Everyone present was well aware of the situation between Zhou Fan and Wang Jia.
This group of friends got together whenever they were free. Even if they couldn’t get the whole gang, more than half of them would usually show up.
At every gathering, the two of them would either arrive together or not come at all. It was rare for one to show up without the other.
Because of this, everyone tacitly understood that a wedding was probably on the horizon for the two of them.
All that was left was for one of them to break the ice, and they’d all be celebrating with wedding candy.
Things had been progressing as expected, and that final barrier was about to be broken. But then Lin Jiang had suddenly popped up, which naturally left a bad taste in Zhou Fan’s mouth.
"Old Zhou, don’t get angry. It’s not worth it over something so minor."
The speaker was a heavyset man in a white shirt with a protruding beer belly—the classic "three-highs" physique.
His name was Cao Yufei. After graduation, his parents had arranged a job for him at a major corporation, and he was doing quite well for himself.
"Back in school, Lin Jiang was the big man on campus. But it’s been years since we graduated, and now we can see who’s been swimming naked all this time. What does he possibly have to compare with you?"
"Isn’t that the truth?" Song Yajie said. "Your dad’s a senior executive at a big company, and you’ve started your own business. Lin Jiang just runs a noodle shop that’s barely staying afloat and could close any day. Treating him as a rival is selling yourself short."
"Are you kidding me? As if I’d ever see him as a rival."
"Sigh..." Zhang Qianfang let out a breath, sounding a little wistful.
"You know, it’s true what they say: fortunes change. Back in the day, Lin Jiang was the campus heartthrob, the most popular guy in school. So many girls chased after him, but he turned them all down. I never thought that after graduation, he’d end up in a state like this. It’s really a shame."
"We were all so naive in college. It wasn’t until after we graduated that we realized the halos and honors from our university days mean nothing."
The speaker was another woman named Liu Yihan.
Back in school, she’d also had a secret crush on Lin Jiang.
But she was self-aware enough to know that, compared to the other girls, she didn’t have any advantages. Chasing Lin Jiang was a complete fantasy, so she buried her admiration deep in her heart.
But after graduation, she suddenly understood that college meant nothing.
Once you leave the ivory tower, what really matters is substance. Just being good-looking doesn’t get you very far. Unless you have powerful skills to back it up—those two cards together are a royal flush.
"See? Being good-looking is useless these days," Zhou Fan chimed in. "I have a few good-looking people at my company, but they’re completely useless. I order them around like they’re my errand boys."
Zhou Fan had pursued Wang Jia back in college, but she’d always been into Lin Jiang, so he never succeeded.
After years in the real world, they had both been through the school of hard knocks and come to a deep understanding of how important material wealth was. This brought them closer, and it seemed they were just one step away from making things official.
"My guess is that Lin Jiang is trying to make a move on Jiajia now," Song Yajie said. "But Jiajia’s not interested. She was probably worried he’d ask around and find out we were eating here."
"Heh... I used to have a sliver of respect for him. To see him become like this... it’s just pathetic."
"Alright, that’s enough. Let’s drop it. No matter what, Lin Jiang was our classmate. There’s no need to tear him down like this."
Zhang Qianfang and Liu Yihan both felt a wave of wistfulness.
As women, they still saw Lin Jiang through a bit of a nostalgic filter, even now.
But for him to turn around and chase Wang Jia just because he saw she was doing well for herself... that wasn’t exactly a respectable move. It made him seem cheap.
Just then, a BYD Qin Plus pulled up to the entrance of the Huayan Building.
"Jiajia’s here."
Seeing Wang Jia’s car, Zhou Fan was the first to walk over, a smile spreading across his face.
Curious about what had happened between Wang Jia and Lin Jiang, the others followed him.
"Sorry to keep you waiting. The traffic was a nightmare."
Among the three women, Wang Jia was the most beautiful. If she hadn’t been, she never would have had the confidence to pursue Lin Jiang back in the day.
Since graduation, she spent her time around young female teachers and university students, which had further refined her sense of style. She was the kind of woman who would make passersby do a double take.
"Have you lost more weight? Your figure is to die for, I’m so jealous."
Zhang Qianfang stood before Wang Jia, looking her up and down. "I’ll probably never be able to wear cute little dresses like this again in my life."
"I’ve lost about three pounds since the last time we met," Wang Jia said, modestly showing off the results of her diet.
"I’m down to 115 pounds now. I’m planning to lose another four, but I can afford to indulge a little today."
"What? You want to lose more?" Liu Yihan said with envy. "If you get any thinner, you’re going to drive someone crazy."
"She’s already driving people crazy," Song Yajie teased.
"I mean, Lin Jiang saw her once and went looking for her that same night. That’s all you need to know about how much charm she has."
"Are you going to stop? Don’t bring him up," Wang Jia said, annoyed.
"I just said a casual hello, that’s all. I didn’t mean anything by it. He’s the one who read too much into it. I really didn’t expect him to be that kind of person."
"He’s divorced, his noodle shop is doing poorly, and he sees you’re doing well for yourself. It’s only normal," Song Yajie said.
"Okay, okay, let’s not talk about him anymore. You’re going to make me lose my appetite."
"Let’s go eat. I’m starving, too."
After locking the car, the group trickled into the Huayan Building.
As a restaurant specializing in seafood, the Huayan Building had positioned itself as a high-end establishment from the very beginning.
At 500 yuan per person, it was more expensive than the vast majority of restaurants in Zhonghai. Anyone who could afford to eat here was generally well-off.

Comments

Loading...