Infinite Ebullience
Chapter 1122 - 7 The Misfortunate Classmate

Chapter 1122: Chapter 7 The Misfortunate Classmate

"Hello, is this Tang Zheng?" The voice on the phone was filled with expectation. Even though the person tried to control their emotions, the anxiety and hesitation in their voice was still evident to Tang Zheng.

"Yes, it is. May I ask who’s calling?" Tang Zheng rarely gave out his number, especially since last summer when he started working in the Trojan Room, he hadn’t revealed a single digit. "Could it be a university classmate? But they wouldn’t talk like this, would they?"

Tang Zheng didn’t need to guess anymore. As soon as he confirmed his identity, the other party let out a long sigh of relief and then excitedly called out.

"Tang Zheng, it’s me, Xiu Yingjie, your middle school classmate." After all, including the high school years, it had been nearly five years since they’d seen each other. Probably worried that Tang Zheng would not remember him, Xiu Yingjie started to give details, "The tall and goofy one who sat at the back, with a long face and slightly curly hair, didn’t the girls call me Curly-haired Dog? Do you remember now?"

"How could I forget? You were pretty good at basketball. Didn’t you go to No. 32 High School?" A smile spread across Tang Zheng’s face, his sleepiness completely gone, replaced by the joyful emotions of seeing an old classmate.

"Yeah, but unlike you, I didn’t get into university." Xiu Yingjie revealed a bitter smile. "I missed the mark by a dozen points or so. I didn’t want to retake the exams, so I started working and earning money instead."

"Hmm, how’s everything going?" Tang Zheng knew Xiu Yingjie came from a single-parent family with a younger brother, and his mother was just a regular worker; the pressure to support the family was immense.

"Ah, don’t even mention it. I’ve been muddling along, tired like a dog every day, and the money I earn is never enough." Xiu Yingjie sighed, complained for a bit, then laughed and said, "You’re hard to find, you know. I had to ask Zhao Dongtao to get your phone number."

"Sorry about that." Tang Zheng apologized. In fact, after moving up to high school, the middle school classmates rarely kept in touch, except for a few with whom he was close; they hardly ever met.

"Forget about it, it’s not like I’m blaming you. I know Key High Schools have intense study schedules and strict rules." In his speech, there was a hint of envy toward Tang Zheng. "How’s university life?"

"It’s okay!" Tang Zheng got up and walked out of the bedroom, feeling a bit thirsty.

"Just okay? I bet it’s like heaven. There must be a whole platoon’s worth of girls chasing you, right? I remember even girls from other classes chasing you in middle school." Xiu Yingjie teased Tang Zheng, his words carrying a slight hint of sucking up.

"I’ve forgotten about that. I only know that whenever you played basketball, there were definitely girls watching." Tang Zheng’s gaze swept over the clock hanging on the living room wall. It was nearly half-past eleven, and he couldn’t help but wonder what Xiu Yingjie was up to.

"By the way, are you still in touch with Song Xin?" Xiu Yingjie was very anxious, but he didn’t know how to bring the conversation around to himself.

"No." Tang Zheng remembered the fresh-faced girl with short hair. Everyone knew Song Xin had a crush on him, but they didn’t know that on a dusky afternoon after school, Song Xin had confessed her feelings to him. Unfortunately, Tang Zheng didn’t understand anything at the time and had rejected her.

"What a pity. Huh? Cao Rong Xuan organized a reunion; didn’t he invite you?" Xiu Yingjie sounded indignant. "Just because you chased after Song Xin and ignored him, he actually excluded you from the reunion."

"What exactly happened?" Truth be told, Tang Zheng felt a bit uncomfortable, feeling as if he had been ostracized. He believed he had good personal relationships.

"It’s..." Xiu Yingjie uttered a word, but then he heard the beeping sound from his phone, indicating the battery was about to die. His heart leaped with urgency. He wanted to be straightforward with Tang Zheng, but he didn’t know how to broach the subject.

"What’s wrong?" Tang Zheng noticed something was amiss. "Where are you now?"

"I’m not sure, I only know I’m next to the Dongbai Building." Xiu Yingjie bitterly smiled.

"You’re in the same city as me?" Tang Zheng’s university was in a different location, far from his hometown. As for the Dongbai Building, it was one of the landmark buildings of that city.

"Yeah." Xiu Yingjie had come to the city for a business trip only last week. Seeing his phone battery dying, he couldn’t hold back his grievances anymore, "My money was stolen; I’m literally sleeping in the streets!"

"Why didn’t you say so earlier?" Tang Zheng set down his water glass and quickly ran back to his bedroom to get dressed while comforting his classmate, "Don’t wander around. Just wait at the west entrance of the Dongbai Building, and I’ll come to pick you up."

After picking up his car from the parking lot, Tang Zheng drove like the wind to pick up his classmate, who must have been both tired and hungry.

"Thank you!" Even though he had already hung up the phone, Xiu Yingjie still voiced his gratitude. Hearing Tang Zheng’s voice full of concern made him feel warm inside. However, he didn’t hold out much hope; Tang Zheng was only a university student, and there was very little he could do to help.

Two days ago, in front of the bank, Xiu Yingjie was robbed of his money bag by two people on a motorcycle. He reported it to the police, and they took his case, but catching the thieves was obviously not going to happen overnight. Now, food and lodging were minor concerns; the real trouble was that the money bag contained the payment for goods he had received, amounting to fifty thousand yuan. He didn’t dare to call the company; otherwise, his boss would scold him to death.

Today, having already extended his return journey by two days, Xiu Yingjie had used up all his travel expenses, not even having had breakfast. He sat on a bench in the Square the whole day, waiting for news from the Police Station, but there was none.

Just when Xiu Yingjie was nearly in despair, he received a phone call from Cao Rong Xuan informing him about the Students’ Union. An idea struck him, and he immediately asked who lived in this city. Although it took him three attempts, he finally got hold of Tang Zheng’s number.

"First, I’ll borrow some money to get a train ticket home. I’ll deal with the fifty thousand yuan issue later. Damn it, why am I so unlucky?" Xiu Yingjie found the west entrance of the Dongbai Building, squatted on the steps, puffing on a cigarette. In just two days, his eyes had sunken, and he had grown haggard.

Xiu Yingjie’s gaze fell on the road as he looked around, searching for Tang Zheng’s figure, anxiously waiting, each second an agony.

A Porsche sped over, its headlights casting white beams of light that, on the night road, resembled a dazzlingly enormous beast.

"Damn it, should I try scamming a crash?" Xiu Yingjie thought of how he hadn’t eaten or drunk anything, squatting on the Main Street, freezing, while others were driving cars worth over a million, embracing their lovers and enjoying themselves. He felt so aggrieved, an impulsive thought to stage an accident and extort some money occurred to him.

"Forget it, my life is more important!" Xiu Yingjie, afraid of dying, quickly discarded the unrealistic idea, and started to indulge in self-pity again, wondering why he hadn’t been more careful so his money wouldn’t have been stolen. But the next second, he was stunned because the Porsche stopped at the roadside in front of the Dongbai Building, and a young man in sportswear got out, running in a hurry.

"Damn, could that be Tang Zheng?" Xiu Yingjie quickly stood up, just about to call out when the other party already spoke up.

"Yingjie?" Tang Zheng had good eyesight, and although it had been five years, he still had a vague recollection.

"It’s me." Xiu Yingjie was excited and ran down, "Damn, it really is you, kid. I’ve missed you to death."

Xiu Yingjie hugged Tang Zheng tightly, as if clinging to a lifeline.

"Big guy, why the tears? We’ll talk about other things later, come on, let’s go eat first." Tang Zheng patted Xiu Yingjie’s back, comforting him. He could tell from the young man’s expression that he’d had a rough few days.

"I’m not hungry." Xiu Yingjie hadn’t finished speaking when his stomach started to growl, and he scratched his head awkwardly.

"Once you’re here, you listen to me, you have to eat even if you’re not hungry." Tang Zheng didn’t care about these trivialities, only feeling the joy of meeting an old classmate, as he put an arm around his shoulder, heading towards the Cayenne, while casually inquiring about others, "Who else are you still in contact with right now?"

In middle school, because of his height, Tang Zheng also sat in the back row. Although he wasn’t very close to Xiu Yingjie, their relationship was somewhat closer than with other classmates.

Even amongst classmates, there are degrees of closeness and distance.

"Not many, everyone is busy, either studying or working. And you, dude, you don’t even have QQ. It’s been really hard to find you." Xiu Yingjie approached the car, and under the moonlight, couldn’t help reaching out to touch the smooth and clean car body, "Damn, aren’t you a university student? How can you afford a car?"

"It’s not mine, it’s the company’s," Tang Zheng lied, not wanting to upset his friend.

"Kid, are you saying that just so I won’t feel bad? This car is obviously brand new, and it’s a Porsche worth over a million at that. Which company would be so generous as to let you drive it in the middle of the night?" Xiu Yingjie was touched by Tang Zheng’s thoughtfulness, but deep down, he still couldn’t suppress a tinge of envy and jealousy.

"That’s why I have to return it early tomorrow, so I don’t get scolded." Tang Zheng’s expression didn’t change, but he sighed inwardly, knowing that one lie leads to more lies to cover up its flaws.

"You’re working part-time now? I heard from them that you got into a good university?" Xiu Yingjie sat in the passenger seat, looking at the brand new interior without touching anything. He was worried about dirtying the car and causing trouble for his classmate.

"Yeah." Tang Zheng didn’t mention dropping out, as that would only complicate things further.

"Damn, good at both studying and making money, compared to you, I’m trash," Xiu Yingjie looked towards Tang Zheng’s cheek, jokingly adding, "You’ve gotten cooler, man. Is the boss a woman? Did anything happen between you two?"

"No, a man!" Tang Zheng thought of An Xiuru, with whom he hadn’t spoken in over a month.

"Makes sense with a man too, given your ability, it’s no surprise you’re relied upon. Your status must be pretty high to be able to drive such a good car," Xiu Yingjie said, acknowledging reality while complimenting Tang Zheng, although his mind couldn’t help but spin with various thoughts.

"What are you imagining?" It was getting late, and most restaurants were closing, so Tang Zheng simply went to Tao Ran’s Supermarket.

"Don’t get me wrong, I just got a call from a classmate to buy some food." When Tang Zheng saw Tao Ran sitting behind the cash register, frowning, he said, "It’s not safe late at night, from now on, you must close by nine o’clock."

"I’m used to it!" Black Long Straight shook her head, but she felt happy inside. She glanced at Xiu Yingjie following behind, and for once took the initiative, "These are all cold, do you want me to heat them for your classmate in the back?"

"Hello, no need to trouble yourself, I’m just going to eat a little." Xiu Yingjie could tell from Tang Zheng’s tone that Tao Ran was someone familiar, but that made him even less inclined to inconvenience her.

........

PS: Adjusting my rhythm, there will be three updates tomorrow,

I must say I was moved these past two days since I only updated the minimum, I wasn’t feeling good about asking for votes, but seeing everyone cast so many really touched me. Once Kawen is over, I will surely add more Chapters to express my gratitude! (To be continued. If you like this work, please feel free to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com), with your monthly recommendations or tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)