52: Chapter 52 What is your gift?
Hearing Li Tong's words, the hand Lin Yi held the cola with froze slightly.
"Ah..." "I..." "I guessed it!" Lin Yi explained shamelessly.
"I figured a villa this big, the fridge couldn't possibly be empty." "They'd definitely have some drinks or something inside." "And the most common drink is cola, right..." Lin Yi chuckled.
Just then, a cold sneer came from the side.
"Hmph." "How lacking in class." "Don't you know this villa is rented?" "These drinks must belong to the villa owner." "How can you just casually drink other people's things?" "If you wanted to drink cola, couldn't you have gone to buy it at the entrance of the residential complex yourself?" Zhou Zhengyi jeered.
He felt glad that he had finally caught Lin Yi in a compromising act.
Lin Yi frowned and glanced toward the direction of the voice.
Upon seeing that it was Zhou Zhengyi, Lin Yi immediately felt annoyed.
Since he walked through the door this morning, this kid had been targeting him.
What was his problem? Did I step on your tail? What are you barking about?
And this is my own damn house! Why do I need you to meddle in me drinking cola in my own home!
Before Lin Yi could erupt, Li Tong hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over.
"Oh, it's fine. It's just a bottle of cola. We can just buy a new one to replace it in the fridge when we leave!"
The other classmates nodded in agreement.
It was just a bottle of cola, not a big deal. Zhou Zhengyi seemed to be making a mountain out of a molehill.
Seeing everyone's reaction, Zhou Zhengyi felt a moment of embarrassment.
However, he immediately adjusted and continued to argue shamelessly.
"You guys don't know, they only agreed to rent out this villa because of my uncle."
"My uncle is an executive at Haoyu Group, and he happens to be in charge of this real estate development."
"He told me that the owner of this villa is very eccentric and even has a bit of OCD."
"Many of the things in his house are carefully selected collectibles."
"Don't look at this as just an ordinary bottle of cola; it's very likely a product with a special serial number from the cola company!"
"Just like how some people like to collect misprinted currency!"
Hearing Zhou Zhengyi's rhetoric, some of the less worldly classmates were immediately bluffed.
"There does seem to be something like that."
"I think there was a rumor before that the cola company's sales plummeted one year, and they only produced a very small amount of product."
"Later, that batch of products was sought after by many collectors!"
Hearing the classmates discussing, a look of petty triumph appeared on Zhou Zhengyi's face.
"See, I told you!"
"And this kind of cola is priceless!"
"In the eyes of real collectors, this is a treasure!"
"Maybe it cost tens or even hundreds of thousands when it was bought!" Zhou Zhengyi took the opportunity to fear-monger.
Lin Yi listened, stunned.
Since when did this cola become a treasure?
Wasn't this just bought by the manager from the convenience store at the entrance of the residential complex last night?
He had specifically looked at it when he went to buy chocolate at that convenience store this morning; a can of cola was six yuan.
How did it become hundreds of thousands in Zhou Zhengyi's mouth?
Lin Yi had no intention of entertaining Zhou Zhengyi; he picked up the cola and drank it to the bottom.
Then, he let out a satisfied soda burp toward Zhou Zhengyi, his face full of provocation.
Zhou Zhengyi had gone through all that effort to talk, but Lin Yi didn't take it to heart at all.
Seeing Lin Yi's thick-skinned attitude, Zhou Zhengyi pointed at Lin Yi's nose and started cursing.
"You have such poor upbringing!"
"Didn't your parents teach you that you shouldn't rummage through other people's things when you're a guest at their house?"
Lin Yi picked his ear, looking indifferent.
"Sorry, I'm an orphan."
Zhou Zhengyi immediately acted as if he had grasped a new handle.
He didn't know why, but today he felt a natural hostility toward Lin Yi for no apparent reason.
Perhaps it was because the two beauties he fancied both seemed to have some affection for Lin Yi.
And they were two beauties he couldn't get.
Thus, in Zhou Zhengyi's heart, he had already regarded Lin Yi as a heinous enemy.
One can only say that jealousy makes people unrecognizable.
Now that he learned Lin Yi's background was poor, Zhou Zhengyi instantly felt his sense of superiority return.
"Hmph, so you're just a stray without anyone to raise you!"
Hearing this word, the other classmates were somewhat surprised, and their eyes changed when they looked at Zhou Zhengyi.
He usually looked refined and gentle at school, so why was he acting so out of character today?
At this moment, the displeasure on Lin Yi's face deepened.
He looked coldly at Zhou Zhengyi, a trace of contempt at the corner of his mouth.
"You uncultured brat, didn't your parents tell you to be civilized and polite?"
"Or are you an orphan too?"
When it came to trash-talking, Lin Yi had never been afraid.
He didn't know what was wrong with Zhou Zhengyi, refusing to let him go.
I don't even know you, okay!
Even a clay bodhisattva has a bit of temper.
If a tiger doesn't show its power, do you really think I'm Hello Kitty?
Zhou Zhengyi became anxious upon hearing Lin Yi retort.
"What the hell are you! How dare you talk to me like that!"
Lin Yi stood up and walked to Zhou Zhengyi.
Looking at the boy who was half a head shorter than him, Lin Yi mocked him from a high position.
"I'm a locksmith, what the hell are you?"
Hearing Lin Yi's retort, several classmates nearby couldn't help but cover their mouths and giggle.
"You!" Zhou Zhengyi was suddenly at a loss for words, pointing angrily at Lin Yi, not knowing what to say for a long time.
"Alright, alright, everyone is a classmate, stop arguing." Su Ming stepped out to be the peacemaker.
In Su Ming's view, it was just a bottle of cola.
Zhou Zhengyi seemed to be a bit extreme.
She had heard rumors in the Student Union before that Zhou Zhengyi was pursuing Li Tong.
Today, he was probably jealous because he saw Li Tong and Lin Yi getting close.
But even if you're jealous, attacking Lin Yi for no reason is uncalled for.
This is too petty.
Seeing that the school beauty had spoken, Zhou Zhengyi didn't say anything more.
But he still had an unconvinced expression on his face.
Seeing this, Li Tong also came out to change the subject.
She led everyone to the place in the living room where the gifts were piled up.
"Come, come, everyone, help me unwrap the gifts together!"
"I don't even know what everyone has given me!"
Hearing Li Tong speak, the girls excitedly started to unwrap the gift boxes.
Girls seem to have no resistance to such things by nature.
For example, opening packages or unwrapping gifts.
"Wow, Miaomiao, the dress you gave me is so beautiful!"
Li Tong picked up the dress from the gift box she had just opened and held it up in front of herself.
The design style of this dress was exactly what Li Tong liked.
"Tongtong, look, this is what I gave!"
A boy took out the gift box he had brought and opened it to reveal a pearl brooch.
"This brooch is so pretty too! Thank you! I like it very much!"
Seeing everyone unwrapping gifts and handing them to Li Tong, Zhou Zhengyi also found the box he had given.
"Tongtong, these are the shoes I got for you. I saw you post on WeChat Moments before that you liked this style."
Actually, when he gave the gift, Zhou Zhengyi had already opened it to show Li Tong.
But now that everyone was talking about gifts, it was a perfect opportunity to show off.
After all, as a student, being able to give shoes worth over five thousand was considered a grand gesture.
"These shoes must cost several thousand!"
A sharp-eyed girl immediately recognized that these were Gucci shoes.
Zhou Zhengyi nodded, pretending to be modest.
"The price isn't the issue, as long as Tongtong likes them, that's all that matters!"
When he said this, Zhou Zhengyi's heart was actually bleeding.
This five thousand plus was something he had saved up for an entire semester.
However, watching the admiring gazes cast by everyone, Zhou Zhengyi felt it was all worth it.
"Lin Yi, what is your gift?" Zhou Zhengyi changed the subject and looked at Lin Yi, asking.