Xiao Rongyu wiped her tears and stepped out of the bedroom. No one else noticed anything unusual, except for Old Xiao, who took a few extra glances and realized his daughter had likely been crying.
"That rascal Chen Hansheng is really something. I didn't even notice, and he managed to make my daughter cry—and then cheer her up immediately afterward," Xiao Hongwei thought to himself.
When Chen Hansheng mentioned he wanted to get his driver's license, Xiao Hongwei immediately called to pull some strings without a second thought. In Old Xiao's mind, knowing how to handle both major and minor matters was the key to life.
Later that afternoon, Xiao Rongyu suggested to Chen Hansheng that they meet up with some of her high school classmates. After all, everyone had their own small circles during school days, and catching up during the winter break was a great way to strengthen friendships. Parents were usually supportive of such gatherings.
However, Xiao Rongyu's younger cousin, the boy with the buzz cut, also clamored to tag along. What's worse, his parents completely trusted the two university students and had no objections.
Xiao Rongyu turned to Chen Hansheng, indifferent about whether the boy came along or not.
Chen Hansheng didn't want to bring him, but he didn't want to outright refuse and seem like the bad guy. So, he said to the boy, "Hurry up and get ready. There might not be any spots left at the internet café soon."
"You're going to an internet café?" the boy's mother asked, surprised. She'd assumed university students spent their time at libraries or bookstores.
"Of course," Chen Hansheng replied solemnly. "There's a great internet café near North Square. Rongyu and I want to check it out."
"Well, never mind then," the boy's mother said, immediately vetoing the idea.
As they headed downstairs, they could still hear the boy whining and his mother scolding him.
"Did you finish your homework? Your cousin and her friend are university students—they can go to the internet café. But you? You're struggling to even get into Port City No. 1 High!"
Even Xiao Rongyu felt a bit puzzled. Once they reached the ground floor, she asked, "Why do you need to go to an internet café? You have your laptop at home."
"We're not actually going," Chen Hansheng waved it off. "I just didn't want a third wheel tagging along. This way, his mom gets to play the bad guy."
"Oh~" Xiao Rongyu finally understood and pouted. "You're so sneaky!"
---
The gathering was held at a newly opened leisure bar near the Port City Sports Complex. Chen Hansheng invited Wang Zibo, and Xiao Rongyu reached out to the rest of her classmates.
The leisure bar was cozy, with lots of booths on the first floor and a billiards area upstairs. It was perfect for spending a relaxing afternoon.
Classmates arrived one by one—guys and girls alike. Gao Jialiang, Liu Xiaomeng, and Xie Wanqiu, who were studying in Jianye, were among the ten or so attendees.
Seeing each other again, everyone greeted one another warmly, sharing jokes, reminiscing about high school antics, and talking about life in college.
After a semester in their respective universities, most of them had shed the awkwardness of youth. The boys had all shaved their scruffy mustaches, and the girls were less shy in their conversations.
One of the girls, Pan Ying, even had a flirty gleam in her eye. It turned out she had started dating someone.
Chen Hansheng blended into the group seamlessly—he had never been the shy type in high school.
"Jialiang, you look a bit out of it. What's the matter? Heartbroken?" he teased.
Gao Jialiang's face darkened as he waved it off. "Don't talk nonsense. I haven't even dated anyone, so how could I be heartbroken?"
Soon, the server arrived with the menu. Everyone ordered some drinks, and Chen Hansheng fetched a few decks of cards from the counter.
Playing cards was the go-to activity for gatherings like this. They split into two groups, sitting close enough to chat while sipping their drinks.
Chen Hansheng, uninterested in cards, brought a chair over to sit behind Xiao Rongyu as her advisor. A female classmate noticed how close the two were and teased, "Chen Hansheng, you chased after Xiao Rongyu so hard back in the day. How's that working out now?"
Xiao Rongyu also wanted to hear his answer, but he merely smiled and brushed it off. "The revolution isn't over yet; I still need to keep working hard."
Feeling slightly dejected, Xiao Rongyu raised her chin and retorted, "With your on-again, off-again efforts, how could the revolution ever succeed?"
Chen Hansheng pretended not to hear, grabbed Wang Zibo, and went upstairs to play billiards.
Soon, the rhythmic *clack-clack-clack* of pool balls echoed from the second floor, while the first floor buzzed with gossip.
---
Upstairs, Wang Zibo confided quietly, "Chen, I added Huang Hui on QQ this morning at the internet café."
Chen Hansheng raised an eyebrow. "You're too impulsive. You should've waited until we were back in Jianye. Doing it now puts you at a disadvantage in the relationship."
"I don't get it," Wang Zibo replied. "She didn't seem cold at all. She approved my request immediately."
Chen Hansheng didn't argue further. "What happened next?"
Wang Zibo's expression darkened. "We didn't chat for long before she said she was going to take a shower."
Chen Hansheng chuckled, lining up his cue for a heavy shot. "Did she message you after her shower?"
Wang Zibo shook his head. "I kept waiting while watching a movie. Even when my internet time ran out, she still hadn't replied."
"So you didn't even eat lunch?"
"Yeah," Wang Zibo admitted, nodding solemnly.
Chen Hansheng sighed, called over a server, and ordered some bread. Wang Zibo sat there, leaning on his cue stick in one hand and nibbling bread with the other, looking pitiful.
But Chen Hansheng didn't pity him at all. In his view, "lickers" like Wang Zibo were neither worthy of sympathy nor capable of quitting their ways.
"Zibo, you're stuck," Chen Hansheng said coolly.
"Stuck? What's that supposed to—"
Before Wang Zibo could finish, a commotion erupted downstairs.
"Could you idiots shut up already? This is the noisiest booth in the entire bar!"
The voice belonged to a young man with dyed yellow hair, probably even younger than Chen Hansheng.
His tone was harsh, and a few male classmates felt offended. "We weren't even that loud! Besides, aren't people allowed to talk and laugh in a leisure bar?"
"Oh? Talking back, are we?"
Yellow Hair had initially just wanted to complain, but hearing their retort, he moved to escalate things.
Downstairs, the classmates quickly stood up and backed away. After all, they were just students, no match for street thugs.
Suddenly, a pool cue whizzed down from the second floor, aimed squarely at Yellow Hair. A voice shouted, "Zhang Weilei, dodge!"
Yellow Hair noticed the flying cue just in time and jumped back.
*Crack!*
The cue smashed into the floor, breaking cleanly in two.
Yellow Hair's eyelid twitched. If that blow had hit him, it would've left more than just a bruise—it could've fractured a bone.
---