A girl's voice?!
Hearing someone contradict her, Song Manyu turned her head disdainfully.
She simply refused to believe it—Chen Fan had already severed ties with the prestigious Chen family. What girl would still want to have a meal with him?
Even if there was a girl, she was probably nothing special—certainly no match for herself!
But when Song Manyu turned around and clearly saw the girl walking toward them, she froze on the spot.
She couldn't believe her eyes!
And she wasn't the only one. Everyone present was stunned as they recognized the approaching figure.
Were they dreaming?!
It was none other than Jiangzhou University's most famous beauty—Xia Mengmeng.
Song Manyu was considered pretty enough to be a "class beauty." Among ordinary girls, she stood out.But when compared to Xia Mengmeng, she completely faded into the background.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Chen-senpai," Xia Mengmeng said as she arrived beside Chen Fan, a little embarrassed. "The teacher ran late. Let's go eat."
Everyone was dumbfounded.
What was going on?
Why was Xia Mengmeng—who seemed so out of reach—meeting this completely unremarkable-looking guy for lunch?
This didn't make any sense.
Despite only being a freshman, Xia Mengmeng had captivated countless admirers with her stunning looks and lively personality.Even the top students, rich kids, and student council presidents had all failed to catch her eye.
So why was she having lunch with him?
The one most shaken was, of course, Song Manyu.
She finally accepted that Chen Fan really hadn't been waiting for her—he was waiting for Xia Mengmeng.
Compared to Xia Mengmeng, she truly didn't even measure up.
But this only made her more furious—and even more unwilling to believe it.
She had just broken up with Chen Fan, and now he was already cozying up with the campus belle?
How?!
What did he have that was worthy of her?
Maybe... maybe Xia Mengmeng didn't know that Chen Fan had already been disowned by the Chen family?
That had to be it!
As Chen Fan and Xia Mengmeng turned to enter the cafeteria, Song Manyu hurriedly called out:
"Xia Mengmeng! You probably don't know this, but Chen Fan's already severed ties with the wealthy Chen family!"
"He has no connection to them anymore. Even if you got together with him, it's impossible for you to marry into the Chen family!"
She said it as though she were exposing some big conspiracy, trying to "save" Xia Mengmeng from Chen Fan's supposed lies.
But to her surprise, Xia Mengmeng's reaction was calm.
"Oh, is that so?" Xia Mengmeng tilted her head slightly.
"I actually don't know anything about his relationship with the Chen family."
She shrugged casually. "And even if he has been disowned—so what? Do you really think I'd care about something like that?"
Not a single person dared refute her. Rumor had it Xia Mengmeng's own family background was incredibly powerful—probably not inferior to the Chen family at all.
"Uhh…"
Song Manyu was dumbstruck.
"Not everyone is like you," Xia Mengmeng added meaningfully before walking into the cafeteria with Chen Fan.
Back where she stood, Song Manyu clenched her fists tightly, her toes curling in embarrassment. She wanted to disappear into a hole.
"Damn it…"
Her face was twisted with frustration.
Why? Why would a perfect girl like Xia Mengmeng associate herself with someone like Chen Fan?
This wasn't normal.
A strong surge of jealousy rose within her.
It had to be!Chen Fan must've used some trick to deceive the kind-hearted Xia Mengmeng—why else would she defend him like that?
She had to do something.
She must find a way to break them apart, to expose Chen Fan's true colors to Xia Mengmeng.
The plan began forming in her mind.
Meanwhile, Chen Fan and Xia Mengmeng had already finished lunch and were sitting in a quiet corner.
"Chen-senpai, how did you and my sister meet?"
Xia Mengmeng looked at Chen Fan with her big, curious eyes, like a kitten begging for gossip.
She had been the one to message Chen Fan and ask him to lunch.Why? Simple. She was dying to figure out what exactly was going on between Chen Fan and her sister.
Her sister had explained last night that there was nothing between them—but Xia Mengmeng wasn't entirely convinced.
She believed her sister when she said they weren't lovers.But she didn't believe they were just "new acquaintances."
She knew her sister's icy personality too well.Even if she had twisted her ankle, no matter how bad it hurt, if she didn't at least like someone a little, there's no way she'd let a guy carry her home.
So Xia Mengmeng was convinced—there was more to this story.
And her curiosity had been thoroughly piqued.
"I'm the owner of the downtown Financial Tower," Chen Fan replied calmly."President Xia's company rents office space in my building…"
Xia Mengmeng continued asking questions, but Chen Fan's answers gave nothing away. From his responses, it really did seem like he and her sister were just business acquaintances.
Tight-lipped, the both of them.She grumbled silently.
Still, sometimes the more "normal" things seemed, the more suspicious they were.
She wasn't giving up.
After they finished eating, Xia Mengmeng found out Chen Fan didn't have any afternoon classes and was planning to return to his villa.
Immediately, she asked if she could catch a ride with him—she was going to her sister's house.
Chen Fan agreed. Xia Mengmeng went to the dorms to grab a few things, and they planned to meet at the campus gate.
On the way to the parking lot, a familiar mechanical voice rang in Chen Fan's mind:
[Ding!][Day 3 of severed family ties: You've been rewarded with 12% shares in the Tengfei Group—a company valued at over 10 billion. You are now the third-largest shareholder.]
"What?!"
Chen Fan's eyes lit up.
On just the third day, he had received shares in a billion-yuan company?
He had gone from abandoned rich kid to major shareholder in Tengfei Group—one of Jiangzhou's strongest companies.
The reward couldn't have come at a better time.
He was in desperate need of business assets right now.
Tengfei Group's market value was just over 10 billion yuan, and 12% of that meant at least 1.2 billion.
With this new asset added in, his total net worth now exceeded 3.5 billion.
From a few hundred yuan to over 3.5 billion in just three days—this growth was insane.
At this rate, crushing the Xu family of Jinling—something the system had given him a 100-day deadline to do—might take far less time.
Perfect.
Just as he was thinking that, Chen Fan reached the parking lot.
But before he could step inside—an unexpected figure appeared in front of him.