Chapter 2424 — An Unexpected Encounter

"Xinyan, someone's treating you to dinner and you're turning them down?" He Meiyue's voice came over the phone.

"It's Wei Zhao. You two still have classes this afternoon — let's just eat in the cafeteria," Wang Xinyan said.

"Our class isn't until two, and it's still early!" He Meiyue snatched the phone from Wang Xinyan and said into it, "Wei Zhao, you don't mind if Xiaoling and I tag along for a free meal, do you?"

"Of course not." Wei Zhao laughed. "Then get Bai Weituo and Zhao Shengji to come too."

"Sure thing." He Meiyue agreed on the spot.

Wang Xinyan was torn between amusement and irritation, yet there was no way to explain herself. How could she put it? That she was afraid her own fiancé might do Wei Zhao harm? If she told the truth and it somehow reached Kang Zhaolong's ears, how would she ever explain it away?

She could only pray Kang Zhaolong did not see them and take it as provocation. Wang Xinyan tried to console herself with that thought.

"Let's go, then." With a helpless sigh, Wang Xinyan took out her car keys and headed for the parking lot, while He Meiyue began dialing Bai Weituo.

When they reached the parking lot, Wang Xinyan spotted Wei Zhao, Han Jingyi, Gu Mengyao, and Shen Yushu from a distance. She knew all of them well, but meeting them now felt awkward: she had rejected Wei Zhao's confession only yesterday, and today she was coming to dinner with him. However you looked at it, that was a little odd.

He Meiyue and Chai Xiaoling were long past being surprised at the bevy of beauties always around Wei Zhao. Whatever was going on between him and Wang Xinyan was their business anyway.

"Sister Xinyan, Brother Bodyguard was missing you so much just now — he kept looking around for you!" Shen Yushu called out to Wang Xinyan.

Wang Xinyan's cheeks flushed faintly. Wei Zhao, for his part, was rather pleased — not because Shen Yushu had spoken up for him, but because she had recovered her old liveliness and mischief. It seemed her troubles really had been resolved.

"That's right, Wei Zhao kept going on about you the whole time," Gu Mengyao said, unexpectedly putting in a good word for him.

"R-really?" Wang Xinyan's heartstrings gave an inexplicable thrum, and the sensation set her pulse racing. Had she truly fallen for Wei Zhao? But what was she supposed to do about it? She realized that ever since his confession, she had not been able to keep her heart steady.

At first, Wang Xinyan had thought she could face Wei Zhao as she would any ordinary friend, but some feelings could not be disguised. Her heart raced whenever she saw him, a sensation that both frightened her and left her secretly savoring it.

He Meiyue and Chai Xiaoling shot Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu a startled glance. Wei Zhao had said before that he was looking after the two of them at the request of a relative, and that they all shared a house.

But Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu were so lovely, and Wei Zhao lived under the same roof with them. If there were nothing between them, neither He Meiyue nor Chai Xiaoling could quite believe it. After all, with two such pretty girls right before his eyes, who wouldn't be moved?

So naturally, they had cast Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu as Wang Xinyan's imagined rivals. Yet at this moment, hearing the two of them helping Wei Zhao court Wang Xinyan, they were rather taken aback.

"Xinyan, seems you and Wei Zhao really do have something special — class was barely over and he was already longing for you," He Meiyue teased with a grin.

"Yaoyao and Xiaoshu must be joking..." Wang Xinyan said nervously.

"Ha, joking or not, everyone here knows how things stand between you and Wei Zhao," Chai Xiaoling said, also smiling.

"I... oh, honestly!" Wang Xinyan felt truly helpless. There seemed no way to explain her relationship with Wei Zhao clearly. She could only hope word would not reach Kang Zhaolong's ears — otherwise, if he flew into a rage and went to Kang Zhaoming for help, what would she do then?

Before long, Bai Weituo and Zhao Shengji came running up. Bai Weituo, panting, said, "Come on, Brother Lin, why didn't you say earlier you were treating us? Zhao Shengji and I were lined up to buy boxed lunches — we were nearly at the front, and then we had to leave and wasted twenty minutes for nothing. If we'd known, we could have gone back to the dorm for a rest!"

"It was a last-minute decision," Wei Zhao said with a smile. "You get a free meal and still so much to say?"

Two cars, a Grand Cherokee and a Porsche Cayenne, pulled out of the school one behind the other and came to a restaurant near the campus that looked reasonably well appointed.

The place looked decent enough, but it had no private rooms — probably because, being so close to the school, its price range was on the low side, and private rooms would not have paid off.

The main hall was divided into booths, and Wei Zhao and the others picked a larger one and started toward it. Halfway there, Wei Zhao felt a soft, resentful gaze settle on him.

He turned and saw Kang Zhaolong and You Panhu, along with You Panhu's two dyed-haired lackeys, sitting at a booth not far away, eating. Kang Zhaolong watched Wei Zhao and Wang Xinyan walk into the restaurant side by side, and his fury naturally flared.

In the past, Kang Zhaolong would never have been so angry — he had no grounds for it, after all. The Kang family had always been the weaker party before Wei Zhao. But things were different now. He was the elder brother of the fifth elder of the Xuan Dan Sect's closed-door disciple, and with his self-confidence swelling beyond measure, Kang Zhaolong had begun to feel he had nothing to fear in this world.

Wei Zhao, however, merely gave Kang Zhaolong a faint glance, without the slightest intention of greeting him, then turned away and sat down with Wang Xinyan and the others in the large booth.

"Damn it!" Kang Zhaolong cursed in fury, but for fear Wei Zhao might hear and come over to beat him, he had to keep his voice down. Swollen as his confidence was, and however much he believed he had the backing to match Wei Zhao, he was no fool. He certainly did not think Wei Zhao would refrain from hitting him for cursing just now.

There were many rules in the class led by Squad Leader Bai, but if you were the first to curse and provoke someone and got beaten for it, so long as you weren't beaten to death, Squad Leader Bai would probably not stand up for you.

"Seems Wang Xinyan really does have some feelings for Wei Zhao?" You Panhu clicked his tongue when he heard Kang Zhaolong's furious curse.

"It looks that way. Brother You, do you have any good ideas?" Kang Zhaolong might have been a doctoral student, but when it came to courting women he was a complete novice, so he could only turn to You Panhu for advice.

"Blondie, you tell him!" For all that You Panhu had no shortage of women, they were all material girls drawn by money and vanity. When it came to actually wooing someone with genuine feeling, You Panhu had never pursued a single one — so he simply left it to Blondie to come up with a plan.