"How has everyone been doing lately?"
While waiting for the food to arrive, Lin Shen took the initiative to start a conversation and looked toward Guo Haoran.
"Why didn’t you bring Han with you? Is she working overti?"
"We broke up."
Guo Haoran adjusted his glasses and said this with incredible calm, but it startled the other two—everyone but Lin Shen.
"You broke up?"
Zhao Ye put down the sunflower seeds he was snacking on, his face full of disbelief.
After a waiter brought over a keg of draft beer, he gestured for his girlfriend, Sun Yue, to pour everyone a drink. He then dropped his playful attitude, his expression turning exceptionally serious.
"How did you break up? Haven’t you two been together since your sophomore year? It’s been about six years by now, right?"
"Yeah."
Qi Junxian was also full of curiosity.
"I rember you said last ti you were getting ready to talk marriage with Han. We were all waiting for our wedding invitation."
"The talks fell through."
Guo Haoran took the large, full glass of beer from Sun Yue, thanked her in a low voice, and sighed softly.
"Han’s family demanded that I make a down paynt on a house in Modu, at least a hundred square ters. After all, they said we’d have two kids in the future, and each would need their own room."
"If I couldn’t do it, I had to follow Han back to her hotown, because she won’t marry soone from another place. As for the betrothal gift, 288,000."
"See? What did I tell you!"
Zhao Ye was the type to speak his mind—blunt and straightforward, never filtering his thoughts or worrying too much about the consequences.
"I’m not trying to be prejudiced against certain regions, but the poorer and more remote a place is, the more they haggle over the betrothal gift. They’re afraid their daughter will seem less valuable than the neighbors’ daughters."
"I warned you about this back then, but you wouldn’t listen. You almost got into a fight with over it. Now look what happened, it ca true, didn’t it?"
"You’re right."
Guo Haoran gave a self-deprecating smile, then raised his glass and clinked it against Zhao Ye’s before looking at Lin Shen and Qi Junxian.
"Let’s drink!"
"Didn’t you drive here?"
Before Qi Junxian could finish his sentence, Guo Haoran had already downed a third of his beer.
However, he drank too fast and started choking, coughing violently.
Seeing this, Sun Yue quickly pulled out a tissue and handed it to him.
"Thanks."
Guo Haoran wiped his mouth with the tissue and looked at Zhao Ye with eyes full of envy.
"Your girlfriend has such a great personality! When are you two planning to get married?"
"Not anyti soon."
Zhao Ye pursed his lips.
"I bombed both my grad school and civil service exams this year. What fucking marriage?"
"Huh?" Qi Junxian was stunned.
"I thought you started studying for the grad school and civil service exams right after graduation? You still haven’t made it?"
"Yeah. For the grad school exam, my English score didn’t et the national cutoff. I actually made it to the interview round for the civil service exam, and I was ranked second, but!"
Zhao Ye held up three fingers, a sense of bitter absurdity on his face.
"They were hiring three people. I ca in fourth."
"That’s such a sha," Qi Junxian said with regret.
"Didn’t you ever think about finding a job and studying at the sa ti?"
"I did."
Zhao Ye took the skewers of barbecue a waiter handed him, placed them on the table, then spread his hands and shrugged.
"I got fired before my probation period was even over."
"Why?"
"That old bastard was too fucking much. All he did in etings was spout a bunch of nonsense and mock people. I just blew up and started cursing him out."
"..."
Lin Shen and the other two exchanged a look. They were surprised, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected.
Seeing their reaction, Zhao Ye raised his glass in frustration.
"Ah, let’s just drink! No more talking about this stuff!"
GLUG—!
After so beer and barbecue, Qi Junxian began to vent his own frustrations.
"Actually, being unemployed isn’t so bad. What’s that saying? The unemployed want to find work, and the employed want to be jobless."
"Look at you getting all sentintal now," Lin Shen teased. "Didn’t you just close a deal this afternoon?"
"What’s the use? People look down on you no matter what. This insurance job isn’t fit for a human being," Qi Junxian complained bitterly.
"Forget about how tiring or stressful it is. Do you know? A deal I run all over town and work my ass off to sign, soone else can get just by showing up—and they might even get a bigger one!"
"How am I supposed to feel like that’s fair?"
’Show up?’
Lin Shen and the other two looked confused.
But when they saw Qi Junxian glance at Sun Yue, understanding dawned on all four n in an instant.
"Can’t be helped. Won have a natural advantage in jobs like insurance or banking."
"Especially pretty won!"
Zhao Ye shrugged. His sharp comnt was like the last straw, prompting Qi Junxian to abruptly raise his glass and say resentfully,
"I’m quitting soon! Let’s drink!"
GLUG—!
As Lin Shen drank his beer, he thought to himself. ’He finally understood what "every family has its own problems" ant.’
’Looks like everyone’s having a tough ti.’
"Guo Haoran’s unlucky in love, I’m unlucky in my studies, and Qi Junxian, you’re unlucky in your career."
Zhao Ye looked at Lin Shen and couldn’t help but sigh with emotion.
"Looks like out of the four of us, Lin Shen is doing the best."
"He lost weight, got more handso, probably struck it rich sowhere with his career, and most importantly, he was dating a beautiful girlfriend like Gu Wanting."
"Sun Yue, did you know? Gu Wanting was a campus belle at our university. She caused a huge sensation when she first enrolled."
"When the news got out that she was dating Lin Shen, our dorm room was almost crushed by guys from the surrounding dorms trying to get in!"
"Is that so?"
Sun Yue studied Lin Shen curiously, but her wide eyes didn’t show much surprise.
’After all, he’s quite handso himself. It makes sense he’d be dating a campus belle.’
"We broke up."
Suddenly, Lin Shen’s calm words gave the other three a real shock. They all turned to look at him at the sa ti.
"What happened?"
"I got cheated on."
!!!
The mont the words left Lin Shen’s mouth, a pack of tissues appeared in front of him.
Imdiately after, Zhao Ye and the other two, seemingly forgetting their own troubles, quickly gathered around Lin Shen, their faces full of curiosity, ready for the gossip.
"Tell us!"
"Well..."
Lin Shen had already co to terms with what happened, so when he told the story, he didn’t inject much personal emotion, recounting it as if it were about soone else.
But the other three, putting themselves in his shoes, got angry on his behalf.
"A three-year relationship couldn’t stand up to a few days of courting from so Rich Man? This was clearly preditated! She was probably cheating on you for a long ti."
"Yeah! And that guy even dared to co to your place and provoke you? If Lin Shen weren’t so good-tempered, that guy probably wouldn’t have walked out of there in one piece."
"Fuck!"
Zhao Ye was even more direct. The short, visceral curse seed to encapsulate all his feelings as he spoke up on Lin Shen’s behalf.
"It’s alright, bro. You should think of it this way."
Zhao Ye leaned in close to Lin Shen’s ear and chuckled slyly.
"You were with another man’s girlfriend for three years, and she was a virgin when you t. You didn’t lose out at all! That’s a huge win!"
"..."
Although Zhao Ye’s attempt at comfort was crude, there was a certain logic to it.
"Enough talk. Let’s drink!"
Lin Shen raised his glass high, looking around at the other three, a brilliant and confident smile suddenly spreading across his face.
"Let’s make peace with the past. We’re living for the future!"
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