Soon, the two parted ways in the hotel lobby.
Li Qiao strolled unhurriedly in the direction of the west hall, occasionally nodding her head indifferently when she encountered a few familiar classmates.
She had little interest in this kind of social gathering and dinner.
Upon entering the banquet hall, she glanced around and saw that about seven or eight banquet tables were set up.
With the Bioengineering Department’s annual enrollment under a hundred students, compared to the nearly forty tables of the neighboring finance department, this place seemed somewhat deserted.
Li Qiao chose a corner seat at the back, boredom evident as she watched the men and women bustling by—none dressed extravagantly but all quite formal and serious.
The only exception was her, in a punk-style crop top and jeans, casual yet comfortably dashing.
"Li Qiao, why are you sitting here alone?"
At that moment, two women in splendid dresses slowly entered the banquet hall.
Arm in arm, they seemed to be on good terms with each other.
Li Qiao leaned her head back lazily, recognizing them as her classmates who she recalled were quite close to Jiang Yi.
She didn’t speak, merely curling the corner of her mouth in response.
The two women exchanged a glance and left with a smile that was not quite a smile.
So what if she’s the campus belle? All the women in the department would rather keep their distance from her tonight.
The farewell dinner tonight seemed to be just that but was in fact more of an alumni networking event.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t have arranged to dine with the neighboring finance department, and I heard that quite a few rich heirs attended as well.
About fifteen minutes later, most of the Bioengineering students had arrived.
As there were no name tags placed on the banquet tables, everyone chose their seats at will.
Thus, a peculiar scene unfolded in the entire west hall.
The prettily dressed female students mostly sat in the front row, while nearly half of the male students took seats at the back.
Especially at the table where Li Qiao sat, despite there being only ten seats, it was crowded with fifteen people—one woman and fourteen men.
This group even included the Bioengineering Department’s heartthrob and several handsome members of the basketball club.
The situation gradually spiraled out of control, with the female students in the front row staring at them with ugly expressions, filled with indignation.
"What’s the deal, why are they all revolving around Li Qiao?"
"Exactly, she’s just a bit more attractive, these guys are so shallow."
"Don’t forget, she just gave Jiang Yi a good scolding a few days ago. If we talk recklessly, we might be the next ones to suffer social death!"
A group of female students up front were making comments, while the male students competed to cozy up to Li Qiao.
"Li Qiao, this fruit tea is pretty good."
"Li Qiao, do you want some cake? Shall I get it for you?"
In short, the farewell dinner hadn’t even begun, and the scene was already chaotic, with Li Qiao’s expression growing heavier by the minute.
At school, she was accustomed to being a loner, with Tang Yiting being the only close friend she had.
All the male students in the department also maintained a safe distance from her, plenty of onlookers, but hardly anyone approached her actively.
What was happening today? Why was the farewell dinner seemingly targeting her with a frenzy of attention?!
Li Qiao looked around expressionlessly and the next second stood up and left the banquet hall.
In the corridor, her face tense and eyes filled with irritation, she was thinking about leaving early when a resonant thump of footsteps came from the other end of the hall.
Li Qiao did not look up until she saw shiny black shoes stop in front of her, as well as an unopened box of a new phone.
The person said, "Miss Li, the boss was afraid you’d be bored at the banquet, so he sent me to bring you a new phone."