As the saying goes, enemies are especially hostile when they meet.

The moment Gao Qiang saw me, a hint of hostility flashed in his eyes, and I stared back at him with the same unfriendly gaze.

Big Head, standing beside me, sensed the subtle change in the atmosphere and quickly put on a smiling face, saying, "Hey, Shenxing, Qiang-ge, what are you doing! I know you had conflicts back then, but you weren't even adults then. How long has it been? Can you really hold onto those little frictions from your school days?"

"Yeah, Qiang-ge, our student days are over. We studied together for so long, and the friendship we formed is so precious!"

"That's right, let bygones be bygones!"

"We're all grown men, there's no need to be so stingy, is there?"

"..."

Seeing this, the other students also chimed in.

The strange atmosphere in the room made me feel very uncomfortable. I wanted to turn around and leave, but my pride made me feel that if I did, I would be like a deserter on the battlefield.

Amidst the comforting words of her classmates, Gao Ya walked over to Gao Qiang and took his arm: "Honey, don't be angry. I really didn't know Duan Shenxing would come. This has nothing to do with me. Look at his shabby appearance, how could I possibly be interested in him? Even if I were blind, I wouldn't abandon you for him!"

Hearing his classmates chattering, Gao Qiang, seemingly not wanting to be seen as petty, immediately smiled and said, "What are you all talking about? I've long forgotten what happened back then. It's just a bit of an accident that the missing person from our class ended up here!"

"Yes, yes, yes, so many years have passed. We're all men, how can we be so petty? Sit down, everyone, please sit down!"

When Big Head heard Gao Qiang say that, he tried to smooth things over and pulled me by the arm to sit down in the empty seat next to me.

I know he said that to criticize Gao Qiang on my behalf, but this puts me in an awkward position. If I leave, I'll be seen as petty.

Even though I have no feelings for these classmates, Gao Ya was my former lover. Even though we have broken up, I still want to maintain my self-respect in front of her, so I had no choice but to bite the bullet and sit down.

After everyone was seated, a girl looked at Gao Qiang obsequiously: "Brother Qiang, I heard that Sister Ya is a senior in college this year and has been assigned to your company for an internship?"

Gao Qiang flicked his wrist, revealing a Tudor watch: "Hmm! Xiaoya is too beautiful. I wouldn't feel comfortable letting her go out to work. Since we have a company at home, let her work at home. That way, she can have an easier time, and I can take care of her."

The girl laughed and said, "Oh my, Qiang is such a good man! If I had known you were this outstanding, I would have pursued you back then!"

Another girl also adopted a humble attitude: "Pah! Even if you pursue Brother Qiang, he has to be interested in you first! Our Sister Ya was farsighted and caught Brother Qiang, this golden turtle, long ago!"

Gao Ya's expression became somewhat unnatural upon hearing this: "Xiao Mei, don't talk nonsense. I'm with Gao Qiang not because of his family background, but simply because he's gentle and considerate, and he gives me a sense of security."

"Oh dear, look at my loose tongue, why do I keep saying things like that! Sister Ya, I didn't mean anything by it, please don't take it to heart."

The girl quickly apologized, then looked at Gao Qiang: "Brother Qiang, I'm about to start my internship, but it's so hard to find a job these days. Could you arrange for me to work at your company?"

"Let's talk about this privately later! I'm quite busy lately and can't deal with these things for now!"

Gao Qiang politely declined the girl's offer, but didn't forget to brag: "My company landed a big order. If we can complete this order, my car will be upgraded by at least two levels!"

"Brother Qiang, you're already driving a Mercedes-Benz E-Class now. If you upgrade two levels, wouldn't you be going straight for a Maybach?"

A boy next to me, who had been good friends with Gao Qiang since high school, chatted with him for a bit, then couldn't resist taking a jab at me, loudly asking, "Duan Shenxing, I haven't seen you once since we graduated high school. Where have you been making your fortune all these years?"

I replied to Monkey's WeChat message on my phone, telling him the truth: "I wouldn't call it getting rich. I just run a small pawnshop near Huaiyuan Gate to make a living."

The boy pressed on aggressively: "Pawnshop? That's a pretty ancient profession. If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have thought it was extinct!"

Liu Jun, who was standing to the side, came to my rescue, saying, "What do you know? Nowadays, pawnshops are just like trust companies. They can lend money out of any kind of collateral, such as mines, real estate, antiques, and cultural artifacts. Be careful, this is the financial industry!"

"You've got to be kidding me! Do you really think we're fools? I know Duan Shenxing's pawnshop is just a small storefront. At most, they only pawn gold rings or college students' cell phones!"

"That's right, now that you mention it, I remember seeing Duan Shenxing outside the bar last year. He was working as a designated driver!"

"That's not right! When I saw him, he was clearly working as a waiter!"

"...!"

Once the topic started, everyone immediately began to chatter, and the atmosphere at the table became clearly divided. Everyone started to put me down, trying to win Gao Qiang's favor.

I loathe these people's faces, but I also understand that this is reality. It's much more useful to befriend a rich second-generation like Gao Qiang than to associate with a poor guy like me.

"Alright, this is a class reunion, not a denunciation meeting! We're all ordinary people, not rich kids like Gao Qiang. We earn our living through our own hard work, what's shameful about that?"

Jiang Bo then shouted, "You all know Shenxing's family background. He grew up without his parents by his side. It's really not easy for him to have developed to where he is today without going astray! If it were someone else, they might not have been able to do this!"

Seeing that the others had already said all the insults, Gao Qiang changed the subject, saying, "Alright, Jiang Bo isn't wrong. Everyone is trying to make a living, and there's no such thing as high or low status. Why do we organize class reunions? Isn't it because we're used to this deceitful life and want to escape the world and make our lives more peaceful? Even if Duan Shenxing is a beggar, we're still classmates. There's no need to laugh at him! Besides, I'm not some rich kid. My family's company only has a net income of six or seven million a year. I'm just an ordinary person!"

"Look at Brother Qiang's awareness, he's just different from us!"

The girl at the table continued to fawn over him, saying, "Brother Qiang is not only young, promising, handsome, and rich, but he also has such a positive outlook on life. Sister Ya, I'm so envious of you!"

Gao Ya leaned sweetly on Gao Qiang's shoulder and gently took his arm: "Yes, Gao Qiang is really amazing to me! I'm so happy to be with him!"

A girl standing nearby noticed the bracelet on Gao Ya's wrist and asked in surprise, "Xiao Ya, your bracelet is so beautiful. It must be made of jade, right?"

Gao Qiang put his arm around Gao Ya's shoulder and glanced at me provocatively: "Of course, this is a third anniversary gift I bought for Xiao Ya when I went to Yunnan last week to do business. It's not expensive, only costing a little over 200,000 yuan, hehe."

"Damn it, what are you showing off for?"

Hearing this, Big Head muttered something under his breath, then picked up his glass and looked at me: "Shenxing, ignore this show-off, come on, let's drink by ourselves!"

I glanced at Gao Ya's side, then looked away: "Cheers."