"Qinqin, what's the deal with your classmate? Is his family very rich? I've been in the seafood business for so long, and I've never seen anyone buy like this."
Ye Xiaoqin's mother said,
"Why haven't I heard about him before?"
Ye Xiaoqin giggled and explained,
"You wouldn't know, but this guy is quite something in our class. I don't know the specifics, I just know that he started his own business after college, and now he probably has over ten billion in assets."
"What? Oh my goodness, how much money is that?"
Ye Xiaoqin's mother was stunned.
Seeing her mother's surprised look, Ye Xiaoqin chuckled.
"How old is he to be able to earn so much money?"
"Who knows? I certainly didn't see it before."
After a few words, Ye Xiaoqin typed rapidly in the QQ group.
"Explosive news! Chen Pingjiang is coming to the class reunion tonight!"
This news was indeed explosive, instantly making the QQ group lively with messages flooding in.
"Holy cow, after so long in college, Chen Pingjiang, who's usually as elusive as a dragon, is actually coming to the class reunion?"
"Ye Xiaoqin, how did you know?"
"Yeah, didn't the class monitor say she tried to find Chen Pingjiang, but he didn't even reply to QQ messages?"
"Haha, I was originally going back to my hometown for New Year's this year, but now I don't have to."
"Chen Pingjiang is coming to the class reunion, do you really need to be this excited?"
"..."
Zhang Xinyue, home for the holidays, also noticed this message.
Originally, she hadn't planned to attend the class reunion.
When she attended the class reunion last year, she found that everyone was in different living and learning environments, making it difficult to find common ground in their conversations.
Sometimes, she didn't even know what to talk about.
Class reunions were no longer about reminiscing about the past and cherishing the present; they had turned into beauty product recommendation sessions or bad romance get-togethers.
Zhang Xinyue was simply inexperienced; in a few years, once they entered society, they would discover that class reunions would become places for showing off, comparing, or rekindling old flames.
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Xinyue stood up and went back to her bedroom to change clothes.
Shi Xingmei, who was eating fruit and watching TV, noticed something was off with her daughter.
Following her to Zhang Xinyue's bedroom, she saw Zhang Xinyue holding clothes up against herself in front of the mirror.
"Going out tonight?"
Shi Xingmei asked curiously.
Zhang Xinyue nodded,
"Yes, I'm going to a class reunion."
"Didn't you say you weren't planning to go before?"
Zhang Xinyue paused her hand movements, then said,
"Our class monitor insisted I go, and I couldn't refuse."
Coincidentally, Shi Xingmei suddenly asked,
"Chen Pingjiang isn't going too, is he?"
"He... should be going too."
Hearing her daughter's words, Shi Xingmei suddenly felt that the apple in her hand no longer tasted good.
Now, she no longer had any objections to Chen Pingjiang; on the contrary, as Chen Pingjiang became more famous, she felt increasingly regretful.
What did eagerly breaking up the loving couple bring in the end?
Only her daughter's estrangement.
This sense of estrangement became more apparent as Chen Pingjiang became more successful.
To put it another way, if her daughter Zhang Xinyue didn't like Chen Pingjiang, even if Chen Pingjiang became rich, Shi Xingmei could proudly pat her chest and say,
"So what if he's rich? My daughter doesn't like him, and we're not selling our daughter."
But Zhang Xinyue herself liked Chen Pingjiang, and now, with Chen Pingjiang being rich, the stimulation for Shi Xingmei was doubled.
After quietly retreating from her daughter's room, Shi Xingmei sat alone on the sofa, staring blankly at the TV, her thoughts drifting somewhere unknown.
......
The class reunion wasn't held at a restaurant, but in the largest private room of a KTV.
Even the largest table at a restaurant could only seat about twenty people, which was barely enough based on last year's attendance, but this year it was hard to say.
The class monitor, Xue Limin, temporarily booked the largest private room, and luckily there was still availability.
Around seven o'clock, people started arriving one after another.
Old classmates who hadn't seen each other for a year gathered together, enthusiastically chatting about various topics.
"Class monitor, isn't Chen Pingjiang supposed to come today? Why isn't he here yet?"
"Exactly, Ye Xiaoqin isn't tricking us, is she?"
Over there, Ye Xiaoqin heard them discussing her and retorted loudly,
"I invited him, and he explicitly said he'd come. He'll probably be here soon, right?"
Zhang Xinyue's appearance attracted everyone's attention, but after she entered the private room and scanned around, she didn't find Chen Pingjiang, feeling a little disappointed.
"Oh, Xinyue, you've become even more beautiful."
"Yeah, this dress is so pretty, where did you buy it?"
A few girls welcomed Zhang Xinyue over and started chattering.
Frankly, if it weren't for Chen Pingjiang being caught red-handed today, he would have been too lazy to attend such a meaningless class reunion.
Most of these students were still in their ivory towers, not yet as realistic as they would be after entering society; they still held onto their status.
This was awkward; a group of people wanted to fawn over you, but they didn't do it thoroughly enough.
Moreover, the current Chen Pingjiang really didn't need to attend such gatherings to show off; it was meaningless.
"Brother Chen, are you really going to the class reunion? I always feel it's strange for you to go to such a place. Haha, it's hard to imagine what common ground you'd have with those kids."
Ever since following Chen Pingjiang, Dai Sheng's horizons had broadened day by day.
Seeing Chen Pingjiang driving luxury cars, thousands of people dining with him, and his assets rapidly expanding, then thinking about a class reunion with a group of students, it felt somewhat out of place no matter how he looked at it.
"I'll just sit for a bit and then leave. You watch the situation and discreetly call me every three minutes."
When Chen Pingjiang and Dai Sheng arrived at the reunion spot, everyone's eyes lit up.
The students had not yet faced life's pressures; they simply wanted to see Chen Pingjiang.
Class monitor Xue Limin glared at Chen Pingjiang,
"Old classmate, you've got quite the airs now. I messaged you on QQ many times asking if you'd attend the reunion, and you never replied. How come you show up as soon as Ye Xiaoqin calls? Tell me, do you have a problem with me?"
Chen Pingjiang spread his hands helplessly,
"I'm usually very busy helping out and don't get on QQ. You could've called me."
"I... don't have your number."
"Then you can't blame me."
Everyone was looking at Chen Pingjiang.
They had all wanted to see him, but once he was actually there, they suddenly didn't know what to say.
They hadn't yet been tainted by worldliness.
Just a few glances, and they felt that the Chen Pingjiang in front of them and the Chen Pingjiang in their memories seemed like two different people, difficult to reconcile.
Confident, composed, charismatic, and good-humored.
On the contrary, Chen Pingjiang warmly greeted everyone.
When he saw Zhang Xinyue, Chen Pingjiang smiled and sat down beside her.
Zhang Xinyue also politely moved over a bit.
"Oh! You two are at the same school, you must be very loving, right?"
"I'm so envious of you two, dating since senior year of high school all the way through college."
These people didn't know the true relationship between Chen Pingjiang and Zhang Xinyue.
They simply assumed the two had been dating since high school and were now at the same college, so their relationship should be very good.
Little did they know that the two had even broken up in between.
Compared to Chen Pingjiang's frank smile, Zhang Xinyue felt somewhat uncomfortable hearing these words.
Dai Sheng, who knew the inside story, merely buried his head in inviting people to drink, not daring to utter a single word.
Chen Pingjiang's attitude towards Zhang Xinyue was also slowly changing with time.
From the beginning, he only wanted to make money, didn't want to be in a relationship, and even somewhat avoided Zhang Xinyue.
Later, he gradually let go of that past relationship and got together with Yan Yan.
And then what happened with Ge Mengshi a while ago.
In fact, all of these were subtly changing Chen Pingjiang's attitude.
There was a time when Chen Pingjiang deeply experienced Zhang Xinyue's pride and petulance, but he also noticed that since their last meeting, her pride seemed to be slowly fading.
Because Zhang Xinyue felt that the distance between them was growing, whether in status, position, or psychological distance, and being proud anymore seemed ridiculous.
"I didn't even get a chance to thank you for the sports meet last time,"
Zhang Xinyue said, tilting her head and leaning closer.
Chen Pingjiang waved his hand carelessly,
"It's nothing."
As he spoke, he also waved his arm towards the microphone someone was offering him.
"I heard you're dating a senior from the sports academy?"
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Xinyue couldn't help but bite her lip as she asked.
Chen Pingjiang turned his head and looked at her curiously, the scent of a young woman wafting from her,
"Who told you that?"
Zhang Xinyue seemed to try to control her expression, putting on an indifferent facade, but unfortunately, her expression management completely failed.
Her slightly twitching lips clearly showed her inner disappointment:
"That shouldn't be a secret, should it? You're so famous now; people often see your car around the sports academy, and some even uploaded photos to Renren.com."
"Yes, we've been dating for a while."
As Chen Pingjiang slowly nodded, Zhang Xinyue's heart slowly sank.
The rumors online were one thing; although she had known the outcome for a long time, hearing it for real still felt like a knife twisting in her heart.
"Hey, I say, you two are at the same school and dating, what more do you need to talk about? At a class reunion, don't whisper! Sing, sing!"
Xue Limin grabbed two microphones and handed them to Chen Pingjiang and Zhang Xinyue.
In the end, the two ordered the song
"I Can't Help But Love".
While singing, Zhang Xinyue suddenly felt that the world within the class reunion and the world outside of it were disconnected.
Here, she and Chen Pingjiang were considered a couple, but in reality...
After staying for about twenty minutes, Dai Sheng, using the excuse of going to the restroom, frantically called Chen Pingjiang.
Chen Pingjiang pretended to be busy with something and stood up to leave.
Some tried to stop Chen Pingjiang from leaving, saying it was rare to gather.
Others wished Chen Pingjiang would leave quickly, as they couldn't fully enjoy themselves with him there.
"Then I'll leave too."
To Chen Pingjiang's astonished gaze, Zhang Xinyue also picked up her bag and followed behind him.
Inside the Panamera.
Chen Pingjiang smiled and said,
"Shall I give you a ride home?"
Zhang Xinyue was a little curious,
"Aren't you busy with something?"
"It's nothing, I had Dai Sheng pretend to call me. I'm not really suited for these class reunions anymore. It's not that I look down on my classmates, but I just don't know what to say, and we can't really have fun together."
Zhang Xinyue nodded,
"Isn't this plot often seen on TV? People around you either fear you or flatter you, making it hard to connect with you."
After thinking for a moment, Chen Pingjiang said,
"The last time I saw you, I noticed that your personality seemed to have changed in this short year; you're not as proud and petulant as before."
"So, is it because you don't like 'pride and petulance' that you chose to be with someone else?"
Suddenly, Zhang Xinyue stared directly at him.
"Uh!"
Zhang Xinyue's words effectively killed the conversation, leaving Chen Pingjiang momentarily at a loss for how to reply.
After a moment, he finally said,
"It's not that I dislike it, that kind of 'pride and petulance' can be cute, but being in a relationship with it can be very tiring, right? Always having to guess, always having to coax."
Zhang Xinyue immediately disagreed.
Her tone of voice changed, filled with grievance:
"You didn't say that when you pursued me in high school! In the beginning, you always actively coaxed me, but after that fight before the college entrance exam, you never coaxed me again. I waited for you all summer and you never came, you even refused to take a graduation photo!"
Once she opened up, Zhang Xinyue's grievances poured out like an endless river, and her sobbing grew more evident:
"I argued with my mom because of you, insisting on going to the University of Finance and Economics, and I was targeted by others in the dorms. I've always been waiting for you to coax me and make up. It's just a pity that I'm increasingly feeling it's impossible now."
As Zhang Xinyue spoke, tears flowed uncontrollably.
Chen Pingjiang gave a wry smile and rubbed his nose to cover his embarrassment.
Indeed, in Zhang Xinyue's accusations, he did seem to have been somewhat in the wrong.
His interactions with Zhang Xinyue and his interactions with Yan Yan were two extremes.
With Yan Yan, their relationship flowed like gentle water; everything felt light, they got together somewhat by chance, without much joyful, unrestrained laughter, without being madly in love, and without grand vows.
Everything was just right, a perfect fit, a feeling of mutual support, like a couple who had been together for many years.
This certainly had elements of Yan Yan's naturally calm personality, and also Chen Pingjiang's heart having settled after many experiences.
His past life's marital experience told him that this was the norm, and also the best.
There was no pressure in their interactions, they had personal space, were not dragged down by the woman's strong personality, and there were no arguments to exhaust each other.
However, his interactions with Zhang Xinyue were truly passionate and intense.
She possessed a young girl's innocent and lively charm, a young girl's capriciousness, and also a young girl's unique pride and petulance.
They could laugh happily together, she would cling to him affectionately, she needed coaxing when angry, and he needed to wipe away her tears when she cried.
It was hard to say which was better or worse.
The difference lay in which one was more suitable.
There was no right or wrong.
Zhang Xinyue seemed more genuine, while Yan Yan was more peaceful.
These were all determined by their personalities.
If described with flowers.
Zhang Xinyue might be a rose, blazing like fire, passionate and unrestrained, its fragrance wafting, refreshing and intoxicating; or perhaps a daisy, standing tall, looking playful and lovely, modest and silent, yet possessing a spirit that defies frost.
As for Yan Yan, she was probably a jasmine, fresh and elegant, giving a sense of natural simplicity and serenity; perhaps a lotus flower, like a shy maiden, blushing, standing gracefully in a lotus pond.
Its faint fragrance always brought peace to the mind.
Men might fall in love with women of different personalities at different stages of life.
Passionate romance in youth is love, friendly arguments in middle age are love, and supporting each other under the setting sun is also love.
Fervent and intense is love, mutual support and companionship are also love.
Heart-wrenching is love, comfortable and at ease is also love.
(End of chapter)