9: The parties clashed? No problem, I'll step in!

Xie Chao hadn't actually fully confirmed a boyfriend-girlfriend relationship with Chen Xilan.

Because Chen Xilan possessed a maturity that didn't match her age.

She knew that what boys this age wanted was nothing more than a sense of novelty.

As long as she agreed to be with the other person...

...they would soon lose interest in her and develop interest in other girls.

So she had been stringing Xie Chao along.

Neither refusing nor agreeing; as long as Xie Chao offered to treat her to a meal or give her gifts, she accepted them all.

But if he wanted to take things further...

...he would immediately be met with a stern rejection.

Today, Xie Chao had intentionally driven his new car here with the intention of showing off to Chen Xilan.

“Yeah, Xilan, you guys arrived quite early too.”

“Then let's go inside and sit down.”

“I'll take you over; the other classmates will find their own seats when they arrive.”

Zhu Shiyong said.

“Alright, Class Monitor, you guys go to the private room first.”

“The teacher will wait outside for the other students.”

“Okay, Xilan, this way.” Xie Chao led the way in front.

While waiting for the elevator in the hotel, Xie Chao pretended to casually mention:

“The private rooms at the Jinhao Hotel are in high demand and very hard to book; you can't get one without connections.”

“But my dad is very familiar with the owner of Jinhao. He made a phone call, and they reserved the largest private room for me.”

“Wow! Class Monitor, I didn't realize your family was so rich!” a girl exclaimed.

“Yeah, Class Monitor, that new car of yours at the entrance must have cost a lot of money, right?” another girl asked.

You asked the perfect question. Xie Chao was just worried he wouldn't find a chance to talk about it.

Ahem! Xie Chao let out a dry cough.

He glanced at Chen Xilan out of the corner of his eye.

He noticed that although she wasn't looking at him, her ears were clearly tilted towards him.

Obviously, all her attention was on his side.

So he deliberately pretended to be completely nonchalant.

“Actually, it wasn't much, just about 1 million or so.”

This sentence instantly elicited envious sounds from several girls:

“Wow!!!”

“I didn't expect your family to be so rich, Class Monitor.”

“Yeah, Class Monitor, I really couldn't tell when we were in class.”

By then, the elevator had arrived.

Xie Chao put on a very troubled expression.

“I have no choice. My dad is quite strict and told me I must keep a low profile while studying at school.”

“That's why I've always just blended in with everyone at school.”

Then he stole a glance at Chen Xilan and noticed her expression was clearly wavering.

He felt extremely proud of himself.

While talking, the group stepped into the elevator.

Inside the elevator, a girl asked as if casually:

“By the way, Xilan, I heard that a few days before the Gaokao, Lu Feng from our class confessed to you.”

“Yeah, I heard he didn't even take the Gaokao for Xilan's sake.”

“Sigh! What a pity.”

“What's there to be pity about? Lu Feng's grades were poor to begin with; even if he took the Gaokao, he wouldn't have gotten into a good university.”

“Strictly speaking, our Xilan actually did him a favor.”

“By letting him go back and repeat a year sooner!”

“Oh?” Xie Chao also chimed in:

“If Lu Feng didn't take the Gaokao, doesn't that mean he has no Gaokao score?”

He then acted as if he had a sudden realization, “No wonder he didn't come when I messaged him to join the gathering last night.”

“Class Monitor, don't mention Lu Feng, it's a bit of a mood killer.”

“After dinner, can you take us for a spin in your new car?”

“Of course I can!” Xie Chao looked at Chen Xilan.

“Will Xilan come too?”

“Mm!” Chen Xilan nodded slightly, even gently tucking a stray hair behind her ear, intentionally revealing her fair neck.

This move indeed made Xie Chao, who was standing nearby, stare blankly.

Chen Xilan felt a surge of secret joy; as expected, young boys were indeed easy to manipulate... Meanwhile,

In the Furong Private Room on the same floor of the Jinhao Hotel.

Lu Feng's Eldest Uncle had also arrived.

Eldest Uncle had been doing business out of town all these years, and it was said he was doing quite well.

The two families hadn't seen each other for a few years; now Eldest Uncle and Maternal Aunt had returned together.

Also, his cousin seemed to have just taken the Gaokao as well.

Maternal Aunt, draped in gold and silver, was the first to enter the private room.

“Oh, Lu Feng, it's been a few years and you've grown so big.”

“Maternal Aunt!” Lu Feng stood up and greeted her.

His cousin, wearing headphones, also gave Lu Feng a greeting.

When the two families lived in the same city before, they often hung out together.

Later, as they moved further apart, their contact gradually dwindled.

They didn't have much to talk about.

Eldest Uncle looked like he had made a lot of money over the years.

The gold chain around his neck was as thick as a thumb.

He immediately gave Lu Feng a hug.

He still had the same hearty personality as before.

He patted Lu Feng's shoulder, “Good lad, you've grown so sturdy now.”

He then looked at his own son, “Look at you.”

“You don't usually participate in much physical exercise, you're as thin as a little chick.”

Lu Feng smiled and didn't say anything.

The cousin was only concerned with playing on his phone, ignoring the pleasantries.

At this time, the waiter began to serve dishes in the private room.

Eldest Uncle let out a hearty laugh and filled a glass with white liquor.

“I'll propose a toast first; first of all, to celebrate our two families meeting again.”

“This is a happy day.”

“Especially seeing my Third Sister.”

“Yeah, it's been so long since we met.” Mom was also very happy to be able to chat with her older brother after so many years.

Dad also had a face full of smiles as he held up his wine glass.

Everyone downed a glass together.

Then Eldest Uncle filled another glass, “I'll propose another toast.”

“This toast is to celebrate my worthless son getting into the Northwest Aerospace University.”

Speaking of this, although Eldest Uncle called him a worthless son, the proud expression on his face was beyond words.

“Oh, then congratulations to your Little Chao!” Mom said with a smile.

Maternal Aunt, sitting to the side, suddenly said:

“Third Sister, I wonder how your Little Feng did on his exams this year?”

“This...” Mom was momentarily at a loss for words; she had originally thought this was just a simple family gathering.

She hadn't expected the current situation to arise.

For a long time now, she knew that her son had messed up the Gaokao.

Knowing that Lu Feng wasn't feeling good about it either, she had always avoided bringing it up.

So she just responded faintly.

“Feng Feng didn't perform well this year!”

Eldest Uncle seemed to have noticed this and tried to smooth things over, “It's okay, life isn't just about one Gaokao.”

“Look at me, didn't I also not take the Gaokao?”

“That's right!” Maternal Aunt added.

“I just wonder, since he didn't do well, what was his score? What university is he going to?”

“In case he's close to our Little Chao, you guys should visit each other more often.”

Mom didn't speak, the smile on her face becoming increasingly awkward.

Lu Feng suddenly stood up.

“I got a zero on the Gaokao!”

After saying that, he walked straight out of the private room; being here made him feel uncomfortable.

From a distance, he heard Maternal Aunt's deliberately exaggerated voice coming from the room, “Zero?”

“Does that mean he didn't go to take the Gaokao?”

And Eldest Uncle's genuine question, “Third Sister, no way? What happened with Little Feng this time?”

Lu Feng no longer wanted to listen to the voices inside.

But what he never expected was that just as he stepped out of the private room...

A familiar voice rang out, “Lu Feng, you're here!”

“The teacher thought you weren't coming, hurry, hurry, hurry!”

“The students are all here, we're just waiting for you!”

“Can't find the private room?”

“Come, come, come! The teacher will take you there!”

Lu Feng's inner thoughts: What the hell...