432: Chapter 432: The Bitterness of Old Classmates 432: Chapter 432: The Bitterness of Old Classmates The class reunion was arranged to take place in the hotel’s third-floor lobby.
Xiao Minglang chatted with Fang Bai for a while and told Fang Bai to go ahead and wait in the third-floor lobby, while he and his girlfriend, Zhao Miaomiao, would wait at the hotel entrance for the other classmates.
There were a total of six dining tables in the third-floor lobby, each able to seat fifteen people.
Even if every one of Fang Bai’s classmates ca, there would be enough seats for all.
When Fang Bai arrived at the third-floor lobby, there were already twenty or thirty classmates who had arrived before him.
They were either standing or sitting, chatting in groups of two or three.
Back in dical school, the only people Fang Bai hung out with, besides his childhood friend Zhou Dabai from the neighboring class, were a few others like Xiao Minglang.
Most of his classmates hadn’t even talked to Fang Bai much.
Therefore, when Fang Bai walked into the lobby, so classmates would smile and nod at him, while others would just contemptuously glance at him and then turn away to chat with other classmates.
Fang Bai didn’t take it to heart.
These class reunions were really just about old classmates eting up for a chat and a al together, before everyone dispersed again, not knowing when they might et next.
There was no need to get caught up in petty issues.
“Fang Bai, over here!”
A skinny, tall man with glasses, who was sitting at a table in the northwest corner of the hall, stood up and waved enthusiastically at Fang Bai.
“Pole!”
When Fang Bai saw the skinny, tall guy, a smile ford at the corner of his mouth, and he walked over.
“Pole” wasn’t the man’s na but a nickna he acquired due to his thin and weak fra.
The real na of “Pole” was Hong Dabao.
He used to sit in front of Fang Bai during dical school, and his academic performance was as terrible as Fang Bai’s—they were like two peas in a pod.
Being in similar circumstances and having similar personalities made Hong Dabao and Fang Bai sympathize with each other and beco friends.
Aside from Zhou Dabai, Hong Dabao was the person in the entire dical school with whom Fang Bai got along the best.
Also, due to Fang Bai, Hong Dabao and Zhou Dabai had beco friends as well.
Hong Dabao’s father had passed away two years ago, leaving him to live with his mother.
Their financial situation was very modest, barely better than Fang Bai’s before his rebirth.
And judging by his current attire compared to the stylish clothes of the other classmates, he looked quite shabby, indicating that his family’s financial state hadn’t improved much.
Fang Bai walked over to the dining table where Hong Dabao was seated.
The two classmates who once sympathized with each other looked at one another, sizing each other up.
“Fang Bai, you seem to be doing well recently!
You won’t look down on like the other classmates, will you?”
Hong Dabao asked half-jokingly and half-seriously.
He could tell that, although the clothes on Fang Bai were not worth tens of thousands of dollars, they were certainly much more expensive than his own.
It seed that Fang Bai had encountered different fortunes recently.
“Dabao, am I that kind of person?
No matter how I’m doing, we are good classmates, good friends!
Co on, let’s sit down and talk!”
Fang Bai invited Hong Dabao to sit down together.
Seeing that there were only the two of them at the table, he couldn’t help but laugh and said, “It seems that, just like when we were in dical school, our classmates still keep their distance from us!”
“Back then, they distanced themselves from us because of our poor grades; now…
heh, maybe it’s because they see we’re not doing well and don’t want to rub off on their bad luck!”
Hong Dabao laughed self-deprecatingly and then added, “It’s just as well that it’s only the two of us—it prevents so classmates from showing off during the al and getting on our nerves!”
Fang Bai said, “Whoever wants to show off, let them.
We just need to be true to ourselves!”
Hong Dabao sighed, poured water into both his and Fang Bai’s cups, and then looked out the window, lost in thought.
“Dabao, you seem to be in a bad mood.
Did sothing happen?”
Fang Bai glanced at Hong Dabao and, seeing the gloominess between his brows, casually asked.
“I…”
Hong Dabao hesitated for a mont, forced a smile, and shook his head, “Nothing much…”
Fang Bai said earnestly, “Forget about personal issues, but if it’s sothing else, feel free to talk about it.
Two heads are better than one, we can think of a solution together!”
“I got into so business recently, thinking that I could make a fortune, but I ended up getting scamd, and lost all my money!
So unlucky!
Ah…”
Hong Dabao let out a long sigh, his face full of sorrow.
After a pause, he continued, “You know my family isn’t well off.
The money I used for the business was saved up slowly by my mom.
After losing it in the business, even though my mom didn’t bla , I can tell she’s very upset…
very upset…”
At this point, Hong Dabao’s eyes reddened a bit.
He habitually took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and gestured for Fang Bai to take one.
Fang Bai waved his hand, “I don’t smoke.
How much did you invest in your business?”
“One hundred thousand!”
Hong Dabao lit a cigarette, took a few heavy drags, and with smoke swirling around him, his voice low and choked up, “My mom scrimped and saved for twenty years, and all she managed to save…
I lost it overnight…
Fang Bai, do you think I’m a loser?”
“You’re not!”
Fang Bai shook his head and said, “I understand that you wanted to make so money to improve your family’s situation and provide a better life for you and your mom.”
Hong Dabao rubbed his slightly sore nose and said with a bitter smile, “Old classmate, you really understand !”
“What business did you get into?”
Fang Bai casually asked.
“Damn it, I was duped this ti!”
Upon hearing Fang Bai bring up the issue, Hong Dabao’s anger flared up as he said bitterly, “Last Monday, a friend of mine who I have a good relationship with ca to , saying he knew the sales manager at ‘Beauty Company’ and could get a batch of ‘Beauty Company’s’ products at the lowest price.
He suggested I put in so money for us to buy low and sell high together…”
“I thought that ‘Beauty Company’s’ beauty products were selling hot and that flipping them would surely make a profit.
My head was hot at the mont, and I took out one hundred thousand yuan and gave it to that friend…
My friend was cheated just like I was, and what we bought turned out to be counterfeit.
Later, the goods were seized by the authorities, and we were fined…”
“‘Beauty Company’s’ products have counterfeits now?”
Fang Bai asked, frowning.
Hong Dabao nodded and said, “Not just so, but a lot!
You can’t even tell the real from the fake just by looking at the packaging!”
Upon hearing this, Fang Bai couldn’t help but give a wry smile, knowing that due to the high demand for ‘Beauty Company’s’ products, all sorts of fake and inferior products had inevitably appeared, disrupting the market and causing significant losses to ‘Beauty Company’.
In fact, ‘Beauty Company’ had utilized various ans to defend its rights, but as soon as one batch of knock-offs was taken down, another would erge.
It was a constant battle that was incredibly frustrating.
As the two were talking, more and more classmates arrived, but Fang Bai and Hong Dabao’s table remained occupied only by the two of them.
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