Gathering

"Fine, fine, Little Yu. You're playing favorites, aren't you? You praised Brother Chi with such a long string of compliments, but you only used two words for me. Forget it. My devotion was wasted after all."

Zhang He clutched his chest, looking as though he had been deeply wounded.

"Enough. Eat. If you don't, the food will get cold," Chi Yan said.

"Sure, I'll eat. I'm eating right now."

Zhang He stopped joking around as well and picked up his chopsticks to resume eating.

Tsk, Chi Yan was so petty. He wasn't even allowed to tease Li Yu a little.

After dinner, Chi Yan had to return to the company to handle some matters, so Zhang He called the driver to take him and Li Yu home.

Zhang He was already drunk, sprawled in the passenger seat and sleeping like the dead.

Leaning against the back seat, Li Yu took out his phone to check his messages.

The moment he opened WeChat, he found that his high school class monitor, whom he had not contacted in a long time, had sent him four messages in a row.

Class Monitor: Li Yu, you there?

Class Monitor: Here's the thing. We're planning a class reunion tomorrow night. Do you have time to come?

Class Monitor: I know you might be busy these days, but if you have time, I still hope you can make it. Everyone will be there.

Class Monitor: We've set the location as private room 202 at 52 Hertz Bar in Beijing, at eight tonight.

Tomorrow?

Li Yu did not reply to the class monitor right away. Instead, he switched over to ask his assistant about his upcoming schedule.

His assistant immediately called him and said he had nothing arranged for tomorrow, with only an advertisement shoot scheduled for the day after.

"An advertisement? What advertisement?"

"Sister Ruan Yun said it's an ad from one of the sponsors of A Day to See All the Flowers. They'll send over the details tonight."

"Okay."

Having learned what he wanted to know, Li Yu ended the call.

He did not really need to attend any class reunion, but his high school classmates had treated him quite well back then. It would be nice to go see them.

So he switched back to his chat with the class monitor and sent a "Sure."

That night, just as Li Yu had finished washing up and lay down on his bed, he received the advertising materials Ruan Yun had sent over. It was an ad for Goat's outdoor jackets, and the two spokespersons they had specifically selected were Li Yu and Zhou Yanqing.

The sponsors of A Day to See All the Flowers could fill a long list in the ending credits. The other guests had probably received corresponding advertisements as well, but Li Yu had not expected someone of his standing to land an endorsement too.

Li Yu did not care much about such things, but since he had accepted the ad, he would do his best to shoot it well.

Goat's clothing was aimed at young people, showcasing youthful energy and vitality. Their models were mostly handsome men and beautiful women. While pursuing excellent quality, they also kept up with trends. Though they could not compare to several established brands, they were still considered a rising star in the fashion industry.

Ruan Yun messaged him to tell him to work hard. If this advertisement turned out well, perhaps other brands would be willing to work with him too.

Li Yu replied, "Got it," turned off his phone, and lay back down.

He stared at the ceiling, his mind going somewhat blank.

Yet he could not help thinking about things—his colleagues at the Transmigration Bureau, the things he had seen and experienced in a certain mission world, some details from the variety show over the past few days, tomorrow's class reunion, and... Chi Yan.

He could not explain why Chi Yan came to mind. In truth, whenever this happened, he felt both agitated and calm inside. It was terribly contradictory.

But he simply could not stop himself from thinking about him, thinking only about Chi Yan as a person and nothing else. Even if there was anything else, perhaps he himself did not know.

What kind of person was Chi Yan?

Li Yu could not really say, because Chi Yan rarely confided in him. All he could see was Chi Yan on the surface. Instead, Chi Yan was always the one who listened whenever Li Yu needed to vent.

That was far too unfair, Li Yu thought.

Li Yu suddenly desperately wanted to know what Chi Yan was thinking and how Chi Yan saw him in his heart.

Could it be that, in Chi Yan's eyes, he was just the kind of younger neighbor brother who needed looking after?

Li Yu decided then and there that at their next dinner gathering, he would ask Chi Yan how he saw him.

The next day, Li Yu was still fully covered up when he went out. With a mask and baseball cap on, he was generally difficult to recognize.

But while half his face could be hidden, his figure could not. Li Yu had the kind of build that would make even a sack look good on him, let alone a hoodie paired with jeans.

Li Yu's hoodie was somewhat oversized, and his ripped jeans exposed a patch of snow-white skin on his long legs. With a mask covering his face, only those beautiful eyes showed, pure yet dazzling. A casual glance from him was enough to steal anyone's soul away.

He was like a rose blooming in the snow. What one could see at first glance was its brilliance, but only upon drawing near would one discover that its petals were covered in melted droplets of snow.

Though he wore the simplest outfit, several girls still came up to offer their contact information the moment he entered the bar. Naturally, there were men among them as well.

Li Yu disliked trouble. Noticing the occasional glances from those around him, he uneasily pulled his baseball cap lower.

Moving as though he were fleeing for his life, Li Yu finally pushed open the door to private room 202.

Everyone in the room looked toward the door. Only after Li Yu removed his mask did they recognize who he was.

"Oh my, who's here? Little Yu!"

"Holy shit, I was kind of skeptical when the class monitor said Little Yu was coming. I didn't expect him to really show up!"

"Long time no see, Little Yu. You've gotten even more handsome."

"So that's why there was such a commotion downstairs just now..."

"Hahaha, Little Yu is a big star now. He's even on a variety show with Liang Meichen and those other celebrities!"

"Really? Then I'm definitely going to watch it when I get home. We have to support our Little Yu."

Before Li Yu could even sit down, his classmates enthusiastically pulled him into conversation.

Everyone in Li Yu's class had treated him quite well. Back in high school, he was handsome, got good grades, and got along well with everyone in private. It was safe to say that he had been extremely popular.

"Then I'll thank you all in advance for your support," Li Yu said with a smile.

"I remember Little Yu could really hold his liquor, right? Come on, let's have a few drinks first. This is the bar's signature liquor! It's seriously strong."

The classmate beside him put an arm around Li Yu's shoulders, while another handed him a drink.

Li Yu's alcohol tolerance was indeed quite good. At the graduation party, most of the class had drunk themselves unconscious, yet Li Yu had not gotten drunk.

But Li Yu flushed easily when he drank. After just a few sips, his face would turn red, making him look as though he were already drunk.

"Sure. However much you drink today, I'll drink with you."

Li Yu did not hesitate. Taking the glass, he tipped back his head and drained it in one go.

Glass after glass went around, and the liquor was strong. Before long, they were drunk.

Li Yu held his glass and leaned against the sofa. His lips were moist, and his face was flushed beyond belief, yet his eyes remained clear.

Several girls kept sneaking glances in Li Yu's direction. The class monitor noticed and joked, "Little Yu's face really attracts people. Hey, do you all remember that thing from our second year?"

"What thing? The time some punks from another school took a liking to Li Yu, cornered him in an alley, and then Li Yu beat them so badly they were left scattered and defeated?"

Someone was not too drunk yet, and the moment the class monitor mentioned it, he remembered.