As congratulations filled the air, I quickly faded into the background.

After a few rounds of drinks and dishes, the hotel manager entered the room. For him, anyone who could book Room 888 was a VIP; I had met him a few times before.

After his routine check-in, he asked, "Are you satisfied with today's dishes?"

I casually remarked, "The 'Lotus Pond Moonlight' dish is a bit oily; the others are fine."

My voice was low but silenced the room instantly. Ethan's expression shifted several times before he finally spoke up, saying, "Manager, don't listen to him; he doesn't know anything about food. You can go about your business; we'll handle it ourselves."

Once the manager left, Ethan forced a smile and tried to keep the atmosphere light while Shawn turned to me and said, "Kyle, what do you mean by that? Do you think you're some kind of food critic now?"

No one else spoke up as if talking to me would be an insult to themselves.

The moment everyone had been waiting for arrived: after eating and drinking their fill, it was time to show off their wives and cars.

Someone proudly declared they had just landed a multi-million-dollar deal.

Just then, my phone rang; it was my fiancée Emma calling.

"What's up, dear?"

"I heard you're dining at Royal Hotel?"

"My friends and I just finished our manicures and were passing by; can we come find you?"

Thinking we were almost done with our meal, I casually replied, "Sure, come on over; we're wrapping up soon."

After hanging up, I felt even more scornful glances directed at me.

A female classmate scoffed and said mockingly, "What an eye-opener! They're coming in a group just to mooch off a meal. They probably waited outside for ages—hilarious!"

Ethan looked at me with disdain in his eyes. "No worries; more tableware won't hurt. Just have the staff bring out some more dishes."

He shook his head as if I were even more pathetic than he had imagined.

In just a few minutes, the private room door was pushed open, revealing a beautiful woman with light makeup and wearing a pale green dress. If Sophie, the campus beauty queen, was an 8 out of 10, the woman in front of me was at least a 9.

The visitor was none other than my fiancée, Emma.

In the disbelieving eyes of everyone present, Emma immediately sat on my lap, showing off her freshly painted nails to me.

I affectionately stroked her hand.

"Is this really your girlfriend?" Class monitor Shawn asked incredulously.

James, who had no filter, said, "I mean, we're all roommates here, so we know each other pretty well. You don't need to hire someone just to show off, do you?"

A female classmate rolled her eyes, "Kyle, if you're just doing this to act cool, you might as well be ready to put in some hard labor for half a month. Doesn't that sting a little?"

As the others chimed in with their skepticism, the manager approached with a security guard.

The manager handed Emma the car keys. "Emma, your car is parked. This is your card. The total bill comes to 176,000. We've waived the service fee. The fruit platter and gift will be sent over shortly."

Acting? Being supported by a wealthy woman?

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

While everyone was still reeling in surprise, a man in a black suit approached.

Seeing the newcomer, Ethan quickly stood up. "David, what brings you here? We were just having a casual dinner, I didn't mean to trouble you."

Ethan could be impolite towards the manager, but towards this David, he acted like a primary school student.

After all, 60% of the entertainment venues in the entire city belonged to David. The Royal Hotel was just one of his many businesses.

To Ethan, David was a man of higher status than even his own father.

David didn't even glance at Ethan, walking straight up to me. "Kyle, you've found fault with my Lotus Pond Moonlit again!"

I smiled, "Who told you, a few beans, lotus roots and yam cost over 100."

"High-end, do you understand high-end? I've told you tech guys don't know how to live. You guys eat first, I've got some things to take care of, we'll have a drink together later." David said arrogantly, but without any airs of superiority.

Ethan looked at the scene unfolding before him, feeling utterly unreal.

The gazes of the others were filled with curiosity, completely different from their earlier disdain.

Soon, they were barraging me with questions about what I was doing and how I knew David.

The actual guest of honor, Ethan, was being ignored.

Feeling disgruntled, Ethan glared at Emma with malice in his eyes, "Emma, I advise you to be careful with this person. Although it sounds a bit harsh, he was notorious as a scoundrel in our school back in the day."

Hearing Ethan bring up the past, the classmates all sat back down, no one wanting to speak up.

It was Sophie who tugged at Ethan's sleeve, "Ethan, let's not go there, it's all in the past."

"In the past!? Stealing class funds, robbing his roommates, cheating on papers, drugging people, sneaking into the girls' dorm multiple times for indecent acts." Ethan glared at me fiercely as he spewed out the accusations.