Chapter 702: Chapter 87: Classmate, Bringing Up the Wrong Topic
Chapter 87: Classmates, Bringing Up Unpleasant Topics
Most people, when they’re down, tend to encounter even more disappointments. Yet, sometimes it reminds them of people and things they normally don’t pay much attention to.
These past few days, Li Yan hasn’t been in a great mood, but he didn’t want to worry those he cares about or who care about him. So, he didn’t go drinking with Wen Qianyi or Hai Fu. Even when he saw Li Jie and Huang Ying, he forced a smile. And for friends like Sun Hui and Xu Ping, since they worked for the same company, he didn’t want to show his feelings in front of them.
Duan Haibo was under the watchful eye of his wife. That day, welcoming Li Yan was an excuse for everyone to drink a bit more, but usually, she wouldn’t indulge him. So, these days, Li Yan has been putting all his energy into work during the day. After returning home in the evening, he chats with Duan Haibo and Lv Jiajing and occasionally exchanges words with the younger ones like Han Jinlong and Lv Lijun.
Yet, it still wasn’t a very effective way to pass the time. Ever since Yu Xiaodi returned, her phone has been unreachable. Li Yan suspects her parents might be suppressing her. Pursuing her at this point would only escalate their conflict, so he decided to let things cool off for now.
Qiao Huanxuan was still not in S City, so one day after calling her, Li Yan thought of some other classmates. Though it had been more than ten years since middle school, now that they had accepted Qiao Huanxuan, he recalled past events and didn’t feel the need to avoid them.
When he returned from Beihai Country that time, they dragged him to a class reunion, but truthfully, he didn’t remember many classmates. Except for Qiao Huanxuan, he first met Yang Qing, Lin Wenbin, Bai Jie, and He Zhexia at the airport. In school, they were almost all class committee members, and He Zhexia was his deskmate, so naturally, he felt more familiar with them.
He found their contact numbers and recalled their current occupations, wondering if it would be convenient to get in touch. He didn’t recognize them at the time and hadn’t been very interested, not paying much attention to what the enthusiastic He Zhexia had introduced about everyone.
Li Yan knows about Qiao Huanxuan, as she personally shared an unforgettable story with him that made him recall and accept the past. She was admitted to a prestigious university as the city’s top scorer on the entrance exam, further pursued studies at an Ivy League school in Si Country, and is now an emerging young architecture designer.
As for the former art committee member Bai Jie, she reportedly got into an ordinary art school but didn’t have significant achievements. She later honed her dance skills to a certain level and has been working as an instructor at a dance center in the outskirts of S City. What dance center or which suburb it’s specifically located in, Li Yan couldn’t remember.
He Zhexia originally had poor grades, often copying Li Yan’s work. After Li Yan left, he had no one to shield him, so he had to start studying hard himself. Through his diligence in the second and third years of high school, he eventually got into a third-tier university. But he was quite resourceful and after years of effort, owns his own company now. From their friendly banter, it seemed like his total assets were around ten million, which is quite decent. Honestly, who would voluntarily organize a class reunion if they weren’t doing well?
Lin Wenbin seemed to have been a former vice class monitor with good grades, entering a first-class university, and is now working in management at a foreign enterprise. As for sports committee member Yang Qing, he seems to be a manager at a branch of a Lan Island company in S City.
Having sorted out their current states, Li Yan pondered who he should call. It felt like he hadn’t attended college or had college classmates. Lin Wenbin and Yang Qing seemed more enthusiastic towards Qiao Huanxuan and somewhat perfunctory with him; only He Zhexia and Bai Jie privately asked about this and comforted him. They were also the ones who warmly greeted him throughout the night.
This might be because He Zhexia and Bai Jie didn’t attend schools as prestigious as those of Qiao Huanxuan, Lin Wenbin, or Yang Qing, and thus felt more detached, becoming closer to Li Yan. Naturally, they had been better friends during school. Now, they wouldn’t flaunt any superiority before him.
With this in mind, Li Yan dialed He Zhexia’s number, asking if he was free to get together and have a drink that night.
He Zhexia was quite enthusiastic upon hearing it was Li Yan, likely because he’s a businessman now and is always friendly to people. "Sure, last time there were too many people; we didn’t get to chat well. A Bin, A Qing, and they’re also in S City. Why not invite them along? And Bai Jie—she’s the lively one."
Li Yan, although feeling somewhat alienated by Yang Qing and Lin Wenbin, didn’t oppose inviting them since he wasn’t looking to pour out his heart, just to pass the time. As for Bai Jie, if she came along, they would have things to talk about, but... "You mentioned last time Bai Jie is married. Would it be appropriate to invite her for drinks at night?"
"Haha! No worries, her husband is back home, not here. If we don’t invite her, she might actually complain."
Li Yan smiled ambiguously, "You rascal... hehe!"
"Hey! Captain, don’t overthink. It’s pure classmates’ friendship!" He Zhexia immediately clarified, laughing.
