23: Disdain at the dinner table

The three of them walked into a private room named 'Autumn Pavilion'. Inside, two men and two women were already seated, looking like Song Lingyun's roommates and their boyfriends.

Judging by their attire, these people probably came from well-off families.

Chen Li habitually scanned them with the system:

【 Gui Cuicui 】

【 Affection Level: 0 】

【 Figure: 61 】

【 Appearance: 62 】

【 number of times kun: 129 】

【 number of kunners: 3 】

...

【 Zhang Min 】

【 Affection Level: 0 】

【 Figure: 65 】

【 Appearance: 59 】

【 number of times kun: 89 】

【 number of kunners: 2 】

Looking at these two sets of data, Chen Li couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.

This Dormitory was truly 'resource balanced'—two who kept themselves pure paired with two who were experienced; they really knew how to pair up.

Song Lingyun briefly introduced the people present to Chen Li. Chen Li just nodded casually, not intending to remember any of their names at all.

He could clearly sense that these people were not very enthusiastic about him, even carrying a hint of subtle disdain.

However, he couldn't be bothered to care; they were just a bunch of self-righteous people.

Among those present, besides Song Lingyun, only Tang You was worth his attention.

The two girls sandwiched him on the left and right—naturally, Song Lingyun wouldn't let Chen Li sit on the edge.

After everyone took their seats, Tang You was the first to raise her drink: "Come, let's welcome Lingyun's boyfriend, Chen Li."

Everyone gave Tang You face and raised their glasses to say welcome to Chen Li, though the smiles were somewhat perfunctory.

As soon as the glasses were put down, they gathered in twos and threes to chat, directly leaving Chen Li on the sidelines.

In their eyes, Chen Li was dressed plainly, only the watch on his wrist looked quite nice, and he didn't even have a car.

They guessed that the money spent on Song Lingyun was likely his savings from several years, just used to fool the inexperienced Song Lingyun.

They exchanged tacit glances, understanding each other; they couldn't wait to expose the true face of this 'fake rich kid'.

"Chen Li, you're really something."

Gui Cuicui spoke first with a fake smile on her face, "To think you managed to win over our campus belle Song."

As she spoke, she secretly kicked her boyfriend under the table. The boy immediately understood and took over the conversation:

"That's right, Lingyun is the dream lover of so many boys in our school. Brother Chen Li must have some outstanding qualities, right?"

This seemingly casual greeting was actually laying the groundwork for subsequent probing.

Everyone present looked at Chen Li to see how he would respond.

"Just good luck." Chen Li spoke the truth.

He truly felt it was good luck—to meet someone as top-tier as Song Lingyun even when going to a red-light district, this fate was truly one of a kind.

"Lingyun, can you tell us how Chen Li pursued you?" Gui Cuicui teased intentionally, wanting to hear about their love story.

"Nothing special, we just got together naturally." Song Lingyun was vague, appearing somewhat guilty.

"So humble?"

Zhang Min also joined the fray, "I've seen that the things you've bought recently have cost tens of thousands, right? We've known each other for years, but I've never seen you be this generous. It must be from this rich guy, Chen Li, right?"

"Brother Chen Li is truly generous, not even blinking when spending tens of thousands on his girlfriend. What kind of business does your family do? If there's a chance, we can exchange some ideas." Her boyfriend also chimed in.

In fact, these tens of thousands were just a month's pocket money for them.

Their questioning was nothing more than trying to probe Chen Li's background.

"My parents are just ordinary office workers." Chen Li smiled faintly.

He leaned back on his chair casually, his gaze sweeping calmly over everyone present. In his eyes, these people's little schemes were nothing more than the performance of clowns.

If it weren't for the sake of Song Lingyun's face, he would have gotten up and left long ago.

Now, he wanted to see what kind of tricks these people could pull.

Unlike the others present, Tang You maintained a calm observation throughout.

She had been paying attention to the extraordinary quality of the watch on Chen Li's wrist, but after looking for a long time, she couldn't tell what kind of watch it was.

Although she couldn't accurately judge its value for the moment, her intuition from frequent contact with luxury goods told her that this was definitely no ordinary item.

Taking advantage of the gap while everyone was talking, she remembered that one of her friends was coming later.

This friend of hers was a seasoned watch enthusiast who knew all the major brands by heart and would surely be able to identify the origin of this watch.

"Alright, alright, why do you keep asking Chen Li so much?"

Tang You stepped in to smooth things over at the right time, "Chen Li is our new friend; there will be plenty of time to get to know each other in the future."

Song Lingyun also leaned into Chen Li's ear and whispered apologetically: "I'm sorry, they're just like this, please don't take it to heart."

Chen Li couldn't help but take a second look at Tang You. In this environment where everyone wore tinted glasses,

she neither followed the crowd in looking down on him nor deliberately buttered him up. Her words and actions were generous and appropriate, making people feel very comfortable.

Just then, the door to the private room was gently pushed open, and a waiter pushed a dining cart in.

On the exquisite silver dining cart were mouth-watering delicacies: plump and bright red King Crab, steamed grouper shining with an alluring luster.

There were also several other high-end dishes with unique presentations, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

"The dishes are all here, everyone please help yourselves." Tang You greeted everyone, "Chen Li, it's just a simple meal tonight, I hope you don't mind."

Her gaze was sincere when she spoke, without any intention of showing off—to her, this was indeed just an ordinary dinner.

With the crisp sound of cutlery clashing, the originally slightly tense atmosphere eased instantly, and everyone's attention was involuntarily drawn to the food in front of them.

Chen Li, who had just finished playing ball, was so hungry he could eat a horse. Seeing the table full of delicacies, he didn't care about his image and started eating heartily.

This way of eating, in Gui Cuicui's eyes, only confirmed that Chen Li had no class.

"Chen Li, eat slowly, no one is going to snatch it from you." Gui Cuicui deliberately raised her voice, "If it's not enough, we can order more for you."

Just then, Tang You's friend arrived. A well-dressed young woman stood at the door, and Tang You quickly got up to greet her.

"Let me introduce her to everyone, this is my good friend Li Fang."

Tang You turned to Li Fang, "Fangfang, these are all my classmates."

After Li Fang sat down, Tang You introduced everyone present one by one.

While being introduced, Li Fang had already noticed the watch on Chen Li's wrist at a glance. Although she remained calm on the surface, her heart was surging with shock—soaring swallow.

"You guys eat first, I'm going out for a bit!"

Chen Li suddenly put down his chopsticks, his expression changed, and he stood up holding his stomach.

He didn't have time to explain further and rushed out of the private room in two or three steps—he had eaten too quickly just now, and now his stomach was churning; if he didn't go to the bathroom, something big would happen.

Seeing Chen Li leave, Li Fang lowered her voice and said to Tang You: "Youyou, this classmate of yours is not simple. He is wearing a couple's edition 'soaring swallow' from Vacheron Constantin. Just the men's watch on his hand starts at at least five million, and that's... without an upper limit!"

"Five... five million!" Tang You gasped.

Although they deliberately lowered their voices, in the quiet little private room, everyone still heard the general idea.

The entire private room suddenly fell silent. Gui Cuicui, who had been smug just a moment ago, now had a complexion that turned from blue to white, looking as if she had swallowed a fly alive.

Over five million? Selling her entire family's assets wouldn't even add up to that amount.

Song Lingyun maintained her composure on the surface, but her heart was already in turmoil. Looking at Chen Li's empty seat, she was lost in thought...