Chapter 2048

In his past life, at class reunions, Su Xinghui was never the center of attention; his highest rank was only deputy department-level, and even that wasn't an actual position—it was merely a rank equivalent to deputy department-level, and by the time he reached that rank, he was already in his forties, while many of his classmates held far higher positions.

Among his classmates, the highest-ranked was one who had attended university in Hujiang and stayed there to work—he became a deputy district chief in a Hujiang district, a deputy provincial-level cadre; several others held department-level positions, making Su Xinghui's deputy department-level rank truly insignificant.

That deputy district chief of Hujiang City remained stationed in Hujiang and rarely returned to Shangjun County; after becoming deputy district chief, he returned to Shangjun County only once, when classmates there organized a reunion, and many out-of-town classmates came back—especially those in government, all of whom returned.

A deputy district chief of Hujiang City—how impressive! Who wouldn't want to cultivate a relationship with him?

This classmate, the deputy district chief, naturally carried himself with arrogance, his face stern, accepting flattery from others; Su Xinghui had only been average acquaintances with him in high school, so he didn't go over to join the crowd.

In his past life, at class reunions, Su Xinghui was never the focus—he always watched coldly as the gatherings turned into contests of status and networking, and thus developed a resistance to them; eventually, he stopped attending altogether.

In this life, they had graduated high school for nearly ten years; back then, society wasn't as cynical as it later became, so class reunions still retained some genuine emotion—but signs of sycophancy were already emerging.

Su Xinghui was now county magistrate; among all his classmates, none held a higher rank; the highest-ranked among the rest was Wu Jun, who was now chief of the Chengguan Town Police Station and a member of the county Public Security Bureau's leadership team, holding a deputy department-level rank—far below Su Xinghui's, and he owed his promotion largely to Su Xinghui.

Thus, at this life's class reunion, Su Xinghui naturally became the center of attention—but he found that being the focus wasn't pleasant at all; many classmates from other classes he barely knew in high school came over to toast him, smiling obsequiously as they spoke to him—it truly felt awful.

Now he finally understood why, in his past life, that deputy district chief of Hujiang always wore a cold, stern expression at class reunions—smiling at everyone was exhausting.

Still, although Su Xinghui disliked this corrupted version of a class reunion, he still had to attend; after all, they were classmates—if he didn't show up, people would say he was aloof, or that he looked down on others now that he'd succeeded, which would harm his reputation.

Of course, he could still play along with them at the reunion; if anyone asked him to do them a favor, he politely declined every time.

To him, these requests were trivial—just a phone call away—but granting them would be fostering improper conduct, and it would put others in an awkward position—he couldn't do such things.

Just listen to what his classmates asked: some wanted him to call their superiors and recommend a promotion; others asked him to call the bank and secure them a loan—could he possibly agree to such things?

Fortunately, he had a few close classmates; during one reunion, Xu Xiaoguang noticed Su Xinghui's discomfort and said he had something to discuss with him, pulling Su Xinghui away.

Outside, Su Xinghui asked Xu Xiaoguang what he wanted; Xu Xiaoguang smiled and said, "I saw you were uncomfortable, so I got you out—you should go back and rest; tomorrow's New Year's Eve, no one will be inviting you out anyway."

Su Xinghui bowed with a smile and said, "Thank you—you've saved me from an awkward situation."

Xu Xiaoguang shook his head and said, "Sigh, these class reunions are becoming less and less meaningful—I'll have to attend fewer from now on."

On New Year's Eve, Su Xinghui and Lu Xiaoya cooked a full table of dishes; the whole family enjoyed a lively New Year's dinner, then gathered to watch the Spring Festival Gala, spending a warm and joyful Lunar New Year together.

After New Year's Eve came the first day of the Lunar New Year; Su Xinghui paid New Year visits to everyone—from Hou Guangbi, to Chen Hongfu, to Xu Haimin's parents—he drove himself, making visits far easier than in past years; he loaded all his New Year gifts into the trunk and finished the rounds before lunchtime.

Of course, every family he visited wanted to keep him for lunch, but since he visited so many, if he ate at each one, he'd be eating for a week; so he politely declined each time, drank a sip of tea, and took his leave—everyone understood him and didn't press further.

After finishing his visits, he returned home to find his house piled high with gifts and filled with guests—all there to pay him New Year visits: classmates, former subordinates from Meng Hu Ling and Pengjiawan; he also saw Feng Yuandong and Xia Zhu, the young couple; Xia Zhu went into the room with Lu Xiaoya, while Feng Yuandong sat in the living room.

Su Xinghui greeted them all individually; they had waited there solely to see him, and his greetings thrilled them greatly.

They chatted with Su Xinghui for a while; he invited them to stay for lunch, but they all quickly stood up to take their leave—there were too many of them; if they all stayed for lunch, the Su family home couldn't hold them.

Su Xinghui offered a brief protest but let it go; he saw each one off downstairs, thanked them, and returned home to find Xia Zhu stepping out of the room, preparing to leave with Feng Yuandong; Su Xinghui said, "Yuandong, Xia Zhu, you two can't leave—you must stay for lunch."

Lu Xiaoya said, "Yes, Xia Zhu, you must stay for lunch."

Seeing their sincerity, Feng Yuandong and Xia Zhu stayed for lunch; as they left, Lu Xiaoya reminded Xia Zhu to take care of her health—she was now about two or three months pregnant.

Back home, Guo Suhua pulled Su Xinghui into the inner room and said, "Xinghui, you've been home for several days; tomorrow, you and Xiaoya will pay New Year visits to your in-laws—your maternal grandparents and your aunt and uncle—and then take a flight from Jiangcheng to Qinxi Province to pay respects to Xiaoya's parents."

Guo Suhua was a woman of great understanding; though she hated to let her son go, she knew his in-laws longed to see their daughter and grandchild, so she willingly urged her son's family to go to Qinxi.

Su Xinghui understood her heart; he nodded and said, "I understand, Mom."