Chapter 45 A Private Screening
While having dinner with Zheng Shiwei and Fu Liang, Liu Shang received a message from Jiang Ruolin. She told him she could get out early tomorrow at noon and asked what he wanted to eat and where he wanted to go.
Perhaps prompted by his earlier conversation with Li Huaiyuan, Liu Shang replied quickly: they should go to the movies.
At home, Jiang Ruolin lay on her large bed and read his text message. She subconsciously traced the charms on her pink phone with a fingernail and couldn't help but curse inwardly: *Liu Shang, you big idiot. I went through all this trouble to get out of the house early to spend time with you, and you want to go to the movies.*
*The theater will be packed on a weekend, we won't have any privacy at all. So much for the little reward I had planned for you...*
The next day, Liu Shang only worked a half-day, leaving the company early to meet Jiang Ruolin at the designated shopping mall. To his surprise, she had also arrived ahead of schedule, at almost the exact same time as him.
"Good thing I came early, or you would have been waiting for a while."
"Come on, let's eat first. What are you in the mood for? My treat."
As she spoke, Jiang Ruolin took the initiative and linked her arm through Liu Shang's. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, "I want to eat you."
"You're awful!"
Jiang Ruolin gave him a playful glare before leading him into an elegant and stylish Chinese restaurant.
Just as they finished ordering, Liu Shang's phone rang. It was Li Huaiyuan.
Afterward, Liu Shang excused himself from the table, stepped outside the restaurant, and found Li Huaiyuan waiting for him.
"So, is everything set?"
Li Huaiyuan gave him an "OK" gesture.
"Don't worry, I handled it just like I promised."
"There are a total of 140 seats in the small VIP hall, all of which have already been booked out. Because we have a service agreement with the university, it just so happens that we can book first and pay later."
Liu Shang nodded, took an envelope from his jacket, and handed it to Li Huaiyuan.
"150 seats, 30 yuan per ticket, here is exactly 4,500 yuan."
"Use whatever's left over to buy some drinks for everyone in the department."
"It's a small token of my appreciation."
"By the way, remember to keep this quiet for me."
Li Huaiyuan took the envelope but gave him an exasperated look. "I know you're rich, but I already told you we're booking this in the university's name, so we get the student price."
"You won't even use half of this."
"As for thanking us, that's out of the question. On the contrary, you helped us meet our quota for student union events ahead of schedule."
"If anyone should be saying thank you, it's us thanking you for your generous support."
Liu Shang smiled. "That may be your perspective, but from my point of view, I couldn't have booked the entire theater on my own, even with this money."
"So, the extra is my way of saying thanks. If you really don't want to arrange drinks, then just use it for your department's future activity fund."
Li Huaiyuan shook his head firmly. "If I did that, you'd be underestimating me, Li Huaiyuan."
"That's not how I do things, and it would go against my principles for being in the student union."
"Besides, I'm not interested in this small amount of money. I'll pay for the booking later and give you back the receipt and the change."
"By the way, it took six or seven people from our department all morning to arrange this booking."
"So keeping your identity a secret is going to be difficult."
"Besides, your grand gesture seems to have moved a few people. Several girls in our department prepared a little surprise for you. You'll see it when you go inside."
With that, Li Huaiyuan handed Liu Shang two tickets for the seats with the best view.
"Here are your tickets. Use these to get in."
"As for the rest, they're useless. I destroyed them."
When Liu Shang returned to the restaurant, several exquisite dishes had already been served.
"What's wrong? You were gone for a while."
Liu Shang smiled. "Didn't I agree to take you to the movies? I had a friend help me buy a couple of tickets."
"Look, the seats aren't bad, right?"
As he spoke, he handed her the tickets. Jiang Ruolin looked at them and nodded with a smile.
...
An hour later, as Liu Shang held Jiang Ruolin's hand and they passed through the theater's ticket gate, several members of Li Huaiyuan's department watched with interest from a nearby railing.
"Tsk tsk, so that's how Liu Shang managed to win over our freshman goddess, Jiang Ruolin. It all makes sense now."
"Hehe, booking out an entire theater just to take his girlfriend to the movies. That kind of boldness and financial backing isn't something an ordinary student has."
Hearing this, the girls standing with them sighed with envy. "It's so romantic."
"I'm also really curious. What's going to happen when they walk into a theater that's all theirs and see the little surprise we prepared?"
"I know if it were me, I'd be so moved. I'd probably promise him anything on the spot."
At this, one of the male students retorted sourly, "So tonight, another room gets booked at a hotel near campus, and we lose another innocent girl at the university, is that it?"
"Hey! Why does your mind always go straight to the gutter?!"
"Can you try not to be so vulgar?"
"Besides, so what if they get a hotel room? We're all adults here, okay?"
"If you had what it takes, you could have pursued Jiang Ruolin yourself before Liu Shang came along!"
Seeing the argument escalate, Li Huaiyuan stepped in with a smile.
"Look at you all, you're sophomores now. What's the point of arguing?"
"But having said that, Yuan Yao, you were a bit unfair to Chen Han just now. You two aren't from Fengcheng, so you don't understand the guts and effort it takes to successfully pursue Jiang Ruolin."
"Based on my two interactions with him, I can say for sure that this Liu Shang is definitely not comparable to an ordinary person."
As he spoke, Li Huaiyuan shook the envelope in front of everyone. "I already told him the approximate cost, but he still gave me nearly double the amount."
"He said that from his perspective, this is what the gesture should cost."
"You need financial backing to pursue a girl, that's true, but for someone his age to have such a casual yet generous attitude toward money is truly impressive."
"Of course, I'll stick to my principles. I'll return the extra money to him, along with the receipt."
"Now, come on. Let's go get dinner to celebrate the successful completion of our event!"
---
$5 Tier – Early Access!
Read 30 chapters ahead of public platforms like RoyalRoad and Scribble Hub — with plans to increase to 40 chapters ahead once I reach 10 members!
Chapters are posted as soon as they're completed, so you'll always stay ahead of the curve.
Support the story and unlock early access:
Patreon is linked in My Profile or About.
Please select your membership carefully, as I have multiple novels ongoing. If you're on Apple, consider subscribing through your browser instead — it will be cheaper for you, and I won't have to wait 2 months for payments. Thank you!