Chapter 21: Poaching Lin Fan’s Talent!

But what she said next left Lin Fan feeling awkward.

“It’s a pity you sent the flowers too late… Xinxi already has a boyfriend! Lin Fan, you haven’t introduced yourself yet, why don’t you let everyone get to know you…”

As soon as she finished, the young man brazenly looked Lin Fan up and down.

To call it a glance would be generous; it was more of a scrutiny.

Lin Fan caught a flash of disdain and irritation in his eyes, though the man masked it well, the expression fleeting and subtle.

But Lin Fan was no ordinary man; he had become adept at reading women’s minds and had read his share of books on psychology.

He was always capable of catching the faintest shifts in expression and emotion.

“Hello everyone, my name is Lin Fan, I’m twenty-three years old, working as a network administrator at Genesis Media…” Lin Fan introduced himself briefly.

A few guys in the corner sized him up as they muttered among themselves.

“This guy is just a network admin, and he thinks he can pursue Qiao Xinxi? He’s nothing compared to Young Master Ling!”

“Exactly! Ling Feng is a well-known rich kid at our school. I heard his family runs a real estate company; his weekly allowance is over a hundred thousand!”

“He didn’t even bring a gift and yet acts so self-assured? Clearly a bootlicker. No idea how he managed to cozy up to Qiao Xinxi.”

“I thought I saw him driving a BMW X6 earlier and thought he was rich too, but now… it’s probably a rental!”

Ling Feng smiled faintly, completely unconcerned with Lin Fan, and as if by magic, produced a small box in his hand.

The girls around gasped in surprise.

Qiao Xinxi took a step back in disbelief, her face full of astonishment—was he about to make a public declaration of love?

Ling Feng slowly opened the box. But inside was not a ring—it was a necklace.

“Xinxi, I heard you’ve had your eye on this necklace for a long time. I bought it especially for you—do you like it?”

Qiao Xinxi seemed at a loss.

She glanced at Yang Na beside her, who only shrugged helplessly, as if to say it had nothing to do with her.

Lin Fan glanced at the two and quickly deduced the situation.

Most likely, Ling Feng wanted to pursue Qiao Xinxi and had learned about her interests from Yang Na.

For example, this necklace was probably something Qiao Xinxi and Yang Na had seen while shopping together.

But Yang Na interjected again, “Young Master Ling, she already has a boyfriend. Are you really going to steal her away right in front of everyone? Isn’t that a bit much?”

With that, she fixed her gaze on Lin Fan.

Everyone else looked at him curiously, waiting to see how he would respond.

Lin Fan spoke in a calm, measured tone. “May I ask, how much did you pay for this necklace?”

A flicker of contempt passed through Ling Feng’s eyes. Chin raised, he replied proudly, “This is the most expensive necklace at Golden Fortune Jewelers, worth two hundred thousand!”

A chorus of gasps rose around them.

“Young Master Ling is so generous! He just gives away a two-hundred-thousand necklace? My family doesn’t even make that much in a year!”

“Look at Lin Fan’s expression—he probably can’t afford anything so extravagant! He’s just a poor wage earner, no way he can compete with a rich kid.”

“Ling Feng is clearly here to steal her away tonight. He’s been after Xinxi for almost a whole semester—he’s determined to succeed.”

People looked at Lin Fan with a schadenfreude-laden anticipation.

How could he possibly compete with Ling Feng?

Lin Fan gazed at the necklace for a moment, then said something astonishing.

“A mere two hundred thousand for a gift? For a goddess like Xinxi, she deserves nothing less than jewels worth at least a million!”

Everyone stared at him, dumbfounded.

Ling Feng’s face darkened, his displeasure evident.

This guy actually dared to challenge him in public?

He had been born with a silver spoon in his mouth—a true son of wealth. No one had ever dared to contradict him to his face.

Jealousy flared in his heart.

“Isn’t this guy overdoing it? Does he really have jewels worth a million?”

“I bet he’s all talk! Maybe Xinxi likes this kind of act? Poor Xinxi, she ended up with such a poser.”

“He dares to offend Young Master Ling—he’s asking for trouble…”

Everyone began to feel sorry for Qiao Xinxi, and also suspected Lin Fan was just putting on a show.

But Lin Fan turned to Qiao Xinxi, his face lighting up with a smile. “As it happens, I’m a diamond member at Golden Fortune Jewelers. I’ll give their manager a call and have him send over a few pieces.”

At this, everyone except Qiao Xinxi showed open contempt.

Qiao Xinxi, of course, knew he wasn’t boasting, but she didn’t want Lin Fan to spend so lavishly on her.

He’d already given her so much.

“Let’s forget it, I’m not really into jewelry,” she said.

“Then what do you like? Just tell me… As your boyfriend, how could I not give you a proper gift?”

His last two sentences were aimed at the doubters, a silent hint to Ling Feng that he had no chance.

Qiao Xinxi also noticed her classmates’ scorn and, being someone who cared about appearances, she knew if Lin Fan did nothing, people would say she’d been duped.

Since Lin Fan wasn’t hurting for money, and if he insisted, she might as well go along.

“In that case… I’d like a Patek Philippe watch.”

“No problem, I’ll arrange it right away!” Lin Fan clapped his hands.

Whether or not Qiao Xinxi was materialistic didn’t matter; since she was willing to cooperate, he was more than happy to give her any gift, no matter the cost.

He then took out his phone, found the number of the manager at the Tianhu branch of Golden Fortune Jewelers, and called him in front of everyone.

He had previously bought jewelry worth tens of millions as gifts for Gu Qingcheng and other streamers, and his extravagance had prompted the manager to add his contact and make him a diamond member.

“Manager Zou, do you have a moment? Could you bring some jewelry and gold pieces over?”

Once connected, Lin Fan spoke with an air of command.

“Bring twenty-nine gold medals, each weighing a hundred grams, and a necklace. Also, do you know anyone at the Patek Philippe store? You do? Then pick out a ladies’ watch—make sure it’s worth no less than five million!”

The crowd was stupefied by his words.

“What’s this guy doing? Is he really going to give everyone here a gold medal?”

“He just casually orders a watch worth millions… I’ve never seen someone show off like this before. Could Lin Fan actually be secretly wealthy?”

“Don’t jump to conclusions; what if he’s just putting on a show?”

Lin Fan ignored the astonished stares and turned to Qiao Xinxi to explain, “I forgot to bring a gift for the class monitor earlier, and I feel bad about it…”

“So I asked Manager Zou to bring twenty-nine pure gold medals, one hundred grams each, as gifts for our classmates. I’ll also add a necklace for tonight’s star, Class Monitor Li Rong… What do you think of these arrangements?”