Chapter 47: Class Reunion (Part 2)
By a little after five in the afternoon, Su Xiaofan followed the navigation on his phone and found the restaurant Qi Rouyun had reserved. It was on a street just outside the west gate of Yanjing University.
The entire street was basically lined with restaurants. The business brought in simply by the students from the several prestigious universities nearby was enough to make these restaurants extremely profitable.
Qi Rouyun had chosen a Sichuan restaurant. It wasn't even mealtime yet, but quite a few customers had already gone inside. Judging by the crowd, business was clearly very good.
Su Xiaofan checked his phone. There were still about ten minutes before the agreed-upon six o'clock meeting time.
He took out a cigarette, moved a little farther away from the restaurant, squatted down, and started smoking.
Su Xiaofan had been smoking for quite a long time.
He had started back in junior high. At the time, he had to roll tobacco leaves for his grandfather every day, and occasionally he would smoke one himself. Eventually, he simply developed the habit.
His nicotine addiction wasn't particularly severe, but he had never quit after all these years. When he was in high school, he had been lectured by his teachers countless times because of smoking.
“Su Xiaofan, what are you looking at? I'm over here…”
Following the voice, a pair of long, slender legs appeared in front of Su Xiaofan.
His gaze traveled upward. The woman was wearing a pair of tight denim shorts. Su Xiaofan didn't raise his head any further—if he did, he'd have to look up at her.
“Qi-ge, could you show a little feminine modesty?”
Su Xiaofan slowly stood up and looked at the girl in front of him.
She had short hair reaching her ears. She wasn't particularly beautiful, but she gave off a very bold, energetic, and spirited impression.
“You're calling me by that nickname again! And don't change the subject. What are you doing squatting here?”
Qi Rouyun looked at Su Xiaofan unhappily.
She had gotten the nickname “Qi-ge” from Su Xiaofan during their freshman military training.
Back then, Qi Rouyun had short hair and looked almost like a boy. After Su Xiaofan gave her that nickname, she had never managed to shake it off throughout all three years of high school.
“That's a very interesting question. Why would I be squatting here? Of course I'm looking at beautiful women's legs.”
Su Xiaofan grinned.
His relationship with the boys in his class had been fairly ordinary, but he had gotten along very well with the girls, especially the class monitor standing in front of him.
“Su Xiaofan, you've become bad. Since when did you become such a smooth talker?”
Qi Rouyun was grinding her teeth in irritation.
“I was always bad. You just didn't know it.”
Su Xiaofan laughed.
It had been several years since he had bantered with his class monitor, and he hadn't expected that the fun would still be there the moment they met again.
“All right, where's your boyfriend?”
Su Xiaofan glanced around.
He then noticed a girl standing not far away from Qi Rouyun, smiling as she watched the two of them.
“This girl is pretty good.”
Su Xiaofan had seen plenty of wealthy businessmen at antique markets who liked to pretend to be cultured and often brought beautiful girls with them when buying antiques. His immunity to beautiful women was already far beyond what it had been during his student days.
But even so, when he saw the girl beside Qi Rouyun, he couldn't help praising her silently.
The girl was slightly taller than Qi Rouyun, probably around 172 centimeters tall. She wore leggings on the bottom and a loose white T-shirt on top, which concealed her attractive figure.
Looking at her face, Su Xiaofan guessed she was only around twenty years old.
Her bare, makeup-free face was surprisingly beautiful.
She had fair skin and exceptionally delicate features.
However, what really caught Su Xiaofan's attention was her temperament.
At first glance, the smiling girl possessed an intellectual beauty and a distinctly feminine charm.
When she noticed that Su Xiaofan was looking at her, however, she restrained her smile and revealed a capable, composed air instead.
Two completely different qualities somehow blended perfectly together.
“Hello, Su Xiaofan!”
Su Xiaofan smiled at the girl and extended his right hand.
“Hey, Su Xiaofan, you've really become bad. How did you get so good at approaching girls?”
Qi Rouyun slapped Su Xiaofan's hand away.
“She's my senior. Don't get any funny ideas.”
“I didn't have any funny ideas. Besides, Qi-ge, you already have a boyfriend. Don't tell me you're still interested in me?”
Su Xiaofan laughed and didn't mind her swatting his hand away.
“Hello. My name is Mo Zixuan. I'm Yun Yun's schoolmate.”
The girl was very straightforward. Although she didn't extend her hand, she introduced herself.
“Are you from Luochuan?”
Su Xiaofan detected a slight Luochuan accent.
He had developed this ability from his years of experience at antique markets. People from all over the country visited antique markets, making them practically schools for different dialects.
Based on Su Xiaofan's experience, speaking to tourists using the same regional accent they used often increased the chances of completing a deal.
This had forced Su Xiaofan to learn quite a few local dialects. If a tourist spoke with even a slight regional accent, he could usually tell where they came from.
“Of course Zixuan is from Luochuan. She was my mother's student in elementary school. She's also the top scorer in the college entrance examination from two years before our class.”
Qi Rouyun was the kind of person who couldn't keep anything to herself. In just a few sentences, she had revealed everything about Mo Zixuan.
Mo Zixuan was the same age as Qi Rouyun, but she had started school a year earlier. She had also skipped a grade in junior high, which meant she was a full two grades ahead of Su Xiaofan and his classmates.
She had also been admitted to Yanjing University.
Even after entering university, Mo Zixuan remained outstanding.
During five years of continuous bachelor's-and-master's study, she not only completed both degrees, but this year she had also been accepted as a doctoral student under a doctoral supervisor at Yanjing University and had become a teaching assistant there.
When Mo Zixuan was in junior high school, she had been a student of Qi Rouyun's mother. That was how she had met Qi Rouyun, and they had remained in contact throughout all these years.
Qi Rouyun had actually been influenced by her outstanding childhood friend Mo Zixuan when she applied to Yanjing University.
“All right, let's go inside. I've already reserved a private room. The others should be arriving soon.”
After standing outside and chatting for a while, Qi Rouyun began feeling uncomfortable because everyone entering and leaving the restaurant kept glancing at them.
“Where's your boyfriend?”
After they sat down in the private room, Su Xiaofan looked at Qi Rouyun.
He wasn't actually concerned about her boyfriend. He was simply curious because Qi Rouyun's personality was somewhat similar to his younger sister's—carefree and straightforward.
Su Xiaofan used to joke that someone like her would never be able to find a husband.
“He's from Fujian Province. He went back to his hometown. I stayed here because I came with Zixuan for our internships.”
Qi Rouyun glared at Su Xiaofan.
“Don't think nobody wants me. My boyfriend is the vice president of the student union, and he'll probably be able to stay at the university after graduation too.”
“I thought he was the president.”
Su Xiaofan laughed.
But he knew that being vice president of the student union at Yanjing University was actually quite impressive. A person needed exceptionally high emotional intelligence and intelligence to hold such a position.
“The president is sitting right here, though she's about to step down.”
Qi Rouyun pointed at Mo Zixuan sitting beside her.
“Huh? I really couldn't tell. Miss Mo, you're actually that impressive!”
Su Xiaofan was stunned.
Yanjing University truly was full of hidden talents. For a girl to become president of the student union was absolutely an extraordinary achievement.
“You're Yun Yun's old classmate. She mentions you quite often. Just call me Zixuan.”
Mo Zixuan sat there quietly.
She hadn't interrupted Su Xiaofan and Qi Rouyun while they reminisced about the past. Only when the conversation turned to her did she speak, and her calm manner made people feel very comfortable.
“It's a shame we didn't know each other back then. Otherwise, I definitely would've tried to get into Yanjing University too.”
Su Xiaofan jokingly said.
“Oh my, Su Xiaofan! I can't believe that after several years, you've actually turned into a playboy. You're so good at flirting now!”
Qi Rouyun looked at Su Xiaofan indignantly.
“All right, Qi-ge. You should be grateful that I did you the favor of not being a playboy back then.”
Su Xiaofan hadn't bantered with Qi Rouyun for several years, and his verbal skills had improved considerably during that time.
After only a few sentences, he had already made Qi Rouyun glare at him furiously.
“Hey, our old classmates are here. Liu Fei, Zhang Ji, I heard you two both got into Beijing Normal University?”
Just as Qi Rouyun was about to lose her temper, two people pushed open the door.
Su Xiaofan quickly stood up to greet them.
In reality, he hadn't been particularly close with either of them back then.
“They didn't just get into Beijing Normal University. They're a couple now too.”
Qi Rouyun added from the side.
“Class monitor, your boyfriend didn't come this time?”
Liu Fei and Zhang Ji first greeted Qi Rouyun before turning to Su Xiaofan.
“It's such a shame that you didn't take the college entrance examination back then. Otherwise, we'd have one more classmate here in Yanjing.”
“I regret it too. Now I'm out there working under the sun and wind. It's really nothing compared with you guys.”
Su Xiaofan smiled.
He pretended not to notice the slight sense of superiority in their words.
After all, he had spent several years dealing with society. His emotional intelligence was far higher than that of these classmates.
Moreover, Su Xiaofan knew very well that he hadn't had much interaction with these classmates during high school.
The reason they were here today was because of the class monitor, not because of him.
“That isn't necessarily true. Entering society early has its advantages too. Unlike us, who now have to worry about finding jobs.”
Zhang Ji spoke as though it were merely casual conversation.
“I'm currently interning at Toutiao. Maybe I'll be able to work there after graduation. Xiao Fei is doing pretty well too. She taught a few trial classes at Yanjing High School Affiliated to Beijing Normal University, and the response was quite good.”
“That's impressive. One of you will become an IT professional, while the other will become a teacher. Both are great careers.”
Su Xiaofan gave them a thumbs-up.
As a businessman, saying a few nice words cost him nothing.
Back when he was a student, he had been too foolish and had barely made any friends at all.
“Hmm, Su Xiaofan, what are you doing nowadays?”
After receiving a few compliments from Su Xiaofan, Liu Fei and Zhang Ji felt quite pleased. Only then did they remember to ask about his occupation.
“I don't have much education. I'm just muddling along.”
Just as Su Xiaofan was speaking, the door opened again.
Two men and two women walked in.
“Zixuan, Su Xiaofan, these three are Wu Xiaobo, Sun Jiajia, and Zhao Yu. Zhou Siwei is Sun Jiajia's boyfriend, a top student at Renmin University.”
Seeing them enter, Qi Rouyun stood up and introduced them to Su Xiaofan and Mo Zixuan.
Two of the women and one of the men were Su Xiaofan's classmates, so he naturally knew them. The other man was one of the female classmates' boyfriend.
They were all young people.
After exchanging a few words, the atmosphere in the private room immediately became lively.
However, most of their conversation revolved around Mo Zixuan and Qi Rouyun. Occasionally, someone would say a few words to Su Xiaofan.
Su Xiaofan didn't mind.
He knew that university itself was also a small society. Once people entered university, many of them became less simple-minded.
For now, they could still sit together, eat, and talk about amusing incidents from their high-school days.
But after graduating from university and entering the workforce, the differences between them would widen even further.
By then, whether Su Xiaofan could still sit at the same table with them was another question.
At that point, cars, houses, money, and careers would become the main topics of their conversations.
(End of Chapter)
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