After a bit of joking around, Wang Rongfeng said with envy, "No wonder Third Brother didn't come with us to get his hair done. Now that he's a male god, he doesn't need to do all this flashy stuff... But Third Brother, when did you get in such good shape? How come I never noticed before?"
"I've been working out lately," Zhao Yuan replied.
"Looks like I should start working out too. Once I get some muscle, I'll go show it off..." Wang Rongfeng imagined himself becoming a male god and couldn't help but laugh, his expression as sleazy as could be.
Wu Yan twisted the knife without hesitation. "Second Brother, you should just give up. Even if you build muscle, you'll never be a male god. You'll just attract other guys. Haven't you noticed? Third Brother is way easier on the eyes than before."
Liu Zhu and Wang Rongfeng both turned to look at Zhao Yuan. After looking him up and down, they nodded repeatedly. "It's true. It's weird, Third Brother's face hasn't changed at all. He's still just average-looking, like before, but he's just... captivating."
"That's what you call charisma," Wu Yan said, shaking his head like a master of aesthetics. "Third Brother's aura now is completely different from before. He's become more and more bright and confident, and there's even a hint of a transcendent quality to him. So, even though his looks are average, his charisma makes him incredibly eye-catching, especially to the opposite sex!"
"What you said actually makes a lot of sense."
"I never knew you had it in you, Fourth Brother. Your analysis was so on point."
Liu Zhu and Wang Rongfeng looked completely impressed.
"You flatter me, you flatter me." Wu Yan gave a mysterious smile, but inwardly, he was snickering. 'Would I ever tell them I just read all this analysis on the forums?'
Liu Zhu suddenly sighed in disappointment. "Looks like us dressing up today was a complete waste of effort."
"What do you mean?" Wang Rongfeng and Wu Yan were both taken aback.
Liu Zhu pointed at Zhao Yuan. "With this guy around, it doesn't matter how we dress up. He's definitely going to be the star of the show tonight!"
"That's right," Wang Rongfeng also sighed.
"Of all the things we planned for, we never figured Third Brother would be the wrench in our plans—and a huge one at that!" Wu Yan said with a gloomy look.
Faced with the accusations from his three brothers, Zhao Yuan gave a wry smile and spread his hands. "Is it my fault?"
After some more joking around, the three of them eagerly dragged Zhao Yuan to the appointed location to wait for Lin Xue and her friends.
The meeting spot Zhao Yuan and Lin Xue had agreed on was the Seeking Knowledge Pavilion next to Xinglin Lake on campus. The place had a beautiful environment with lush greenery, and flowers bloomed there all year round. Over time, it had become a popular dating spot for couples. Walking along the shore of Xinglin Lake, you could see a couple every few steps.
Liu Zhu was incredibly envious. "When will it be my turn to bring a girl here and be all lovey-dovey like them?"
Wang Rongfeng nodded emphatically. He shared Liu Zhu's hopes.
Soon, the four of them walked into the Seeking Knowledge Pavilion.
Zhao Yuan took out his phone, checked the time, and said with a wry smile, "Eldest Brother, I told you it was still early, but you guys insisted on coming now. Look, there's still more than half an hour until the agreed-upon time. We're in for a long wait."
Liu Zhu laughed sheepishly and said, "It's only half an hour, right? It'll pass in the blink of an eye. Besides, this is the first time we're taking Lin Xue and her friends out to eat. We can't have the girls waiting, can we? That would be bad form."
Zhao Yuan shook his head and didn't say any more. He summoned his Information Leaf and continued to study the content of the Zang Fu Theory. Meanwhile, Liu Zhu and Wang Rongfeng gathered around Wu Yan, asking for tips on how to pick up girls. It was hard to say how effective this kind of last-minute cramming would be.
Half an hour passed quickly, and it was time to meet Lin Xue and her friends.
Now, not only were Liu Zhu and Wang Rongfeng getting antsy, but even Wu Yan, the experienced ladies' man, kept standing up to look into the distance. The words the three of them were muttering were surprisingly identical: "Why aren't they here yet?"
Just then, a voice dripping with schadenfreude came from the side. "What's wrong, the girls you're waiting for didn't show? HAHA, looks like you've been stood up!"
Zhao Yuan and his three friends followed the voice and saw it was someone they knew.
"Cao Han, what's that supposed to mean?" Liu Zhu demanded, annoyed.
Cao Han, like Zhao Yuan and his friends, was a student in Class 3 of the Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine program. He was handsome and had good grades, but he was petty and couldn't stand to see others do better than him. The fact that Zhao Yuan's photos had gone viral on the school forums today had filled him with jealousy and hatred.
In Cao Han's opinion, Zhao Yuan wasn't even handsome, his grades were average, and he was just some hick from the mountains. How could he possibly have become a male god? Were all the girls at school blind? After all, even someone like him, Cao Han, who had both the looks and the talent, had never been called a male god, let alone had a flock of fangirls screaming that they wanted to have his babies!
Consumed by envy, jealousy, and hate, Cao Han had used several of his alt accounts to post threads smearing Zhao Yuan. He'd even uploaded a few of his own photos, boasting that *this* was what a real male god looked like. However, his attempt to stir up trouble failed. His alt accounts were immediately swarmed. After a brief flame war, Cao Han was hopelessly outnumbered and beat a hasty retreat, fuming in his dorm and repeatedly cursing, 'Mindless fans are so stupid!'
As for the photos he'd uploaded, while they got plenty of replies, a closer look revealed they were either questions like, "This counts as a male god? Are you blind?" or taunts like, "These days, any Tom, Dick, or Harry can be called a male god. So shameless."
This put Cao Han in an even worse mood, and his resentment for Zhao Yuan deepened.
As luck would have it, Cao Han had also asked a girl out to eat today, and their meeting spot was also the Seeking Knowledge Pavilion. He hadn't expected to arrive and overhear Liu Zhu and the others, and he immediately began to gloat.
Facing Liu Zhu's question, Cao Han chuckled smugly. "It means exactly what it sounds like. What, you can't even understand that much? How pathetic." Seemingly not satisfied, he even started lecturing Zhao Yuan. "A person needs to have some self-awareness. Being called a 'male god' online means nothing. You can't take it seriously. If you get arrogant because of it, you're bound to eat humble pie and be humiliated, just like you are right now..."
Zhao Yuan was completely blindsided.
'Damn it, I don't have any beef with you, do I? Why are you coming at me with all this sarcasm the moment you show up? And who told you I was taking that online stuff seriously? Where did you even get the idea that I'm arrogant? Your ability to just make stuff up is way too powerful!'
It wasn't just Zhao Yuan; the other three from Dorm 301 were also seriously pissed off by Cao Han's speech.
"Damn it, I've got a bad temper, and I'm going to teach you a lesson today! We'll see if you still dare to run your foul mouth after this!" The hot-tempered Liu Zhu rolled up his sleeves, about to go and cause trouble for Cao Han.