Zhang Lu made a conscious decision to sit beside Zhao Chengning and began inserting herself into everyoneâs conversation. Everyone present wasnât an idiot though. They could more or less guess what she was thinking, even if she didnât say anything. Shen Jingbinâs expression was unreadable when they glanced over at her, so they decided to clam up and discontinue conversation with Zhang Lu. The atmosphere subsequently became a little awkward.
Zhang Lu, who probably had an inkling of what was happening, no longer tried to force herself into conversations with others and tried to strike up a conversation with Shen Jingbin instead.
"Youâre Miss Shen, I take it? Youâre from B City, right? Are you still studying?"
The chopsticks Shen Jingbin was using to pick up food from the dishes suddenly froze, and she turned to look at Zhang Lu. "Iâm from A City."
Zhang Lu went, "Ohhhh." and continued. "So, youâre from A City. Thatâs quite a distance from B City. Itâs at least a few hours away. That being said, Iâm curious as to how you and Zhao Chengning got to know one another. Did you really meet each other in-game, and further your relationship from there?"
The implied meaning was that Zhang Lu was calling the coupleâs online relationship into question. Zhao Chengningâs face immediately darkened, and he coldly said, "Senior, please mind what you say."
Zhang Lu paused for a moment before sticking out her tongue in a cutesy manner. "Oh, youâre so fierce today, Chengning... Hey, Miss Shen, now youâve seen it for yourself, right? Heâs so fierce."
F*ck!
Everyone present couldnât help but curse inwardly. They hadnât thought much of it when reading similar situations in trashy romance novels, but seeing it in person was unbearable.
In spite of that, Shen Jingbin remained as cool as a cucumber. While slowly turning her gaze away from Zhang Lu and grabbing some food for Zhao Chengning with her chopsticks, she said, "I donât think itâs that bad. Heâs never been fierce towards me before," After saying that, she looked at Zhao Chengning, flashed him a gentle smile, and the couple locked eyes. In that instant, the entire room was filled with the stench of star-struck lovers.
Shen Jingbin kneaded Zhao Chengningâs arm in a placating manner and made eye contact with Zhang Lu, taking in the entire view of the latter inwardly curling her lips.
Haha, trying to sow discord between the two of us with such a petty trick? Is she stupid or stupid?
"Our two families have been long time friends. We knew each other before, and we just happened to run into one another in-game. The idea that weâd met each other in-game was obviously just some marketing stunt on Yijuâs part. Anyone with a brain wouldnât believe something like that."
That last comment of hers was directed to everyone present, but she was clearly making fun of Zhang Lu.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
Zhang Lu pulled her face into a smile. "Thatâs true. How could someone as beautiful as Miss Shen find romance in something like an online game? There must be many suitors going after you in real life, isnât there, Miss Shen? I wonder, where does Chengning rank amongst all the suitors that have gone after you? Iâll have you know that Chengning, B Cityâs golden bachelor, has countless women who have their minds set on him as their husband."
Shen Jingbin turned a curious eye to Zhao Chengning before breaking into a mysterious laugh. "There really isnât anyone whoâs chasing after me."
Everyone who heard that wore a look of disbelief. Zhang Luâs expression, in particular, was the most exaggerated. She sucked in a breath of air and covered her mouth before she said, "How can that be? Miss Shen, you..." Then, she seemed to suddenly think of something and revealed an apologetic smile. "Oh my, men these days care so much about face. Not only do the women they go after have to be beautiful, but said beauty also has to be natural. If thereâs even the slightest bit of âalternationâ, they will kick up a huge fuss. Miss Shen, you made the right decision to stay away from those types of men. When you come to B City in the future, thereâs plenty of men who... wouldnât take issue with you."
Shen Jingchen couldnât listen to this any longer. To begin with, he didnât like Hundred Daybreaks all that much in-game. But now, here she was trying to make his sister look bad, and she was even making fun of his sister by implying that sheâd undergone plastic surgery.
What the hell? The two of them bore a 70-80% resemblance to one another. If Zhang Lu was implying that Shen Jingbin had undergone plastic surgery, wouldnât the same apply to him as well?