Chapter 24: She Is Not Right for You

"Lin Bai, exactly how much have you been hiding from me?"

Qin Ruowei's voice sounded beside him, laced with a hint of gentle reproach.

Lin Bai offered a bitter smile. He couldn't answer. The very existence of the system was illogical, and he... he simply couldn't explain any of this. Turning his head to look into Qin Ruowei's bright eyes, Lin Bai took a deep breath, took her small hand, and pulled her into his arms.

"Ruowei, it's not that I don't want to tell you, it's that I can't. If you trust me, give me some time, and I will confess everything to you."

Qin Ruowei could feel his sincerity, and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck. "Okay, I believe you."

"Awoo!"

No sooner had she spoken than a wolf-like howl erupted, followed immediately by the raucous jeers of Chen Zhe, Zhao Fangting, and Lu Xiaobin. Qin Ruowei hurried to pull away, her face flushing as she turned her back on them.

Lin Bai felt helpless and glared at Zhao Fangting. "What are you guys doing? Nothing better to do with your time?"

The three of them were each holding a dinner plate piled high with exquisite food. They munched away as they spoke, "Come on, Brother Bai, are you for real? Since when did you two get together?"

"Never mind when we got together. You'd better worry about yourselves. Don't you guys want to find partners?" Lin Bai gestured toward the other girls, Fu Rao, Zhou Min, and Wang Xiaoli.

The three boys froze. A second later, Chen Zhe was the first to put down his plate, adjust his bowtie, and stride toward Fu Rao. Lin Bai and the others, including Qin Ruowei, gathered around curiously, wanting to see how Chen Zhe would initiate his move.

Fu Rao was wandering through the buffet hall alone, her plate filled with various small desserts. Because her back was turned to Chen Zhe, she was unaware of his approach. As he passed the buffet section, Chen Zhe plucked a small red flower from a fruit platter and came up behind her.

"The journey of life, beautiful dreams are like a long road..."

Fu Rao was startled by the sudden singing behind her. She shrunk her neck and spun around, only to see Chen Zhe holding up the little red flower. "Hello, beautiful. My name is Chen Zhe. Can we get to know each other?"

Fu Rao gave him a strange look, sizing him up from head to toe, then tilted her head to glance at Lin Bai and the others in the distance. The next second, she reached out and gave Chen Zhe a light pat on the head.

"How old are you, kid? You’re still wet behind the ears, and you don’t even know how to pick a target! I’m your senior!"

Chen Zhe was stunned. Fu Rao gestured with her chin toward Zhou Min and Wang Xiaoli. "There, those two are your targets. Take your little flower and go!"

With that, she pushed Chen Zhe away and walked toward Lin Bai and the others with her plate. Lin Bai immediately felt like a disaster was imminent and raised his hands in surrender.

"It has nothing to do with me. Everything they did was of their own accord."

Fu Rao glared at Lin Bai and took Qin Ruowei's hand. "Come on, Ruowei, let’s go over there. We aren't playing with these stinky men."

Qin Ruowei gave a playful smile and walked away with Fu Rao. Lin Bai looked at Zhao Fangting, who pointed at Zhou Min. "That’s my target. I’ll definitely win her over! Wait for my good news."

Only Lu Xiaobin remained. Lin Bai was puzzled. "Why aren't you going? Wang Xiaoli is pretty good, too."

"Compared to Wang Xiaoli, I’m actually more interested in her." Lu Xiaobin gestured with his chin toward Chen Shuya, who was standing not far away next to Li Yu.

"Cough—" Lin Bai choked on his own saliva and pointed a trembling finger at Chen Shuya. "Her? Do you know anything about her? No, no, no, Xiaobin, listen to me, she is not the one for you!"

Lu Xiaobin looked at Lin Bai with a strange expression. "You say that as if you know her really well. I know Li Yu is her boyfriend, but so what?"

A thousand stampeding horses seemed to gallop through Lin Bai's mind. The key was that he couldn't tell Xiaobin that Chen Shuya was his ex-girlfriend. When they first arrived at university, Chen Shuya had specifically emphasized that she didn't want anyone to know about their past. Because of this, Lin Bai had never mentioned his history with her to his three roommates. To this day, they still thought she was just Li Yu's girlfriend.

Especially now that Lu Xiaobin had set his sights on her, he absolutely couldn't say anything.

"Cough, cough. Good luck! I’m going to get some food." With no other choice, Lin Bai gave Lu Xiaobin a heavy pat on the shoulder to encourage him.

Although the private room included a free buffet, there were still items that needed to be ordered separately. Lin Bai scanned the QR code on the table to pull up the ordering menu. When he saw the prices listed, his mind went numb.

"Steamed Five-Crest Fish: ¥988"
"Steamed King Crab: ¥3666"
"French Foie Gras: ¥1888"
"Savory Original Broth: ¥98"

The cheapest item was the broth; a single bowl of plain soup cost 98! It was truly eye-opening. For a moment, Lin Bai didn't know what to order. With so many people, should he just order a whole roasted lamb? Even though he was a Supreme VIP with a million-yuan credit limit, that money had to be paid back! It wasn't free!

With his current system level, if he splurged here, he’d be working for nothing for three months! No, no, no! The more Lin Bai thought about it, the more absurd it seemed, and he pondered how to find a way out.

"Um... Lin Bai, right?"

As fate would have it, just as Lin Bai was at his wit's end, Li Yu's familiar voice drifted over. Turning around, he saw Li Yu standing behind him, holding a bottle of beer.

"Cough, look, today was an accident. Since you booked the room, let me handle the ordering."

Lin Bai paused. He realized that, at this moment, Li Yu didn't seem quite so annoying. Seeing that Lin Bai didn't reply, Li Yu offered an awkward smile. "I know this isn't very reasonable, but... I said I would treat everyone, and I can't go back on my word. I hope you'll do me the favor, classmate Lin Bai."

Lin Bai was overjoyed inside. Not reasonable? It was perfectly reasonable! He knew Li Yu was just trying to save some face, but he still pretended to be troubled. "This... is that really okay?"

Li Yu knew that what he was doing was essentially "offering flowers that belonged to someone else," which was indeed improper. He frowned, thought for a moment, and then patted his chest. "How about this? I’m not someone who doesn't know the rules. If you let me handle the order this time, from now on, I'll listen to whatever you say. I’ll be your lackey!"

Lin Bai raised an eyebrow and looked at Li Yu deeply. He realized that Li Yu wasn't as foolish as he appeared on the surface.

"Fine. You do it." Lin Bai put away his phone and gestured for him to proceed.

Li Yu felt a sense of relief and began scanning the code to order. He was well aware of the prices at Qingpingle Restaurant, and of course, it pained him, but he had no choice. He had boasted, and he had to follow through, or he wouldn't be able to show his face at school anymore.

As Lin Bai walked toward Fu Rao and Qin Ruowei, he noticed that Lu Xiaobin was actually talking to Chen Shuya. He glanced back at Li Yu and shook his head. This whole situation felt too strange.

The rest of the evening was spent eating and having fun. By nine o'clock, the group left, if only because the dormitory doors locked at ten. Tomorrow was the first class for all the freshmen, and its importance went without saying.

When they finally settled the bill, the total came to a little over 140,000 yuan. Li Yu paid for it, finally managing to salvage a bit of his dignity.