27
Su Bei's thoughts were simple; it was just a matter of principle. This was a celebration dinner, and who would pay for a celebration dinner? Of course, the beneficiary would pay.
In other words, this celebration dinner could be hosted by Sun’s parents, by the school, or at the very least by Wu Mingbai. But it had absolutely nothing to do with Lan Subing.
Now that Lan Subing had booked the restaurant, it meant they were splitting the bill. Since it was a shared expense, Su Bei found it perfectly normal to pay his share in advance.
When Lan Subing saw the transfer, she was obviously stunned. She hadn’t expected Su Bei to go Dutch with her. Due to her family background, she had almost always footed the bill when eating out with classmates in elementary and middle school.
After she met Jiang Tianming and Wu Mingbai, they never took it for granted that she should pay, but because of the vast difference in their financial situations, it was usually those two who chose the restaurants.
This time, since she had picked the restaurant, Lan Subing instinctively thought of treating everyone and hadn’t considered the idea of splitting the bill.
Now that Su Bei had proactively suggested splitting the bill, she felt an inexplicable sense of being moved.
The next moment, Lan Subing received another 50-yuan transfer, this time from Mu Tieren. She looked up and met Mu Tieren’s gaze, and the class president gave her a kind nod.
Lan Subing withdrew her gaze, and a realization dawned on her. This was something she had never experienced before—her money had returned to her like a yo-yo.
Is this what normal classmate relationships are like?
Suddenly, she thought of something—how did they know that splitting the bill would cost 50 yuan?
Since she hadn’t added Su Bei as a friend yet, Lan Subing first sent him a friend request through the transfer information, then messaged Mu Tieren.
[Silent and Passionate Bing 66]: How did you know splitting the bill would cost 50?
Mu Tieren replied quickly:
[Mu Sanxiang]: I found the restaurant, then checked the group purchase for a six-person meal on the official website. 299 yuan, right? Smile.jpg
Seeing the message, Lan Subing suddenly understood. At the same time, she gained a new level of respect for the meticulousness of Mu Tieren and Su Bei.
Should I hire them as accountants? The young capitalist girl, who repays kindness with ingratitude, thought to herself.
Wu Mingbai, who was nearby, frowned in annoyance as he heard Lan Subing’s phone ping several times. "Is it that couple again?"
Since that couple left the school yesterday, the Lan Group had officially begun executing its plan. Thanks to previous preparations, the Sun family was nearly bankrupt within a day.
As wealthy people, the Sun family had some connections, and they quickly learned that it was the Lan Group targeting them, leading them to associate it with Lan Subing, whom they had seen yesterday.
Knowing they had offended someone, they had been bombarding Wu Mingbai and Lan Subing with calls and messages since this morning, hoping they would spare their family’s company. Fortunately, they couldn’t enter the school now, or they would be driving everyone crazy.
Lan Subing shook her head, put away her phone, and didn’t say much.
When they arrived at the restaurant, they immediately understood what it meant to be highly rated. The place was packed, and if they hadn’t had a reservation, they probably wouldn’t have found a spot.
After the staff led them to a private room and left, Wu Mingbai skillfully started to lighten the mood. His lively and cheerful personality made him the best person for the job, especially since, unlike Mo Xiaotian, he wasn’t brainless (in Wu Mingbai’s opinion).
But before they could chat much, they heard a commotion outside, as if someone was causing trouble.
Who would dare cause trouble outside the Ability Academy? Everyone was very curious. Jiang Tianming frowned and took the initiative to open the door to see what was happening.
However, as soon as he opened the door, he got involved. The troublemaker outside, a fat man, saw him and walked straight over. "Hey, I remember you’re a poor kid from Class F, right? How much did your reservation cost? I’ll pay you five times that amount. Now, get out!"
Hearing this, Su Bei sighed inwardly. As expected of the protagonist, he encountered trouble no matter where he went. In the first 15 years of his life, Su Bei had never met someone like this fat man, but here he was, seeing one after just one outing with the protagonist.
He had been wondering where yesterday's prophecy of "an argument" would happen, and now here it was.
If he remembered correctly, he had even crossed paths with this fat man once before. On the first day of school, during lunch, Su Bei had gone to the cafeteria with Si Zhaohua and Baozhu.
Their behavior that day had left a deep impression on Su Bei, but unlike the positive impressions Si Zhaohua and Baozhu had made, this guy had left a purely negative one—a small-minded person with an arrogant attitude.
Jiang Tianming immediately got angry. "In your dreams!"
He had already recognized the person as the fat man who had been with Si Zhaohua that day. They had been able to argue with Si Zhaohua thanks to this guy's instigation.
Now, with more people on their side, even without using their abilities, the fat man was no match for them. In fact, even just Jiang Tianming alone could probably take him down.
Although his physical strength wasn’t great, he had plenty of fighting experience, and dealing with a pampered fat man would be a piece of cake.
After being rejected, the fat man sneered, "Don’t be so ungrateful! I’m from Class A. I could use my ability to wipe you all out in an instant."
He assumed that everyone in this private room was from Class F, except for Mo Xiaotian. Mo Xiaotian’s ability hadn’t shown much offensive power yet, and although it had high potential, the fat man wasn’t worried about losing to him.
"Wow!" Wu Mingbai exclaimed, pretending to be completely oblivious to the argument, and said excitedly, "I’ve never had a fight with abilities outside of school before!"
The fat man's face instantly stiffened as he remembered that the school strictly forbade new ability users from using their abilities outside. If caught, the consequences would be severe.
At this moment, Mo Xiaotian innocently dealt a fatal blow, saying, "Huh? Are you guys planning to use your abilities to fight here? That won't do. I better go tell the teacher."
Upon hearing this, the fat man's face twisted in anger as he glared at Mo Xiaotian. "Stop pretending to be clueless! You're from Class A; why are you hanging around with a bunch of Class F losers?"
"Pfft!" Su Bei couldn't hold back his laughter. He found it genuinely amusing that the fat man was berating Mo Xiaotian, who was truly clueless, while ignoring Wu Mingbai, who was actually feigning ignorance.
Is this guy blind?
Everyone's attention was drawn to Su Bei's laugh, and the fat man's anger shifted. "What are you laughing at?"
Su Bei hadn't intended to speak, content with just watching the drama unfold. But since the spotlight was on him, he felt compelled to respond. Leaning lazily against the chair, propping his head with one hand, he casually said, "I'm laughing because the people you invited are about to arrive, and you still haven't secured the restaurant."
This remark startled the fat man. He'd nearly forgotten about that. If something went wrong after going through the trouble of inviting them, his family would surely blame him.
These people were not easy to deal with in a short time; his priority now was to find a new restaurant quickly.
With that thought, he shot Su Bei and the others a fierce glare, slammed the door shut, and left in a hurry while pulling out his phone.
"How did you know he was inviting people?" Mu Tieren asked curiously after the fat man left.
Mu Tieren had been ready to call a teacher earlier since even without using abilities, the fat man's bluster could cause them significant trouble. They had just helped the school catch the culprit, so getting help from the school should have been easy.
But before he could act, Su Bei resolved the situation with just one sentence.
"Wasn't it obvious?" Su Bei replied lazily, acting as if it was nothing, "There are plenty of empty seats outside, yet he insisted on getting a private room. He must be planning to treat someone."
The group suddenly understood. If he was just eating with a couple of classmates or by himself, he could easily find a spot outside. Only someone hosting a gathering would need a private room.
While it wasn't difficult to figure out, only Su Bei had realized it so quickly.
As everyone gazed at Su Bei with admiration, he quietly asked his "Manga Awareness," "Did I interrupt some kind of plot?"
"Manga Awareness" was a bit exasperated: "Yes, this was supposed to deepened the tension between Si Zhaohua and the main group."
By interfering, Su Bei had effectively derailed that storyline. Curious, he asked, "Without this scene, will the main group still clash with Si Zhaohua during the monthly exam?"
"Of course," "Manga Awareness" replied confidently. "Even Without this plot, another one will take its place. The conflict is inevitable."
Su Bei wasn't surprised by this answer. If he could easily resolve a conflict that drove the plot forward, it would derail much of the subsequent plot.
After their brief encounter, Su Bei didn't believe Si Zhaohua and Baozhu would become true enemies of the main group. It was obvious that their story arc would lead to them becoming allies.
After finishing the meal, Su Bei felt he had a good grasp of the restaurant. The food was genuinely delicious, living up to its reputation at the Ability Academy, and it was reasonably priced. He made a mental note to bring Feng Lan here for a meal sometime.
After all, Feng Lan had previously treated him to a meal at the school's points cafeteria, and he still owed him a favor. This would be the perfect opportunity to repay him.
Satisfied, the group strolled back to school. Jiang Tianming turned to Mu Tieren and asked, "Class rep, did the teacher mention anything about the monthly exam?"
Mu Tieren hesitated briefly but decided there was no harm in sharing what he knew, so he nodded. "The teacher said this month's exam will be a team-based event, and it seems there will be mixed-class groups."
Mixed-class means that students from Class A could team up with those from Class B, but generally, stronger ability users would be reluctant to team up with weaker ones unless they were friends.
Everyone was eager to learn more about the exam, as most of them weren't satisfied with their current classes and hoped to use the exam as a chance to move up.
Unfortunately, Mu Tieren only knew a little more than they did and could only reassure them, "The teachers will brief us a week before the exam. Don't worry; we'll know soon enough."
Back in the dorm, Su Bei threw himself onto the bed as soon as he entered and let out a long sigh. "The monthly exam..."
He couldn't help but feel stressed. Despite his confident front, he knew how much of it was a bluff.
Although his ability had evolved from [Gears] to [Gear of Destiny], it still had zero offensive capability, and even the prophecy function could only be used once a day.
How could he maintain his disguise during the exam under these conditions? If he got exposed, those fans who adored his supposed power would quickly abandon him. Without their wild imaginations of his incredible abilities, what would he do?
No, he had to come up with a solution. With these thoughts swirling in his mind, he gradually drifted off to sleep.
Early Sunday morning, Su Bei was suddenly awakened by a notification from "Manga Awareness": "A new chapter of 'The King of Superpower' is out. Don't miss it!"
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