Chapter 103: The Pretender and Fraudster

After Lin Fan briefly relayed a few rumors he had heard in the chat group, he intended to leave.

But Zhang Yi sincerely tried to keep him there.

“If you leave, how am I supposed to get back later? Besides, you don’t have to pay them any mind. After we finish the barbecue, let’s all go back together. It’s rare for friends to gather like this, and I don’t want to spoil her mood.”

Zhang Yi could not drive. Though she had recently signed up and was preparing to take her license test, she did not want to leave early. That would be disrespectful to her best friend.

Lin Fan did not object and had no choice but to stay on, gritting his teeth.

What he had not expected was that, a quarter of an hour later, the group would move to the outdoor pavilion to enjoy the barbecue.

Then Zhong Xingnan suddenly came up to Lin Fan and sneered in a twisted, sarcastic tone. “Brother, you seem awfully above it all. What, do you think everyone who comes here is some kind of decent person?”

Lin Fan looked at him in confusion, not understanding what he meant.

Zhong Xingnan, however, thought he was playing dumb and acting aloof.

The other two beside him quickly chimed in.

“You’re just a bumpkin, and you don’t even have the right to come in here. You only got in by riding on someone else’s coattails, and you still have the nerve to call other people schemers? So high and mighty, aren’t you?”

“Looking at him, he’s either an overnight millionaire or a demolition beneficiary. How could he compare with Young Master Zhong? Let’s not bother with this shameless loser... Though I have to say, his girlfriend is pretty beautiful...”

Hearing this, Lin Fan’s mood plunged instantly into an icy abyss.

He glanced toward the pavilion and immediately guessed what had happened.

Tang Guo had definitely sold him out!

He had only meant well when he warned Tang Guo not to let Zhong Xingnan toy with her feelings. He had never expected this old classmate to turn around and tell Zhong Xingnan everything he said!

What an idiotic woman!

What he hated most was being betrayed—being sold out.

First Chen Yanzi, then Shi Jie, and now Tang Guo. A nameless fury rose in Lin Fan’s heart.

So Tang Guo had never taken him seriously at all.

At that moment, Zhang Yi stepped out from the pavilion.

“Everything’s almost ready. Why are you still standing out here?”

Seeing this, Zhong Xingnan put on a false smile and said, “Zhang Yi, forgive my bluntness, but your boyfriend may not be qualified to enjoy the food here.”

Then the others picked up where he left off.

“Yes, yes, everything here is imported. Everyone who comes here is either rich or powerful. For a bumpkin like him to come here at all is already a blessing from his ancestors!”

“He drives a Range Rover and thinks that makes him wealthy? Any man here, picked at random, is far richer than him. Zhang Yi, why don’t I introduce you to a handsome and talented rich second-generation heir? He’d be far better than this bumpkin!”

The two others continued to echo him.

Zhang Yi was stunned. She had not expected the three of them to belittle Lin Fan right in front of her.

She immediately realized something, and her expression changed. In a firm voice, she said, “I’m not interested in rich second-generation heirs, so there’s no need for you to worry about that!”

The implication was clear: stop making a scene. No matter how ordinary Lin Fan might seem, he was still her boyfriend.

But the three of them had already set their sights on Lin Fan and would not let it go.

“Listen to yourself. We’re doing this for your own good. Look at Tang Guo—she’s with me now, and she’s about to enter the entertainment industry. I have the connections and the money to make her a little star. Can your boyfriend do that?”

“To be honest, I think you have more potential than Tang Guo to become a celebrity... This formal dress you’re wearing is a custom Elie Saab, right? Did he buy it for you, or did he rent it somewhere just to save face for the occasion?”

Seeing that Zhang Yi would not give him any face, Zhong Xingnan went all out, mocking her for lacking discernment and not knowing quality when she saw it.

Naturally, he did not forget to belittle Lin Fan as well.

He had already made up his mind to break up Zhang Yi and Lin Fan, and even to poach her right in front of Lin Fan.

By now, Zhang Yi also realized that her own mistake had caused Zhong Xingnan to develop hostility toward Lin Fan.

But she could not find an excuse to leave now, and so she decided to reveal Lin Fan’s identity.

“To be honest, my boyfriend is a rather low-key person. Don’t be fooled by his ordinary appearance; he is no worse than any of you. You know Young Master Wang and Miss Su from Harbour City, don’t you? They’re both his friends. Some time ago, he spent three billion to buy the Grand Imperial Hotel...”

Hearing this, the three of them looked at Lin Fan in disbelief.

She had deliberately brought up Wang Sixian and Su Qinmo because she wanted to use their names to suppress Zhong Xingnan.

Instead, it only stirred up Zhong Xingnan’s competitive spirit.

“Nice try! I know perfectly well what kind of people Young Master Wang and Miss Su are. They’re top-tier rich heirs. How could they possibly have anything to do with some bumpkin like him?”

The other two also voiced their doubts.

“As far as I know, the one who bought the Grand Imperial Hotel was the richest man, Lin, and Wang Jianguo even went personally to the capital to meet him. And you’re saying it was he who bought it? Have you been fooled by him?”

“You need to keep your eyes open. These days, some scammers like to play rich, desperately forcing their way into elite circles and mingling with all kinds of people. In truth, they’re running a romance scam, hunting women like you who have never seen much of the world.”

Zhang Yi stared at the three of them in bafflement.

She did not understand what was going through their minds. She had simply told the truth, yet they had mistaken it for her being deceived by Lin Fan.

If Lin Fan were really a fraud, would he have given her a custom gown? Would he have given her a restaurant? Would he have offered a betrothal gift worth hundreds of millions?

Clearly, the three of them looked down on Lin Fan.

Lin Fan could not stand listening any longer. He gave a light laugh and said contemptuously, “People differ in the depth of their minds and the breadth of their vision. Since you have no way of reaching Young Master Wang and Miss Su, of course you’d assume they look down on ordinary people. In truth, they simply have no desire to be friends with vain, self-important fools.”

He had seen through it now: these three were just like Bai Jiahao. They all thought of themselves as the highest class of rich heirs, and believed ordinary people had no right to stand on equal footing with them.

Even if Lin Fan really had money, in their eyes it would still have come from fraud.

In plain terms, rich heirs without real substance always think they belong to a world apart from ordinary people.

Looking down on the common man is practically a standard assumption among rich heirs.

“Hmph! You still won’t admit you’re putting on airs? Don’t think that saying a few words about vision and perspective makes you noble. In this world, money is king. Without money, no matter how lofty your ideals, you’re still just a poor nobody!”

Having been lectured by Lin Fan twice, Zhong Xingnan was somewhat embarrassed and angered.

He said angrily and unconvinced, “If you really know Young Master Wang and Miss Su, then call them and let me see for myself!”

But Lin Fan remained unmoved.

If he were only calling them to prove that he knew them, then wouldn’t he be the same kind of person as Zhong Xingnan?

There was no need to play the clown.

“See that? He doesn’t know Young Master Wang at all! He talks bigger than the sky, but when it comes down to it, he can’t even make a sound!”

Zhong Xingnan sneered with arrogant satisfaction.

He felt that he had already exposed Lin Fan’s true face. This was a textbook case of an ugly toad pretending to be rich.

“Go get the security guards. This guy has no right to be here!”

“The first time I saw him, I knew he was a sleazy man. He looks so ordinary, yet dresses so flashily—typical fake-rich fraud, the kind that preys on women!”