Chapter 12

Xiang Wenwen was wearing a simple T-shirt, most of it damp, paired with loose beach shorts, looking like he had just come from the pool.

He looked exactly the same as he did a year ago at the wedding—his fair, handsome face, clean short hair, and a smile that radiated elegance. After all these years, he still resembled the gentle and dignified class monitor from high school.

If there was any difference, it was that his physique was much sturdier now. The wet T-shirt clung to his body, and the muscle lines were faintly visible.

Wen Ci was a little surprised and politely stood up. “Class monitor, long time no see.”

Xiang Wenwen had long been used to being addressed this way, and didn’t correct it. He smiled and said, “You look beautiful today.”

Wen Ci took it as a polite compliment. “Thank you.”

“What do you mean, class monitor?” Dou Yiqing leaned her head out.

Xiang Wenwen immediately replied, “You’ve always been beautiful.”

Dou Yiqing was satisfied with that answer.

Just then, an unfamiliar person on the other side of Wen Ci’s lounge chair suddenly stood up and jumped into the pool. The splash hit the shore, and Wen Ci turned her face to avoid it. But before she could, Xiang Wenwen had already stepped in front of her, blocking the water spray.

“Can I sit here? I won’t interrupt your conversation,” Xiang Wenwen asked, nodding toward the now empty lounge chair, with a gentlemanly tone.

“Of course,” Wen Ci immediately said, “I won’t bother you.”

Xiang Wenwen took a seat. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

He remembered that their relationship with Qin Yun wasn’t very close, and Dou Yiqing’s relationship with Qin Yun was even worse.

“Honestly, I didn’t expect it either,” Dou Yiqing thought of something, “Oh right, class monitor, I was out of the province studying when you got married, so I couldn’t attend. Congratulations on your marriage—though it seems a bit late.”

“It is a bit late,” Xiang Wenwen laughed, “but thank you. I heard from Weiwei that you both are now teaching at Jiangcheng?”

Wen Ci answered, “No, I’m teaching third grade at the elementary division. Yiqing is at Jiangcheng.”

“Almost the same, still part of the same school.”

“Don’t mention school again, my head is going to explode.” Dou Yiqing blinked and asked, “Class monitor, why didn’t you come to the school celebration the other day?”

Xiang Wenwen’s expression became a bit nuanced.

But he quickly returned to normal, “Just like you, I was out of the province at that time, couldn’t make it.”

Dou Yiqing nodded, “Oh, right, you’re a company boss now, a busy man.”

Gossip was Dou Yiqing’s way of relaxing after work, and with Duan Wei and Xiang Wenwen having many friends, news often reached her ears.

It was said that after Xiang Wenwen started dating Duan Wei, he even did his college internship at Duan Wei’s family company. After graduation, he smoothly joined the company. Everyone thought he would soon become a high-level executive thanks to his future father-in-law, but unexpectedly, not long after their marriage, Xiang Wenwen left his father-in-law’s company and started his own small business.

“Can’t be called a boss, just a small entrepreneur,” Xiang Wenwen said modestly.

—-

After finishing the barbecue, Dou Yiqing noticed some fresh fruit being served. “I’ll go get some watermelon to clear the palate. Wen Ci, save my spot.”

After Dou Yiqing left, it finally became a bit quieter.

“She’s still the same as before. Do you remember the biology lab group in school? The three of us were always grouped together, and she was the one talking all the time,” Xiang Wenwen smiled, “We ended up being punished by the teacher together.”

Wen Ci smiled, “I remember.”

“Time flies. In the blink of an eye, it’s been so long since we graduated from high school.” Xiang Wenwen sighed, looking at her face in the dim light, “At the wedding, I was too busy to chat much with you. How have you been these years? Is work going well? Do you have a boyfriend?”

—-

As soon as Zhou Wu went upstairs, someone came over to offer him a cigarette.

Zhou Wu waved it off. Qin Yun saw him and patted the spot next to him, inviting him over.

They sat on the sofa at the semi-open balcony, with the pool below and even a dedicated platform extending out for jumping into the pool.

But now the balcony was crowded with people, blocking the view downstairs.

Qin Yun sat in the middle of the sofa, but once Zhou Wu sat down, stretching his long legs casually, it seemed like the main character had changed.

“Happy birthday,” Zhou Wu said, “The gift is sent to your place.”

“Got it. You’re my real brother. Do you know how long I looked for that bottle of wine?”

Qin Yun went to hug him, but Zhou Wu dodged and pushed him back.

“Come on, we haven’t seen each other for half a month, and you don’t even want to hug your brother?” Qin Yun complained.

“No,” Zhou Wu smiled.

Qin Yun clicked his tongue. The place was crowded, and everyone was talking about their newly bought yachts or new girlfriends. Qin Yun leaned closer and whispered, “Did you settle everything? What were you thinking, brother? You’re really leaving your dad’s company?” Seeing Zhou Wu’s displeased expression, Qin Yun changed his words, “I mean, you really talked it over with your uncle?”

“Yes.”

Qin Yun was speechless.

He had been envying Zhou Wu for calmly advancing so many big projects, but suddenly, Zhou Wu announced he was leaving the company to start his own business.

These past half a month, Zhou Wu had gone back to confront his father. It was said they almost got into a fight.

“Did you settle everything? I mean, don’t you want to reconsider? After all, your mom still has shares in that company—”

“My grandpa knows and supports me,” Zhou Wu said indifferently.

Zhou Wu’s parents’ marriage was a commercial alliance. Initially, Zhou Wu’s mother’s family was better off. Zhou Wu’s father was just a small business owner at that time, considered marrying up. Zhou Wu’s mother was an only daughter, deeply loved by her family, and treated her husband generously. After they married, they truly loved each other for a while.

Not long after Zhou Wu was born, a woman came to their house with a boy, claiming it was Zhou Wu’s father’s son. By the time Zhou Wu’s mother realized it, the family’s business had already been infiltrated by Zhou Wu’s father, leaving her with little say.

What followed was a mess. Ten years ago, Zhou Wu’s mother passed away from a severe illness. Zhou Wu’s grandfather, old and frail, couldn’t handle the chaos and returned to his hometown to live in peace.

“Okay,” Qin Yun couldn’t help but shake his head admiringly, “I just think it’s a pity…”

“There’s nothing to pity,” Zhou Wu said lazily, “I just won’t work for him anymore. I still have the shares. When Zhou Huacheng accidentally dies, his will also be mine.”

“…”

Well, he had a point.

Zhou Wu took a bite of the barbecue Wen Ci had given him. Qin Yun glanced at it, “I was just about to ask, why did you bring up some skewers? There’s food here too… The meat you got looks a bit overcooked.” He called a waiter nearby, “Go get some from over there.”

“No need,” Zhou Wu declined, “I’ll eat this.”

—-

After finishing the barbecue, Zhou Wu finally paid some attention to his phone. He couldn’t help but laugh when he saw it. Besides the countless messages asking when he would arrive, there was also a transfer.

Wen Ci had transferred him two hundred yuan, with the note: Parking violation fine.

Zhou Wu didn’t accept it and lazily typed a reply: [Wasn’t it supposed to be split?]

He didn’t get a response even after ten minutes.

Zhou Wu listened absentmindedly to the conversations around him. After waiting for a while, he finally got impatient and waved his finger at the people blocking the view from the balcony, saying, “Move aside.”

The person froze for a moment, then stepped aside, revealing the scene downstairs.

Qin Yun was chatting with his friends when he suddenly felt the silence beside him. He turned around to see Zhou Wu propping his chin, staring at a particular spot downstairs.

Curious, Qin Yun leaned in: “Who are you staring at, motionless? Duan Wei? I’m telling you, Wen Wen actually came today, you should probably tone it down a bit—”

As he spoke, he followed Zhou Wu’s gaze and saw Wen Ci and Xiang Wenwen by the pool.

The two were sitting on lounge chairs, very close to each other, talking happily. Wen Ci turned her face away and laughed, her eyes forming a pretty crescent.

Qin Yun paused for a moment, his gaze shifting between Zhou Wu and downstairs. He finally confirmed, “You don’t want to hit Xiang Wenwen, do you?”

Zhou Wu responded coldly, “You have such a strong imagination, go act in a movie, stop talking nonsense in my ear every day.”

“You know I’m in film? How about joining in?”

“No.” Zhou Wu said, “What’s the point of investing in something that loses money?”

“Why curse me?” Qin Yun stared downstairs. “By the way, Wen Ci really gave me face today, dressed so beautifully… Hey, Zhou Wu, have you noticed Wen Ci is quite easy on the eyes? She’s the type you find more pleasant the more you look at her.”

“That white dress one? Who is she? I’ve been meaning to ask,” the man who had been blocking the glass earlier couldn’t help but speak.

Qin Yun immediately replied, “That’s my old classmate, you get lost, don’t mess with other people.”

“Damn, that’s not fair,” the man laughed, “Someone is clearly flirting with her, right?”

Qin Yun replied, “That’s my old classmate, that’s Duan Wei’s husband, you idiot.”

Just as the words left his mouth, the two downstairs suddenly moved closer together. Xiang Wenwen stood up, leaned over to Wen Ci, and touched her hair.

Qin Yun: “…”

There was a brief silence on the balcony, then the man asked, “Now, am I the idiot, or are you the idiot, or is Duan Wei the idiot?”

“Shut up, people with a dirty heart see everything as dirty.” Qin Yun looked away and continued scanning the crowd, muttering, “By the way, where’s Dou Yiqing? I haven’t seen her, did she go look for food again—damn, really.”

—-

In the crowd, Dou Yiqing’s long legs were very eye-catching. Annoyed that her hair was blocking her view, she casually swept it back, revealing her clean and pretty forehead.

Qin Yun watched for a while. “Alright, she looks decent today… but wait, is she seriously taking all the meat the chef just grilled?!”

Just as he was enjoying himself, someone suddenly stood up next to him. Qin Yun looked up. “Where are you going?”

Zhou Wu downed his drink in one go, casually placing the glass on the table. “Going downstairs.”

“Look.” Xiang Wenwen opened his palm, showing half a leaf inside.

Wen Ci touched her hair. “Thanks, it might have been from the road.”

Xiang Wenwen smiled and continued the previous topic. “Haven’t you met someone you like? Or is work just too busy?”

“Both, I guess.” Wen Ci vaguely responded. She pursed her lips, and the words she wanted to ask kept swirling at the tip of her tongue.

Her rationality kept pushing her back, but usually calm and composed, Wen Ci suddenly found her self-control faltering at this moment.

Her hand on her knee clenched and loosened several times. After a few moments, Wen Ci heard herself casually ask, “What about you, class monitor? How are things with Duan Wei?”

“What are you two talking about?”

A casual voice suddenly interrupted. Wen Ci looked up in response, only to be taken aback as her gaze collided with Zhou Wu’s eyes.