298: 2nd

After Lu Mingxuan got out of the car, he stood where he was with his hands in his down jacket pockets, not moving at all, having no intention of coming over to say anything sarcastic.

After three and a half years of college together, although he couldn't say he knew Jiang Ye very well, there was one thing he was certain of—Jiang Ye was the type who responded to kindness but not force, and he was a bit of an unruly rogue.

If he dared to go up and say even one more word now, he might give this guy a pretext to blow things out of proportion and kick him out of the group on the spot.

If that happened, how would he watch the fun of 'Jiang Ye's massive bleeding' tonight?

Therefore, he chose to remain silent, waiting for Jiang Ye to speak or for the main group to head inside together.

He was certain that Jiang Ye's treat this time was definitely a case of slapping his own face to look fat; the money was either borrowed or cashed out from a credit card.

This money had to be spent for real!

Spend it until it hurt!

Spend it until he had to tighten his belt for the next year or two to pay off the debt!

When Cheng Weiwei stepped out of the car, she first looked back at the grand entrance of the Golden Emperor, and then her gaze fell upon Jiang Ye, who was surrounded by everyone.

Having not seen him for over six months, Jiang Ye's changes surprised her a little.

It wasn't just the improvement in his appearance, clothing, and mental state, but a kind of... confidence emanating from the inside out.

She was never short of suitors and had seen all types of boys; she was very sure that the confidence and relaxed vibe about Jiang Ye were definitely not faked.

And...

Thinking back to that utterly ridiculous WeChat message, although she had found it off-putting and blocked him immediately at the time, thinking about it now, wasn't that a manifestation of liking someone to the extreme?

If his luck had truly changed...

Cheng Weiwei felt that perhaps they could give each other a chance to get re-acquainted; getting to know each other slowly wouldn't be out of the question.

Well, it was better than stringing along someone like Lu Mingxuan, whose family was only moderately wealthy but who was bursting with a sense of superiority.

As for Jiang Shuang, her thoughts weren't as complicated as theirs.

After getting out of the car, her gaze also locked directly onto Jiang Ye, but she wasn't looking at his expression or temperament; instead, she quickly scanned what he was wearing today.

His jacket, pants, and shoes were all different from yesterday's gathering, but every piece had an extraordinary texture and vaguely matched the styles of those luxury brands she had been memorizing lately; none of them should be cheap.

Why was she a flight attendant?

Wasn't it to get in touch with higher-level circles and find a boyfriend with excellent economic conditions?

If there was a ready-made potential stock right next to her, why would she go the long way around and serve people on a plane?

Jiang Shuang pursed her lips and smiled, subconsciously tossing the high ponytail behind her head—well, that foul-mouthed woman yesterday had a ponytail, so following the trend couldn't be wrong.

She walked toward Jiang Ye with a beaming smile, her voice a few degrees sweeter than usual:

"Jiang Ye, you're here? Everyone is waiting for you."

As she spoke, she walked up to Jiang Ye, her hands behind her back, lightly tipping her toes as she did a little spin with a flower-like smile: "It's so cold outside, let's go in quickly."

Why the spin?

To follow the trend, of course! Didn't that woman yesterday give off a lively and nimble feeling?

"..."

Looking at her inexplicable movements, Jiang Ye's eyelids twitched. Speechless, he simply started walking toward the entrance of the Golden Emperor.

As soon as he moved, those six 'soldiers' immediately looked delighted. They straightened their backs and automatically split into two columns, following behind him with their heads held high, looking exactly like a 'Big Brother going to battle, escorted by his lackeys' procession.

Jiang Ye walked at the very front, with Fang Wei on his left and Jiang Shuang on his right, followed closely by the six lackeys. The scene was truly majestic, menacing, domineering, and arrogant.

If one had to nitpick, it was probably missing a little...

"Ruling the World, I roam as I please, admired by all!"

"Ruling the World, I never need to look back!"

"Turning the world upside down, I write my own laws!"

"This wild wolf with fierce, flashing eyes!"

Jiang Ye's footsteps came to a sudden halt. A surge of blood rushed to his head, and his toes nearly dug out a three-bedroom apartment inside his shoes from embarrassment.

And when he stopped, the six people behind him, under the powerful boost of the BGM, seemed to be instantly infused with souls, striking poses they thought were cool:

Some had hands in pockets looking at the sky at a 45-degree angle, some were squatting on the ground in a pensive pose, some were crossing their arms and watching coldly from the side...

"..."

Jiang Ye turned his head expressionlessly and gave a death stare to Fang Wei, who was holding his phone next to him with a 'look how cool I am' expression, squeezing a few words through his teeth:

"You freaking... turn off the song! Are you sick?!"

Fang Wei shrunk his neck at the glare and quickly pressed stop on the music, explaining with a sheepish grin: "I... I just wanted to give you the full experience of being a Big Brother..."

Jiang Ye took a deep breath, and then another, forcefully suppressing the urge to kill this grandson on the spot.

He raised his hand wanting to rub his throbbing brow, but as soon as his fingertips touched his skin, he suddenly remembered that these eyebrows were specially drawn for him by Lin Wanxing before he left. He had no choice but to helplessly lower his hand and continue breathing deeply.

At this moment, he was deeply grateful that he had strictly followed his 'agreement' with An Zhengjun and hadn't arranged tonight's gathering in Dadong District.

Otherwise, with that display just now, as soon as the song 'Luan Shi Ju Xing' started playing, An Zhengjun—who had been monitoring closely and finally found a pretext—would have rushed over with a large force, holding Silver Bracelets and shouting 'Cracking Down on Gangs' to take them away.

Well, a charge of 'Picking Quarrels and Provoking Trouble' would probably be inevitable, and they might even be linked to 'Organized Crime'.

Jiang Ye sighed and turned to look at the innocent-looking Fang Wei and the six classmates who were still striking poses, trying his best to be calm:

"Everyone freaking act normal! Listen up, I'll definitely take you to play tonight, and I'll definitely make sure you have a good time! But!"

He emphasized his tone: "Whoever pulls this flashy stuff again can get lost on their own! Do you hear me?"

"We hear you, Brother Ye!"

"Don't worry, Brother Ye! We're the most well-behaved!"

The six 'soldiers' instantly returned to normal, all patting their chests in guarantee.

Jiang Ye then looked at Jiang Shuang, who had been following him eagerly, and Cheng Weiwei, who was still standing by the BMW looking thoughtful, and confirmed:

"Are you two sure you want to go in together? This kind of occasion... might not be suitable for you girls."

"Jiang Ye, in the final analysis, this whole thing was because of that little misunderstanding back then..."

Cheng Weiwei reached out and elegantly tucked a strand of hair blown loose by the wind behind her ear, smiling gently:

"Thinking about it now, maybe you were just joking at the time, and I overreacted. I think I should take this opportunity to clear up the misunderstanding, so... I'll go in to toast you a glass of wine to express my apologies and then leave. I won't disturb your guys' gathering."

When Jiang Shuang heard Cheng Weiwei's words, she was slightly taken aback.

Huh?

The Class Beauty's attitude... why does it feel a bit like the plan I have?

Could it be that she also intends to go in and see Jiang Ye's real reaction when he spends money, to test whether he's truly generous or just pretending to be rich, and whether he feels the sting of spending it?

Jiang Shuang also quickly stated her position: "Mhm, Jiang Ye, Weiwei and I are just curious. we'll just go in and sit for a bit to feel the atmosphere and then leave. We definitely won't get in the way of you guys having fun."

Jiang Ye finally looked at Lu Mingxuan.

Lu Mingxuan curled his lip with a look of disdain: "What are you looking at me for? When Weiwei leaves, I'll leave. I'm taking her back."

Naturally, he wouldn't stay behind to 'join the filth' in front of Cheng Weiwei; otherwise, wouldn't the 'devoted, high-quality man' persona he had painstakingly built collapse?

His goal today was only one: to see Jiang Ye spend the money with his own eyes and solidify his status as a sucker.

Jiang Ye nodded, not bothered to say more, and waved his hand: "Fine, then let's go."

After speaking, he led the way toward the brightly lit and magnificent glass revolving door of the Golden Emperor.