157. Smiled

Chen Ruowen had been lying at home for several days until Qin Ming personally called to ask about her. Reluctantly, she changed into her newly tailored camouflage uniform and headed to the east playground.

This time, she joined a new formation seemingly created specifically for the military training closing ceremony performance. They didn’t have to stand at attention or practice martial arts; instead, she spent the entire day arranging formations with dozens of female classmates selected from various departments. The new instructor seemed to have a good temper, making the experience surprisingly relaxed.

The dynamic between her and Bai Jinyan had grown somewhat strange.

Since the class gathering of the Industrial Management Class One, they had resumed contact. Bai Jinyan still waited for her every evening to go out for dinner, but their conversations had suddenly become much more sparse.

At lunch one day, watching Guo Jingyuan bustling about fulfilling her duties as class monitor, Chen Ruowen suddenly pursed her lips.

“Guo Jingyuan, don’t you think you’re being a bit irresponsible as class monitor?”

Guo Jingyuan immediately paused her work and sat beside Chen Ruowen, nodding vigorously.

“Yes, yes! Being class monitor is really hard. There are meetings every day, and teachers lecture on so many things I can’t remember it all. Plus, I have to recognize everyone—Qin Laoshi wants me to remember every student’s name, face, birthday, hometown, and special skills. It’s really difficult!”

Chen Ruowen: …

This girl doesn’t follow the usual script…

Normally, I’d say you’re irresponsible, and you’d look at me pitifully, asking where you went wrong, and then I’d start the show. But now you’ve finished my lines for me—what am I supposed to say?

I still have to find a way to spin this back.

Clearing her throat, Chen Ruowen said, “If that’s the case, do you know what you need to do to make up for it?”

Please say you don’t know!

Please ask me! Please ask!

Guo Jingyuan nodded. “I do. I’ll go memorize the roster right now!”

As soon as she said that, she was about to dash off, and Chen Ruowen’s face darkened.

“Wait! Memorize what roster?” Chen Ruowen said sternly. “A 2D roster can’t compare to the real, three-dimensional living people. Why not just organize a class gathering where everyone eats together? That’s a much faster way to get familiar.”

Guo Jingyuan suddenly realized. “Right! How did I not think of that? I’ll organize it right now.”

Chen Ruowen slid her phone toward her and pointed at the screen. “We’ll eat at this restaurant, got it?”

“Got it! Tonight, then!”

Finally satisfied, Chen Ruowen nodded and took back her phone to message Bai Jinyan.

“Pick me up tonight.”

“Going out for dinner. Change your clothes.”

...

That evening, when the classmates of Clinical Class One saw this alumnus from the neighboring department whom Chen Ruowen had brought along, they all felt a bit bewildered.

“What’s going on here?” “Why is there a man none of us know hanging around Chen Ruowen?”

Bai Jinyan himself was confused. Weren’t they just going out to eat? Why did it suddenly turn into a gathering?

But seeing Gao Tang squinting at him from the side, Bai Jinyan decisively kept his composure and stayed.

A small male classmate in the back patted Guo Jingyuan on the shoulder and whispered, “Class monitor, you didn’t say we could bring family members.”

Guo Jingyuan glanced nervously at Chen Ruowen, who was walking ahead arm in arm with Bai Jinyan, and replied weakly, “I... I didn’t say we couldn’t bring anyone either...”

“Class monitor, don’t let outsiders get your benefits,” the boy teased. “You can’t be elbowing out your own people!”

Guo Jingyuan didn’t know how to respond, but the boy was clearly joking. Seeing her flustered and blushing face gave him a great sense of accomplishment.

When they arrived at the venue—the most luxurious Wander Hotel on the Nanda campus—a collective gasp arose.

“Class monitor, why did you choose this place? Wander is the most expensive hotel at Nanda. I only have 800 yuan living expenses a month; I can’t afford this…”

“Yeah, class monitor, this place is way too pricey. Why would students eat somewhere this fancy?”

Guo Jingyuan wasn’t familiar with Nanda’s dining options, but after hearing these complaints, she realized just how expensive the place was.

Well, it was Chen Ruowen’s choice. It was obvious it wouldn’t be cheap!

But since she was the class monitor and had picked this place, she had to take responsibility.

Biting her lip, Guo Jingyuan was about to say she would use the last bit of her summer job savings to treat everyone when Chen Ruowen suddenly turned and handed her a card.

“VIP card, 90% off.”

“90% off?” The classmates’ eyes immediately lit up.

If they could get 90% off, eating at Wander wouldn’t cost much more than an ordinary restaurant, and they’d get to enjoy a luxurious meal—too good to pass up.

Those who had just complained about the price instantly quieted down.

It’s better to stick with the rich.

“How come I didn’t know you had such a thoughtful side?” Gao Tang easily snagged the seat next to Chen Ruowen at the table, resting a hand on the chair back and leaning close to whisper in her ear.

“What thoughtful side?” Chen Ruowen looked at him bewildered.

“VIP card,” Gao Tang chuckled lightly. “Wander Hotel is my family’s business. How come I didn’t know about such a money-losing VIP card?”

Chen Ruowen secretly nudged him with her foot, her tone stern.

“Shut up.”

“That won’t work. If you want to buy me off, you have to offer some benefits.”

“No.”

“So bossy.”

After speaking, Gao Tang pulled another black card from his wallet and slid it into Chen Ruowen’s palm on the table.

Touching the cool, soft hand she had long dreamed of, Gao Tang hesitated but quickly withdrew his hand.

“This is an internally issued top-tier VIP card, valid across all Wander Group properties. It’s a gift for you.”

He didn’t say the rest—that this card was one of only a handful in all of Wander Group, specially customized as a “family card” for second-generation heirs like himself. Any charges made with this card were simply charged to the company account and absorbed internally.

So the card wasn’t a gift of money—it was essentially giving away his entire fortune.

Chen Ruowen tossed it back without a second thought.

“No thanks.”

Gao Tang said nothing further, seemingly expecting this response, and calmly tucked the family card back into his pocket.

On the other side, Bai Jinyan observed their interaction quietly. When he saw Chen Ruowen toss back Gao Tang’s gift, he took a bite of food from his bowl and spoke in a very casual tone.

“Items carried by heirs of the Wander Group must be very valuable. You two must be close; if he’s giving you this as a gift, it’s definitely not something useless.”

Hearing this, Gao Tang scoffed and took a sip from his wine glass.

“Sounds like you believe that.”

Chen Ruowen glanced at Gao Tang, her eyes reflecting a strange emotion, but the look didn’t linger long before she turned back.

“Bai Jinyan.”

“Hm?”

Chen Ruowen reached out, grabbed Bai Jinyan’s collar, and in front of the thirty-nine classmates in the private room, unabashedly kissed him on the cheek.

“I only like you.”

She looked at Bai Jinyan seriously, completely ignoring the buzzing among their classmates caused by the kiss and her declaration, as well as the sudden change in Gao Tang’s expression behind her.

“Compared to you, my relationship with Gao Tang is even more innocent than yours with that… Yueyue. Honestly, to me, he’s no different from Kang Wenbo or Song Yunhui.”

Looking at the proud and flamboyant beauty in front of him, Bai Jinyan finally smiled for the first time since the start of military training over a week ago.