While everyone was still in shock, Lin Yanran’s phone suddenly rang. Seeing it was her father’s number, she quickly answered.
"Hello, Yanran! What's going on with the bank card you linked? The president of the commercial bank just called and asked me why there are multiple incoming transfers totaling 150 million yuan on your card! What is the meaning of this?"
Lin Anbang asked anxiously from the other end of the line, terrified that something might have happened to his daughter or that someone was trying to frame him through her.
It wasn't that he was being paranoid; recently, his company's business had been secretly suppressed by someone behind the scenes, and he suspected he was being specifically targeted.
Lin Yanran gathered her thoughts for a moment and briefly explained what had just happened to her dad.
Finally, she emphasized that she was fine and told him not to worry!
Just as she finished speaking, the phone was snatched right out of her hand by Xia Wenbin.
"Hello, Uncle? Who am I? I'm Yanran's classmate, Xia Wenbin. That money you mentioned is actually a token of appreciation from me and classmate Chen Haoxuan, given entirely as a gift to Yanran.
Don't worry, don't worry, rest assured—this is just pocket money, no need to return it to us, right, Young Master Chen?"
With that, Xia Wenbin walked right up to Chen Haoxuan and shoved the phone directly toward his mouth.
At that moment, Chen Haoxuan’s expression was as unsightly as if he had eaten shit. He had originally planned to demand the money back from Lin Yanran once he lost.
After all, that was his allowance for the past few months!
But now that Lin Anbang knew about it, it became a matter of the Chen family's pride. If he asked for the returned gift after already giving it, it would be his own father's face he was losing.
So he had no choice but to grit his teeth and reply:
"Uncle Lin, it's nothing! Yanran and I are good friends, this little bit of money is nothing. I heard Lin's Trading has been running into some trouble lately, so let's just consider this a gesture of condolence from the Chen Group!"
Hearing that Chen Haoxuan had no intention of asking for the money back, Xia Wenbin finally handed the phone back to Lin Yanran.
Learning that his daughter was safe and that the money had come from a legitimate source, Lin Anbang quickly hung up and went back to his meeting.
Lin Yanran had been startled when she first saw the transfer amount on her phone; Xia Wenbin had actually transferred a hundred million yuan to her.
She never expected that an ordinary-looking college student like Xia Wenbin would casually transfer a hundred million yuan just like that.
Finally regaining her wits, Lin Yanran was practically incoherent.
"Xia Wenbin, I can't accept your hundred million. Since you won the bet, I'm transferring it right back to you."
Xia Wenbin had only wanted to slap someone in the face and show off; if he actually had to give Lin Yanran a hundred million yuan for real, it would break his heart—after all, he and the campus belle had only met today.
The only connection between them was that she was his Bound Target, so hearing Lin Yanran voluntarily offer to return the money made him naturally overjoyed.
"System prompt: Because the Host and Bound Target Lin Yanran share a subordinate supporting relationship, any remuneration actively paid out by the Host is not permitted to be reclaimed."
Just as Xia Wenbin was waiting for Lin Yanran to return the money, the system spoke up.
No way! That was 100 Points—no, that was 100 million yuan!
He never could have imagined that the 100 million yuan he transferred to Lin Yanran would be classified as the campus belle's hard-earned fee, and the system wouldn't even allow refunds.
He hadn't even experienced what a hundred million yuan felt like, and it was gone. What a massive ripoff!
Things had reached this point, so Xia Wenbin could only force a smile and pretend to be nonchalant.
"Yanran, the money I gave out is never coming back. Besides, we agreed it was a gift for you. Even if you want to return it, you won't be able to make the transfer. Don't believe me, try it."
Hearing Xia Wenbin's words, Lin Yanran tried making the transfer and found out she really couldn't; the mobile banking app kept prompting her with invalid operation errors.
Xia Wenbin cursed inwardly: Figures the system is behind this.
"How can it not go through? But I really can't accept this; the amount is too huge. How about I have my dad transfer it back to you?" Lin Yanran said anxiously.
Hearing Lin Yanran suggest having her dad transfer it, Xia Wenbin thought it was a decent method, but then he second-guessed himself: Chen Haoxuan hadn't had the face to ask Lin Anbang for the money back, so if he, the winner of the bet, went asking for it, wouldn't that be even more humiliating?
So he persuaded her: "Yanran, just keep it! Or you can hold onto it for me first; after all, men easily go bad once they have money. Whenever I need to buy something, I'll come looking for you.
From now on, I'm counting on you to support me—let me be a kept man in peace!"
With that, Xia Wenbin looked at Lin Yanran with a pitiful expression and blinked.
Hehehe, if your system won't give your big bro a refund, mooching free food and drinks is always an option! I'm definitely going to earn that 100 million back.
Seeing that Xia Wenbin was utterly determined not to take the money back, Lin Yanran had no choice but to drop it.
She could only hold onto the money for him for now and figure something out later, or ask her dad if there was a way to return it to Xia Wenbin.
Seeing that Lin Yanran no longer insisted on returning the money, Xia Wenbin turned around, walked up to Chen Haoxuan, and said with utter disdain:
"Young Master Chen, didn't you say the loser had to get lost? Why are you still here? Don't tell me you're trying to welch on the bet!"
"You—do you think you can beat me with this? In your dreams!
Yanran, this guy has so much money yet he's been pretending to be poor all along—he definitely has ulterior motives for getting close to you! You mustn't let yourself be fooled by trash like this!"
With that, Chen Haoxuan righteously stood between Lin Yanran and Xia Wenbin, putting on a protective act.
"Hey, I also think this Xia Wenbin is super weird!"
"Me too... why has he been pretending to be poor the whole time?"
"...... He probably really does have some kind of agenda!"
Hearing Chen Haoxuan's words, the onlookers on the sidelines started chattering amongst themselves.
They figured that since Xia Wenbin was clearly so wealthy yet kept playing it low-key, he definitely had some shocking scheme in mind, so they all tacitly sided with Chen Haoxuan.
Xia Wenbin looked at Chen Haoxuan with utter contempt; the guy lost the bet and refused to honor it, yet he was still fanning the flames and muddying the waters.
"Young Master Chen, is that all the strength you've got? You can't afford to lose, so you've started spreading rumors about me? If you're scared, you'd better scurry back early and learn how to be a decent human being!"
It was the first time Chen Haoxuan had ever been insulted like this, so he hurriedly shot back at Xia Wenbin:
"What the hell are you? So you happened to carry a hundred million around, you think I'm scared of you? I just didn't bring enough cash today."
"Heh! Not scared? I'd love to see how much spine you really have."
With that, Xia Wenbin took out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, and mockingy flashed the display at Chen Haoxuan. "I haven't even used my full strength yet, and you've already collapsed!"
Chen Haoxuan stared in sheer disbelief at the balance on Xia Wenbin's phone—there was still over a hundred million left. In that instant, an inexplicable terror and the humiliation of being slapped in the face with money washed over him.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible, I don't believe it! How could you possibly still have a hundred million?"
As Chen Haoxuan spoke, he stumbled back a couple of steps, lost his footing in his panic, and collapsed straight onto the floor.
Fortunately, a few of his lackies rushed over to help him up.
"Now you know what it means to be outdone by someone better, and that there are heavens beyond the heavens! I advise you to keep a low profile at school from now on. Since this farce is over, I'll be heading out! Young Master Chen, see you next time."
With that, Xia Wenbin cast an expectant glance at Chen Haoxuan, who was being supported by the crowd, and walked away.
How could he not be expectant? Just from this single bet, he and Lin Yanran had reaped over 2,000 Emotion Points, which, with the double bonus, came straight out to 4,000 Points.
He spent 200 Points to get back 4,000 Points—an instant twentyfold return!
He had merely shown off and slapped a rich second-generation heir in the face, and loads of points rolled right in. Of course Xia Wenbin hoped good things like this would happen more often.
Seeing that Xia Wenbin had left the cafeteria without even waiting for her, Lin Yanran hurriedly hurried after him.
She certainly didn't want to stay in the same environment as Chen Haoxuan.
Besides, she also wanted to remind Xia Wenbin not to provoke Chen Haoxuan too much. Maybe at school the guy wouldn't dare do anything to him, but once they stepped outside, there were no guarantees.
In a corner of the cafeteria.
"Xiaojing, I really didn't think Xia Wenbin would be this loaded. He had 200 million just sitting on his phone, and he casually handed Lin Yanran a hundred million. But back when he was pursuing you, how come we couldn't tell he had money? He hid it way too deep!
Could this be one of those stories online where a rich second-generation heir hides his identity to find a girlfriend in college, gets rejected, undergoes a complete personality makeover, and starts chasing the campus belle instead?
Sigh, if I had known Xia Wenbin was this rich, I would've gone after him myself. Then I wouldn't have to struggle and could live worry-free for the rest of my life."
Wang Xiao'ai looked at the departing figures of Xia Wenbin and Lin Yanran with a mix of envy and regret.
"What does his wealth have to do with us? I think he just had ulterior motives. To think Xu Jing and I felt bad for him and wanted to show some concern thinking he was poor, only to find out Xia Wenbin was just faking poverty the whole time.
Let's go, let's go back... ignore him, rich second-generation snobs like that are way out of our league."
With that, Ye Qing grabbed Xu Jing and squeezed through the crowd without looking back, and Wang Xiao'ai and Li Qian followed suit.
————
"Xia Wenbin, where are you going? Why aren't you waiting up for me? Can't you walk a bit slower? Don't you know heavy exercise isn't suitable for girls during that time of the month?"
Following Xia Wenbin out of the cafeteria, Lin Yanran called out softly.