Chapter 71 Reunion with Her Junior High and First Year High Classmate
The food at the banquet was far from enough to fill them up, so the two put on their down jackets and went to find something to eat. Shurun suggested going for mala tang (a type of spicy hot pot), as she knew of a good mala tang place nearby.
As Shu Run walked, she said, "Although it's just a small stall, the ingredients are quite fresh and the taste is good. My roommate and I often come here to eat."
Upon arriving at the location, the owner saw Shu Run and smiled familiarly, "The usual?"
"Yes, two servings as usual." After saying that, he added, "One serving without cilantro."
"Okay!"
The boss worked efficiently. After the steaming hot mala tang was served, Shu Run let Zhuang Fuyao eat first, anticipating her reaction, "How is it?"
The dried orchid was incredibly flavorful, with a rich, savory aroma that lingered on the tongue. Zhuang Fuyao exclaimed in amazement, "Delicious! Remember to recommend this hidden gem of a restaurant to me next time you find one!"
She had been craving this one thing for sixteen years, and she didn't know where to find good food anymore.
Shu Run smiled and said, "Okay."
A few moments later, a disappointing phone call came in.
Shurun's boss asked her aggressively where she was.
After a few seconds of hesitation, Shu Run retorted, "What business is it of yours where I am! I quit!"
"Beautiful!" Zhuang Fuyao said after hanging up the phone. "That's how it should be."
Shu Run breathed a sigh of relief, and was grateful for the phone call; she felt much better after venting her anger.
The mala tang they ordered had a red oil broth, which was very fragrant but not particularly spicy. The rice noodles were very smooth after being soaked in the broth, and you could slurp up a lot in one bite.
The hot pot owner asked with a smile, "Is the taste alright?"
Zhuang Fuyao gave a thumbs-up in approval: "Delicious."
She looked around and noted the location, thinking that she would bring Liang Huaixu to try it next time she had the chance.
Within my line of sight, a boy wearing a white hoodie rode by on a skateboard, looking very energetic.
Zhuang Fuyao's first thought was, "Isn't it cold to be dressed so lightly in this weather?"
My second thought was, why does this look so familiar?
Shu Run also glanced at it. The soft streetlights illuminated the boy's deep facial features, making his profile quite striking.
She thought he was just a handsome guy on the street, but to her surprise, he suddenly put away his board in a very decisive manner and walked towards them.
Before Shu Run could react, Yu Heng walked up to them, his voice tinged with surprise, "Zhuang Fuyao? It really is you."
The moment she saw the other person's face clearly, past memories flooded her mind, and Zhuang Fuyao was momentarily dazed.
Yu Heng was her classmate in junior high school and also in her first year of high school. He was also the first person she developed a vague crush on when she was young.
Unfortunately, in her second year of high school, Yu Heng decided to study abroad and asked her if she wanted to come with him before he left.
Zhuang Fuyao refused without even thinking.
Even if they had some feelings for each other, they were so young back then. She certainly wouldn't go abroad to study for a male classmate, and this budding romance was thus extinguished.
After Yu Heng went abroad, the two lost contact. It wasn't until her wedding that Yu Heng happened to be in China. The two families were old acquaintances, and he came with his family after being invited to the wedding.
When Liang Huaixu saw this, he was secretly very jealous, but he didn't show it. Only when they were in bed did he become fierce and ruthless.
In fact, she had long since forgotten that vague feeling of affection from her youth. If it weren't for the fact that her memories were relatively young, she probably wouldn't even remember Yu Heng's name.
Yu Heng smiled and said, "I thought I had mistaken you for someone else, but when I got closer, it really was you... You haven't changed much over the years."
Zhuang Fuyao smiled politely, "You too."
Noticing Shu Run's curiosity, Zhuang Fuyao introduced her to Shu Run, saying, "This is my former classmate."
Shu Run was slightly surprised, and nodded in greeting.
She had initially thought this was a college student skateboarding nearby; this person looked even younger than Sister Fuyao.
Zhuang Fuyao and Yu Heng hadn't seen each other for many years, so they didn't have much to talk about. Yu Heng mostly tried to start conversations, even saying, "I've returned to China to develop my career now. Do you want to add each other on WeChat?"
Zhuang Fuyao felt it was unnecessary and was just about to find a reason to refuse.
Suddenly, someone rushed over and snatched the phones that Zhuang Fuyao and Shu Run had placed on the table. Before they could react, Yu Heng chased after them.
He returned about ten minutes later.
He estimated that they had been chasing for quite a while, as sweat was beading on his forehead. "Here you go, we finally got everything back."
Zhuang Fuyao asked with some concern, "Are you alright?"
Yu Heng shook his head and said no, telling her not to worry.
Zhuang Fuyao then asked, "Did you call the police?"
Yu Heng still shook his head, "That person looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old. He cried to me, saying that his sick mother urgently needed money for medicine and that he had nowhere else to turn, so he came to steal my phone. I felt sorry for him, so I let him go."
She wasn't the one who snatched the phone back. Faced with this situation, Zhuang Fuyao didn't know what to say, and could only sigh, "I never thought there would still be people stealing phones these days."
Shu Run nodded and said, "There are all kinds of people in society."
"That sounds so familiar." Zhuang Fuyao smiled and gently pinched Shu Run's cheek. "Now you know what kind of people there are in society? Who goes to a bar alone to drink, and when they come back from the bathroom, they dare to continue drinking what they didn't finish before?"
Shu Run smiled and said, "I've learned my lesson!" She then expressed her gratitude to Yu Heng.
Having learned that Yu Heng had helped them get their phone back, Zhuang Fuyao found it difficult to refuse when Yu Heng continued to add her on WeChat.
But Yu Heng was quite sensible; after adding each other on WeChat, he didn't linger and said before leaving that he would see her again next time.
-
Meanwhile, after the banquet ended, Hu Xuzhe and his wife prepared to go home.
After his wife got into the car and remained silent, he smiled and asked, "Who upset you?"
"You," Mrs. Hu said irritably, "when are you going to buy me that jewelry set I mentioned last time?"
Hu Xuzhe habitually made excuses, saying, "The company's profits haven't been good lately, and I've invested the funds I have in new projects, so for the time being..."
"It's just a short time again! I've been waiting for you for half a year, waiting for you to buy it for me. It's all too late now! That set has already been bought by someone else." Mrs. Hu became angrier the more she thought about it. When she first got married, she was on a similar level to Zhuang Fuyao, with a handsome and loving husband.
She had always been secretly competing with Zhuang Fuyao. Five years ago, when Zhuang Fuyao divorced Liang Huaixu, Mrs. Hu felt that she had won the battle of love.
Little did she know that five years later, when the other person reappeared, they easily outshone her.
"I saw Zhuang Fuyao today... She and Liang Huaixu are probably getting back together soon. That set of jewelry was bought by Liang Huaixu and given to her, and there's more than one set of the same quality! Look at her, and then look at yourself!"
Hu Xuzhe asked, "Did she tell you that?"
"It was Zhou, the special assistant to General Manager Liang, who said it." After recounting the events of the day, Mrs. Hu's anger flared up instantly.
Hu Xuzhe was quite handsome when he was young, but he doesn't seem to care about his appearance at all now. That belly and that hairline... it's really...
Not only is he a bit ugly, but he's also incredibly stingy. Compared to Liang Huaixu, he's a complete scumbag.
Mrs. Hu said disappointedly, "Hu Xuzhe, I've really changed. You weren't like this when we first married. You said you'd give me all your money, and this is how you spend it on me? This isn't even enough for what you gave your mistress a few years ago..."
"Enough!" Hu Xuzhe's face darkened as his wife berated him and brought up his past affair. "It's all old news. I've told you this many times. It's over now, it's over. It's just you."
Mrs. Hu became hysterical, "You've done it before! That's a stain on your reputation for life, and I'll remember it forever!"
The farce ended with him promising to buy his wife a new car.
Hu Xuzhe frowned, thinking to himself that Liang Huaixu was truly a henpecked husband, spoiling his wife to an extreme. He bought jewelry worth hundreds of millions of yuan just like that? And not just one set?
Is it really necessary to be so greedy? If Liang Huaixu buys a set for his wife, he'll have to buy one too? And this is just jewelry.
Extending this further, yacht and private jet company stocks... are they trying to kill us all?
Hu Xuzhe recalled what the Information Department had cracked from Liang Huaixu's phone that day, and realized that nothing was truly impossible.
He remembered that Liang Huaixu had mentioned in the group chat that his girlfriend ran a restaurant, and for the time being, he was the only one in the group who knew that the girlfriend Liang Huaixu was talking about was actually his ex-wife.
After opening the group chat and scrolling to the restaurant's name, he found many videos of Zhuang Fuyao appearing on short video apps.
It has to be said that Zhuang Fuyao's appearance hasn't changed much over the years; she still looks as beautiful as before. No wonder Liang Huaixu suddenly started working out recently.
A partner who is beautiful, charming, and successful in her career is indeed someone who can easily make one feel insecure.
He scrolled through a few more videos and, sure enough, he was pleasantly surprised. Such a beautiful woman must be surrounded by handsome men.
Hu Xuzhe, wanting to annoy Liang Huaixu, sent him a few screenshots: "Mr. Liang, I saw someone on a video who looks like your ex-wife. Do you think it's her?"
The screenshot Hu Xuzhe took was a photo posted by netizens when they were shipping Zhuang Fuyao and Zhao Zilin as a couple. He doesn't usually read entertainment news, and he only found out about it today.
It was only five or six in the afternoon on the other side of the coast.
Liang Huaixu was having dinner, with his parents and aunt's family sitting at the table.
Ning Xi was also present, and the dinner atmosphere was very lively. Liang Huaixu didn't talk much, but he would occasionally chime in when he felt like it.
His phone vibrated a few times. He thought it was a message from Zhuang Fuyao, but when he opened it and saw it was from Hu Xuzhe, he was disappointed.
After looking at the photos, Liang Huaixu remained calm.
At first, he would feel depressed because of the photos of Zhuang Fuyao and Zhao Zilin, but over time he stopped feeling anything.
He knew that Zhao Zilin posed no threat to him, and Zhuang Fuyao would have no shortage of suitors. There would be many more such situations in the future, and he needed to adapt.
Liang Huaixu: [Hmm, what's wrong?]
Hu Xuzhe carefully considered his words and sent him a message: [President Liang, I heard from my wife that Zhuang Fuyao and you are about to remarry? Is she the girlfriend you mentioned before?]
Liang Huaixu sensed that the visitor had ill intentions. He usually had a casual relationship with Hu Xuzhe, and their only interaction was when they gathered together.
He rarely spoke to Hu Xuzhe alone.
Liang Huaixu: [What's the problem?]
Hu Xuzhe was not satisfied with Liang Huaixu's reaction, but he felt a little better when he thought that the other party might just be pretending to be calm.
Not only were Hu Shi and Chang Ting rivals for many years, but he also secretly compared himself to Liang Huaixu. However, as he reached middle age, his energy was not up to par. Unlike Liang Huaixu, who was not overweight to begin with and had a pretty face, he suddenly started working out.
Whenever he attends an event, many women's eyes are focused on him, and even his wife has secretly looked at Liang Huaixu.
Thinking of this, Hu Xuzhe became angry.
He gritted his teeth, his tone slightly sarcastic: "Mr. Liang, you really need to keep a close eye on your wife. With so many handsome young men surrounding her, I'm nervous for you even if you're not."
Liang Huaixu calmly lifted his eyelids, flipped through his photo album to find several videos of him and Zhuang Fuyao being filmed at Qingfeng Pavilion, and forwarded them to Hu Xuzhe: 【No need for you to worry.】
Hu Xuzhe clicked on the video and glanced at it. It was a video of a handsome man in ancient costume and Zhuang Fuyao being filmed together.
This guy hadn't seen this before, and he didn't understand what Liang Huaixu meant, so he directly asked Liang Huaixu: 【What is this?】
Liang Huaixu: [The person inside is me. I know everything about what happened at Qingfeng Pavilion, so there's no need for Mr. Hu to worry about it. Mr. Hu, you should probably take better care of your physique when you have time.]
Hu Xuzhe: ? ? ?
Is it Liang Huaixu?
He opened the video and watched it carefully more than ten times before he recognized that it was indeed Liang Huaixu... He was even wearing makeup, no wonder he didn't recognize him at first.
Influenced by big data, when he exited and opened the short video app, he immediately came across a solo cut of Liang Huaixu in ancient costume, looking like a peacock spreading its tail feathers.
Hu Xuzhe was slightly speechless, thinking that even if an acquaintance saw it, they would probably just think it was a male celebrity who looked like Liang Huaixu and then swipe away without looking back.
Doesn't a man who's almost forty years old looking like this seem like he's trying to look younger?
On the other side, Mrs. Hu glanced at her husband.
The two had just finished arguing, and now she heard Hu Xuzhe playing the same background music on repeat. She assumed he was looking at some beautiful woman, so she quietly walked behind him and watched.
She stood there for two minutes, and when she discovered that Hu Xuzhe was watching a video of a man on repeat, she was so angry that her body trembled. Her emotions were just as complicated as when she first found out a few years ago that Hu Xuzhe had a mistress.
Has Hu Xuzhe reached the point where he no longer discriminates between men and women?
Mrs. Hu took a deep breath and roared, "Hu Xuzhe, are you crazy? Have you become so depraved that you've started targeting men?"
Hu Xuzhe was startled and shuddered. He shouted at his wife, trying to out-shout her, "What are you yelling about? Take a good look at who this is!"
Mrs. Hu glared at him fiercely, took the phone, and looked at it for the first time without being sure. After looking at it several times, she narrowed her eyes suspiciously, "Is this Liang Huaixu?"
“Right? I almost didn’t recognize him either, but Liang Huaixu said it was him.” Hu Xuzhe took the opportunity to criticize his wife, “So, don’t just yell at me without knowing what’s going on. You didn’t even understand what happened before you yelled at me.”
Mrs. Hu was still holding a grudge, and when she heard her husband say that, she couldn't help but roll her eyes at him, her words containing a hint of disdain, "Look at how well other people manage their figures, and then look at yours."
Hu Xuzhe: "..."
I felt even more annoyed.
-
This trivial matter did not stir up any emotional waves in Liang Huaixu. He calmly turned off his phone and continued chatting with his family and having dinner.
After finishing her meal, Ning Xi couldn't wait to go to the church for Christmas Eve activities and even asked him if he wanted to go too.
"I won't go."
Liang Huaixu had no interest in these activities. After returning to his room, he called Zhou Ting to inquire about the banquet that evening.
This was Zhuang Fuyao's first time attending such a banquet since she transmigrated, and he was quite concerned, so he asked Zhou Ting to keep him informed.
Zhou Ting's earlier remarks were rather bland, until she mentioned Shu Run's rivalry with those girls, at which point Liang Huaixu's expression darkened.
Zhou Ting didn't know that the person was Shu Run; she only said that Zhuang Fuyao's friend had gotten into a conflict with so-and-so's daughter, and Zhuang Fuyao stood up for her. Those people refused to apologize, so Zhuang Fuyao spilled her skirt in an attempt to teach them a lesson.
In fact, afterwards, the elders of those families came to speak to Zhou Ting, saying that the child was ignorant and hoped that the matter could be resolved peacefully and that they should not mention it to President Liang.
Normally, Zhou Ting would give these people face. But this time, since it involved Zhuang Fuyao, Zhou Ting didn't dare to say anything and told the truth, "...The thing is, those people were spoiled by their families and don't know any better."
Liang Huaixu's tone turned cold. "Since you're so ignorant, you should learn a lesson."
Zhou Ting had followed President Liang for many years and was also a longtime friend of his, so she naturally understood his meaning.
President Liang may seem gentle, but he is extremely protective of his own, especially since this time it involves Zhuang Fuyao.
Zhou Ting nodded: "Understood, I'll go and talk to their family."
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