The summer evening breeze was gentle.
Yun Mengyan sat in the front passenger seat of the convertible sports car, while Zhou Yu drove with one hand beside her.
She felt as though she were dreaming.
Other cars passing them either wore looks of envy or gazes of awe, and some even leaned on their horns and whistled.
As far as she knew, Zhou Yu's family background was, at best, ordinary.
Yet his performance today truly astonished her.
Yun Mengyan could not figure out how on earth Zhou Yu had managed all this.
"Is it too noisy?"
Seeing Yun Mengyan sitting in the passenger seat frowning one moment and shaking her head the next, Zhou Yu assumed those beat-up cars trailing behind them were making too much noise.
He simply closed the convertible top!
A car worth tens of millions had top-tier specifications and configurations.
Once the roof was completely sealed, it almost entirely blocked out the commotion outside.
However, the space inside the car also became cramped and oppressive.
The breathing of the young man and woman gradually intertwined, making Yun Mengyan feel somewhat uneasy.
She had never spent this much time in a small space with an unfamiliar male.
She nervously pinched the corner of her blouse.
Yun Mengyan felt a trace of annoyance toward Zhou Yu—why wasn't he saying anything?
Wasn't he quite articulate back when he was putting Li Qiang and Gong Liyang in their place?
How could he not utter a single word now that he was facing her?
Or was he angry?
Was he mad at her for using him as a shield to reject Gong Liyang?
What she did was wrong, but she had no choice at the time. To evade Gong Liyang's confession, she had originally intended to walk straight out of the restaurant.
Yet as she passed Zhou Yu's private dining room, her feet had walked inside on their own.
Seeing the empty seat beside Zhou Yu, she had sat down without the slightest hesitation.
She hadn't even thought straight back then.
It was only when Zhou Yu held out a bouquet of roses to her and said he liked her that her first reaction wasn't anger or rejection, but rather a profound sense of relief. She would rather accept Zhou Yu than have any entanglements with Gong Liyang.
Zhou Yu probably knew that by now, too, since everyone had seen it just outside the restaurant entrance.
Would they no longer even be friends after this?
Tormented by conflicting thoughts the entire way, Yun Mengyan still hadn't managed to bring it up. When the car stopped at the school gates, she gave her own head a remorseful little tap.
Zhou Yu watched her with amusement, noting how she went from composed to anxious, and then increasingly depressed.
He never knew that the aloof campus belle Yun could possess such a rich spectrum of emotional changes.
"Stop tapping! Is the campus belle trying to give herself amnesia so she can pretend today's events never happened?"
Caught by the wrist as Zhou Yu stopped her, Yun Mengyan froze mid-action.
A flush spread across her cheeks, and feeling the scorching warmth of his palm on her wrist, the tips of her ears turned beet red.
She stammered, "N-n-no... I... I..."
"Ha! Looks like you really did knock yourself stupid! You're even stuttering!"
Yun Mengyan, who had just been stumbling over her words, hastily shook off Zhou Yu's hand.
"You're the one stuttering! I just wanted to say..."
Gathering her thoughts and intending to blurt it all out, she caught sight of Zhou Yu's piercing gaze and swallowed the words right back down.
Why was the temperature in the car so high?
Feeling far too hot, she simply rolled down the window and took a few breaths of fresh air.
The flush on her face receded, and the sweltering heat vanished.
Phew!
Her mind cleared up, too.
Clearing her throat, Yun Mengyan looked straight ahead, avoiding Zhou Yu's eyes for fear he would once again disrupt her normal speech.
How strange!
Back in the private room, sitting right beside him, she hadn't felt any pressure.
How was it that now she didn't dare make eye contact with Zhou Yu?
"What I did earlier was wrong—using you as a shield to turn down Gong Liyang! I know that making you lose face in front of all those people must have hurt you. So, I'm willing to be your girlfriend for a few days, and once the impact dies down, we can break up..."
Even without looking at him, Yun Mengyan could feel the intense gaze burning into her.
Her voice grew softer and softer, and she felt like a terrible person.
*Ding! Please have the host reject the campus belle's request! Reward: a luxury mansion worth 100 million! Longfu Palace!*
Zhou Yu was startled!
"System, you're not joking, are you?"
That was Longfu Palace!
Hangzhou's premier luxury estate, situated on Xiaoping Mountain and surrounded by clusters of high-end villas.
Nearly all the wealthy elites in Hangzhou would reserve a villa for themselves on Xiaoping Mountain.
Yet even the rich had to fight tooth and nail just to book a single villa, and even then, they might end up empty-handed.
And Longfu Palace reigned supreme above all the villas.
Perched at the absolute best location on Xiaoping Mountain, its private garden alone covered ten acres, planted with all sorts of precious trees and flowers.
Lush and green all year round, the climate there was delightful.
The negative ion count reached a staggering 4,800 per cubic centimeter.
With PM2.5 levels below 10, its air quality was multiple times better than Hangzhou's New District—a veritable natural oxygen bar in the truest sense!
Standing inside Longfu Palace, one could not only gaze at the rolling Bailu Mountains but also look down upon the clear, azure waters of Jingming Lake.
With such picturesque scenery, one could truly enjoy a tranquil and serene life!
"Host, please do not question the professionalism of the system!"
Joy surged wildly within Zhou Yu.
He had just entered his freshman year of college, and he was already about to own both a car and a house—and not just any ordinary vehicle or dwelling, either.
Just ask: who else could compare?
Waiting in vain for Zhou Yu to speak, Yun Mengyan turned to look at him.
She noticed an expression of absolute excitement plastered across his face.
She assumed that her agreement to be his girlfriend for a few days had simply overwhelmed Zhou Yu with joy.
She couldn't help finding it a bit funny in her heart.
That was more like it!
She had actually worried her charm was failing. Look, she had merely agreed to play the role of Zhou Yu's girlfriend for a few days, and it had already put him in such high spirits!
With a slight curve of her lips into a smile, the guilt in her heart eased as well.
Solving the trouble so effortlessly was the best possible outcome.
She had genuinely feared that Zhou Yu might hound her and bring endless complications to her life.
"No! I refuse!"
*Ding! Congratulations to the host for receiving the luxury mansion reward: Longfu Palace!*
Right now, Zhou Yu felt an intense urge to jump on the spot and then drive over to check out his mansion.
Take a look at his very own house.
Though it wasn't quite the right time yet.
"Y-you... what did you say? You refuse?"
Yun Mengyan knitted her slender brows together. What on earth was Zhou Yu playing at?
Could it be that he insisted on maintaining a long-term romantic relationship with her before he'd be satisfied?
How could she allow that?
She didn't even like Zhou Yu!
"Zhou Yu, the arrangement I proposed has the minimal impact on you! Why won't you agree? Could it be that you want..."
Seeing that Yun Mengyan's imagination was running wild, Zhou Yu quickly waved his hand to cut her off.
"No, what I mean is, you don't need to fake being a couple with me for a few days just to save my face!"
"But Li Qiang and the others will definitely point fingers at you!"
"Would I ever care about scum like them?"
Silence filled the car.
Yun Mengyan never expected Zhou Yu to reject her goodwill without a second thought, and a wave of annoyance welled up inside her.
Yet she couldn't voice it.
"Still, I must thank the campus belle for her kind intentions! I don't pay any mind to petty troubles like that!"
Yun Mengyan bit her lower lip, feeling a surge of irritation.
She had no idea what was wrong with herself.
Since Zhou Yu didn't need her help, why was she still lingering in his car?
In a fit of anger, she shoved the car door open.
Zhou Yu scratched his head, completely baffled as to why Yun Mengyan had suddenly gotten angry!