[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-romantic-path-to-success":3,"chapter-the-romantic-path-to-success-the-romantic-path-to-success-chapter-11":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Romantic Path to Success",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},2145441,3567,"Chapter 11: Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow","the-romantic-path-to-success-chapter-11",11,"\u003Cp>As Su Xinghui was exchanging pleasantries with his two best friends, a girl walked in. The moment everyone saw her, the room fell silent. She was of medium height, slender, with delicate features and long, straight, jet-black hair hanging neatly behind her back. A faint smile rested on her face, making her look very calm—like a chrysanthemum in the quiet. As soon as she entered, she stood there, staring at Su Xinghui without blinking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone’s eyes turned to Su Xinghui, but he showed no sign of awkwardness. He extended his right hand to the girl and said, \"Xue Qin, hello. Long time no see.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A flash of sorrow flickered in Xue Qin’s eyes, but she quickly masked her emotions. She reached out and shook Su Xinghui’s hand lightly, \"Su Xinghui, hello!\" ===== CHAPTER 21 =====\u003C\u002Fp>\u003Cp>Back in high school, Su Xinghui and Xue Qin had a thing—or more accurately, Xue Qin liked Su Xinghui. Her grades were average, and for a time, she sat next to Su Xinghui. She often asked him for help with problems, and Su Xinghui would patiently explain them to her. For a while, they were very close, and everyone thought they were a couple. In reality, Su Xinghui didn't have many feelings for her. When Xue Qin failed the college entrance exam, her father, the Deputy Director of the Personnel Bureau, got her a job at the Tax Bureau, while Su Xinghui went to Jiangcheng for college. After that, they drifted further apart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If it were his past life, seeing Xue Qin in this situation would have certainly made Su Xinghui uncomfortable. But having been reborn, although there were still ripples in his heart, he was already able to mask his emotions well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After Xue Qin arrived, more and more people came. Soon, nearly thirty classmates had gathered. These students had all entered society; some worked in various government offices, some taught in schools, and some were workers in factories. Of course, there were also those like Xu Xiaoguang who worked in their family businesses. Four years after high school graduation, everyone’s circumstances were different. Some were proud and satisfied, while others were frustrated and unfulfilled. Those working as factory laborers huddled in the corners, wearing humble smiles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that in just four years, those classmates who once seemed inseparable now had such a large gap—or rather, a barrier—between them, Su Xinghui felt deeply moved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, some classmates had faded from Su Xinghui’s memory; after all, the year he was reborn was more than twenty years away from now. He took the opportunity of today’s reunion to get to know them all over again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang Cheng had the waiter bring out the two tables of food he had ordered in advance and asked for two cases of beer. Hard liquor wasn't needed; Zhang Cheng had brought four bottles of Moutai, and Xu Xiaoguang had brought four bottles of Wuliangye. With these eight bottles, it should be enough, as there were only fourteen male classmates, and some of them were drinking beer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a few drinks, the atmosphere at the table became lively. Even if four years of time had created gaps in status and position, at this moment, everyone had only one identity: classmates of the Class of '88, Senior Year Class 4.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because the reason for today’s reunion was to welcome Su Xinghui back, many people toasted him. Fortunately, the glasses at the People’s Restaurant were small, only three *qian*. The habit of drinking from large glasses, which would become common more than a decade later, hadn't caught on yet, which saved Su Xinghui from drinking too much too quickly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After drinking a few glasses, Su Xinghui quickly took a bite of food. At this moment, Xue Qin poured herself a glass of Moutai. She stood up and stared at Su Xinghui, \"Su Xinghui, I’d like to toast you too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Xinghui gave a wry smile and stood up, \"I’ll drink this one with you, but don't drink the hard liquor. Just have some soda.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Qin stared intently at Su Xinghui, \"It’s fine, I’m okay with a little liquor.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Xinghui had no choice but to drink a glass with Xue Qin. After finishing it, Xue Qin poured herself another, \"Let’s have another.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Xinghui had to drink another with her. Unexpectedly, Xue Qin filled her glass for a third time, wanting to drink yet another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that Xue Qin’s emotions seemed unstable, Su Xinghui gave a look to Luo Xiaomei, who was sitting next to her. Luo Xiaomei tugged at Xue Qin’s sleeve, \"Xue Qin, stop drinking.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Qin said, \"I’ll stop after this one.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Looking at Xue Qin’s stubborn eyes, Su Xinghui had no choice but to pour another glass and drink with her. Luo Xiaomei quickly pulled Xue Qin down to sit. Xue Qin didn't insist on drinking with Su Xinghui anymore, and Su Xinghui finally felt relieved. It was a class reunion, and he didn't want to cause any unpleasantness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In his past life, he had spent several years in Meng Hu Ling and didn't have much contact with Xue Qin. Xue Qin had married according to her family’s arrangements, so nothing like this had ever happened between them. He hadn't expected that after being reborn, this reunion would stir up some sorrow in Xue Qin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, Su Xinghui had a clear conscience. When they were in school, he had always been open and honest with Xue Qin and had no other intentions toward her. It was purely Xue Qin’s one-sided feeling, and he owed her nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, deep down, Su Xinghui was somewhat amazed by Xue Qin’s transformation. Back in high school, she hadn't been this pretty. Back then, she was thin and small, her hair slightly yellowish and tied into two small braids, her features not yet fully developed, and she always looked a bit timid. Her grades weren't outstanding, and her personality was very introverted; she didn't talk much. It was normal that Su Xinghui hadn't felt anything for her. But seeing her today, she was like a completely different person. When he first saw her today, Su Xinghui had to search his memory hard before he recognized her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A thought flashed through Su Xinghui’s mind: *If Xue Qin had looked like this in high school...*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This little episode with Xue Qin made the atmosphere at the table slightly dull, but thanks to the efforts of Zhang Cheng, Xu Xiaoguang, and others, it became lively again. Several girls started drinking. The eight bottles of hard liquor were finished, and after the two cases of beer were gone, they ordered another case, stopping only when Su Xinghui called for it. However, Xu Xiaoguang shouted, \"Let’s go, I’m treating everyone to karaoke! No one is allowed to skip! I’ll be upset with anyone who doesn't go!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing that Xu Xiaoguang was a bit drunk, Su Xinghui had initially planned not to go, but Zhang Cheng and the others cheered and insisted on going. Not wanting to dampen everyone’s spirits, he agreed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some classmates had drunk too much and wanted to go home to rest, some didn't want to go to karaoke, and some girls couldn't stay out too late. In the end, only thirteen people went, including Su Xinghui’s best friends, Wu Yuansheng, Luo Xiaomei, and Xue Qin, along with a few other girls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the early nineties, karaoke had just started to emerge in Xinhe County, and there were only a few places in the entire county. Xu Xiaoguang took everyone to a karaoke hall he frequented, which was also the highest-end one at the time. It had a rather \"foreign\" name: the Dream Paris Karaoke Hall. Calling it high-end couldn't compare to later karaoke halls; it was a bit tacky, but in this era, that was the best one could get.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The proprietress of the hall knew Xu Xiaoguang. Seeing him bring so many people, her eyes squinted with a smile. She quickly wiggled her large hips toward Xu Xiaoguang, \"Boss Xu is bringing friends to sing!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Xiaoguang snapped his fingers generously, \"That’s right. Arrange the largest private room and bring plenty of beer, soda, snacks, and fruit platters.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The proprietress’s mouth couldn't close from smiling. She agreed repeatedly, ordered the waiters to prepare the drinks and snacks, and personally led Xu Xiaoguang and the others to a large room. She diligently turned on the air conditioning and said to Xu Xiaoguang, \"Have a good time, Boss Xu!\" before leaving. With girls present, she naturally wouldn't stay to be an eyesore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The drinks and snacks were brought out quickly. Xu Xiaoguang said, \"Everyone eat, drink, and have fun!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this era, there was no computer-based song selection like later on. If you wanted to sing, you had to write the song titles on a piece of paper and take them to the bar to be queued up. It was quite troublesome. If you selected them one by one, it was a hassle for the person selecting, and the person singing had to wait.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Xinghui had good handwriting, so everyone asked him to be the scribe. They reported the songs they wanted to him. When it was Xue Qin’s turn, she looked at Su Xinghui with burning eyes and said, \"Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Xinghui pretended not to understand Xue Qin’s meaning. He wrote *Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow* on the paper, but he smiled bitterly inside: *We never loved, so how can we talk about \"still\"?*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Qin asked Su Xinghui, \"What song are you singing?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Xinghui was a decent singer, but he couldn't just pick any song; it wouldn't be good if Xue Qin misunderstood. He thought for a moment and wrote *My Future is Not a Dream* on the paper. Xue Qin leaned over to look at the title, and seeing the song, a look of disappointment couldn't help but appear on her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first round of the song list was written and sent to the bar. Because there were so many people, it took an hour for everyone to sing one song. However, everyone was drinking beer and soda and eating snacks and fruit, so they weren't bored.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xue Qin had been somewhat dejected. After singing that song and waiting for Su Xinghui to finish his, she said she wanted to go home. No matter how they tried to persuade her, she wouldn't stay. Seeing her insistence, everyone understood her mood. But it was already nearly nine o'clock, and they couldn't let her go back alone. The task of seeing her home fell to Su Xinghui.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Xinghui followed Xue Qin out in silence. They walked all the way to the Personnel Bureau dormitory without a word.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Halfway there, Xue Qin asked, \"Why were you assigned to Meng Hu Ling? Do you want to transfer back? If you do, I’ll have my dad find someone to put in a good word for you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Xinghui shook his head, \"Thank you, but I don't want to come back for now.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Are you always this calm?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Su Xinghui could only remain silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’m here!\" Xue Qin walked quickly up the stairs to her home. Su Xinghui could see her shoulders trembling. He stood silently downstairs for about half an hour until he saw the light go on in Xue Qin’s window, then he sighed, turned around, and went home. ===== CHAPTER 22 =====\u003C\u002Fp>",1908,"2026-06-16T16:59:29.695Z","2026-06-16T17:54:29.625Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","d6ddf03ef39be34b81cb36a1fdaad20e1e747920141581dd78b263e5e461857f","the-romantic-path-to-success-chapter-12","the-romantic-path-to-success-chapter-10",572,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-romantic-path-to-success-cover.jpg"]