someone else and brought them over—and by sheer coincidence, they happened to be the dishes belonging to Chen Junjie's table.
"..."
Pointed at and interrogated right in front of Kong Liu, Wang Wu felt his heart falter. After all, he was definitely in the wrong here.
Wang Wu hurried to apologize, saying, "I am truly sorry, sir. If this dining experience has left you unsatisfied, please step outside with me so we can talk."
Wang Wu just wanted to get Chen Junjie out of the way immediately. He didn't dare bear the consequences if this were to ruin his young master's dining experience.
Furious, Chen Junjie had no intention of listening to him or leaving. He continued to yell, "You'd better fix this shit right here and right now!"
"Chen Junjie?" Gu Chenxi wore a cold expression, wanting to see who had dared to barge in and interrupt her dinner with Kong Liu. But upon seeing who it was, her brows immediately furrowed.
"L-Little... Xiaoxi? Kong Liu?!"
It was only then that Chen Junjie abruptly realized the two people sitting at the dining table were none other than Gu Chenxi and Kong Liu.
As the saying goes, when bitter enemies meet, their eyes turn red with hatred. The moment he laid eyes on Kong Liu, the veins on Chen Junjie's forehead bulged even more prominently.
Pointing at Kong Liu, Chen Junjie asked with a cold face, "So when you said you were busy tonight, it was just to come out and eat with this guy?"
Gu Chenxi replied with an arrogant look, "That really has nothing to do with you. Who I choose to eat with is my freedom!"
"You..."
Stunned by Gu Chenxi's retort, Chen Junjie was momentarily left speechless, having no idea what to say next.
Seeing this scene, Wang Wu felt his heart sink even further. It seemed he had stirred up a huge trouble. Out of the corner of his eye, he secretly glanced at Kong Liu and saw that Kong Liu's expression was rather unsightly.
Wang Wu immediately spoke up, "Sir, if you have any questions about the dishes served tonight, you can come with me to the kitchen to check the order queue. We..."
"Shut up!"
Chen Junjie shot Wang Wu a dark glare, then pointed at Kong Liu and said, "Since you're the one who invited Xiaoxi out to eat, you must have the restaurant's reservation details. Let me see if your reservation time was before mine."
Before Kong Liu even had a chance to speak, Gu Chenxi cut in first, "I'm the one who invited him. If you have any issues, take it up with me. Stop pestering him."
"Ha! Oh, wonderful! Excellent, just brilliant!" A layer of frost seemed to cover Chen Junjie's face. Pointing at Gu Chenxi, he said through gritted teeth, "Gu Chenxi, I really never expected you to go to such lengths to protect a good-for-nothing freeloader."
"Chen Junjie, shut your mouth!"
Gu Chenxi snapped at Chen Junjie and made to stand up, but Kong Liu pressed her back down into her seat.
Kong Liu stood up, blocked Gu Chenxi from view, looked at Chen Junjie, and said in a calm tone, "If you have any dissatisfaction with this restaurant, go find the person in charge. Don't stand here howling at us. We are just two ordinary customers with no right or duty to help you solve your problems."
Seeing Kong Liu shield her, a wave of warmth washed over Gu Chenxi. Her eyes sparkled as she gazed at Kong Liu, thinking to herself, "I really didn't misjudge him. No matter when it is, he always steps up to protect me!"
Wang Wu was indeed in the wrong here, but Kong Liu and Gu Chenxi had been completely oblivious to it the entire time—had he known, Kong Liu wouldn't have eaten the food either—so Chen Junjie truly had no grounds to hold them accountable.
"What business is it of yours? Since when is it your turn to speak here?"
With that, Chen Junjie raised his hand, intending to slap Kong Liu across the face.
Kong Liu had no masochistic tendencies and certainly didn't enjoy being slapped, so he had no intention of sitting idly by and taking a beating. He clenched his fist, preparing to retaliate.
However, Wang Wu bolted forward a step ahead of him and yanked Chen Junjie aside. If Kong Liu were to get beaten right in front of him, he wouldn't live to see another day either.
At that exact moment, the security guards rushed in.
Wang Wu shouted, "Throw this troublemaker out!"
The guards lunged forward immediately and, in a matter of moves, subdued Chen Junjie and hauled him out.
Bowing deeply, Wang Wu said to Kong Liu, "I am terribly sorry for disturbing the two of you. I'll go take care of this right away..."
Kong Liu glared at him, a trace of displeasure in his voice. "I hope you handle it properly."
Kong Liu was not an easily angered person, but the ridiculous stunt Wang Wu had pulled today really made his blood boil.
If Wang Wu could pull such petty tricks to curry favor with him today, he would end up offending even more people tomorrow, and the ultimate result would only cause the restaurant's reputation to plummet.
"Yes, yes."
Wang Wu nodded vigorously and scurried out on trembling legs.
"Are you alright?"
The moment Wang Wu left, Gu Chenxi stood up, cupped Kong Liu's cheeks with both hands, and examined him carefully, terrified that the unhinged Chen Junjie might have hurt him.
Kong Liu looked at Gu Chenxi in utter bewilderment as she showed him such concern.
With his cheeks squeezed by Gu Chenxi's hands and his lips puckered up like a goldfish, he mumbled, "I—I'm fine. He didn't even touch me."
"Phew, that's good."
Gu Chenxi let out a long sigh of relief. Her heart settled, though she had no intention of letting go. Looking at Kong Liu's puckered lips, she found him increasingly adorable, and finally burst into a giggle with a soft "pfft."
At that moment, Gu Chenxi's inner thoughts were: "So cute, I really want to give him a big kiss!"
(End of Chapter)
Chapter 31: I'll Beat You Up!
After dragging Chen Junjie outside, Wang Wu first offered profuse apologies and waived the bill for Chen Junjie's meal that evening. Then, he handed over a complimentary meal voucher so that Chen Junjie could get his next meal free as well.
Yet Chen Junjie was not satisfied with this and insisted that Kong Liu come downstairs to apologize to him. There was no way Wang Wu would listen to such a demand, nor did he have the ability to make it happen.
Seeing that Chen Junjie was still making a scene and out of other options, Wang Wu had no choice but to call over the restaurant manager.
Although the restaurant manager, Wang Siting, was a woman, her methods were anything but soft. She immediately invoked the family behind Peace Residence to put things in perspective, warning Chen Junjie not to be ungrateful.
Angry as he was, Chen Junjie wasn't a fool either. While he could deal with a small fry like Kong Liu whenever he pleased, Peace Residence was not someone to be trifled with. Just how massive was the influence of the faction behind it in Zhonghai? Was that something the Chen family could afford to provoke at will?
After carefully weighing the pros and cons, Chen Junjie calmed down and accepted the mediation offered by the restaurant manager, stepping down the stairs she had provided.
Having dealt with Chen Junjie's mess, Wang Siting immediately brought Wang Wu back up to the third floor to make amends to Kong Liu.
"You got it sorted out so quickly?"
Gu Chenxi asked the two of them with some surprise. She knew Chen Junjie's temperament; he was not an easy person to appease.
Wang Siting and Wang Wu bowed together in apology, their attitude sincere as Wang Siting said, "It has all been resolved. We hope this little episode didn't ruin the two of you're dining experience. As compensation, this meal is on the house, and we would like to present you with this VIP card, which comes with a credit limit of 500,000 with no restrictions whatsoever. You are welcome to use it at any time."
As she spoke, Wang Siting took the Peace Residence VIP card from Wang Wu's hands and offered it respectfully with both hands.
"This..."Gu Chenxi was somewhat bewildered by this impeccable apology. She thought to herself, "Just like that, a fifty-thousand-dollar dining card is handed over so casually? Isn't Peace Residence a bit too generous?"
In fact, what she did not know was that the store manager and the lobby manager were treating her with such courtesy—waiving the bill and offering a fifty-thousand-dollar VIP card—entirely because of Kong Liu, who had come with her.
Both of them firmly believed that their young master was hiding his identity to pick up girls, which was why they were sucking up to Gu Chenxi in every possible way. Only by keeping the girl their young master liked happy could they keep their jobs.
Seeing that Gu Chenxi was still hesitating, Wang Siting spoke up again, "Please do accept this small token."
Seeing the other party's enthusiasm, Gu Chenxi found it hard to refuse, so she accepted the card.
Only then did the two of them breathe a sigh of relief. At the same time, they glanced out of the corners of their eyes at Kong Liu and noticed that his expression had improved a lot.
Having accepted the card, Gu Chenxi turned to Kong Liu and asked, "Are you full?"
"Yeah, I'm full."
The two of them had already eaten most of their meal, and because of this whole episode, neither of them was in the mood to continue eating.
Looking at the many dishes left on the table, some of which hadn't even been touched with chopsticks, Kong Liu didn't want to waste them either. He said to Gu Chenxi, "Let's get these packed up. No need to waste them."
"Pack them up?" Gu Chenxi didn't seem to want to take the leftovers with her.
Kong Liu thought about it and figured it made sense. Someone like Gu Chenxi, who had never had to worry about food and clothing since she was a child, naturally wouldn't care for leftovers.
However, her next sentence made Kong Liu realize that he had misunderstood her.
Gu Chenxi said, "Even if I packed everything to take back, I wouldn't be able to finish it all. If I asked Shen Xia and the others to eat it... that wouldn't be very appropriate either. You know how it is—girls' thoughts are more complicated than guys'. If I gave them leftovers, they'd probably think I was looking down on them."
Hearing this, Kong Liu chuckled and said, "It's a good thing our boys' dorm doesn't have all that drama."
"Then I'll just pack some honey lotus root to eat as a snack tonight, and you can take the rest back to share with your roommates."
Gu Chenxi gave Kong Liu a tight-lipped smile and said, "We can't waste food, right?"
"Alright."
At that moment, Kong Liu suddenly felt that Gu Chenxi wasn't as pampered as he had thought. At least she wouldn't waste food like the other scions around him, nor would she look down on the act of packing up leftovers.
Just as Gu Chenxi thought about getting some takeaway boxes, Wang Wu rushed over with several boxes in the nick of time, taking the initiative to help pack up the dishes for her.
Kong Liu noticed that Wang Wu still had decent situational awareness, it was just a pity he was too full of petty tricks.
"I'm going to the restroom."
Kong Liu said this to Gu Chenxi, stood up, and asked Wang Siting, the store manager who hadn't left yet, "Where is the restroom?"
As the owner of the place, how could Kong Liu not know where the restroom was?
Wang Siting immediately caught the deeper meaning behind Kong Liu's words and promptly replied, "Please follow me, sir."
Once they were out of the private dining room, Kong Liu dropped the act and asked directly, "Manager Wang, is this Wang Wu a relative of yours?"
Seeing that Kong Liu was coming to settle accounts with her, Wang Siting didn't dare to neglect him and answered immediately, "He is my cousin. This idiot didn't handle things well and displeased Young Master Kong. I'll have him kicked out right after this."
Rather than having both of them driven away by an angry Kong Liu, Wang Siting decisively chose to sacrifice the rook to save the king. After all, as long as her own job was secure, the two of them wouldn't starve to death together.
"There's no need for that," Kong Liu waved his hand and said, "Just make sure he doesn't pull this kind of absurd stunt again. But if there is a next time, you'll be rolling out the door right along with him."
Hearing this, Wang Siting's legs went weak and she almost lost her footing. She nodded in trembling fear and agreed, "O-okay, Young Master Kong."
"Don't call me young master. I don't like that title when we're out."
Dropping these words, Kong Liu walked straight toward the restroom.
When he came out, Gu Chenxi was already waiting at the door, holding her little handbag.
The packed dishes had already been placed by Wang Wu in the car downstairs, and the two of them went down together.
While Kong Liu and Gu Chenxi were leaving, Chen Junjie was just starting his meal. Looking out the window at the two of them getting into the car together, Chen Junjie's expression turned terrifyingly gloomy, and the table full of delicacies suddenly tasted like sawdust.
"Here, this is for you."
After getting into the car, Gu Chenxi handed the VIP card the store manager had just given her straight to Kong Liu.
"Huh?" Kong Liu looked at Gu Chenxi in bewilderment and asked, "What is this for?"
Gu Chenxi replied without hesitation, "I'm giving it to you."
Kong Liu rubbed his nose and asked again, "Why are you giving it to me?"
"I'm giving you the card so you can come here and eat whenever you want."After finishing, Gu Chenxi added another sentence: "But don't you dare use this young lady's card to take other women out!"
There was a faint trace of jealousy mixed in her words.
"..."
Hearing Gu Chenxi's words, Kong Liu was even more baffled. He thought to himself: "Could she be trying to buy my personal freedom with a single meal card?"
"No need. This card originally belongs to the manager anyway," Kong Liu said, waving his hand. "You keep it yourself. Even if you give it to me, I have no use for it."
What Kong Liu said was the truth; when he came here to eat, he really had no use for such a thing.
"I told you to keep it, so keep it! Why are you being so coy?"
With that, Gu Chenxi grabbed Kong Liu's hand directly and shoved the card into it.
"But I really..."
"Shut up!"
Gu Chenxi clenched her small fist and glared fiercely at Kong Liu, though her tone carried not a shred of intimidation as she said, "No one has ever dared refuse anything this young lady gives away. If you dare say another word, watch out—I'll beat you up!"
"Heh... pfft."
Seeing Gu Chenxi's cute expression, Kong Liu couldn't really help it, and he pressed his lips together with a smile.
Looking at the card in his hand, Kong Liu thought: "The first time in my life I've ever received a gift, and it turns out to be something from my own family."
Seeing Kong Liu stealing a smile while trying to avoid her gaze, Gu Chenxi assumed he was happy about receiving the gift. She thought to herself with a smug sense of satisfaction: "This idiot, he's clearly thrilled, yet he was just acting tough and saying he didn't want it."
Chapter 32: Midnight Call
"Bye-bye!"
The pink Porsche stopped downstairs at the boys' dormitory. Seeing that Kong Liu had already gotten out of the car, today Gu Chenxi didn't step on the gas and drive straight to the girls' dormitory like last time.
She got out of the car and waved goodbye to Kong Liu with lingering reluctance.
Perhaps Gu Chenxi had done too many strange things today, to the point where Kong Liu wasn't even all that surprised that she took the initiative to get out of the car and wave goodbye to him. He politely waved back and said, "Thanks for treating me to dinner tonight. See you."
Without looking back, Kong Liu walked straight into the boys' dormitory.
Gu Chenxi just stood there downstairs, watching his figure completely disappear, her heart instantly feeling empty...
When Kong Liu returned to the dorm, his three roommates immediately rushed over and launched into a round of interrogation, demanding to know why he had abandoned the collective to go pick up girls by himself.
Too lazy to explain to them, Kong Liu held the takeout food high up in the air.
The next second, sweet and melodious sounds rang out in the dorm:
"Your Majesty, your humble subject spoke too loudly just now, I deserve to die!"
"Foster father! My dear foster father, hurry up and let me taste that squab."
"Big daddy, how did you know I hadn't eaten dinner tonight?"
Looking at the harmonious and cozy scene in the dorm, Kong Liu felt quite gratified and broke into a kind, fatherly smile.
Chen Zhirui asked, "Brother Kong, you went on a date with Campus Belle Gu this afternoon, right?"
Du Hongyuan immediately burst into laughter and said, "Do you even need to ask?"
Wang Qi also wore a smile and nodded, saying, "Exactly, exactly. Old Liu was even singing to Campus Belle Gu downstairs at the boys' dorm this morning."
Although Gu Chenxi's face was blocked in the photos Kong Liu had posted in the dorm group chat, from her outfit alone, the three of them could make a pretty good guess.
Seeing the gossipy looks on the faces of the three, Kong Liu pressed his lips together, feeling a bit speechless: "You guys have food in your mouths and still can't shut them up, huh!"
As he spoke, Kong Liu reached out to put the lid back on the takeout box.
The three of them immediately stopped him, shouting in unison, "We were wrong, we were wrong, good dad."
"Instead of wasting your free time worrying about my business, you'd better worry about your own."
Pointing at the three of them, Kong Liu said, "Didn't I help the three of you add quite a few girls yesterday? Don't tell me you haven't made any progress at all."
"You have the nerve to bring that up!Clutching his chest with a heartbroken expression, Du Hongyuan pointed at Kong Liu and said, "After those girls added us as friends, they all came asking us for your contact info!"
"Really? You guys are that pathetic?"
"Well, not quite."
Wang Qi suddenly lifted his chin and said with sudden confidence, "I've actually made some progress on my end."
When Wang Qi carried Kong Liu onto the stage yesterday, his powerful and muscular physique had caught the eye of a freshman junior girl. She had proactively asked Wang Qi for his contact information, and the two had been chatting all day today, even making plans to go shopping together tonight. It looked like there was a spark.
Kong Liu patted Wang Qi on the shoulder like an old father and said, "Not bad. Keep it up."