Return to the City: The Strongest King
Chapter 197: Treating Song Xiaodong as a Porter

Chapter 197: Chapter 197: Treating Song Xiaodong as a Porter

Song Xiaodong chuckled softly, "You guessed right."

Sun Yali burst out laughing again, her arm resting on Song Xiaoru’s shoulder, "Xiaoru, your brother is really funny."

Song Xiaodong shrugged his shoulders, "The truth never seems believable."

Sun Yali shook her head, "Okay, okay, you don’t need to make excuses. You must have something to do, it’s inconvenient for you to go with me, right? I can take a hint. I’ll take a taxi, you guys go on your way."

All Song Xiaoru could do was apologize, "Then we’ll be off, be careful taking a cab."

"Don’t worry, I might have had some drinks, but I’m not drunk." Sun Yali waved her hand and then said, "In a few days, I’ll treat you to a meal, to properly thank you and your brother."

Watching Song Xiaodong and Song Xiaoru leave, the smile still lingered on Sun Yali’s face. Xiaoru’s brother was just too funny, claiming President Miao was his girlfriend and even talking about driving a sports car. Young people these days really can brag.

After waiting for a while and the taxi hadn’t come, she saw a red Ferrari driving out of the parking lot.

"So beautiful. I wonder when I’ll be able to have a car like this." Sun Yali watched enviously, then suddenly thought, "Xiaodong just said they were driving a sports car, haha, it couldn’t be theirs, could it?"

"Pfft! What a joke. I know Xiaoru’s family situation, even if there’s been some improvement in the past two years, it couldn’t have changed that much."

"No way!" Sun Yali then widened her eyes and covered her open mouth with her hands, disbelieving as she stared at the Ferrari.

Song Xiaodong and Song Xiaoru had no intention of showing off, and Xiaoru even didn’t want Sun Yali to see them driving such a car.

Unfortunately, a car in front of them stopped and hers couldn’t pass, forcing her to stop for a moment. The tint on the car windows was very light, allowing Sun Yali to clearly see inside.

At that moment, Song Xiaoru couldn’t just drive away and had to roll down the window, saying to Sun Yali, "Yali, I’m sorry, our car really can’t fit more people."

"You guys... a Ferrari... this..." Sun Yali was utterly at a loss for words. Seeing Song Xiaoru in a Ferrari was just too shocking for her.

Having driven this car for a few days, Song Xiaoru had already encountered many such situations at work and had grown somewhat accustomed to them. She smiled slightly, "Yali, we’ll chat on WeChat later, we’re heading off now."

Watching the departing Ferrari, Sun Yali was dumbstruck for a long time, unable to grasp the huge change. She really couldn’t understand how Song Xiaoru had suddenly started driving a Ferrari.

The next day, with nothing better to do, Song Xiaodong went over to Li Gang’s place. Li Gang’s family had opened a small supermarket and was stocking up. Without saying a word, Song Xiaodong immediately started helping with unloading the goods.

"Dongzi, you don’t have to. I can manage on my own," Li Gang hurriedly intervened.

"Exactly, Dongzi, we can handle it. It’s not the kind of work you should be doing," said Li Gang’s father. After hearing from Li Gang about how capable Song Xiaodong now was, he naturally regarded Song Xiaodong highly, considering him someone of status and thus not suited for such manual labor.

Song Xiaodong grinned, "I’m free anyway, and besides, Gangzi and I have been friends for so many years. Helping out here is no different from helping at my own home."

Li Gang and his family were deeply moved. Previously, they always thought that Li Gang’s friends were unreliable, and assumed that Song Xiaodong, now successful, wouldn’t keep close ties with Li Gang anymore. Discovering that he was still the same as before was truly rare.

Li Gang felt a warm glow in his heart as he playfully punched Song Xiaodong in the chest and chuckled, "Come on, let’s see who can unload more."

Song Xiaodong and Li Gang unloaded most of the truck’s goods, both ending up covered in sweat and dust, which Song Xiaodong didn’t mind at all.

A young man and woman stopped at the supermarket entrance, the woman going inside to shop while the man stood smoking at the door.

"Wang Yuming?" Song Xiaodong stared at the man, finding him somewhat familiar, and after a second glance, recognized him as an old high school classmate.

Wang Yuming sized up Song Xiaodong and then recognized him, saying, "Isn’t this Song Xiaodong?"

Song Xiaodong reached out to shake hands with Wang Yuming, but Wang Yuming frowned upon seeing Song Xiaodong’s dusty hands.

Such a gesture was somewhat impolite, but Song Xiaodong didn’t mind; after all, seeing an old classmate after so many years made him quite happy. He dusted off his hands, saying, "I just dirtied them with work, let’s skip the handshake."

Wang Yuming looked around the supermarket and then at Song Xiaodong, asking, "Is this your family’s supermarket?"

Song Xiaodong smiled and said, "No, it’s my friend’s place. I’m just helping out here."

"Oh..." Wang Yuming’s expression held a trace of disdain as he said, "We haven’t seen each other for so many years, and I haven’t heard anything about you. What have you been up to all this time?"

"I’ve been in the military, just recently retired."

"Always in the military, huh? What rank were you when you retired?"

Song Xiaodong chuckled, "I was just a volunteer soldier, didn’t have any rank."

"Didn’t they assign you a job when you came back?"

"Nope." Song Xiaodong’s work in the military was classified, so he preferred not to talk much about it, and said, "You look like you’re doing well, huh? You always did well in school, you must be doing great now."

Striking a nerve, Wang Yuming raised his chin but maintained a pretense of humility, saying, "Just average. I only got a job at the Local Tax Bureau, nothing major."

"Ha, a civil servant, that’s really not bad. With your skills, you’ll definitely advance, maybe in a few years you’ll be a bureau chief," Song Xiaodong said.

Wang Yuming appeared even more pleased, saying, "It’s not that easy, but getting a promotion to Section Chief or something in a couple of years is not impossible. Speaking of which, we have a dinner gathering tonight among classmates who are all doing well. Some are even doing better than me. Would you like to join? Everyone’s classmates after all; they could give you a leg up, might make a better future for you than hanging around this little supermarket."

"Oh..." Song Xiaodong now realized Wang Yuming thought he was just a laborer here. He didn’t bother to correct him, saying, "Sure, it’s been so many years since I last saw my classmates. It would be nice to get together."