Chapter 8: Class Reunion

Xu Ye wasn’t very invested in the class reunion—after all, he knew that once tonight was over, he would lose contact with most of his classmates anyway.

But Qin Zhiwei was different. That kid slept until noon, and the very first thing he did after waking was head to the bathroom to wash his hair.

Boys in this era cared a lot about their hairstyles.

Classmates who liked to show off their style would even save on living expenses just to go to the barber shop on weekends, wash their hair, and have Tony, the stylist, blow-dry a hairstyle that could add five centimeters of height.

These hairstyles were usually a bit more understated than the more unconventional ones, but from Xu Ye’s current perspective, they still looked pretty exaggerated.

After washing his hair, Qin Zhiwei stood in front of the mirror, blow-drying for ten minutes. Then he secretly took some of his father’s hair wax and applied it carefully, adjusting his bangs strand by strand with his fingers.

This process lasted another ten minutes. Once Qin Zhiwei was satisfied, he grabbed a can of hair spray and gave his hairstyle a final touch.

Wearing a black T-shirt, paired with skinny pants, and a pair of white sneakers he had bought just before the college entrance exam, Qin Zhiwei was very pleased with his outfit today.

He took out his phone and called Xu Ye. After quickly eating something, he rode his electric bike to Xu Ye’s house.

Knock knock~

Xu Ye opened the door and was immediately hit by a strong smell of hair gel.

Xu Ye couldn’t help but curse, “Are you an idiot? You sprayed so much hair gel.”

“How’s it look, bro? Am I looking handsome today?”

“I don’t know if you’re handsome or not, but you look pretty lively today—a real energetic guy.”

Qin Zhiwei didn’t understand.

The term “energetic guy” wouldn’t become popular until two years later.

He thought Xu Ye was complimenting him.

“Didn’t you say yesterday you weren’t coming?”

“The madam gave me a day off.”

Qin Zhiwei laughed, “They’ll deduct your pay, right?”

“Nope.” Xu Ye sat down on the sofa and said, “Last night the madam even sent me a red envelope.”

“Why would she give you a red envelope on your first day?”

“Because I’m good at what I do.”

Qin Zhiwei plopped down next to Xu Ye, taking his comment as a joke. Seeing Xu Ye staring at his phone screen, he leaned over and asked, “What are you looking at?”

“Practice questions.”

“Practice questions? Are you crazy? We already finished the college entrance exam.”

“I’m practicing for Subject One.”

“Subject One? You’re going to take the driver’s license test?”

Xu Ye nodded, “Yeah, I’ll have to take it sooner or later. Once I get to university, I might be busy, so it’s better to get it done early.”

Only then did Qin Zhiwei realize Xu Ye was different from before.

For students with middling grades like them, university was supposed to be easy. Their homeroom teacher often said, ‘High school is tough, university is easy.’ How could university be busy?

“Xu Ye, did something happen to you?”

“No.”

“Did Gu Mengyao reject you?”

“Why do you keep bringing her up? I’ve told you many times, she and I have nothing to do with each other anymore.”

“Heh.”

Qin Zhiwei didn’t believe it for a second.

…

The class reunion was set for five in the afternoon, gathering at the school gate.

Walking north from the school for five or six hundred meters, there was a food street, lined with all kinds of street stalls and vendors, where the enticing aroma drifted through the air.

Qin Zhiwei started urging Xu Ye to head over early around three o’clock, but Xu Ye ignored him completely.

In this heat, arriving early only meant standing in the sun, so it was better to stay home and work through more practice questions. Qin Zhiwei had no choice; he and Xu Ye had been classmates since elementary school, and their families had known each other for years—they always did things together.

It wasn’t until 4:45 that Xu Ye finally changed his shoes and got ready to leave.

“Aren’t you changing your clothes?”

“Why? It’s not like I’m going on a blind date.”

“Damn, how come you look better dressed like this than I do?”

Xu Ye laughed, “In terms of looks, we’re not even in the same league.”

“Xu Ye, screw you.”

“…”

The two of them walked arm in arm toward the school gate. From a distance, Qin Zhiwei spotted a group of familiar classmates gathered beneath two large trees by the roadside.

The one talking loudly on the phone was class president Li Nan.

Xu Ye didn’t have a good impression of him either.

That bastard, being class president in high school, was unbearably arrogant—treating trivial things like orders, acting like the teacher’s every fart was a blessing, and always holding his head so high in front of classmates like he was above everyone else.

Back in high school, most people wore their uniforms, but now that the college entrance exam was over, both boys and girls had switched to their favorite clothes. The boys weren’t too different, just fussing a bit over their hairstyles. The girls, however, were a different story—tank tops, miniskirts, and several had even dyed their hair.

Actually, there were quite a few people Xu Ye couldn’t even remember the names of anymore. His presence in the class was already low, so standing there silently didn’t draw any attention.

“Class president, it’s five o’clock. Should we go eat now?”

Li Nan turned sideways and asked, “Xu Ye, only Gu Mengyao, Liu Qian, and Duan Qingjun haven’t arrived yet. Do you know where they are?”

Xu Ye shrugged indifferently. “How would I know?”

Just as Li Nan was about to call and ask, her phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Oh, you three are coming late? Alright, alright. We’ll start eating first. Later you can head straight to the KTV.”

When classmates heard Gu Mengyao, Liu Qian, and Duan Qingjun were together, many of them instinctively glanced over at Xu Ye.

Everyone knew Xu Ye liked Gu Mengyao.

But quite a few people also knew that Duan Qingjun had a secret crush on Gu Mengyao.

So when the three of them were together, many were curious to see how Xu Ye would react. To their disappointment, Xu Ye showed no reaction at all—his expression was unusually calm.

The large group then headed to a restaurant. Before the food was even served, Li Nan and some of the more outgoing boys in the class started drinking beer. Although most had some experience drinking, in front of the female classmates, they all acted like heroes. Before the dishes were fully brought out, several of them were already staggering when walking.

At the table with over ten people, it seemed only Xu Ye barely spoke throughout the meal. He just kept eating, occasionally taking a sip of beer.

By around six o’clock, the private room was already a mess. Li Nan led the group to the next venue.

KTV.

At this time, business there was still booming.

Everyone knew Xu Ye liked Gu Mengyao.

But quite a few people also knew that Duan Qingjun had a secret crush on Gu Mengyao.

So when the three of them were together, many were curious to see how Xu Ye would react. To their disappointment, Xu Ye showed no reaction at all—his expression was unusually calm.

The large group then headed to a restaurant. Before the food was even served, Li Nan and some of the more outgoing boys in the class started drinking beer. Although most had some experience drinking, in front of the female classmates, they all acted like heroes. Before the dishes were fully brought out, several of them were already staggering when walking.

At the table with over ten people, it seemed only Xu Ye barely spoke throughout the meal. He just kept eating, occasionally taking a sip of beer.

By around six o’clock, the private room was already a mess. Li Nan led the group to the next venue.

KTV.

At this time, business there was still booming.

But no one could have predicted that ten years later, KTV businesses would start to decline sharply. Young people would rather go to escape rooms or play murder mystery games, while KTVs became venues for elderly folks to hold “senior singing and dancing parties.”

Xu Ye picked a corner seat. The waiter quickly placed the complimentary fruit platter and beers on the coffee table in the private room. Several female classmates scrambled to choose songs; most of the playlist consisted of songs by Xu Song, Wang Sulong, and Xu Liang, with a few tracks by Lin Junjie and Jay Chou.

The reunion was on a split-the-bill basis, fifty yuan per person. Xu Ye felt that he had already gotten his money’s worth from the earlier meal, so he didn’t plan to sing. Instead, he hid in the corner playing on his phone. But the phones back then didn’t have long battery life, and shared power banks weren’t popular yet. As his phone’s battery ran low, bored Xu Ye picked up one of the untouched beers on the table and quietly drank alone.

“Xu Ye, aren’t you going to sing a couple of songs?” Qin Zhiwei came over and asked with concern.

Xu Ye shook his head. “I’ll sit a bit longer, then I’ll leave.”

Qin Zhiwei said, “It’s still early.”

“It’s too noisy.”

“You’re acting like a middle-aged man now.”

Just as Xu Ye was about to respond, a male classmate rushed past outside the private room, shouting, “Bad news, Lin Jie got into a fight with someone.”

As soon as he said that, everyone inside the room fell silent.

Li Nan led a group out, and although Xu Ye didn’t want to go, Qin Zhiwei dragged him along.

…