Chapter 11 - Reunion

Qin Sheng’s life in college was simple and uneventful. Apart from attending courses and working part-time, he spent his time in the library and in elective courses. He only wanted this part of his life to be sufficient and fulfilling.

His best friends in college were his three roommates in the dorm. Although he had a failed relationship, his college life was worthwhile since he knew these friends

“Let’s go somewhere else. This place isn’t suitable for us!” Since Lao Er and Lao Si would come, Qin Sheng knew that they would be heavily drunk tonight, while this place wasn’t suitable for their reunion.

Xia Ding knew what Qin Sheng meant and casually said, “It’s fine. Let grab some food first. It will take two to three hours for them to get here. We can go straight to our old place later.”

Xia Ding and his girlfriend had just arrived and had not ordered anything. After sitting together, they began to order. Han Bing knew that Qin Sheng had never been to this kind of place before. Thus, she took the initiative to order a few dishes for Qin Sheng. They were so closed to each other, just like a couple. Xia Ding didn’t doubt about it.

Because there was a beautiful girl beside Xia Ding and Qin Sheng was very familiar with him, he didn’t ask too many questions. Most of the topics were the trivial matters of their college life, as well as stories of Qin Sheng and Han Bing. Anyway, Qin Sheng allowed Han Bing to make the stories and provided some complementation occasionally. He did not talk much about what happened to him in recent years when Xia Ding asked. Han Bing appeared to be very interested in these issues, but Qin Shang avoided them.

After leaving Wang Jiang Ge, Xia Ding asked the beautiful girl beside him to take a taxi and left. Like he had said before, he would never dine in such a place with a woman he truly loved. Instead, he would cook for her at home.

After the girl left, Xia Ding looked at Han Bing and purposely asked, “Sister-in-law, are you coming with us?”

“No, I’m too tired today. I’ll go back and rest. It’s rare for the four of you to be together, so I won’t disturb you guys.” Han Bing was already too tired after the Couple Show, so naturally, she would not get involved again since she had the chance to escape.

That was what Qin Sheng wanted as well. Xia Ding also thought that the presence of any woman would make the reunion less happy.

Since Qin Sheng and Han Bing had drunk, neither of them could drive. Luckily, Xia Ding had a chauffeur who was already waiting by the side of the road, thus Qin Sheng left the Maserati in the parking lot and they sent Han Bing back to Huarun Nine Mile Bund.

This place was very close to Huarun Nine Mile Bund. It did not take long to arrive there. Xia Ding was waiting in the car as Qin Sheng escorted Han Bing to the door.

After all, Qin Sheng had not forgotten his mission of protecting Han Bing. Furthermore, there was crisis that occurred in two nights. The assassin last night was very skillful. No one could anticipate what would happen next.

Along the way, Han Bing held her bag without saying a word. She was embarrassed earlier, and she did not want to be mocked by Qin Sheng. Qin Sheng did not take the initiative either, thus the situation was a little awkward.

“Don’t drink too much. You’re still injured.” Han Bing warned gently with a rare soft tone. Ever since last night’s incident, her attitude toward the man she just met for a few days had undergone a slight change.

“What a girlfriend!” Qin Sheng naturally wouldn’t let this opportunity slip by.

After he said that, Han Bing’s face immediately blushed. She did not dare to raise her head and look at Qin Sheng, as she frantically opened the door to hide inside. Leaning on the door, her heart was beating fast.

Outside the door, Qin Sheng laughed brazenly.

Inside, Han Bing was grinding her teeth.

After Qin Sheng walked out, Xia Ding was standing by the side of the road and smoking. He threw a cigarette to Qin Sheng, smiled and said, “Boss, you are so nice to your girl. When did you get this beauty? She must be rich since she lives in Huarun Nine Mile Bund.”

“Brat, stop it. Don’t tell me you didn’t see that through.” Xia Ding was meticulous. He definitely knew that Han Bing was not Qin Sheng’s girlfriend, just did not reveal anything when they were eating.

Hearing Qin Sheng’s words, Xia Ding did not hide it anymore and laughed loudly, “Tell me, what’s your relationship with this beauty? I’ll ask her out if you’re not interested.”

“Scram, don’t you have enough girls?” Qin Sheng laughed.

Suddenly, Xia Ding thought of something strange, “Boss, are you her toy-boy?”

“Fuck off!” Qin Sheng furiously roared.

After he finished smoking and stubbed out his cigarette, Xia Ding suddenly hugged Qin Sheng without any warning. He patted Qin Sheng on the back heavily and said, “Boss, I’m so happy to see you again.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t leave again.” Qin Sheng said emotionally.

When the driver sent Xia Ding and Qin Sheng to their so-called old place, it was already around 9 p.m. It was just a normal Sichuan cuisine restaurant not far from Fudan University. In the past, they would come to this restaurant for party. They also had their graduation party here.

Qin Sheng and Xia Ding were both very familiar with the boss. It was just that Qin Sheng had never come back again, while Xia Ding would randomly come over to try the familiar taste.

“Boss, your business is not bad, huh?” Xia Ding shouted after entering the door. As the food was cheap and the taste was good, the business was pretty good.

The restaurant was mostly filled with students from the surrounding campuses. The boss was not tall, white and fat, with a large bald head. He was shouting and cheering for money. When he saw Xia Ding coming in, his face immediately filled with smiles, “Wow, Xia Ding is here. I haven’t seen you for months.”

“I am so busy these days, but I came over as soon as I got time.” As he was an old customer, the boss naturally knew who Xia Ding was. Following that, Xia Ding pointed at Qin Sheng and asked, “Boss, do you remember him?”

No matter how many people he met, the boss would never forget Qin Sheng. He directly said, “Damn, of course I remember him. I can’t forget Qin Sheng. Geez, he almost destroyed my restaurant before!”

Of the four people in the dorm, Boss was low-key and did not cause trouble; Lao Er was calm but did not have a good temper; Lao San was a playboy; Lao Si was a bit weak. There was a time they had a serious conflict with students from Finance College.

“Hahahaha, boss, long time no see!” Qin Sheng greeted with familiarity.

Xia Ding immediately found a seat and said, “Stop bullshitting. Same as before. Bring us two dozens of beer first, cold beer, then two dozens more. Lao Er and Lao Si in our dorm are coming soon.”

“Alright, no problem!” the boss replied loudly. He had quite a number of customers who came back. Some of them were looking for memories, while others were looking for flavors. This was something he was already used to.

With two dozens of freezing cold beer and five cold dishes, Qin Sheng and Xia Ding chatted while waiting for the other two. Xia Ding had already sent the address to Lao Er and Lao Si.

They chatted and drank until Lao Si arrived first. A flashy black Ferrari was parked in front of the restaurant. Then Lao Si in a suit and leather shoes rushed into the restaurant excitedly and shouted, “Boss! Boss!”

The restaurant was not big. Qin Sheng and Xia Ding were sitting by the entrance. The two of them had already stood up. Lao Si stared at Qin Sheng with red eyes, while the latter slowly walked over and said with a smile, “Lao Si.”

After saying this, Qin Sheng hugged Lao Si tightly, but when Lao Si saw him, all of his excitement disappeared in an instant. It was as if he had a lot of complaints about Qin Sheng, and was unwilling to embrace him. He was like a stubborn little kid.

Xia Ding knew that Lao Si was angry. In the past, when Lao Si was drunk, he would scold Qin Sheng quite a bit. Back then, in the four people, he was the most cowardly, and every time he was bullied, the first person who stood out for him would always be Qin Sheng. Every time he got trouble, Qin Sheng helped him out.

Lao Si was the closest one to Qin Sheng. He had always treated Qin Sheng like his own brother. When he graduated, he even said to Qin Sheng, “Brother, once I go back home to take the power, I will repay you in the future. I will buy luxury cars and big mansions for you. We can even share those movie stars together.”

“It has been more than two years. How come you are still a little kid?” Qin Sheng let go of him with a smile.

Xia Ding immediately came over and said to him, “Lao Si, I know you’re feeling unhappy, but let’s not talk about anything else today, we talk with beer. Get him drunk if you want to punish him.”

Thus, Qin Sheng and Xia Ding dragged him until Lao Si finally sat down.

Lao Si’s real name was Yu Kefei, nicknamed Shawn Yue from Fudan University. He had a pretty good looking, but just a little skinny. The craziest thing he had ever done was to go to Beijing to find a girl he secretly loved for four years, and he got the gut thanks to Qin Sheng’s encouragement.

The brothers gave their advices and they finally decided to go to Beijing.

That night was frozen. Snowflakes flew in the sky. Together with a bunch of Lao Er’s friends in Beijing, they created an extremely romantic scene under his dream girl’s dorm. They even paid for a band, and Lao Si personally sang with his guitar. Both him and the girl liked folk songs, especially those by Zhao Lei. Thus Lao Si sang the Girl From South by Zhao Lei. It was also his favorite song.

The entire Beijing Foreign Language University was in a frenzy. The female dorms were brightly lit, surrounded by crowds. Luckily, Lao Si built some connections with college staff, otherwise he would have been kicked out before confessing to the girl.

In the end, his dream girl came down and Lao Si confessed, but the result wasn’t good. Lao Si got rejected.

As for the reason, it was ridiculous. The girl said that Lao Si could not afford the life she wanted.

Lao Si was stubborn but not stupid. He had never told anyone about his family background. He kept low-key, naturally, the girl did not know his background. Even the three people in the dorm knew that he pretended to be a poor kid until they were going to graduate and took a trip to Nanjing. His family was actually even richer than Lao San’s.

He placed the flower on the ground and faced the girl, laughing at himself as he said, “Goodbye, we’ll never see each other again!”

With that, he turned around and left, and didn’t look back.

That night, at a Beijing barbeque stall, the four of them got drunk. Lao Si cried out lout with a broken heart, “Damned society!”

He liked the girl he met in high school, not the one that had been defiled by the society. Therefore, he had no regret anymore.

Yu Kefei sat down, and did not say a word. He just stared at Qin Sheng. Xia Ding tried to ease the situation and said, “Lao Si, how should we drink?”

Yu Kefei picked up a bottle of beer and drank it all.

Qin Sheng didn’t say anything. He just picked up a bottle to drink with Yu Kefei. Xia Ding had no choice but to follow them.

After drinking one bottle, Yu Kefei did not seem to be satisfied. He picked up another one and drunk. Qin Sheng accompanied him. Although Xia Ding was furtively cursing in his heart, he had no choice but to drink with them.

When the second bottle was finished, Yu Kefei picked up the third one, while Xia Ding had not finished the second. He was dumbfounded and immediately stopped Yu Kefei, “Lao Si, Boss, you’re my Boss. Please, I can’t drink more, otherwise I’ll have to go to the hospital. Slow down. Even if you have complaints to Boss, you should not hurt me.”

Qin Sheng also said, “Lao Si, it’s all my fault to disappear for more than two years. If you are not satisfied, just hit me. If you want to drink, I’ll drink with you to the end. I’ll be in Shanghai in the future anyway. If you are still not satisfied, we’ll continue tomorrow.”

“Make me drunk tonight and give me an explanation later. Then this matter will be over.” Yu Kefei finally spoke, and he was simple and straightforward.

“Sure, I’ll accompany you.” Qin Sheng had no objections.

Therefore, the following scene was interesting. In the beginning, it was Xia Ding talking to Qin Sheng, but Yu Kefei who was sitting beside kept asking Qin Sheng to drink. Only when he drank a lot did he start to talk.

Drinking beer could only make people drunk slowly, but it could made people want to pee fast.

The three of them had run to the toilet four or five times before Lao Er finally arrived from Beijing.

Lao Er did not let his chauffeur call Xia Ding, but rushed over to this place directly. When he entered the door, the three had already gone wild. He could be considered as the most mature one in the dorm, unlike Lao Si, who was stifled inside.

He walked up to Qin Sheng and sat down, patting him on the shoulder and speaking in a low voice, “You’re back.”

Qin Sheng turned around and saw him. Shaking his head, he smirked. “Yep!”

“Will you leave again?”

“No!”

Lao Er sat down, picked up a bottle of beer and said, “Drink.”

Qin Sheng, Xia Ding and Yu Kefei all burst out laughing loudly.

The four brothers were finally reunited …