Chapter 36

After Teacher Song nodded in agreement, a dozen students excitedly followed the manager out of the regular private room, leaving only Bai Muyu and Lin Cong still seated on the sofa.
Lin Cong glanced at Bai Muyu, whose face was pale with anger, and comfortingly patted her shoulder. "Don't be upset. Tonight's gathering was meant to be lively, it doesn't matter who pays. I'm already happy that you thought to invite me."
He had regular features, wore black-framed glasses, and carried a gentle, refined, and handsome demeanor, everything Bai Muyu liked.
Bai Muyu loathed the Shen siblings to the core, but in front of the person she liked, she couldn't lose her composure. She forced a stiff smile and said, "It's fine. Not having to pay and still getting to enjoy ourselves is great!"
Lin Cong smiled and asked, "So, shall we go along?"
Bai Muyu sneered, "Of course we're going! I'm going to order the most expensive drinks, her family is rich anyway!"
Lin Cong raised an eyebrow and casually inquired, "Is her family really that wealthy? Just looking at Shen Yu, I wouldn't have guessed."
Bai Muyu, seething with resentment toward Shen Yu, seized the opportunity to badmouth her. Hearing Lin Cong's question, she angrily replied, "You can't tell just by looking at her! You have no idea how fake she is. From freshman year until now, she's been pretending to be poor and pitiful, she was practically on the verge of applying for poverty-stricken student subsidies! But we recently found out that her brother is actually Shen Xiao from the Shen Corporation. Her family is loaded! No one is more hypocritical than her!"
Lin Cong raised an eyebrow again. "The Shen Corporation? That's quite impressive!"
Bai Muyu snorted disdainfully, "It's absolutely disgusting!"
Lin Cong chuckled good-naturedly, "So, are you still going to join them?"
Bai Muyu lifted her chin proudly and declared, "Of course! How could our class gathering be complete without me?" With that, she stood up and strode out first.
Lin Cong followed behind her. Once he was out of Bai Muyu's sight, he unconsciously furrowed his brow.
Shen Yu followed the manager into the elevator heading to the top floor. Everyone was whispering excitedly, clearly thrilled.
After stepping out of the elevator, it felt like even the decor had leveled up, the penthouse clearly exuded an air of extravagance.
"Where is my brother?" Shen Yu quietly asked the manager beside her.
The manager smiled and said, "President Shen is in another suite on this floor, discussing business with a few other executives. Would you like to go over and say hello, Miss Shen?"
Could he really be here for business? Not just tracking her phone location?
After a moment's thought, Shen Yu replied, "Later. I’ll go check out the suite with my teacher first."
The manager quickly nodded and led them into a luxurious suite.
Compared to the ordinary suite earlier, this one was like a palace. Before they even entered, the table in the suite’s living room was already set with a variety of delicacies, drinks, and even a cake. Several beautiful attendants stood nearby, ready to serve them.
The dozen or so classmates wandered around the suite, inside and out, and were soon left speechless. "Is this where the executives usually hang out and have fun? Being rich is really something!"
A few of the boys snickered and said, "It’d be perfect if we had a few more girls to join us!"
Teacher Song smacked the cheeky boy lightly and turned to Shen Yu. "I know this might sound presumptuous, but I feel like I shouldn’t let your brother cover all the expenses. I’d like to contribute some as well, after all, it’s my birthday party."
Shen Yu waved her hand and smiled. "My brother is quite domineering. If he says he’s treating, he means it. If you try to pay, he’ll get upset. Please don’t feel burdened, just treat it as an ordinary gathering!"
Though her offer was declined, Teacher Song secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Her own savings were only a few tens of thousands, which probably wouldn’t even cover a fraction of the bill.
With a room full of young people, everyone quickly scattered to explore the various entertainment options as soon as they spotted them. Even Teacher Song was pulled into a game of mahjong.
Shen Yu wasn’t particularly interested in playing anything but felt hungry, so she sat alone at the table in the living room, eating. She noticed that most of the snacks were her favorite flavors and ended up eating several in one go.
She wondered: Did Shen Xiao specifically instruct them to prepare these? Could he really be that thoughtful?
Just as she was happily indulging in the treats, Bai Muyu and Lin Cong finally arrived. As soon as they entered and saw her, Bai Muyu walked straight over and sneered, "Do you feel especially proud and smug? Do you think I’m inferior to you in every way?"
Shen Yu swallowed the pastry in her mouth, took a couple of sips of orange juice, cleared her throat, and said, "You’re absolutely right. I do feel proud and smug. If you’ve got what it takes, go book a suite yourself! I doubt your VIP card even qualifies you for that."
Bai Muyu’s face instantly turned ashen with anger. Just as she was about to explode, Shen Yu continued, "You know you can’t compete with me in this, yet you still come up to me spouting tough talk. Don’t you think that’s hilarious? Does your face hurt?"
Bai Muyu sneered, "Looks like you’ve gained some confidence and learned to talk tough now?"
Shen Yu smiled sweetly. "Who doesn’t know how to talk tough? Only fools go around making empty threats and end up with their faces slapped!"
Bai Muyu immediately took it personally and glared. "You, "
Lin Cong quickly grabbed her from behind and pulled her away, saying, "Enough, let’s go see what Teacher Song is up to first."
Bai Muyu was dragged away but still managed to shoot Shen Yu a glare over her shoulder.
Shen Yu sneered indifferently, "Idiot."
A moment later, Lin Cong, who had escorted Bai Muyu inside, reappeared before Shen Yu.
Shen Yu set down the food in her hand and looked up at him. "Are you here to seek justice for Bai Muyu, Teacher Lin? You must have seen it too, she started it."
Lin Cong walked over to the table, picked up a plate to serve himself some food, and then sat down beside her before replying, "Muyu does have a fiery temper, but she’s a good person at heart."
Shen Yu scoffed inwardly but responded perfunctorily, "That’s because you’re so tolerant."
Lin Cong didn’t touch the food on his plate, as if he had sat down just to chat with her. He adjusted his glasses and said, "You’re a local, aren’t you, Shen? You’ve never left this city since childhood?"
Shen Yu nodded. "Yes, I’ve always stayed here."
He then asked, "I heard from Muyu that your family lives in the villa community over at Changhong?"
Shen Yu hummed in acknowledgment, feeling a bit puzzled. Bai Muyu clearly disliked her, why would she discuss such things with Lin Cong? Before tonight, she hadn’t even known Lin Cong, so why would Bai Muyu and he talk about her?
Perhaps sensing her wariness, Lin Cong smiled and explained, "A friend of mine lives there too. Last time we talked about it, Muyu happened to mention it in passing. That area isn’t somewhere ordinary people can afford, I’ve been there once, so it left a deep impression."
Shen Yu raised an eyebrow, unwilling to continue the topic. She stood up and said, "Please enjoy your meal, Teacher Lin. I won’t disturb you any longer. I’m going to say hello to my brother. If Teacher Song looks for me later, could you let him know?"
Lin Cong smiled gently and nodded. "Go ahead. And please thank your brother for us. If he has time, we’d love to invite him to join us."
"Okay, I’ll ask him."
With that, Shen Yu turned and left the hall.
For some reason, even though Teacher Lin appeared refined and gentle, Shen Yu couldn’t bring herself to like him. There was something odd about the way he looked at people, it felt uncomfortable.
Maybe it was because he was the one Bai Muyu liked, and since she disliked Bai Muyu, she naturally disliked anyone Bai Muyu favored as well!
Shen Yu found a server and asked them to take her to Shen Xiao. She wanted to see for herself whether he was really discussing business.
The two luxury suites were quite close, just a few steps down the hallway from the door. As the server knocked, Shen Yu felt a sudden pang of nervousness.
She wasn’t sure why she was tense, but she couldn’t help smoothing down her dress. Since the club’s heating was quite strong, Shen Yu hadn’t worn her coat and was only in the dress she’d bought, the one Shen Xiao had paid for on the day she interrupted his date with Bai Muqing.
As soon as the suite door opened, a burst of laughter and chatter immediately spilled out, both men and women, making it sound particularly lively.
Shen Yu raised an eyebrow, thinking it seemed like there really was a social gathering, and hesitated over whether to go in.
But just as she hesitated, the door to the room swung open, and the people inside had already noticed her. In that instant, Shen Yu took in the scene clearly.
A group of people sat on the sofas in the living room, drinking and chatting, men and women alike. A closer look revealed that the men were all quite old, while the women squeezed beside them or perched on their laps were all young and beautiful, clearly not the kind of respectable companions one would expect.
Among the crowd, Shen Yu’s eyes immediately landed on Shen Xiao. He was sitting in a single-seater sofa, his back to the door. Like the other bosses, a woman was crowded next to him. From the doorway, it was hard to tell whether she was sitting on the armrest or on his lap.
Shen Yu, who had been hesitating about entering, now found her feet moving forward as if they had a mind of their own.
Several men facing the doorway spotted her first. One balding boss laughed and said, “Oh, another pretty little girl! I like this figure!”
Everyone burst into laughter at his remark.
Shen Xiao, sipping his drink, wasn’t particularly interested in the “little girl” they were talking about, but he still turned his head to take a look.
That one glance nearly triggered an episode on the spot. Narrowing his eyes dangerously, he said, “What are you doing here?”
Shen Yu hadn’t expected such a situation either, she had actually been mistaken for one of the entertainment girls by the big shots present. It was beyond awkward. Thankfully, Shen Xiao had noticed her quickly.
But judging by his expression, he didn’t seem to be in a good mood! Shen Yu felt a pang of fear, thinking that in front of so many influential people, he probably wouldn’t easily lose his temper.
Summoning her courage, she stepped forward and said softly, “I heard you were here and wanted to come say hello. Am I interrupting?”
As she spoke, her gaze swept over the woman beside Shen Xiao. She noticed that the woman was only sitting on the armrest of the sofa, but the armrest was low, causing half of the woman’s buttocks to press against Shen Xiao’s thigh. Whether it was intentional or not was unclear.
For some reason, seeing this scene made Shen Yu feel a bit displeased.
Shen Xiao noticed Shen Yu’s gaze and followed it to the person beside him. Frowning in displeasure, he raised his arm and gave a forceful shove, sending the woman tumbling to the floor.
Shen Yu: “…”
The big shots: “...”
The woman who had been pushed to the floor: “Waaah, waaah...”
Shen Xiao, completely unruffled, patted the armrest, the spot where the woman had just been sitting, and said to Shen Yu, “Come here.”
All the big shots stared at the two of them with incredulous looks, wondering just who this woman was to make the usually aloof Shen Xiao act so proactively!