Chapter 41: What to Sing at the Gathering
“Ignore them, let’s keep talking,” the Class Beauty giggled, covering her mouth.
“By the way, Class Beauty, are you still working as a civil servant?” someone asked. After graduation, she hadn’t chosen a job related to their major, opting to take the civil service exam instead.
“I’m still at it, but I’ve been thinking about a career change lately. You inevitably get bored after doing the same thing for too long.” The Class Beauty maintained her signature breezy demeanor; her life decisions always seemed to be made with an air of lighthearted ease.
“What kind of job are you looking to switch to? I can give you a recommendation,” said the Study Comm. Aside from the Class Monitor, he was arguably the most successful among them.
“It’s a secret,” the Class Beauty smiled.
“What about you, Old Chen?” The Study Comm nodded, directing the attention to He Chen, who was busy eating.
After graduation, He Chen had quit a perfectly good job in the provincial capital. Instead of looking for new corporate work when he returned to Jiang City, he started helping his family deliver takeout, a decision that had shocked them all.
“Old Chen is in logistics too, he just specializes in food logistics!” the Class Monitor teased.
“I’ll stick to delivering takeout. My parents don’t mind, and I think it’s pretty good this way,” He Chen said after a brief pause.
“Oh, you!” Although the Study Comm was a man, he was the most grounded and mature member of the group. To He Chen and the others, he was like a mother figure, constantly worrying on their behalf.
“Don’t look down on food delivery. If you do it well, you can earn quite a bit,” He Chen added quickly, afraid the Study Comm would start lecturing him.
“As long as you’re happy,” the Study Comm said, though he felt a pang of regret for He Chen. He Chen’s academic performance had been top-tier back in the day; if he had stayed in the logistics industry, he surely would have made a name for himself. It wasn’t just him—even their college counselor spoke of He Chen with a tone of regret.
“Got it, Momma Study Comm!” He Chen cheekily used the nickname the Study Comm hated most, earning himself a ‘vicious beating.’
Once the group had had their fill of food and drink, they moved the party to a KTV. They had booked a room right next door to the restaurant, as both establishments were owned by the same boss.
Several dozen beers were ordered. Everyone drank and sang; some played dice games, and for a while, the room was lively and chaotic.
“Today, only a hollow shell remains,
To greet the days of glory.
Holding fast to freedom in the wind and rain,
After a lifetime of hesitation and struggle,
Confident that I can change the future,
But ask who can actually do it…”
Glorious Years was their class anthem. They sang it during class meetings, they sang it at parties, and they sang it when they parted ways… Now, as the melody rang out among them once again, the green years of their youth appeared vividly before their eyes. It was a time they would never forget, days so beautiful that they still appeared hazily in their dreams.
He Chen didn’t hold a microphone, but he sang along from the sidelines. By the time they reached the final line, his eyes were already glistening with tears.
“Is Old Chen trying to cry?” The Class Monitor pursed his lips, his face scrunching up into an ugly grimace as he tried to hold back his own tears.
“You really need to lose weight…” He Chen deadpanned. His comment broke the sentimental atmosphere instantly, leaving everyone torn between laughing and crying.
“Alright, let’s sing something else!” The Study Comm said as he selected a new track. But the moment the intro started, the crowd felt a sudden urge to beat him up.
“We are the flowers of May, embracing the era with our youth…”
It was the Communist Youth League anthem. It was played at every League Day activity without fail—usually, you had to stand up and sing it right after roll call. And since university had a lot of League Day activities, even after all these years, they still remembered exactly how to sing it.
The consequence of such a great atmosphere was that everyone accidentally drank too much. He Chen was no exception; he lay back on the sofa, closing his eyes to rest. Eventually, the singing stopped, and everyone just lay or sat around, chatting.
No matter how much they talked, the topics were always the same: the past, the present, the future, who liked whom, and who was getting married…
“Do you guys remember Ah Hao from the Economics Class? He’s getting married. His best man is Song Min…” The speaker was clearly drunk. When the alcohol hits, the brain stops filtering, and things that shouldn’t be said come spilling out.
The moment those words were spoken, the previously noisy room fell into a dead silence. No one dared to make a sound.
He Chen felt several gazes land on him. Everyone was worried about him, afraid that hearing that person’s name would trigger bad thoughts.
“Mmm…” He Chen rolled over, pretending to be asleep. He knew everyone felt awkward, so he decided playing dead was the best option.
Seeing this, the others relaxed. The Class Monitor quickly walked over to the drunken classmate and covered his mouth, terrified he might say more.
Song Min. He Chen’s ex-boyfriend.
When they graduated university, they broke up. Song Min went abroad to study, and He Chen returned to Jiang City. Dust to dust, earth to earth—they cut all contact. The classmates knew the history between He Chen and Song Min, so they always tried their best to avoid mentioning Song Min in front of He Chen.
Song Min was in the Economics Class, which, like their Logistics Class, was part of the Management Department. In the beginning, the two classes were rivals. The “Freshman Cup” basketball tournament was their first clash.
He Chen was the vanguard for the Logistics Class, and he went head-to-head with Song Min from Economics. Neither wanted to lose the spotlight. After a fierce contest, the newly formed Logistics Class actually defeated the Economics Class, the traditional “Ace Class” of the Management Department. It was unbelievable to many, and the Logistics Class made a name for themselves in the department because of that game.
The Economics Class not only lost the game but also lost face, leading them to clash with the Logistics Class at every turn. The counselor actually enjoyed watching this dynamic, as both classes grew rapidly through the competition.
The turning point from enemies to friends came during a major event that required both classes to co-organize. The high-performing Economics and Logistics classes were specifically named to host it together. In the process of preparing, the students finally set aside their “grudges” to work together. After half a month, they realized the students from the other class were actually pretty decent. Gradually, enemies became friends, and interactions increased.
Song Min was the Class Monitor of Economics at the time, and He Chen was the Sports Commissioner for Logistics. They didn’t have much direct interaction and weren’t close initially. It wasn’t until the boys from both classes started arranging basketball games together that He Chen and Song Min got to know each other properly.
Both had great basketball skills. They sparred often and developed a feeling of having met a kindred spirit too late. Not long after they started playing together, they became thick as thieves, walking with arms around each other’s shoulders and grabbing meals together constantly.
But back then, their feelings were pure. They were just good friends; neither had any special thoughts about the other.
The shift in their relationship happened while He Chen was working part-time at a coffee shop. He saw Song Min sitting there, drinking coffee with a very imposing woman.
You could tell the woman was older, but she was well-maintained, making her true age hard to guess. According to He Chen’s observation, Song Min looked unhappy after talking with her. After the woman left, he sat there alone for a long time, right up until the shop was closing.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” He Chen asked kindly, intending to walk him out. He looked truly pitiful.
“You’re here too?” Song Min hadn’t known He Chen worked there; he thought He Chen had also come for coffee.
“I work part-time here,” He Chen said.
“Did you see everything?” Song Min looked slightly surprised.
“Yeah. You’ve been sitting here all day,” He Chen replied lightly, acting as if it were no big deal.
“That… was my mother.” Song Min was silent for a moment. Watching He Chen, who was humming a song and looking carefree with his hands behind his head, a sudden, inexplicable urge to confide rose in Song Min’s heart.
And so, he followed his heart and did just that.
