Chapter 28
After a night of madness, Lin Fei left without waiting for Xu Xinyu to wake up. Her behavior during the day had made him feel she deserved no respect at all.
As soon as he walked out of the hotel, Lin Fei received a call from Liu Shumao. "Hey! Old Lin, are you free tomorrow?"
"What for?"
"It's like this, there's a high school class reunion tomorrow, organized by our class monitor, Li Jie. It's also a Sunday, so are you planning on going?"
"I'm not going, it's pointless!"
"Oh! But I heard that the class monitor also invited Xia Zhimeng this time!"
Hearing the name Xia Zhimeng, Lin Fei's pupils suddenly shrank, and his breath caught in his throat.
Xia Zhimeng was the goddess of Lin Fei's high school days. She was also his first love.
At sixteen, it was the first time his heart raced, the first time his face flushed, the first time he was too nervous to speak.
In front of this girl, Lin Fei didn't even have the courage to confess.
Until high school graduation, he had only silently watched her from the crowd. She was a girl who shone with a dazzling light, while Lin Fei was as humble as a speck of dust. Thinking back carefully, it wasn't that he didn't dare to confess, but that he was self-aware. How could Xia Zhimeng possibly like him?
There was no way.
Since it was impossible, why bother humiliating himself?
A man's heart can only flutter a limited number of times. Perhaps being most susceptible to such feelings is during the tender, budding years of youth. Because of that first heart-fluttering feeling, he might remember a girl longingly for many years without ever forgetting.
But as he got older and met more and more women, even when he encountered very beautiful women later, he no longer felt that heart-pounding sensation of his youthful years. Perhaps he had seen too many, grown indifferent, or stopped caring. Or maybe, because someone had already taken up residence in his heart, it was difficult for a second person to move in. Many years later, he would become more and more indifferent.
Indifferent, because after all, no one else was her...
Lin Fei was silent for a full ten seconds before he spoke, "Where is the reunion?"
"Tomorrow five in the afternoon, at the Sihai Hotel. Also, let me mention, that guy Fan Mingrui will be there too. After all these years, this kid still hasn't given up!" Liu Shumao reminded him.
In high school, Fan Mingrui was an outstanding "Triple-A" student, an advanced class cadre. He later got into the National University of Geosciences, also a top-tier university student from a "985" institution. His family was well-off too; his father was a leader in the Education Bureau. After the college entrance exam, Fan Mingrui confessed his love to Xiao Ruoyu in public. Although he was rejected later, he still did something many guys wanted to do but didn't dare to.
"It's fine, I'll be free tomorrow!" Lin Fei hung up the phone. His feelings were a complicated mess.
Just then, Xu Xinyu sent him a WeChat message.
"Dear, where did you go...?"
"There's a particularly tricky issue at the company that I need to handle. When are you going live? Let me know in advance, and I'll go watch you." Lin Fei replied, typing absentmindedly.
He knew what the other person wanted. Since he had already slept with her, he might as well be simple and direct...
Actually, he had already planned to stop sending gifts to Xu Xinyu, but on second thought, her favorability towards him was only 4 points away from a successful comeback. If he sent more gifts now, the amount he would get back would also be larger. There was absolutely no need to make things difficult for money. It was also time to solidify the reputation of the "God of Wealth, God Desceds" on the Douyu platform.
Having a leisurely day, Lin Fei wandered around outside. Just as he returned to school and was passing the library, he noticed a large crowd near the girls' dormitory. A dense mass of people, many were holding up their phones to take pictures and egging things on. Driven by curiosity, Lin Fei walked towards the crowd.
"Wow! Is that the track team captain, Ma Tao? He's quite handsome!"
"Ma Tao isn't just the track team captain; I heard his family owns a company with assets of tens of millions. See that BMW 7 Series next to him? How many juniors can afford to drive a BMW?"
"With Ma Tao being so outstanding, is this He Yingluo out of her mind? She wants to dump a guy like that? She's just relying on her pretty face, big chest, and long legs. What's so great about that!"
Among the crowd of onlookers, a few girls said with jealousy. They seemed to have a crush on Ma Tao and therefore particularly disliked He Yingluo. When He Yingluo first enrolled as a freshman last year, she stole the show at the New Year's Eve party, attracting many outstanding senior students, which made many girls jealous.
Later, Ma Tao, amidst the competition from all the senior year students, successfully defeated all his rivals. After spending nearly half a year, he won He Yingluo's heart. But they had only been dating for a month, and now she wanted to break up?
He Yingluo was really being too difficult.
"She's coming down, He Yingluo is coming down!" As Lin Fei got closer, he realized it was that guy Ma Tao apologizing to He Yingluo. He had arranged a giant heart shape with candles in front of the girls' dormitory, holding 99 roses and kneeling on one knee. Next to them was a parked BMW 7 Series. A luxury car, flowers, candles, plus the crowd of onlookers.
The atmosphere was set, and the sincerity was there. Under normal circumstances, He Yingluo should have forgiven him. After all, this wasn't a confession but an apology. Ma Tao's willingness to go to such lengths was enough to show his utmost sincerity and also gave He Yingluo plenty of face. But the outcome was unexpected. The moment He Yingluo came downstairs, she actually spotted Lin Fei in the crowd at a glance.
Ever since Lin Fei's video went viral online, He Yingluo felt a strange sense of regret. She didn't regret breaking up with Ma Tao, but rather not leaving her WeChat with Lin Fei.
This man was not only invincible on the track, sweeping away all competition, but his true identity was also so extraordinary. A rich young master driving a Rolls-Royce, yet so low-key at school. He was incredibly capable but disliked showing off. If Ma Tao hadn't been so aggressive and brought humiliation upon himself, Lin Fei wouldn't have even bothered to show off in front of him. Thinking about it this way, Lin Fei was simply hundreds of times better than Ma Tao, not to mention Ma Tao's bad temper.
For the past two days, whenever He Yingluo scrolled through Douyin and saw Lin Fei's video, she regretted it all over again. She felt she might have developed some feelings for Lin Fei, but her heart didn't dare to admit it. After all, they had only met twice, so she had been suppressing her feelings.
Just before Ma Tao came to apologize, her roommate was talking to her about the online "Flash." "Hey, I was watching the sports meet on the school field, and a really handsome guy suddenly ran over to chat me up and asked for my WeChat. I didn't give it to him. He must have been really disappointed. Later, to prove himself, he rushed onto the track. That person... is the 'Flash' who's so popular on Douyin now." He Yingluo said to her roommate with great certainty.
"What? The Flash got famous because of you? Don't talk nonsense. Xiao Ying, I know you like athletic guys, but you can't dump your boyfriend just because you have a crush on an online celebrity, one whose face you can't even see clearly!" her roommate advised.
"Who said I have a crush on him... Besides, I didn't break up with Ma Tao because of him!" He Yingluo denied.
"I just saw downstairs. Ma Tao is holding a bouquet of roses and has arranged 999 candles. He's ready to apologize to you!" a roommate who had just returned to the dorm said to He Yingluo.
"Apologize? He wants to apologize only now? It's too late!"
"Regardless, you should still go down and take a look. You have to clear the air, right?"
This led to He Yingluo coming downstairs and seeing Lin Fei.
When He Yingluo saw Lin Fei again, the emotions she had suppressed for days, a mix of affection and longing, surged up all at once.
[Name: He Yingluo, Favorability: 35, Total Value: 60]
Just as Lin Fei was listening to the system prompt in confusion, He Yingluo ignored the rose Ma Tao offered her and in front of everyone, walked up to Lin Fei.
"I'm sorry! That day... actually I... how about we add each other on WeChat?" He Yingluo stammered, her face flushed with shyness. This time, she was actually the one asking Lin Fei for his WeChat.
In an instant, the entire crowd was stunned! The group of onlookers were dumbfounded!
Ma Tao's face turned ashen, as if a bright green hat had been slapped onto his forehead, almost making him spit blood in anger.
"Isn't He Yingluo Ma Tao's girlfriend? What is she doing, hitting on a guy right in front of him?"
"Is He Yingluo trying to make Ma Tao jealous? Or does she really want to dump Ma Tao for Lin Fei?"
Watching the onlookers point and whisper, Ma Tao felt completely humiliated. For a man, nothing was more embarrassing than having your girlfriend stolen right in front of you.
Ma Tao was furious! He was truly enraged! He felt a flame burning in his chest, completely destroying his rationality.
"Fuck you, Lin Fei! If I don't fucking kill you today, I'll change my fucking last name!" Ma Tao roared as he charged over, swinging his fist towards Lin Fei's face.
He was the captain of the Physical Education College's track team, strong, tall, and with explosive power. Normally, two or three average guys combined might not be able to beat him. But the person he was facing today was Lin Fei. Ma Tao was fast, but Lin Fei was faster. Ma Tao's explosive power was strong, but Lin Fei's was stronger. The moment Ma Tao swung his fist, Lin Fei, with lightning speed, kicked him flying. Ma Tao quickly charged over again, only to be kicked flying once more...
In less than two minutes, Ma Tao was beaten to the ground by Lin Fei. A tough guy from the PE College was no match for Lin Fei, the supposedly sickly weakling from the Literature Department?
What the hell?
Are all those strong muscles of yours just for show?
You can't even beat a piece of trash from the Literature Department like Lin Fei?
Such a disgrace to the PE College!
"This is impossible, why can't I beat him?" Ma Tao began to doubt his very existence.
He remembered three years ago, he grabbed on Lin Fei's neck and slapped him. This little bastard didn't even have the strength to resist. He could beat him however he wanted, humiliate him however he pleased. But three years later, not only did Lin Fei steal his girlfriend right in front of him, but he couldn't even win a fight against him?
In a short-distance race, he lost!
In a luxury car comparison, he lost again!
In the competition for the girl, he still lost!
And now, even in a fight, he lost!
Ma Tao's mentality completely collapsed!
"He Yingluo, you bitch, how dare you betray me! Lin Fei, you fucking wait for me.This isn't over!"
Ma Tao spat out a harsh threat and then scurried away in disgrace. If he didn't leave now, was he going to wait around to be a laughingstock?
"What's your problem? What the hell did I do to you?" Lin Fei was speechless. He admitted that he and Ma Tao didn't get along, but besides the first time on the track when he deliberately targeted him, the other two times, he hadn't provoked the other party at all. It was Ma Tao who tried to show off in front of him and ended up getting slapped in the face. Today's incident was purely an accident; he was just watching the spectacle. Who knew he'd get caught in the crossfire for no reason!
Lin Fei shook his head. Just as he was about to leave, He Yingluo suddenly ran up to him again.
Her fingers were intertwined, her face shy, and her large, round eyes seemed to be filled with pink hearts!
The way she looked at Chen Yuan was incredibly intense!
"Lin Fei, you're amazing! I didn't know you were such a good fighter. Even Ma Tao couldn't beat you. Have you trained before?"
[Name: He Yingluo, Favorability: 15, Total Value: 75]
He Yingluo completely ignored Ma Tao. This girl, with her large chest and long legs, seemed to have a thing for violence. Perhaps this was why she liked athletic guys. Lin Fei never expected that He Yingluo's favorability towards him would increase so inexplicably. Thinking about Xu Xinyu last night, why had he been running into such unconventional beauties lately?!
Meanwhile, as He Yingluo was chasing Lin Fei for his contact information, on the other side, Zhang Yuning was listening to her best friend Zheng Muzi's latest report.
"Ningning, I advise you not to contact Lin Fei anymore. Although he's very generous to you, you might not know how outrageous he really is! Look at this article."
Zhang Yuning's heart skipped a beat, "What does this have to do with Lin Fei now? What did he do?"
Zheng Muzi handed her phone to Zhang Yuning. It showed an old Weibo trending article with the title: "The Supreme God of Wealth, God Descends, Spends 150 Million in Three Days. An Obscure Streamer Gains a Million Followers in a Day, Becoming a New Star in the Live Streaming World!" The article vividly described how Lin Fei had recently been gifting the Douyu streamers Xiao7xi and Xiao Yatong, accompanied by several pictures.
"See? Ningning, I've been keeping an eye on 'God Descending's' activities for you these past two days. Who knew that scumbag Lin Fei was so sneaky? He stopped showing up on Douyu and Douyin, and instead went to Huya Live, and showered two female streamers with 150 million! That's 150 million! Especially that Xiao Yatong; the gifts Lin Fei gave her alone exceeded 100 million. He clearly has you, yet he's still spending so much money on other women. What is this? Collecting more backup options? This scumbag!"
The more Zheng Muzi spoke, the angrier she got. Lin Fei's actions were simply heinous and beyond description. He was flirting with female streamers all over the internet, a completely unreliable person.
Zhang Yuning read the article in shock and listened to her friend's account. It was as if a thunderclap had gone off in her mind. Her face instantly turned pale, losing all its color. She felt an unprecedented sense of betrayal. The man who had just given her a luxury villa a few days ago, making her heart flutter, the man who had made her heart race and almost completely fall for him, had in the blink of an eye started showering another woman with gifts and acting ambiguously. What... what was going on!?
No, she had to get a clear answer from Lin Fei.
Thinking of this, Zhang Yuning immediately called Lin Fei. "Hello? Where are you?"
"I just got to the dormitory downstairs." Lin Fei said, having just gotten away from He Yingluo.
"Wait for me there. I have something to say to you." With that, Zhang Yuning hung up the phone.
"I'm going with you!" Watching Zhang Yuning run out of the dorm without looking back, Zheng Muzi quickly followed.
When they met, Lin Fei looked at the two aggressive women and felt a bit guilty. After all, among all the women he was with now, Zhang Yuning was still his favorite.
"Lin Fei, what do you take our Yuning for? Do you think you can do whatever you want just because you have money? Do you think that because you're rich, she'll be your mistress? Let me tell you, that's impossible!" Zhang Yuning hadn't even spoken yet when Zheng Muzi said with a hostile tone.
"What did you say?" Lin Fei was a bit confused.
"See for yourself!" Zheng Muzi shoved the article on her phone in front of Lin Fei. Beside her, Zhang Yuning stared at Lin Fei, her gaze as if she were looking at a absolute scumbag.
[Name: Zhang Yuning, Favorability: -10, Total Value: 80]
Lin Fei was silent for a moment after reading it. Zhang Yuning's favorability had already started to drop. In this situation, any explanation he gave would be futile, only making things worse. The only way to break the deadlock was to turn the passive into the active.
"I don't understand what this article is supposed to represent, but is there some kind of misunderstanding? We're just ordinary classmates. Why are you suddenly so hostile towards me? What's all this about being a mistress or a fourth wheel? Aren't you... overthinking things a bit?" Lin Fei asked in return.
This question left Zhang Yuning and her friend stunned. They suddenly realized that... Zhang Yuning and Lin Fei weren't actually boyfriend and girlfriend.
From beginning to end, he had never confessed, and they had never officially established a relationship. They weren't a couple at all. Since they weren't a couple, the accusation of Lin Fei two-timing didn't hold water. He was a single man, free to be with whomever he pleased. It had nothing to do with her, Zhang Yuning.
"No, that's not right. If we're just ordinary classmates, why did you give me a luxury villa? Why did you gift me tens of millions in the live stream? Don't tell me... you weren't pursuing me?" Zhang Yuning questioned. Had everything before been just her own wishful thinking?
Compared to Lin Fei giving gifts to other women, the idea that Lin Fei didn't like her seemed even harder for her to accept.
"Yuning, this is a long story. You should know that I haven't just been gifting you. During this time, I don't even know how much money I've spent across all the major live streaming platforms. But actually... I have my reasons."
As Lin Fei spoke, he subtly shifted the topic.
"What reasons?" Zhang Yuning breathed a sigh of relief. She was more afraid that Lin Fei wouldn't give her any explanation and would just act like a complete scumbag.
"Let's talk somewhere else. I can tell you about this, but you absolutely cannot let anyone else know!" Lin Fei said, glaring at Zheng Muzi as he took Zhang Yuning's arm and walked off into the distance.
"Ningning..." Zheng Muzi called out unwillingly, but Zhang Yuning ignored her and resolutely followed Lin Fei away, leaving Zheng Muzi stomping her feet in anger.
"Yuning, I think you might have guessed that I come from a powerful family you can't even imagine..." Lin Fei said, looking up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, his face an image of lonely solitude.
Any girl who has ever fantasized about being a princess has no resistance to the trope of a noble son slumming it in the ordinary world. After hearing Lin Fei's opening, Zhang Yuning's eyes were indeed filled with admiration and curiosity as she looked at him, waiting for what he would say next.
"The wealth my family possesses is an astronomical figure you wouldn't believe. I am the first heir to the family, but not the only one. We heirs have always been in a state of competition. Until the very end, no one knows who the next head of the family will be. Right now, all of us are living as ordinary people in different places, starting with the same amount of capital given by the family. Within one year, whoever earns more money for the family will be more likely to become the next head. That's why every gift I send is part of my investment plan and long-term strategy. As for the specifics... Yuning, I'm sorry, I can't tell you that right now. The only thing I can tell you is that the only thing not part of the plan was the villa I gave you. That was my personal decision, something I wanted to give you. Do you understand now..." Lin Fei finished his speech with a serious and earnest expression, then suddenly turned his head, giving Zhang Yuning a deeply affectionate look.
*****
Read 25+ chapters ahead at: