"Megan Ma, is that you? Are you here to have fun too?" Yvonne Foster greeted the girl with a smile.
"Yeah," Megan Ma replied proudly, lifting her chin and gesturing to the young man she was holding onto. "Yvonne, let me introduce you. This is my boyfriend, Ethan Zhang."
"Hello, Ethan Zhang. I'm Yvonne Foster, Megan's classmate," Yvonne said gracefully.
Ethan Zhang narrowed his eyes, sizing up Yvonne Foster. Only now did he realize this girl was much prettier than Megan Ma, and his cold face broke into a smile. "So you're Megan's classmate. Nice to meet you."
Seeing her boyfriend being so enthusiastic with Yvonne Foster, Megan Ma felt a hint of dissatisfaction. Suddenly, her eyes lit up and she looked at Ian, saying, "Yvonne, who's this? Is he your boyfriend? You sure keep secrets well!"
"No, we're just friends," Yvonne Foster replied, a bit flustered.
Megan Ma said with a sarcastic tone, "Really? At school, so many guys ask you out and you never say yes, but now you're out alone with a handsome guy? Just friends, huh? I don't buy it."
Yvonne Foster explained, "Ian and I are really just friends. We only met yesterday, actually. He's my brother's friend, and my brother asked him to take me out today!"
Hearing Yvonne Foster's explanation, Ethan Zhang's eyes lit up, a strange look appearing in his gaze.
Megan Ma looked a little disappointed. She glanced at Ian and said, "Handsome, why don't you introduce yourself?"
"Hi, I'm Ian," Ian said with a friendly smile.
Ethan Zhang chimed in, "Haha, let's all get to know each other! Yvonne, Ian, let me introduce you." He pointed to the two guys and two girls behind him: "This is Gavin Guo, son of the Purple Qi East Hotel owner; Andy Yang, son of the Qionglai Hot Springs Hotel owner; Kelly Zuo, daughter of the Tianyin Film & TV chairman; and Millie Gu, daughter of the Bluewave Cosmetics CEO. We're all second-generation rich kids."
Millie Gu giggled, "Ethan, we may be rich kids, but we're nothing compared to you, the official second-generation!"
"Yeah, if you want to get anywhere in Xingnan, we all have to rely on you, Ethan!" Gavin Guo added with a grin.
"That's right, you're the mayor's son. Just don't mess with us business kids too much," Kelly Zuo joked, rolling her eyes at Ethan Zhang.
"Alright, let's stop bragging before people start laughing at us," Ethan Zhang waved his hand, though his face couldn't hide his pride. But when he saw Yvonne Foster's indifferent reaction, he felt a bit disappointed.
Watching their little performance, Ian found it kind of amusing. Whether they were rich kids or official heirs, as long as they didn't mess with him, everything would be fine.
"Since we met by chance, why not hang out together?" Ethan Zhang looked at Yvonne Foster, his eyes eager.
Megan Ma felt a little uncomfortable, but remembering Ethan Zhang's status, she didn't dare say anything.
"Ian, what do you think?" Yvonne Foster didn't answer Ethan directly, but turned to Ian for his opinion.
"The more, the merrier. Let's all go together," Ian said casually.
"Alright then, let's all stick together!" Ethan Zhang said, clearly excited.
During the outing, Ethan Zhang openly showered Yvonne Foster with attention, but she kept her distance. Meanwhile, Megan Ma grew increasingly uncomfortable, her gaze toward Yvonne becoming more and more resentful.
"By the way, Ian, you're still a student, right?" Gavin Guo asked, sounding casual.
"Yeah, senior year," Ian replied.
"So, what do your parents do?" Gavin Guo continued.
"They're just regular people," Ian answered.
Hearing that Ian's parents were just ordinary folks, Gavin Guo's eyes showed a trace of contempt. As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together. In their group, everyone was either rich or connected—either power or money.
Otherwise, it was hard to fit in.
Once they realized Ian was just from an ordinary family, Gavin Guo and the others quietly distanced themselves, leaving him isolated.
While Megan Ma and Yvonne Foster were in the restroom, Gavin Guo quietly pulled Ethan Zhang aside and whispered, "Young Master Zhang, I've checked it out—he's just a regular guy!"
"Good job," Ethan Zhang said, patting Gavin Guo on the shoulder.
After leaving the zoo, it was almost noon. Gavin Guo suggested they find a nearby hotel for lunch.
Everyone agreed—after walking around the zoo for so long, they were all tired and hungry.
Food at tourist spots was famously expensive, but this group of rich kids didn’t care.
They all headed to a nearby luxury hotel.
The meal was lavish. To set the mood, Ethan Zhang even ordered two bottles of red wine worth tens of thousands.
After the meal, Ethan Zhang called the waiter to settle the bill, but Gavin Guo quickly pulled out his credit card.
The server said politely, "Your total comes to 58,860 yuan. We'll round it down to 58,800."
"Just put it on my card," Gavin Guo said, handing over his credit card.
The server apologized, "Sorry, sir. Our card machines are down today, so we can only accept cash."
"Are you kidding? Who carries that much cash these days? You're not just making trouble, are you?" Gavin Guo complained.
"Enough, Gavin. Cash is fine. I've got ten thousand here—let's all chip in," Ethan Zhang said, waving his hand.
"I don't usually carry cash. I've only got a few dozen yuan," Gavin Guo shrugged helplessly, glancing at Andy Yang.
Andy Yang quickly said, "Don't look at me—I never carry cash either."
"I've actually got eight thousand," Millie Gu said, pulling out a stack of cash from her purse.
"Come on, it's not right to let a girl pay for lunch. Put your money away, Millie," Ethan Zhang said, deliberately putting on a stern face.
"Alright, I'll just keep it then," Millie Gu said with a smile.
For a moment, everyone's eyes turned to Ian.
If he still couldn't see that Ethan Zhang and the others were setting him up to lose face, he'd have to be an idiot.
Ian smiled, took fifteen thousand yuan in cash from his pocket, and placed it on the table. "This covers me and Yvonne's meal. Yvonne, let's go!"
"Okay!"
Yvonne Foster wasn't clueless—she'd already noticed the group intentionally isolating Ian during the outing. Now, with the bill, it was obvious they were targeting him. The hotel card machine excuse was way too flimsy; in a place this big, could there really be only one card machine?
Outside the private room, Yvonne Foster felt a little guilty. "Sorry, Ian. I didn't know they were that kind of people."
"It's fine. Some people always think they're better than others. Arguing with them just lowers your own worth," Ian replied, unconcerned.
"Yeah, that's true," Yvonne Foster nodded. To ordinary people, the mayor's son was impressive, but to her, he was just another person.
Back in the private room, Ethan Zhang's face was dark. He glared at Gavin Guo—this was his lousy idea. Not only did Ian not lose face, but their scheme was exposed. Still, Ethan's resentment toward Ian only deepened.