Later, after sobering up, Cheng Yiyi had considered confronting Zhou Wang, but unfortunately she was destined not to get any answers—
because after that night, Zhou Wang proactively deleted her.
This further plunged Cheng Yiyi into emotional turmoil, and for the whole month, her condition had been terrible, to the point that she almost got fired for missing her shifts several times.
Recently, she had just started to recover a bit, and with the renewed contact with Song Rui, who she had promised to introduce a girlfriend to, upon his suggestion, Cheng Yiyi simply took a few days off and flew to Beidou, treating it as a way to relax.
She just didn’t expect to run into Zhou Wang here again...
What nearly took Cheng Yiyi’s breath away at this moment was that even upon meeting again, Zhou Wang’s gaze at her was as bland as ever, merely nodding at her as a greeting, with a cold expression.
Cheng Yiyi originally thought she had really moved on, but at this moment, a sense of resentment arose again, especially when she noticed Miao Ying standing not far behind Zhou Wang.
So, does he like this kind of aloof girl?
As various emotions surged within Cheng Yiyi, Song Rui, who didn’t expect her to suddenly come over, felt awkward and tried to say something.
"Uh, Zhou Wang..."
"So you two finally made it? Congratulations!"
Zhou Wang laughed indifferently, saying without concern.
"No, no, and there’s also Cheng Yiyi’s colleague and a friend of hers here. She plans to introduce her colleague to me..."
Song Rui quickly waved his hand to explain.
"Oh?"
Zhou Wang paused, then thought it wasn’t a bad arrangement. Not that he looked down on Song Rui, but in his view, Cheng Yiyi was really not a great match for him.
If he had truly moved out of his shadow from the past and broadened his horizons, then it wouldn’t be a bad thing...
At this time, as greetings rang out, two more young people —a man and a woman— approached. They were the "companions" that Song Rui mentioned.
The man was dressed in high-end brands, nearing his thirties and seemed to be from a good family, while the woman was slender with an energetic and slightly sexy style, looking pretty at first glance, though with makeup thicker than Cheng Yiyi’s.
"Zhou Wang, let me introduce you, this is Zhao Yan, a friend from Beidou, considered my brother by seniority, and this one is Yiyi’s colleague, Xu Jing..."
"Brother Yan, Xiao Jing, this is Zhou Wang, a very good friend of mine."
Song Rui swiftly made introductions.
Zhao Yan’s attitude was rather flippant, and from his demeanor, Zhou Wang discerned he was also likely a "small heir," though considerably older, not too different in class from Qu Jie and Wang Feiyu, so Zhou Wang didn’t dwell much, offering a faint smile as a greeting.
The girl named Xu Jing’s eyes brightened upon seeing Zhou Wang. She thought for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed, "Ah, aren’t you... the Zhou Wang from Douyin and Weibo?"
"That should be me."
Having gained some fame, Zhou Wang was already accustomed to being occasionally recognized. Earlier, while wandering through Tsinghua’s campus, a girl even asked him for a photo, so Zhou Wang merely smiled and nodded.
Both Zhao Yan and Song Rui seemed puzzled, while only Cheng Yiyi, who had quietly followed Zhou Wang’s account, bit her lip.
Zhao Yan was clearly uninterested in exploring which realm Zhou Wang was a social media celebrity, so he earnestly said to Cheng Yiyi, "Yiyi, didn’t you say you were tired of walking? I bought boat tickets, let’s go over there and take a boat..."
It was only then that Zhou Wang realized Zhao Yan was interested in Cheng Yiyi, while the girl named Xu Jing was the one Cheng Yiyi intended to introduce to Song Rui.
Zhou Wang decided to retract his earlier conclusion, thinking this Xu Jing wasn’t even as classy as Cheng Yiyi, clearly a girl who knew how to have fun...
However, Zhou Wang couldn’t meddle in their complicated relationships and after greeting a few more times, he intended to leave.
But surprisingly, before Song Rui said anything, Xu Jing spoke up invitingly, "Hey, Mr. Zhou, come hang out with us, I see you’re also here to tour the garden..."
"No, I have something to attend to with my girlfriend."
Zhou Wang looked at Song Rui, who didn’t seem to be in a good mood, shook his head to refuse, and even straightforwardly clarified Miao Ying’s identity.
Miao Ying alongside didn’t say anything, with only her gaze slightly rippling.
Meanwhile, Cheng Yiyi heard Zhou Wang admit Miao Ying as his girlfriend, causing her grip to tighten a bit, the sense of discontent that had been buried in her heart resurging in an instant.
If she hadn’t been continuously pinching the palm of her hand, she felt she would lose control again...
This man seemed to have that kind of power, to stir her heart once more just upon meeting him.
Only Xu Jing, blinking her long lashes, seemed indifferent to whether Zhou Wang had a girlfriend or not, instead cheerily taking out her phone, insisting on adding Zhou Wang on WeChat.
"Well... how about we add each other on WeChat, I’m rather interested in your stories, and when there’s a chance, you can share them with me..."
"But I’m not very interested in you, so no thanks."
Seeing the polite refusal was apparently ineffective, Zhou Wang simply restrained his smile and said flatly.
"Song Rui, I’m leaving now, I’ll give you a call later, and we can have a meal if available."
Ignoring the drastic change in Xu Jing’s expression, Zhou Wang took Miao Ying’s hand, then turned to Song Rui with a smile, avoided glancing at the resentful Cheng Yiyi beside, and turned away.
"Alright, sure..."
Not adept at handling such situations, Song Rui quickly responded.
Until Zhou Wang and Miao Ying disappeared into the crowd, Zhao Yan, who had been observing from the side, raised an eyebrow and asked Song Rui, "Xiao Song, who on earth is this friend of yours, he seems quite arrogant."
Before Song Rui could respond, Xu Jing, who didn’t look too pleased, already remarked, "A startup influencer on Douyin, claims to have a billion-dollar fortune or something..."
Upon hearing "influencer," Zhao Yan chuckled disdainfully, "Can this even be trusted? The truly wealthy have no need to open accounts on social media, they all make fortunes silently, you lot have just seen too little, you actually think such people are impressive..."
"Well, what can we do, we all come from ordinary families, unlike Brother Yan, who grew up in Beidou’s circles, your perspective must differ from ours!"
By now, Xu Jing had already collected her emotions and was speaking cheerfully.
"Oh, stop flattering!"
Zhao Yan couldn’t help but grin, then continued, "But your trip to Beidou is indeed an opportunity; just so happens, a friend of mine is throwing a party in a few days, and I’ll take you guys along, let you witness what real wealthy folks are like..."
"Wow, Brother Yan, is it with one of the Beidou Four Young Masters you mentioned?"
Xu Jing immediately exclaimed with delight, "Can we really go?"
"You can, of course, you can, as long as Yiyi wants to go."
"I... I’d like to go."
Hearing this, Cheng Yiyi came back to her senses and hesitated for a moment before nodding.
She had always aspired to rise to higher circles, which was initially why she was attracted to Zhou Wang. The party Zhao Yan described piqued her interest, and was indeed an invitation she found hard to refuse.
Seeing Zhao Yan’s clear disdain for Zhou Wang, Song Rui originally wanted to defend Zhou Wang with a few words, but his character made it hard for him to speak up. While forcing a smile, Zhao Yan placed an arm around his shoulder, advising earnestly,
"Xiao Song, let me offer you a piece of advice: avoid associating with these flamboyant people, your family background isn’t bad, who knows what they’re after with you..."