While Ye Fan could not exactly be said to have achieved great success in his career, he did have some resources to his name, due to certain circumstances and experiences. Not long before, he had purchased a Mercedes-Benz — priced higher than Liu Yinzhi’s Toyota, though using such things to judge a person’s status and standing struck him as decidedly vulgar.
Some ten minutes later, Ye Fan drove to the gathering venue — Sea and Moon City.
This was a grand entertainment complex that combined dining and leisure under one roof, situated on prime real estate in a thriving part of the city. From the assortment of mid-to-high-end vehicles in its parking lot, one could easily read the profile of its patrons.
Only three years out of university, the majority of his classmates could hardly be said to have built successful careers. Ye Fan felt that choosing such a venue for a reunion was a touch extravagant and flashy.
When he stepped out of the parking area and arrived in front of Sea and Moon City, he quickly spotted several familiar figures — all classmates who had come for the gathering, some of whom he had not seen in three full years.
“Ye Fan!” A young man with refined, scholarly features spotted him and came over with a smile. “This is your fault — as a local host, you’ve shown up fashionably late. It really should have been you who organized and initiated this gathering.”
This refined-looking young man was Wang Ziwen, one of the organizers behind this reunion. He had been a very lively and active figure back in university, and word was that over the past three years he had done extremely well in another city, having accumulated a considerable amount of wealth.
The other few people also came over. Though it had been a long time, everyone was warm and animated with one another.
It was evident that Wang Ziwen had been waiting here for someone, and the number of people important enough to make him stand at the entrance of Sea and Moon City to receive them personally could only amount to two or three at most — it was easy enough to guess who.
Wang Ziwen was a sharp man; rather than standing there and waiting alone, he led the group inside while keeping up cheerful banter. On the fifth floor was a small business center capable of accommodating thirty to fifty people for meetings, which had already been reserved for them.
By now, darkness had fallen outside, and most of the classmates attending the reunion had nearly all arrived.
The arrival of this group immediately brought a surge of warmth and laughter to the room. Many people came forward to greet them. To be reunited like this brought a strange sensation — as though time had slipped away and space had shifted, offering a fleeting overlap with certain scenes from their university days.
Three years since graduation — everyone was now twenty-five or twenty-six years old. Several had already married, and two had become young mothers.
Each person had followed a different path through life, yet by and large most of their classmates were ordinary people. The ideals and ambitions of their youth had been worn nearly smooth by time, fading at last into the unremarkable rhythms of daily life.
Dreams had receded into the distance. The vast majority had come to a clear-eyed understanding that they were simply ordinary people.
Wang Ziwen led Ye Fan to the other side of the room, and a careful look revealed that the classmates gathered here were either those who had achieved some degree of professional success or those who came from families with some background.
“Ye Fan, showing up this late — you definitely owe us three drinks as penalty.”
“Three isn’t nearly enough — you’re all badly underestimating Ye Fan’s capacity for alcohol.” Lin Jia was also seated over here, her phoenix eyes glancing sidelong, her figure slender and shapely, full of alluring curves.
“Which lovely lady wants to penalize me?” Ye Fan casually included several male classmates in the category of “lovely ladies” as well.
“He barely walks in the door and he’s already taking advantage of us — punish him! We have to come down on him hard!” The gathered men and women all united against their common target, gleefully sharpening their metaphorical knives.
Liu Yinzhi, who had some local connections, was naturally part of this group as well. He said in a casual, offhand tone: “I was honestly expecting you to be stuck waiting for a taxi for quite a while.”
The moment those words landed, a chill swept through the room. Everyone present knew about the bad blood between Liu Yinzhi and Ye Fan from their university days. Liu Yinzhi was doing very well in this city now, and his casual aside — pointing out that Ye Fan had arrived by taxi — was clearly pointed in its intent.
Other classmates had also noticed the tension here and turned to look. But Ye Fan simply gave an indifferent smile and said nothing.
“I’ll go out front to meet Zhou Yi.” Wang Ziwen changed the subject and stepped away.
Lin Jia and two female classmates launched into a discussion about cosmetics, then moved on to a few designer clothing brands. Others began sharing amusing anecdotes from their student days. The brief moment of awkward tension was thus smoothed over, and the atmosphere grew lively again.
Still, after what had just transpired, a slight undercurrent remained, and the talk gradually drifted toward Liu Yinzhi.
Though Ye Fan had been something of a campus figure during his university years, all of that meant nothing once you stepped into the real world. Professional success was now the currency by which a person was measured.
Glances came from the surrounding tables from time to time. This side of the room had clearly become a distinct inner circle, its occupants all classmates who were currently doing well — yet at this moment, Ye Fan had a tendency to be marginalized within it.
He took it all in stride. Even so, he eventually rose and moved away to sit with some of the other classmates — he had no wish to be branded as part of a privileged clique in the eyes of his peers.
Cosmetics and designer clothing were perennial favorites among the female classmates; the male classmates ranged from football all the way to current events and news. It was a wide-ranging conversation.
Half an hour later, all twenty-five attendees for the reunion had arrived. The full class had thirty-three students: three were abroad for graduate studies, while another five had been unable to make it due to various special circumstances.
The several organizers of the gathering each gave a speech in turn, and the atmosphere was very lively. Afterward, everyone broke into smaller groups and chatted freely among themselves.
It was a long while before the group finally left the small business center to raise a toast in celebration of their reunion. Without any deliberate arrangement, the seating naturally revealed the subtle hierarchies of closeness and standing.
Ye Fan did not sit with Lin Jia, Liu Yinzhi, and their group. He settled quite naturally at a different table.
Following another round of toasts, the evening became altogether more relaxed. People moved from table to table offering drinks; others were surrounded at their seats, unable to move a step as one toast after another was pressed upon them.
Many things had happened over three years, and everyone had changed greatly. Perhaps it was the effect of the alcohol, but many classmates began speaking of their own lives — some elated, others disheartened.
One person ranted about how unreasonably demanding their boss was, always piling on overtime while the pay was pitifully low.
One female classmate said her boyfriend was a department manager at a well-known company; another said her husband had recently been promoted to deputy general manager; someone else mentioned that their fiancée was the niece of a senior executive at a certain bank.
And more than a few people, upon hearing all of this, fell silent. Many of their lives were not going very well.
One female classmate in particular looked conspicuously haggard. Word had it she had married someone she did not love, and that her married life was unhappy — her husband drank heavily every day. When a classmate had passed through her city and gone to visit her, they had seen bruises on her body.
“If you ever need any help, just come find me.” Ye Fan’s heart ached with pity for this classmate. He still remembered how she had looked in university — shy and pure, standing outside the football pitch waving energetically to cheer them on.
It was plain to see that her life had become very difficult. She lowered her head, her expression dimming even as a trace of gratitude crossed her face. She gave a quiet word of thanks.
“Ye Fan, you should think about improving your own situation first…” The female classmate who had just boasted about her husband’s promotion to deputy general manager, emboldened by the alcohol, spoke without much tact. “Just look at how well Liu Yinzhi is doing.”
Everyone at the table simultaneously looked at Ye Fan, then turned toward Liu Yinzhi’s table not far away — a table occupied entirely by classmates who were doing well for themselves.
“Ye Fan, I’m not trying to lecture you, but in university you really were someone remarkable — the thing is, once you leave campus, everything changes. You can’t afford to slack off.” The male classmate at this table who had mentioned his fiancée was a senior banking executive’s niece also adopted a preachy tone.
Mention of the people at Liu Yinzhi’s table prompted sighs from some at this table, who marveled that some people who couldn’t hold a candle to you back in school were now simply beyond comparison.
Others spoke in bitter, cynical tones — overly extreme, drunk talk, calling those people returning in glory to show off their wealth and influence.
Some of the female classmates even joked with Ye Fan, saying it was a good thing they had only harbored a secret crush on him back in school, adding that they now regretted turning down Liu Yinzhi’s pursuit at the time.
The same city as before. The same people as before. And yet, when everyone gathered together again, the mood was worlds apart from what it once had been.