"Hiss—don't stare at it, it's too bright."

Not knowing what the lamp was made of, Xu Ping stared at it for only a few dozen seconds before feeling a bit of glare and quickly lowered his head to wipe away his tears.

"Hahaha, it's hilarious to see him acting like he's never seen the world before. Xu Ping, this meal probably costs you half a year's living expenses, right?"

"Is he crying from shock? Quick, take a picture of him."

A boy in the class saw Xu Ping wiping away tears with his head down, quickly took out his phone and took a picture, then mercilessly mocked Xu Ping.

Xu Ping felt embarrassed after being caught on camera making a fool of himself, and he wanted to snap back.

But then it suddenly occurred to me that I was only there to freeload because of Hao Min, and if I argued with her over such a small matter, it would ruin Hao Min's birthday party.

He had no choice but to pretend he couldn't hear and quickly pulled Zhou Yi away.

Zhou Yi asked him, "Do they usually treat you like this?"

Xu Ping waved his hand dismissively, saying, "It's no big deal to say a few words. Besides, I usually can't afford to come to a place like this. I was only able to come today thanks to Hao Min and Su Qingjiao."

"I don't want to make a big deal out of this. A family like mine doesn't deserve this... Sigh, why talk about these things? Zhou Yi, you've come all this way, hurry up and take lots of pictures to take back."

"By the way, Miss Su is treating the whole class to dinner. Don't be too reserved later. After graduation, who will know who? Eat as much as you can."

Zhou Yi silently watched Xu Ping happily advising him, but he couldn't ignore the fleeting glimpse of his wounded pride in Xu Ping's eyes.

Zhou Yi's understanding of Xu Ping was limited to the few things Xu Ping occasionally revealed.

All he knew was that Xu Ping's family was very poor, and the thing the college cared about most was the scholarship for impoverished students. Perhaps because of his poor family background, he chose to swallow his anger.

Zhou Yi knew that this was not the right time to advise him, as it would undoubtedly hurt his pitiful self-esteem.

at this time.

The Black Pearl's top-floor office.

Shen Bingyan sat in the chair with an icy expression, examining Black Pearl's paper bills for the year. She quickly glanced through them and nodded slightly.

"Yes, the bills match."

"Have you thoroughly checked the restaurant's fire safety over the past few months? Why isn't there a record of when the fire extinguishers expired?"

"Fire safety must be strictly inspected, and expired fire equipment must be replaced in a timely manner."

The restaurant manager stood respectfully opposite, reporting on the results. He answered Shen Bingyan's questions cautiously, afraid of making a single mistake.

Fortunately, my carefulness finally got this woman with an icy demeanor to nod in agreement.

"You can leave now."

The restaurant manager breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that he no longer had to stay there anxiously to report.

He had entertained many officials in Luzhou, but none could compare to the invisible pressure that the young lady exuded.

This feeling is so oppressive!

Just as he was about to leave, Shen Bingyan's voice suddenly came again: "A guest named Su Qingjiao has reserved a private room on the second floor today?"

Shen Bingyan looked up from the computer screen, her tone even colder than usual.

The restaurant manager hid his slightly trembling hands behind his back, swallowed hard, and nervously replied, "Yes, it seems to be a classmate's birthday celebration, and the whole class has been invited."

"That's why we booked a private room."

Shen Bingyan's eyes flickered, and she leaned back, her back sinking into the soft leather chair back.

"knew."

"Da...da..."

Shen Bingyan tapped her slender fingers on the golden nanmu wood tabletop: "Go find someone named Zhou Yi and see if he's here yet."

After seeing that Shen Bingyan had no further instructions, the restaurant manager quickly left the office.

Finding someone named Zhou Yi is easy, since the food hasn't been served on the second floor yet, and everyone is playing games.

Players leave their names on it.

After the restaurant manager left, the bodyguard who had been standing behind Shen Bingyan against the wall, practically invisible, took a few deep breaths before mustering the courage to speak—his first words since arriving in the room.

"Miss, you... you already said you were going back."

"Let's forget about it. Even if Zhou Yi were here, so what? Do you want to try again?"

"Besides, Su Qingjiao paid for the meal and put it in her name. You know very well how much this meal cost. Zhou Yi is really willing to spend money to save face for Su Qingjiao."

The bodyguard was worried that the young lady would say to him again, "This is the last time, I'll try one more time."

He now has a conditioned reflex to the name Zhou Yi.

He could only pray in his heart that the young lady would stand firm in her position. He had already called Kyoto to report the time she was supposed to return. If she didn't return by the appointed time, he would really just kill himself.

The bodyguard couldn't help but curse Zhou Yi in his heart. Before, the young lady had gone to great lengths to see Zhou Yi, and now that she was finally going to give up and go back, he thought to himself.

He actually came right up to the young lady?

He's so hateful!

Shen Bingyan remained silent for a while, her hopeful heart dying again.

That's enough.

Even if Su Qingjiao is a worthless and extremely hypocritical woman, Zhou Yi is so in love with her that he's blind to her true feelings. What chance does she have?

Forget it, if I'm going to give up on Zhou Yi, then I'm going to give up.

It's just that things will be much more difficult in Kyoto...

Not long after, the restaurant manager returned and reported: "Miss, Zhou Yi has arrived as well."

As expected, it came.

Wherever Su Qingjiao is, Zhou Yi will surely be there too.

Now that I've decided to return to Kyoto, this time... I can't change my mind.

I suppose I'll never see Zhou Yi again.

Shen Bingyan closed her eyes briefly to conceal the turmoil within them. When she opened them again, she had regained her usual indifference: "After they settle the bill, give Zhou Yi a platinum card."

"Any reason is fine, just don't reveal my identity."

She thought that since she was leaving anyway, she shouldn't have any further contact with others.

Since that's the case, let's not let Zhou Yi know, since the two of them probably won't see each other again anyway.

The restaurant manager's lowered eyes flickered slightly.

Platinum Card?!

Platinum cardholders can enjoy free meals at the restaurant for life.

Since the store opened, he remembers only giving out three platinum cards!

The first two were both very important figures.

Zhou Yi was the third customer to receive a Platinum Card.

This made the restaurant manager very curious about Zhou Yi's true identity, but he could only keep it to himself and dared not reveal anything unusual in front of the young lady.