Chapter 833

The world is full of awkward moments—like wearing the same outfit as someone else; whoever looks uglier becomes the embarrassed one.

Xu Que always believed he never had to worry about matching outfits, because he was ridiculously handsome!

But this kind of awkwardness—mistaking someone for an old acquaintance—he had no way to resolve!

After middle school, he and Lao Cai had barely seen each other, mostly communicating by phone or online.

And Huang Cheng was the same—he wasn't close to him in high school, and they hadn't met at all since graduation.

Xu Que had spent a year in university, then lived for years in the Cultivation World, and most crucially, he had spent decades with Zixia Fairy inside a Secret Realm.

So now, others had only been away from him for a few years, but he hadn't seen these old classmates in decades—it was perfectly normal he didn't recognize them.

Of course, it was also just too coincidental.

Lao Cai had just said he was nearby and would come pick him up, so Xu Que naturally assumed it was him.

But he forgot he'd attended middle and high school in Linshen City—where you could bump into an old acquaintance anytime, and Huang Cheng was a perfect example.

"Ahahaha, what are you talking about? Of course I know you're Huang Cheng! But back in high school, you were terrible at gaming—we all called you Lao Cai behind your back. Didn't you know that?" Xu Que immediately laughed it off, forcing an explanation.

Huang Cheng suddenly realized, nodding: "Damn, I thought you'd forgotten me! Nice! You've gotten even handsomer after all these years—you really are the school heartthrob from back then!"

"Hey, keep it low-key, don't bring up old times!" Xu Que waved his hand dismissively, feigning humility.

"Where've you been making money lately? Oh, by the way, today's our old classmates' reunion—come with us! Everyone misses you!" Huang Cheng said enthusiastically.

Xu Que's mouth twitched.

Another old classmates' reunion? What the hell kind of day is this—middle school and high school both happening today?

Screech!

At that moment, another car pulled over beside them, and its window rolled down.

The person inside leaned out the window, excitedly shouting at Xu Que: "Holy shit, Xu Que, it's me—Lao Cai!"

Whoosh!

Instantly, Xu Que's eyelid twitched, his face still frozen in a forced smile, as he turned to look at the utterly bewildered Huang Cheng!

This… this was real awkwardness!

He'd just finished explaining away the nickname "Lao Cai," and now the real Lao Cai showed up!

"Lao Cai?"

At that moment, Huang Cheng turned to look at Cai Tengjin, then immediately reacted in shock: "Holy shit, aren't you Director Cai? Damn, Xu Que, you… you actually know Director Cai?!"

Huh, so Lao Cai's a big shot?

Seeing this, Xu Que couldn't help but grin.

Huang Cheng's attention instantly shifted—he jumped out of his car, rushed over to Cai Tengjin's window, and eagerly shook his hand: "Director Cai, sir, I've heard so much about you! I'm Huang Cheng, Xu Que's high school classmate, now running a construction company. I've loved your films since childhood, especially last year's *The Ultimate Anti-Tactic: Invincible Food God's Countermove Is Just Another Tactic*—absolutely brilliant!"

Fuck, that's my movie!

Xu Que's mouth twitched again, then slapped Huang Cheng on the shoulder: "Stop sucking up! Lao Cai's my middle school classmate—he's my peer. How the hell could you have been watching his films since childhood?"

"Hey, don't focus on details like that! I mean… hey, wait—last year's movie's director and screenwriter were both named Xu Que… holy shit, did you make it? Jesus, I always thought it was just a coincidence with the name!" Huang Cheng said, his face filled with stunned disbelief as he stared at Xu Que.

Xu Que shrugged, saying nothing.

Cai Tengjin laughed heartily: "He's right—it really was him! I've taken the blame for him for over a year now!"

"Holy shit, no way! Xu Que, you've made a stunning debut! Come on, when's your next movie? I'm investing!" Huang Cheng grabbed Xu Que's hand in shock, so excited he nearly pulled out a checkbook on the spot to pay a deposit.

Xu Que was utterly speechless—he knew the movie had been a hit, but he never imagined it'd be this big. An old classmate he hadn't seen in years showed up and immediately offered to invest money!

"Is it really that impressive?" Xu Que asked Cai Tengjin.

"Exactly that impressive!" Cai Tengjin nodded. The two exchanged a knowing smile.

Huang Cheng also laughed: "I got too excited, I got too excited. Hey, how about we all go have a drink and chat?"

"I'm afraid we can't—we're heading to our middle school reunion!" Cai Tengjin immediately shook his head.

Huang Cheng froze: "What? My high school reunion is also today—at Dalaideng Hotel!"

"Holy shit, so are we!" Cai Tengjin exclaimed.

Xu Que widened his eyes: "Is this even possible?"

Cai Tengjin and Huang Cheng exchanged glances, then both turned to Xu Que and nodded in unison: "It's exactly that coincidental!"

In truth, neither of them had expected such perfect timing—same day for both reunions, same hotel: Dalaideng Hotel.

"Alright, no need to argue—let's all go together!" Cai Tengjin spread his hands and grinned.

"Sounds good!" Huang Cheng nodded.

They chatted back and forth, and before Xu Que knew it, they'd shoved him into the car and drove off toward the hotel.

Huang Cheng even abandoned his own car, shamelessly cramming into Cai Tengjin's vehicle, chatting nonstop with Xu Que about everything under the sun.

Eventually, Cai Tengjin brought the conversation back to Xu Que.

"By the way, where the hell have you been all this time?" he asked curiously while driving.

Xu Que smiled: "I went to cultivate."

"Cultivate?" Cai Tengjin and Huang Cheng both froze, automatically assuming Xu Que had gone to some mountain temple to train.

After all, in modern times, this happened often—many college students or celebrities, tired of the secular world, liked to vanish into deep forests and live quiet, isolated lives.

"Didn't expect you had such refined tastes—you're nothing like the kid you were! Back then, you were the rowdiest!" Cai Tengjin chuckled.

Huang Cheng, however, gave a strange look: "Xu Que, you didn't run off into the mountains because some campus beauty dumped you in college, did you?"

"Huh?" Xu Que froze, momentarily speechless: "You know about my college life?"

He was confused—if Huang Cheng knew about his college breakup, how didn't he know Xu Que had died in a car accident?

"Holy shit, Old Xu got dumped in college? By a campus beauty? What kind of girl was that, blind?" Cai Tengjin burst out.

Huang Cheng scratched his head and laughed: "I heard this from Liu Xiaoli—remember Liu Xiaoli? The girl who chased you in high school and you ignored?"

"Fuck! Was that chasing me? She was trying to buy me! I'm not some damn prostitute!" Xu Que said, utterly dumbfounded.

He still remembered this incident vividly to this day.

Back in high school, their Class was famous for having many wealthy heirs, and Liu Xiaoli was one of them; though ordinary in appearance, her family was extremely rich, and she usually carried herself with an arrogant demeanor and style that many found unbearable yet dared not criticize.

Back then, because Xu Que had fair, tender skin and was the top scholar in the Class with immense Popularity, Liu Xiaoli without a second thought slammed a bank card in front of him, demanding he become her boyfriend.

Xu Que, of course, was unwilling; he immediately threw the bank card away, after which Liu Xiaoli found the most handsome boy from the neighboring Class, brought him before Xu Que daily to show off, and caused him all sorts of trouble.

Sitting in the car, Huang City recounted this entire incident from back then in one breath.

Lao Cai listened dumbfounded: "Old Xu actually had that kind of integrity?"

"Damn it, isn't that obvious? I freaking have my bottom line too; a scholar may be killed but not humiliated! I, Xu Que, stand upright between heaven and earth; why would I need to be kept by someone?" Xu Que immediately widened his eyes and declared.

"Bullshit!" Huang City immediately could not sit still and retorted, "That's not what you said back then; clearly, it was because she only gave you the bank card without the password that you threw it away!"

"..."

"..."

Instantly, the carriage fell into complete silence.

Both Lao Cai and Huang City looked at Xu Que with faces full of contempt.

Xu Que chuckled: "Who exactly was shameless?"

"Shameless!"

Lao Cai and Huang City immediately exclaimed in unison.

Only now did they realize that this fellow Xu Que hadn't changed at all; he was still just as shameless as back in those days!

This Lad was simply a peerless great master with no bottom line!

"Hey, Xu Que, don't blame me for not reminding you! That Liu Xiaoli is also attending the class reunion this time, so you'd better be careful; haha, this woman has become increasingly formidable lately, with a very poisonous tongue!" At this moment, Huang City chuckled, looking at Xu Que with schadenfreude.

Lying reclined on the car seat, Xu Que said calmly, "So what if she's formidable? With my current status and strength, all things in this world are but ants!"

"Pfft, ants my foot; have you gotten addicted to cultivation or something?" Lao Cai said speechlessly.

Huang City waved his hand and said seriously, "Xu Que, actually, I went through all these twists and turns just to tell you that during reunions in previous years, that woman kept speaking ill of you; we know it was she who spread the news that you were dumped by the school beauty, and since then I've been busy running around east and west, so I haven't attended any reunions and don't know what else she might have said about you!"

"Dizzy, is it really necessary to harbor such deep hatred and great enmity over a small conflict from our student days?" Lao Cai couldn't help but say speechlessly.

Xu Que smiled: "Whatever; there will always be such people in this world who can hold a grudge over a tiny conflict for a lifetime!"

However, inwardly he felt somewhat amused.

Judging by what Huang City said, Liu Xiaoli probably already knew about the car accident that caused his death back then; if she were to see him at this class reunion, she would likely be scared into wetting herself on the spot, wouldn't she?

"Those aren't the main point!"

At this moment, Huang City suddenly looked at Xu Que and said, "The main point is that I heard your former school beauty girlfriend from back then also seems to be coming to attend the reunion this time!"

【For some reason today I feel inexplicably down; originally, before going to bed last night, I was full of fighting spirit, wanting to continue working hard this month to explode updates and climb the Monthly Ticket Rank, but after waking up I felt weak all over, and upon seeing the Monthly Ticket Rank again, I instantly felt even more powerless!

Fellow big shots, please cast your Monthly Tickets if you have any; let's see if we still have any hope of climbing the ranks; at worst, I'll shamelessly say it again: for every five hundred Monthly Tickets, I'll add an extra chapter!】