Xue Ying took out an exquisite small box and upon opening it, revealed a crystal-clear small pendant.
"Sister Ying, this must be quite expensive," Lin Chen remarked as he looked at the pendant.
Xue Ying smiled, "This is made from that piece of ice jade you gave me. I made two pendants out of it; this is one of them, and the other is right here!"
She shook the jade bracelet on her wrist, barely concealing her affection for it.
"Sister Ying, this isn't right," Lin Chen said, knowing the jade pendant must be quite valuable.
Xue Ying's face fell slightly, "You're still being formal with me? Then I don't want this jade bracelet either."
"No, no, thank you, Sister Ying." Seeing Xue Ying about to take off the jade bracelet, Lin Chen quickly accepted the jade pendant.
"That's more like it. By the way, where did you hide that watch just now?" Xue Ying asked curiously.
Lin Chen smiled, "Close your eyes."
Xue Ying closed her eyes, and Lin Chen thought for a moment; the watch appeared in his hand.
"Oh my god, how did you do that?" Xue Ying exclaimed in surprise as she opened her eyes and saw the watch in Lin Chen's hand.
"Just a little trick. By the way, Sister Ying, could you pawn this watch for me? all the money to the Hope Project." Lin Chen handed the watch to Xue Ying. He knew he shouldn't keep money that didn't come through legitimate means.
Xue Ying glanced at the watch, "Alright, I'll take care of it for you. By the way, it's getting late. I'll drive you to the hotel."
"Hmm," Lin Chen nodded, and the two left the shopping mall.
At the entrance of the DY Grand Hotel, Lin Chen got out of the car.
Xue Ying waved cheerfully, "Lin Chen, go for it! Big sis is rooting for you."
Lin Chen waved back at Xue Ying and walked into the hotel.
Watching Lin Chen's retreating figure, Xue Ying suddenly felt a sour sensation.
"What's wrong with me? Could it be that I have feelings for this young man?" Xue Ying cooed softly as she watched Lin Chen.
Lin Chen entered the reserved private room; Zhou Yufei had not yet arrived, but the room was already full of people.
As Lin Chen walked in, everyone in the room paused for a moment.
A young man clad in designer clothes looked at Lin Chen with disdain, "Hey, kid, you must be in the wrong room. Only the wealthy and handsome come to little Fei's birthday party. Which do you think you match?"
The speaker was Xu Gang, whose family's assets exceeded ten billion and owned some of the top enterprises in DY.
"Yeah, Lin Chen, who gave you the courage to attend Fei's birthday party? Do you, a mere toad, really think you can dine on swan meat?" another boy snorted coldly.
His name was Ma Bing; his father was a high-ranking official in DY, a typical second-generation official, and he often bullied Lin Chen when they were in the same class.
Laughter erupted in the room, and everyone looked at Lin Chen mockingly, as if they were watching a small freak show.
Lin Chen scanned the room; mostly it was filled with wealthy and official second generations.
That didn't come as a surprise to Lin Chen. People like them, who prided themselves on their status, all had their small exclusive circles, so those Zhou Yufei favored definitely came from notable families.
These people were once untouchable to Lin Chen, but now that he had acquired the most powerful popularity system, whom could he fear?
"I think I qualify as wealthy and handsome," Lin Chen said confidently as he looked around.
Lin Chen's words caused the crowd to burst into laughter once again, some even laughed till tears appeared.
"You think you're some kind of rich and handsome guy? I think you're just a monkey sent to make us laugh, acting all high and mighty here," Xu Gang said with a laugh and mocking tone.
"You, a poor country boy, dare to act rich and handsome? I bet that suit of yours is rented!"
"Wrong, it must be a fake bought from some online treasure trove."
A wave of laughter erupted in the private room.
Lin Chen was completely unconcerned with their mockery and just smiled indifferently before taking a seat on his own in an empty spot.
Seeing where Lin Chen sat, fire seemed to blaze in the eyes of everyone present.
That seat was right next to Zhou Yufei, specially reserved for a VIP she had mentioned, and everyone there wanted to sit in that spot.
But it was meant for someone even Zhou Yufei called a VIP, which they didn't dare to mess with, and yet the poor kid just plopped down there.
"Kid, is that spot meant for you?" Xu Gang was furious. He had always been chasing Zhou Yufei, and he had always wanted to sit in that spot, but he was worried about offending someone important, so he hesitated and never dared to sit there, only for this kid to take the spot.
They all knew Lin Chen from their class, and Xu Gang was acutely aware of his background—just a village boy, nothing much to it. He couldn't stir up trouble with those important people, but couldn't he handle a poor villager?
Lin Chen picked up a glass of juice, took a sip, and said matter-of-factly, "There were only two seats available, and the one in the middle is Yufei's, so I had to sit here. Any problem with that?"
"Damn it, you know and you still dare to sit there? That's reserved for a big shot by Yufei. I advise you to get lost before you really get in trouble," Xu Gang watched Lin Chen mockingly, thinking he'd be scared into standing up.
"Oh, it seems this seat was meant for me, so I guess there's even less reason for me to get up," Lin Chen said, leisurely sipping his juice with a serene expression.
"You! Get up from there now," Xu Gang finally exploded, unable to tolerate a poor country boy acting all superior in front of them.
"Right, get out; you're not welcome here," echoed the others.
Just then, the door opened abruptly, and Zhou Yufei, dressed like a princess, walked in.
"Who told Lin Chen to get out? Leave right now, he is my honored guest," Zhou Yufei said coldly, frowning at the situation.
Hearing Zhou Yufei's words, the previously aggressive crowd suddenly deflated.
"Yufei, he's your guest?" Xu Gang asked, pointing at Lin Chen with an awkward expression.
Zhou Yufei huffed, "Yes, he is my honored guest. Do you have a problem with that?"
"No problem at all," Xu Gang slumped back into his seat.
Everyone at the table was confused, unable to understand how Lin Chen, a poor boy, had become a distinguished guest in Zhou Yufei's eyes.
Zhou Yufei came over to Lin Chen with a beaming smile: "Lin Chen, I'm so happy you could come."
"Damn!" This group of officials' and rich second-generations were nearly maddened. In terms of status, how could they not surpass Lin Chen? Yet their goddess was only happy because of Lin Chen's arrival, while they were practically ignored.
"Yufei, happy birthday," Lin Chen smiled and said.
"Zhao Xiaowen, that pesky girl, insisted on helping run the restaurant and couldn't make it. I'll have to deal with her later," Zhou Yufei said puffily.
"No worries, I'll eat her share since I've got a big appetite," Lin Chen said jokingly.
What? Zhao Xiaowen? How could that be? Both of the school's beauties were this close to Lin Chen?
The young men present suddenly felt a sense of defeat; these two beauties had always been their targets.
Yet the beauties were one cold, the other aloof, and they couldn't even get near them, but suddenly they realized both were taken under Lin Chen's wing. This was simply too unreasonable.