In a private room at Crown Hotel, Heye City.
Duan Yun sat bored in a corner, his eyes lingering on the sumptuous cuisine laid out before him, yet he couldn't muster the slightest bit of appetite.
Just yesterday, he had been discharged from the military. Today, he was informed to come to this hotel for a class reunion. Unfortunately, Duan Yun was somewhat disappointed; the atmosphere here clearly didn't match what he had envisioned.
“The new manager at our company is so annoying. The day before yesterday, he even presented me with a diamond ring in front of everyone and kneeled down to ask me to be his girlfriend.”
“Really? Did you agree?”
“No, I refused him outright. I have plenty of suitors, and his diamond ring isn't even three carats. That shows a serious lack of sincerity…”
“Oh, men these days can be such a nuisance. An executive at our company had only seen me twice but began asking me what type of car I liked, as if I were someone easy to please. He should take a good look in the mirror. There is no way I would be interested in him…”
Duan Yun, overhearing these remarks from the group of women at his table, felt a cold sweat running down his spine. Had he not known what these two former classmates of his looked like, Duan Yun might have imagined two famous movie stars showing off their wealth. However, it seemed to him that in today's society, it was as if pork was being sold at the price of gold!
If competing over grades was the norm in school, presently at this class reunion, the competition was who had the better livelihood, better job, more money, or even, a more beautiful girlfriend.
Although this was a reflection of reality, Duan Yun, who had recently returned from over five years of service in a special forces unit, could not help but feel somewhat out of place.
"To commemorate our rare high school reunion, let's all raise our glasses and drink to our camaraderie!"
A man in a tailored suit, sporting a sleek undercut hairstyle stood from his seat, addressing the room filled with several dozen people.
As his voice faded, the room was filled with the sound of clinking glass as everyone stood in response.
“He Biao, has already become one of the top ten outstanding entrepreneurs in Heye City. Let's hope some of his success rubs off on us.”
"Absolutely, even back in school, I could tell that He Biao was not ordinary. Now it seems my judgement was correct. Among all our classmates, undoubtedly He Biao has achieved the most success."
"Boss He, when are you going to look after us old classmates..."
With the alcohol flowing, everyone in the room began to gather around a young man named He Biao, speaking courtesies to him.
"Hahaha, we're all classmates. Anywhere else, I can't make promises, but here in Heyang city, who with influence doesn’t give me, He Biao, some respect? In need of help in the future, just drop my name, it works wonders!" After several rounds of toasts, He Biao, glowing with enthusiasm, started boasting.
A wave of flattery soon ensued.
"Oh, isn't this our school's man of the hour, class monitor Duan, it's really been years, aren't you going to join us for a drink?" Just as Duan Yun was thinking about how to excuse himself, the young man named He Biao came over with a glass of alcohol.
"My tolerance for liquor is quite poor, I won’t embarrass myself."
Seeing He Biao coming over, Duan Yun stood up with a smile.
Duan Yun still had impressions of He Biao. His father was the deputy director of a business bureau in Heyang city. He was influential and had recently started a few chain hotels. He was reputed to be worth several hundred million yuan at least.
And He Biao also gradually started to take over his father's assets over the years, becoming a true successor of his father's wealth.
However, they didn’t exactly get along well in high school. He Biao once sexually harassed a girl in their class and Duan Yun, who was the class monitor at the time, despite not reporting it to the teacher, cornered He Biao in the toilet and beat him up.
These were old skeletons from back in school days, and it caused a resentful feeling in He Biao towards Duan Yun for a long time. They hadn't been in touch for many years.
Today's He Biao felt satisfied, since they were no longer on the same level socially.
"Back in school days, I may have offended you. This drink is my apology." Having seemingly understood He Biao's thoughts, Duan Yun didn't waste any more words, picked up a glass of alcohol from the table, tilted his head back and drank it down.
"Hahaha, very much like the class monitor Duan I remember. From school, I knew that Duan would be a wise man in society and will be greatly successful!" After a pause, He Biao then change his tone, adopting a regretful attitude, "But then I heard that you, Duan, gave up on university to join the army and have reportedly been discharged. You haven’t even managed to find work, isn't that a bit too unfortunate?"
There was a hint of mockery in He Biao's words, and other classmates started looking at Duan Yun with a sense of disdain.
"You're right, I do not have a job now." Duan Yun spoke honestly.
"In fact, job hunting is a trivial matter. Here's what, why don't you work for my company? A salary of a thousand a month, you can at least get by!" He Biao said, laughing heartily.
Although Heyang is a second-tier city, the average wage of a regular worker is at least two thousand. This remark of He Biao’s was clearly aimed to belittle Duan Yun.
"Haha!" Duan Yun suddenly laughed upon hearing this, then walked up to He Biao and said, "I'll handle my job affairs, and you deal with your dad. We both strive to become stronger, and if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave!"
"Don't go! What do you mean by that?" He Biao's face changed, and he immediately berated Duan Yun.
But Duan Yun ignored him and directly left the private room.
After leaving the room, Duan Yun finally breathed a sigh of relief. He headed directly to the hotel's bathroom, and while washing his hands after relieving himself, the door behind him was suddenly pushed open, and a figure rushed into the bathroom.
When Duan Yun saw the person through the mirror, he was startled.
Turns out, the person who just rushed in was a tall, slim woman with long hair and fair skin!
Especially her exquisite features, just like the fine-brush painting of an ancient scroll, exuding a faint charm of a waterside village, definitely a true beauty!
Moreover, at first glance, Duan Yun recognized the limited-edition Patek Philippe on her wrist. A conservative estimate puts it at a million, meaning this woman was clearly wealthy!
"Ah, I'm sorry." Seemingly realizing she entered the wrong bathroom, the long-haired beauty's face blushed, and she turned to leave.
However, just as she turned around, it seemed like she remembered something. So, she turned back to Duan Yun and said, "Um… Sir, are you free now?"
"What's up?"
"I'd like to ask for your help, it won’t take long."
"Huh?" Duan Yun was taken aback, then asked, "Can you speak directly? What do you need my help with?"
"Well, I... I want you to pretend to be my boyfriend. It won't take up much of your time, just for a little while," the long-haired beauty said with a somewhat begging tone.
"To be your temporary boyfriend?" Duan Yun looked surprised. He looked at the woman closely, then laughed and asked, "Should I know specifics about this before? You aren't going to use me as a scapegoat to escape a debt, are you?"
"Of course not. Here's the situation..." The long-haired woman quickly explained to Duan Yun.
Turns out her name was Yang Ying. Coincidentally, today she is also attending a high school reunion. However, one of her classmates, a man who has been pursuing her for several years and has since studied abroad, came back specifically for this reunion intending to publicly confess his feelings to her.
But Yang Ying didn't have any feelings for this man, so she thought about getting someone to play the role of a temporary boyfriend, to let this man finally give up.
"So, you want me to play the role of a 'shield', right?" Duan Yun sneered.
"Yes! Exactly like that," the long-haired woman nodded like a pecking chicken. It appeared as though she was worried that Duan Yun would refuse, she immediately took out a wad of cash from her bag, without even counting it, and handed it over to him, saying, "If you're willing to help me out, this money is yours."
It quickly became clear that this woman was not at all short on money. After some thought, Duan Yun had an idea.
"I'll take this job!" Duan Yun took the wad of cash and stuffed it into his pocket immediately.
"Great, then you can attend my classmates' reunion with me now." Yang Ying's face relaxed upon hearing Duan Yun's agreement.
"No problem." Duan Yun smiled and nodded, then extended his arm, which Yang Ying immediately grasped.
When their bodies were close together, Duan Yun was suddenly overwhelmed by the unique fragrance on Yang Ying. It wasn't similar to any ordinary cheap perfume, but rather an inherent scent from Yang Ying's body, giving him a clean and warm feeling.
Moreover, because of their close proximity, Duan Yun took advantage of his height and could casually glimpse the impressive view down her neckline.
"Quite impressive indeed..." Duan Yun couldn't help but give a compliment.
"What did you say?" Yang Ying asked in confusion after hearing the words.
"I said, be careful not to give yourself away later."
"Ok, thank you for your help."
Under the guidance of Yang Ying, the two arrived in a luxurious private room upstairs.
However, as Yang Ying walked in front and pushed open the door of the private room, she saw a stunning scene.
It turned out that the room was already filled with thousands of roses, and at the entrance, a heart shape made of costly purple roses was set up. A man with a slim figure and gold-rimmed glasses stood in the center of the love-shaped roses. It was undoubtedly the 'sea turtle' as Yang Ying described earlier.
"Bang, bang, bang!" More than a dozen party poppers exploded at once, and colorful scraps of paper floated down from the ceiling, resulting in a loud noise in the room.
The man with gold-rimmed glasses, the 'sea turtle', quickly picked up a bouquet of flowers, knelt down in front of Yang Ying, and said in a trembling voice, "Yang Ying, I love you, I hope you can be my girlfriend."
Even though Yang Ying had known in advance that he would confess his love for her, she did not expect it to happen so abruptly. She stood still for a moment, somewhat at a loss.
However, at this moment, Duan Yun suddenly stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Yang Ying's waist. At the same time, he whispered in her ear, "Don't blow your cover..."
Then, under all eyes, he directly kissed Yang Ying's red lips!
