Chapter 88 Old Stories and Old People

Lin Yu treated them to dinner, specifically choosing a roadside food stall not far from her home. After work, she and Chen Guang hailed a car and headed to the agreed-upon location.

Just after ordering food and beer, Cheng Yuan burst in. Upon seeing them, he grinned and tried to squeeze between them, but Chen Guang blocked him with his arm and pushed him into the opposite seat.

Lin Yu refilled his beer, chuckling as he joked, "Where's your flight attendant girlfriend? Why didn't you bring her?"

"Break it off." Cheng Yuan waved his hand dismissively.

He works as a pharmaceutical sales representative for a foreign company, and is in the same industry as Lin Yu's brother-in-law. He happened to be meeting a client nearby today, and drove over after the meeting.

Presumably for work, he was dressed head-to-toe in designer logos. Apart from that, he hadn't changed much since his school days; he was still just as eccentric and unreliable.

"When did this happen?" Lin Yu looked at Cheng Yuan with some surprise. He glanced at Chen Guang beside him, who also looked surprised.

"This morning." Cheng Yuan tore off his work badge hanging around his neck and casually stuffed it into his bag. He tilted his head back and downed the wine in his glass in one gulp.

"Let's not talk about that. But you, Lin Yu, you've been in Shanghai for so long and only now thought of organizing a get-together. It's a bit hurtful!" He deliberately put on a stern face, but couldn't hide the smile in his eyes, and casually poured himself another glass.

Lin Yu readily filled his glass and clinked it against his. "This is my apology. It's my birthday today, Mr. Cheng, will you do me the honor?"

Just as Lin Yu's wine glass touched her lips, Chen Guang's hand reached out. His fingertips brushed against the corner of her lips, leaving a slightly cool touch, before he took the glass and placed it back on the table.

"You have to go to work tomorrow, so drink less." She then turned to Cheng Yuan and raised an eyebrow. "He won't dare to hold it against you, don't worry."

Cheng Yuan's gaze swept back and forth between the two of them, then he winked meaningfully. "Guang'er, aren't you being a bit too nosy?"

As Chen Guang's former college roommate, although not his closest friend, she was well aware of his past and present. The awkward interaction between the two seemed like a sign of rekindled old feelings.

Chen Guang picked up a piece of food with a half-smile, ignoring his probing. Just as Lin Yu was about to explain, his phone suddenly rang.

She answered the phone, and Cheng Shi's cheerful voice instantly pierced through the noisy background noise of the restaurant. "Happy birthday, dear!"

Cheng Yuan looked at Chen Guang, who was completely unaware and was turning his head to look at Lin Yu, his expression becoming increasingly suspicious.

Lin Yu chuckled and replied a few words, then hung up the phone and waved her phone at the two of them. "Mind having one more person? Beautiful lady!" She deliberately winked at Cheng Yuan, successfully diverting his attention.

Today is truly a wonderful day. People who wouldn't see each other for years are gathered here tonight. And those who used to be together day and night are now hard to see.

Cheng Shi wore 10-centimeter stilettos today, and her fitted halter dress accentuated her graceful figure.

With her cascading black hair and fiery red lips, the moment she pushed open the door, Cheng Yuan's eyes widened, and he almost dropped his chopsticks on the table.

"Oh, it's so lively here?" Cheng Shi greeted with a smile, then sat down in the empty seat next to Cheng Yuan. The rich scent of his expensive perfume filled the air.

Lin Yu smiled and pushed the menu towards her. "Take a look and see what else you'd like to eat?"

Cheng Shi placed the cake he brought on the table, glanced at the dishes on the table and the mostly empty beer bottles on the floor, and snapped his fingers. "Waiter, two more cases of beer!"

She casually gathered her long hair and tied it behind her head, then winked at Lin Yu. "I'm on a diet lately. But I can still drink a little alcohol."

In the gap between her hair-tying up, her gaze seemed to casually sweep over Chen Guang beside Lin Yu, a meaningful smile playing on her lips.

Seeing that he was being left standing there, Cheng Yuan offered him a tissue and asked solicitously, "Beautiful lady, what's your name?"

"Cheng Shi." She took the tissue and gently wiped the thin layer of sweat from the back of her neck, her eyes sweeping over the crowd. "Lin Yu's...former roommate."

She then smiled, her red lips curving upwards. "It's only fair, won't you two handsome gentlemen introduce yourselves?"

Lin Yu picked up the conversation, gently tapping Cheng Yuan with his finger. "Cheng Yuan is my college classmate. You two are from the same clan."

Then she turned her wrist to the side, pointed stiffly at Chen Guang, and said casually, "Chen Guang, Cheng Yuan's college roommate, is here on a business trip."

Cheng Shi raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes.

Although she had only met Jiang Chuan once, she wasn't so sure she would mistake him for someone else. Looking at the unfamiliar man who appeared beside Lin Yu on her birthday, a flicker of surprise crossed her mind, but she quickly dismissed it.

After all, in this fast-paced city, whose relationship doesn't falter and end in a heartbeat, changing partners whenever they feel like it?

Chen Guang remained quiet throughout, a stark contrast to his sharp and outspoken demeanor in college.

After a few rounds of drinks, and after being forced to make a wish, Lin Yu blew out the candles and shared the cake with the people around him.

Cheng Yuan and Cheng Shi added each other on WeChat and started clinking glasses and playing drinking games, making Lin Yu and Chen Guang, who were quietly eating cake on the side, seem a bit out of place.

Their conversation had been revolving around other people, but somehow it turned to Yao Fangfang.

Chen Guang hasn't been in much contact with her lately, and most of the news he knows comes from Zhang Yunzhou, which is nothing more than trivial things like his child going to school, her preparing for the PMP exam, and her plan to return to the workforce.

"Back in the day, I was the one who chased after the school beauty!" Cheng Yuan suddenly lifted his head from his drunken stupor and interjected with a slurred speech.

Seeing that he was quite drunk, Chen Guang poured him a glass of hot water. "You? You call sending a few breakfasts 'pursuing'?" His tone was teasing. "You should really see how hard her current husband worked back then."

Lin Yu smiled upon hearing this, and at the same time, he and Chen Guang recalled Zhang Yunzhou's vow of 452 days.

Having gone through such a passionate pursuit, finally achieving the desired result is a fulfillment of one's wishes, leaving no regrets.

Cheng Yuan suddenly slammed his hand on the table, causing the ice in his glass to slosh around. "Sigh! I know, every woman wants someone who treats her well, but if you get one, you have to cherish him!"

He drunkenly raised his index finger. "Exaggerating the differences between one woman and another is the root of all unhappiness."

Cheng Yuan, slurring his words, began reciting classic lines from the movie "Rhinoceros in Love." "Do you know who said that? My ex-girlfriend! She said we had nothing in common, and before we broke up, she threw this line at me, telling me to look it up in the dictionary myself!"

He took a big gulp of wine, answering his own question, and became more and more agitated as he spoke, banging his fingers on the table. "Do you think she's sick or not?"

"I'm just an ordinary person. I spend my days accompanying her to operas and plays, and I spend money to send her to painting and Pilates classes. Is this what I get in return? What do you think she means by this?"

The smell of alcohol mixed with resentment burst forth. "I think she's just a pretentious affectation, all show and no substance!"

"It has nothing to do with elegance or vulgarity." Cheng Shi swished his wine glass and sneered, "My ex-boyfriend was also a vulgar person, and he cheated on me just the same way."

Mentioning Lao Zhao no longer stirs any emotion in Cheng Shi's heart. The two have completely severed ties, and the Porsche has long since been sold for cash, but that resentment still rises up from time to time, like carbon dioxide in sparkling water.

Listening to their discussion of refined and vulgar topics, Lin Yu suddenly thought of Jiang Chuan. The barriers between people are so invisible; you only see them clearly when you've been hurt badly.

She tilted her head back and drank the wine in her glass, then refilled it and drank it all again.

This time, Chen Guang didn't stop him. He watched Lin Yu sitting beside him, grieving and wallowing in sorrow for another man. A dull ache rose in his chest, but he knew this was the punishment he deserved.

Lin Yu's phone screen flickered on and off on the table. Chen Guang silently hung up the call, turned off the power, and gently slipped the phone into her bag.

Apart from Chen Guang, everyone else had drunk quite a bit. It was originally agreed that Lin Yu would treat, but Chen Guang insisted on paying the bill.

He drove Cheng Yuan home first. When they parted, Cheng Yuan suddenly hugged Chen Guang tightly, his eyes reddening, and told him to remember to keep in touch before he left.

Entering society and experiencing the hardships of life, one truly understands the preciousness of friendships formed during student days. At this moment, peeling back layers of worldly wisdom, one finds that genuine feelings outweigh pretense.

Chen Guang patted his back patiently, a rare occurrence for him. "Okay, go back and get some rest."

Chen Guang stuffed the car keys into Cheng Yuan's pocket, then turned to see Cheng Shi leaning against a pillar, his eyes clear and lucid. An unlit cigarette was between his fingers.

"I live in the apartment complex across the street, no need to deliver it." She waved her phone, causing her earring to sway from side to side. "I'll message you when I arrive."

Chen Guang nodded and took out his phone to call a car, but Lin Yu suddenly noticed a red motorcycle parked next to Cheng Yuan's car.

Although not as flamboyant as Chen Guang's previous car, its streamlined body still caught the eye under the underground parking lot lights.

"Cool, right?" Cheng Yuan swayed over, drunk, and patted the motorcycle seat proudly. "Mine, bro!"

Shanghai has long since stopped mass production of motorcycle license plates, and just this piece of metal can easily fetch hundreds of thousands of yuan on the second-hand market.

She was secretly admiring Cheng Yuan's generosity when she saw the drunkard suddenly start clearing out his inventory, staggering as he turned his pockets inside out, scattering keys and change all over the floor.

He squatted on the ground and rummaged around for a while before pulling out the motorcycle key. He then tossed it to Lin Yu with a flick of his finger. "It's your little sister's birthday, and I don't have much to give you, so here, take it and start riding!"

"If the car gets damaged, it's on me! If you fall..." He hiccuped and laughed, "...it's on Chen Guang's!" Chen Guang frowned upon hearing this.

Lin Yu instinctively caught the key, thinking to himself, if the iron covering the person was damaged, then the person covering the person would probably be long gone, and the only way to hold them accountable would be to go to the King of Hell.

She couldn't drive, but she clearly remembered Chen Guang's superb driving skills. She remembered sitting in the back seat of him, her arms around his waist, and the feeling and experience of the wind whistling past her ears.

But times have changed, and there is now an invisible boundary between the two. They are no longer the kind of people who can ride the same motorcycle together.

Chen Guang noticed Lin Yu staring intently at the motorcycle, took the keys from her hand, and leaned slightly forward. "Want to take you for a spin?"

Lin Yu raised her eyes and met Chen Guang's clear and open gaze. Like the water of an autumn lake, it carried no trace of the temptation or ambiguity she was wary of, only reflecting simple comfort and concern.

It seemed like nothing more than a simple itch to try new things and a longing for a hobby from his student days. A vague unease rose in Lin Yu's heart, like a warning light flashing in the night fog.

She knew she was standing on the edge of danger, and that taking another step forward could plunge her into an even more complicated and painful situation.

But she was utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally, and desperately needed a moment's respite. Alcohol, in particular, released those suppressed desires, making her want to take a mental break as well.

Lin Yu's soul seemed to detach itself, hovering in mid-air, coldly observing and fiercely judging his own actions.

This sobering sense of disconnect made her laugh inwardly. She had indeed drunk quite a bit tonight, but she was far from being drunk enough to shirk responsibility; all her choices came from her heart.

Perhaps the real loss of control had already begun, either when Chen Guang came to Shanghai, or on the day Jiang Chuan secretly contacted his ex-girlfriend behind his back.

Perhaps throughout history, alcohol has indeed suffered far too many unjust accusations. At this moment, she knew better than anyone that she was more sober than she imagined.

Thinking of Jiang Chuan, and remembering his promise to come back on his birthday, but not a single message has been sent. He has indeed broken his promise once again.

Her phone lay silently in her bag, and she didn't want to touch it, as if by not looking at it she could pretend not to care, pretend she had no expectations.

She suddenly didn't want to go home so early, didn't want to face the mess she couldn't handle. At least for now, she just wanted to hold onto this moment of peace.

It was just a drive, and Chen Guang didn't do anything inappropriate from beginning to end, so she should be more upright.

"OK!"

She heard herself say this, imagining the motorcycle speeding into the neon-lit night. Lin Yu suddenly felt that the loneliness that was stuck in her chest would eventually be blown away by the wind, little by little.