Urban Martial Saint

Upon hearing Ye Qing’s shout, the pair immediately turned to look at him, both appearing surprised.

”You... who are you?” The man clearly hadn’t yet recalled who Ye Qing was, though he did find him familiar as if his mind was working through it.

”It’s me, Ye Qing!” Ye Qing smiled slightly and said, ”We’re classmates, but you were roommates with Zhou Yong and them, I lived in the dorm across.”

”Ye Qing?” The man clearly found the name unfamiliar, but the woman beside him reacted more quickly, saying, ”Ye Qing, isn’t that the trash bin?”

Ye Qing’s face showed a hint of awkwardness; many classmates couldn’t remember his name and only recalled this nickname. His four years at university were basically spent in humiliation. Unexpectedly, even after graduation, the shame still followed him.

”Oh, so it’s you!” Lin Haoqi suddenly understood, smiling as he said, ”Well, what can I say about remembering names? At that time, who even remembered your name? Your nickname was so much more convenient. So, did Zhou Yong invite you too?”

Ye Qing nodded with a faint smile, not saying much more.

”That’s good; we’re all classmates, after all. It’s been so many years since we’ve seen each other; it’s only right to meet up and have a meal!” Lin Haoqi nodded, looked around Ye Qing, and said, ”By the way, how did you get here?”

”Took a cab,” Ye Qing answered truthfully.

”Oh,” Lin Haoqi nodded with a playful gaze on Ye Qing. From Ye Qing’s attire, which didn’t seem costly, he assumed Ye Qing hadn’t done well for himself and internally dismissed him quite a bit.

”You haven’t changed much since college!” The woman, leaning against the Audi, teased, ”I remember you wore ill-fitting clothes then, and even now, your clothes don’t fit well either. By the way, what have you been up to? I heard from someone that you went into the army? Why on earth did you do that? You’re a top graduate from Northern University, joining the army is such a waste of talent. Even if you come to my dad’s company as a junior clerk, you’d earn six to seven thousand a month now. After returning from the army, how much can you earn?”

Ye Qing gave a slight smile; he recognized this woman too. Named Ding Yue, she was renowned in college for being a socialite, mingling with the sons of the rich and officials. By graduation, she had latched onto Lin Haoqi, and surprisingly, they were still together. Back then, Ye Qing’s roommate was utterly devoted to her, but she never even glanced at him once. Now, together with Lin Haoqi, the look of satisfaction on her face showed just how content she was with her life.

”Alright, we’re old classmates, no need to say so much!” Feeling slightly awkward, Lin Haoqi smiled and said, ”Let’s go inside since they’re not here yet.”

”Do you know which room it is?” Ding Yue asked, eyes wide.

”If we don’t know, can’t we just ask?” Lin Haoqi said, ”My third uncle is the manager here; worst case, we can ask him to arrange an even better room for us!”

This suggestion lit up Ding Yue’s eyes, and she shot Ye Qing a sideways glance, saying, ”Ah, had I known, I’d have suggested going to my second uncle’s National Hotel. It’s not worse than this International Hotel, and the environment is better too!”

Her words were clearly meant for Ye Qing’s ears, but Ye Qing ignored her and followed them into the International Hotel.

Once inside, they asked around and discovered they hadn’t arrived early. They were actually late, as everyone else was already in the room. The three of them hurried to the room, opened the door, and saw over a dozen people sitting together, engaged in lively discussions. Zhou Yong was among them, sitting with a beautiful woman, none other than Yang Yueru, Zhou Yong’s fiancée.

Upon seeing the trio enter, everyone stood up, almost all gathering around the front to greet Lin Haoqi and Ding Yue, utterly failing to notice the person behind them.

In the corner of the room, one person stood up and walked straight towards Ye Qing, tears in their eyes when they reached him. The person grabbed Ye Qing’s hand, saying, ”Ye Qing!”

Those words warmed Ye Qing’s heart, finally having met someone who remembered his name after encountering so many classmates. That classmate was none other than Gao Shibao, with whom Ye Qing had a good relationship during their school days.

However, now it was evident that Gao Shibao was having a rough time in the Capital; his hair had turned significantly gray and he looked noticeably worn out, appearing older than his twenty-six or twenty-seven years, looking more like he was in his thirties, prematurely aged by life’s burdens.

No one noticed what was happening over there with Ye Qing and Gao Shibao; they all surrounded Lin Haoqi and Ding Yue, all acting familiarly. In reality, this kind of reunion was just a time to compare achievements. Ye Qing went unnoticed, and since Gao Shibao was doing poorly, no one wanted to engage with him either. Therefore, while everyone else exchanged pleasantries, Ye Qing and Gao Shibao silently sat inside the room.

After quite some time, everyone finished talking among themselves, and, under Zhou Yong’s arrangement, they returned to their seats. As the host, Zhou Yong finally noticed Ye Qing and hurriedly smiled, saying, ”Oh, right, today another old classmate came. We probably haven’t seen him for five or six years. Let me introduce him to everyone.”

Zhou Yong finished speaking, pointed at Ye Qing sitting beside Gao Shibao, and laughed, ”This is our classmate from the same year, Ye Qing. Does anyone still remember?”

There was a moment of awkward silence; it was clear no one remembered the name.

”It’s that trash can!” Ding Yue shouted loudly and laughed first after speaking.

The crowd burst into laughter, nodding repeatedly, and all started to say they remembered this person. In fact, everyone still remembered what Ye Qing did in college; they just didn’t remember the name Ye Qing.

Seeing everyone’s expressions, Gao Shibao got angry instantly, slammed the table, and said, ”Ding Yue, how can you talk like that? Everyone has graduated, and you’re still using that nickname? That’s too disrespectful!”

Ding Yue frowned and glanced at Lin Haoqi beside him. Lin Haoqi remained calm and said, ”Gao Shibao, we’re all classmates, just joking around, what’s the big deal?”

Lin Haoqi’s expression didn’t take Gao Shibao seriously at all, and he hadn’t even looked Ye Qing in the eye once.

Gao Shibao still wanted to speak, but was held back by Ye Qing, who smiled faintly and said, ”It’s nothing, at least everyone still remembers me. Come on, the focus tonight isn’t me, it’s our classmates Zhou Yong and Yang Yueru, let’s not fixate on me!”

These words eased some of the awkward atmosphere on the spot. Lin Haoqi glanced at Gao Shibao and then turned to Zhou Yong, smiling, ”Old Zhou, you’re getting engaged, what a happy occasion. As an old classmate, I have nothing to give you. Well, our company just got a new batch of furniture; your new house needs furnishing, so feel free to pick out a set sometime. Consider it my engagement gift to you!”

This made Zhou Yong beam with joy and say, ”Oh, Haoqi, we’re all like family, no need to be so polite!”

”That won’t do, it’s what I should do!” Lin Haoqi finished speaking, glanced at everyone with satisfaction, and said with a smile, ”We don’t have many classmates in the Capital, how could I not support you?”

A man beside him said, ”Haoqi, you affluent fellow, being so generous all at once, how are we little commoners supposed to live?”

Lin Haoqi laughed, ”What’s the matter? It’s not about the size of the gift, it’s about the gesture, right?”

”Actually, everyone coming over for the meal, despite being busy, shows that they care, why spend so much?” Zhou Yong laughed uncontrollably, in reality, he was eagerly anticipating everyone’s gifts.

Sure enough, everyone had prepared gifts, like watches, cameras, clothes, and such, none of them cheap. Even Gao Shibao had prepared a tea set, which was of course the most modest among everyone, making the looks on other people’s faces quite strange when they saw him.

Finally, it was Ye Qing’s turn, and everyone looked at Ye Qing, but Ye Qing hadn’t prepared anything. In fact, Ye Qing thought it was just an ordinary class reunion, and he had never heard that you had to bring a gift for an engagement; what kind of custom is that?

Seeing Ye Qing unresponsive, Gao Shibao couldn’t help but ask softly, ”Ye Zi, you didn’t prepare anything, did you?”

Ye Qing shook his head, and opposite him, Ding Yue immediately burst out laughing, ”Trash can, you’re just the same as back in school, always freeloading. Graduation’s here, and you still haven’t changed? People are getting engaged, and you prepare nothing, isn’t that just disgraceful?”

Everyone looked at Ye Qing, and Ye Qing himself was slightly embarrassed. He scratched his head and said to Zhou Yong, ”Zhou Yong, I’m really sorry, I really didn’t know about the customs here, and I really didn’t prepare anything. How about this, since you have a lot of projects in Shenchuan City, next time you’re there, I’ll show you around properly, how does that sound?”

”Oh, who can’t talk? Do you need a guide to go shopping?” Ding Yue rolled her eyes and said, ”When Zhou Yong goes to Shenchuan City, it’s on a business trip, doesn’t need you to host. Besides, Lin Corporation has to host Zhou Yong over there too, can your hosting compare to Lin Corporation’s?”

Ye Qing slightly furrowed his brows, thinking Ding Yue was really too mean and sharp-tongued, speaking like she was intentionally causing trouble.

”Ding Yue, it’s Zhou Yong’s engagement, he hasn’t even said anything, are you going to keep yapping?” Gao Shibao angrily retorted.

”Gao Shibao, can’t you just say it nicely?” Lin Haoqi immediately frowned and said, ”You know it’s Zhou Yong’s engagement, since when is it your turn to speak here? Besides, Ding Yue isn’t wrong, we’re all classmates, why make a fuss? In life, you can live with or without money. But, even without money, you can’t lose your dignity and respect, right? Even if you bring a 1 cent gift, as long as the gesture is there, what’s coming empty-handed supposed to mean?”