"That's right." The man clapped Tian Tian on the shoulder, his eyes flashing with sly cunning. "When we first met you, my darling bet that you could definitely survive in this city on that meager living allowance. I didn't believe it, and she won. This time, she bet me you would confess to her, and clearly, she won again."

What? Qin Fen stared, utterly rigid, at Tian Tian smiling in the man's embrace. Her innocent smile suddenly took on an air of superiority...

"Don't you remember how much I love to bet?" Tian Tian kept smiling. The words sounded as if they came from a distant place to Qin Fen's ears. Every time they met, Tian Tian brought up betting; now, the memories rapidly replayed in his mind.

"Bet on what?" A voice, proud as a princess's, sounded behind Qin Fen. A perfect jade hand rested on his shoulder, and a familiar, beautiful face appeared by his side. "Darling, didn't you say you were just stopping by to drop off a gift for a friend and then leaving? How much longer must I wait?"

Song Jia, the campus beauty of Jianzhong High, miraculously appeared next to Qin Fen. She was the heavenly favored daughter whom any beautiful girl would envy with jealousy. She leaned intimately on Qin Fen's shoulder, stunning Tian Tian and her boyfriend into silence.

This... this... where did this beauty come from? The man beside Tian Tian felt as if his very soul was about to depart his body.

"Ah..." Qin Fen hadn't recovered from the flurry of events.

"What? Are you going back on your word?" Song Jia moved to Qin Fen's side, hooking her arms through his, acting like a spoiled young woman. "You promised to accompany me to Hawaii for dinner today."

"Let's go~~" Song Jia practically dragged Qin Fen from his seat, nestling affectionately in his embrace. She playfully winked at Tian Tian and the man, sticking out a cute little tongue. "We won't interrupt your private time; we're starting our weekend date now. See you next time."

Song Jia dragged the dazed Qin Fen out of the McDonald's. He didn't even know how he ended up in that high-end Western restaurant, nor what he had ordered from the menu just moments ago.

"Snap back to reality yet?" Song Jia’s cute palm waved back and forth in front of Qin Fen's face.

"I'm back." Qin Fen leaned heavily against the back of the chair, a touch of self-mockery on his face. "So this is what they mean by losing a love before you even start one. And I managed to experience it."

"Indeed." Song Jia toyed with her long hair, showing no hint of sympathy. "A tragedy of the most horrific kind."

"It is a bit tragic." Qin Fen nodded weakly. "Thank you."

"Just 'thank you'?" Song Jia leaned in close, her beautiful eyes fixed intensely on his gaze from an extremely short distance. "That's a bit meager, isn't it? I'm very dissatisfied with such a half-hearted expression of gratitude."

"It does seem a bit light..." Qin Fen subconsciously created some distance, thinking very seriously. "But, you're so wealthy, anything I do to thank you seems superfluous."

Song Jia shot him a look, pouting slightly in clear dissatisfaction. "Truly insincere. I'm very unhappy..."

"Sigh." Qin Fen let out a breath, the bitterness in his smile lessening slightly. "Thank you for helping me ease this sadness in this way."

"Still just 'thank you'?" Song Jia pulled her chair closer to Qin Fen's and looked at him with sudden seriousness. "How about this: why don't I become your girlfriend?"

Qin Fen immediately spat out the iced water he had just sipped, staring blankly at Song Jia, wondering if she was joking.

After a long pause, Qin Fen wiped the water from the corner of his mouth and offered a wry smile. "Miss, I just went through a breakup."

"I know," Song Jia replied with an air of worldly experience. "Which is precisely why you need someone to care for you right now."

"I don't need that." Qin Fen shook his head. "I'm more accustomed to finding a place to lick my wounds alone."

"Like a wolf..."

"Am I that barbaric?"

"Am I less beautiful than that Tian Tian?"

"More beautiful than her."

"Am I less charming than that Tian Tian?"

"More charming."

"Is my figure inferior to hers?"

"..." Qin Fen glanced up and down at Song Jia's perfectly proportioned figure and slowly shook his head. "Better."

"Then why can't I be your girlfriend?"

Faced with Song Jia's relentless questioning, Qin Fen gently massaged his temples, secretly trying to guess how Lin Liqiang would react in this situation.

"This is fantastic! There’s a hotel right next door—let's go engage in a deeper communion of spirit and flesh..."

Lin Liqiang’s response, famous as the envoy of love, popped into Qin Fen's mind. He forcefully shook his head, trying to dislodge the thought.

Perhaps he should consider Inzaghi's approach; maybe that strategy could be useful...

... Inzaghi’s cool, expressionless demeanor flashed in Qin Fen's thoughts.

Only at this moment did Qin Fen realize that his friends seemed to have some serious character flaws.

Song Jia's gaze grew hotter, and Qin Fen's headache worsened. He couldn't possibly say to a girl, You and your family are too powerful; I am simply not worthy of you.

Such a reply felt profoundly unmanly! Moreover, Qin Fen didn't believe that status was unattainable through effort—everything was possible; that was the truth he held.

However, after experiencing a relationship where he lost love before it even began, Qin Fen was left with a slight case of being bitten by a snake and fearing a well rope for ten years. Furthermore, one person's love for another could not vanish instantly; anyone who felt that way had never truly loved someone.

"This... I just broke up; shouldn't I need some time to adjust myself first?" Qin Fen managed to offer a tentative reply.

"That answer isn't entirely satisfactory, but it is acceptable." Song Jia rested her chin on her hand, adopting the look of a corporate interviewer. "When you've adjusted, am I the first person on your list?"

"Yes." Qin Fen wasn't a fool. The young Miss Song beside him was resting one hand on her chin while the other held the knife she would soon use to cut her steak. If he answered no, who knew what terrifying bloodshed might occur in this restaurant.

"That answer is reasonably satisfactory." Song Jia's grip on the knife slowly loosened, a gesture that made Qin Fen breathe a huge sigh of relief internally.

ps: The early bird gets the worm, and early updates get recommendation votes~~ Gao Lou is up early, Gao Lou has updated early, strongly summoning everyone's recommendation votes! Thanks to Cruel Moonlight for pointing out the name error.