<h4>Chapter Ch22.1 - A Momentous Scene</h4>


    Huo YeRui’s birthday party was being held in a high-end buffet restaurant in this mall. He had reserved half the restaurant all in one go. Although such actions weren’t enough tobel him as anything more than a small-time nouveau riche, it was certainly impressive enough to any local high school student. Many ssmates that weren’t invited could only eat cake at home while they nursed their jealousy.


    However, even the people invited were surprised when they arrived at the restaurant. Huo YeRui, who usually didn’t show the mountain and didn’t reveal the water, wasn’t just someone liberal with their money, but also someone who had profound social connections. Apart from No. 12 students, there were also many celebrities from other schools in the restaurant.


    These influential men and women were so famous, that even a deaf student would’ve known their names.


    Some of these names included but were not limited to: Luo RunWei and You NiNi of No. 9 High School, two students who were in their second year of high school. They were famous for their good looks and for winning the National Programming Award, defeating several college students in thepetition. Also present was Ke MuZi, a second-generation who had stayed in high school until 19 and was famous for driving a sports car to school.


    “Huo YeRui knows so many people.” Xu Yao, an otaku whose circle of friends stopped at his school’s top bookworm, was a bit tongue-tied. Whispering, he said: “I heard that the son of the director of the Municipal Education Bureau is also in here somewhere.”


    Looking around, Lin Qian thought back to hisst life. At that time, he and Xu Yao had already been punished for fighting and became outcasts in their ss. They hadn’t been invited to any sort of event, let alone this fancy birthday party. They only heard how grand the asion had been afterward. But now, he was witnessing things firsthand, and could now see what kind of people Huo YeRui had invited.


    Like Xu Yao, these famous figures were still young and ignorant. But Lin Qian knew that in the future, more than a decadeter, most of these people be very sessful in their careers, and a few even became top yers in their respective industries.


    For example, Ke MuZi of No. 1 High School was the first to triumph by starting his own sessful business. Shortly before Lin Qian and Zheng PingQing were reborn, his broadcastpany even got listed on the NASDAQ.


    Huo YeRui’s future in hisst life was also closely rted to these people.


    Lin Qian carefully recalled the Huo YeRui in hisst life. After getting into Capital University, his abilities didn’t make him stand out. At least, Lin Qian never heard anything worthy of praise through the grapevine. However, when looking at the pure facts, Huo YeRui was indeed the one that became the most sessful in their ss. The main reason for this lied in his hugework of people.


    Huo YeRui’s abilities were average, but he knew how to take advantage of his resources. Mentioning one famous person to another, he continuously grew his circle of friends. In the end, he lived in a vi and drove a sports car. Apparently, his wife was a famous goddess in his circle.


    Lin Qian had been very annoyed with Huo YeRui, so when he left high school, he had vigorously avoided any news rted to him. But Huo YeRui had been very proactive when it came to his fellow ssmates. He would always be an organizer in things like ss reunions and meetups. When he got married, he also liked inviting them to vacations. In hisst life, many of his ssmates would often talk about Huo YeRui, so in the end, even Lin Qian’s circle of friends had Huo YeRui’s wedding pictures on their phones.


    Reminiscing all this, Lin Qian suddenly felt that Huo YeRui’s future wife was somewhat familiar, as if he had seen her somewhere before. But he distinctly remembers not having such thoughts before his rebirth.


    Knowing something but not remembering what it was, made Lin Qian very ufortable.


    As he tried to recall long-forgotten faces, Xu Yao turned him around and while pretending to be nonchnt, said in an obviously excited whisper: “There, Ah Qian. A beautiful woman over there has been looking at you for quite a while now.”


    The forcefully turned Lin Qian frowned as his thoughts scattered. Following the direction of Xu Yao’s stare, sure enough, a girl was looking at him. When the girl realized that he was looking back, she quickly turned her gaze away.


    Lin Qian: “....” Isn’t that the girl who stopped Zheng PingQing this afternoon and demanded an exnation from him? It seems that a few students of No. 9 were attending too.


    Lin Qian figured it was because of this afternoon that she had been looking at him so intently. He didn’t see You NiNi’s mouth curving up.


    Xu Yao began to trumpet the gossip he had hoarded many days before. “Wow, I heard that girl is the goddess of No. 9. Along with their school flower Luo RunWei, they’re nicknamed the ‘Double Nine Beauties.’ Ah Qian, it looks like your peach blossom days have arrived.....


    By then, Lin Qian had already looked away. But when he heard the moniker ‘goddess,’ his heart suddenly jumped and he moved his eyes back towards the girl, just in time for his gaze to collide with You NiNi’s, who had secretly nced at him again.


    You NiNi didn’t expect for Lin Qian to pay any attention to her. But unexpectedly, their eyes met twice. She couldn’t help but give him a shy smile.


    Seeing this, Xu Yao became even more excited. With a pinch at Lin Qian’s arm, he said: “Ah Qian, she smiled at you!”


    Lin Qian ignored him, causing Xu Yao to look at him in disbelief. But he saw that Lin Qian was busy staring at You NiNi.


    Xu Yao’s heart was both sad andforted. One of their family’s piglets is finally reaching the cabbage patch, finally walking the path of love, and with a goddess to the boot. It’s a little disappointing, but since the goddess gave them a swoon-worthy smile, Xu Yao was incapable of speaking against it.


    Xu Yao naturally couldn’t imagine that Lin Qian wasn’t stunned silly by the goddess’ smile, but was instead overturned by thunder.


    Because he finally remembered the heroine in Huo YeRui’s wedding photos that had been widely circted through various means. The woman was named You NiNi, and she was currently right in front of him.


    Lin Qian started to sweat. During the incident with Zheng PingQing this afternoon, she looked like a girl with good eyes (despite the temper). How did she end up marrying a person like Huo YeRui?


    Her aesthetics simply jumped off a cliff, ah!


    Doubting You NiNi’s future eyes, Lin Qian couldn’t help but look at her eyes now, feeling much regret on her behalf.


    s, while a beauty really was beautiful, the blind really are blind.


    After that farce with Zheng PingQing this afternoon, You NiNi thought that she would never have another chance with Lin Qian. In no way did she ever expect to see him again at this party. And even better, the other party had been sneaking nces towards her too!


    You NiNi was a little excited and couldn’t help but tell Luo RunWei: “Good thing we attended this party.”


    Luo RunWei, who was still upset with Zheng PingQing, didn’t bother looking at her friend. “It’s not good at all. That Huo YeRui really baffles me. I’m not familiar with him, why would he invite us.”


    You NiNi: “....weren’t you looking forward to this party?”


    Luo RunWei snorted but didn’t continue.


    She had expected to be invited because even Gou XinDou and Zheng PingQing were invited. But after today’s events, Zheng PingQing had be an irritating existence.


    You NiNi, who waspletely immersed in her own world, was clueless regarding Luo RunWei’s irritation. She tilted her head, and shyly asked: “Hey, tell me, should I go over and say hi to that boy?”


    Luo RunWei: “....” Hey, are you some kind of stic friend? Zheng PingQing made her lose face just hours before, and now you want to make friends with Zheng PingQing’s buddy?


    Luo RunWei unkindly replied: “Be careful that the person doesn’t say ‘who are you?’”


    You NiNi grimaced, but her heart remained dismissive of the warning. After all, Zheng PingQing secretly liking Luo RunWei were just rumors. But just now, that boy secretly peeked at her five, six, seven times just now.


    You NiNi’s heart was thumping “going, not going, going, not going...” As she plucked the imaginary petals, she saw the protagonist of this party, Huo YeRui, walking up to them. With a sincere smile, he said: “ssmate Luo and ssmate You, I’m so d both of you coulde to my birthday party.”


    Luo RunWei gave him a perfunctorily fake smile: “Happy birthday, ssmate Huo.”


    You NiNi looked a little more polite and said: “Happy birthday.”


    Luo RunWei then coldly said: “I didn’t expect ssmate Huo to invite us.”


    Huo YeRui didn’t directly answer Luo RunWei, but instead looked towards You NiNi, his eyes tender: “ssmate You might not remember, but we used to attend the same cram school.”


    You NiNi was absentminded as she casually replied: “Ah, I remember.” She was still looking at Lin Qian at the corner of her eye.


    All this happened while Lin Qian was still thinking about the future and the gossip he heard back then. When he saw both Huo YeRui and You NiNi together, he couldn’t help but nce towards them a couple more times.


    Looking at Huo YeRui acting affectionate towards You NiNi, Lin Qian’s face couldn’t help but show an expression full of pity. It seems like things were still progressing towards the same trajectory as hisst life.


    This popr No. 9 goddess would fall for Huo YeRui.


    Only toter find out that Huo YeRui not only bes fat, but especially greasy!


    Lin Qian felt sorry for ssmate You NiNi and could only sigh.


    His seemingly regretful sigh was seen by You NiNi, instantly making her ecstatic. He was unhappy that she was talking to other boys!


    The beautiful You NiNi bloomed with joy, so her attitude towards Huo YeRui turned warm. She gestured towards Lin Qian’s direction, and with a sweet smile, asked him: “ssmate Huo, that boy over there, is he your ssmate? What’s his name?”


    Huo YeRui became entranced by You NiNi’s sweet smile. But he didn’t expect the words that woulde out of her mouth to be about another person.


    Huo YeRui was instantly sshed by cold water. Following You NiNi’s line of sight, his face immediately twisted.


    Huo YeRui regretted. If time could turn back, even if he risked being found out by the entire ss, he absolutely never would’ve invited Lin Qian and his friends to his birthday party.


    He honestly never thought that Lin Qian, who was a big-shot in school, to bothering to his birthday party. What’s more, he even dressed up, grabbing everyone’s focus.


    It should be known that today’s party wasn’t just his birthday party, but a social tform his father had worked so hard to give him.


    Huo PingChuan had exhausted his contacts and resources to invite children of several prominent figures, and several top students of other schools. All this to create an opportunity for Huo YeRui to get to know them.


    With this get-together, Huo YeRui needs to seize this opportunity to show himself off. It was for this reason that he specifically looked for a famous stylist to whip him up to shape.


    But no matter how skillful the stylist was, their efforts couldn’t match the natural brilliance some people were just born with.


    With just a change of clothes, Lin Qian managed to y the entire room.


    Even You NiNi, who had secretly been in love with Huo YeRui for a long time, was attracted to him.


    Now, a young Huo YeRui could intimately rte with the saying “making someone else’s wedding dress,” which made him especially sad.


    As his heart vomits blood, on the surface, Huo YeRui pretended to be generous and friendly. He turned to You NiNi and said: “Oh, he’s in my ss. His name is Lin Qian.”


    In front of the bleeding Huo YeRui, You NiNi’s eyes sparkled. “So he’s Lin Qian! I’ve heard of him. Didn’t he get second ce in the city’s general examst year?”


    Huo YeRui: “...that’s him.”


    You NiNi’s voice was undting as she continued: “I didn’t think he looked like that!”


    Huo YeRui: “...” He felt like he needed emergency first aid on the spot.


    ......


    Xu Yao and Jiang TingJun excitedly walked around the room, collecting various gossip from other schools. Meanwhile, Lin Qiancked any interest in this high school social party. He had even less interest in juvenile gossip like who secretly liked who, and who was chasing which person. So, in the end, he took some fruits and found a corner to idly sit and munch on his snack.


    He sent a message to Zheng PingQing: Boyfriend, when will you arrive?


    Unexpectedly, Zheng PingQing’s reply didn’te in the span of a few seconds. It took a full fifteen minutes before Lin Qian’s phone beeped.


    Zheng PingQing: I’ll be there soon.


    After a while, another message came: I miss you.


    His messages weren’t anything different from the usual, but Lin Qian intuitively felt that Zheng PingQing was feeling a little down. But Lin Qian didn’t ask him, instead replying: I miss you too.


    After sending the text, Lin Qian forked another piece of fruit, only to find that he was no longer sitting alone.


    With skin translucent-white, a boy sat across from him, his chin on the table. His entire being emitted an ‘I’m so bored’ atmosphere.


    Lin Qian recognized the boy to be the current National Programming Award winner and future CEO of a listedpany: Ke MuZi.


    Out of respect for this future life champion, Lin Qian pushed his te towards him and said: “Please, feel free.”


    Ke MuZi sluggishly looked to Lin Qian. He suddenly straightened and excitedly said: “I know you. You took second ce in the city’s general examst semester! Lin Qian?”


    Lin Qian tried to think back. Still uncertain, he replied: “That’s me.”


    It wasn’t that he wanted to keep such information to himself. It was just that it had been so long ago for him that he couldn’t properly remember such details.


    But Ke MuZi remained happy. “Then you must know me too.”


    Lin Qian was more than happy to give such a big boss some face. Chuckling, he said: “I do know you, Ke MuZi.....ssmate.”


    He almost called him Boss.


    But Ke MuZi felt touched. He thought Lin Qian especially remembered him, much like an old rival.


    With a satisfied smile, he said: “Indeed, I apologize for scoring thirteen points higher than you and managing to grab first ce instead.”


    Unexpectedly, such a huge boss had meticulously counted his points andpared it to the person below him, even remembering it so clearly.


    Inadvertently glimpsing such childish behavior from a future bigwig, Lin Qian: “.....”


    Pretending to remember such details, he answered: “...Oh, yes.”


    Ke MuZi wrinkled his nose. “But you’re pretty good. When I was studying in ChangXing City, I usually scored at least twenty points higher than second ce.”


    Lin Qian, who had a middle-aged soul, who hadn’t cared for scores in a long time, carelessly sent out a bullet-screenment, saying: “666”


    But Ke MuZi couldn’t understand a saying that would only be popr yearster. “What does that mean?”


    Lin Qian: “....”


    Looking at Ke MuZi’s earnest face, he couldn’t help but think back to something that happened yearster in the future. When Ke MuZi’spany did a special live video broadcasting their stock listing in real-time, many investors came together and shouted ‘666’ in unison. This thought made Lin Qian’s mood particrly delicate.


    In the end, Lin Qian exined the saying that wouldter be poprized in Ke MuZi’s broadcasting website.


    After hearing this, Ke MuZi went quiet for a moment. He then said: “That’s so interesting. I’m using that from now on.”


    Lin Qian: “....” Wait a minute! This isn’t how things went!


    Having been told about the wonders of 6, Ke MuZi probably felt that he and Lin Qian were now buddies, so he began to stuff food into his mouth whileining: “This birthday party is so boring ah. I don’t know anyone here. I’d rather write code at home.”


    Lin Qian asked: “Aren’t you friends with Huo YeRui?”


    “Nope. I’ve only met him once, and he’s never called me 666.” Ke MuZi said.


    Lin Qian: “....” Well, I guess it’s true that social leaders like Ke MuZi need praise from others.


    “But his father called my home and said that Huo YeRui really wanted to make friends. He asked me toe if I had time.” As Ke MuZi talked, he tilted his head and looked towards a crowd in the distance. “Isn’t his father the vice-principal of your school? My mom actually didn’t want me toe.”


    Ke MuZi yawned: “Your vice-principal’s family is pretty funny, specializing in making friends in birthday parties.”


    Lin Qian realized that Huo YeRui didn’t have as many deep connections as he initially thought. This birthday party was a really important opportunity that Huo PingChuan had worked hard to give to his son.


    Lin Qian vaguely remembered that when Ke MuZi’spany went public, Huo YeRui unted to his old ssmates that he had raised his ownpany’s shared through his rtionship with Ke MuZi.


    Later on, Huo PingChuan became someone deeply rooted and powerful. He used his son’s circle of contacts to be a tall, firm figure in the city.


    He has to say, Huo PingChuan might not have good character, but his meticulous nning for his son’s future went much deeper than most other parents.


    Lin Qian watched Huo YeRui, who was talking to some top students from different schools and saw the faint shadow of his father, Huo PingChuan.


    This time around, Lin Qian was the one who knew which person would actually be sessful in the future. But this information didn’t matter to him one bit, because he already had the person he wanted the most in his grasp.


    At the thought of Zheng PingQing, Lin Qian subconsciously smiled. He stayed in his small corner, and continued to eat fruit.


    Ke MuZi turned his eyes back to Lin Qian and said: “But I think people here would rather make friends with you than Huo YeRui.”


    Lin Qian bit down on an apple slice andughed. “Because I’m handsome?”


    Ke MuZi puffed up his cheeks and said: “I don’t know about the others, but I made friends with you because of your good grades.”


    Lin Qian couldn’t resist and with a ‘pfft-‘ almost spit out the apple in his mouth.


    Unexpectedly, this big boss already saw them as friends. What’s more, his reason for making friends with him was because he had good grades.


    Lin Qian knew that Ke MuZi must have be friends with Huo YeRui in hisst life. After all, Huo YeRui wore the halo that was ’Big Fish of City F’.


    While Lin Qian struggled to understand, Ke MuZi added: “And then you said 666 to me.”


    Lin Qian: “...” Suddenly, he wondered what kind of ttery Huo YeRui had said to Ke MuZi to be able to capture his heart so thoroughly in hisst life.


    Ke MuZi was very interested in discussing histest programming escapade with Lin Qian. Meanwhile, Lin Qian was ashamed. While both he and Ke MuZi were both well-known schrs, Lin Qian was far from the academic Ke MuZi thought he was.


    As Ke MuZi continued to talk, a beautiful girl suddenly approached and interrupted them: “Ah Qian, you’re here!”


    The girl was Lin Qian’s ssmate, Tang WanQi.


    Lin Qian looked up at her and asked: “What’s up?”


    Tang WanQi looked a bit embarrassed as she answered: “I was wondering if you could maybe carry me around the restaurant?”


    Lin Qian was befuddled. He asked again: “What? Why?”


    Tang WanQi spread her hands: “Because I lost a game?”


    Lin Qian: = =


    Lin Qian tilted and looked past her and sure enough, on the other side of the restaurant was a group of boys and girlsughing and chatting as they looked towards him. They all wore yful faces. Huo YeRui was in the middle of this group and wore the same yful look, but his eyes were unkind.


    Lin Qian turned back to Tang WanQi. “Who told you to do this?”


    Tang WanQi waved her hands. “Who else? the protagonist of today’s party.”


    Lin Qian didn’t understand what was going on. “What does he want from me?”


    From what Lin Qian understood, he and Huo YeRui had always had a peaceful rtionship. They didn’t talk to each other much, but they didn’t get in each other’s way either. Lin Qian had even been acting like a transparent fish, just staying in this little corner of his. But howe Huo YeRui is trying to stir something up?