Chapter 804 Old Acquaintances Meet Again
Shen Jingjing's voice startled the other person, who then widened their eyes in excitement: "Jingjing? Is it really you?"
An old classmate, whom they hadn't seen for many years, unexpectedly ran into each other here, and both of them were very excited.
Hu Xiaoyan grabbed Shen Jingjing and looked her up and down: "Oh my, I recognized you at first glance, but I was too afraid to admit it. What's wrong with you? Did you eat some kind of preservative? How come you still look so young?"
"Young? I'm getting old." Shen Jingjing said with a smile, and looked at Hu Xiaoyan with concern: "You haven't changed at all, you're exactly the same as when you were a child."
"Forget it, I'm the one who's getting old and fat."
The two were classmates since elementary school until Shen Jingjing dropped out of junior high school. After that, Shen Jingjing left Funan for Shenzhen and Hong Kong, and the two never saw each other again.
Because Shen Jingjing always came back in a hurry and hadn't made much of a name for herself outside, she didn't take the initiative to meet up with her friends and classmates from her hometown.
Hu Xiaoyan does look much more prosperous than she did when she was a child, and judging from her clothes, she seems to be doing quite well.
"Jingjing, let me introduce you. This is my husband. You can just call him Lao Duan." Hu Xiaoyan took the initiative to pull the man next to her to introduce him to Shen Jingjing.
Shen Jingjing looked at the other person and nodded: "Hello, Lao Duan."
The other person nodded politely, and Hu Xiaoyan continued, "I also married someone from another place. Isn't it a coincidence that we both happened to come back at this time and met here? We should add each other on WeChat as soon as possible."
As she spoke, she took out her phone and asked Shen Jingjing to add her. She kept sighing, "It's been thirty years since we last met. It's amazing that we can still recognize each other. We used to go to and from school together when we were kids. But then you left suddenly. There was no WeChat or anything back then, so we lost contact."
Shen Jingjing was also quite happy. She did have a few good childhood playmates in Longyang when she was a child, and Xiaoyan was one of them.
After adding the other person on WeChat, she said, "I've added you. Let's keep in touch."
"Is this your sister?" Hu Xiaoyan noticed Shen Yingying and Shen Ci standing to the side, and her eyes lit up when she looked at Shen Ci: "Is this your daughter? She's so beautiful. You were beautiful when you were little."
Shen Yingying also remembered Hu Xiaoyan. When they were little, she often followed her older sister and a few of her friends around. So she smiled and greeted her, "Sister Xiaoyan."
Shen Ci also greeted her, "Hello, Auntie."
Hu Xiaoyan affectionately took Shen Jingjing's hand and asked, "How have you been these past few years? I remember Auntie said this morning that you went to Shenzhen and Hong Kong and have been staying there ever since? Has your husband come back?"
"I'm in Longcheng now, but I'm not married yet," Shen Jingjing said frankly.
Hu Xiaoyan was slightly taken aback, and subconsciously glanced at Chen Ci, then understood.
She didn't say anything, just nodded gently: "You must have had a tough time all these years, but thankfully the children have grown up. You seem to be doing quite well. You must be living a good life in Longcheng now, right?"
"It's been great, these past two years have been pretty smooth."
"That's good." Hu Xiaoyan patted her hand, her eyes filled with relief, showing that she was genuinely happy for Shen Jingjing.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she exclaimed in surprise, "We've both come back at this time by such a coincidence, could it be for the same thing?"
Shen Jingjing blinked, puzzled, and then heard Hu Xiaoyan ask, "Did Meifeng send you back?"
"He Meifeng?"
"Yes, she's remarried!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Jingjing quickly shook her head in denial: "No, I haven't been in contact with my classmates and friends from my hometown for so many years. If I haven't been in contact with you, how could I possibly be in contact with her?"
"I came back this time to pay respects at my father's grave; it's the 20th anniversary of his passing."
Hu Xiaoyan immediately understood: "That's true, look at my brain. But Jingjing, Meifeng doesn't know you're back. If she did, she would definitely invite you. Do you want to go?"
Shen Jingjing hesitated for a moment and then shook her head: "Forget it, I won't go."
Her relationship with He Meifeng was far less close than her relationship with Hu Xiaoyan. He Meifeng came from a well-off family when she was young, and Shen Jingjing felt that she couldn't get along with her. The other woman always seemed aloof and looked down on others.
"Are you really not going?" Hu Xiaoyan persuaded, "She has been living in Longyang all these years. Many of our elementary and junior high school classmates are still in Longyang. They will definitely all go this time. You can see a lot of people again if you go. Aren't you curious about how everyone is doing now?"
To be honest, Shen Jingjing was quite curious, which is a common psychological state for most people.
But she still doesn't plan to go.
She didn't meet these people when she was doing poorly, but now that she's doing better, she feels like she'll offend them if she goes back.
"I'm really not going. Don't tell me I'm back. Just pretend you don't know anything about it."
Hu Xiaoyan didn't force her. Seeing that she really wasn't going, she nodded and said, "Okay, then we'll contact each other later and have a meal together. I'm really happy to see you."
After chatting for a few more minutes, Hu Xiaoyan and Lao Duan left.
Watching her retreating figure, Shen Yingying couldn't help but say, "Sister Xiaoyan is still the same as when she was little, still so loud and boisterous."
Shen Jingjing smiled, and Shen Ci could tell from her mother's smile that she and this plump Aunt Xiaoyan must have been good friends in the past.
“Mom, if you still have friends here you want to contact, you can do so,” Shen Ci encouraged her mother.
As people get older, they tend to miss the people and things from their past more and more. Having lived a whole life, she often reminisces about her childhood after she turned forty.
But Shen Jingjing still shook her head: "Forget it, I haven't seen him for so many years, he probably doesn't look like he did when he was a child anymore."
After Hu Xiaoyan and Lao Duan left the Longyang Hotel, Lao Duan finally couldn't help but ask, "Your friend has a daughter without being married? She had a child out of wedlock?"
Hu Xiaoyan glared at him upon hearing this: "You're the one with the mouth. You know what you're doing. If something bad hadn't happened, who would want to do this?"
“Let me tell you, Jingjing has had a really tough time. You don’t know what her family situation is like. You always say that our family favors boys over girls, but her family is much worse off than ours. At least I went to university, but she dropped out of junior high school to work and support her brother and younger brother’s education. She has suffered so much on her own.”
"She doesn't want to go to Meifeng's wedding, probably because she doesn't want to be asked all sorts of questions. You better keep your mouth shut and don't mention her, okay?"
Old Duan nodded knowingly: "Alright, I understand. Looking at it this way, you seem to have a better relationship with Jingjing than with Meifeng."
"Of course! We used to be such good friends. Meifeng was really annoying when we were little; she used to bully us all the time. But we're all grown up now, so we don't hold grudges anymore."
(End of this chapter)
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