The spacious private room was filled with laughter and chatter.
People had already taken their seats at four large round tables, though not all of them were completely full.
After all, while some people at this class reunion had brought their boyfriends or girlfriends along, there were still quite a few who couldn’t make it.
“Hey, Fatty, you should have run into Yiyi on your way here, right? Where is she?”
The handsome young man with black-rimmed glasses, seeing that the girl still hadn’t returned after going out, couldn’t help asking Li Jianchun, who was sitting beside him.
His name was Yan Qing, the former class monitor of Senior Year Class 4.
He had liked Liu Yiyi back in high school and had even confessed to her, but she had directly rejected him at the graduation party.
They say the harder something is to get, the more you want it. Even though he had a girlfriend at university now, he hadn’t given up on pursuing Liu Yiyi…
“Oh, Yiyi is waiting for Xiaolinzi. She said she was afraid he might not show up even though he said he’d come.”
Li Jianchun said casually, but deep down, he felt increasingly that the young girl he had just seen looked very familiar…
She looked just like… Lin Xinyuan?
Impossible… I must be overthinking it…
Upon hearing this, Yan Qing frowned.
He still remembered Lin Xinyuan, not because the guy had much presence, but quite the opposite.
It was only because that guy used to be close to Liu Yiyi that he had made a mental note of him.
It wasn’t to the point of bullying him, but he had occasionally made things awkward for him…
For example, right now, he felt deeply irritated and secretly planned to make that kid look bad when Lin Xinyuan arrived.
How dare he make his own people wait for him? He himself had never received such treatment…
But no matter how dissatisfied he was with Lin Xinyuan or how much of a sense of crisis he felt, he would never admit that he was inferior to that scrawny poor loser.
He didn’t show it on his face. He just nodded and said coldly, “I see…”
Then he stopped paying attention and turned back to chatting with his former close friends.
But it seemed that after hearing Yan Qing and Li Jianchun’s conversation, some people also remembered that there was a person named Lin Xinyuan.
Still, they only made a few jokes and then dropped the matter.
After all, although Lin Xinyuan’s grades ranked among the top in the class and even the grade, he really didn’t have much of a social life.
He had little presence among the boys in the class and didn’t leave a deep impression.
What little impression there was came from the fact that the homeroom teacher favored Lin Xinyuan.
On the other hand, he was fairly well-discussed among the girls, mainly because Lin Xinyuan had an extremely delicate and handsome appearance, which made the girls remember him.
For instance, right now, several girls who had heard the commotion from the next table couldn’t help but start discussing it.
“Hey, wasn’t Lin Xinyuan pretty good-looking? I never saw you confess to him back then.”
One girl had been complaining about not finding a boyfriend in class back then, only to find that in university, she couldn’t stand any of the boys in her class. The girl next to her giggled and asked.
That girl thought carefully for a moment, then nodded. “He was indeed delicate, but he wasn’t my type. Too skinny…”
Another girl couldn’t help but interject, “I actually like that kind, but he was way too…”
At those words, the others understood what she meant.
The truth was, Lin Xinyuan was too shy, spoke too softly, and most girls didn’t like such a gloomy personality.
Nearby, Teacher Ming listened quietly to the girls’ conversation, a gentle smile on her kind face. “Xinyuan might be a bit quiet, but he’s really a good person.”
Hearing this, the girls didn’t argue, and even some of the boys nearby who overheard the homeroom teacher’s words stayed silent.
In their memory, Lin Xinyuan might not have had a likable personality, but as a person, he was beyond reproach. To put it bluntly, he was easy to push around…
Everyone in the class knew that Teacher Ming favored Lin Xinyuan and Liu Yi a bit more.
You could tell just from the number of times she called on them in roll call…
Because of this, even though Lin Xinyuan was easy to bully, no one dared to order him around back then.
In fact, a few boys in the class who didn’t like Lin Xinyuan didn’t dare to talk back in front of the teacher at that moment…
Just as everyone in the room was chatting enthusiastically about their experiences over the past three years, their future plans, or funny anecdotes, the door to the room was pushed open from the outside.
When they saw Liu Yi come out first, everyone thought nothing of it and only glanced at her.
But soon, two unfamiliar figures stepped out from behind Liu Yi, immediately drawing everyone’s attention.
They were an extraordinarily good-looking couple, the kind that would stand out immediately even in a crowd.
The girl wore light blue flared jeans, a pair of white sneakers, and a teal green sweater. On her head, she had a knitted beanie.
Her hair cascaded over her shoulders, her features were pure and delicate, and her skin was so fair it seemed to glow.
Her small face carried an obvious shyness and timidity.
With such a simple outfit, she appeared both sweet and endearing, her slender figure hard to look away from.
Beside her, the young man holding her hand was dressed just as simply: a white inner shirt, a black windbreaker jacket, and low-rise jeans.
What would look bulky on an average person only made his legs look longer and his posture more elegant.
He was handsome and spirited, and just standing there, he became the center of attention.
Seeing this scene, the entire room seemed to hold its breath for several seconds.
It was a long moment before they came to their senses.
Their expressions were somewhat awkward as they feigned composure, their hearts unsettled.
Soon, confusion arose about the identities of the two.
When did their class have these two people?
How come they didn’t recognize them? Were they friends of the vice monitor?
Just as everyone was puzzled, Li Jianchun was already dumbfounded.
What’s the deal with these two? Why did Yiyi bring them in?
Yan Qing, sitting next to him, was also stunned when he saw the girl.
He unconsciously swallowed, a hint of awe hidden in his eyes.
Then he looked at the young man with eyes full of jealousy, but that quickly turned into a sense of powerlessness.
Yan Qing considered himself good-looking, but compared to this guy, the gap was enormous…
Feeling the gazes of those people, Lin Xinyuan’s expression stiffened, and her heart pounded like never before.
She looked at the young man beside her in panic.
Seeing the smile and encouragement in Qin Nanfeng’s eyes, feeling the warmth from his hand holding hers, she barely managed to steady herself.
As for Liu Yi, who was walking in front, she naturally sensed everyone’s confusion, but she didn’t explain.
Instead, she walked straight over to Teacher Ming.
Under everyone’s curious gaze, she leaned in and whispered a few words into Teacher Ming’s ear. “Teacher Ming, she…”
After hearing the whole story, Teacher Ming’s eyes changed instantly as she looked at the two, especially the girl.
Teacher Ming had thought Lin Xinyuan looked familiar from the start.
After Liu Yi’s explanation, she was inwardly shocked, but having rich life experience and having seen many storms, she quickly buried these complex thoughts.
Without letting the girl feel too awkward, she gave Lin Xinyuan a gentle smile and waved them over. “Come, Xinyuan, you two sit next to the teacher!”
As she spoke, her gaze lingered for a second on their tightly clasped hands, and her expression turned a bit subtle.
Lin Xinyuan felt her head was about to steam over.
Especially since Teacher Ming had just called out her name in front of everyone, it made her feel even more shy and embarrassed.
But she quickly nodded. “Okay, Teacher Ming…”
Then she swiftly pulled her boyfriend over, and the two sat down in the two empty seats next to Teacher Ming, as if afraid to be even a second late.
The seat Lin Xinyuan now occupied was originally Liu Yi’s. Liu Yi didn’t mind and took another empty seat.
“This…”
“Gasp…”
At Teacher Ming’s words, everyone involuntarily drew in a sharp breath, still unable to process it.
Xinyuan? Lin Xinyuan? Wasn’t that supposed to be a guy?
They racked their brains for a moment but couldn’t figure it out. Only one person seemed to understand first, his mouth hanging wide open in shock.
Looking at the girl’s vaguely familiar face, connecting it to Liu Yi’s strange behavior and Teacher Ming’s address… If he still couldn’t figure it out, he’d be an idiot!
This…
Am I dreaming?
Or is today April Fools’?
He was dumbfounded. Not far away, Lin Xinyuan, who had just sat down, seemed to feel his gaze.
She glanced at him subconsciously, then immediately looked away in panic and embarrassment.
Lin Xinyuan was so nervous she couldn’t help herself, as if she had done something wrong facing Teacher Ming beside her, completely unsure how to start.
“You’ve been through a lot…”
“Huh… Te… Teacher Ming…”
The girl looked up with an uneasy and confused expression. It was only when she saw the barely concealed distress in the eyes of the elder she had always respected that she understood.
At that moment, her heart seemed to finally settle. She felt ashamed of her thoughts of wanting to avoid this a few days ago.
The tension on her fair little face faded considerably, and a sweet curve unconsciously tugged at the corners of her lips, her smile blossoming like a flower.
“Mm… thank you… thank you…”
Teacher Ming, thank you so much for looking out for me in high school…
Without you, I might not be here today…