I was born and listened to my neighbor's older sister talk about her family of origin.

Jiang Ye looked down at the small hand that was covering him, and his heart started to race.

He looked up at Ji Xiaoxiao and found that her face was resolute, but she dared not look at him.

A thin layer of sweat quickly formed on his hands.

A few seconds later, he took the initiative, his long, slender fingers forcefully squeezing between her fingers.

Their fingers were intertwined and clasped tightly.

He placed their hands, which were clasped together, directly on the dining table.

Jiang Ye leaned back, looking directly at Huo Yi in the main seat, his tone lazy yet full of provocation: "Sorry, Lao Huo, she's mine."

The entire room fell silent.

The piano music was still playing in the restaurant lobby.

You could hear even the breathing of someone at the dining table.

Lei Dapeng's mouth was wide open, big enough to fit a light bulb.

Wang Haonian pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and silently noted down this piece of gossip.

Xu Keyao and Li Qian both gasped in shock.

Everything turned around too quickly, catching everyone off guard.

Why did you suddenly confess your feelings?

Why did you suddenly refuse?

This process wasn't mentioned before!

At this moment, faced with Jiang Ye's blatant slap in the face, any ordinary high school boy would have already flipped the table and left.

But Huo Yi is not only a member of the top class, but also a young master who is well-versed in the rules of the world of fame and fortune.

He stood there, his expression frozen for only a fraction of a second.

Then, he sighed with a wry smile, a hint of disappointment subtly revealed in his eyes.

"Smack."

Huo Yi closed the royal blue velvet gift box, his movements still elegant.

"Oh, I see. I was being presumptuous."

He didn't get angry, nor did he leave in embarrassment. Instead, he put the gift box back into his suit pocket and pulled out a chair to sit down again.

"Ji, Jiang Ye, I hope what happened just now didn't spoil your mood. This meal is on me, please continue eating."

This move of feigning retreat to advance was extremely well executed.

He instantly transformed himself from a domineering pursuer into a magnanimous yet wounded and deeply affectionate supporting male character.

Jiang Ye looked at Huo Yi and thought to himself, "666!"

This level is indeed quite high.

If it were someone else, they might think that this matter is over and done with.

But this guy is unlikely; Jiang Ye always felt that he was harboring some evil intentions.

She's such a great actress!

Ji Xiaoxiao's straight shot was so decisive that it left her opponent no room to maneuver.

The atmosphere turned cold.

Huo Yi waved to the waiter.

"Open that bottle of Lafite directly, no need for a decanter."

The waiter poured the dark red wine into a stemmed glass.

Huo Yi didn't say a word, picked up the cup, tilted his head back, and gulped down half of it.

He poured himself three glasses in a row. A flush of drunkenness appeared on his handsome face, and his eyes stared unfocused at the table, making him look exactly like a man heartbroken.

Sitting opposite Xu Keyao, Li Qian leaned close to her ear and whispered something in a low voice.

"Did Xiaoxiao forget her brain when she went out today? She looks like a rich young master."

"He just gave away a Van Cleef & Arpels item worth tens of thousands of yuan like that. And he's so handsome too. And she actually refused in public? Now look how heartbroken he is."

Xu Keyao's heart pounded as she looked at Huo Yi's dejected appearance.

She certainly acknowledged Jiang Yeshuai's charisma.

But Jiang Ye has too many women around him.

Huo Yi is different.

He transferred to this school and immediately spent a fortune treating the whole class to a meal.

Now he is so devoted and affectionate to Xiaoxiao, and even when he is humiliated in public, he doesn't get angry but just swallows the bitter pill.

Xiao Xiao is ungrateful and doesn't know how to cherish what she has.

Since Xiaoxiao doesn't want it, then she will!

As Huo Yi reached for the wine bottle again, a hand reached across the table and forcefully pressed down on his wine glass.

"Senior, please stop drinking."

Xu Keyao looked directly into his eyes, her tone filled with undisguised heartache.

"If I drink any more, I'll get drunk. It's not worth ruining my health over something like this."

Huo Yi stopped moving.

He looked up at Xu Keyao.

Behind the lenses, her eyes were misty and watery.

"Student Xu."

Huo Yi's voice was hoarse, "I'm sorry you had to see this."

No. I understand you.

Xu Keyao snatched the bottle and placed it aside.

Huo Yi sighed, leaned back in his chair, rubbed his temples, and looked tired, as if he couldn't hold his liquor.

He took out his phone and tapped the screen a few times.

Soon, Lei Dapeng's phone rang.

Huo Yi stood up, leaning on the edge of the table, swaying slightly. "Sorry, everyone. I drank a little too fast, and my stomach isn't feeling well."

"I probably won't be able to go to the karaoke bar next time. Da Peng, I've transferred the money to you, the bill's settled. You guys keep having fun, I'm going back to rest first."

Lei Dapeng took out his phone and looked at it.

Holy crap.

He stared at the notification of a 3,000 yuan transfer that popped up on the screen, as if he were holding a hot potato.

"Senior, isn't it unsafe for you to go back alone?"

Xu Keyao immediately stood up, walked around the table to Huo Yi's side, and reached out to support his arm.

"You've drunk so much, what if you fall on the way? I'll take you back to your dorm."

Huo Yi glanced at her, but instead of pushing her hand away, he gave her a grateful smile: "Then I'll trouble you."

Seeing this, Li Qian quickly grabbed her bag and followed, saying, "Yaoyao, I'll go with you!"

The two girls helped Huo Yi up, and the three of them quickly disappeared outside the gate of Golden Iris.

Only Jiang Ye, Ji Xiaoxiao, Lei Dapeng, and Wang Haonian remained at the long dining table in the restaurant.

"What kind of nonsense is this?"

Lei Dapeng looked at the money on his phone and scratched his head.

She glanced at Ji Xiaoxiao, then at Jiang Ye.

For a moment, they were so embarrassed that they didn't know what to say.

In one dormitory, there are two rivals in love.

It's... weird, you know?

Wang Haonian continued to indulge his gossipy nature: "Why do I have this feeling that after being rejected by Ji Xiaoxiao, Huo Yi immediately shifted his focus to Xu Keyao?"

"Look how touched that young girl was just now..."

Jiang Ye leaned back in his chair, holding the untouched glass of ice water in one hand. He took a sip, not wanting to care about what kind of trick Huo Yi was up to this time.

But this just happened to suit his wishes.

It would be best if Huo Yi could shift his focus because of this.

"Old Jiang, what should we do with this money?"

Lei Dapeng asked with a pained expression, "Are we still going to karaoke?"

"Go to hell."

Jiang Ye put down his water glass.

"We'll return the money to him intact tomorrow; we won't take advantage of him like that."

"Too."

Lei Dapeng breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll keep it for now and give it to him in person when I get back to the dorm tomorrow."

The matter is settled.

Lei Dapeng, with great insight, pulled Wang Haonian to his feet.

"Then we'll head out first. You two can eat slowly. I'm going to the internet cafe with Mouse to play a couple of League of Legends games."

The two quickly slipped away.

Only Jiang Ye and Ji Xiaoxiao remained at the large dining table.

With no outsiders around, Ji Xiaoxiao suddenly felt the air around her was scorching hot.

She secretly glanced at their hands on the table.

Jiang Ye held her hand tightly, never letting go.

He cut the steak with one hand while we were eating.

Their palms touched, and the calluses on Jiang Ye's hands brushed against her skin, carrying a reassuring warmth.

"Don't my hands feel great?"

Jiang Ye didn't turn his head, his voice tinged with laziness.

Ji Xiaoxiao tried to pull her hand away as if she had been electrocuted, but Jiang Ye gripped it even tighter.

"No way, you want to throw it away after you're done using it?"

Jiang Ye turned his head and looked at her.

"Ji Xiaoxiao, you just admitted it, so you can't just start something and then abandon it."