He Zhexia was still quite enthusiastic, noticing that Li Yan wasn't very interested and fearing he might refuse, he smiled invitingly to include both of them: "Miss Wen, Miss Yu are your friends, which makes them our friends. Let's all go over to rest for a bit and grab something to eat."

Not only did this put Li Yan in an awkward position, it also made the two of them feel awkward.

They had some suspicions from earlier and somewhat wanted to understand the situation between Li Yan and this Qiao Huanxuan. But they could also clearly see that Li Yan didn't want to go. And the reason he didn't want to go could be because of Qiao Huanxuan, or it might be because both of them were around!

They were both smart women. Wen Qianyi was understanding, and Yu Xiaodi prioritized Li Yan's feelings. So, when they guessed that Li Yan might be concerned about them, they'd already made a decision.

"Thank you, Mr. He, but it's an old classmates' reunion. It wouldn't be right for us to intrude. Besides, I really have things to do..."

Once Wen Qianyi spoke, Yu Xiaodi immediately agreed, "Me too, I'm here to pick them up. I'll go ahead and take Sister Wen away now."

As she said this, she tugged Li Yan's sleeve and remarked smilingly, "Have a great time!"

Li Yan was speechless. How could this be? You should have said there were pressing matters waiting for me to handle and forced me to leave with you!

While she was speaking, Wen Qianyi had already picked up her luggage, and the two left without waiting for Li Yan to say anything to keep them.

The only one who could have asked them to stay was, of course, Li Yan. The others were his old classmates, even after more than ten years apart, they could still warmly invite and urge him to stay. But with the two he had just met, neither he nor they said anything.

Of course, Bai Jie and the others exchanged knowing and ambiguous looks, thinking that Li Yan was letting them leave so he could catch up with Qiao Huanxuan.

"Shall we go too?" Qiao Huanxuan, not having spoken much before, put on sunglasses and signaled everyone to leave now that the room had gone silent.

Everyone agreed and started chatting while heading outside.

Li Yan was quite helpless. If all these old classmates treated him with the same alienation and distance as the other four, at most, they'd exchange pleasantries and then part ways. But He Zhexia was too enthusiastic, making it hard for him to refuse without seeming rude. He could only reluctantly play along.

They initially came to pick up Qiao Huanxuan, so naturally, they centered around her. Even though there's now Li Yan, Lin Wenbin and Yang Qing still competed to help carry her luggage and catch up with her. He Zhexia and Bai Jie, the first to notice Li Yan's familiar face, now stayed close to him, asking questions.

"Old Monitor, have you been in S City all these years? How come we've never heard about you coming home? What have you been up to all these years?" Bai Jie asked a question that everyone was curious about and often talked about at gatherings, but no one knew the answer.

"No, I've been running around a lot," Li Yan responded briefly.

"Did you really never go back to school after dropping out?" He Zhexia asked cautiously, knowing that despite Li Yan's good grades back then, he had just mentioned never attending university.

On this matter, Li Yan wouldn't feel embarrassed or ashamed. What's the purpose of going to university? Don't say it's for the country or the people, isn't it all about getting a better job? And the ultimate purpose of a job is money. He had been doing business without capital for a while now, so why would he care about work or a degree?

"Yes, I didn't even finish high school and never went to university afterwards."

His candidness left them at a loss for words. After all, it had been so many years, and they didn't even know how he dropped out back then, much less how to judge. But they felt they should say something comforting, lest people think they looked down on those who didn't go to university.

"Hehe, what does it matter? Han Han and Zheng Yuanjie didn't go to university either. It didn't affect their knowledge, their ability to write good works, or make a lot of money. I went to an arts school, which is practically no education," Bai Jie tried to sound as sincere as possible.

He Zhexia used another way to comfort him. Putting an arm around Li Yan's shoulders, he laughed softly, "Haha, you may not have attended university, but looking at you, I'm sure you've been around enough college students, right?"

Bai Jie burst into laughter, "You, with that filthy mind! Our monitor here is an earnest man, very dedicated!"

Then, both flashed a conspiratorial smile, glancing at the back of Qiao Huanxuan, muttering, "Huanxuan isn't married yet, there's still a chance!"

"That's right, she's been focused on her career these years, hasn't really considered personal matters. Maybe she's been waiting for you."

Li Yan was again speechless, "You two are in such sync with your teasing, wouldn't it be natural if you ended up marrying each other?"

"Of course not!" Bai Jie and He Zhexia laughed together, denying.

"To be frank, back in school, I didn't understand relationships, nor did I have any crushes. Moreover, it's been so many years, can you guys stop teasing about this, alright?" Li Yan gently warned them, if they continued making a fuss, he wouldn't care to save face anymore, since he wasn't planning to keep in touch much anyway.

Seeing that Li Yan seemed genuinely a bit upset, they hurriedly nodded in agreement.

"Alright, alright, no more of this. But can we at least tell you about her? Of course, we'll update you on everyone's situation since you've been out of touch with us the longest."

"Alright."

"Huanxuan is now an architectural designer, haha, don't misunderstand that as a contractor. She doesn't design ordinary buildings; in recent years, she's been involved with projects worth billions or tens of billions."

"Impressive." Li Yan replied somewhat absently. Regardless of what it was, he wasn't concerned. It didn't relate to him, including what they had become. This time was just a chance encounter, maybe he'd leave early after showing face for a while and going through the motions.

Listening to them chat away, Li Yan mentioned little about himself. By the time they reached the parking lot, he had a basic understanding of their current circumstances.

Bai Jie had graduated from a regular arts school without much progression. She later specialized in dance, achieving a certain level, and is now a coach at a dance center on the outskirts of S City for the past couple of years. After Li Yan left, He Zhexia, without anyone to cover for him, had to buckle down on his studies, eventually scraping into a third-tier university thanks to diligently studying in the last two years of high school. He's a resourceful type, having set up his own company over these years - though not a major player, his total assets are close to ten million.

The Vice Monitor, Lin Wenbin, had done well afterwards, getting into a top-tier university and is now working at a fairly large foreign enterprise, reputedly at mid-level management. Although he used to be the sports committee member, Yang Qing wasn't all brawn and no brains; he got into a decent university—not a sports college—and is now the manager of a company's S City branch.

Qiao Huanxuan, once dubbed a young prodigy by everyone, had gone on to tread the path of genius. She topped the city in the college entrance exam, admitted into a prestigious university, studied further at a prestigious Ivy League college in Si Country, and has emerged as an up-and-coming young architectural designer. Their reunion was organized with Qiao Huanxuan coming to S City for a project, initiated by He Zhexia who rounded up as many nearby classmates as possible, totaling no more than ten people.

For events like this, Li Yan had no experience, never having attended a reunion. Though he had some understanding of their nature. Much like the five encountered now, they're mostly those who turned out well; those who didn't usually won't keep much contact with the more successful ones, and even if they did get in touch, probably they'd find excuses not to attend. Why go? To be a foil?

Could he be the bottomliner for this reunion?

Li Yan wasn't bothered. Mainly, the chat along the way made him realize that neither He Zhexia nor Bai Jie seemed to look down on him, nor were they showing off or trying to make it look like something, more genuinely reminiscing about their youthful days.

So, he wasn't against it, he just perceived his youthful days as having already been paid back to time.

...

The three guys all drove here. Though not imported luxury cars, they were at least worth over three hundred thousand. Bai Jie had come in their car, this time, with seating arrangements made for one each, it'd make sense for her to ride with Qiao Huanxuan since they're both women. But she had quickly gotten into Lin Wenbin's car, even signaling Yang Qing to leave first.

This mutual understanding was all intended to create an opportunity for Li Yan and Qiao Huanxuan. But because He Zhexia was the driver to take them to the reunion hotel, there wasn't a purely private space.

Both Li Yan and Qiao Huanxuan understood their arrangement, but said nothing, naturally getting into He Zhexia's car, sitting at the back.

Remembering Qiao Huanxuan faintly, Li Yan didn't think he had secretly admired her, so naturally, there was no fear or need to avoid anything specifically.

"You two haven't met in over ten years, have a good talk, I'll focus on driving," He Zhexia's words seemed a bit contrived.

But none were newcomers anymore; adults tend to loosen up. Qiao Huanxuan casually began chatting with Li Yan: "Where do you work? The company must treat you well, right?"

It was actually He Zhexia up front who reacted quickly, seeing Li Yan's odd look, knew he definitely misinterpreted.

"Where are you flying now? Are there discounts on tickets these days?"

"Uh…" Simultaneously with his reminder, Li Yan had realized too. What Qiao Huanxuan meant by 'double fly' was a round-trip flight, not what you thought. "I'm not sure, company booked it I guess..."

Qiao Huanxuan lightly smiled, "Why are you so uptight, Class Monitor Li? When I ask you a question, can't answer until He Zhexia 'translates'? Even if you had a crush on me back then... wouldn't be feeling it now, right? You already have a little girlfriend."

"..."

Li Yan went speechless, while He Zhexia secretly laughed, the person herself brought it up; let's see how you dodge now! (To be continued. For more, please visit www.qidian.com, more chapters available, support the author, support legal reading!)

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