Don't Throw My Courtesy Back in My Face

Had anyone else ever felt this way?

They were clearly sleepy at night, yet couldn't bear to go to bed.

That was exactly how Xiao Hao felt now.

He knew why.

In the past, his daytime hours had barely belonged to him. Only at night did he feel his time was entirely his own.

So he couldn't bear to sleep at night, as though staying up a little longer would give him more time to himself.

His phone chimed with a group notification. Lying in bed, Xiao Hao read the messages in his middle school class chat, his brow creasing slightly.

The gist was that they were having a class reunion tomorrow. A rich kid was paying and handing out gifts, and he hoped everyone would do him the courtesy of coming.

The rich kid's name was Jin Chuanfu, and pretty much everyone in the class would do him that courtesy.

Because it paid.

Doing him that courtesy was worth several months' wages for most people.

Those short on money would come for the gifts, even if they had to skip work because they couldn't get leave. And how could the wealthy pass up a chance to show off in front of their old classmates?

Under this financial onslaught, almost everyone in the class agreed to come. Jin Chuanfu even tagged Xiao Hao specifically, saying he was the only one left.

Fine, I'll go. Who's scared of whom?

Xiao Hao sent a message: "Got it. No need for a gift."

The female classmates were rather pleased to see his reply. As for the guys...

Plenty were gritting their teeth in resentment.

They were all accepting gifts, but Xiao Hao wasn't. Didn't that make him look above it all?

They'd never been able to measure up to him in school. After finally waiting long enough to see him drop out, they'd wanted to watch this wage worker struggle at the bottom of society. Yet one remark about refusing gifts immediately gave him the air of someone whose spirit remained unbroken despite his hardships!

So what if he was poor?

At least he had a backbone!

Although he'd been bullied in middle school and beaten up a few times, he'd also used his brains to toy with those dumbasses. To this day, they still didn't know.

Besides, in the end, Xiao Hao had gotten into a top high school, while those thugs had quit studying altogether. After entering the workforce, they'd been beaten into submission like dogs, ordered around and insulted every day. That counted as getting what they deserved.

Now that they were meeting again, it was hard to say who would have more to be embarrassed about.

Putting the reunion aside, Xiao Hao looked at the panel floating in the air.

[The streamer is incredible! He even cracked the most twisted kind of monster in the Nightmare Game!]

[Sure, there was some luck involved in the monster Ghost Shadow took the form of, but steering things into a logical contradiction was only possible because the streamer planned every move right from the start!]

[He feigned weakness, subtly switching his role from "protector" to "protected." The monster Ghost Shadow became initially asked him for help, but by the end, it had to help him for the logic to remain airtight and everything to follow naturally...]

[At first, I thought the streamer had chickened out. Turns out I was the clown all along.]

[He found the Nightmare Game monster's weakness that quickly. Just how high is this streemer's IQ?!]

[I saw Qing Feng cross the streamer off his list of suspected players in his livestream. I'm dying, hahaha...]

[You guys haven't heard, have you? Qing Feng has already become the Dragon Kingdom's top special forces soldier.]

[I wonder what his face will look like when he learns the truth-that Xiao Hao could kill him in a single move.]

[I can't wait to see Qing Feng's dumbfounded face!]

[+1]

[+2]

Xiao Hao was very satisfied to learn that his name had been crossed off.

Sure enough, reading the live comments was a pleasure. A look in the morning kept you healthy; a look at night helped you sleep soundly.

As he turned out the light, Xiao Hao didn't forget to say, "Good night."

[Good night!]

[Good night, my cheeky little brother.]

[What do you mean, yours? He's clearly mine!]

And there they went, arguing again.

In the darkness of the night, no one saw the hint of a smile at the corners of Xiao Hao's eyes.

Jin Chuanfu had booked an entire five-star hotel. There were direction signs at the entrance, a welcome desk for checking in, banners and flowers in the lobby, and an enormous display screen in the most prominent spot inside, along with plenty of elegant tables and chairs, streamers, balloons, snacks, drinks, and more.

Xiao Hao had barely reached the entrance when a security guard stopped him.

He glanced down at his clothes. Was it because the other classmates attending the party were dressed more formally, while he was wearing casual clothes?

They'd made a simple class reunion this extravagant.

Looking at the gold color scheme and the expensive yet tacky decor, Xiao Hao was speechless.

The guard looked at Xiao Hao standing by the entrance and said helplessly, "There really isn't anyone named 'Xiao Hao' on the guest list. I really can't let you in."

Xiao Hao blinked, finally realizing why the guard had stopped him.

It wasn't some case of a snob looking down on him. The guard simply hadn't found his invitation details.

Every other classmate was on the list, but not him?

Meanwhile, Jin Chuanfu smiled at everyone and said, "Why isn't Xiao Hao here yet? Don't tell me he's standing us up?"

A girl immediately objected. "Xiao Hao always keeps his word. There must be a reason."

One of the guys said sourly, "Even if something's keeping him from arriving on time, he could at least let us know, couldn't he?"

The girl who'd spoken didn't know how to respond, and another guy chimed in, "Xiao Hao sure thinks he's a big shot, making all of us wait for him."

"Maybe he's doing so badly that he's too embarrassed to come."

"And he was saying in the group chat that he didn't want a gift. Talk about suffering just to save face."

As the remarks grew nastier, one of the girls couldn't take it anymore and privately messaged Xiao Hao to ask what was going on.

After learning the reason, she frowned and said, "He's been here for ages. What's the meaning of leaving him off the guest list and stopping him at the door?"

"Why are you so eager to defend him? Got a thing for that pretty boy?"

Just as an argument was about to break out, Jin Chuanfu hurriedly said, "All right, all right. It was my mistake. Let's all go welcome him together. Will that do?"

Even the slowest person could tell something was off.

Jin Chuanfu clearly had no quarrel with Xiao Hao, yet he seemed to be targeting him.

Just as Xiao Hao was about to leave, Jin Chuanfu finally led the classmates to the lobby entrance and said smugly, "Sorry, sorry. I thought you weren't coming, so I didn't add your name. Since you're here, come on in."

His condescending tone, as though he were handing out charity, secretly delighted the male classmates.

There was no rule saying a top student couldn't be sarcastic.

Xiao Hao wasn't about to indulge this so-called rich kid, either. He picked up his phone and read out the message Jin Chuanfu had sent the night before in a mocking voice.

"Oh my, handsome Xiao Hao~. Surely you won't turn me down? May I have the honor of inviting you to the reunion?"

Dropping the mocking tone, Xiao Hao returned to his normal voice. "I gave you that honor. I'd appreciate it if you didn't throw my courtesy back in my face."

Xiao Hao's ability to infuriate people was max-level, too. Just a few sentences made Jin Chuanfu's face darken.

To everyone else, there seemed to be no conflict between them. In reality, however, the seeds had been sown right from the start.

Back in middle school, the girls had been relatively innocent. Money wasn't the only thing they considered when deciding whom they liked, which had left Jin Chuanfu out in the cold.

Xiao Hao had seen through his petty jealousy at a glance. Why would someone born with a silver spoon bother to control his emotions or expression?

If this guy hadn't come from such a powerful family, Xiao Hao would have toyed with him until he was finished!

Unfortunately, although Xiao Hao had been smart in middle school, he hadn't had enough life experience, nor had he been ruthless enough.

He hadn't understood that he should either stay far away and avoid provoking someone, or, if he did provoke them, eliminate the threat completely.

That had also planted the seeds of trouble for Xiao Hao in high school. He had a nagging suspicion that Jin Chuanfu had something to do with the time he'd been forced to drop out.