Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.\n
Not long after he managed to leave the dialogue session, Wang Guangning received a call from Sun Sixiang.\n
âWang Guangning, are you here yet â weâve already ordered the food, so weâre just waiting for your wallet!â\n
Wang Guangning laughed helplessly: âAlmost there â where are you all?â\n
Sun Sixiang said: âAt Pinshishang [lit. Cuisine Trends, i.e. the name of the restaurant]. Hurry and get yourself over here.â\n
After ending the call, Wang Guangning headed toward Pinshishang unhurriedly.\n
Pinshishang was one of the better restaurants near F Uni. As today was a special occasion, the place was packed. Although Wang Guangningâs class had reserved a table beforehand, they were only able to get one in the main hall. The private rooms were all full.\n
But the class didnât care â they were confident that no matter where they went, they would be the group making the loudest noise. They were not at all worried about being disturbed by others â rather, it was good enough that they werenât being a disturbance.\n
Everyone was already present when Wang Guangning arrived. This was their first class reunion after graduation, and whatâs more, Sun Sixiang had got the word out that Wang Guangning, whoâd left that year without a goodbye, had finally returned and would appear this time. So, the attendance at this alumni gathering was especially high, with more than thirty people taking up two whole tables.\n
Just as Wang Guangning stepped past the restaurantâs main doors, Sun Sixiang, who had been keeping his eye on the entrance, gave a loud shout and rushed over. He slung an arm over Wang Guangningâs neck and said: âFck, we all thought you werenât going to turn up, that you were gonna break your word!â\n
Wang Guangning good-naturedly let himself be dragged to one of the tables. The faces there were all familiar, though the passing of time had matured them, and the vicissitudes of life were evident. However, the friendship they had forged remained the same. The feelings expressed in oneâs youth were pure, and so were the ways used to express them.\n
Wang Guangning had only arrived for a moment when the boys who had once played well together all converged upon him. They didnât put off giving him a sound beating â it was only when everyone had let off steam that Wang Guangning was able to struggle out of the scrum, raising his hands in surrender: âDonât be angry, everyone, donât be angry. Iâll pay for this meal. Everybody, go ahead and order more dishes. Itâs OK even if itâs a bit more expensive!â\n
âFck, even dare to show off your wealth!â The burly class monitor gave an indignant snort, and was about to rush at him for round two.\n
Wang Guangning quickly said: âIf you continue beating me up, Iâm not footing the bill later!â\n
The class monitor gave it thought â a meal was much more important than Wang Guangning for sure. Huffily, he decided to let this go, and hollered indignantly at a waitress: âYoung lady, give us two more dishes â no need for the menu, just give us the most expensive ones!â\n
Beaten up â check. Fleeced â check. Everyoneâs fury was finally vented. But they were still curious about Wang Guangningâs sudden departure that year. When Wang Guangning took a seat, they began to take turns questioning him.\n
âWang Guangning, out with it â why did you run off to Taiwan without a word?â\n
âFck, must have looked down on this bunch of guys after making it, right!â The class monitor was muttering as he savagely stabbed at the food.\n
âI was given urgent notice, so I had to leave directly âŠâŠâ Wang Guangning lied blatantly.\n
âQuit it â then why werenât the other exchange students so urgent?â\n
âCanât be helped. You know exceptional people tend to be in high demand, yeah.â Wang Guangningâs words brought on another round of scorn. How is it that after so many years, this person still had not recovered from his chĆ«nibyĆ disease [i.e. delusions of grandeur].\n
To be honest, no excuse could be made for what happened that year. Even if he could have justified why he left without a word, he couldnât explain why he had cut off communication with everyone completely. Wang Guangning simply didnât reply to the questioning, and turned it round by asking for updates from everyone: âThatâs right, I heard that Xiumin has got married â congratulations yeah. Iâll make up for the red packet [i.e. customary money gift] later.â\n
Indeed, everyoneâs attention was swiftly diverted. In this sort of gathering, it was easy to change the subject, and everyone resonated with the topic of marriage. So, there were numerous, deeply felt comments about who had got married, who had been forced to marry, who had a child already, and so on and so forth. There was an oceanâs worth of gossip covering over Wang Guangningâs matter, and so it was set aside just like that.\n
Wang Guangning secretly sighed with relief.\n
Everyone was heartily indulging in food, wine and conversation. The class monitorâs appetite hadnât decreased one whit, and he charged ahead when it came to tasting a new dish. Just as he was engaged in a fierce battle with a chicken leg, his eyes brightened as he gazed in a certain direction: âEveryone, quick, look whoâs there!â\n
They were all distracted by the class monitorâs call and turned with one accord â then everyoneâs eyes brightened as well with the expectation of hot gossip!\n
The door to a private room nearby had swung open, and a tall figure had stepped out. It was none other than the one who had been all the rage of F Uni, its most handsome guy, Zhang Lingyi!\n
And so, everyone started looking a bit shady, giving Zhang Lingyi a look, then Wang Guangning a look.\n
âCome to think of it, Wang Guangning and Zhang Lingyi used to be the top two lookers of F Uni, but the question of who was actually number one and who was number two never did get settled. Did you guys ever work this out, huh?â A classmate with a crew-cut raised his brows as he asked.\n
You wonât stop till you stir up trouble, will you, this classmate!\n
Wang Guangning raised a middle finger at him in his heart, immediately brushed away his fringe, and raised his chin proudly to say: âIt must be Laozi whoâs number one, yeah!â\n
The class monitor spat out a chicken bone, and threw a sidelong glance at Wang Guangning: âI heard Zhang Lingyiâs classmates say that Zhang Lingyi would say the same thing during their class reunions.â\n
Everyone nodded in agreement, their desire for gossip burning hot.\n
âSo?â Wang Guangning leaned back with his hands waving: âHow do you prove this kind of thing? Donât tell me we need to conduct some kinda poll?â\n
Truth be told, this kind of poll hadnât been uncommon in those days, only that the result was always split evenly between him and Zhang Lingyi.\n
âNo need for that!â The crew-cut classmate had obviously thought ahead, and gave a wicked smile: âHow about this â you just need to have Zhang Lingyi come over and admit in front of all of us that youâre more than handsome than him!â\n
Treachery! Truly, treachery!\n
Anyone whoâd been at F Uni would know that itâd already be considered sheer luck that Zhang Lingyi didnât come to blows with Wang Guangning in front of everyone. To have him admit in public that Wang Guangning was more handsome than him would be the equivalent of Wang Leehom admitting in public to a relationship with Li Yundi, eh.\n
And so, everyone was anticipating a good show as they waited for Wang Guangningâs response.\n
Bad friends, just bad friends! A big bunch of bad friends!\n
Wang Guangning sighed over meeting this bunch of indecent people, while rubbing his first two fingers together. Solemnly, he said: âNow, if Zhang Lingyi admits in front of everyone Iâm more handsome than him, what do I get out of it?â\n
They canât expect him to give something up without getting something in return.\n
The crew-cut classmate absolutely didnât believe that Wang Guangning would be able to get Zhang Lingyi to come over, and treated this as an empty threat. He nonchalantly took out a hundred-dollar note from his wallet and said: âIf he admits in front of everybody that youâre more handsome, Iâll give you a hundred dollars!â\n
Wang Guangning gave a look of contempt at the red note with Grandpa Mao on it: âThe stake is too small, eh. Is anyone else following.â\n
Now that they saw Wang Guangning was even willing to lay down a wager, everyone got excited. They followed the stake, one by one whipping out a hundred-dollar note, all of them watching for how Wang Guangning would make his retreat.\n
Wang Guangning waited for everyone to place their bets. He picked up the huge wad of red notes, and smiled: âSo itâs decided, if I accomplish this, all this money is mine, yeah!â\n
No one dissented, so Wang Guangning headed toward Zhang Lingyi.\n
Zhang Lingyi had popped out for the restroom, and didnât expect he would bump into Wang Guangning on the way back. He was delighted and called out: âShoushou.â\n
âNot allowed to call me that,â Wang Guangning sternly said. Without another word, he dragged off Zhang Lingyi.\n
Before Zhang Lingyi could understand what was happening, heâd been dragged away by Wang Guangning before his classmatesâ table.\n
Zhang Lingyi knew most of the people in Wang Guangningâs class, so he could tell at a glance that this was their class reunion. But he didnât know Wang Guangningâs intention in bringing him over.\n
He was perplexed, but Wang Guangningâs classmates were even more befuddled.\n
Everyone was amazed â Wang Guangning really dared to make Zhang Lingyi come over here, and why did Zhang Lingyi get dragged over so easily?\n
Wang Guangning had Zhang Lingyi straighten up, and said: âZhang Lingyi, my classmates said they wanted you to admit in person that I was the most handsome guy in F Uni!â\n
Zhang Lingyiâs lips quirked â what was this situation?\n
He was still confused. Wang Guangning saw that he hadnât responded, and nudged his arm, saying: âHey, tell everyone, am I more handsome than you!â\n
So, was this actually a battle of childishness?\n
Zhang Lingyi understood that Wang Guangningâs chĆ«nibyĆ disease must have flared up again. He wouldnât rest till he conceded that he was F Uniâs most handsome guy.\n
If it had been all those years ago, before he became gay, he would have persisted in scoffing at him and even embarrassing him in front of everyone. But what kind of relationship did they have now!\n
In Zhang Lingyiâs own words, he was none other than a little cheap gong now. Of course he had to comply with Shoushou, please Shoushou, satisfy the needs of Shoushouâs chĆ«nibyĆ disease, yeah!\n
âYup, Wang Guangning is more handsome than me.â Zhang Lingyi helplessly smiled. After a pause, he added, âBut only by a teensy bit.â\n
OMG, whatâs happening?\n
The sound of a collective jaw drop rang out in the place.\n
I must have heard wrongly?\n
Or is the person before us actually not Zhang Lingyi, but a surgically altered impersonator?\n
Heavens above, please tell me this isnât true!\n
Seeing how everyone was shocked to a stone-cold standstill, Wang Guangning was silently thrilled. He waved off Zhang Lingyi: âThatâs enough, you may depart [i.e. how a king would dismiss his subject]!â\n
Zhang Lingyi could only shake his head, though his eyes showed a gentle indulgence. He gave a wave to the frozen crowd and left.\n
Wang Guangning was feeling high as he waved about the dollar notes in his hands: âWho wouldâve known that even though I was supposed to pay for this meal, everyone ending up paying!â\n
âNoooooo âŠâ The class monitor suddenly gave a mournful cry, and the half-eaten slice of fish that had been in his mouth dropped out accordingly: âI donât believe this is true!â\n
Wang Guangning was speechless as he watched the class monitorâs performance, and decided to ignore him.\n
After such a scene, any other piece of gossip seemed to pale in comparison. Until the meal was over, everyone was unable to recover from the shock.\n
The meal was hosted by the class monitor. A lot of signature dishes had been ordered, and the bill wasnât cheap. But since Wang Guangning had won over 3,000 dollars, after paying for the meal, he had a remainder of 200 dollars. He decided to treat Zhang Lingyi to a big meal.\n
It was raucously decided that the next stop would be karaoke, but some couldnât join because of work and so on. Wang Guangning thought of Zhang Lingyi and also declined.\n
Looking at the time, Zhang Lingyi should be just about done as well. Wang Guangning got ready to go to the restroom, then wait outside the restaurant for him.\n
Just as he had left the restroom and pulled out his phone to send Zhang Lingyi a message, he saw a tall and slender beauty come face-to-face with him.\n
Wang Guangningâs heart sank. That lady was also stunned, but recovered quickly and put on a polite and cool smile. She said to Wang Guangning: âItâs been a while.â\n
Wang Guangning also gave a faint smile: âItâs been a while.â\n
Luo Zihui.\n
<hr class="wp-block-separator">\n<h5 class="wp-block-heading">A little scene by the author</h5>\nWang Guangning: Who is F Uniâs number one looker?\n
Zhang Lingyi: Itâs Shoushou!\n
Wang Guangning: Who is F Uniâs number one MAN?\n