"Campus Belle Yun, ride in my car! I'll give you a lift home!" Li Qiang parked his car right in front of the restaurant entrance and called out to Yun Mengyan.
The other guys whistled and cheered, gathering around the Ferrari to admire it as they circled the car.
"Damn! Not bad, Young Master Li! This car is so freaking cool!"
"When are you going to take us brothers out for a spin?"
"Go on, get out of here! My passenger seat is only for women. Unless you guys go and get sex changes first, don't even ask..." Li Qiang patted the body of the car arrogantly, his eyes full of showmanship. Rolling his neck, his small eyes squeezed between folds of flesh kept darting toward Zhou Yu.
*Hmph!* It wouldn't be so easy for him to just let go of the grudge from being made a fool of in front of everyone by Young Master Li.
"Zhou Yu, do you want me to help you call a cab? The bus stop is a pretty long walk from here!"
Zhou Yu kept his hands in his pants pockets and stood beside Yun Mengyan, completely unbothered by Li Qiang's provocative tone.
"No need!"
"Hahaha! Once all the classmates leave in a moment, leaving just you all alone to take the bus, everyone's going to feel bad for you. Why are you trying to act tough!" Li Qiang kept running his mouth, determined to claw back some interest on the face he had lost.
*Who do you think you are, putting on an act?* Just wait until I find someone to appraise that Heart of the Ocean as a fake, and let's see what you have left to put on airs with. A gigolo like that can only rely on deception to win even a sliver of pity from the campus belle.
"Campus Belle Yun, ride in my car instead. Zhou Yu can only send you back in a taxi!" Su Yao's expression had turned quite ugly the moment she heard Li Qiang invite Yun Mengyan to ride with him.
There were only two seats in a Ferrari. If Li Qiang had Yun Mengyan in the passenger seat, was he expecting her to walk back?
*What a jerk!* As if Yun Mengyan would ever look twice at someone like you! A toad lusting after a swan's meat, completely clueless about your own worth.
She just stood quietly off to the side, and seeing a few female classmates notice her, she quickly put on a hurt and sorrowful expression. In her heart, however, she knew Li Qiang was just wishing on a star and taking out his frustration on Zhou Yu, using it as an excuse to hit on the campus belle and provoke Zhou Yu just to win back some lost face.
Based on her understanding of Yun Mengyan, there was no way she would ever fall for someone of Li Qiang's caliber. She was just waiting for Li Qiang to get his face slapped hard, so she could contrast it with her own quiet endurance and show him who was truly the best match for him.
"Li Qiang, thanks for the kind offer! But I'd rather take a walk with Zhou Yu to digest our food! We can stroll down the street, look at the night view, and chat along the way!"
*Host, the campus belle is quite romantic! You're in luck!*
"Heh, you don't understand a woman's mind!" The system frantically searched its database on human romance, finding that hundreds of romance novels shared common tropes—looking at the stars and the moon, talking about everything from poetry and songs to the philosophy of life. Yun Mengyan wanting to walk the streets, view the night scenery, and chat with the host—translated, wasn't that precisely what it meant? It totally understood!
Zhou Yu's arm was caught by Yun Mengyan's little hand, and a warm, sweet fragrance instantly enveloped him, making his body stiffen slightly.
The surrounding classmates looked at the scene before them in utter disbelief. The male classmates, in particular, wished they could gouge their own eyes out, kneeling to ask the heavens why the campus belle had set her sights on Zhou Yu. Did they have any chance left at all?
"Hey? Did any of you notice that Li Qiang's Ferrari doesn't look quite the same as the one we saw upstairs?" A female classmate stealthily nudged the arm of the person next to her.
"Now that you mention it, it really doesn't! That car upstairs looked way more high-end than Li Qiang's!"
"Shh! Keep it down! Earlier, Li Qiang thought we were praising his car and showed off so hard; anyone would've thought it was a ten-million-dollar ride!"
"Ten million? Him? Oh, please! His family has a little money, but a ten-million-dollar car? Forget about it!"
Su Yao overheard this from not far away. She just knew she had guessed wrong earlier! Still, it didn't matter. As long as these few people didn't expose the truth, Li Qiang's pride could still be saved.
Hearing Yun Mengyan's words, Li Qiang was consumed with jealousy. But with Yun Mengyan right there, he couldn't throw a tantrum and had no choice but to let it go. Catching sight of Su Yao nearby, he snapped, "What are you standing there daydreaming for? Why aren't you getting in the car? Dawdling around! Didn't you see I've been waiting forever?"
Su Yao cursed under her breath. Li Qiang couldn't find an outlet for his anger, so he simply decided to take it out on her! Once she found a better backer, she'd settle scores with him!
"Campus Belle Yun? What are you doing here? Gong Liyang has been looking all over the restaurant for you and couldn't find you anywhere; he thought you'd already left and was just about to drive after you!"
Everyone turned to look. It was a group of seven or eight people from the next-door class who had also come to the restaurant for a gathering.
Zhou Yu finally understood why Yun Mengyan had suddenly appeared in their private room. She had been hiding from someone! And it seemed he was still playing the role of the shield.
The others picked up on the clues as well, watching Zhou Yu with expressions of eager anticipation for a good show. Gong Liyang was a tall, rich, and handsome heartthrob from the acting department, and his grades were always at the top of the class. He was practically campus royalty. Many people secretly paired Gong Liyang and Yun Mengyan together, feeling they were a golden boy and jade girl, a match made in heaven. There were even numerous shipping fan clubs for the two of them at school.
Li Qiang, who had been about to leave, lit up with excitement in his small eyes upon hearing that Zhou Yu was about to run headfirst into Gong Liyang. *Ha! I might not be able to deal with you, but can't Young Master Gong deal with you?*
"Zhou Yu, don't say your buddy didn't warn you. The gap between you and Young Master Gong is obvious to anyone with eyes. I advise you to tuck your tail between your legs and get lost right now, or you're going to suffer!" With that, Li Qiang felt a lot of the gloomy frustration in his chest dissipate, and even his gaze toward Su Yao softened slightly.
"Mengyan! You're still here! That's great!"
The roar of an engine died down as a red Ferrari sports car pulled up right next to Li Qiang's vehicle. Gong Liyang stepped out in a hurry and walked straight up to Yun Mengyan, his focused gaze making it seem as though she were the only person left in the universe. Anyone could tell that Gong Liyang was head over heels for Yun Mengyan.
Yet Yun Mengyan pulled on Zhou Yu's arm and took two steps back, putting distance between herself and Gong Liyang to avoid his burning gaze.
Only then did Gong Liyang notice that a guy was standing right beside Yun Mengyan. He looked handsome and had an extraordinary air about him, but from head to toe, he was dressed in rags, prompting Gong Liyang's face to instantly twist with disdain.
"Who is he?" The demand slipped right past his lips, especially when he saw that Yun Mengyan was actually holding onto Zhou Yu's arm. Gong Liyang wanted nothing more than to rip the two of them apart on the spot, but since he and Yun Mengyan were merely classmates right now, he had no grounds to do so.
"Let me introduce you. This is my boyfriend, Zhou Yu! Zhou Yu, this is my classmate, Gong Liyang!"
Zhou Yu desperately wanted to tell them to leave him out of their romantic entanglements! But in a situation like this, a man truly couldn't back down.
"Hello," Zhou Yu muttered casually, then clamped his mouth shut.
Unwilling to burn bridges just yet, Gong Liyang swallowed his rage and said, "Mengyan, I happen to need a word with you. Get in the car, I'll drive you back!"
"No need! Zhou Yu will take me back."
Unable to hold back any longer, Gong Liyang sneered, "How is he going to take you back? Walk back? Or ride the bus?"
"Hey! Young Master Gong's car looks like a five-million-dollar Ferrari, way more expensive than Li Qiang's!"
"Pfft! What's there to gasp about? Their family backgrounds are in completely different leagues!"
"Tsk tsk! Zhou Yu is done for! Why on earth did he have to go provoke the campus belle? He even sent her roses to confess, and now look at the payback! Trouble has come knocking, and is Gong Liyang someone he can afford to mess with? Just wait for disaster to strike!"
Gong Liyang stared at Zhou Yu with an icy glare. Today wasn't the day to deal with Zhou Yu, though. "Mengyan, get in the car. Don't make me tell you twice! And you, Zhou Yu, right? Stay away from Mengyan! She isn't someone you can ever hope to have!"
Zhou Yu dug into his ear with a finger. "Who do you think you are, barking like a madman in front of me?"
"You!" Gong Liyang was burning with rage, ready to strike, when a respectful voice rang out. "Which one of you is Mr. Zhou Yu?"
Zhou Yu snapped his fingers. "That's me!"
"Hello, Mr. Zhou Yu. Here are your car keys. Your car has already been parked."
Zhou Yu took the keys and pressed the unlock button. The vehicle's chime sounded in response. Only then did everyone realize that a red Ferrari SF90 Stradale had somehow appeared parked right in front of Li Qiang's and Gong Liyang's cars.
"Let's go! Get in the car. There are too many foul-mouthed people around here, the air is getting polluted!" With that, he pulled a wide-eyed Yun Mengyan into the passenger seat, climbed into the driver's seat, and sped away into the distance!
"Holy crap! That's a ten-million-dollar Ferrari! Zhou Yu actually owns a ten-million-dollar supercar!" Gong Liyang and Li Qiang were shocked beyond belief.
As for Su Yao, remorse tore through her heart so violently she wanted to slap herself twice. That passenger seat should have been her place...