The 90 Billion Devotion System

Chapter 5: The River and the Stars

Chapter 5: The River and the Stars

Leo Xu and Luo Peng returned to the booth at the far corner of the rooftop lounge, where the neon halo of KIMI’s ambient lights painted shadows across the sleek marble table. Bai Zheli, his dark-rimmed glasses catching the soft flicker from a nearby LED strip, glanced up curiously, his fingers still fiddling with a coaster soaked from the condensation of his mocktail.

“Brother Leo, where did you wander off to?” he asked, arching an eyebrow with a mix of intrigue and disbelief. “You two were gone for ages.”

Leo Xu, ever so composed, pulled out his seat with a deliberate grace and let his gaze drift casually toward the table diagonally across from them. He didn’t say much, but the corner of his lips twitched upward ever so slightly, the expression unreadable in the dim lighting.

“Ran into a few friends,” he replied flatly, settling back into his seat. “Had a few drinks.”

“Friends?” Dorm leader Li Shao leaned forward slightly, his suspicion practically vibrating off him. “You… have friends?”

The question wasn’t meant to offend. It was honest confusion. Leo Xu’s reputation on campus was firmly established—he was the undisputed king of simping, the sycophantic legend who had once queued for five hours just to hold an umbrella over Amber Lin during an art exhibit, despite her not even noticing.

“Li Shuru,” Luo Peng chimed in, his voice tight as he lifted his glass and took a slow sip, trying to appear casual though his eyes sparkled with disbelief.

“The same Li Shuru? The Art Institute’s untouchable belle?” Li Shao’s voice cracked like glass. “Seriously?”

Leo Xu gave a slow nod, his fingers tapping rhythmically against his glass.

“Brother Leo, I heard she’s practically allergic to normal guys,” Bai Zheli interjected as he adjusted his glasses nervously. “I mean… when did you two even start talking?”

With a feigned look of mild offense, Leo tilted his head toward Bai. “Do I look like your standard issue university guy?”

That prompted an unspoken exchange between Luo Peng and Li Shao, a psychic moment of shared amusement and mild horror.

Well, technically, no. Leo wasn’t normal. Normal people didn’t build shrines of I*******m screenshots of their crushes. Normal people didn’t blow their allowance on limited edition perfume they hoped to ‘accidentally’ let her smell.

Luo Peng sighed as if his very spirit had aged. “What exactly happened, Leo?”

Leo Xu swirled his beer gently, watching the amber liquid reflect the deep purple of the club lights. “She offered me a drink,” he said. “Actually, a few drinks. Expensive ones. Something imported. Tasted like smoke and peaches. She insisted.”

Li Shao squinted suspiciously. “She treated you?”

Leo nodded again.

Li Shao sat back and exhaled slowly through his nose. “I don’t buy it. That girl has a fortress around her, guarded by high-end perfume and luxury cars. Do you even know what kind of girls those are?”

Leo’s eyes sparkled as he leaned forward, suddenly engaged. “Goddesses, obviously. The kind that bend light when they walk. The kind that make soundtracks start playing in your head. She’s ethereal.”

Luo Peng dropped his head into his hands.

“That’s not what I meant!” Li Shao groaned. “They only go for rich guys. Like luxury-sedan-level rich. You—” he caught himself, unsure how cruel he wanted to sound. “You’re not exactly in that orbit.”

“Rumors,” Leo said dismissively. “Girls like her? They’re envied. Of course there’ll be gossip. Fabricated scandals, whispered lies, jealousy disguised as concern.” He lifted his glass and pointed it at Li Shao. “You ever seen her step into one of those cars with your own eyes?”

Li Shao paused. “Well… no.”

“There you go.” Leo took a sip. “All speculation. She’s just misunderstood. Kind, generous. Just misrepresented by a campus full of petty minds.”

Luo Peng and Bai Zheli stared at him like they were watching a documentary about a cult leader.

“So you’re saying,” Luo Peng said carefully, “you’re serious about her now?”

Leo tilted his head, let the tension build, then smiled. “I like a challenge.”

The air stilled. Luo Peng blinked slowly, as if buffering.

“You have the confidence of a drunk god,” he muttered.

“Thank you,” Leo replied solemnly. “It’s innate. Can’t be taught.”

Luo Peng raised his glass. “Then I toast to your delusion. May it burn gloriously.”

Li Shao and Bai Zheli clinked glasses as well, their smiles crooked and weary.

“Well,” Li Shao sighed, “if you’re going to lose your mind, at least do it chasing someone like her.”

Their toast rang softly, swallowed by the lounge’s moody soundtrack.

Across the room, a different conversation was unraveling among the glitter-laced goddesses of East Sea University. Lip gloss shimmering and laughter pealing like wind chimes, they were sprawled around a curved booth, half-slouched, half-posed, drenched in the aftermath of cocktails and compliments.

“Jia Li said she was just grabbing a drink,” one girl pouted, her lipstick smudged to perfection. “But she’s been gone for ages.”

“I called her. She said not to wait. Classic.”

“She’s probably hooked some new hunk again,” another girl snorted.

Li Shuru, radiant yet distant, flagged down a waiter with the same effortless grace as someone commanding attention with a mere breath. “Bill, please.”

The waiter bowed slightly. “Already handled, miss.”

“Hm?” Her sculpted brows arched.

“Yes. A gentleman already paid for everything. Left a message too.”

The girls stirred with interest. “Who was it?”

“He said his name was Leo Xu.”

The name dropped into their booth like a stone into still water.

“Leo Xu?” repeated one girl slowly, her tipsiness evaporating as her brain recalibrated. “As in… the bootlicker?”

“Yes, miss,” the waiter added politely. “Leo as in constellation, Xu as in dusk before the stars. He said he’s your friend and advised that you not stay out drinking too late.”

One girl made a face. “Didn’t he used to be broke?”

Li Shuru’s cool exterior flickered. “How much was the total?”

“Five thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight yuan.”

There was a short silence before someone whispered, “That’s… not a student expense. Not unless he sold a kidney.”

“Guess he really put his money where his heart is,” another murmured, half-impressed, half-wary.

Li Shuru said nothing, but a glint of something sharp danced behind her lashes. For the first time in a very long while, Leo Xu had done something unexpected. Not just simpering words, not desperate gestures—but a tangible, elegant move.

All the whispered sweetness in the world could never compare to the thunderous statement of spending.

Tonight, it seemed, Leo Xu had finally begun to speak her language.