Super Soldier in the City-Chapter 1949 - 2012: Reunion

"Hehe, it’s fine, he’s our classmate too. We shouldn’t overthink things at a class reunion!" Li Yifei chuckled as he spoke.

Wen Dagang, somewhat embarrassed, rubbed his hands and explained, "Hey, I actually planned to invite you today, but it just so happened that he was available. I’ve been trying to get in touch with him for days, but he kept saying he had dinner plans. Then just now, I called him, and he said he was free this evening, so I thought, why not just include him since we’re all classmates? His name is Meng Qingyou, he’s two years younger than us. Our families are from the same area, so we’ve always been in touch."

Li Yifei nodded and said, "He’s a classmate too, and it’s not easy to run into someone from the same school."

"Exactly, exactly, Old Meng is doing quite well now. Old Li, it wouldn’t hurt to get to know him. Life in a big city isn’t easy. For the tiniest matter, you have to ask for favors; if you don’t, you can’t get things done. This time, we’ll have to rely on Old Meng. If he can’t do it, then there’s nothing I can do about my daughter’s school." Wen Dagang finished speaking with a helpless smile.

Li Yifei didn’t laugh at him. Every word Wen Dagang said was true, and there was nothing to ridicule. Ordinary people survive like this, especially in the city. If you’re not in a certain circle, you have to rely on gifts and favors to get things done. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

From Li Yifei’s perspective, Wen Dagang’s brow was furrowed. This man in his thirties looked like he was over forty, carrying an air of weariness. Li Yifei suddenly got lost in thought. If he hadn’t had such an encounter, would he, after returning from the army, also be like Wen Dagang—married with children, spending a lifetime hustling...

Okay, now aren’t I always hustling too, never getting a break? Li Yifei mocked himself internally, and then thought, each person has their own life and different paths. No one can stop moving forward. It’s a train that can only go forward, not backward, and not even stop. It’s rumbling along, and everyone is ultimately heading toward death; the only difference is in the scenery along the way.

Tapping the ash off his cigarette, Li Yifei laughed at himself, thinking about how he’d suddenly started contemplating life.

Wen Dagang was a bit anxious. Today was arranged in advance. If Meng Qingyou hadn’t agreed to come, he wouldn’t have needed to wait, and he brought Li Yifei along to wait too, which made him feel very apologetic. After waiting for ten minutes, Meng Qingyou hadn’t arrived yet, and Wen Dagang had already smoked three cigarettes, which were for show, costing sixty per box, much more expensive than his usual four yuan and fifty cents cigarettes. Throwing the cigarette butt away, Wen Dagang continuously apologized to Li Yifei.

"Dagang, don’t say that. I’m not hungry, and there’s nothing wrong with waiting."

"Ah, I messed up. Tomorrow, come to my house. I’ll have your sister-in-law make a table of dishes, and we’ll have a proper drink. For today, please bear with it."

"Look at you, if you keep saying that, I’ll leave! It’s no big deal. There are a lot of cars at this time, and I was stuck in traffic for a long time myself." Li Yifei patted Wen Dagang’s shoulder, trying to comfort him.

Only then did Wen Dagang stop bringing it up. He handed another cigarette to Li Yifei, then anxiously looked at both ends of the road, not sure which direction Meng Qingyou would come from.

After waiting for about half an hour, a black Audi A6 finally drove over, flashing its high beams from a distance and cutting across the double yellow lines to make a turn. It parked directly in front of the barbecue place, blocking the entrance. The license plate was ordinary, but there were several permits stuck on the windshield, indicating its special nature at least in Wen Dagang’s eyes. He even felt a bit envious, while Li Yifei saw it as just a car worth a few hundred thousand, nothing special, certainly nothing to flaunt about.

The driver was Meng Qingyou, who had recently been promoted from deputy section chief to section chief. It may seem like a small step, but it was a significant jump. At his age, becoming a section chief in an influential department at thirty was no easy feat. As the deputy director of the District Committee Office of Mile City’s new development zone, Meng Qingyou had every reason to be proud. After his promotion, a big boss from the development zone came running over offering him an Audi A6, saying he could borrow it indefinitely. Whenever Meng Qingyou got tired of it, he could return the car. If not, he could keep driving it until it ran hundreds of thousands of kilometers.

In short, having power is great. You get all sorts of things without spending a dime. At this moment, Meng Qingyou was in high spirits, feeling that both his career and car wheels were spinning rapidly.

He had already had a drink earlier; when he got stopped by traffic police, he just revealed his identity, and since the police in the development zone couldn’t hassle him, they let him through immediately. This only reinforced the benefits of power for Meng Qingyou.

After getting out of the car, Meng Qingyou deliberately pressed the key fob. Only after hearing the ’beep beep’ sound did he turn around and see Wen Dagang with an unfamiliar man. He chuckled, exhaling a whiff of alcohol, and then took a few steps forward, saying, "Dagang, sorry I’m late. Just as I was leaving, a leader called me over to give me some instructions, so I couldn’t even call you."

"It’s fine, it’s fine!" Wen Dagang quickly waved his hand, noticing the smell of alcohol on Meng. Despite his discomfort, he had to bear it for the sake of his daughter’s matter. Turning around, he introduced Li Yifei, saying, "Qingyou, this is Li Yifei, a classmate from our elementary school, same year as me. Old Li, this is Qingyou, he’s from the District Committee’s office in this newly developed area."

Meng Qingyou extended his hand in a broad gesture, saying, "Now I’ve been promoted to deputy director, hehe, just got lucky."

Wen Dagang immediately showed a respectful expression, saying, "Promoted again? I remember you just got a promotion a couple of years ago."

"That just proves that Old Meng is capable," Li Yifei chimed in from the side.

Wen Dagang quickly added, "Yes, yes, Qingyou is capable and has the leader’s recognition!"

Only then did Meng Qingyou smile proudly. Otherwise, after Wen Dagang’s first remark, he was starting to feel a bit displeased.

You can’t blame Wen Dagang since he tends to speak bluntly. Earlier, he was just surprised and impressed, but what he said didn’t quite sound good.

"Qingyou, Yifei, we’ve been classmates from the same school for so many years and this is our first gathering. Let’s head inside and order some dishes. Tonight, we shouldn’t leave until we’re drunk," Wen Dagang suggested.

Meng Qingyou was the first to stride inside without any politeness. Li Yifei chuckled lightly and didn’t compete with him. As the deputy director of the District Committee’s Office, he was definitely not a lower-level cadre. After all, this was a newly developed district that the city regarded highly, even the District Committee Secretary was elevated to the standing committee, showing how popular the new development area was. Whoever could become the District Committee Secretary here must be a favored figure in the city, and perhaps the deputy director of the District Committee Office was likely just one of their men.

Speaking of this Meng Qingyou, he did look quite good—gentle, pleased with himself, and appeared quite young. However, this car doesn’t quite match his rank.

Upon entering the private room, Meng Qingyou unhesitatingly sat at the main seat, while Li Yifei took the seat near the door. Wen Dagang tried to get him to sit next to Meng Qingyou, but Li Yifei refused and told him to sit there instead.

The menu was brought over. Wen Dagang directly handed it to Meng Qingyou to order the dishes. Meng Qingyou didn’t even pretend to be courteous and just accepted the menu, ordering six or seven dishes. After ordering, he suddenly realized and looked at Li Yifei and the other two, asking, "Anything else you two like to eat?"

"No, that’s it," Li Yifei shook his head. Wen Dagang, with a smile on his face, said, "Old Li, don’t be shy, we’re all one of us here, order anything you want to eat."

"Haha, that’s enough. There are only three of us, these dishes are sufficient," Li Yifei said.

"Alright then, let me see what else to add. The dishes here are good, otherwise I wouldn’t have chosen this place," Wen Dagang said, adding two more dishes while Li Yifei couldn’t stop him.

Once the dishes were ordered, Wen Dagang just wanted to start a conversation when Meng Qingyou’s phone rang. He took out a Samsung phone from his bag, the luxurious edition, very eye-catching. After glancing at the number, Meng Qingyou picked it up and said, "Hello, baby, what’s up?"

A woman’s coy voice came from the phone, asking coquettishly what he was doing. Meng Qingyou said, "I’m out eating with friends." The woman then said, didn’t you promise to come over tonight? Why are you out eating, I’ve already showered and been waiting for you for an hour.

Meng Qingyou glanced at Li Yifei and the two of them, then said, "Having dinner with old classmates, a last-minute decision. Be good and wait, I’ll come right after dinner."

"Honey, you promised not to go home tonight, but to come to me. I don’t care, I’m going to the balcony to wait for you now. Whenever you come, you can carry me inside."

"You’re... not being very obedient. It’s so chilly at night, better get back into your blankets."

"No, I want to catch a cold so that you can’t help but care for me every day."

Meng Qingyou frowned, without hiding anything from Li Yifei and the others, said, "Be good, if you wait for me in the blankets, I’ll give you the latest Apple phone."

"I’m not with you for the money, I want you!"

"Then tell me what to do."

"I want you to stay at my place again tomorrow, not go home to your wife."

Upon hearing this, Li Yifei couldn’t help but frown. So this guy is keeping a mistress outside. Although there are many like him nowadays, a deputy director daring to flaunt like this!

"Fine, I’ll be with you both today and tomorrow!" Meng Qingyou said.

"Mwah, so sweet, hubby, drink less wine, don’t drink so much with everyone. I’m wearing sexy lingerie tonight, guarantee you won’t be able to resist when you arrive."

A mischievous smile appeared on Meng Qingyou’s face, and he said, "You just wait!"

"I’ll be waiting, tonight I’m going to suck you dry!" After that, the woman hung up, and Meng Qingyou sent another message before putting the phone back in the bag.

Wen Dagang only knew a woman called, unaware of what was said. Li Yifei, however, heard everything clearly. Wen Dagang then said, "Is that your wife asking you to go home?"

Meng Qingyou chuckled and said, "Just a woman."

"Oh!" Even Wen Dagang, who didn’t understand at first, now got it. He nodded vigorously and said, "Still, Meng Qingyou, you live a leisurely life. Haha, sitting in the office every day, drinking tea, with plenty of beauties throwing themselves at you."