Chapter 105: The Alumni Gathering

"Mom, I'm hungry. Hurry up and make some food," Xiao Lin said, clutching his stomach with a pitiful look as he sat on the sofa.

"Oh, sweetie, your dad and I are heading to the Civil Affairs Bureau right now. Once we're done there, we have to go to Xue Village to visit your grandmother. So, you'll have to look after yourself at home for the next couple of days. Just go grab a bite at a restaurant later. I've left some money for you in the drawer of my nightstand in the bedroom." Xu Qiaoling looked at her son apologetically.

Ever since Xu Qiaoling agreed to remarry him yesterday, Xiao Lin's father had been terrified of any last-minute changes. He insisted on going to the Civil Affairs Bureau today to finalize the paperwork. He also planned to visit Grandma Xiao in Xue Village right after, to share the good news and make her happy.

"Dad," Xiao Lin turned to look at his father.

"Uh... son, your mom and I will head out now. Just call me if anything comes up," his father said, his eyes shifting guiltily.

"Dad, you can't just cross the bridge and burn it behind you like this. If it weren't for my idea, do you think you could have gotten Mom to remarry you so easily—" Before Xiao Lin could finish, his father lunged forward in a single stride and clamped a hand over his mouth, cutting him off.

"Xiao Feng, what idea was our son just talking about? What kind of riddles are you two playing at?" Xu Qiaoling frowned, looking at the father and son on the sofa.

"Nothing, nothing. Oh, Qiaoling, I think I forgot to grab one of the suitcases. Could you go to the bedroom and get it?" Xiao Feng quickly covered up, trying to send her away.

"Son, as long as you promise not to tell your mother about this, I'll personally sponsor you with an extra two thousand yuan on top of the money she left you. Deal?" As soon as Xu Qiaoling stepped into the bedroom, Xiao Feng began to bribe his son.

Hearing his father's offer, a smug look of successful conspiracy appeared on Xiao Lin's face. He blinked, signaling his agreement.

"Xiao Feng, what are you playing at? There is no suitcase in the bedroom," Xu Qiaoling said crossly as she emerged from the room.

"Hehe, maybe I misremembered. Let's go, it's getting late." Xiao Feng chuckled sheepishly, picking up the suitcase beside him with one hand and pulling Xu Qiaoling toward the door with the other.

"Mom, Dad, I wish you a successful remarriage and a safe trip!" Xiao Lin said with a broad smile as he saw his parents out.

"Be good at home, sweetie. Call me if you need anything," Xu Qiaoling nagged, still feeling a bit uneasy.

"I know!" Xiao Lin replied, waving goodbye. As soon as the door closed, he leaped into the air with joy.

"Haha, now I can finally invite Yuqing over without any worries!" This was exactly what Xiao Lin had planned. With his parents away for two days, he could invite Wang Yuqing to his house and enjoy some sweet quality time together as a couple.

"Hey, Yuqing, it's Xiao Lin." He immediately pulled out his phone and dialed Wang Yuqing's number.

"Hi, Xiao Lin. What's up?" Wang Yuqing's sweet voice came through the line.

"Yuqing, my parents went to Xue Village. I'm all alone at home right now, and I'm so bored. Plus, I haven't eaten yet. You have to come over and keep me company," Xiao Lin said in a pitiful tone. He was playing a little trick. He knew that if he directly asked Wang Yuqing to come over, her shy nature would make her refuse, even if he was home alone. So he added that he hadn't eaten. He figured she would feel sorry for him, come over to cook for him, and then he could do whatever he wanted. That was his plan. Unfortunately, Wang Yuqing's next words instantly dragged his mood from heaven down to hell.

"Oh, Xiao Lin, I can't make it these next couple of days. My mom and I went to Linyi to visit my grandmother. We won't be back for a few days," Wang Yuqing said, sounding a bit disappointed herself.

"How can it be such a coincidence?" Xiao Lin wailed, clutching his phone.

"Hurry up and go buy something to eat. You can't stay hungry; it's bad for your health."

"Alright, alright. When you get to your grandmother's place, give her my best regards."

"Okay, I will."

Xiao Lin hung up the phone with a dejected face. Squeezing the two thousand yuan his father had secretly slipped him before leaving, he pulled out a few bills, planning to grab a bite at a nearby diner. No matter what, he couldn't let his stomach suffer.

As it turned out, Xiao Lin picked the wrong time to go out. It was right in the middle of the dinner rush, and every restaurant was packed. Left with no choice, he found a KFC and joined the long queue, resigning himself to fast food to fill his stomach. Just as he was standing in line, bored out of his mind, a surprised voice called out from ahead. "Xiao Lin? Genius Xiao, is that really you?"

Xiao Lin looked toward the source of the voice in confusion. He saw a chubby guy carrying a tray running toward him. The way he jiggled with every step made him look exactly like a running pig.

Once the fat guy got closer, Xiao Lin scrutinized him for a moment before saying uncertainly, "Are you Ye Hao?"

"Haha, Xiao Lin, you still remember me!" The chubby guy, Ye Hao, waved a large hand and slapped Xiao Lin on the shoulder.

"I almost didn't recognize you. You've... expanded horizontally again," Xiao Lin remarked, unable to resist teasing him as he looked at Ye Hao's build.

"My philosophy is simple: never fight with food," Ye Hao said with a straight face.

"Hey, what are you doing here anyway?" Ye Hao asked.

"What else? Waiting in line to buy a burger," Xiao Lin said, clutching his stomach.

"Oh, why bother waiting in line? Come on, eat with me. Whatever slips through my teeth is enough to fill you up." Ye Hao reached out and pulled Xiao Lin out of the queue, dragging him to an empty table nearby. Xiao Lin wanted to decline and buy his own, but when he saw Ye Hao's tray—stacked with six burgers, a mountain of fried chicken, several cartons of fries, a large plate of egg tarts, and a few large cups of Pepsi—he sat back down. With this much food, it really was as Ye Hao said: a fraction of it would easily fill him up.

"By the way, Xiao Lin, are you going to the reunion tomorrow?" Ye Hao asked while taking a bite of his burger.

"Huh? Reunion? What reunion?" Xiao Lin looked blank, having no idea what Ye Hao was talking about.

"You don't know? How is that possible? Just about everyone from our year at the affiliated high school who was even slightly well-known got the notice. Didn't Zhang Zhenghao contact you?"

"No, he didn't!"

"That's weird. I remember you two got along pretty well back then." Ye Hao was also puzzled. He thought for a moment and suddenly asked, "Xiao Lin, did you change your phone number?"

"Uh, yeah, I did," Xiao Lin nodded.

"Well, that explains it. It's not that Zhang Zhenghao forgot; he just couldn't reach you. Lucky you bumped into me, then. Tomorrow at three in the afternoon, at the New Sega Hotel. Let's go together," Ye Hao mumbled.

"The New Sega? Isn't that the hotel we always went to for class gatherings back when we were at the affiliated middle school? Zhang Zhenghao is quite thoughtful," Xiao Lin said. Hearing the name of the hotel brought back memories of his middle school days.

"Thoughtful? Not him. I heard it was a girl's idea. She was pretty famous back at the affiliated school too, though I forgot her name." Ye Hao tore off a piece of fried chicken and stuffed it into his mouth.

Xiao Lin glanced at Ye Hao and smiled. It was normal for Ye Hao not to know. Back in middle school, even though Ye Hao was a member of the student union, he was lazy by nature and only made a handful of friends there.

"Sure. I don't have anything to do these next couple of days anyway. It'll be nice to see some old friends. Give me your phone." Xiao Lin reached out for Ye Hao's phone and saved his new number.

"No need for all that trouble. Just give me your address, and I'll drive over to pick you up tomorrow. I'm taking my dad's car," Ye Hao said proudly.

After finishing their meal, the two agreed on a time to meet the next day and headed back to their respective homes.

Around noon the next day, Xiao Lin stood in front of the mirror, adjusting his clothes. For the reunion, he had specially put on a Korean-style trench coat, slim-fit jeans, and a pair of polished black leather shoes. He had also wrapped a black scarf around his neck, giving him a cool look. He ran a hand through his hair and smiled at his reflection. The young man in the mirror was handsome and bright, though a hint of wildness still lingered on his sharp features.

*Ding-dong.* The doorbell rang. Xiao Lin opened the door to find Ye Hao standing there.

"Man, I'm exhausted. Walking up those stairs nearly killed me. Xiao Lin, are you ready? It's about time, let's go," Ye Hao panted.

"Let's go," Xiao Lin said, pulling the door shut behind him with a stylish flick of his wrist.

They got into the sedan Ye Hao had driven over and headed toward the New Sega Hotel.

"Hey, Ye Hao, do you know who else is going? How many of our old friends will be there?" Xiao Lin asked in the car.

"About twenty people or so. Most of them are former members of the student union. We could have invited more, but a lot of them changed their numbers like you did and never gave us their new ones, so the turnout is a bit smaller. The ones I remember are Old Jia, Ratty Liu, Big Mouth Jin, Hippo..." Ye Hao rattled off six or seven nicknames.

Hearing these nicknames brought back a sudden wave of familiarity for Xiao Lin.

Over half an hour later, they arrived at the New Sega Hotel. As soon as they got out of the car, they saw a tall boy standing by the entrance, talking to a shorter boy with a noticeably large head.

"Zhang Zhenghao! Big Mouth Jin!" Ye Hao called out excitedly, jogging over to give them both a big hug.

"Whoa, it's you, you fat pig! You're crushing me," the tall, handsome boy said happily when he saw it was Ye Hao. This boy was Zhang Zhenghao.

"Damn fatty," the shorter boy chimed in. He had no particularly striking features other than his large head and wide mouth. His name was Jin Hai, nicknamed Big Mouth Jin.

"Haha, Zhenghao, Big Mouth, look who I brought with me!" Ye Hao pointed to Xiao Lin behind him.

Zhang Zhenghao and Jin Hai turned around, both gasping in surprise, "Is that Xiao Lin?"