Everyone's Losses

Zhou Liang's plan was to first take Liu Shang to another table, separating him from Jiang Ruolin.

However, to his surprise, Liu Shang wasn't flustered by this grand occasion. Nor did he blindly follow Zhou Liang's lead. Instead, he smiled and refused the offered guidance, then stood waiting for Jiang Ruolin for a few seconds.

After Jiang Ruolin finished warning Tan Feng and hurried inside, she saw Liu Shang standing there and breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, Jiang Ruolin smilingly took Liu Shang's arm, and they went to a table that Jiang Ruolin was very familiar with and trusted.

"Ruolin, you're finally here!"

"Yeah, we were all waiting for you!"

"Whoa, could this be the legendary figure?"

"Haha, Ruolin, why don't you introduce him to us quickly?"

This table was mostly filled with girls. Including Liu Shang, there were only two boys, and they were both rather quiet.

Amidst everyone's playful teasing, Jiang Ruolin confidently stepped forward and pushed Liu Shang out slightly. "Here, everyone, let me introduce you. This is my boyfriend, Liu Shang."

Initially, everyone was just joking around. But when Jiang Ruolin actually introduced Liu Shang, openly announcing him as her boyfriend, it still caused a stir and a minor uproar.

No one could believe that the rumors were true – that the esteemed Pearl River, the campus beauty Jiang Ruolin, had found such an ordinary, unremarkable, and unknown boyfriend.

It wasn't just the people at Tan Feng's table; even Jiang Ruolin's closest friends weren't entirely optimistic about her choice.

Consequently, most people at the table offered Liu Shang polite smiles before turning their full attention to Jiang Ruolin, engaging her in lively conversation.

Liu Shang paid no mind to their behavior. He simply sat there quietly, enjoying the supreme treatment that was uniquely his.

Perhaps worried that Liu Shang might be unaccustomed to such a setting, Jiang Ruolin, who was surrounded by people and had no chance to chat with Liu Shang, subtly placed her hand in his.

However, the good times didn't last long. Out of kindness, two girls sitting not too far from Liu Shang took the initiative to ask him questions and strike up a conversation.

It didn't take long for them to become captivated by the interesting topics Liu Shang brought up.

Coupled with Liu Shang's outwardly calm, lake-like demeanor, which was actually witty, humorous, and full of charisma, the two girls found themselves laughing frequently.

Soon, a few more people in their vicinity were drawn in and joined the conversation. This area of the gathering became lively thanks to Liu Shang.

Jiang Ruolin, who had been subtly worrying that Liu Shang might feel tense or bored in this environment, couldn't help but think to herself, This guy is even more popular with the girls than I imagined!

She playfully tapped his palm.

Seeing the shift in the atmosphere at their table, Zhou Liang, who had been watching from not too far away, couldn't help but frown. He then walked to the front of the banquet hall, officially commencing the war without smoke.

"Good evening, dear classmates and friends!"

"As the host for tonight's banquet, I'll keep it brief..."

"...In short, our theme and core for tonight is simply that we hope everyone has a great time!"

"Let's start eating now!"

It had to be said, Zhou Liang was quite talented. Under his direction, the atmosphere at the venue became even more enthusiastic.

Especially when he announced the serving of food and the start of the meal, everyone cheered and applauded with smiles.

"Heh heh, while the food is being served, I have some great news to share with everyone."

"Originally, our gathering tonight was supposed to be a potluck. However, our group leader, Tan Feng, has graciously offered to cover all the expenses tonight. He hopes that everyone will have a wonderful time."

"Now, let's give Tan Feng a warm round of applause!"

As expected, the banquet's atmosphere reached a fever pitch, with many people deliberately or unintentionally shouting, "Young Master Feng is mighty!"

"Brother Feng is generous and domineering!"

At that very moment, the two refined and somewhat effeminate male classmates at Jiang Ruolin and Liu Shang's table suddenly became active, engaging in a back-and-forth conversation like a skit.

"Tan Feng truly lives up to being the group leader. So cool."

"Yeah, looking at the spending level tonight, it must be several thousand!"

"Tsk tsk, isn't that right? A man should be like this – young and wealthy. That's how they get girls to like them."

"Exactly! Compared to ordinary, poor guys, someone like Brother Feng is more worthy of a lifelong commitment."

Perhaps due to rehearsing many times, or perhaps due to nervousness, these two individuals expressed themselves a bit too excessively, causing everyone at the table to get goosebumps.

Besides feeling disgusted, Jiang Ruolin frowned subtly. The thing she had been worried about was finally starting.

Meanwhile, Liu Shang inwardly chuckled. So these two sissies are actually paid shills, aren't they?

He then casually glanced at them, finding their behavior amusing.

"Could you two please keep your voices down when you speak? If Tan Feng hears you two expressing such mushy, lifelong commitment thoughts, I bet he'll embarrassingly retract his offer to pay for everything."

"That would be everyone's loss!"

Since Liu Shang had already broken the ice with everyone at the table earlier, their initial reservations towards him had long since vanished.

His words reached everyone's ears naturally, without any artificial filtering.

As a result, upon hearing his somewhat wicked yet incredibly witty and humorous remark, the two girls drinking juice at the table burst out laughing.

The others weren't much better, though slightly more composed. One moment they were finding the two effeminate guys annoying and disgusting, and the next they heard Liu Shang's incredibly satisfying and hilarious words. The entire table erupted in laughter, leaning precariously.

Even Jiang Ruolin, who was rapidly thinking about how to counter their moves, couldn't help but let out a laugh.

Afterward, she even rested her head against Liu Shang's arm with a smile, lightly hitting him twice.

Seeing them like this, the two effeminate men, who were already nervous and had poor psychological resilience, instantly felt the humiliation from everyone.

Thus, they became furious, slammed the table, and then, under everyone's astonished gazes, one of them flicked out a delicate finger and exclaimed, "You! You're annoying!"

With that, the two angrily threw their hands up, turned, and left directly.

This further provoked laughter from everyone at the table, and the laughter was even more pronounced. Several girls were laughing so hard their stomachs hurt.