Chapter 5: The Jiang of Rivers, the Chen of Stars

"Brother Chen, where have you been? Why did it take so long?"

Bai Zheli looked at the two returning men with curiosity.

"Ran into a few friends, had a few drinks."

Jiang Chen replied with a straight face and an unperturbed heart. As he sat back down, he didn't forget to keep glancing toward Li Shurui's table.

However, the lighting was too dim and the distance was a bit too far, making it impossible to see clearly.

"Friends? Who?"

The dormitory leader, Li Shao, looked surprised.

As everyone knew, Jiang Chen was the school's "notorious" ultimate simp. Aside from his roommates, where would he get friends?

"It was Li Shurui," Luo Peng said in a low voice, picking up his glass and taking a sip on his own.

"Li Shurui? The flower of the Arts College?" Li Shao was quite astonished.

"Yeah," Jiang Chen nodded nonchalantly.

"Brother Chen, I heard Li Shurui has her head in the clouds and never gives ordinary guys the time of day..." Bai Zheli adjusted his glasses and asked hesitantly, "When... when did you become friends with her?"

"Do you think I, your Brother Chen, am just an ordinary man?"

Hearing this, Li Shao and Luo Peng exchanged a look of mutual understanding, their expressions turning quite strange.

Fair enough.

As a world-renowned simp, he certainly wasn't an ordinary person.

Bai Zheli pursed his lips. Jiang Chen looked perfectly composed, while he felt rather awkward, momentarily unsure of what to say.

"Peng, what's the real story?" Li Shao asked Luo Peng.

Luo Peng sighed. "I don't know either. When I went over, I saw him drinking with those gold-diggers from the Arts College, and he was even asking for their contact information."

"Asking Li Shurui?"

Luo Peng nodded.

Li Shao understood instantly.

What "friends"? He was clearly just trying to get close to her.

"Jiang Chen, have you had too much to drink? Don't you know what kind of person Li Shurui is?"

Li Shao looked at the third roommate, his eyes filled with pity for his misfortune, yet also frustration at his lack of ambition.

He thought the prodigal son had finally returned to the right path today, but it turned out he had celebrated too early.

As the old saying goes: a leopard cannot change its spots.

"Of course I know what kind of person she is," Jiang Chen replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "The flower of the Arts College, the goddess of our school."

Luo Peng covered his face and let out a long, heavy sigh.

"That's not what I meant!" Li Shao raised his voice.

"Everyone in school knows that Li Shurui and her circle of friends are incredibly vain. They only befriend the wealthy. They often have luxury cars picking them up from school. Do you think a girl like that is suitable for you?"

"Those are all rumors," Jiang Chen replied unmoved, countering with a question. "Girls are naturally prone to jealousy. Li Shurui is so beautiful that many girls must be jealous of her in secret, so they fabricate facts to ruin her reputation. Shao, you say she's vain and rides in luxury cars—did you see it with your own eyes?"

Li Shao's words caught in his throat.

He wasn't a paparazzi; he couldn't exactly camp out under the Arts College or the girls' dorms, so naturally, he hadn't seen it.

"She even treated me to a few drinks just now. Imported liquor—I don't know the brand, but I assume it was expensive. From that perspective, she's quite generous. You guys all misunderstood her."

Luo Peng: "..."

Li Shao: "..."

Bai Zheli's eyes widened, looking at him as if he were an alien.

Before, when people called Brother Chen a simp, he would feel indignant, thinking Brother Chen was just too devoted.

But now, he was defending an unfamiliar girl so fiercely.

The reputation of being a simp was indeed well-deserved.

"So, what you're saying is..." Luo Peng said slowly, "You've set your sights on Li Shurui now?"

Jiang Chen picked up his glass and took a sip of beer without saying a word.

"Compared to Ai Qian, Li Shurui is even more arrogant. They aren't in the same league. If you want to pursue her, your success rate might be microscopic."

Luo Peng had a look of constipation on his face, carefully weighing his words to avoid hurting his good brother's pride.

His underlying meaning was simple: *You can't even handle Ai Qian, and you want to attempt a level-up challenge? Stop daydreaming!*

Li Shao was about to chime in, but Jiang Chen's next sentence left them all speechless.

"You know me. I like a challenge."

The atmosphere instantly fell silent.

After a long silence, Luo Peng's eyelid twitched. He said hoarsely, "Jiang Chen, if only I had your... thick skin... and confidence, that would be great."

Jiang Chen smiled. "That's a talent. You can't learn it."

"..."

After a moment, Luo Peng patted his shoulder and raised his glass.

"I won't say anything else. I wish you great success."

"Thanks."

"Cheers!"

Li Shao and Bai Zheli exchanged looks, both offering helpless, bitter smiles.

Fine.

It seemed the third roommate was dead set on this path once again.

At this point, persuasion was useless.

They had to look on the bright side.

In terms of both beauty and fame, Li Shurui was at least one level above Ai Qian.

Since he was going to be a simp anyway, why not simp for someone more "excellent"?

At least it would sound better when word got out.

Looking at it this way, Jiang Chen had actually made progress.

With this self-consolation, Li Shao and Bai Zheli silently clinked their glasses together.

***

"That flirt Jia Li said she was going to grab a drink with someone, but where did she go?"

"I called her, and she told us not to worry about her."

"Tsk tsk, has she hooked up with another handsome guy?"

The girls were flushed and laughing freely, clearly having had quite a bit to drink.

Li Shurui called the waiter over to settle the bill, only to hear him say, "Ladies, your bill has already been paid."

The goddesses of Donghai University weren't particularly surprised; after all, this wasn't the first time they had encountered such a thing.

Some men just loved to act wealthy to attract female interest.

"Who paid?" one girl asked, her breath smelling of alcohol, suspecting it was another rich kid from Donghai.

Coming to KIMI was exactly how they sought out such opportunities.

"He said his name is Jiang Chen."

"Jiang Chen."

The girl didn't react at first, wondering if he was one of the people who had tried to hit on them earlier. But a moment later, she suddenly realized, her eyes widening as the alcohol seemed to clear from her head.

"Who did you say?!"

"Jiang Chen."

The waiter, being diligent and attentive, added, "Jiang from Jianghe, Chen from Xingchen. He said he is a friend of yours, and he also asked that you don't drink too much and head home early."

This was a specific instruction the guest had given him when paying; it wasn't the waiter's own attempt to embellish the story.

Doing a good deed without leaving a name made you a fool, not a simp.

If you spend the money, you make sure the other person knows.

"Isn't that guy Jiang Chen a pauper?"

The girls looked at each other in confusion.

"How much was our total tonight?" Li Shurui asked the waiter, her expression cold and elegant.

"5,888."

"Shurui, that Jiang Chen guy really went all out this time. He didn't blow his entire six-month living allowance, did he?"

The girls looked at Li Shurui with suspicion and uncertainty.

Li Shurui remained silent, but her heart finally experienced a slight ripple.

After being a simp for so long, it seemed Jiang Chen had finally found the right direction.

No amount of sweet words could compare to the reality of spending a fortune.

(End of Chapter)