We agreed not to date, so why are you crying now that I've become the richest man?

The boys got ready and headed straight for the back street.

The signboard of the Encounter Music Restaurant was lit with a warm glow.

The folk songs sung by the resident singers mingled with the smoky atmosphere of the street barbecue, exuding a unique vibrancy characteristic of the university town.

Lu Wenbo took the lead and pushed open the glass door: "Hello, I've booked room 203."

After confirming their identities, the waiter led the four people into the room.

The private room was small, with a U-shaped leather sofa surrounding a glass tea table.

The screen on the wall was still showing the page with the sad love songs from the previous table.

Sun Haoyu quickly shrank into the innermost corner, frantically rubbing his thighs with both hands. The boasts he had made in the dormitory had long since been shattered.

"Old Lu, when the beauties arrive, you'd better say something for me first, my social anxiety is about to kick in."

Lu Wenbo smugly straightened his collar: "It depends on your luck. Don't ask people how much they eat as soon as you open your mouth."

Chen Zhiqiang sat next to the fat man, his back stiff as a board, his hands tightly clasped together, his eyes not daring to wander, and he didn't even dare to touch the fruit plate on the table.

Ye Chen leaned back casually on the outside of the sofa, turned his phone to silent and put it on the table, then flipped through the menu, emphasizing a relaxed atmosphere.

A few minutes later, the door to the private room opened, and four female students from the foreign language department filed in.

Leading the group was Lu Wenbo's girlfriend, Wang Yao.

She wore a pink dress, showed off her fair legs, and carried a delicate little crossbody bag.

As soon as she entered, she gestured with her chin at Lu Wenbo: "Have you been waiting long?"

Lu Wenbo instantly stood up like a sycophant: "No, no, no, we just sat down too."

The girl following closely behind wore a tight denim mini-skirt that showed off her curves and high heels.

She was carrying a handbag with a big brand logo. As she entered, her eyes scanned the room like radar, finally landing precisely on the menu on the table.

The third girl was wearing a yellow short-sleeved shirt, had shoulder-length short hair, and a sweet smile. She waved as she entered the room.

The air in the private room seemed to freeze for a second as the last girl stepped in.

Her hair reached her waist, and she wore a pure white chiffon dress. Her waistline was so slender that it could be encircled with one hand, and her exposed ankles were dazzlingly white.

Her features are cool and refined, giving her an aura of unapproachability.

She didn't exchange pleasantries with anyone, went straight to the empty seat closest to the door, put her phone on her lap, and didn't even lift her eyelids.

Sun Haoyu's hand holding the cup froze in mid-air, the bottom of the cup making a soft tapping sound on the table, and the CPU instantly burned out.

Even Lu Wenbo was stunned, until Wang Yao subtly pinched his lower back, which brought him back to his senses.

Wang Yao cleared her throat: "This is Gu Yuxuan from our dorm."

No sooner had she finished speaking than the girl in the short skirt carrying the handbag suddenly stared at the black phone on Ye Chen's desk, her eyes instantly lighting up: "Huh? Your phone... is it an iPhone 4?!"

Swish!

Several pairs of eyes in the private room turned to look at them at the same time.

Even Gu Yuxuan, who had been keeping her head down, paused slightly, glancing at the table out of the corner of her eye.

Wang Yao pulled Lu Wenbo to sit down and introduced them: "The one who just spoke is Xu Jiao, the one with short hair is Li Meng, and the one next to her is Gu Yuxuan."

Lu Wenbo quickly pointed to the opposite side: "These are my brothers, Sun Haoyu, Chen Zhiqiang, and Ye Chen."

Sun Haoyu jumped up as if he'd been electrocuted, his thigh slamming hard against the tea table. He winced in pain but forced himself to remain calm: "I...I'm Sun Haoyu! My hobby is...uh, it's sports!"

Xu Jiao chuckled, covering her mouth and making no attempt to hide the teasing in her eyes: "Judging from your figure, you are indeed quite 'athletic'."

Sun Haoyu blushed, sat down awkwardly, and frantically rubbed his hands on his trouser legs, so embarrassed he could dig out a three-bedroom apartment.

Ye Chen picked up the kettle, poured half a cup of warm water, and pushed it over, tapping the cup lightly with his fingers: "Old Sun, have some water."

He leaned back lazily on the sofa, his tone casual yet protective: "With your physique, you're practically our 417's strategic reserve."

"From now on, when we need to grab food in the cafeteria or squeeze into the library to reserve seats, we'll all have to rely on your size to clear the way."

Sun Haoyu was taken aback, his tense nerves instantly relaxed, and he grinned foolishly: "That's right! I'll definitely feel safe with you."

He picked up the water glass and drank it all in one gulp.

Xu Jiao sat opposite, her gaze passing over the tea table and fixed on the phone in Ye Chen's hand.

As the colored lights swept across, the glass back panel refracted an extremely sophisticated cool light.

"Could I borrow that phone to take a look?" Xu Jiao pointed to the iPhone 4, her voice filled with undisguised envy.

"I saw someone else have it before. This screen looks like it was painted on. It's really beautiful."

Ye Chen didn't even lift his eyelids. He pinched the edge of the phone with two fingers and casually slid it along the smooth glass tabletop.

With a "thud," the phone came to a steady stop in front of Xu Jiao.

"Take a look." Ye Chen picked up a toothpick and casually pried open a piece of watermelon.

Xu Jiao quickly picked up her phone.

The weight of the metal frame made her secretly raise an eyebrow. Pressing the Home button, the stunning clarity of the Retina screen instantly outshone a host of older models.

"Wow, this screen is so comfortable to look at!" Li Meng exclaimed, leaning closer. "It's so much more advanced than my Nokia!"

"This is an iPhone 4. It's being sold for 15,000 yuan on the grey market, and you still have to queue up to beg scalpers." Xu Jiao raised her head, her eyes showing a hint of scrutiny and probing.

"Ye Chen, you're quite capable."

Ye Chen swallowed the watermelon, tore off a tissue to wipe his hands, and said in a casual tone as if he were talking about the price of cabbage: "No, I just did some part-time work during the summer vacation and bought it with some spare money."

Xu Jiao touched the Apple logo on the back, clearly disbelieving: "You can buy a 15,000 yuan phone just by doing some part-time work? You've got some serious connections. Is your family in business?"

The way they're checking household registrations is like they're practically writing "asset appraisal" on their faces.

Ye Chen precisely tossed the tissue into the trash can, smiling innocently: "Just an ordinary wage earner, I got lucky and landed a side job, so I might as well treat myself to a nice toy."

Xu Jiao's lips twitched slightly.

Calling a 15,000 yuan phone a "toy"? That sounds like something out of Versailles.

But after looking Ye Chen up and down, she noticed that his clothes had no logo and he wasn't wearing a watch, so she couldn't really gauge his true character in a short time.

"Such an expensive toy, and you didn't even put a case on it?" Xu Jiao put her phone back on the table and added sourly, "If it gets bumped or scratched, replacing the screen would be quite expensive."

Ye Chen picked up his water glass, took a sip of warm water, and casually remarked, "Buying things is for using; there's no point in just keeping them as decorations."

With just a casual remark, Xu Jiao's petty sympathy and scheming were utterly crushed.

Xu Jiao was momentarily speechless and unable to respond, so she could only turn to Li Meng and force a conversation about the camera function.

Sitting in the corner, Gu Yuxuan's gaze swept over Ye Chen almost imperceptibly, a faint hint of something unusual flashing in her eyes.