In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 628 Class Reunion Ten Years Later
“Actually, Meng Kai…” Just as Ai Yongqiang was about to say something, Meng Kai suddenly pulled him away.

Then Meng Kai took the initiative to speak to Huang Linlin: "No need! A hero takes responsibility for his actions. It was wrong of me to scold you back then. I apologize and I will reflect on my actions! Big brother is here. You can do whatever you want with me."

“Yes, yes, yes, big brother is here. Just tell us how you want to punish us, and we’ll accept it.” Ai Yongqiang chimed in.

Huang Linlin turned around from the passenger seat, smiled at the two of them, and then said to Dawei with a huff on her baby face, "Big brother, you saw that? If it weren't for you, these two definitely wouldn't have apologized to me so easily today."

"I'm magnanimous and won't hold a grudge against a child." Huang Linlin seemed to have returned to her high school days, acting like a spoiled princess. She patted her chest lightly before saying, "How about this, I'll roast lamb legs for you two in a couple of days. And you two will have to be there with your older brother as punishment!"

"They have lamb legs! That has to be on the menu!"

The group chatted and laughed as they arrived at the Solon Banner Hotel. The signboard at the hotel entrance was in both Mongolian and Chinese, and the exterior layout was full of local cultural characteristics.

Huang Linlin received a message that it was room 888 on the third floor. After parking the car, Yu Dawei took the group directly to the room on the third floor.

It seemed they had arrived a bit late. When the group entered, the entire private room was full of people, at least fifteen or sixteen in total. Fortunately, it was a large, luxurious private room, and there were still a few empty seats.

When Yu Dawei appeared in the sight of everyone in the private room, many people were stunned and confused at first, because they only had a few classmates in Hohhot over the years. This burly guy, who was as strong as a bear, seemed familiar to everyone, but they couldn't remember him for a moment.

"Squad leader! It's the squad leader!" Someone gradually found the figure that overlapped with the one in front of them in their dead memories and stood up excitedly.

"It really is the class monitor!"

"My God! It's been so many years!"

The private room instantly erupted in noise. A woman dressed in a black mink coat stood up, smiled at everyone, and then gracefully walked to Yu Dawei, introducing him: "That's right, this is the mysterious guest I told you about, our former class monitor! Let's give him a round of applause!"

A round of applause erupted. While winning honors for the class might not be Yu Dawei's achievement, when it came to managing the class and increasing class cohesion, Yu Dawei was undoubtedly the envy of everyone in the class.

Huang Linlin, standing to the side, felt a little uncomfortable when she heard the class monitor introduce Yu Dawei.

This clearly intends to treat Yu Dawei like a guest, and then you, as the host, entertain the guest. This naturally puts Yu Dawei at odds with all his classmates, and even the friendships they once shared may have faded instantly.

Thinking of this, Huang Linlin directly confronted Gao Xiaonan, saying, "Hehe, Gao Xiaonan, calling her a guest is too formal. She is our class monitor. In the past, whether it was the sports meet or various activities organized by the school, she was always the one who led the way."

These words caused the previously warm atmosphere to instantly turn cold, and even Gao Xiaonan's expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

“Yeah, the squad leader started the fight, and in the end, the whole class got punished along with him.” Another person stood up; it was a woman with short, curly hair.

The woman was dressed in a seductive manner, with faint green eyeshadow visible under her double eyelids. Her clothing was also quite revealing; despite it being the dead of winter, she wore a red knitted sweater that slightly exposed her chest, and from a certain angle, one could even see her cleavage.

Yu Dawei followed the gaze to the woman and gradually recalled her name. If he remembered correctly, it should be Zhu Zixin, a girl who used to be almost invisible in the class.

Sitting in the last few rows, I was always daydreaming during class. I neither listened nor made a fuss, and I didn't greet my classmates after class. I just remained silent.

It seems that I can really connect with Gao Xiaonan, the class monitor.

"Hey, we're all old classmates, it's been years since we've gotten together. What's going on here?" A man stood up, came to Yu Dawei, and tried to ease the atmosphere by pulling the class monitor aside. "It's been ten years, everyone. The class monitor has come all this way, is it so hard to have a peaceful meal together?"

Ignoring the stares of others, the man led Yu Dawei, Meng Kai, Ai Yongqiang, and Huang Linlin to the empty seats next to him.

Yu Dawei glanced at the man, Zhang Zhidong. This kid was still as smooth-talking and agreeable as ever. He used to be their class's vice class monitor and Youth League secretary.

Don't be fooled by his friendly demeanor; he's the kind of guy who's all smiles but has a cunning mind.

This person spent his previous life in an open-pit mine, and later became a high-ranking leader. He also helped him obtain several maintenance and repair projects for the open-pit mine.

I just didn't do a good job back then, and I dragged him down with me, so our relationship became very strained afterwards.

Yu Dawei is still very grateful to Zhang Zhidong, who helped him both with the open-pit mine project and when his company went bankrupt and he was desperate.

Those who can truly connect with this guy are genuinely well taken care of, but it's mostly just superficial friendliness; deep down, he's a very cold person towards the emotions around him.

Otherwise, Yu Dawei wouldn't have maintained a casual acquaintance with him during high school.

“Gao Xiaonan told us there was a mysterious guest. I thought it was one of the classmates who went to Kyoto and came back. I didn’t expect it to be the class monitor. How have you been all these years?” Zhang Zhidong said as he offered seats to the group. But after glancing at the people who moved their seats, he froze.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Zhidong turned to look at Gao Xiaonan, who was still standing at the door. His expression didn't change much, but a deep disgust flashed in his eyes.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry, the waiter told me that this private room can only seat eighteen people, and we'll need to add more chairs if needed." Gao Xiaonan looked at Huang Linlin apologetically. "Linlin, I'm sorry, I included the class monitor's seat in the calculation and forgot about yours. I'll ask the waiter to add a chair right now."

Upon hearing this, Ai Yongqiang and Meng Kai, who had already half-sat down, both stood up abruptly and glared at Gao Xiaonan with hostility.

In previous years, when the two were abroad, they would occasionally check on their old classmates through Gao Xiaonan. They got along quite well, and they all thought that Gao Xiaonan had become more open-minded. They even took the initiative to keep in touch with Huang Linlin.

Looking back now, Ai Yongqiang and Meng Kai both feel that they were very wrong. It's true that old habits die hard!
"It's alright, we can just add another seat. I sell meat at my stall, so it's common for me to eat sitting or standing." Huang Linlin was quite nonchalant about the class monitor targeting her, after all, it wasn't the first time.

Furthermore, the class monitor had finally come to see her classmates and have a meal, and she didn't want to ruin the dinner because of her disagreement with Gao Xiaonan.

"Waiter, please replace these three chairs with stools. It'll be more spacious this way," Yu Dawei, who hadn't spoken until now, said after the waiter came in.

"He's about the size of the class monitor, taking up two seats by himself. Switching to stools would definitely make things much more spacious." Zhu Zixin, who used to be as invisible as air, spoke up again, making the already disharmonious atmosphere even more bizarre.

Many students on the field wanted to say something, but seeing the woman dressed in a black mink coat, exuding wealth and power, they hesitated to speak.

After all, Gao Xiaonan always provides the venue and pays for every class reunion. She's someone that ordinary people like them can't afford to offend. Who knows if they'll ever need her help in the future?

On the contrary, class monitor Yu Dawei, although he looked well-dressed, was definitely not as good-looking as Gao Xiaonan. They all knew that Yu Dawei had been expelled from school and returned to his hometown in disgrace, which meant that he still didn't have a high school diploma.

In addition, they heard that after Yu Dawei returned to the countryside, he married a woman from the village, and they guessed that all these years he had just been a farmer and a laborer.

It's not that she's a laborer, but in terms of status, she definitely can't compare to the wife of a coal mine owner.

Thinking about it this way, everyone present fell even more silent.

"Zhu Zixin, we're all old classmates, please be more polite." Ai Yongqiang couldn't stand it anymore, his gaze scrutinizing the woman at the round table. "I remember when we were in school, there was a year when your family couldn't even afford your tuition, right? If it weren't for the class monitor organizing everyone to raise money and helping you with part of your tuition, do you think you would have been able to graduate high school smoothly?"

"Do you know that the class monitor donated the most money during the donation? He gave you all the pocket money he had saved up for half a month. He was going to buy candy for his sister, you know?" Ai Yongqiang turned to look at Gao Xiaonan, who had just sat down. "Xiaonan, if this is what class reunions are like, Meng Kai and I won't be in the mood to eat and drink with everyone anymore."

"We've been working non-stop for over 30 hours straight on our way back from abroad, and we haven't had much sleep. Wouldn't it be nice to go back and get a good night's rest?"

"Oh, alright, alright, they're all good classmates. Please don't take offense if I said anything too blunt or inappropriate. The food's all here, let's start, shall we?" Gao Xiaonan didn't press the matter any further.

The group started toasting and chatting to pass the time. However, whether intentionally or unintentionally, some classmates who used to get along well with Yu Dawei and Huang Linlin were not very willing to greet the two of them.

Instead, Meng Kai and Ai Yongqiang became the main characters at the table, receiving praise and toasts from their classmates.

They were no different on campus, but now that they've entered society, with the support of various invisible social backgrounds and strengths, everyone's perspective on others is very different from when they were in school.

Not to mention that Meng Kai and Ai Yongqiang were the only two in their class to be admitted to prestigious key universities, and now that there is a craze for going abroad, the two of them went abroad early and settled overseas.

That level of skill alone was enough to earn the admiration of everyone present.

Putting aside other things, they may never be able to go abroad in their lifetime, but if their children do manage to go abroad, they might need their old classmates to help them out.

In addition, interacting with them more can also provide a lot of information from abroad, and you never know what ways you might find to make money.

Therefore, among everyone present, Gao Xiaonan, Meng Kai, and Ai Yongqiang were the main characters, enjoying the adoration and adulation of the crowd.

Gao Xiaonan was naturally enjoying herself, and even took off her black mink coat to reveal a sexy burgundy cheongsam, and danced a local folk dance in front of everyone.

When the song ended, the crowd cheered and praised, and even some old rascals whistled, turning it into a fan meeting.

"Feeling sentimental, huh? Class reunions have turned out like this?" At this moment, Zhang Zhidong, holding a wine glass, leaned close to Yu Dawei and whispered, "These past few class reunions have all been like this. As for me, I'm not doing too well now. I'm a small manager at a mine, the kind with no real power."

"If it weren't for my father-in-law being a senior technician at the mine with good connections, I reckon I wouldn't even have become a deputy supervisor." Zhang Zhidong had probably drunk quite a bit, his cheeks were slightly flushed, and after clinking glasses with Yu Dawei, he downed the beer in his glass in one gulp.

He could sense that his old squad leader wasn't doing too well either. Even though his down jacket was a brand name, there were several dirty spots on the coat, and a tear in it.

Furthermore, the dark yellow sweater she wore underneath was rather ordinary; it didn't look like it was bought, but rather like it was knitted by someone.

Most importantly, the squad leader's former sharpness is gone, completely gone.

Not only could Gao Xiaonan be manipulated at will, but even Zhu Zixin, who was as small as a little karaomi, could say a few words to him at will.

If this had happened in the past, the squad leader would have already resorted to violence.

"Zhidong, I've told you before, relax. If it's not yours, you can't get it no matter how hard you try; if it's yours, it won't run away no matter where you put it." Yu Dawei also took the initiative to clink glasses with his old classmate.

Throughout the entire drinking session, only this deputy class monitor was willing to chat with me for a few minutes.

“That’s true.” Zhang Zhidong didn’t care at all. He just thought that Yu Dawei had compromised with life, just like Huang Linlin beside him.

After several rounds of drinks and several dishes, the waiter finally came in with the bill.

The waiter knew who could pay the bill and went straight to Gao Xiaonan, the main character of the event.

Just then, one of the guys, who was drunk, suddenly joked with Yu Dawei: "Hey, I'm telling you! Our class monitor finally came all this way, so he should definitely treat us to this meal!"

"That's right! The class monitor should be here. For so many years, Xiaonan, the academic representative, has been acting as the class monitor and organizing the gatherings. Class monitor, you've finally come this time, so you have to take responsibility!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Class monitor, please! After the class monitor treats us to this meal, I'll take everyone to sing karaoke!" Seeing that she could ridicule the once arrogant Yu Dawei again, Zhu Zixin didn't hesitate to continue teasing him.

"You guys!" Huang Linlin was about to speak when Yu Dawei grabbed her arm.

"It's just a meal, nothing to worry about." Then Yu Dawei gestured to her with his eyes before turning to look at everyone, his eyes filled with disappointment. "It's been so many years since we last met, I should be the one to treat you to a meal."

Everyone was surprised when they heard Yu Dawei say that. They had all seen the expenses tonight: high-end drinks and dishes, plus so many people, it would have cost at least a thousand or two.

This is still in a third- or fourth-tier city in northern China. If it were in a big city, this meal would probably be even more expensive.

Regardless of the circumstances, Yu Dawei's immediate acceptance of the agreement without even flinching has certainly piqued the curiosity of some people.

I don't know if this class monitor is just pretending to be something he's not, or if he really has the ability.

"Heh, the class monitor is still as concerned about saving face as ever." The person who had previously said that the class monitor's treat meant taking everyone to a karaoke bar was now somewhat unhappy. He felt completely outmaneuvered by Yu Dawei, and his tone, reeking of alcohol, became sarcastic. "I just wonder how you're going to explain this to your wife when you get home after paying the bill?"

"Then you don't need to worry about it." Yu Dawei waved to the waiter, and then his gaze turned cold when he looked at the man again.

(End of this chapter)