Class Reunion

Two hours flew by.

A flashy red Porsche 911 pulled up outside the police station.

Su Bai waved in the direction of the approaching Porsche.

Before long, the Porsche stopped at the curb.

Shen Fei, dressed in a black tailored suit, sauntered out of the car. He took off his sunglasses and hooked them into his shirt pocket, then stared at Su Bai's pink dress for a long moment. Clicking his tongue, he said, "Fourth Bro, we shared a dorm for four years. How the hell did I never notice you had this kind of special fetish? You really kept it hidden!"

Su Bai rolled his eyes. "Where are the clothes I asked you to bring me?"

Amused, Shen Fei walked a few circles around Su Bai and said, unable to hold back a laugh, "All right, I won't ask what you did. Right now, I just want to know who gave you that outfit. Gotta say, they've got a good eye. Look at those two big white rabbit ears on your chest. Damn, they're practically bursting out! Come on, let me see. An A or a B? Don't tell me it's a C?"

As he spoke, Shen Fei reached out to touch him.

Su Bai kicked Shen Fei in the ass. "C your ass. Let's find somewhere to eat first. I'll tell you after I've had my fill."

At six that evening, Welcome Grand Hotel.

VIP Room 1.

Su Bai put down his chopsticks and looked at the leftovers covering the table. He let out a contented belch and lifted his chin toward Shen Fei across from him. "Second Bro, your family's chef has gotten better. Last time we came here to get together... look at my memory. When was the last time we had a meal together here?"

Shen Fei tilted his head and thought for a moment, then slapped the table.

"Ah, I remember! It was seven months ago, on your eighteenth birthday. Didn't First Bro say he was going to find the best restaurant in all of Suzhou to celebrate? He searched forever and ended up finding my family's restaurant. You, me, First Bro and Third Bro-we were the only four who came. You forgot?"

It dawned on Su Bai.

"Right, right, right. I remember when we first walked in, all those waiters bowed to us and called out 'young master.' We thought it was the hotel's welcoming ritual, but later we found out you were actually the son of Shen Congwen, the richest man in Suzhou. A bona fide super-rich second-generation heir."

Nostalgia in his eyes, Shen Fei picked up where he left off.

"After we ate that time, we all thought the food wasn't quite to our taste. So the next day, I told my dad. He fired the head chef in charge of the dishes on the spot and hired a new one. Apparently... he personally brought him over from Australia."

"Speaking of your dad," Su Bai said casually, picking up a toothpick and cleaning his teeth, "didn't he say he was sending you abroad to study economics and financial management or something? Now that you've finished the college entrance exam, when are you planning to go?"

Shen Fei was momentarily taken aback, but quickly recovered. "I'll probably have to wait until the exam results come out, then follow my dad's arrangements. By the way, why do you ask?"

Su Bai lowered his head, a barely perceptible glint of coldness flashing in his eyes. He looked up at Shen Fei. "Speaking of the exam, it pisses me off. Right around those few days, I ran into a damn supernatural incident and ended up joining the Grave Keepers through a twist of fate. I figured I could just sponge off them and wait to die, but I never expected to be dragged kicking and screaming into the Hunter Guild's business. I nearly got killed several times. Luckily... I've got their lifeline in my hands, so they don't dare touch me for now."

Shen Fei scratched his head, looking utterly bewildered. "What Grave Keepers? What Hunter Guild? What the hell are you talking about? How come I didn't understand a word?"

Su Bai let out a long sigh. "Forget it. There's no point telling you about it. All you need to know is that I'm in a bit of trouble right now, but it'll be resolved soon. And... I can get a lot of tangible benefits out of it."

Shen Fei frowned. "Is that why you ended up at the station?"

"More or less."

Su Bai nodded and was about to drink some tea to moisten his throat when he saw Shen Fei spring to his feet.

Shen Fei slammed the table and raised his voice. "Fourth Bro, I don't care what you're keeping to yourself, but if you need money, tell me. Your brother here wouldn't bat an eye at handing over a million or so. No matter what, you absolutely must not do anything illegal or criminal. Otherwise, I'll look down on you for the rest of my life!"

Su Bai gave Shen Fei a long look, then nodded with a show of ease. "All right, all right, I'll listen to you. Nothing illegal or criminal, okay? It's just a little thing. Look how worked up you are."

After Shen Fei sat down, he was clearly still angry. "It's really a little thing?"

"Sesame-seed sized!" Su Bai held up his pinky to show him, then changed the subject. "Second Bro, you're usually so casual. How come you suddenly thought to wear a suit today?"

Shen Fei glanced at Su Bai and said unhurriedly,

"Now that the college entrance exam's over, everyone's relaxed, so we thought we'd have a class reunion, drink a little, dance a little, that sort of thing. The class monitor's been contacting everyone in the group chat for the past few days. You and Wu Hang were the only ones who didn't respond. Everyone else agreed.

"The reunion's at eight tonight, at Fanghua Holiday Hotel. You know, that, that... uh, that villa in the suburbs that often holds masquerade balls. It belongs to Lin Xue's family.

"Man, I was wondering why I couldn't get hold of you. Turns out you were at the station having tea. If First Bro finds out, he'll laugh you to death. He applied to Tianjing Police Academy."

At the mention of Lin Xue's name, Su Bai suddenly frowned, then slowly relaxed his brow. Without betraying his feelings, he said, "The class reunion... maybe I won't go?"

Shen Fei raised an eyebrow and teased, "You like her, but you don't dare see her? I'll tell you now, if you don't go this time, you might never get another chance to see her. Know what school she applied to? Harvard Institute of Technology!"

Su Bai took a sip of tea. "Harvard Institute of Technology only admits a dozen or so students from Great Xia each year. Her grades are good, but she probably won't get in."

"She won't," Shen Fei said with a shrug. "But her family has money."

While Su Bai was silent and thinking, Shen Fei leaned closer and added, "Just like mine."

At 8:10 that evening, Fanghua Holiday Hotel.

The deep, pitch-black night stood in stark contrast to the brilliantly lit villa.

"Gentlemen, please show us your invitation."

At the entrance to the villa.

Two men in black suits and sunglasses stopped Shen Fei and Su Bai.

Su Bai frowned and turned to Shen Fei, asking quietly, "Didn't you say this was a class reunion? Why do we need an invitation? And where did they hire these two big, burly guys? Sunglasses, suits, looking fierce as demons-do they think they're shooting a movie? A gangster flick?"

"Listen to yourself. A gangster flick, really?" Shen Fei felt around his person for a moment, then took out a red invitation and handed it to the two men in suits. "These two are Lin Xue's family's bodyguards. Didn't I tell you? This hotel belongs to her family. Since they chose to hold the reunion here, of course they're following her family's rules."

Su Bai stared. "No, something doesn't feel right. Look at those bulges at their waists. It looks like they've got guns tucked in there... holy shit, they don't just look like guns. They fucking are guns! Second Bro, tell me honestly, what does Lin Xue's family actually do?"

"I'm not too sure what her family does," Shen Fei said after thinking for a moment.

"But I heard Lin Xue's father seems to have a lot of influence in both the black and white sides of Suzhou. Apparently-and this is just what I heard-besides the resort hotel business, her family also does a lot of domestic and international trade. Seven years ago, when Lin Xue came to Suzhou for school, her father took over a building in the city center and set up the head office there. The company was called... what was it called again?"

Su Bai swallowed, his right eyelid twitching violently.

After checking the invitation and confirming everything was in order, one of the men in suits bowed slightly to them and said slowly, "Welcome to... Heavenly River International!"

Shen Fei slapped his forehead. "Right, right, right! It's called Heavenly River International!"

Su Bai gave two dry laughs, his face twitching.

Good. Oh, good. This is just great.

I just finished smashing up their place, and now I've crawled right into their den.