After the funny email incident, the previously uncomfortable atmosphere had instantly dissipated.

Under the influence of good food, even Zhen Susu and Huang Xiaoping had let their guard down around Fang Yanru.

Maybe she just really wanted to eat at the Golden Autumn Eatery? After all, the food here really rocks!

If Fang Yanru could read the minds of the people around her, she would throw an absolute fit.

After dinner, it was time to undergo her roommates’ “soul interrogation” routine.

Chen Wentian was having heart palpitations as they fired one question after another, worried that he might carelessly end up in a fatal trap.

Questions like “Have you held hands with our Xiuxiu?!” or “When do you plan on marrying our Xiuxiu”…were manageable.

And then there were questions such as “How many girlfriends did you have in the past?!” or, “How did you come to like our Xiuxiu?” posed as deadly traps that might land him in hot water if he was careless, and it was starting to make Chen Wentian’s back sweat.

But, after having undergone some training, he was able to handle these questions quite well.

“Senior, you’re currently starting up a foreign company. Do you plan on staying in B city? Ah, but the housing prices in B city are a little high!”

Fang Yanru looked around the table and casually dropped a bomb. Chen Wentian could never afford a downpayment, much less buy a house! And Jin Xiuzhu’s family was barely average; no way her family would accept such a match!

Fang Yanru wished she could hold up a sign that said, ‘Look at me! Look at me!’ because, from her perspective, a talented but penniless man like Chen Wentian should pursue a beautiful and wealthy specimen like her. Why would you go looking for a Cinderella and endure hardships together?!

Great men will get with the times, and smart birds would choose ideal wood for their habitats. Today, she would have Chen Wentian know that he had found himself a “bad piece of wood”!

Unbeknownst to her, Chen Wentian did not covet for a sugar mama. When the question was asked, his thoughts could not be more different.

Chen Wentian’s face stiffened, and his relaxed posture instantly straightened.

It’s here!

The key question that his friends had emphasized on multiple occasions——You are currently a man without money nor status, so words like ‘looking forward to future challenges’ are meaningless! Your girlfriend’s friends would definitely ask this: With no money nor achievements to speak of, how do you intend to take care of your girlfriend? Through dreams and ambition? Those are all empty promises! You must present yourself as sincere, realistic, and reply honestly!

He’ll let Xiuzhu know that this Fang Yanru seemed like a good friend who was only concerned for her.

“We just started the foreign business, and the company hasn’t turned a profit yet. I will take Xiuxiu’s opinions into consideration when we decide where we want to live in the future.” He spoke solemnly.

“I’ve also considered our future. And to be honest, the company ran into a few roadblocks, and it seems like our development prospects aren’t going well. If it worsens, we might have to end the business. Before I graduated, I received a few offers from the companies I worked with while I was in college. The starting pay and benefits are decent. I believe that as long as I work hard, I’ll never let Xiuzhu suffer.”

He spoke loudly and firmly, and the listening audience could feel his convictions.

Jin Xiuzhu was already teary-eyed as she stared at the people around her.

She witnessed the tragedy of her older sister, Lingzhu, who was torn away from her childhood friend of 20 years due to disputes in their family backgrounds.

Ever since then, she repeatedly told herself that if she ever fell in love with a person, she would never stop protecting and loving him.

Like the line in TV drama wedding vows that she had watched as a child.

“For richer or poorer.”

To lighten up the mood, Zhen Susu quickly scrunched up her face in disgust, “So mushy! Too mushy! PDA!”

The oblivious Xu Libin foolishly joined in on the applause. Meanwhile, Fang Yanru was unable to hide her anger and glared daggers at him.

If she had known how dumb this guy was, she’d rather call a taxi than ask him to come!

She was so angry that she could not speak and wanted to quickly end this futile farce of a meal.

Fang Yanru packed her bag and whispered: “Oh yeah. Senior, thank you for treating us to this extravagant meal. Unlike you who have already started working, the rest of us are still in college and are relying on our families for everything. We’ll gratefully accept your generosity and repay you in the future.”

Her tone sounded gentle and innocent.

“I…Didn’t I say I’ll be the one paying?!” Jin Xiuzhu stood up angrily and stopped Chen Wentian from pulling out his wallet.

She couldn’t understand what she did to offend Fang Yanru. Tonight’s dinner would rack up at least 10,000 yuan. Even if Chen Wentian had money, she could never let him be bullied by others like this!

“Aiyo, ever heard of ‘false bravado’?” Fan Yanru’s voice was laced with mockery.

Jin Xiuzhu rarely got involved in fights, and right now, she was so angry that her hands formed tightly clenched fists, but she still could not bring herself to be mean: “I have money!”

“Hah? You have money?” Fang Yanru burst out laughing when she heard that, “We’ve been dorm mates for 4 years, and I’ve never heard your family had money! Oh right, the news has been reporting that there’s been a rise in college girls who prostitute themselves to pay for their campus loans. There are also loans that require them to give up nude photos of themselves. Did you…”

Fang Yanru wanted to utterly tear this woman’s image into shreds. Ever since they entered college, she could not stand Jin Xiuzhu’s ‘good girl’ act. Always going home to help her mother with work and whatever. Who would believe that in this day and age?

Fang Yanru intentionally flaunted her expensive belongings, but Jin Xiuzhu was not the least bit impressed! She is clearly better than her in every way!

In the end, when Fang Yanru found herself a second-generation rich heir for a boyfriend, Jin Xiuzhu had somehow managed to snatch the senior she had a crush on.

If Jin Xiuzhu could read Fan Yanru’s thoughts, she would be dumbfounded.

Her father passed away soon after she started college. Their family’s finances were thrown into chaos. And with her mother and older sister working hard to help the family recover, where would she find the energy to chase after luxury goods? Would anyone pursue materialistic items if their lives were thrown into uncertainty?

If others wanted to accuse her of being pretentious for going home every day to work, then Jin Xiuzhu could only helplessly rub her temples.

But she did not know what Fang Yanru was thinking, so she felt mistreated, and could not understand why her dorm mate of 4 years was behaving like this.

Chen Wentian smiled gently: “Alright now, stop fighting. It’s okay. I’m prepared to treat everyone tonight!”

Now he could plainly see that Xiuzhu’s friend, Fang-whatever, did not have good intentions. Given how hard Fang Yanru was trying to drive a wedge in their relationship, Chen Wentian silently wondered if she was planted there by someone who was interested in pursuing Xiuzhu.

Speaking of, there was one suspect in the restaurant…

He glanced warily at Xu Libin, who was sitting calmly to the side.

However, now was not the time to investigate the suspect.

His fingers skimmed over his wallet. Fortunately, he had saved up a few dozen grand from working for a few years, not to mention the money he borrowed from his business partners.

“Don’t worry, just take my card.” He pulled out a credit card, handed it over to the uncomfortable waitstaff, and lightly blocked his girlfriend from trying to take it away.

Easy-going and generous, achieved!

It was extremely satisfying to have everything go according to plan.

Fang Yanru’s charming delusions had vanished without a trace. This senior she once had a crush on was displaying false bravado like the rest of them- All vulgar and unbearable.

She crossed her arms and glared frostily.

Let’s see how much it hurts when you are 10-20,000 in the hole!

You’re just putting up a brave front and crying when no one’s looking!

“Wait!” Jin Xiuzhu yelled after the waitstaff, who was about to leave. She was about to say something when a cheery voice piped up.

“Oh, Second Young Lady, why didn’t you tell us you’re back?” A figure sprang out from the side of the screen. It was Uncle Liu, an old employee from the Golden Autumn Eatery who was responsible for all the heavy lifting in the restaurant. He also used to work in the back kitchen.

Uncle Liu smiled brightly as if there was never a tense moment in the air: “Aiyo, Xiao Zhang!” He suddenly noticed the credit card in the waiter’s hand, so he retrieved it and placed it in Xiuzhu’s palm before turning and chastising the other party, “how could you accept the Second Young Lady’s card?! So ignorant. This is our Second Young Lady!”

“Apologies, Second Young Lady, this Xiao Zhang is new and doesn’t know you yet!”

The sudden interaction was like a tag-teamed punch to the face, and Jin Xiuzhu felt like she was in a dream as she nodded with a dumbfounded expression.

What…What Second Young Lady, doesn’t Uncle Liu usually call me Xiuxiu…?

“Oh right, Second Young Lady, the Madam is tending to the customers in the VIP room and doesn’t know you’re here. Should I go get her?” Uncle Liu suddenly asked.

Jin Xiuzhu tilted her head and saw that her boyfriend literally froze up when he heard the word, “Madam,” and felt really embarrassed.

What is going on here?!

Is there something wrong with me, or is there something wrong with the world?

“No need…” Xiuzhu said timidly, “I’m busy tonight, so I’m just going to go back with my classmates, let’s not bother Mama…”

She then hastily grabbed the senior, Zhen Susu, and Huang Xiaoping and fled the scene.

Good heavens! She only wanted to introduce her classmates to the senior, but if her mother found out…

Everything happened so quickly that by the time Fang Yanru could react, Xu Libin was the only one left.

She was livid. She never expected Jin Xiuzhu would keep such a secret. To think her family even operated such a successful restaurant.

Then why did she pretend to be poor?

Noticing Uncle Liu and the waiter looking curiously at her, Fang Yanru replied fiercely: “What are you looking at?!” and then stormed out the premises without caring if Xu Libin followed.

As soon as the people left, Dan Jingqiu gently retracted her hand that was holding onto Lingzhu and then dragged her out from the other side of the screen.

Uncle Liu waggled his brows: “How’s that Xiao Dan? My acting’s pretty good, right?”

Dan Jingqiu flashed an approving thumbs up.

Lingzhu felt a sense of helplessness as she watched her mother and Uncle Liu’s performance.

“What are you doing?”

Dan Jingqiu cleared her throat and said: “Aiya, don’t you know those classic plots from TV series? Go watch > that was broadcasted a few days ago. There’s a protagonist just like that. When everyone thought he was poor, he suddenly dished out a hundred large bills!”

“That’s how you introduce our Xiuxiu with style!”

She felt really satisfied with herself. After all, before she reincarnated into this world, she was obsessed with novels and had memorized about 10,000 classic ways to throw shade at someone. If Xiuzhu had not fled so quickly, she even prepared a classic mother appearance flanked by wait staff —— even though there were only two of them. She would have had her staff follow Xiuzhu out and loudly send their young lady off…etcetera etcetera.

Of course, this was also a part of her impish personality that should be left unmentioned.

Lingzhu watched her increasingly childish mother and thought, it’s probably the better of two evils, luckily…her younger sister was quick to run and avoided a grand sendoff by Uncle Liu and Xiao Zhang…

Otherwise, her sister would definitely die from embarrassment.