Chapter 28

After that, Gu Wan learned through the conversations of a group of young boys and girls that they had all consulted the same local classmate, which explained why they met at the same store.After a brief moment of surprise, everyone quickly began chatting and laughing, even playfully teasing each other, exuding youthful energy. Gu Wan couldn't help but recall her own college life, only to realize... there wasn't much worth remembering, let alone going on trips with classmates.

Perhaps there were similar activities in her class or dormitory, but Gu Wan didn't live on campus at the time and had minimal interactions with her classmates. The death of her parents in the middle of her studies made her even more withdrawn and quiet. By the time she graduated, Gu Wan hadn't even gotten to know all her classmates.

Looking back now, she realized that some opportunities had been completely missed.

Gu Wan had no similar experiences, so she had little to contribute. She only occasionally responded when the group of young men and women asked her something, spending most of the time sitting quietly and listening. Her expression was gentle and calm, her demeanor attentive and serious, causing the previously talkative girl to stumble over her words several times. Towards the end, she didn't even know what she was saying, and after a few incoherent sentences, her face turned red, and she hurriedly sat down.

"Help, this is so embarrassing!" the girl screamed internally.

Gu Wan found the girl quite interesting and couldn't help but smile, which only made the girl's face turn even redder.

Of course, not everyone was happy about the addition of Gu Wan, this stranger, to their group.

Most of the seven girls had indeed come out to play after seeing the invitation in the class group chat, but there were one or two who had joined because they saw their secret crushes sign up. Searᴄh the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

An Jinyue was one of them. Seeing how everyone, yes, everyone, including the other girls, was attracted to this sister who suddenly appeared in their group, her feelings were quite complicated.

She couldn't help but think to herself, "It's okay, it's okay, they're just a bunch of shallow people. The boy I have a crush on definitely won't be one of them."

But when An Jinyue glanced over, she saw Xiao Chi, who was usually sunny and cheerful but treated everyone equally, repeatedly looking in the direction of that older sister.

An Jinyue was secretly observing him, while he was secretly observing someone else.

An Jinyue choked, then involuntarily felt a wave of irritation. She no longer cared that others were still talking and began to inquire about Gu Wan's situation, asking questions including but not limited to her age, height, occupation, and alma mater.

The attention of the group, who had been chatting about something else, was immediately drawn to this conversation.

These young boys and girls didn't yet know the meaning of tact; they only had pure curiosity.

Xiao Chi's gaze also fell on that figure not far away, along with everyone else's, not seeming out of place at all. However, Gao Mingqian beside him gave him a strange look.

When they learned that Gu Wan was a graduate of A University, already 27 years old, currently unemployed, and only managing several small beauty-related shops in City A, occasionally investing with the profits from her business, everyone, including Xia Xue, couldn't help but show envious expressions.

"If only we didn't have to work after graduation..." someone voiced what everyone was thinking.

Although Gu Wan said that the shops she now managed were inherited from her mother, Xia Xue couldn't help but marvel at her luck. She swore that she had just asked casually earlier.

Speaking of investments, Gu Wan found that this group of young boys and girls was quite interested in the topic. She couldn't help but sigh inwardly that kids these days indeed mature earlier.

Although they weren't studying finance-related majors, they were all unanimously very, very interested in making money. Gu Wan wasn't a business figure, but she had learned quite a bit of insider information from Lu Yu. Moreover, her own investment vision wasn't bad. Back then, her mother might have felt that she was losing her grip and wanted to cultivate a capable helper, so she spent a fortune to send her to an international school. Later, Gu Wan did indeed successfully manage the hospital as her mother had hoped, not only expanding the business but also opening several branch stores. The annual dividends alone were over ten million, and Gu Wan then used these dividends to invest in the stock market and other industries. There were ups and downs, but overall, the returns were quite substantial.

Although Gu Wan's mother couldn't see it now, all in all, Gu Wan was more than capable of guiding a group of young people who had not yet left school.

Gu Wan first recommended several reliable public accounts to them, then focused on explaining the A-share market and bank stocks, which are more suitable for beginners in the stock market. As for going further, she could only say that the stock market is risky, and one should be cautious when entering. Areas like the Growth Enterprise Market that require certain thresholds and could lead to overnight bankruptcy were not something they could touch for now.

Then Gu Wan talked about some industry insider information and trends that could be shared. Her voice wasn't loud, as if she was just casually mentioning things in a chat. However, what seemed like everyday life to her, as common and ubiquitous as three meals a day, was entirely new to Xia Xue and the others.

Looking at the big sister who radiated a soft glow like the moon at night, only one thought remained in An Jinyue's mind —

Total defeat.

S University was considered a prestigious school, but it was still far from A University. Counting carefully, the only advantage she had was her age.

But... what kind of advantage was age anyway!

She, who was almost twenty-eight, had a different color that belonged to twenty-eight-year-olds.

Unable to find any flaws, was she a fairy? The more she asked, the more heartbroken she became, so An Jinyue decisively shut up.

As for Xiao Chi beside her, he had long been staring in awe.

Among all of them, Gao Mingqian, who had the wealthiest family background, felt increasingly uneasy as he listened. His family was considered quite prominent, but many things Gu Wan mentioned were unknown even to him. He inexplicably began to doubt the "small shops" Gu Wan had mentioned. When he came to his senses and wanted to discuss it with someone, he turned his head only to see Xiao Chi in this state, and couldn't help but twist his mouth.

"Hey, hey, you're not..."

Xiao Chi didn't speak, only absent-mindedly ate a few mouthfuls of rice.

The meal ended quickly, and Gu Wan proposed to say goodbye, planning to return to the hotel to rest for a while.

Xiao Chi's ears perked up almost instantly.

Gao Mingqian had known him for a year and had never seen him so shy. He hadn't said a word throughout the meal, and now, though he clearly wanted the other person's contact information, he didn't dare to make a sound. Who knows where his usual ability to greet anyone without a trace of gloom had gone.

"Tsk, coward," Gao Mingqian clicked his tongue.

Xiao Chi pushed his head away without even blinking.

Fortunately, Xia Xue and others were equally reluctant to part, so when Xia Xue invited Gu Wan to play Werewolf together in the evening, not a single person objected, all nodding in agreement.

Now it wasn't just three people looking at her with those pitiful eyes, almost everyone had a pleading expression. Even Gu Wan found it hard to resist, and moreover, it wasn't a big deal. Unable to decline such earnest invitation, she agreed once again.

Just as Gu Wan was about to call for Beibei, she looked down and found that Beibei had already curled up and fallen asleep at her feet.

Gu Wan, of course, chose to carry it back to the hotel, but before she could move, someone very enthusiastically offered to help.

"This dog looks quite heavy. Let me carry it for you," Gao Mingqian, who was standing nearby, had clearly noticed the nervousness hidden in Xiao Chi's seemingly natural tone.

Only then did Gu Wan notice that there was such a young man in the group.

He was wearing a sports tank top and was very tall and handsome. Probably due to years of exercise, his skin tone seemed to be half a shade darker than wheat color. At this moment, he was smiling cheerfully, revealing a set of white teeth.

Just as Gu Wan was about to say it wasn't necessary, he had already effortlessly picked up the sleeping Beibei in his arms.

"Eh? Don't—" Gu Wan immediately tried to stop him, fearing that Beibei might bite this young man out of nervousness.

And just as she had thought, feeling a stranger approach, Beibei instantly became alert. However, it was unclear what this young man did, but in no time at all, he managed to make Beibei relax her guard.

Sensing that Gu Wan was right beside her and detecting no danger, Beibei soon fell back asleep in the young man's arms.

Gu Wan couldn't help but feel amazed.

Xiao Chi couldn't resist explaining, "I have several dogs at home, both big and small. I picked them all up from the streets. This little dog might have smelled their scent on me."

Previously, Xiao Chi had been slightly troubled by his ability to attract dogs, but suddenly he didn't feel that way anymore.

"Is this little dog of yours also a rescue?" he asked.

As he mentioned Beibei, Gu Wan unconsciously continued the conversation.

When the ride-hailing car arrived, seeing Beibei still fast asleep, Gu Wan hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "Thank you for your help. I'll call another car for you later."

Gao Mingqian was dumbfounded. After thinking for a second, he squeezed himself into the car just before the door closed.

This left Xia Xue and the others staring wide-eyed.

However, even more shocked than Xia Xue and the others were the two bodyguards following not far behind. At this moment, they couldn't help but wonder how, in the span of just one meal, the girls accompanying the madam had suddenly been replaced by two handsome young men.

In the end, Xiao Chi only escorted Gu Wan to the hotel entrance, politely not going inside, behaving so well that it seemed unlike him.

However, Xiao Chi acted as if he hadn't noticed Gao Mingqian's strange expression. He pointed to another hotel not far away, indicating that their group was actually staying there.

"It feels like such a coincidence," Xiao Chi said with a smile, but Gao Mingqian clearly saw his ears turn red, indicating he was nervous.

Gu Wan followed his gaze and realized that the place he was pointing to was only about one or two kilometers away. She couldn't help but smile as well.

After bidding farewell to the two of them, Gu Wan returned to the hotel, ready to rest.

Meanwhile, Lu Yu, who had missed mealtime and was feeling a bit uncomfortable, first had someone call the restaurant. After hanging up the phone, he couldn't help but press his hand against his protesting stomach.

As he was pressing, he couldn't help but wonder what Gu Wan was doing now.

Since there was no news from the bodyguards, everything should be fine, right?