Deng Zhi and Gong Yiying sat in the private room sipping tea, chatting with Zhang Han and the others while subtly taking in their surroundings. The tables and chairs were spotless, the room was quite spacious, and the service was excellent. "This place has class." Could Wang Qiqi be footing the bill? In Deng Zhi's view, that man was clearly a freeloader, and at best, Wang Qiqi shouldn't need a man to buy her things. This was in stark contrast to Gong Yiying beside him, who was prattling on to Han Meina about designer clothing brands. Deng Zhi found this exhausting. She kept mentioning how many things Zhang Han had bought for Han Meina, which made Deng Zhi curse inwardly.

Deng Zhi was well aware that Zhang Han frequently bought things for Han Meina, but the issue was that Han Meina often bought things for Zhang Han too; their financial exchanges were quite balanced. But looking at Gong Yiying, after dating for so long, how much had she ever purchased? This irked Deng Zhi intensely.

Deng Zhi cast a slightly displeased glance towards Gong Yiying. Han Meina noticed it, but she quickly turned her head to Zhang Han, avoiding Deng Zhi's eyes. She certainly wasn't going to give Gong Yiying a heads-up; everything that happened was Gong Yiying's own doing. Besides, Wang Qiqi was right—a woman usually acts more reserved when she has a boyfriend. Han Meina could guarantee that if Gong Yiying and Deng Zhi broke up, Han Meina herself had over a sixty percent chance of making a move on Zhang Han.

Bai Ge and the others arrived right on time, only to find Wang Qiqi hadn't shown up yet. "Did Wang Qiqi forget? How can the guests arrive before the host?" Bai Ge had initially planned to arrive later to avoid facing Gong Yiying and the others, but she hadn't expected Wang Qiqi to be even later.

Wang Qiqi had actually arrived a while ago. She had stopped by to pick up some drinks, but the manager informed her that the ingredients for the dishes they had ordered were unavailable and they needed to reorder, which caused the delay. "Fine! I go to the trouble of ordering delicious food, and now the ingredients aren't there? Might as well not have ordered anything," Wang Qiqi feigned anger as she entered the room.

Everyone inside, except for Zhang Han and Han Meina who hadn't met Han Tao before, had seen him previously. Upon seeing Han Tao, Zhang Han finally understood why Wang Qiqi wasn't interested in Deng Zhi—Han Tao's eyes were genuinely clear, whereas Deng Zhi's held too much calculation. Zhang Han patted Deng Zhi's shoulder, signaling that he stood no chance.

"This is my boyfriend, Han Tao; he studies Computer Science at A University." Wang Qiqi briefly introduced Han Tao's background; there was no need for deeper details right then. She then briefly summarized the situation for Gong Junyu and the others. "Everyone, find a place to sit. Oh, right, guys sit with guys, girls with girls?"

Deng Zhi scoffed, "We're not drinking, why separate?" Hmph, a man who doesn't drink is useless.

Han Tao smiled at Deng Zhi. "It's fine. You can drink alone. Qi Qi doesn't like men who drink; she says she worries they'll go crazy when drunk." Han Tao's implication was clear: don't think you're impressive just because you can hold your liquor; remember that Qi Qi's preferences come first.

Han Tao’s retort almost choked Deng Zhi, and he was about to erupt when Han Meina chimed in supportively. "Exactly! This is just a gathering for classmates. There's no need to get completely wasted. Haven't you all had enough drinking last time?" Han Meina thought to herself, Isn't he afraid of someone else putting a green hat on him again? Especially with the senior present this time.

Han Meina’s words defused a large portion of Deng Zhi's rising jealousy. Right, this time it wasn't just roommates present; a senior was here too. If Gong Yiying had a bit too much to drink and did something untoward, he would truly become a laughingstock. "Yes, yes, no drinking."

At this point, Deng Zhi had an idea regarding Gong Yiying’s suggestion that he drink while simultaneously plying Han Tao with alcohol. Could it be that she was planning to use his inebriation as an opportunity to cause trouble again? That wretched woman never settled down, always looking for a chance to cheat on him. Deng Zhi and Zhang Han had initially planned to rent a place together, but because of her, Zhang Han politely declined the offer, forcing Deng Zhi to share with a stranger, which also left him feeling quite annoyed.

Gong Yiying had originally agreed with Deng Zhi to embarrass Han Tao, but she hadn't expected Han Meina's simple comment to make him change his mind so easily. How could this not infuriate her? But she couldn't challenge him on why Deng Zhi changed his mind in front of everyone. "Not drinking is fine too, saves you from vomiting everywhere." Gong Yiying stood up petulantly. She glanced around and spotted Coke and Sprite. "I want coconut juice."

Wang Qiqi knew this was someone venting her frustration, and she felt secretly delighted. Hmph, you thought you could sway Deng Zhi just like that? What an idiot. "No problem. Waiter, bring coconut juice. Gong Yiying, how much do you want?" Drink as much as you like; ideally, you'll burst. Though Wang Qiqi felt a slight regret. Why did she buy soft drinks like Coke? If she had bought more, the more Gong Yiying drank, the more gas she would have in her stomach, and then she wouldn't be comfortable, right? Of course, Coke was cheaper too—a poor strategic choice.

Wang Qiqi pulled Han Tao over and sat directly with Bai Ge's group. Dai Lijun brought Gong Junyu and the others to sit at Deng Zhi’s table. This wasn't at the request of Han Tao and his group, but Dai Lijun’s premeditated move; he wanted to gauge just how troublesome the "top-tier character" Wang Qiqi and her friends often spoke of truly was.

Perhaps because Wang Qiqi’s group wasn't seated with Gong Yiying, or maybe she was still stung by Deng Zhi’s last-minute change of allegiance, Gong Yiying was surprisingly quiet for the first half of the evening. She sat quietly, constantly eating and drinking, which greatly disappointed Dai Lijun. Why wasn't the certain someone throwing a tantrum today? A miscalculation.

Dai Lijun glanced at the table next to them—it was quite lively, or rather, the poor Han Tao was being besieged by a group of women. "Hey Han Tao, you’re supposed to be the host, why aren't you coming over to look after things?" Dai Lijun suddenly remembered that someone wasn't throwing a fit, so he decided to call Wang Qiqi over. He figured only if she came over would the perennial loser across the way start exerting herself. Otherwise, with only two women at that table, she wouldn't even have a place to focus her energy.

Han Tao was being thoroughly interrogated by the women led by Zhu Lina and Shi Man; a barrage of questions kept flying at him, and he was struggling to cope. Han Tao finally understood why Shi Man and the others had looked at him so strangely when he went to pick up Qi Qi—they had been lying in wait here. But he couldn't flee now; the consequences would be dire.

When Dai Lijun finally called him over, Han Tao breathed a sigh of relief. "Sigh, with so many beauties here, when your good roommate beckoned you over, you looked so flustered. What does that make us look like?" Later, when the term 'bromance' became popular, Shi Man unceremoniously declared that Han Tao and Dai Lijun were a perfect match, and Wang Qiqi enthusiastically agreed, claiming they were the real pair, full of jī qíng (bromance/intense affection).

Han Tao offered a wry smile. "Please let me go. I'll go attend to the other side, or they'll take offense." Although the people on the other side were also quite difficult to handle, it was better than staying here to be bullied by a group of women.

Bai Ge and her friends hadn't intended to let Han Tao off so easily, but then they looked over at Gong Yiying, who was quietly eating. "She must have been starving, like a hungry ghost reincarnated, eating this much."

Wang Qiqi didn't pay much attention to that. "The good stuff is coming later. If she eats too much now, she'll regret it when the main course arrives." Wang Qiqi had ordered some seafood, but those needed to be specially sourced, so they would take time, and even then, the suppliers might not have them. That’s why Wang Qiqi hadn't mentioned it—she feared that if the seafood didn't show up, Gong Yiying would accuse them of bragging, adding another grievance to her list.

Good stuff? Bai Ge thought this meal was already quite nice. She hadn't expected there to be more delicacies. She said happily, "Brother-in-law is truly reliable." The dishes were already comparable to the meal Deng Zhi had treated them to last time, and now there was more good food coming? She just wondered what else was in store.

"It's a secret. You'll know when it's served," Wang Qiqi cautioned. "But it depends on whether they can source the ingredients; I can't guarantee anything."

Bai Ge and the others understood why Wang Qiqi kept it quiet and quickly switched to another topic.

Han Tao and Wang Qiqi slowly walked over to Dai Lijun, cups in hand. "We apologize for not being better hosts today," Han Tao offered a pleasantry.

This was truly just a polite formality. Han Meina and the others had already said the food was good, but it seemed wrong for Gong Yiying not to offer an opinion. "It is somewhat inadequate. Not only is there no alcohol, but the food is like this too. Qi Qi, you and your man both earn money, how can you be so stingy..."

Han Tao suddenly felt awkward. He hadn't expected a simple polite remark to draw such a complaint from a guest.

Wang Qiqi looked at the pile of bones in front of Gong Yiying. She had eaten so much already. Was she saying the hosting was poor? Did she skip lunch today? Or perhaps someone just had an exceptionally large appetite? Wang Qiqi’s gaze flickered repeatedly between Gong Yiying's stomach and Deng Zhi. This obvious look made Han Meina chuckle, while Dai Lijun and the others didn't understand the context, but Dai Lijun certainly grasped Gong Yiying’s shamelessness—it was true that no one had formally greeted her, but she had certainly eaten her fill.

Wang Qiqi felt awkward about the sudden silence. "You're not full yet, are you?" Wang Qiqi called the waiter to bring some sweet bean paste buns. "Gong Yiying, I'm really sorry. The dishes are served gradually. If you haven't eaten enough, it’s fine, have some buns." Wang Qiqi thought to herself: Eat more buns, eat more buns. In a little while, you'll regret it so much your intestines turn green.

Buns were a standard item at the restaurant, and they arrived soon after—only five of them. Gong Yiying looked at Wang Qiqi's gesture of lowering her status and felt it was strange. In her memory, Wang Qiqi was not someone who gave up easily. But seeing Wang Qiqi apologize so readily made her happy. Was she trying to avoid Han Tao forming a bad opinion of her? Thinking this, Gong Yiying sighed. "It can't be helped; I must have staple food when I eat."

Under Wang Qiqi's intense gaze, Gong Yiying managed to gulp down all five small buns. Dai Lijun looked at Gong Yiying with the expression reserved for an idiot. What a fool, eating so many buns when the good food is coming later—where will she put it all? (To be continued)