After a while.
There was a knock on the door in the quiet office.
After two knocks, the door was pushed open, and Xu Haotian walked in hurriedly wearing a large windbreaker and a peaked cap.
"Brother, you are not busy." He sat down on the sofa, "I don't have anything to do in the bar, so I came to stay with you for a while."
Pei Chi didn't say anything, moved his eyes away from the phone, and opened a document on the desk.
Xu Haotian picked up the glass on the coffee table and poured water to drink: "Hey Pei Chi, Zhu Junan is getting married soon, why don't we get together this weekend and give him a bachelor party?"
He opened his legs carelessly, "Why can't he get over it at such a young age? His family is not urging him, why does he get married so early?"
After mumbling for a while, Xu Haotian raised his eyes and asked: "Where are we going to get together this time?"
Pei Chi: "Why don't we go to your bar?"
"Oh, it's too boring to always go to my bar," Xu Haotian touched his nose and muttered softly: "And if I go to my bar... I will be laughed at by you guys."
Hearing this, Pei Chi raised his eyelids, glanced at him, and raised his eyebrows slightly: "Why are you dressed like this ? "
Xu Haotian paused, and suddenly sighed, "To be honest, after my girlfriend broke up with me last week, she might not be satisfied and wanted to quarrel. She has been going to the bar to make trouble with me these days."
Pei Chi sneered: "What did you do to offend her? Why do you do this to me?"
Xu Haotian hesitated and said: "That's right, I drank a little too much one day, and when I was with my girlfriend at night, I accidentally called my ex's name."
"..."
Xu Haotian suddenly regretted: "Drinking really messes up things! Especially when doing things."
"Well, let's not talk about this," Xu Haotian continued the previous topic, picked a few gathering places, and asked Pei Chi: "Where do you want to go?"
Pei Chi moved his lips, but before he could speak, his phone vibrated twice.
He kept holding the phone in his hand, and didn't put it down. He moved his thumb and clicked on the message directly.
"Sorry, I sent it to the wrong place."
"..."
"Hey, where are you going?" Xu Haotian asked again.
Pei Chi stared at the words, remained silent for a few seconds, and suddenly put down the phone, saying in a nonsensical voice: "Whatever."
"Okay, I'll book that place." Xu Haotian took out his phone from his pocket, intending to book a club and play around for a while to kill time. As soon as he slid open the screen, he heard Pei Chi suddenly ask.
"Do you have anything else to do?"
Xu Haotian looked up: "No."
"Then stay outside," Pei Chi said impatiently: "I'm busy."
"..."
＿
It was seven o'clock in the evening when Gu Yaozhi got home.
Tang Nan rarely worked overtime today, sitting on the sofa in the living room and video chatting with her boyfriend.
She changed into slippers, put the small cake she brought on the way on the coffee table, and then went to the kitchen to pour a cup of hot water.
Tang Nan chatted for a few more words in the living room and then hung up the phone. She reached out to open the cake box, "Gu Gu, why did you suddenly remember to go to school this afternoon?"
Gu Yaozhi went to the sofa and sat beside her, "I was passing by and stopped by to take a look."
Tang Nan scooped a mouthful of cake and suddenly remembered something, "Oh, by the way, I was so busy with work these two days that I forgot about it. I just remembered it when you mentioned school.
"A few days ago, the monitor of our class contacted me and said that there would be a class reunion on May Day. I didn't go to the previous few times. If you have time that day, can we go together?"
Today, I revisited the old place and remembered a lot of things in school. I haven't seen these old classmates for a long time. Gu Yaozhi thought about it and agreed.
Tang Nan put down the cake and licked his lips, "Okay, then I'll tell the monitor. "
After taking a shower, she returned to her room.
Before going to bed, Gu Yaozhi looked at her phone again. There was still no message on WeChat. She couldn't help but think of the call Zhou Xia received at the company during the day. Maybe she had children at home who needed to be taken care of, so she didn't reply if it was not important.
Gu Yaozhi put down her phone, lay back on the bed, and fell asleep.
—
In the next few days, Gu Yaozhi stayed in Zhong Huaili's studio.
On the day of the class reunion, in the evening, she and Tang Nan came to an entertainment club in a prosperous area in the city center, took the elevator to the second floor, and entered a private room by number.
The classmates in the private room had almost arrived. Dozens of people were divided into two tables and were chatting enthusiastically in groups of three or two.
Hearing the sound of the door being pushed open, someone looked over.
"Tang Nan, you are finally here..." A man saw the person behind him while talking, "Gu Yaozhi! Oh, how long have we not seen each other? "
At this time, squad leader Song Jing came over and said in a gentle voice: "Yes, I haven't seen you since high school graduation. When did you return to China?"
"A few days ago." Gu Yaozhi smiled, "I just happened to catch up with this party and came to meet everyone."
"Come, there's a seat for you two." Song Jing pulled out chairs for the two girls.
When Tang Nan lowered her head, she accidentally glimpsed the ring on Song Jing's middle finger and said in surprise: "Squad leader, are you going to have good news?"
Song Jing told the waiter that everyone was ready and the dishes could be served. He turned around and nodded: "Yes, I just got engaged."
Tang Nan asked curiously: "Who is your girlfriend?"
Song Jing smiled gently: "My college classmate."
"Oh, a beautiful girl from Tsinghua University!" Tang Nan smacked his lips, "That's great, remember to invite me when you get married! "
A female classmate who sat a few seats away named Li Sihui, who had a good relationship with Tang Nan before, couldn't help asking: "Tang Nan, are you getting pregnant soon? Can I have a drink at your wedding before I give birth to my second child?"
Tang Nan blinked at her, "I'll do it as soon as possible."
Li Sihui's eyes moved and fell on Gu Yaozhi, who was sitting low-key next to her but couldn't be looked away. She smiled and asked with her chin on her hand: "Yaozhi, do you have a boyfriend?"
The reunion after graduation is nothing more than being single or getting married and having children. Gu Yaozhi smiled: "Not yet."
Tang Nan poked a piece of fruit from the fruit plate and took over meaningfully: "I'm choosing."
At this time, the male classmate who had just spoken when he entered the door glanced over here and said with a smile: "School beauties must have a lot of suitors. You have to choose carefully. And you can't just choose handsome and rich men when choosing men. You have to find someone who knows how to take care of people. "
Gu Yaozhi curled his lips and said nothing.
Tang Nan stuffed the fruit into his mouth and glanced at the boy.
Li Sihui glanced at the faces of these people and couldn't help but think of an incident in high school.
At that time, there were many boys chasing Gu Yaozhi in the school, including several boys in the class.
She remembered that it was a certain afternoon.
During the break, Pei Chi from the next class stood at the back door of their classroom, wearing a white jersey, playing with a basketball in his hand, and leaning lazily against the door.
In the evening, the sun shone from the other side of the teaching building, reflecting in his wanton eyebrows, the clean temperament of the youth that makes people unforgettable in youth, with a bit of frivolity and arrogance.
In the eyes of the whole class, he talked to the girl sitting in the front row of the classroom without hesitation.
"Hey, Gu Yaozhi."
"If you come to watch my game tomorrow, remember to bring me a bottle of water," the boy smiled, "I want it cold. "
Li Sihui still remembers that, including her, at that time, the girls who had a crush on or had a crush on Pei Chi were really envious and jealous.
It also seemed that from that day on, there seemed to be fewer boys chasing Gu Yaozhi.
...
Everyone talked and laughed for a while at the table, and the dishes were served one after another. Some classmates were halfway through their meal and went to other tables to reminisce with their classmates.
Gu Yaozhi's side was also changed. It was the male classmate from before. He sat next to Gu Yaozhi and chatted about this and that. During the period, he handed her paper and water, and his attitude was very attentive.
Gu Yaozhi thanked him every word, always polite and distant, and did not give the male classmate any chance to go further.
Halfway through the meal, the male classmate was called out by others to smoke.
Tang Nan put down his chopsticks and couldn't help laughing, "Gu Gu, I found that after so many years, I still like to see the way you reject people."
Gu Yaozhi poked a piece of peach and looked at her.
"Just push it back gently, and the bone-dissolving cotton palm is particularly helpless. "
"I'm almost scratching my head when I see Zhang Ye like that! Hahaha! !"
—
The open-air balcony in the corridor outside the box.
The man leaned against the wall in a corner, twisting a cigarette between his fingers, lowering his eyebrows, the night was dark and moonless, and his figure seemed to be hidden in the darkness.
After a while, two people came over from the balcony and went to the fence on the other side to smoke.
"Oh, don't say it, Gu Yaozhi is more beautiful than in high school. I remember when you were in school, didn't you still want to pursue her?"
"Damn, didn't you think about it when you were in school?"
"I thought about it, but Pei Chi was there, there was no chance!" The man said and suddenly asked again: "By the way, Gu Yaozhi said she was single just now, did she break up with Pei Chi?"
"It was a long time ago, when I graduated from high school."
"Ah? How did they break up? "
"Gu Yaozhi dumped Pei Chi. My friend happened to meet him near a park."
"Oh." The man was quiet for a moment, and said in a puzzled tone: "But Pei Chi's conditions...what does Gu Yaozhi think."
"Who knows."
The man swallowed and chuckled, "But seeing how arrogant Pei Chi was in high school, he looked so arrogant all day long. I didn't expect that he would be dumped one day."
After the words fell, a low chuckle came from the silent night.
In the corner, the man's cigarette was not smoked, and the ash piled up, and then he flicked it lightly, and it scattered in the night with the wind.
The voice at the balcony fence continued.
"I saw you being so attentive at the table just now. Do you still have feelings for Gu Yaozhi?"
"She's beautiful! Who wouldn't want to try?" The man sighed, "It's just that it's too hard to pursue her. You don't give her any chance. "
"Actually, I advise you not to think about it. Even if you catch up with him, you might be dumped soon."
The man sneered at the words, and then his tone became disdainful, "That's right, do you think these girls who study art are so hypocritical? They look gentle, quiet and well-educated, but in fact, they are just hypocritical and like to enjoy being chased and praised by men..."
Before he finished speaking, there was a sound of metal hitting cement in the corner, crisp and harsh.
The two people on the balcony fence were startled by the noise, and then turned around. The beer cans on the ground were kicked into a ball and rolled a few times.
Then, the two noticed the man who had been staying in the corner.
He stood up straight, and his tall figure was particularly oppressive in this situation. When his dark eyes were raised, his eyes were calm but creepy.
"Pei, Pei Chi? !"
"Yes, it's me. "The man pulled the corner of his mouth lightly, but his expression did not soften at all.
The two were stunned for a moment, realizing that the words just now were heard by the person in front of them. After one of them reacted, he tried to calm down and smiled, "Oh, it's been many years since we last met. Do you still remember us, right, we are from the next class..."
"Remember." Pei Chi walked a few steps towards the two and raised his eyebrows: "Zhang Ye, Yan Liang."
"..."
"..."
"Oh, yes, yes, it's us," Zhang Ye smiled awkwardly, trying to pretend that what happened just now didn't happen and fool around, "I didn't have much contact with you when I was in school, Pei Chi, you have a really good memory."
Pei Chi glanced at the two of them lightly, raised his chin slightly, "I'm not bad in all aspects, and my memory is of course good."
"For example," he said slowly, but with a warning, and said: "I will remember everything you two said just now. "
Zhang Ye's face immediately turned panicked when he heard it: "No, that Pei Chi, we were just chatting casually just now, you may have heard it wrongly."
Pei Chi: "My ears are good."
"Then, then, you may have misunderstood..."
"Zhang Ye, if I remember correctly," Pei Chi interrupted him, "your cousin's company is still cooperating with Pei Group."
"..."Zhang Ye was stunned for two seconds, and then immediately apologized: "Yes, I'm sorry Pei Chi! I will never talk nonsense to others again in the future. I drank a little too much today and my brain was cramped. Just treat me as a fart!"
Seeing this, Yan Liang immediately echoed, "I won't do it again in the future, and I will never talk about you behind people's back again. "
The man didn't say anything, and the silence almost made people panic.
After a while, a low humming laugh was heard.
Pei Chi lowered his eyes and put out the cigarette on the trash can beside him. His hair covered his eyebrows, and his expression still showed no emotion. After a few seconds, he slowly raised his eyelids.
The arc of his mouth was slightly pulled with a bit of arrogance.
It was exactly the same as when he was young.
The voice was low and cold: "It's not okay to talk nonsense about people related to me."