Chapter 45 Brother Xiaofeng

The rain seemed to stop instantly. She folded her umbrella, realizing that the last time they'd met, he'd been out of town on business, somewhere in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Thinking this playboy was just hanging around with nothing to do, too lazy to play hide-and-seek with him, she simply dialed a voice call. "Where are you, Lin?" "I saw your location on your WeChat Moments. It's nearby. Meeting a classmate in a foreign land, it'd be a shame not to have dinner together." She glanced at her watch. It was 9 o'clock. A childhood friend had chosen a food stall near the Yangtze River ferry where they used to have supper, and the two of them had already arrived. "I have a date with a childhood friend tonight." "I'm coming from Nanjing, and it took me a full three hours to drive. I'll come along, so I won't bother you. Just treat me to a bite to eat." She scoffed at the idea of him claiming he was close when he was coming from Nanjing. It didn't matter. Since they were close, they'd meet. She texted him the address. It was the perfect time for crayfish along the Yangtze River. Lin Yao remembers this riverside food street as a spectacular spectacle at night, with outdoor food stalls lining the street. Crayfish were served in basins on every table, beer was standard, and they relaxed and chatted in the river breeze, enjoying the perfect atmosphere. She used to hang out here with her childhood friend. Today, it was raining, so there were no tables set up outside. Now that the rain has stopped, a few stalls have begun to open, and the nightlife here is just beginning. She greeted her two childhood friends when she arrived, then went out to wait for Lin Yuxun across from the stalls. Parking wasn't common around here, so she waited to find him a good spot. After waiting for a few minutes, Lin Yuxun spotted her in his car and smiled and waved from his seat. The more she watched, the more she felt he was possessed by a sinister charm. After guiding him to a spot and parking, she teased him, "Mr. Lin, you've suddenly appeared here. I feel like I've traveled through time." "I didn't expect your hometown is here. It's a beautiful place. Come and experience it." He got out of the car, looking toward the Yangtze River and sauntering a few steps. "It's a small place. Welcome." Lin Yao gave him a brief introduction to the Yangtze River at night. "This used to be a ferry crossing. We used to have to take a big ferry to cross the river, but now there's a bridge. Over there." She pointed to the bridge over the river in the distance. Lin Yuxun nodded, his mind wandering to the bridge. "We've set up a branch in Nanjing. We just had our inauguration ceremony. I didn't even have the inauguration dinner. I came here specifically to have dinner with my classmates." He believed what he said. She had never seen him dressed formally before. This time he wore a gray-blue formal shirt, dark gray suit pants, and a cool, messy front spike in his hair. After driving for so long, he looked very energetic. The two childhood friends saw him and stood up to greet him. "My classmate, Lin Yuxun, a handsome guy from Guangdong, is here on business. These two are my childhood friends. The beautiful one has dark skin, and the handsome one has a big head..."

The rain seemed to stop in an instant. She put away her umbrella and realized that the last time they met, he was going out of town on business, and it seemed that he was going to Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

Thinking that this playboy was just hanging around with nothing to do and not wanting to play hide-and-seek with him, she simply made a voice call.

"Where is classmate Lin hanging out?"

"I saw your location in your Moments, it's close. If I meet a classmate in a foreign country, it would be unreasonable not to have a meal together."

She glanced at her watch. It was 9 o'clock. Her childhood friend had chosen the food stall near the Yangtze River ferry where they often had supper. The two of them had already arrived.

"I have a date with my childhood friend tonight."

"I came from Nanjing and drove for three hours. Let me come with you. I won't bother you. Just buy me something to eat."

Coming from Nanjing and saying it was close, she scoffed. It didn't matter, she'd just go along. She sent him the address.

It's the perfect time to eat crayfish along the Yangtze River. Lin Yao remembers this riverside food street as a spectacular spectacle, with outdoor food stalls along the way at night. Crayfish were served in tubs on every table, accompanied by beer. Relaxing and relaxing, chatting in the river breeze, she and her childhood friends often hung out there.

It rained today and there were no tables set up outdoors. Now that the rain has stopped, a small number of stalls have started to be set up and the nightlife here has just begun.

When she arrived, she greeted her two childhood friends and then went out to wait for Lin Yuxun across from the stall. There was no concept of parking around here, so she waited to guide him to a good spot.

After waiting for a few minutes, Lin Yuxun saw her while driving, smiled at her and waved at her in the car.

The more she looked at him, the more she felt that he was truly evil.

After guiding him to a spot to park the car, she laughed at him, "Mr. Lin, you suddenly appeared here. I feel like I've traveled through time."

"I didn't expect your hometown is here. It's a beautiful place. Come and experience it." After getting off the car, he looked towards the Yangtze River and staggered a few steps.

"It's a small place, welcome." Lin Yao gave him a brief introduction to the night view of the Yangtze River, "This used to be a ferry. We used to take a big ferry to cross the river. Now there is a bridge. There." She pointed to the bridge on the river in the distance.

Lin Yuxun nodded, his mind elsewhere. "We've opened a branch in Nanjing. We just finished the initiation ceremony. I didn't even have the dinner, so I came all the way here to have dinner with my classmates."

He said this about Lin Yaoxin. I have never seen him dressed formally. This time he was wearing a gray-blue formal shirt, dark gray suit pants, and his hair was styled in a cool messy front spike. Even after driving for such a long time, he still looked very energetic.

When the two childhood friends saw the person, they quickly stood up to greet him.

"My classmate, Lin Yuxun, a handsome guy from Guangdong, is here on a business trip. These two are my childhood friends. The beautiful one has dark skin, and the handsome one has a big head." Lin Yao introduced.

"What big head? My name is Jiang Minghao. Welcome, welcome."

Datou stretched out his hand and shook hands with Lin Yuxun.

Hei Pi also shook hands enthusiastically, "Li Xiyan, nice to meet you, please take a seat."

Heipi and Datou are about the same age as Lin Yao. Their parents all worked in the petrochemical plant. They used to live in the staff quarters of the petrochemical plant and used to play together naked upstairs and downstairs.

Datou was a small leader of a local state-owned enterprise. He was very capable and after some preparation, he poured tea and placed several pots of crayfish cooked in various ways on the table. He also ordered two boxes of twelve bottles of beer.

"Crayfish are now on the market in large quantities here, freshly caught, steamed, iced, with thirteen spices, garlic, or spicy flavors. You can try them according to your taste. This is a restaurant we used to come to often. Yaoyao and I would sneak out to sip a few mouthfuls of shrimp juice and then go home to do homework. Oh, that was our youth." Datou opened a bottle of beer and placed it in front of Lin Yuxun, introducing it to him.

"Bighead, stop being such a jerk. Who drank so much beer?" Lin Yao looked at the two bottles of beer with disgust.

"Each person pays, so you can't miss out either."

He opened two more bottles, placed one in front of Lin Yao and Hei Pi respectively, and smiled nervously, "Two more people will be here soon. What a big surprise."

Heipi didn't know, "Who is it?"

"Guess!"

Several close childhood friends were scattered across the country, leaving only the two of them behind. Lin Yao and Hei Pi each guessed one or two, while Datou smirked and said nothing.

"They arrived yesterday. I asked them out, but they said they didn't have time and would wait and see. As soon as I sent a message saying Yaoyao was back, they said they were coming. Tell me, is that immoral or biased? Those two probably crawled into bed in the hotel. If they got up, Yaoyao would still be attractive."

"Who are they? Two of them?"

"No need to tell! You'll know in a moment."

Lin Yuxun put on disposable gloves and ate a spicy shrimp dish that Hei Pi had brought him. It was so spicy that he couldn't eat it and choked and started coughing. He usually only ate light food and didn't like spicy food.

"Hei Pi, what flavor did you prepare? Don't mess around." Datou stood up to take care of him and grabbed a plate of steamed food for him. "Guangdong people don't eat spicy food. Yaoyao, you don't take good care of your classmates. Try steamed food. Iced food is also fine."

Lin Yao looked at Lin Yuxun, thinking that he was no longer doing business for her and was causing trouble for her. She was too lazy to care about him. Seeing that his face was red from choking, she poured him some tea in front of his childhood friend as a token of her respect, "Drink some water, drink some water."

"Your nickname is interesting and sounds very friendly. Lin Yao has one too, right?" Lin Yuxun asked slowly, wanting to stir up trouble.

Big Head chuckled, "I can't bring myself to say Yaoyao's nickname. She's so different from who she is now. I won't say it anymore."

Lin Yao challenged, "Just say it."

"Brother Yao..." Big Head rolled his eyes at her, "You just want to call me brother, you bad guy, you are a few months younger than me."

Lin Yuxun stared at Lin Yao and smiled, "Brother Yao?"

Hei Pi explained with a smile, "She was miserable. In junior high and high school, she was pretty, so boys stared at her the most. Her mother kept an eye on her studies and forced her to have a boy's short haircut, just shy of a buzz cut. When she wore her school uniform, people often mistook her for a boy and called her Brother Yao."

Lin Yao still remembers the agony of crying every time she had her hair shaved. After going to college and breaking free from Tang Ruifen's control, her hair grew back like crazy, as if in revenge. She subconsciously smoothed her hair to one side, smiling and saying nothing.

Lin Yuxun looked at her, her hair was extremely long, and her dense and beautiful hairline had already compensated for it. He laughed, "The nicknames are all quite strange. They will be the opposite when you grow up."

"That's the opposite of what I am. You still call me dark-skinned. How am I dark-skinned? Yaoyao, tell me, how am I dark-skinned now?"

She was very dark when she was a child, but now she looks whiter than anyone else.

"You're not black anymore, you're even more gilded, the Golden Judge. Let's stop calling you black." Lin Yao clinked his beer bottle with hers, "Dear Judge Li, show off for us and clear our name!"

Heipi works in the local court.

Joking aside, Lin Yao glanced at Lin Yuxun. They were not the same type of people. It was strange that a young man from a rich family could force himself to fit in. He could even join in the banter among his childhood friends and even take the lead.

Datou's phone rang, and he picked it up. "Are you there? I'll answer it."

After hanging up the phone, he put on a sly look, stood up and went to meet the person. "He's here. You'll never guess."

Lin Yao and Lin Yuxun sat facing the street and the Yangtze River at night. She followed Datou's gaze, searching for the big surprise he'd mentioned across the street.

Across from them were the lights on the riverside fence, the light was dim. A car arrived and a woman got out first. She was wearing a black sleeveless slim dress and had a graceful figure. When she saw her face, Lin Yao could tell that she was not someone she knew.

The person coming down from behind was grabbed by Big Head's shoulder. He had a tall and slender figure, half a head taller than Big Head. He was wearing a white shirt, and his profile as he was chatting and laughing with Big Head suddenly plucked the strings in her heart.

He turned to face her, it was that face, her heartbeat suddenly quickened, the long-accumulated sourness suddenly expanded in her chest, burning and numb.

Big Head let go of his shoulder and led the way in front. The woman took his hand and they crossed the road intimately. His face was getting closer and closer, but it was getting blurrier and blurrier in her eyes.

Hei Pi stood up and stepped forward to catch them. She couldn't hear a word they said: greetings, jokes, hugs, introductions... a cacophony of noise, her head buzzing. She couldn't even remember what expression he had when he saw her. Only she could hear the snapping of the strings in her heart.

Lin Yuxun saw that her hands were shaking, her face was red, and she sat there in a daze, unable to say a word.

The man was standing in front of her.

"Yaoyao, are you surprised? Are you surprised?"

Big Head asked in an exaggerated and joking manner to bring her back to her senses.

She stood up stiffly, and Lin Yuxun followed.

Pei Yifeng looked at her steadily and spoke first, smiling gently, "Yaoyao."

After ten years, I heard the familiar tone of "Yao Yao". But the voice was no longer the same, it was deep and powerful.

She forced herself to remain calm, smiled at him, and called out, "Brother Xiaofeng."

Her voice wasn't the same as before, no longer playful or willful, and she no longer called him "madman" or "Pei Yifeng" as before. Instead, she called him the honorific he had always demanded when he called her disrespectful. She was more polite, more mature.

The person leaning against him was bright and generous. She looked straight at her, waiting for him to introduce her to Lin Yao.

His eyes moved from Lin Yao's face to Lin Yuxun.

It was a dull silence.

Seeing that there were two outsiders left aside, Datou jumped to the middle to introduce them. "This beautiful lady is Professor Pei's girlfriend, Lisa," and pointed at Lin Yuxun, "This is..."

Lin Yuxun took the lead and introduced himself, "Lin Yuxun, Lin Yao and I came from Guangzhou."

He held out his hand to him.