Chapter 19: Did It Really Improve?

Jiang Xinxuan got into the car first, and Su Mu followed, sitting inside as well.

"Kaiman Hotel"

"Yes, Young Master," the driver responded.

With the driver present, Su Mu whispered in Jiang Xinxuan's ear.

"Xiao Xuan, you look really beautiful."

Receiving a compliment from the person she liked, Jiang Xinxuan naturally felt elated.

Knowing that Su Mu had spoken the truth, Jiang Xinxuan was quite confident in her own appearance.

She sneaked a glance at the driver, who was driving with a serious demeanor.

Seizing the moment while Su Mu retained his position, Jiang Xinxuan quickly pecked Su Mu on the cheek.

After the gesture, Jiang Xinxuan shyly lowered her head.

Behaving so proactively in front of another person made Jiang Xinxuan feel she was being too forward.

The kiss from Jiang Xinxuan was as light as a dragonfly skimming water, brief but enough to make Su Mu feel a tickling sensation inside.

He wrapped his arms around Jiang Xinxuan, savoring the feeling of holding her soft, warm body in his embrace.

The two stayed silent the whole way, snuggled up against each other.

"Young Master, we've arrived at the Kaiman Hotel."

Although reluctant to disturb the atmosphere inside the car, the driver knew he still had a job to do.

"Mm," Su Mu acknowledged.

He looked out to confirm and, indeed, it was the Kaiman Hotel.

The Rolls-Royce pulled up directly at the hotel entrance.

Xiao Wang got out of the car and opened the door to the rear seats of the Rolls-Royce.

Su Mu led Jiang Xinxuan out of the car.

"Su Mu, Jiang Xinxuan, have you two really gotten together?" a loud and careless voice called out.

Without turning around, Su Mu knew it was his best friend from high school, Mu Youqing, nicknamed "Four Eyes."

His family was very wealthy, but he tended to be somewhat thoughtless and often became the butt of other rich kids' jokes.

Four Eyes had, of course, noticed the Rolls-Royce behind Su Mu.

But without overthinking it, he assumed it belonged to Jiang Xinxuan's family.

He stepped forward and slapped Su Mu on the shoulder.

"I kept saying there was something between you two, but you kept denying it. How come you two got together right after graduation?" Four Eyes asked.

"Which eye of yours saw us being ambiguous?" Su Mu retorted, smiling as he playfully slapped Four Eyes back on the shoulder.

He and Jiang Xinxuan had been nothing but pure friends before; where was this talk of ambiguity coming from?

Jiang Xinxuan just held Su Mu's hand tightly, stood there smiling, and didn't say a word.

She had always liked Su Mu and saw no need to deny it.

"By the way, now that you two are together, tonight's graduation dinner is going to be interesting," Four Eyes commented, stroking his chin with an air of mystery.

"What do you mean?" Su Mu asked, puzzled.

What did the graduation dinner have to do with him dating Jiang Xinxuan?

Who had such foresight?

Su Mu certainly hadn't told anyone about his romantic involvement.

"Young Master Su, are you here for a meal?" The manager's voice interrupted before Four Eyes could answer Su Mu's question, sounding somewhat excited.

The manager?

Recalling his time working there, Su Mu remembered the manager had been pretty decent to him.

Su Mu nodded in greeting.

"We have a class reunion dinner."

"Oh, please, right this way," the manager said, clearly flattered, and gestured for Su Mu to enter.

He hadn't expected Young Master Su to be so unpretentious and even carry on a conversation with him.

The manager felt like he was extremely popular!

"Su Mu, why does he call you Young Master Su?" Four Eyes asked, puzzled, as they walked toward the private room.

Su Mu's family background was well known to all his classmates.

They were a very ordinary, moderately well-off family, and compared to those wealthy and powerful students in the school, Su Mu could be considered poor.

The Kaiman Hotel was the largest five-star hotel in Huadong City, so why would the head waiter address Su Mu as "Young Master Su"?

Four Eyes expressed his incomprehension.

"It's a bit complicated, I'll tell you about it later."

The three of them had almost reached the private room's door, and Su Mu didn't want to discuss his family affairs in front of so many people.

In three years of high school, not everyone was a friend.

There was naturally no need to let everyone know about his family's unwritten rules.

"You, what secrets are you keeping?"

Four Eyes didn't press further, knowing that now was not the right time.

As they pushed open the door of the private room, Four Eyes's loud voice was once again put to use.

"Our top third achiever in the college entrance exams and the beautiful Jiang Xinxuan have arrived!"

The originally lively private room quieted down instantly.

All eyes turned towards the door in unison.

Behind the obtrusive Four Eyes was the eye-pleasing handsome guy and academic star—Su Mu.

Following behind Su Mu was Jiang Xinxuan, universally recognized as the School Beauty.

Most people showed friendly smiles.

Only Wang Mingqi's face sank upon hearing Four Eyes mention the "top third achiever in the college entrance exams."

Wang Mingqi had done well in the exams too, but he had just missed making it into the top three.

Always considering himself a man of talent, Wang Mingqi had been outperformed by Su Mu throughout the three years of high school.

Naturally, after giving his all in the most crucial college entrance exams, it was unimaginable that Wang Mingqi couldn't surpass Su Mu.

One can only imagine how unpleasant his mood must have been.

Zhu Haoyu was another with a sullen expression.

But Zhu Haoyu's displeasure wasn't due to Su Mu's high scores on the college entrance exams.

As someone with poor academic performance, Zhu Haoyu didn't pay much attention to grades.

What made Zhu Haoyu upset was seeing Su Mu holding Jiang Xinxuan's hand.

Zhu Haoyu had always liked Jiang Xinxuan and had expressed his feelings many times, both openly and in secret.

Unfortunately, Jiang Xinxuan never took an interest in him and wouldn't even spare him a glance, yet she showed a different kind of enthusiasm for Su Mu.

As the organizers of the get-together, Wang Mingqi and Zhu Haoyu had chosen the Kaiman Hotel after some thought.

They both knew about Su Mu's family financial situation, being his classmates.

Their ultimate goal in coming here was to embarrass Su Mu.

"Su Mu, Jiang Xinxuan, come sit here."

Four Eyes, not noticing the looks on Wang Mingqi and Zhu Haoyu's faces, saw a few empty seats next to them and promptly pulled Su Mu over to sit down.

Jiang Xinxuan naturally followed along.

"Jiang Xinxuan, when did you and Su Mu get together?"

Zhu Haoyu couldn't ignore the fact that Su Mu was still holding Jiang Xinxuan's hand.

"Right, I forgot to ask just now, when did you two hook up?"

Four Eyes, lacking the ability to read the room, blurted out as well.

"What do you mean hook up? You really can't say anything nice, can you?"

Su Mu frowned, his own relationship labeled so indecently by this guy?

"Heh, my bad, my bad."

Four Eyes was simple-minded and didn't make much of it, just laughed it off.

Seeing that the matter wasn't going to be discussed by the parties involved, Zhu Haoyu knew he wouldn't get any answers.

After a glance with Wang Mingqi, Zhu Haoyu signaled the waiter to begin serving the dishes.

Su Mu noticed the little exchange between Zhu Haoyu and Wang Mingqi.

Before long, the waiter brought out a full spread of dishes for both tables.

It was only after entering the private room that Su Mu learned not all classmates had come.

Due to various reasons, only about twenty or so people attended the gathering today.

"Everyone, feel free to eat up. As stated in the group, we're doing split-bill today. You're only eating what you pay for, so no need to be shy."

Zhu Haoyu said this while specifically glancing at Su Mu.

Su Mu understood; they were waiting for him.