Chapter 261: A Righteous He Mingyi? Yan Luoxi: That Scumbag Is Here for Hotpot Too?

Chapter 261: Chapter 261: A Righteous He Mingyi? Yan Luoxi: That Scumbag Is Here for Hotpot Too?

Roy only snapped out of it after Gu Yizhou and his group had gone up to the second floor.

"What’s this about a girlfriend? What the heck?"

"So weird."

She frowned, muttering under her breath.

She had no idea what had just happened.

She shook her head.

Only then did she remember that her private room was also on the second floor.

So, she turned and headed for the second floor as well.

...

"Holy crap!"

"I can’t believe we ran into Vice President Luo here. Damn, I was so nervous I could have died."

"Yeah!"

"I never thought the big bosses would like this hot pot place, too."

...

In a private room at the end of the second-floor hallway, the group of colleagues sat down and began chattering all at once.

They had originally planned to just sit in the main dining hall, but after running into Roy, they asked a waitress to arrange a private room for them to avoid any awkwardness.

"Oh, right."

Just then, someone recalled what the waitress had said. "Hey Yizhou, what was that about your girlfriend also being on the second floor?"

Hearing this, everyone else remembered, and all eyes turned to Gu Yizhou, waiting for his explanation.

"Er..."

Seeing all eyes on him, Gu Yizhou felt a wave of exasperation.

’Seriously?’

’Weren’t you all just talking about how nervous you were to see Vice President Luo? How can you possibly still remember this?!’

"Um... the waitress must have misunderstood."

"As for her mentioning my girlfriend, she must have mistaken me for someone else."

"I’m single, how could I possibly have a girlfriend!"

Gu Yizhou said, shaking his head.

As for the matter concerning CEO Yan Luoxi, Gu Yizhou said nothing.

Bringing that up would only make things even harder to explain.

So, he figured it was best to just deny what the waitress had said.

Hearing Gu Yizhou’s explanation, for some reason, the group felt that something wasn’t quite right.

But seeing Gu Yizhou’s dead-serious expression, which didn’t look like he was joking, they didn’t feel it was right to say anything more.

However, the eyes of the "meddler," He Mingyi, who was sitting next to Gu Yizhou, flickered as if an idea had struck him.

"All right, let’s forget about that for now. Let’s hurry up and order. I’m starving,"

Gu Yizhou said, changing the subject.

"Yes, yes, let’s order!"

"I’m hungry too. I feel like I could eat a whole cow right now!"

He Mingyi chimed in from the side.

"Pfft~"

"You’re all talk! You’re always the one who complains the loudest, but when we actually start eating, you can never eat that much!"

"Exactly!"

"A weakling with a combat power of five!"

...

The group was successfully sidetracked and joined in on the teasing.

And just like that, no one gave another thought to the so-called girlfriend of Gu Yizhou’s that the waitress had mentioned!

Seeing everyone busy ordering, He Mingyi nudged Gu Yizhou’s shoulder with his own.

"Hm?"

Gu Yizhou looked at him, confused.

He Mingyi shot him a look that clearly said, ’I’ve got your back, bro, right?’

Gu Yizhou understood instantly.

’So this prick was intentionally helping me out of that jam!’

’It made sense, when he thought about it.’

’This prick had always misunderstood his relationship with CEO Yan Luoxi.’

’And since he’d just seen Vice President Roy, it was only natural that he would put two and two together.’

’Whatever!’

’Let him think whatever he wants!’

’I’ll just let it be.’

And so, Gu Yizhou gave him a slight nod.

After getting Gu Yizhou’s acknowledgment, a satisfied He Mingyi joined the grand army of people ordering food.

All he wanted was for Gu Yizhou to owe him a favor.

Now that he’d achieved his goal, he certainly wouldn’t say anything more.

As for exposing Gu Yizhou’s lie to everyone there—telling them that the girlfriend the waitress mentioned was either CEO Yan Luoxi or Vice President Roy...

The thought had never crossed his mind.

There was nothing in it for him to expose Gu Yizhou.

On the contrary, it would only get on Gu Yizhou’s bad side.

He was currently trying to ride Gu Yizhou’s coattails, so why would he do something so stupid?

* * *

Meanwhile, in a private room at the other end of the second-floor hallway.

Yan Luoxi frowned slightly as she watched Roy push open the door and walk in.

Roy had been in the restroom for so long that she was just about to text her to ask what was going on.

"Xixi, sorry to keep you waiting."

Roy said, picking up a napkin from the table to wipe her hands.

Hearing this, Yan Luoxi, though slightly displeased, didn’t say anything.

She spoke in a calm tone, "Let’s eat. The beef will get tough if we don’t eat it now."

As she spoke, she picked up her chopsticks, plucked a piece of meat, and placed it in her dipping sauce bowl.

Gu Yizhou had been the one who taught her how to make this dipping sauce last time.

’Gotta admit,’

’that jerk’s recipe for the dipping sauce is actually really good,’ Yan Luoxi thought.

At that moment, her thoughts drifted to Gu Yizhou again.

’But!’

The moment she thought about how that jerk had stood her up today to eat with other people, she felt a surge of irritation.

Just then, Roy, who was sitting across from her, suddenly spoke up. "Hey, Xixi, that guy from the Finance Department, Gu... right, Gu Yizhou. Do you still remember him?"

"?"

Hearing Roy’s words, Yan Luoxi’s hand froze mid-air.

’That jerk?’

She snapped her head up to look at her best friend, Roy.

’Could it be... Has she discovered my secret about Gu Yizhou?!’

Yan Luoxi was panicking internally.

On the surface, however, she maintained a calm expression and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Er... it’s nothing. I just ran into him downstairs when I went to the restroom."

Roy said casually.

"That jer—" Yan Luoxi almost let it slip. She quickly corrected herself, "Er... you’re saying you just ran into him downstairs?"

"Yep!"

Roy nodded. "The reason I was gone so long was because I ran into them downstairs."

"Them?"

Yan Luoxi asked with a frown.

"Oh, that guy, Gu Yizhou, and a few colleagues from his department. They came here for hot pot, too,"

Roy explained.

"Oh."

Hearing that, Yan Luoxi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

’So it was just a chance encounter!’

’As long as her secret wasn’t blown, it didn’t matter.’

Yan Luoxi instantly felt much calmer.

But then, another wave of irritation hit her.

’That jerk didn’t come to eat hot pot with me, but he came with other people.’

’Unbelievable!’

After a moment’s thought, Yan Luoxi asked another question. "Were they all women?"

"Huh?"

Roy was caught off guard for a moment.

But she quickly realized Yan Luoxi was asking about Gu Yizhou’s group.

Although she was a little confused as to why Yan Luoxi was asking, she didn’t give it much thought and replied casually, "Oh, it was a mix of men and women, but there were more women."

When she heard there were both men and women, Yan Luoxi felt slightly better.

But when she heard there were *more* women, she instantly felt a pang of jealousy.

’That jerk.’

’I’ll deal with you later!’

’Hmph!’

Watching Yan Luoxi’s expression shift from soft to cold in an instant, Roy was completely baffled.

...