The atmosphere in the private room suddenly became tense, with the flickering lights resembling swords drawn in the air.
As soon as Zhao Tiantian heard the words "old rules," cold sweat trickled down his forehead. The thought of having to "clean up" after so many people sent a shiver down his spine.
"Old classmate, old classmate, don't get excited. We've all finally gotten together. We're here to reminisce, not to stir up trouble, right? My brother here has a short temper. Calm down, calm down. I'll go persuade him, okay?"
Zhao Tiantian grabbed some tissues to wipe the beer off his face and hair. He first blocked the three of them, then hooked Ren Yuanhao's shoulder and steered him out of the room.
"Please, enjoy yourselves for a bit. I'll come back in later to apologize."
Zhao Tiantian slammed the door shut, muttered a friendly "fu/ck," and then moved to a chair in the hallway outside to help Ren Yuanhao sit down.
"Brother, please don't be angry. They're all my classmates after all. The joke was a bit too much, but it's fine."
Zhao Tiantian reignited a cigarette and handed it to Ren Yuanhao. His slightly plump face was still dripping with beer.
"You call that a joke?" Ren Yuanhao took a deep drag from his cigarette. "That was ridiculing, mocking! What kind of damn class reunion is this? Look at them, like a bunch of prostitutes rubbing against rich men's gold belts, a pack of sycophants trying to curry favor with the wealthy. A single dog might want to get someone drunk, then pick them up for a night of sex. Damn, is this what you call a class reunion?"
As Ren Yuanhao spoke, he observed Zhao Tiantian's expression, which was a mixture of helplessness, pain, anger, and melancholy. These emotions contorted his face, yet he forced a smile to comfort himself.
Clearly, he was the one who needed comforting the most.
— Looks like this shut-in still has a chance.
"Brother, I've already called you Brother. Can you just let this go? Don't worry, I'll go in and have some fun. Once I've seen our class's former beauty, I'll come back with you, okay?"
Zhao Tiantian pleaded.
"Fine, I don't care to get involved. I'll just wander around outside. Call me if anything happens. I won't go too far."
Zhao Tiantian gave a sound of assent, plastered on a forced smile, and trotted back into the private room.
"For things that cannot be retrieved, one can only cherish the memory with a heart of despair."
Ren Yuanhao stubbed out his cigarette and slowly walked towards the pond behind Yunshui Ju.
Meanwhile, after Zhao Tiantian returned to the room, a group of classmates crowded around him as if he were an enemy.
"Hey, Zhao Tiantian, is that man your boyfriend? You always had a tendency towards being a shut-in gay back then." Li Qing slung an arm around his shoulder, feigning familiarity.
"Yeah, we were just joking with you, and your friend got so angry. Tsk, tsk, what a shame, that handsome man turns out to be gay!"
The speaker was Wang Fang, a girl who used to neglect her appearance. She had good bone structure and had blossomed into someone even more radiant.
"You guys stop joking. That person is just my friend. Wang Fang, if you like him, why don't you go chase him?" Zhao Tiantian said playfully.
"Pfft. You call a boyfriend a friend? Besides, why should I chase him? I have plenty of guys chasing me, more than I can count. Who does he think he is?"
Wang Fang retorted, flicking her hair. A few more 'flies' buzzed around her, eager to please.
"Alright, alright, let's all be seated. I think the class beauty has probably stood us up again, so we shouldn't wait any longer," Wu Xiang suggested. Everyone nodded, and they then moved to the large rectangular table in the private room and sat down one by one.
At this moment, everyone's wine glasses were filled with beer. Li Qing raised his glass and said loudly, "Everyone, before we drink, shouldn't the latecomers toast a few successful classmates? This is how we start the fight against poverty, it all begins with this drink. Old classmates, don't you agree?"
"Yes!"
Everyone echoed.
Li Qing, holding his wine glass and a bottle of wine, walked up to Zhao Tiantian, who was about to be seated, and teased, "Well, Zhao Tiantian, it's not that we classmates don't help you, but look at your attire. You haven't been doing very well these past few years, have you?"
Without waiting for Zhao Tiantian's reply, he began to introduce, "Look, this is Sun Xing, the little bully from back then, right? Now he's a big lawyer, impressive, isn't he."
Sun Xing stood up, waved his hand, cleared his throat, and boasted, "It's nothing special. I'm just a lawyer who handles economic disputes. I only make around 1 million a year, just hard work, really hard work."
Upon hearing that his annual salary was one million, more than half the people cast envious glances.
"Did you hear that, Zhao Tiantian? You probably don't even have a tenth of what he earns. It's a shame that Sun Xing only deals with wordy matters, so he probably can't help a good-for-nothing like you who didn't even go to college, right?"
After Li Qing finished speaking, the others chuckled softly.
"Toast the drink, Zhao Tiantian."
Li Qing egged Zhao Tiantian on to drink. Although Zhao Tiantian felt annoyed, he had been a slacker since elementary school and was thick-skinned. He immediately picked up his glass and clinked it with Sun Xing, who looked at him with disdain.
"Good, come, come, maybe this one can help with poverty."
Li Qing then pulled Zhao Tiantian in front of a man in a suit and leather shoes. "Look, Xiao Yunqi, oh no, you should be called President Xiao now. He's the general manager of a real estate development company, with many projects under his belt. If you're happy after drinking this wine, he might even offer you a supervisory position, and you'll be out of poverty!"
"You exaggerate, what President Xiao or anything. Tonight, we're all classmates. If anyone is interested in investing in the company, I'll give you employee shares, and you can make money lying down," Xiao Yunqi said, exuding an air of command and ambition.
Zhao Tiantian toasted and was led by Li Qing to the man sitting firmly in the middle.
"Hey, hey, hey, everyone, the one I'm about to introduce is truly impressive. You all earn the money of our countrymen, but this one earns the US dollars of foreigners. Gong Jian, we men envy you! You play with foreign girls, drink foreign liquor, live in foreign houses, and drive foreign cars."
"In my opinion, it's still better in China. Those foreigners are too xenophobic. Every time, you have to throw a wad of cash to break into the door. Ah, never mind, let's drink."
Everyone seemed to smell the extravagance of Gong Jian. Zhao Tiantian also toasted with an awkward smile.
At this point, one of the women asked, "Hey, Li Qing, you've introduced so many. What are you doing now?"
Li Qing sighed and put on a dejected expression, saying, "As for me, I'm not doing well. I'm just the general manager of this Yunshui Ju now."