I'm back in 1990

Chapter 632: Reunion

After the group had noisily discussed who would treat everyone, Gao Song seized the opportunity to walk up to Huang Xiaochuan and whispered, "Mr. Huang, it's a call from your senior, Principal Hong."

Huang Xiaochuan glanced at Gao Song, then took the phone from Gao Song's hand and said in a warm tone, "Senior brother, what are your instructions?"

Hong Yongze glanced at the expectant principal and said into the speakerphone, "Junior brother, how about we have dinner together tonight? You didn't want to show up for the celebration, but we can at least have a small dinner together tonight, right? The city leaders would also like to see you."

Huang Xiaochuan replied in a tone that brooked no refusal, "Senior brother, it's not that I'm not giving you face, it's just that I already had an appointment with someone, and the time conflicted. How about I treat you to dinner another day and apologize to you in person? Also, please tell my superiors for me that I really can't be in two places at once!"

Hong Yongze said with a regretful expression, "Oh, I see! Then you go ahead and get busy, I'll contact you again in a few days."

After hanging up the phone, Hong Yongze spread his hands and said to the principal with a helpless expression, "Principal, you heard it too, he has something to do and can't come."

The principal looked disappointed; it seemed that meeting this academic genius and money-making god was not so easy after all.

Hong Yongze saw all of this and couldn't help but feel a little smug. Where were they before? Now they want to curry favor with someone. Did they never expect this to happen when they were so eager to sever ties back then?

After Huang Xiaochuan hung up the phone, he handed it to Gao Song. Once Gao Song stepped aside, Ding Yi casually asked Huang Xiaochuan, "Who was that?"

Huang Xiaochuan replied calmly, "My senior, Principal Hong, said that the school leaders wanted to invite me to dinner tonight, but I turned it down."

Ding Yi knew the most about Huang Xiaochuan's situation. He sneered and said, "These people! When trouble comes, they either protect themselves or run faster than rabbits! But when there's something to gain, they all rush to you. What kind of bastards are they!"

Huang Xiaochuan waved his hand dismissively: "It's all in the past, just ignore them."

The two didn't try to hide their conversation from Wu Duo and Chen Zhe, who naturally heard it all. However, they also knew some of the details, so they naturally sided with Huang Xiaochuan.

However, it's best not to dwell on the past, especially since the group has only met a handful of times since graduation, particularly Wu Duo and Chen Zhe. Wu Duo has been too busy with work since going to Beijing, and Chen Zhe is now teaching in Australia and rarely comes back. So, when they do meet, they naturally have a lot to talk about.

Ding Yi chose the place for dinner tonight; Huang Xiaochuan still couldn't beat this narrow-minded guy. Ding Yi is treating tonight.

Ding Yi didn't take them to any high-end places. Instead, he led them through a maze of alleyways to a local Shanghainese restaurant.

The restaurant wasn't big, and it didn't even have a private room, but Ding had arranged for someone to book the entire restaurant for the night so that the group could have a proper meal and chat.

Several exquisite traditional Shanghai-style cold dishes were already laid out on the table: roasted gluten, smoked fish, poached chicken, and fermented edamame.

Tonight, the restaurant owner only needs to serve this one table of guests, so he naturally has to show off all his culinary skills. The hot dishes were served shortly after the guests sat down.

Dishes like stir-fried shrimp, braised shredded vegetables, sweet and sour spare ribs, and braised eel in sizzling oil are not fancy dishes, but rather common local dishes, but they are rich in oil and sauce and full of wok hei (wok aroma).

Tonight, none of the group drank any spirits or liquor. Ding suggested beer, which was unanimously agreed upon by everyone.

Ding Yi, carrying a beer bottle, poured beer for the group while shouting, "Fill it up, fill it up! I'm warning you, you can only go to the toilet after you finish five bottles, otherwise you'll have to drink a penalty shot."

Huang Xiaochuan glared at Ding Yi, who was shouting the loudest, and said with displeasure, "Punish my ass! I've noticed you're getting worse and worse. Five bottles? Are you trying to suffocate us?"

Ding Yi glanced at Huang Xiaochuan with disdain: "How old are you? Can't you even handle kidneys? You need to learn to control your desires, understand?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Xiaochuan kept staring at Ding Yi's face, looking at it from top to bottom and left to right, making Ding Yi feel uneasy. He touched his face insecurity.

However, he remained defiant, saying, "What are you looking at? Haven't you ever seen someone more handsome than you?"

Huang Xiaochuan pointed at Ding Yi's face and said to Wu Duo and Chen Zhe, "Old Wu, Old Chen, take a good look at Ding Yi's face. His eye bags are drooping and have dark circles, and his complexion is pale with a greenish tinge. These are clearly signs of excessive indulgence!"

Wu Duo and Chen Zhe nodded repeatedly, suppressing their laughter.

Then Huang Xiaochuan suddenly realized and said, "I was saying that when I saw Sister Huan the other day, she looked so radiant! Her skin was so good! It was fair with a rosy glow, and she looked so well-nourished. But she's a bit of a husband-killer."

After saying that, he winked mischievously at Ding Yi, which made Wu Duo and Chen Zhe burst into laughter. Ding Yi, on the other hand, was furious and glared at Huang Xiaochuan with his signature small eyes, wishing he could devour him.

Wu Duo laughed as he pulled Ding Yi to sit down next to him, advising him, "Why do you have to pick someone with the most sharp tongue of all?"

Huang Xiaochuan, seeing that things were going well, picked up his beer glass and said, "Alright, alright, it's been a long time, let's have a drink!"

Everyone laughed and clinked their glasses together, shouting in unison, "Cheers!"

Before the group could even pick up their chopsticks, the door to the small restaurant was pushed open from the outside. They saw that the person who came in was Zhang Gaolei.

"Oh my god, I finally made it after rushing around!" He said, taking off his suit jacket and tossing it to his assistant, then waving to indicate that the assistant should make his own arrangements.

He then plopped down next to Chen Zhe, tugged at his tie, but still felt a little uncomfortable, so he simply took the whole tie off, crumpled it up, and casually stuffed it into his pants pocket.

Ding Yi happened to see the eagle emblem on the tie and teased Zhang Gaolei about it.

"Hey Lao Zhang, you've got some nerve! You just casually stuffed a top Italian brand like Stephen Launich tie into your pocket like that? That tie must have cost at least five or six thousand, right?"

Zhang Gaolei picked up a piece of eel with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth. After swallowing it, he responded to Ding Yi's question: "It's okay, I'll just have my wife iron it when I get back. It's just a tie, nothing that precious."

Wu Duo had already filled Zhang Gaolei's glass with beer. Zhang Gaolei picked up the glass and said, "Come on, let's have a drink. It's so much more comfortable when we're together."

After the group finished their beers, Ding Yi asked, "Old Zhang, how did you sneak out?"

Zhang Gaolei didn't seem to have eaten much at the banquet, as he kept shoveling food into his mouth.

After taking a few bites, he comfortably patted his stomach and then put down his chopsticks.

He sighed and said, "There are plenty of excuses. Just pick one. You guys don't understand! It wasn't a meal! One leader would say a few words, then another leader would say a few words. I thought, this won't do! I have a few brothers waiting for me, so I quickly made up an excuse and came over."

Then he said to Huang Xiaochuan, "Xiaochuan, you're smart. You didn't agree to show your face in public, otherwise you would have ended up like me."

At this moment, Ding Yi interjected, "Go away, what do you mean 'like you'? How could we be the same? Our family is the richest in Asia, look at our grandeur."

"Screw you, even eating can't shut you up, let's drink!" Huang Xiaochuan raised his glass, shutting Ding Yi down again.