The next day after work, Rong Yi arrived at the front of a top 5 hotel in City E at the agreed time.
“Hey? Rong Yi!” Before she could enter the gate, a sweet voice of a woman behind her sounded, “It’s Rong Yi, right?”
Rong Yi turned around to see a smiling couple looking at her.
The girl seemed vaguely familiar to her, and after a moment of thought, she said, “Mo Yuning?”
The girl nodded vigorously, broke away from her boyfriend’s hand, and rushed to give her a warm hug, “Long time no see! Why haven’t you been in touch with us?”
Mo Yuning was Rong Yi’s best friend from high school. Later, Rong Yi went abroad to study and intern, and then got busy with work, gradually losing contact.
Mo Yuning introduced her boyfriend to Rong Yi. After registration at the entrance, they walked into the bustling and crowded luxury banquet hall. Over a hundred people from the same class came, and the hall was as lively as a wedding.
Over the years, Mo Yuning had stayed in City E, keeping in touch with old classmates, which helped Rong Yi connect the names from her memory with the grown-up faces in front of her.
“Rong Yi, come, sit down! I heard you are now at WBD, right?” The class monitor smiled as he held a wine glass and greeted her.
Rong Yi had always been easy-going during school days, not the “big sister” type but a key figure in the class. She took on responsibilities and even took the blame when things went wrong, earning the respectful title of “Rong Yi” from all her classmates.
The class monitor had opened a server rental company after graduating from university, with a decent annual income, considered successful among the classmates, with features pointing towards a successful person.
Rong Yi, in the industry, had more achievements than fame. While others knew WBD for its high-tier financial operations, few knew who was behind the scenes.
A few years back, she was added to a classmate group where people were curious about each other’s workplaces. Some were eager to know how well “Rong Yi” was doing. She kept her job at WBD vague, mentioning something about finance, leading others to assume she might be an accountant.
Each person at the event had paid a significant amount to attend. Rong Yi had already contributed a four-digit sum through the class group. The main organizer, the class monitor, naturally had contributed even more.
Putting in so much effort, she truly wanted to reunite with old classmates but also aimed to strengthen relationships and expand her business network.
“Fan Datiang is actually from the next class over, so he’s not as familiar with us,” the class monitor hinted, “Rong Yi is much closer to us.”
“His reputation has skyrocketed in recent years. Ignoring us small folks is normal for him,” the class monitor whispered, “Is he as cold and distant at your company?”
The class monitor assumed Rong Yi was a mere employee in a big company and likely looked down on Fan Xingze, hoping to ally with her for some personal gain. “I was surprised he came. And it’s strange, I’ve contacted him several times, but he never mentioned you also being at WBD!”
Upon hearing this, Rong Yi remembered.
During school days, the class monitor was always ‘mature,’ rallying early for various class elections and even defeating her, who was very popular.
Back then, she had been full of youth and once secretly cried in the restroom.
Now, the class monitor seemed even more ‘mature,’ intentionally saying those things to make Rong Yi feel underestimated by Fan Xingze, aligning her mentally with him for future ‘favor exchanges.’
Yes, the class monitor must have had some favor to ask of her.
Fortunately, after her experiences in society, the present Rong Yi’s maturity surpasses his.
She smiled faintly, diverting the topic smoothly as the class monitor circled back to work matters, aiming for specific cooperation in server leasing with WBD.
Even the kickbacks were ready.
Although Rong Yi was not directly involved in specific business dealings, she knew the scale of her company. The servers at Ban Chang’s company were nothing to boast about. It was simply not cost-effective and unnecessary.
She politely declined, excused herself, and finally, after drinking three glasses of white wine on an empty stomach, she managed to shake off this sticky situation.
Mo Yuning had just been pulled away by her girlfriends for a chat. It was only then that she noticed Rong Yi being entangled by Ban Chang. She quickly went over to help the blushing Rong Yi up, glaring at Ban Chang: “Letting Rong Yi drink without eating, how inconsiderate. No wonder you’re single!”
After saying this, she pulled Rong Yi into the conversation with the other girls.
Many of the girls who came to the alumni gathering brought their husbands or boyfriends, introducing them to their old girlfriends with sweet and happy faces. While there was competition in careers and families among the men, at least they wouldn’t drag an innocent person like Rong Yi into it, which made Rong Yi feel much more relaxed.
Mo Yuning, straightforward as always, asked, “Do you have a boyfriend now? If not, I can introduce you to someone!”
Rong Yi remembered her younger boyfriend and couldn’t help but smile, “Yes, in a long-distance relationship.”
“Ohh!” Mo Yuning’s eyes lit up. “I was always curious about the kind of man who could win you over! Tell me more!”
What kind of person was her younger boyfriend?
Gentle, caring, attentive, reliable. Most importantly, very cute.
Perhaps it was the alcohol that made her lose some self-control, or maybe the thought of video-calling her younger boyfriend soon filled her heart with pink bubbles, she unintentionally blurted out a lot more than she intended to.
Mo Yuning, propping up her chin, listened more intently, her eyes showing envy. “Such a great guy… even if he’s not handsome, I could still accept him…”
Rong Yi nodded vigorously in agreement. “Exactly! He often says he’s not good-looking and feels insecure, but I really don’t mind!”
She even had thoughts of supporting him financially more than once!
Of course, she managed to push back that statement with what little rationality she had left.
Suddenly, Mo Yuning sighed. “Although you are happy now, think about that guy who had a crush on you back then, he must have been so pitiful.”
Rong Yi was taken aback. “Who had a crush on me?”
Mo Yuning was also surprised. “Oh, you didn’t know?”
Rong Yi shook her head in bewilderment.
Although she was a present-day student during her school days, she had never really dallied in romantic matters. She was the type of girl who filled her days with studies, extracurricular activities, and socializing, living a passionate teenage life.
Her online relationship with her younger boyfriend was truly her first romantic failure, to the point where she had to do her homework on how to appear emotionally mature in front of him.
Glancing around, Mo Yuning lowered her voice and said, “There was a guy from the adjacent class who liked you. From the first year to the third, he persistently brought you breakfast and even secretly slipped paper stars into your desk.”
The alcohol made Rong Yi’s thoughts wander. Breakfast, paper stars, and even A-senior followed this routine—was this a standard for campus romance?
“But I, I never received any of that,” Rong Yi said blankly. The gifts and even the silent boyfriend, A-senior, were nowhere to be seen.
Mo Yuning sighed, “The two of you were on Monkey Hill just after cleaning up—”
“No monkey poop.”
Rong Yi: …
Mo Yuning continued, “This was his first attempt, and he was too timid to put it in your desk himself.”
“It was my first time doing such a thing, and I was thrilled. But the class teacher, Old Wang, noticed something was off about me after I placed it, and he found the things in your desk.”
Rong Yi: …
“He asked me why I was so excited. I couldn’t outsmart that cunning Old Wang, so he found the stuff in your desk.”
“At the time, you were preparing for the Math Olympiad, and Old Wang said he couldn’t let these messy things affect your state of mind, so he confiscated them on the spot.”
Rong Yi: “Then why didn’t you tell me?”
Mo Yuning, feeling exasperated, said, “I did tell you! But you were all fired up at that time, focusing solely on the Math Olympiad. You said to me—”
“Don’t mention men to me. Men only slow down my problem-solving speed!”
Rong Yi: … Yes, she remembered now, she did have a period of that kind of adolescent behavior.
“I just conveyed your exact words to that guy.” Mo Yuning sighed, “After that, he intermittently sent breakfast several times, either intercepted by Lao Wang at the door, or lacking the courage to come in and retreating.”
“He doesn’t know why, said you must hate him, didn’t allow me to tell you. It’s killing me.”
“Remarkably, he never gave up, just showing goodwill unilaterally for three years. I ran into him several times at the classroom door, feeling sorry for him.”
“Until now, I still don’t know the guy’s name. He’s goofy, doesn’t even sign when he sends things. I only know he’s from the next class, slim, with thick glasses. Just average looking.”
“I wonder if he’ll show up.”
Rong Yi followed Mo Yuning’s gaze, scanning the venue in a tipsy manner, trying to see if the person matched her description, wanting to apologize to him.
It was her own dullness that kept a high school boy restless for three years. Hopefully, it won’t affect his college entrance exam.
“Hey, stop looking.” Mo Yuning propped her chin, watching the lively scene where the guys were drinking and having fun, “People change a lot after so many years, he must look different now.”
Rong Yi thought the same. She, feeling uncomfortable drinking on an empty stomach, pressed her flushed cheeks against the cold table surface.
Mo Yuning patted her with concern and poured her a cup of hot tea, “Are you okay? Do you want something to eat?”
“Snap!” Suddenly, a crisp shattering sound came from the direction of the guy.
The lively venue fell silent instantly.
Rong Yi looked towards the sound—
Fan Xingze, in a silver-gray suit, tall and handsome, stood there with a cold expression on his handsome face, wearing wire-rimmed glasses, surrounded by broken glass shards and a spilled drink at his feet.
The class monitor stood awkwardly across from him, his hand holding the wine glass uncertainly.
Seeing the tense atmosphere between the two, a classmate quickly intervened, “Xingze, it was just an accident, let me get you another drink!”
“Monitor, come on, let’s drink, let’s drink!”
Fan Xingze seemed to be persuaded, turning to leave.
But the class monitor was not pleased. He shook off the well-meaning classmate beside him, grabbed him with a flushed face, and loudly said, “Fan Xingze, what do you mean?”
“I’ve invited you several times, you’ve been ignoring me. After all, now you’re a big shot, huh, looking down on us common folks.”
“On this occasion, you, you, you embarrass me, is that meaningful?”
“Did I offend you in any way? If so, let’s clear it up right here in front of everyone!”
Fan Xingze turned back, brushing off the class monitor’s hand on his sleeve.
“Do you really want to clear things up?” He lightly adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses with his slender fingers, his tone as cold as his face.
“Alright.”
“Just like you said, Rong Yi in our class became the spiritual leader just because she was pretty since school, actually not much substance, just a vase being praised.”
“And also that her current job is all about taking shortcuts with her looks, not like hardworking people like you. Is it true? Or have you been jealous of her all along, making up stories?”
The guys remained awkwardly silent.
Within the boys’ group, it was no secret that the class monitor had been jealous of Rong Yi since school. But joking about girls among themselves seemed normal to them.
The drunken words the class monitor just said were taken lightly by them, but when he tried to toast Fan Xingze, the guy from the neighboring class suddenly lashed out.
Fan Xingze hadn’t finished speaking yet:
“According to you, Rong Yi relies on her looks, clings to leaders to get into wbd?”
“I can clearly tell you, my job at wbd now is all thanks to clinging to your class’s Rong Yi.”
“If we’re being clear, I hope you can publicly apologize to her.”
Author’s Note: Fan Wang Ba is getting serious!
