Medical and Martial God-Chapter 43: The Class Reunion Filled with the Smell of Money
When Qin Qing came out of the Zhulu Group building, she saw Ye Xiu’s sly grin and asked curiously, "What’s with that smile? Who are you planning to deal with?"
"Oh, it’s nothing. Just a mischievous student I’m planning on teaching a lesson to," Ye Xiu said with a laugh.
"A student?" Qin Qing was taken aback.
"Yeah, that’s right. I’ve become a teacher at Sheng He Medical College," Ye Xiu explained.
Qin Qing suddenly understood and breathed a silent sigh of relief. I thought he would never practice medicine again because of his hatred and what happened back then. It seems he hasn’t given up his dream of practicing medicine and saving people after all.
"By the way, you said you wanted me to go with you to a college reunion. What’s that about?" Ye Xiu asked, changing the subject. Since he had gone abroad, Qin Qing had become as cold as ice, which resulted in her not fitting in well with her classmates during high school, college, or graduate school. Logically, she shouldn’t have been invited to a reunion.
"It’s my college reunion. I don’t know why they invited me, but let’s go and see," Qin Qing said.
"If you take me with you, aren’t you afraid your classmates will give you a hard time?" Ye Xiu asked.
Qin Qing wrapped her arm around his, declaring boldly, "I want the whole world to know that Ye Xiu is my man."
Ye Xiu was speechless. Why does it feel like I’m the one who married into her family? A classic case of a strong woman and a weaker man!
"Let’s go. We’ll take a taxi," Qin Qing said.
"Why?" Ye Xiu asked. We have a car, so why take a taxi? Is she crazy?
"Most of my college classmates are from the working class. If we show up to the reunion in a luxury car, it would put pressure on them. I don’t want to create any distance between us," Qin Qing explained.
Ye Xiu understood. However, there was something he didn’t tell her. Although friendships from school were innocent, those old ties were no longer so pure after being battered by society for a few years. Staying on the same social level as your classmates didn’t necessarily bring you closer; most people preferred to latch onto the powerful. If Qin Qing drove up in a luxury car and told everyone she was the chairwoman of the Zhulu Group, she would become the center of the reunion. Her classmates would respect and admire her even more. Many might even take the opportunity to cozy up to her, hoping for closer ties in the future.
But Ye Xiu kept these thoughts to himself. He didn’t want Qin Qing to become a cynical, worldly person.
***
The reunion was at the Shabby Tavern, a mid-range restaurant. It was the kind of place working-class people felt was too much of a splurge, while the wealthy wouldn’t deign to visit.
At that moment, a group of more than a dozen young men and women were gathered by the parking lot near the entrance, chatting and laughing—they were Qin Qing’s former classmates.
The reason they lingered outside instead of going into the tavern was mainly to see what kind of cars everyone was driving. Generally, the car a person drove was a good indicator of how well they were doing.
"Li Song, you’re driving an Audi A3! Seems like you’ve made a pretty penny since graduation," a girl said, pointing at the sparkling clean car.
The young man called Li Song waved his hand humbly. "What money? It’s just a beat-up A3, nothing more than a ride to get around in." In reality, he had rented even this Audi A3.
"Don’t be so modest! That looks like the top-spec A3, doesn’t it? That’s over two hundred thousand! I’d have to save for more than two years without eating or drinking to afford that." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
"It just goes to show how much things can change after graduation. Li Song might not have been a great student, but it looks like he’s earning more than us now."
"Li Song, you have to treat me to a nice meal sometime! We were the closest back in school, remember?"
Listening to his classmates’ flattery, Li Song’s vanity was greatly satisfied. He almost started to believe he really was doing well for himself.
Just then, a Range Rover pulled up next to the Audi A3, and a man and a woman stepped out.
"Fan Jiajia?"
The classmates recognized the woman at a glance, but not the man with her.
Li Song’s expression immediately became constipated. He had thought renting an Audi A3 would be enough to impress all his classmates. He never expected Fan Jiajia to show up in a Range Rover. It was a slap in the face.
"Why hasn’t everyone gone in yet?" Fan Jiajia asked. She carried herself like a lady of high society, her face a mask of arrogance, yet she feigned a down-to-earth demeanor.
"We’re waiting for everyone to arrive so we can go in together," Li Song said.
"I see..." Fan Jiajia replied, not seeming to mind; she also wanted to see what cars the others had driven.
"Jiajia, aren’t you going to introduce us to this handsome guy?" a girl asked with a smile.
Instantly, all eyes turned to the young man beside Fan Jiajia.
"This is my boyfriend, Li Shaofan."
Fan Jiajia introduced him with an air of nonchalance, but her eyes were brimming with pride, as if Li Shaofan were superior to all her classmates combined.
"Wow, Jiajia, you’re so lucky! You found such a handsome and wealthy boyfriend. I’m so envious!"
"A handsome guy driving a Range Rover... life is so unfair."
"Jiajia, is that an LV bag? Your boyfriend really spoils you! When will I ever get to carry a bag that nice?"
The classmates swarmed around Fan Jiajia, chattering away with praise and envy. Even Li Song sidled over to curry favor. Since Fan Jiajia had found such a rich boyfriend, everyone naturally assumed that getting on her good side meant securing a connection to Li Shaofan.
Bathed in flattery, Fan Jiajia was on top of the world, feeling very much like the wife of a tycoon.
Li Shaofan, meanwhile, hadn’t said a single word. He looked down on Fan Jiajia’s poor-as-dirt classmates, and the female students were all quite homely, so he had no desire to open his mouth. However, he did find their compliments about his looks rather gratifying.
"Who else hasn’t arrived?" Fan Jiajia asked.
"Only Qin Qing is left," Li Song replied. "We’ve contacted all our classmates in Jin Ye City. There are fifteen of us in total."
"Qin Qing?"
At the mention of her name, Fan Jiajia’s face fell. "Why did you invite her?" she said, annoyed. "She’s an ice block. You could kick her three times and not even get a squeak out of her. Having her here is pointless; she has no presence at all."
The classmates chuckled internally.
Everyone knew about the rivalry between Fan Jiajia and Qin Qing from their college days. Of course, it was mostly Fan Jiajia competing with Qin Qing; Qin Qing had never paid her any mind.
Qin Qing was prettier, had a better figure, possessed a more elegant temperament, and got better grades than Fan Jiajia. Moreover, Qin Qing had been named one of the campus beauties and had countless admirers. Fan Jiajia, on the other hand, had looks and a figure that could only be considered decent. She had spent her entire college life like a hunter, preying on rich heirs.
Fan Jiajia’s hatred for Qin Qing was born from jealousy.
"Come on, we’re all classmates. It’s nice for everyone to get together!" Li Song said with a grin. "Of course, Jiajia, you’re doing so well for yourself now, and you’ve found such a rich boyfriend. Qin Qing’s fortunes probably haven’t been as good as yours. When she arrives, you can take the opportunity to properly humiliate her."
