Chapter 488: The Reunion

There wasn't anything major about the class reunion; it was nothing more than showing off, reminiscing about the past, and networking. It was about rekindling the camaraderie from five years ago and connecting their lives after the reunion, helping each other out just as Chen Xiaozheng had said before.

Classmates, after all, have a naturally close relationship. In fact, everyone had been in touch before, but only in small circles; after all, there were so many classmates that it was impossible to be on great terms with everyone. Now that there had been a big gathering, knowing how everyone else—those who weren't close or in frequent contact—was doing, which unit they were in, which company they worked for, which department or enterprise they were at, it wasn't a wasted trip; they could help each other in the future.

This was just the business of their '94 cohort; there were the '93s above and the '95s below, all from the same school. When it came to getting things done or asking for favors, one could always find a connection. This was the benefit of a good university: the proportion of capable people was higher.

After the reunion ended, everyone said their reluctant goodbyes at the entrance, agreeing to meet again in the future. Those who drank too much were the minority, but those who drank too much were also the majority. Having mingled for five years, putting on a show was the most basic skill.

The only one who truly drank too much was perhaps just Zhang Kai.

He wasn't grinning foolishly, but laughing heartily: "Old Wang, don't drive if you've been drinking. If it's not working out, I'll find you a driver. And you beauties, how did you all come? Do you want me to call a car to take you back?"

Zheng Wei waved her hand: "No need, Ruan Guan drove us here, and we've already found a designated driver."

Wang Yan also shook his head: "I'll just take a taxi myself. You've had so much to drink, take care of yourself. I'm off." Saying that, he left, waved to the others, and hailed a taxi by the roadside to leave.

Ruan Guan and the others also greeted them, went to the parking lot, and also got in their car and left.

Watching them drive away and having dealt with a bunch of people, Zhang Kai finally found some peace. He lit a cigarette, took a long drag, and leaned powerlessly against the wall: "Did you see it clearly?"

Chen Xiaozheng also lit a cigarette: "I saw it clearly. Your alcohol tolerance is pretty good now."

"What kind of talk is that? My alcohol tolerance has always been very good." Zhang Kai was just about to brag, but after realizing what he said, he shook his head: "Why are you changing the subject? Is that what I was asking about?"

"Then what else could I see clearly? You know as well as I do that I've never had any interaction with Zheng Wei before, and she has never taken me seriously. It's too early to say anything now."

"Playing dumb? Look at their outfits; although they look simple, there isn't a single cheap item. And those bags they have, those are even more expensive. Look at what they said: Ruan Guan runs a teahouse, Zheng Wei is a minor leader, Li Weijuan is a clerk, and Zhu Xiao Bei is still studying at school. Back in university, everyone knew what everyone's situation was. The four of them, none of their families were rich; they were just middle-class families. But look at them now? That configuration of theirs, is that something that can be afforded with that meager salary?"

"Especially Ruan Guan. No matter how well the Huang Guoshu tourism is developed, her family just benefits from the scenic spot. Can that make them suddenly rich? How could she afford a car? And how could she open a teahouse on Yihe Road? No matter how capable she is, she still needs a first pot of gold. Where did that gold come from? One family could have been relocated, two could have won the lottery, but the four of them can't all be that rich, right? There's definitely something going on here."

Chen Xiaozheng was silent for a long time: "Now that there's contact again, as long as one has the heart, one can always find out why." This kind of situation usually only has one explanation: being kept. But he especially disliked the idea that the truth was really like that, because it really somewhat destroyed the 'white moonlight' in his imagination of youth.

"You, you're just suffering from your own actions." Zhang Kai exhaled a puff of smoke, laughed, and patted his arm: "You say Zeng Yu followed you so wholeheartedly for seven years, but you used her to help you go abroad, and then turned your back on her. Besides, you didn't even finish using her. Zeng Yu's father was the dean at the time, and now he's the vice president, and he's also from an architectural background. If you had become his son-in-law, that would be a completely different story from now. Why did you have to insist on being the bad guy, gaining the reputation of being ungrateful and a scumbag for nothing? You..."

"If you put it that way, then I am indeed ungrateful. I really don't have any feelings for Zeng Yu, and now I have realized my original idea and fulfilled my mother's wish. Although I'm not as rich as you, I'm not lacking either. As long as I do things step by step in the future, it won't be bad. I'm content. Since that's the case, there's no need for me to force myself to be with someone I don't love."

"Content?" Zhang Kai squinted at him and laughed: "When your money really reaches a certain level, you won't be content. Who is ever truly content? It's just that when you reach a certain point, your understanding of yourself is already very clear. You know what you can get, and you know even better what you can't get. You say you're content now, but have you really seen yourself clearly? You should think about it carefully. I'm off."

He gave Chen Xiaozheng a light punch in the chest, turned around, humming a little tune, and swayed away, supported by the driver who had come over.

Chen Xiaozheng lit another cigarette, just like Zhang Kai before, leaned powerlessly against the wall, watched Zhang Kai walk away, and looked up at the dark sky...

Saying they were breaking up didn't necessarily mean they were breaking up; it might just mean they had agreed to meet again in another place.

Wang Yan didn't go far by taxi before stopping in front of a wonton shop. He took out his phone, made a call, went inside, ordered five bowls of wontons, and waited at the table in the very back with a cigarette in his mouth.

Before long, the wontons were served. At that same moment, a car stopped at the entrance outside, and four women, dressed in finery and each with a different charm, walked into the wonton shop.

It was already quite late, and there was only Wang Yan's table in the shop. The other two living people were the boss and his wife. Seeing the four women enter together, their eyes went straight, and they were pinched quite a bit.

"You really are a pig." Zheng Wei said as she sat down at the table: "You didn't eat or drink little just now, and yet here you are eating wontons again."

"Being able to eat is a blessing. Having four beauties like you for company, isn't that a blessing?"

"A man's mouth, a deceitful ghost. Doesn't this just leave out the big lady?" Li Weijuan laughed as she used a spoon to stir the wontons: "It smells quite fragrant. Eat up. I've finally understood that whenever there's a reunion, you never eat or drink well. Aren't you hungry? Old Wang, did you get jealous when we hugged Old Zhang earlier?"

"We're an old married couple, am I that narrow-minded?" Wang Yan shook his head and smiled: "Didn't Zheng Wei used to hug Zhang Kai and Xu Kaiyang? Besides, you all look so radiant every day, fragrant even from ten miles away. Who doesn't have pursuers behind them? If I were that narrow-minded, you'd have started dividing the inheritance long ago."

Ruan Guan shook her head and smiled: "Look at what you're saying."

Zhu Xiao Bei asked: "Are you really not going later? The kids have been clamoring for you for a long time."

"Spare me. I really can't stand a bunch of kids. You guys just fool around with them for now; I'll cultivate father-son feelings with them when I go back later."

"What a character." Zheng Wei pouted and muttered.

They were truly as familiar as could be now. Among those sitting here, Ruan Guan had been with him the longest, for seven years, and the shortest, Zhu Xiao Bei, had been with him for four. If you talk about the time they've known each other, it's been ten years. An old married couple, truly without a single flaw.

If it weren't for the fact that there were so many people and Wang Yan couldn't be in two places at once, unable to spend many days with each of them every month, if it were just one woman, the so-called 'seven-year itch' would have started. Of course, the one itching was Wang Mouren...

It was also because there were so many people that they couldn't stop while eating. Led by the most talkative Li Weijuan, they chattered away about their opinions of the classmates at the previous reunion. They mocked those who pretended to be rich, sighed at those who were truly awesome without making a sound, and kept saying, "Look at so-and-so, he used to be so-and-so, but now he's stood up, I really didn't expect it."

Just like that, the meal passed. Wang Yan said goodbye to the four women, hailed another taxi, and went to see Shi Jie. His eldest son was still waiting for him to tell a story...

"Qingyun Teahouse..."

On the third afternoon after the class reunion, Zhang Kai stood in a square near Yihe Road, looking up at the plaque on the two-story building in front of him, muttering the free and easy handwriting on it. Looking at those characters, and then looking at the surrounding reinforced concrete buildings, he couldn't help but shake his head; he almost lost the feeling.

After walking in, he was taken to a partitioned room by the window on the second floor. He ordered a pot of Biluochun and a platter of pastries. He looked at the tea master who was skillfully manipulating the tea set to brew tea: "I'm a friend of your boss. Is she here?"

"She's not." The tea master replied: "She went to accompany her child to class. She'll be back in a while. Almost every day at this time, the boss brings her child here to eat some pastries."

Zhang Kai was stunned. He frowned and said: "You said she has a child?"

"He's already over three years old, right? Aren't you a friend of the boss?"

"It's also been many years since we were in contact. We had a class reunion two days ago and I knew she opened this teahouse, so I only had time to come today. I thought I'd see how it was first, so that when I invite people to drink tea in the future, I can also take care of an old classmate's business. So your boss is married? But I remember when I asked her at the reunion before, she said she was single. When did a child pop up? Is it her own?"

The tea master had a polite smile on her face: "Boss, I'm just an employee, and I haven't been here for long, so I don't know about those things you mentioned."

The fact was the fact, and the situation was the situation. The few sentences she said before were a proper answer to the boss's situation; saying more would be her being loose-lipped.

Zhang Kai of course understood the situation, so he said: "Then when your boss comes back, let her come over to talk. My name is Zhang Kai."

"Okay." The tea master nodded. By now, she had finished her work and pushed a cup of tea in front of Zhang Kai: "Please enjoy."

Zhang Kai drank the tea silently, eating the pastries one bite at a time. These pastries were indeed as delicious as Ruan Guan said, and the tea wasn't fooling anyone either; they were all solid, real materials, a rare and affordable place. But of course, he had no heart to taste the tea or the food; it was really the child from who knows where that was impacting the beautiful, beautiful shadow with a white dress and fluttering long hair, overflowing with a smiling face, from that hot early autumn many years ago deep in his heart...

"Old Zhang? What are you thinking about?"

Zhang Kai didn't know how long he had been lost in thought. His eyes blurred, and when he heard the familiar voice, he came back to his senses, his gaze focusing on that familiar yet strange face: "Your tea is good, and the pastries are even better. That's why I was so absorbed."

As he spoke, his gaze shifted, and he saw a little boy standing behind Ruan Guan, blinking his big eyes at him. Looking closely at the child's appearance, it gradually overlapped with the child he had accidentally bumped into being led by someone.

"He is, he is... he..." Zhang Kai pointed at the child, shocked and unable to speak, just saying 'he, he, he' continuously, staring at Ruan Guan in disbelief.

"Did you recognize him?" Ruan Guan slapped away the hand that was trembling and pointing at her son, because Zhang Kai's appearance at this moment was ferocious with disbelief, which somewhat scared the child.

She held the child in her arms to comfort him: "It's okay, son, don't be afraid. Uncle is just too happy to see you."

Seeing the child staring at him, Zhang Kai awkwardly withdrew his hands, took two deep breaths in a row to calm his emotions, grinned, and nodded: "Yes, Uncle is just too happy to see you. We've met before, do you remember? At that time, you were riding on your father's neck, and Uncle even greeted you."

The little one was only three years old, so how could he remember that much? But he was quite polite and didn't say whether he remembered or not, just saying in a milky voice: "Hello Uncle, I am Wang Ziguo."

"Hey, hello, hello. My surname is Zhang, just call me Uncle Zhang in the future." This 'Uncle' made his heart feel cold. Zhang Kai tried his best to make himself smile as foolishly as possible, because that would seem kind.

Knowing that this news was indeed quite explosive, Ruan Guan touched her son's little head: "Go find Sister Xiaoli and let her get you some pastries to eat. But first, let's agree, don't eat too much."

"Got it." The little one responded and ran off as soon as he got up: "Sister Xiaoli, Sister Xiaoli..."

"This child, so reckless." Ruan Guan shook her head helplessly.

As the saying goes, it takes three years to learn good, but three days to learn bad. Her son was originally quite good, very honest and not naughty, but whenever this kid got together with his younger brothers and played wildly for two days, he couldn't be restrained.

"This child is quite cute."

"Not really, he's very naughty."

"I remember Old Wang told me he was over three years old last time?" Zhang Kai calculated the time in his heart and asked hesitantly: "Did you start when you graduated?"

"Even earlier than that, it was in my sophomore year. In the first semester of my sophomore year, wasn't there a time I asked you to help me call him? At that time..." Ruan Guan laughed and explained to Zhang Kai, telling the story of those years.

Before, when she was downstairs, she heard someone say that a classmate named Zhang Kai came to find her, so she asked what was said. Knowing that the tea master had told him about her having a son, she didn't hide it anymore. Moreover, after Wang Yan took the child out for a stroll and bumped into Zhang Kai, he also told her about this when he came back. She asked what to do if he found out one day, and Wang Yan said there was no need to hide it, so she didn't dodge.

She knew that Zhang Kai, knowing she had a son, would definitely continue to ask. Lies have loopholes if told too much, so it was better to just say it directly. Moreover, Zhang Kai was hanging out with her Old Wang, so of course it was impossible for him to spread it everywhere; knowing was just knowing.

After listening to Ruan Guan's explanation, Zhang Kai sighed: "Old Wang snatched you first, that kid is really cunning. I said, after the news of your breakup spread, so many people pursued you, why didn't you show any sign, and just stayed single until graduation."

"Just like how Zeng Yu and Xu Kaiyang ended up together, it was unexpected. I didn't expect to end up with Old Wang either, and it's been so many years, and the child is already over three years old. Time flies so fast..." Ruan Guan shook her head and smiled: "I used to think about what youth is immortal, but now I don't feel anything at all. Time really makes people old."

"You have a son, youth is immortal in the next generation." Zhang Kai laughed and added. He ate pastries, drank tea, and nodded repeatedly: "Your stuff is indeed quite good. When I have friends to talk business in the future, I'll bring them over to support you. If you ask me, everything here is good, except for the location. The characters on the plaque outside were written by Old Wang, right? It's a bit out of place with the surrounding environment; it would be more fitting over at Fuzimiao."

"It's indeed better over there, and I also have a shop over there. But I live near here, so I don't go to that shop often." Ruan Guan said very easily; aren't they just two shops? Nothing strange.

Zhang Kai felt it was normal; after all, Old Wang had money, so where was this? He still couldn't help but sigh: "I really didn't expect you to end up with Old Wang... You've been living well these years, right?"

"It's okay. You know him, he has a special ability that makes people feel very natural and comfortable being with him. After so many years, he hasn't changed at all. I don't worry about food and clothing, I just take care of the child every day, it's very good."

Zhang Kai was just about to speak when his phone on the edge of the table rang. He glanced at it, put it to his ear, and after saying a few words, he hung up, got up, and said: "Sorry, something suddenly came up, I have to go back, I'll come over to drink tea another day. Oh, right, pack some pastries for me to take back to eat, the taste is really good."

"It's Old Wang's secret recipe, he said it was imperial pastries from before." Ruan Guan got up with a smile: "Okay, you're so busy, I won't keep you. Come over when you have time. Don't worry about the money, why be so polite with us."

Zhang Kai laughed, picked up the exquisite handbag that had been packed, found the little one who was dangling his legs and eating in the corner, rubbed his head: "Uncle is leaving, I'll bring you toys next time."

"Thank you Uncle, goodbye Uncle."

Zhang Kai waved his hand at Ruan Guan: "Okay, okay, no need to see me off, I'm off."

Ruan Guan stood in front of the window upstairs, watching Zhang Kai walk to the car not far away with a cigarette in his mouth. After a long while, the car started and drove away. Only then did she shake her head and smile, turning to look at the little one eating happily not far away: "Why are you still eating? Did you secretly eat more again?"

"No, Mom, I didn't eat more."

"Hmm?" Ruan Guan put on a straight face.

The little one couldn't help but be scared, struggled to hold up two fingers, and said cautiously: "I just ate one more red bean pastry, and one more cloud cake..."

"That's right, lying is not a good child. You should learn from Dad on this point; Dad never lies. Also, Dad always does what he says, unlike you, saying you wouldn't eat more, but ended up eating two more pieces."

"I've always been learning from Dad."

"Not everything can be learned, silly son." Ruan Guan reached out and greeted: "Come here, Mom will take you to wash your face and hands."

"Mom, that uncle just now seemed a bit unhappy."

"How did you see that?"

"I just felt he was unhappy, right?"

"Yes, adults are the same as children, they all have times when they are unhappy."

"Then why isn't Dad like that?"

... "Dad just hid his unhappiness. Dad has very heavy responsibilities. Okay, don't ask about this and that anymore, that's not something a child like you should care about. Come, stretch out your hands."

Zhang Kai drove back to the company with complex thoughts. In his office, under the large glass window, he sat there, blankly looking at the large construction site in the distance that changed every day.

The previous phone call wasn't anything urgent, he just needed to leave and calm down by himself.

Ruan Guan, the protagonist he matched, had been with Wang Yan for eight years and had a son over three years old. Thinking about it made him feel uncomfortable, and the key was that there was no one to complain to. Especially the way they were together, it was quite special.

He wasn't stupid. If he were stupid, it would be impossible for him to still be steadily acting as his President Zhang today. Wang Yan was of course a good person, and of course willing to give opportunities to plot characters like Zhang Kai, but if he were really rotten mud that couldn't be supported on the wall, he wouldn't be a great good person.

And in these few years, Zhang Kai could be considered well-informed, and he had seen no shortage of rotten things. Like Wang Yan and Ruan Guan, they hadn't received any news of marriage before, and they had created a child over three years old without a sound, so they weren't married. And why they weren't married, that of course could only be explained by being kept. After all, he had seen Shi Jie before, and he had occasionally asked Wang Yan over the years, and the answer he got was that they were still together.

If Wang Yan were married, even if he didn't invite others, he should have invited him. But now there had been no movement, which meant that Shi Jie should also be in the same situation as Ruan Guan.

He knew Wang Yan had charm, otherwise why would he be so devoted and willing to work hard? Generously giving money was one point, and there were many other aspects that made people admire and be convinced. When it came to women, Wang Yan also had unparalleled attraction.

He believed Ruan Guan didn't need to lie to him, and he believed Ruan Guan, this second, or perhaps third, fourth, fifth, was indeed quite good following Wang Yan. But what he couldn't figure out was how Ruan Guan could be willing to follow him without a name or status. He knew Ruan Guan didn't value money, and no matter how much money Wang Yan had, it was of no great use, so how did he fool Ruan Guan into his hands?

His heart was extremely complex. There was anger and contempt for Wang Yan, hatred for Ruan Guan's choice, and even more extreme discomfort that the person he loved in his heart had been harmed by someone, and other various things. Anyway, it was a mix of five flavors, painful and unbearable.

But what could he do? Not to mention that he had today because Wang Yan led him, this was a benefactor. Besides, Ruan Guan wasn't forced by Wang Yan's power, she was indeed devoted. He could only keep the sadness to himself, and couldn't tell anyone. He was even a bit afraid to drink, afraid that if he drank too much, he would angrily scold Wang Yan, which wouldn't be good.

He was originally willing to be a supporting role, and originally, as long as Ruan Guan was happy, he would be very happy. But today, knowing the truth, he really couldn't accept it.

The key was that he had today's achievements and already had some confidence, and already somewhat didn't want to be a supporting role. Sadly, his current confidence was given to him by Wang Yan.

And he couldn't go to Wang Yan to say anything, to accuse, to scold, because Wang Yan was also innocent; Wang Yan didn't know his feelings for Ruan Guan.

He was nothing more than morally condemning Wang Yan, there was nothing else to say. After all, he had seen many people, and if those people really had Wang Yan's wealth and status, they would play even harder.

He sighed and digested the mix of five flavors in his heart by himself...

Ruan Guan lay in someone's arms and talked about what happened before. She said: "I told Old Zhang, is it okay?"

"I told you before, this matter is entirely up to you, it doesn't matter who you tell. You know, I've always been thick-skinned, it's all good. In the end, the harm caused to you by our relationship being known is the greatest. As long as you can hold on, let alone just telling Zhang Kai, even if you put it in the newspaper tomorrow, I will absolutely support it."

"Go, you don't want face, but I do. Although I've long since had no face, others don't know, so there's still three parts of decency."

Wang Yan stroked her face: "I've wronged you."

"It's also what I'm willing to do, otherwise do you think I would have just left with you when I came back from Shanghai?" Ruan Guan sighed: "Old Zhang shouldn't be feeling well now... Actually, I know he likes me."

"How do you know?"

"You don't seem surprised?"

"You are so beautiful, I wouldn't be surprised whoever likes you, I'm talking about you."

Ruan Guan shook her head and said: "Isn't it because he sent me flowers for a year? At first, the clerk who sent the flowers said it was confidential, but after sending them for a year, no matter how tight the mouth was, it should have been said. It's a coincidence, the week after I knew, Zhao Shiyong's incident happened. At that time, I refused firmly, and he never sent them again. I think... Zhang Kai should also know that I know, and that clerk who sent the flowers should have told him too. Now he must also know that I will tell you about this..."

"Afraid of embarrassment?"

"It's indeed very embarrassing."

Wang Yan smiled and said: "It's okay, we're all adults, there are many embarrassing things, this is nothing. He is a clever person, he won't tell me these things. I guarantee that things will be the same as before. And, he will definitely take care of the teahouse business. If you're not embarrassed, then no one is embarrassed. If you really can't get over it, go to the teahouse less in the future."

"No, why don't you feel anything at all?"

"Jealous? I'm not bragging, if I don't even have this bit of confidence, what am I mixing for?" Wang Yan hugged her and shook her: "You said you didn't feel that, but now my feeling is coming up."

Ruan Guan's charming eyes slanted, and the light hum turned into a happy song in an instant...

Just as Wang Yan said, Zhang Kai acted as if nothing had happened, and found Wang Yan for a meal every few days. In fact, there was no other meaning, it was just 'I know you know', 'you know I know', not mentioning a word, and eating quite well. Afterwards, he also went to Qingyun Teahouse to support the business every few days, but he didn't go to Yihe Road, but went to Fuzimiao instead.

It was indeed the feeling over there that was enough, and it was indeed for Ruan Guan's sake, to avoid everyone being embarrassed, which was quite good.

Youth always has regrets, although this regret was too regrettable, there was only one way to accept it, and Zhang Kai was a reasonable person.

Chen Xiaozheng didn't know about Zhang Kai's situation, and of course Zhang Kai wouldn't tell him.

Chen Xiaozheng was also like Zhang Kai, tentatively approaching his youth, but unlike Zhang Kai who already had a good relationship with Ruan Guan, he still needed to understand more...