The meeting was scheduled to start at ten o'clock, but people had already begun to arrive just after nine fifty.
"Damn, Brother Zhou, you've gotten handsomer!"
The first to arrive was Zhou Yuwen's high school classmate, a burly, dark-skinned guy who was quite taller than Zhou Yuwen.
Liu Shuo had initially studied in the countryside and only transferred here in his sophomore year. His father was a businessman with a bit of money. When he first came to the city for school, he was somewhat pretentious, which, as everyone knows, is quite ridiculous for kids who haven't seen much of the world. Certain of his invincibility among his peers, he often resorted to violence.
He even tried to bully Zhou Yuwen, but ended up getting beaten up by Yuwen and a few others, which made him much tamer afterward.
Yet, Liu Shuo was someone who could bend and stretch. Swearing and cursing on the day he was beaten, he warned them after school to just wait and see.
The next day, he came with a sheepish smile, "Brother, care for a smoke?"
He probably went back to ask his dad to smooth things over but ended up getting beaten by his dad as well.
Zhou Yuwen and his friends might not have had much money, but their parents were part of the system and each had a bit of power. An outsider like Liu Shuo trying to throw money around just felt out of place.
Honestly, during high school, Liu Shuo had always wanted to fit in with Zhou Yuwen's circle, but they looked down on him, seeing him as nothing more than a parvenu hick.
Liu Shuo later took over his father's stone factory, making a profit of several million a year. He even married a pretty wife. However, truthfully, they still couldn't mesh with one another, even with Liu Shuo's wealth. Zhou Yuwen and his circle didn't rely on Shuo either.
Zhou Yuwen's group, basically clueless about how much money their families had until college, moved away for work and life after graduating—buying houses, getting married. Those who stayed lived comfortably, not necessarily wealthy, but at least worry-free with housing and cars.
So Zhou Yuwen hadn't seen Liu Shuo for a long time. Seeing him suddenly, he seemed just like the Liu Shuo he remembered, still as hefty, his features squeezing together when he laughed.
Liu Shuo had always been poor academically. After high school, Liu's father spent money to send him to a vocational college in Jinling, notorious enough that news often emerged from university town about male students taking girls into dormitories.
There were stories of a male dorm finding a girl therein caught by the residential advisor and so on—just a mess.
That school was really not a place for study, just for people to grow up.
Following the original timeline, Zhou Yuwen hadn't seen Liu Shuo after college. But because Yuwen had promoted something in the group chat yesterday, Shuo came over in a rush.
Not only did he come by himself, but he also brought along his classmates and roommates.
Zhou Yuwen, eyeing the potential business, had no reason to refuse and took the initiative to smile at Liu Shuo and asked, "Why bring so many people over?"
Liu Shuo grinned, "Brother Zhou, you're the general agent now, I gotta show you some respect! These are my classmates, hey! Say hello to Brother Zhou!"
"Hello, Brother Zhou!"
But the response was sparse and scattered.
Liu Shuo's entourage consisted mostly of the sturdy, heavyset type. Their greetings left Zhou Yuwen dumbfounded; he quickly responded, "No, no, don't do that, I don't deserve it."
Although Yuwen was happy that Liu Shuo could bring so many people to register, he still felt he had to clarify something—that the card required a monthly payment of 79.
"I suggest you just get one card per dormitory and then split the costs among yourselves—getting more would be a waste."
"Brother Zhou, I already told them that yesterday, and they're all from different dorms, so you just go ahead and process," Liu Shuo added, setting Yuwen's mind at ease. He let them line up to register.
Meanwhile, Zhou Yuwen chatted up old times with Liu Shuo.
Barely starting their conversation, Liu Shuo, with practiced ease, pulled out a cigarette and offered one to Zhou Yuwen.
Zhou Yuwen noticed the cigarettes were still Yuxi and couldn't help but say while taking one, "Nice, Director Liu, moving up to Yuxi now."
"Just so-so, my dad gave them to me. He said now that I've started college, I should have some decent cigarettes to give out to classmates. Sigh, Brother Zhou, they all said Jinling was great in high school, but now that I'm here, I still think our small place was better—carefree, just sleeping in class and going to internet cafes after school. How great is that!"
Liu Shuo lit a cigarette for himself and offered to light one for Zhou Yuwen, who declined.
Zhou Yuwen then pushed the cigarette back into Liu Shuo's cigarette box and said he didn't smoke these things and that Liu should smoke less too.
"I really owe you big this time, bringing me so much business."
"Hey, now you're being too formal, what are we to each other!" Liu Shuo said warmly.
Zhou Yuwen asked if these people were not his roommates, then who were they.
At this point, Liu Shuo somewhat proudly announced that he was now their class representative. The two standing at the front were his roommates, while the rest were his classmates, who knew he was in charge of registering cards now.
"I just shouted in the group, and when they heard it was a bargain, they all followed me over," Liu Shuo said proudly while smoking.
Liu Shuo's major was in mechanical and electrical engineering, with only one girl in the entire class and the rest boys. They might not have much money, but internet was essential, so everyone had a need for it, and Zhou Yuwen's card services were indeed a bargain. Plus, Liu Shuo's word in the group had everyone's support.
"Shuo, I've finished," said one of the classmates who had completed the process.
Liu Shuo's classmates looked pretty simple, most seemingly coming from the countryside.
"Once you're done, wait on the side, can't you see I'm catching up with an old friend?" Liu Shuo said loudly, clearly trying to show off.
"Okay!"
Liu Shuo's classmates truly seemed obedient and actually fell for his act.
"Look at you, Director Liu, playing the big boss now?"
"Hehe, just so-so. Brother Zhou, you're getting a lot of people for the card registration?"
"Yeah, quite a few."
Soon enough, most of those who had scheduled to register for cards had arrived.
"Zhou Yuwen," a soft, delicate voice called out from afar.
Zhou Yuwen turned around, but before he could speak, Liu Shuo had already exclaimed in surprise, "Li Shiqi! I didn't expect to see you here!"
As he spoke, Liu Shuo was already lunging forward to shake hands with Li Shiqi.
It was well known that Li Shiqi was the high school beauty, naturally elegant without the need for adornment. Of course, a girl like Shiqi, probably hadn't spoken more than two words to Liu Shuo during high school.
For Liu Shuo, running into Shiqi here was like meeting an old friend in a faraway land, and naturally he was thrilled.
However, Shiqi was somewhat frightened by Liu Shuo's enthusiasm, even stepping back two steps and refusing his handshake.
Looking at the stout figure before her, Shiqi's eyes filled with confusion, "May I ask who you are?"
Liu Shuo's grinning face froze there.