Another person also took out their invitation card and opened it to look. The invitation card was exquisitely made, giving off an air of sophistication and luxury.
"Looks quite presentable. Hey, Ran Chongyan, your family must be quite well-off, right?"
Chongyan replied, "I never said my family was poor. Hurry up and get ready, the class monitor and the others are already waiting outside."
"The class monitor is going too?" someone exclaimed, "Your family wouldn't have invited the whole class, would they?"
"Probably." He actually hadn't known about this before. It was only one evening that the class monitor suddenly messaged him, asking how they were going to get to his house for his birthday.
That's when he realized she had invited the entire class.
Thinking of that person, Chongyan's heart couldn't help but quicken.
When school resumed after the summer break, he had returned early. It had been nearly two months since they last saw each other. Although they communicated daily, not seeing the person in reality was like scratching an itch through a sock – utterly useless, and only making it itchier.
"Then let's hurry. By the way, how are we getting to your place? By car? How far is it?"
"By plane. My sister has arranged for someone to pick us up."
As the entire class walked out of the school, they saw a line of Porsche Cayennes parked neatly outside, eight cars in a row, exuding a sense of solemnity.
A middle-aged man in a suit and tie stepped out of the leading car. He was wearing a tailcoat, a gentleman's hat, and a white silk pocket square peeked out from his breast pocket. A brooch adorned his lapel, and he walked towards them with measured steps.
"Good morning, sir."
"Good morning." This was their butler.
"The cars are ready, and the arrangements at the airport are also made. Please, ladies and gentlemen, get into the cars."
Their class had just over 30 students. With the butler personally escorting them, Chongyan naturally rode in the same car as him, and the class monitor was also there.
These cars were all five-seaters. Except for their car, the other cars carried five people each. The class monitor, a lively and cheerful girl, was quite perplexed by this invitation from her classmate's family.
Although their class wasn't large and they all got along well, the solemn and formal atmosphere made her a little nervous.
The butler handed over a box of pastries from the front: "Sir, these are desserts made by Miss Zhou herself. Please feel free to have some now; you'll be served meals on the plane."
Chongyan asked excitedly, "She's here too?"
"Yes," the butler explained, "Miss Zhou happened to have something to do here. Her schedule has just concluded, and she is also on her way to the airport. We will be taking the same plane home."
"That's wonderful!" Thinking that he would see her immediately, he couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
The class monitor beside him was astute and immediately understood that Chongyan and the "Miss Zhou" mentioned had an unusual relationship. Thinking of the class beauty who had a crush on him and the senior students who had tried to get his attention several times in the lab, she silently offered them a moment of silence.
The butler, sensing the mood, said, "She misses you dearly too."
Chongyan happily ate a few pastries. Just as he was about to remember that his class monitor was sitting beside him and consider sharing, the butler suddenly spoke, "Sir, this dessert uses rather special ingredients and is not suitable for ladies. There are other refreshments available in the car. This lady, please help yourself."
He then handed over another box of pastries. The packaging was exquisite, and the contents were even more fragrant and delicious, making one's appetite surge just by the smell.
The class monitor swallowed. For a moment, she was too preoccupied to ponder whether the dessert was truly unsuitable for women, or if that Miss Zhou simply didn't want others to eat it.
She ate two pieces, then remembered something. She took two pictures with her phone and sent them to their class group chat.
A flood of envious comments followed.
Someone posted something in the group and quickly deleted it. Two minutes later, the class monitor noticed that a new group had been created, with everyone in the class except Chongyan included.
【Holy crap! Can someone tell me what Ran classmate's identity is? Didn't they say he was from the countryside before? Why are they picking people up in cars like this? It's too extravagant.】
【What cars?】
This person posted two pictures: 【Cayennes. A blogger who used to do luxury car content posted pictures of these. Although they didn't explicitly state it, they hinted quite clearly. This is the model for next year. The price isn't that important; what matters is getting so many of next year's models. This is f***ing amazing.】
【I'm more concerned about the price.】
【Not too expensive, only a little over two million each. Eight cars, that's about twenty million. My mind is blown.】
The group chat fell silent for a moment.
A moment later, someone tagged Chongyan's roommates: 【You three have been his roommates for over a year. Didn't you ever hear him talk about it? What's his identity? So impressive?】
【We honestly don't know. We just knew he wasn't short on money. When he first started university, the class advisor saw he had rural household registration and wanted him to apply for financial aid. He said he didn't need it. We all thought he was putting on an act, just being proud, but later, during midterms, he treated us to a meal at Longxing Restaurant. It cost nearly two thousand, and he paid without batting an eye. That's when we realized he wasn't faking it; he was genuinely rich.】
Students just starting university, especially those from ordinary backgrounds, had a monthly living allowance of only one to two thousand yuan, some even less. To live comfortably, they had to work part-time.
But their major involved endless experiments and data analysis. If they didn't want to fail, they had no time for part-time jobs, so their living expenses were relatively high.
However, no one would spend two thousand yuan on a single meal for others.
They knew he wasn't short on money, but Chongyan didn't wear branded clothing and was generally low-key, so the rest of the class wasn't very aware of his wealth.
They didn't know that above branded wear, there was haute couture.
【...I believe his family is genuinely wealthy now.】
Being able to send out luxury cars worth tens of millions to pick people up wasn't just a sign of being ordinarily wealthy; it might even be a hidden, affluent family.
【Let's change the topic.】 Someone asked in the group: 【Have you prepared birthday gifts? I bought a complete collection of Mr. XX's works. Now I feel it's a bit embarrassing to give. What should I do?】
【Giving books as a birthday gift, are you a devil?】
【So what did everyone else prepare?】
【A fountain pen.】
【A watch, only a few hundred yuan, feels a bit inadequate.】
【...】
As a group of people discussed in the chat, in one of the trailing cars, a youthful and beautiful girl took out a box. After opening it and looking at the tie inside, she felt a sense of retreat.
"Jiajia, wow, did you buy this? It's so beautiful! Things from this brand must be very expensive, right?"
The person next to her glanced at it and said, "Stefano Ricci. It seems quite expensive, a few thousand, perhaps."
Li Jia didn't reply. This tie was the most expensive model from the Stefano Ricci brand, costing over ten thousand yuan. She had previously heard that the team led by Chongyan had a collaboration with a company, and a meeting was scheduled after his birthday. She had originally intended to give it to him on this occasion to help him make a good impression.
But now, she felt a sense of irony.
A family that could casually send out cars worth millions to pick people up wouldn't possibly lack luxury items to make a good impression.
While she was contemplating this, her phone suddenly buzzed.
She picked it up and saw a private message from the class monitor.