Qiao Zhen and Gu Xijue returned to the private room one after the other, which triggered another round of jokes.

"Qiao Zhen, speaking of which, you liked Xi Jue so much back then. Now that you're both single, what are you thinking? Why don't you try pursuing Xi Jue again?"

"Yeah, you two are a perfect match, and both of you are single. Why not give it a try and get together? You won't lose anything."

Qiao Zhen frowned as she listened to the male classmates' teasing.

The female classmates all cast envious glances their way.

"Hey, don't talk nonsense. So many years have passed, Qiao Zhen might not like Gu Xijue anymore. Maybe she already has someone else in her heart, right Qiao Zhen?"

The men were all making jokes about Qiao Zhen and Gu Xijue. The women who had ulterior motives towards Gu Xijue naturally didn't want to see this outcome, so they tried to pass the buck to Qiao Zhen.

Qiao Zhen wasn't oblivious to the speaker's intentions; however, she didn't want to offend anyone, nor did she want to make things difficult for herself.

"We're all old classmates, why keep bringing up these things at a gathering? We've finished eating, what are your plans for now?"

Qiao Zhen skillfully changed the subject.

Sure enough, everyone's eyes stopped being fixed on Qiao Zhen and Gu Xijue.

"Xi Jue, you've gone to the trouble of treating us tonight. What are the plans for the rest of the evening? You tell me, and we'll split the bill."

Gu Xijue's current net worth is incomparable to what it used to be, so naturally he doesn't care about these paltry sums.

"I promised to treat you all tonight, so how can I let you spend the money? How about this, after you've all finished eating, I'll treat you all to karaoke."

After Gu Xijue finished speaking, he glanced at Qiao Zhen almost imperceptibly.

"OK!"

"Of course, I was the undisputed prince of love songs in our class back then."

"Hahaha, you're just bragging."

Unlike the others who were laughing and joking, Qiao Zhen remained sullen and unhappy.

Lu Zheng's call just now meant he'd be there soon. Qiao Zhen didn't want him to appear in front of these old classmates.

"Well, I have something to do, so I won't be going with you guys. If you want to split the cost, just let me know on WeChat."

After Qiao Zhen finished speaking, she picked up her small handbag and prepared to leave.

"Wait a moment."

Gu Xijue called out to Qiao Zhen.

Qiao Zhen stopped and looked at Gu Xijue with a puzzled expression.

All eyes were on Gu Xijue.

Gu Xijue smiled slightly and explained to everyone, "Qiao Zhen came by herself. It's too late at night, and it's not safe for a girl like her to be out alone. Here's what we'll do: you guys go first, and I'll take her home and then come find you."

Gu Xijue's words were so flawless that no one could find any fault with them.

The men started to cheer and jeer.

"Oh~ I knew it, Xijue, you must have a thing for our school beauty."

"Alright, alright, everyone, let's go first. Don't delay Xijue's heroic rescue of the damsel in distress."

Amidst the cheers and jeers of the crowd, Gu Xijue walked to Qiao Zhen's side.

Qiao Zhen originally wanted to refuse, but when faced with Gu Xijue's face, the words of refusal stuck on her lips and she just couldn't say them.

"Qiao Zhen, let's go."

Gu Xijue's voice remained gentle, and he exuded gentlemanly charm.

Helpless, Qiao Zhen had no choice but to follow Gu Xijue out of the hotel.

"Zhenzhen, I've come to pick you up."

Before they could even step out of the private room, a boastful voice reached everyone's ears.

Lu Zheng, dressed in a black casual outfit, slowly walked in.

As soon as he appeared, everyone's attention was focused on Lu Zheng.

The men gasped in shock, for no other reason than Lu Zheng's name was far too famous in Jiangcheng. Some might not have heard of Lu Zheng, but everyone knew of God Lu.

"My God, am I seeing things? Isn't that Lu Zheng, the head of the Lu Group, the one who came to pick up Qiao Zhen?"

"You mean, that Lu Shen?"

"What else did you think? Are there any other Lu Groups in the entire Jiangcheng?"

The men were amazed by Lu Zheng's identity, while the women were astonished by his stunningly handsome appearance.

"No way? Lu Shen in real life is way more handsome than he is in the news!"

"Hurry up and wipe your drool. Didn't you hear what Lu Shen just called Qiao Zhen? Zhenzhen~ Maybe they've known each other for a long time. Maybe they're even in that kind of relationship."

Qiao Zhen heard all the whispers and conversations.

When Qiao Zhen met Lu Zheng's eyes, which concealed anger, she felt a tightness in her chest.

“Lu Zheng…”

Just as Qiao Zhen was about to speak, Lu Zheng strode over and pulled her away from Gu Xijue into his arms.

The actions were rough and showed no gentleness whatsoever.

Qiao Zhen's nose bumped right into Lu Zheng's chest, and she felt like her nose was about to bleed. She couldn't help but let out a soft moan.

Lu Zheng's gaze was like that of a wild beast, coldly fixed on Gu Xijue. He looked as if Gu Xijue had invaded Lu Zheng's territory, and any further movement would be met with Lu Zheng rushing up and tearing his throat apart.

“I truly appreciate Mr. Gu’s kindness on behalf of my family. However, there’s no need for you to trouble yourself, Mr. Gu. I’ll come to pick up Zhenzhen.”

Gu Xijue watched quietly.

He could sense Lu Zheng's hostility towards him, but looking at Lu Zheng's face and searching his memory, there seemed to be no overlap. He was certain that this was the first time he had met Lu Zheng.

As for Lu Zheng's hostility towards him, Gu Xijue's intuition was that it was because of Qiao Zhen.

"Mr. Lu, I've heard of your great reputation abroad, but I've never had the chance to meet you. Meeting you today, I can see you are truly extraordinary. I'll need your guidance in order to establish myself in Jiangcheng in the future."

Gu Xijue exudes elegance and gentlemanly charm, a style completely different from Lu Zheng's domineering nature.

"Of course, even just for Zhenzhen's sake, I will definitely take good care of President Gu."

Qiao Zhen, caught between the two, could smell the strong scent of gunpowder.

"Enough!"

Qiao Zhen had no idea what Lu Zheng was going crazy about again; she just wanted to leave this place of trouble as soon as possible.

"Lu Zheng, let's go."

Qiao Zhen tried to pull Lu Zheng's arm, but Lu Zheng didn't budge, his gaze still fixed on Gu Xijue.

"Mr. Gu, if I may be so bold as to say this, Qiao Zhen is my woman. I would appreciate it if you could stay away from her in the future!"

Qiao Zhen never expected Lu Zheng to say this in front of so many people. Wasn't this blatantly telling them about the ambiguous relationship between her and him?

“Lu Zheng…”

Qiao Zhen was so anxious that tears were about to come out. She wanted to pull Lu Zheng aside and start a conversation, but she didn't know how to begin.

After Lu Zheng finished speaking, he gave a wild laugh and pulled Qiao Zhen away.

Gu Xijue watched the two figures leave, his dark eyes slightly narrowed, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

"Lu Zheng, let go of me! You're hurting me!"

Qiao Zhen said as she struggled.

No one knows what Lu Zheng was thinking, but Qiao Zhen's fair wrist was already covered in red marks from Lu Zheng's grip.

Lu Zheng didn't let go of her until they left the hotel.

"What's wrong with you, you..."

Before Qiao Zhen could finish speaking, Lu Zheng silenced her with a kiss.

"Waaah—"

Lu Zheng kissed her fiercely, as if he wanted to vent something, biting Qiao Zhen's pink lips hard.