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“Fuck your mother!”
“Still got patches of hair missing, and you come to a place like this to eat shit?”
“You little bastard still dare to talk back? Sick of living, huh?”
“…”
Outside the bathroom.
A bald man with a tiger tattoo on his shoulder was pointing at Lin Jie and cursing loudly. Although Li Nan had come out with a group of classmates, no one dared to step forward after seeing the scene.
Even though Li Nan didn’t want to get involved, all eyes were on him now. Swallowing his pride, he stepped up and apologized to the bald man on Lin Jie’s behalf.
Unexpectedly, the bald man didn’t give Li Nan any respect at all. With just one sharp “Get lost,” Li Nan was terrified.
They were all students who had lived sheltered lives and hadn’t been exposed to situations like this.
After being yelled at, Li Nan didn’t dare to say a word.
The other classmates saw this and also kept quiet.
Xu Ye stood at the back watching for a moment and quickly figured out what had happened.
The bald man had just come out of the bathroom when he accidentally bumped into Lin Jie. At first, they just brushed past each other, but Lin Jie, having drunk too much, spat right onto the bald man’s leather shoe. That’s when the bald man started cursing without letting up.
Actually, Lin Jie was usually quite a gentle guy in class. It was just because he had drunk too much and wasn’t thinking clearly. At first, he talked back a little, which only infuriated the bald man more. The man kept swearing with every sentence, completely overwhelming Lin Jie.
More and more people gathered around, which only fueled the bald man’s temper.
Seeing that things were about to spiral out of control, Xu Ye sighed, pushed through the crowd from behind, and walked over.
He stood next to Lin Jie, pulled him back slightly, and smiled apologetically: “Big brother, my classmate drank too much and isn’t thinking straight. Since we just finished the college entrance exam, could you give us some face?”
“You fucking think you’re something?”
The bald man, who also seemed a bit drunk, snarled, “Get the hell out of here!”
Xu Ye didn’t act like Li Nan, who, after being insulted, just stood there like a statue. His expression immediately turned cold as he stepped close to the bald man and lowered his voice, saying, “Don’t be so shameless. Many of us here are still minors. If you really want to make a big deal out of this, then I won’t hold back. Just think about what happens when the police show up—do you think they’ll side with you or with us students?”
After that, Xu Ye apologized again.
Even the bald man, no matter how stubborn, could tell Xu Ye was giving him a way out. After a moment’s thought, he finally waved his hand, putting on a “grown-up who doesn’t hold grudges” act: “Fine, fine, I’m not going to bother with a bunch of students like you.”
Xu Ye nodded and bowed slightly: “Thanks, big brother. Take care on your way out.”
Watching the bald man disappear from sight, the classmates all breathed a sigh of relief.
Xu Ye patted Lin Jie on the shoulder, who thanked him softly, then strode back to the private room.
A group of classmates quickly gathered around to comfort him.
However, a few classmates who usually liked to show off in class started making snide remarks at this moment.
“Xu Ye was way too flattering just now.”
“Exactly, he’s definitely going to be a great bootlicker in the future.”
“That bald guy was so arrogant. Does he really think we’re all afraid of him?”
“…”
Qin Zhiwei heard this and stepped forward, snapping, “What are you all whining about now? Why didn’t any of you step up to help Lin Jie earlier? A bunch of cowards, pretending to be tough.”
After saying this, Qin Zhiwei turned without another word and went to find Xu Ye.
The boys who were criticized had nothing to say in response.
Soon, the group outside returned to the private room. What happened earlier was just a minor incident, quickly forgotten as they all resumed singing one by one.
Qin Zhiwei sat next to Xu Ye and defended him, “Xie Hong, Jiang Lei, and those other bastards were just talking bad about you. When that bald guy was cursing, they all stood there, afraid of getting into trouble. But once you settled things, they turned around and called you a bootlicker.”
Xu Ye comforted him instead, “I’m not angry, so why should you be? It’s a matter that could be solved with just a few kind words. No need to make a big deal out of it. Once they enter society, they’ll realize that face means nothing out there.”
Qin Zhiwei frowned, “Why do I feel like you suddenly became so mature?”
“That’s obvious, because I’m your father.”
“Fuck.”
Two male classmates finally wrestled the microphone away from the girls and started singing the duet “Ten Years.”
Hearing the familiar melody,
Xu Ye’s mind inexplicably flooded with memories from the past ten years—
One after another,
Piece by piece.
Looking back now, it all seemed so ridiculous.
Xu Ye gave a bitter smile, grabbed a bottle of Budweiser, and continued drinking.
Time ticked by, minute by minute.
Soon, it was already past eight o’clock.
Xu Ye suddenly yawned. Just as he was about to discreetly adjust the position of his little Xu Ye down there, a dizziness suddenly hit him.
He quickly realized that although he wasn’t sensitive to beer now, ten years ago he had never even touched alcohol. In other words, this body hadn’t yet adapted to alcohol. That was why after just two small bottles of beer, Xu Ye felt his head spinning and his legs unsteady.
“Damn, I can’t drink anymore from now on.”
Rubbing his head, Xu Ye closed his eyes to rest for a moment, but not long after, he fell asleep.
Half an hour later.
The door to the private room was suddenly pushed open from the outside. Duan Qingjun walked in, followed by Gu Mengyao and Liu Qian.
“Why are the three of you just arriving now?”
“You’re all late for the class reunion.”
“Mengyao, do you want to sing? We’re all tired from singing already.”
“…”
Gu Mengyao smiled but said nothing, her eyes scanning the private room.
Finally, her gaze settled on Xu Ye, who was already asleep.
Seeing Xu Ye asleep, Gu Mengyao suddenly felt a pang of nervousness. She and Liu Qian had planned this for so long, deliberately arriving so late just so Xu Ye would see her with Duan Qingjun—but now…
However,
Qin Zhiwei, noticing Gu Mengyao had arrived, sensibly sat down beside Xu Ye and nudged the sleeping Xu Ye.
“Xu Ye, Xu Ye~”
Half dazed, hearing someone calling him, Xu Ye furrowed his brows and slowly opened his eyes.
He felt a bit nauseous after drinking.
But he forced himself to sit up from the sofa despite the discomfort.
Qin Zhiwei quickly leaned toward his ear and said, “Xu Ye, stop fucking sleeping. Gu Mengyao is here.”
“Who? Who’s here?”
“Gu Mengyao.”
Seeing Xu Ye awake, Gu Mengyao deliberately stood next to Duan Qingjun, flipping a lock of hair and flashing a sweet smile.
Xu Ye rubbed his eyes, lifted his head, and looked toward Gu Mengyao, Liu Qian, and a few female classmates nearby. Just as Qin Zhiwei thought Xu Ye was about to approach and talk to Gu Mengyao, Xu Ye raised his hand, waved it casually in the air, and called out in a relaxed tone, “Next… next group!”
…