After Chen Mo's group of four entered the dining room, they followed the directions up to the second floor and saw that nearly everyone in the class had arrived. There were more than fifty classmates, and with the family members some had brought along, there were over seventy people in total.
Many people were calling out to friends and acquaintances, but Chen Mo had such a low presence in the class that hardly anyone noticed him come in. Li Rui and his group, on the other hand, received plenty of greetings as soon as they entered. Chen Mo finally realized that four years of cultivation had made his personality somewhat unsociable. Fortunately, the other three in the dormitory had never cared about that and had always gotten along well with him. It seemed he ought to reflect on himself properly.
Wang Lisheng put an arm around Gong Hui and headed straight for the main table, where the class officers, the class counselor, and several substitute teachers were seated. It seemed that since these students were leaving campus and entering society, the teachers had come to celebrate as well.
Chen Mo actually did not want to leave school. He had worked outside for several years and rented a place for more than a year, so he knew very well what society was really like. If he had not needed his own private space for cultivation, he would never have rented a place off-campus.
Where else could he find housing that cost a thousand yuan a year, included water and electricity, and came with a supermarket, laundry facilities, bathrooms, and everything else, without even needing to clean it himself? Where else could he spend twelve yuan a day and eat his fill, with free soup included? Where else could he use clean badminton courts, basketball courts, football fields, and other facilities for free? Where else could he spend fifty yuan to swim all summer, two yuan to watch a movie, and one and a half yuan for a bath? Who else provided all that? Other than school, nowhere. School really was the best.
But thinking about it, he could not keep thinking that way. His parents were getting old, and his younger brother still needed money for school. He could only bid farewell to campus life and go out into society to make a living.
Yet when he looked at the Classmates around him, all boasting grandly about what they would achieve, it was clear they had not yet been beaten down by reality. If he had not started working early to earn money, perhaps he would have been just like them.
Chen Mo smiled, raised his glass, clinked it with Oldest Brother and the others, then tipped his head back and drained it in one go. The crowd immediately clapped and cheered. Drinking was about drinking to one's heart's content. Naturally, everyone was delighted to see him drink like that.
But he knew that although he was smiling and going through the motions, his heart was strangely calm. What would it look like when they met again several years from now? Just thinking about it made it a major lesson in life.
After several drinks, he felt the urge to use the bathroom. He excused himself to Oldest Brother and the others, got up, and headed for the restroom. After relieving himself comfortably, he was washing his hands when he heard a voice behind him.
"Chen... Chen Mo, thank you for what happened earlier." Gong Hui stood behind him and spoke. The restroom was around a corner on the first floor, while the gathering was on the second floor. When she saw Chen Mo come downstairs, she found an excuse to come over as well.
"You're welcome." Chen Mo did not want to say much. Let this be the last kindness between people who had known each other.
"No, I still have to thank you," Gong Hui said.
"Mm." Chen Mo counted that as an answer.
"I know you may have heard some things about me, but what you saw may only have been the surface. You never really understood the truth." Gong Hui looked distressed, but she forced herself to continue.
"Maybe. But when people begin to understand something, don't they start by seeing its surface? Besides, what could understanding it clearly accomplish? Could it change anything?" Chen Mo asked.
"That's right. It can't change anything." Gong Hui understood that Chen Mo must have seen her returning to school that morning. That was why he had kept away from her afterward and never contacted her again.
"Sometimes there are many things in life that cannot be helped. It isn't that you can simply refuse to do something just because you don't want to. When many things come before you, all you can do is face them," Gong Hui said.
"I understand." Thinking of the grievances and hardships he had endured during more than a year of Part-time Jobs in society, Chen Mo nodded with some understanding.
"After I got together with Wang Lisheng, I only told him that you and I had dated before. But we never even held hands. I said you had only been pursuing me all along!" Gong Hui explained.
"I could guess that. But why are you telling me this?" Chen Mo asked. He shook the water from his hands, pulled out a tissue to dry them, then tossed the used paper into the bin.
"I hope you can help me keep up the lie. I have reasons I can't help. Consider it a favor you're doing for me, all right?" Gong Hui spoke slowly, but kept staring at him.
Chen Mo pulled out a cigarette, silently lit it, and took several hard drags. He normally did not smoke, but occasionally smoking a few cigarettes helped ease the bitterness in his heart.
"All right. As long as Wang Lisheng doesn't go too far, I won't deny anything," Chen Mo said.
"Thank you, thank you!" Gong Hui said repeatedly, a happy smile appearing on her face.
"As a classmate and friend, I hope you know clearly what you're doing. I also wish you happiness." Chen Mo stubbed out his cigarette, said those words to Gong Hui, then turned and left for the second floor.
Gong Hui stood at the entrance to the First Floor restroom, staring blankly at Chen Mo's retreating figure, unconsciously becoming lost in thought. Deep down, she knew Chen Mo still considered her a friend. She had liked Chen Mo before, but because of her own problems, she could only let go. As for Chen Mo, she could only wait to see whether there would be some chance to repay him in the future. Right now, she was completely powerless.
Thank you, Gong Hui said inwardly.
After Chen Mo returned upstairs, he once again joined in the shouting around the table. Gong Hui only came upstairs after some time had passed. With a charming laugh, she sat beside Wang Lisheng and began playing the role of his girlfriend.
When he caught a distant glimpse of her, he merely shook his head. Whatever bond he and Gong Hui had was probably all there was. Perhaps they would have no more contact in the future. He wished her well.
There was a large screen on the second floor. The class monitor organized several Classmates to go up and offer blessings to everyone, and they sang a few songs, making the gathering livelier.
At that moment, a group of seven or eight people came up from the First Floor.
The gangster leading them, with an Azure Dragon tattoo on his left and a white tiger tattoo on his right, shouted, "Fuck! Every last one of you, stop! Did you hear me? Stop right the fuck now! Turn off that sound system too!"
The Classmates were all stunned, watching these thugs with a mixture of curiosity and fear.
"Hurry up, pack your shit and get out. I'm using this place today," the leading gangster said arrogantly.
"Big brother, we booked the place for the whole afternoon," the class monitor said. He was at least man enough to step forward and speak to the leading gangster.
"If I tell you to get out, then get the fuck out. Why the fuck are you talking so much?" The leading gangster slapped the class monitor across the face and shouted.
The dining room's owner came upstairs at that moment and said to the class monitor with some difficulty, "Student, you'd better wrap things up quickly. At most, I won't charge you for reserving the place. I didn't expect this either. I'm really sorry."
Hearing what the dining room's owner said and seeing the class monitor get hit, the classmates immediately began discussing it among themselves.
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