A familiar voice called out, and the two immediately turned their heads toward the sound.
The speaker was a little over 1.6 meters tall, short and slight, dressed in a small suit.
Monkey was his nickname; his real name was Li Gao. In high school, the three of them had been inseparable.
"Cut it out! It's called being compact and refined. Not like you, all muscle and no brains!"
"Oh! Have you forgotten how I used to wipe the floor with you using just one hand?"
Gao Xiang and Li Gao started bickering the moment they met.
"A true hero doesn't dwell on past victories. Sit down, Brother Ming!"
Li Gao pulled out a chair, gesturing for Su Ming to take a seat.
"What about me? Don't you think I deserve a seat, little monkey?"
Gao Xiang chimed in again from the side.
"Brother Ming, just ignore him. Come on, have some water first!"
"Alright, you two, stop acting like you're sworn enemies every time you meet!"
Su Ming's words finally put an end to the escalating argument.
"Fine, I won't stoop to your level."
Gao Xiang found a stool and sat down.
"Brother Ming, I heard you got married yesterday? You didn't even invite me. Do you not consider me a brother anymore?"
Li Gao spoke again, his face full of disappointment.
"Enough, Monkey. It's a good thing you weren't there, or things might have gone south."
Su Ming was feeling awkward, but Gao Xiang came to his rescue.
Then, Gao Xiang recounted what had happened the previous day, making Li Gao both furious and relieved.
"Damn, karma! How can there be such shameless people in the world?"
"Alright, let's not talk about that. It was my mistake not to invite you. I'll take three shots to make it up to you later."
Su Ming interrupted their conversation.
"Good! You said it!"
At that moment, the private room fell silent.
"Everyone, look who's here?"
A female voice rang out, and a mischievous-looking woman opened the door to the private room.
A figure then walked in.
"Wow!"
Exclamations filled the room.
The newcomer was tall, wearing a high-end custom dress, holding a Prada handbag, and sporting light makeup. Her eyes were bright, her teeth white, her hands delicate, and her skin smooth. Her long, black hair cascaded down her back. If scored, she would easily get a 98.
Su Ming looked at the woman, and a jolt ran through him as the image of the woman he had missed day and night began to merge with her.
"Welcome, Goddess Lin!"
The group roared in unison.
Lin Yixue smiled sweetly and parted her red lips.
"Thank you, everyone!"
Her gaze then swept across the room, landing on Su Ming in an instant.
A spark flashed in her beautiful eyes, and she walked directly toward Su Ming.
"Can I sit here?"
Before Su Ming could react, Lin Yixue had already taken a seat.
Su Ming snapped back to reality, and their eyes met. A unique feeling spread in his heart, eventually forming into words.
"It's been a long time!"
"Yes, seven years, three months, and seventeen days!"
Lin Yixue smiled as she spoke, but Su Ming saw something in her smile: hardship.
Unable to bear it, Su Ming averted his gaze, fearing he might lose control and embrace her.
A hint of disappointment flashed in Lin Yixue's eyes, but she quickly masked it.
"I heard you got married yesterday?"
Her voice trembled slightly this time, and Su Ming could hear it clearly.
In that moment, Su Ming could no longer control his emotions.
Turning his head, a determined light shone in his eyes. "There was an unexpected incident, and it didn't happen. Let me formally introduce myself: Su Ming, currently single."
Lin Yixue was clearly taken aback, but a second later, her eyes lit up with joy.
"Hello, everyone!"
Just as Lin Yixue was about to speak, a loud voice interrupted her.
The door to the private room was pushed open, and Zhang Jiaming entered with a plump middle-aged man.
As everyone wondered who the fat man was, Zhang Jiaming introduced him.
"Everyone, let me introduce our general manager of Hongda Real Estate, Mr. Luo Bo. I've arranged a benefit for you all today. Anyone interested in buying a house can get a 30% discount from Mr. Luo!"
"Wow! Thirty percent off, that's a savings of over a hundred thousand! Thank you, class president, thank you, Mr. Luo!"
"Thank you, class president, thank you, Mr. Luo!"
The former classmates cheered.
"No need to be polite. You are all Jiaming's classmates, and therefore, my friends too!"
Luo Bo smiled and said.
Su Ming glanced at the two, silently noting down the name "Hongda Real Estate." He had already decided not to buy a house from them.
What Su Ming didn't notice was that Lin Yixue, sitting next to him, showed a flash of disgust when she saw Luo Bo.
At that moment, Luo Bo seemed to notice Lin Yixue and walked over.
"President Lin, it's really not easy to see you."
"We're all busy, so we naturally have fewer opportunities to meet."
Lin Yixue replied indifferently.
"You're right, President Lin."
Luo Bo smiled and sat down next to Lin Yixue.
"Su Ming, let's switch seats."
To everyone's surprise, Lin Yixue stood up and looked at Su Ming.
"Sure."
Su Ming didn't hesitate. He could see that Lin Yixue disliked Luo Bo.
Luo Bo wasn't fazed and smiled at Su Ming, nodding.
"Hey, Su Ming, I heard you got married yesterday. Why didn't you invite any of us old classmates?"
Zhang Jiaming's voice cut in.
"Yeah, Su Ming, that's not very fair of you!"
"Exactly! We're all classmates, and you didn't even give us a heads-up for such a big event!"
"Su Ming, that's not right!"
Zhang Jiaming's words drew agreement from the others.
Su Ming frowned, realizing Zhang Jiaming was intentionally trying to embarrass him.
Gao Xiang and Li Gao looked angrily at Zhang Jiaming.
"Stop it, everyone. There must be a reason Su Ming didn't invite us. Even I wasn't invited, right?"
Lin Yixue stood up, drawing everyone's attention.
"That's true. If he didn't even invite his ex-girlfriend, why would he invite us?"
Their past relationship was well-known among the classmates.
"Alright, alright, let's not bring it up. Today is a reunion, let's eat and drink and enjoy ourselves."
Seeing Lin Yixue speak, Zhang Jiaming knew he couldn't continue mocking Su Ming and changed the subject.
Soon, the food started arriving.
The hotel's service was efficient, and the dishes were quickly served.
Amidst the eating, drinking, and laughter, time flew by.
"Class president, I heard you recently bought a new car, a BMW 7 Series, worth over a million, right?"
Finally, the main topic of the reunion arrived.