In a luxuriously decorated private room of a high-end restaurant.
Four round tables were laden with various delicacies from land and sea. Men and women sat around, either making small talk or already deep in business discussions.
"Speaking of which, Gu Chenan should be coming today, right?" someone asked, glancing at the traffic outside the window.
"He should be. Didn't he agree to come in the group chat?"
"My goodness, how long has it been since we've seen Gu Chenan? We haven't really seen him since high school graduation, have we?"
"Not just 'haven't really seen,' I haven't seen him at all!"
"Hey, what do you think? Where did Gu Chenan suddenly get all that money from?"
At one of the tables sat a group of men, all speculating about Gu Chenan's recent circumstances.
At another table, several women who looked well-off were equally curious about Gu Chenan's situation.
But compared to Gu Chenan's sudden wealth, they were more interested in what Zhang Fan had said in the group chat about Gu Chenan's girlfriend.
According to Zhang Fan, Gu Chenan's girlfriend was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, even more stunning than celebrities in the entertainment industry.
This piqued the curiosity of these female classmates enormously.
"Has anyone seen Gu Chenan's girlfriend? Is she really as beautiful as Zhang Fan says?" asked a flamboyantly dressed woman, looking around.
"I haven't seen her. I only just found out Gu Chenan had a girlfriend."
"Back in the day, Gu Chenan dated you, Xiaoli. Don't you have anything to say about this?"
As they spoke, everyone turned to look at a woman with medium-short hair sitting at the round table. According to Gu Chenan's rating system for girls' looks, she would score 80 points. She paled in comparison to Su Qianmo, but among these female classmates, she stood out like a crane among chickens, outshining them all.
This woman's name was Song Xiaoli, and she was Gu Chenan's girlfriend during their high school years.
They had dated from high school until they were sophomores at different universities before breaking up.
As for the reason for the breakup, Song Xiaoli had always said it was because she looked down on Gu Chenan.
Song Xiaoli swirled her wine glass, a nonchalant smile on her face as she said, "Stop teasing me. How many years has it been since Gu Chenan and I broke up? Besides, I was the one who wanted to break up with him. What could I possibly have to say?"
"Oh, so you were the one who looked down on him?" someone joked.
"Come on, Xiaoli's current boyfriend is a big boss. How could she possibly still have any thoughts about Gu Chenan?"
"Exactly."
Hearing the discussions around her, Song Xiaoli's lips curled into a slight smile.
Although she no longer had any special feelings for Gu Chenan, as his ex-girlfriend, she very much wanted Gu Chenan to see what she looked like now.
Not for any particular reason, just out of an inexplicable sense of competitiveness.
She thought to herself, "What's this Zhang Fan saying about Gu Chenan's girlfriend being the most beautiful woman he's ever seen? Is he joking?"
"Forget about Zhang Fan's taste, but wouldn't I turn heads wherever I go with my current looks?"
At this thought, Song Xiaoli suddenly remembered Gu Chenan's resolute attitude when they broke up.
To others, Song Xiaoli had always insisted that she broke up with Gu Chenan because she looked down on him.
But in fact, when Song Xiaoli said she wanted to break up with Gu Chenan, it was only because she wanted him to buy her a phone. Gu Chenan had always said to wait a bit, that he would buy it after he earned enough money from his part-time job. Song Xiaoli couldn't wait and kept urging Gu Chenan to borrow money, but Gu Chenan was unwilling, so she threatened to break up with him.
However, she never expected that when she mentioned breaking up, Gu Chenan would immediately agree three times in a row.
"Okay, sure, no problem."
This left Song Xiaoli completely stunned. She had never actually intended to break up with Gu Chenan. She had even thought Gu Chenan would immediately apologize and rush to borrow money to buy her the phone.
But in the end, she didn't get the phone, and Gu Chenan really agreed to break up.
Song Xiaoli had always harbored resentment about this, so when she found a boyfriend who could satisfy all her demands, she always wanted to show off to Gu Chenan.
She also wanted to tell Gu Chenan — what you wouldn't give me, someone else will!
Thinking this, Song Xiaoli's hand, adorned with a huge diamond ring, gripped her wine glass tightly.
Gu Chenan, I'll definitely make you regret it!
Meanwhile.
A Mercedes sports car slowly drove into the restaurant parking lot. After the car came to a stop, Gu Chenan stepped out.
He had been busy with Su Qianmo just before coming, so not only was he a bit late, but he was also hungry.
However, as everyone knows, at gatherings with many people and abundant food, one usually can't eat their fill.
"Old Gu, are you here yet? We didn't dare start eating without you, we've all been waiting."
"Old Gu, don't stand us up."
"Where are you?"
In the group chat, messages urging him kept appearing.
"I'm here, parking now. I'll be up in a minute."
Putting away his phone, Gu Chenan stretched his muscles and bones, then strode into the restaurant.
After telling the waiter the private room number, the waiter led Gu Chenan towards the room.
As they walked, Gu Chenan's heart began to beat rapidly.
In the world of novels, he had seen many grand scenes and had never felt this strange feeling before, but for some reason, as he was about to face the classmates who had once looked down on him, he felt a bit nervous.
Soon, the waiter led Gu Chenan to the private room.
"Sir, please enter."
The waiter opened the door, and the entire scene of the private room appeared before Gu Chenan, suddenly bright and open.
Everyone turned their heads at the sound of the door opening, and the next second, a commotion erupted.
"Old Gu, you're finally here!"
"Oh my, Old Gu, you really can't judge a book by its cover! I haven't seen you in years!"
"Old Gu, have you been working out? Your physique is so good!"
Faced with the clamorous greetings from everyone, Gu Chenan nodded slightly and said, "Sorry, I was held up by something and arrived late."
"Don't mention it, come sit down, sit down."
"Mr. Gu is a busy man now, it's normal to be busy."
At everyone's invitation and crowding, Gu Chenan took a seat.
The feeling made him momentarily feel as if he had returned to the world of novels and become that young master of the Gu family again.
"Old Gu, come have a drink."
Someone proactively came forward to fill Gu Chenan's glass with white wine.
Then, a man with a side-parted hairstyle stood up with his glass and said in a loud voice, "Today is the first time we've seen Gu Chenan in so many years. As your old class monitor, I propose we all raise our glasses to Gu Chenan!"
This man's name was Zhao Lu. As he said, he was once Gu Chenan's class monitor, and now he held the position of general manager in a certain company.
At his proposal, everyone responded enthusiastically.
"Great, let's drink to that!"
"We haven't seen Old Gu in so many years, let's welcome Old Gu!"
Not only did all the male classmates at these tables stand up, but the female classmates at the other table also raised their wine glasses and stood.
Among them, Song Xiaoli raised her glass towards Gu Chenan from afar and said, "Chenan, shall we have a drink together?"