Chapter 40: Not a Superficial Class Reunion
“Lin Xia has changed his profile picture yet again…”
Lin Xia’s friends were already used to this; it barely elicited a reaction anymore. The only exception was Chen Mingjie, who saved the image of White Ball immediately. He liked collecting photos of the cub. Whenever he was in a bad mood, flipping through them would lift his spirits—it was much better than looking at a certain giant spider!
Speaking of which, a certain giant spider became unhappy after seeing Chen Mingjie’s phone filled with photos of White Ball and Little Black. In retaliation, he flooded Chen Mingjie’s phone with photos of himself growing up, naming the album “Darling.” When Chen Mingjie first opened it, he thought his phone had contracted a virus.
Although he feigned disgust, Chen Mingjie looked through them anyway. Unexpectedly, the more he looked, the more “poisoned” he became. It seemed that… spiders could be kind of… cute?
Inexplicably, Chen Mingjie changed his phone wallpaper to a picture of the giant spider. When Jing Ran saw this, he was so excited that he not only showered Mingjie with kisses and hugs but also laughed in his sleep that night, nearly scaring Mingjie to death.
“What’s for lunch?” Chen Mingjie asked, lifting one of the giant spider’s legs and playing with it, unable to put it down. Despite the spider’s overall appearance… those fleshy paws were genuinely cute, comparable even to a cat’s paws.
…
“Brother Lin, what are we eating for lunch?” At the pet shop, Wang Ziyu began ordering food.
“Rich Broth Rice and a stir-fry. For the broth rice, I want…” Lin Xia listed the order.
“Rich Broth Rice again?” Wang Ziyu scratched his head, confused.
“An An wants to eat it,” Lin Xia laughed.
“Alright!” Wang Ziyu took the order, noting down what everyone wanted. In the past, he had been puzzled as to why White Ball, a cat (in his eyes), ate human food—weren’t seasonings bad for cats? But Lin Xia had said White Ball was special, though he never specified how.
Wang Ziyu had filled in the blanks with a dramatic screenplay in his own head: White Ball had been used for experiments by a strange scientist and forced to eat human food, leading to a mutation that allowed him to digest it without issue. Then one day, White Ball escaped, met Lin Xia, and Lin Xia saved him…
Fortunately, Lin Xia didn’t know what was going on in Wang Ziyu’s head. Wang Ziyu’s train of thought was on a track no ordinary person could follow. If Lin Xia knew, he would have laughed until he cramped.
Young man, you think too much!
He Chen soon arrived with the delivery of Rich Broth Rice, bringing Poached Egg along with him.
“Xiao Lin, I have to go to a class reunion in a bit, so I’m leaving Poached Egg in your care!” He Chen came in a rush and left in a rush; before Lin Xia could even get a word in, he had already hopped back on his scooter and zoomed off.
“Why is he in such a hurry?” Lin Xia asked Poached Egg.
“He’s going to be late. I told him to go earlier, but he insisted on finishing his deliveries first. Grandpa even said he could cover the deliveries for him.” Poached Egg sighed, continuing, “I told him to clean himself up, wear something nice, and maybe borrow a car to drive there, but he wouldn’t do any of it. I really don’t understand how he thinks. Going to a class reunion looking so shabby… isn’t he just going to lose face?”
Poached Egg was worrying his heart out over He Chen. His dad was a grown man but so senseless; no wonder Grandma always scolded him.
“Class reunions are about valuing friendship; it doesn’t matter how you dress,” Lin Xia said, though he didn’t entirely believe it himself.
“Really? But I still wish he would tidy himself up properly. He’s so handsome, after all…” Poached Egg looked in the direction He Chen had left and sighed again.
“Kids shouldn’t think so much. If you sigh all day, you’ll turn into a little old man.” Wang Ziyu was familiar with Poached Egg and often joked with him.
“Brother Ziyu!” Poached Egg greeted him.
“Let me tell you, Brother Chen’s way of dressing is actually the best. You have to realize that the highest realm of fashion is returning to simplicity and being your true self…” Wang Ziyu started his bluffing routine, spinning a tale for the child without skipping a beat.
However, Poached Egg didn’t buy it. He gave Wang Ziyu a knowing, eerie look, then covered his mouth and giggled.
“Sorry, Brother Ziyu… I couldn’t hold it in…” Although Poached Egg was only six, he was smart. Having been immersed in the gossip of the neighborhood grandmas for so long, he knew a lot more than his age suggested.
“…” Wang Ziyu’s attempt to bamboozle the kid failed. Depressed, he took a large bite of meat, turning his grief into appetite.
“Come on, have some fruit. Don’t worry about A-Chen,” Lin Xia said, bringing out some cut fruit.
“Okay!” Poached Egg agreed verbally, but he couldn’t help worrying about He Chen. He worried his dad would be laughed at, or that he wouldn’t get anything to eat since he had been too busy delivering orders to have lunch…
Unaware that his son was fretting over him, He Chen finished the delivery to the pet shop and rode his little e-scooter directly to the agreed-upon restaurant.
The story began a few days ago when the university group chat, silent for ages, suddenly popped up with a message about a reunion. It just so happened that the Class Monitor was in Jiang City on a business trip, and others were visiting relatives there, so they decided to hold the gathering in Jiang City. As a local, He Chen couldn’t exactly decline.
He Chen had attended a university in the provincial capital, a prestigious institution. Most of his classmates were from the same province, with a few from outside. They had majored in Logistics. Since it was a newly established major at the time with limited enrollment, their logistics class was small.
The benefit of a small class was that everyone knew each other well, so their relationships during university were quite good. It was only after graduation, as everyone got busy with their own lives, that contact had slowly faded.
He Chen didn’t plan to put much effort into this reunion. First, the people attending were those he had been relatively close with, and they already knew how everyone was doing. Second, he was a casual person by nature and didn’t care about showing off.
He Chen parked his scooter, dusted the ash off his pants, and then used the window of a luxury car parked outside the restaurant as a mirror to casually fix his hair. After admiring his own reflection—thinking he looked handsome no matter what—he held his head high and walked into the restaurant.
After he walked away, the window of the luxury car he had used as a mirror slowly rolled down. A man wearing sunglasses, his expression unreadable, stared thoughtfully at He Chen’s retreating back.
“Handsome He is here!”
As He Chen pushed open the door to the private room, the Class Monitor was the first to spot him.
“We thought Handsome He wasn’t coming!” a female classmate said with a smile. Her makeup was exquisite, and her clothes were elegant—undoubtedly the class beauty.
“Missed me to death, didn’t you? If I didn’t come, there’d be no eye candy for you to look at, right?” He Chen spoke carelessly, finding an empty seat to sit in. His jokes came naturally, and he didn’t mind the teasing from others at all.
“Hurry, hurry! You’re late—punish yourself with a drink!” He Chen used to be a popular figure in the class; everyone loved hanging out with him, and their rapport was still strong.
“Tsk tsk tsk, haven’t seen you guys in years, and you’re still not going easy on me!” Although He Chen complained verbally, he didn’t hesitate to pick up the glass and down it in one go.
“Old Chen is as straightforward as ever!”
Within minutes, the atmosphere was lively. It was as if they had returned to their university days—free, unfettered, and wild.
Upon learning that He Chen hadn’t eaten, they decided to eat first and then head to a KTV to party properly afterward.
“Actually, there are still quite a few of us working in logistics. This industry…” Chatting while eating, the conversation naturally drifted toward work.
“The one developing the best among us has to be the Monitor. He’s now the Provincial Branch Manager for XX Express!” the Class Beauty said.
“Don’t mention it. You see me in management, but look at my stomach—it’s suffering.” The Monitor pointed at his beer belly. He wasn’t even thirty yet, but the gut had already made its appearance. visually, he was the first in the class to step into middle age.
The Monitor’s self-deprecation drew laughter from everyone. He Chen, with itchy hands, reached over to touch it and nearly got kicked flying by the Monitor.
“It’s a bit fat, but the reflexes are still agile,” He Chen evaluated with mock seriousness.
“Screw you!” the Monitor pretended to rage.
Author’s Note: Poached Egg worries so much… Thank you to SN Dan Wang for the landmine~ â•°(?︶`)╯
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