Chapter 41

Having booked a private room, a few people went to visit Zheng City’s famous Yellow River Scenic Area. They didn’t linger much along the way, just taking a cursory look at the surging Yellow River and the weighty Mount Yueshan. The morning passed quickly.

For lunch, they found a restaurant and had the famous Henan noodle soup, which tasted great, with a chewy texture and a fresh, delicious flavor.

In the afternoon, some people were expected to arrive, so the four of them didn’t go shopping. Moreover, the classmates who worked in Zheng City were upset that the four of them had come to town but didn’t visit them! It was all Yefang’s fault; he took photos throughout the Yellow River tour and uploaded them to the group chat, claiming to be live-reporting Qin Yi’s itinerary...

Of course, the complaints were just in jest. The people in Zheng City had to work during the day, even though it was the weekend. Rules are rules, but people are flexible; who doesn’t work overtime on weekends! It’s not that they had to accompany you just because you arrived; that’s not how true friendship works. If it were, Qin Yi would think the relationship had become distant. True friendship is about mutual understanding, not flattery!

There were quite a few classmates around Zheng City, working in software development, programming, teaching, sales, human resources... Their jobs were varied, and it wasn’t unusual these days.

The gathering was organized by the old class monitor, Han Qiu, who worked in software development in Zheng City. Over 20 people could come, more than half of the class.

People started arriving one after another. Qin Yi had booked a private room in a hotel KTV and had beer and drinks brought in. He first welcomed the classmates who had arrived, and as usual, Yefang and Fang Yue stayed to sing karaoke with everyone, while Qin Yi and Wang Xixi went to the station to pick up people.

By evening, everyone had arrived, and they were about to go to the private room for dinner when a girl who hadn’t been notified came with a man. Seeing the girl come quietly, everyone was stunned, looking at Qin Yi, then at the girl, and finally at the man, and then they laughed mysteriously!

Qin Yi was also surprised, but he quickly recovered. "Weiwei! I didn’t see you say you were coming in the group chat, I thought you had something and couldn’t make it." Qin Yi finished and turned to the man he didn’t recognize, "This should be..."

"Ha, we haven’t seen each other for two years, if I don’t come now, I might never see you again!" Weiwei was also very natural, "That’s right, this is my husband, Wang Minghao!" Then she introduced everyone to Wang Minghao.

Everyone greeted Wang Minghao, without any drama. Wang Minghao was very polite and kind, and the situation was harmonious. However, the disappointment in the classmates' eyes was quite obvious!

They thought they would see a good show, but it was over so quickly! Everyone had this thought, not out of malice, but just out of curiosity to see how the former fake couple would react when they met again. Everyone has a bit of a gossiping nature.

Indeed, Qin Yi and this girl, Weiwei, were a couple in college, although the two never officially acknowledged it, they did like each other, and everyone in the class knew it. Unfortunately, the two never dated during their four years and didn’t end up together by graduation!

There were many reasons, but Qin Yi’s laziness, poor social skills, and the girl’s shyness and reserve were the main ones. Many people sighed, thinking that two introverts together couldn’t possibly have a happy ending!

In October of last year, the girl was getting married and called Qin Yi personally to notify him. At the time, it was the first time they had contacted each other in over a year, and both were a bit silent. Qin Yi thought for a long time but could only dryly say, "Bless you!"

After hanging up, Qin Yi felt a bit lost, but not sad. Perhaps because he had never truly had her, he couldn’t say he had lost her!

At the wedding, Qin Yi didn’t attend, only sending a red envelope through someone else.

If their story were adapted into a campus romance novel, it would be quite interesting... Qin Yi thought it was amusing now.

Life makes you grow, and after more than two years, Qin Yi could face it calmly. You don’t have to get what you like, and losing something doesn’t mean you have to be sad. Life always pushes you forward, whether you want it or not!

After everyone had greeted each other, Qin Yi clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention, "Alright, everyone, Weiwei and Minghao came just in time. Now, I think everyone is here, let’s go have a drink!" As he finished speaking, his phone rang. He looked and saw it was Zhang Kekuo...

"It’s me, Qin Yi," Qin Yi waved for everyone to sit down, guessing that she was calling because something was wrong, "Kekuo, where are you?"

"Brother Yi, come quick, help! Waa... I haven’t even reached the KTV room you posted in the group, and a few bald guys are blocking me from going!" Kekuo’s voice was tearful, and the sound of a door being slammed could be heard in the background.

"Where are you?" Qin Yi was immediately tense. Bars and KTVs are places where you can easily run into unsavory characters! He pointed to Yefang and the others, signaling them to follow, and quickly headed out. The others knew something was up, and the old class monitor Han Qiu and Liang Jiankui, who had come from Qing City, led a group of about ten guys, with Wang Minghao not far behind.

"In the women’s restroom next to room 7222, come quick!"

"Stay hidden, I’ll call you when it’s safe to come out!"

He hung up and ran towards room 7222. Around the corner, he indeed saw three flashy, bald young men pounding on the restroom door about ten meters away!

Qin Yi walked over quickly. The three bald men saw him coming and clearly wanted to cause trouble. The biggest and strongest of them scowled, looking at Qin Yi with a sneer, and gruffly said, "What’s the matter, want to meddle in our business? Young man, don’t ruin your own future!"

Qin Yi clenched his teeth and stopped three meters away from the bald man. By then, Yefang had caught up, and the others had also come around the corner and stood behind Qin Yi. The strong bald man saw this and realized they were outnumbered. He quickly signaled the bald man with black circles under his eyes to call for backup and the skinny bald man to name their gang, trying to intimidate Qin Yi and the others.

The skinny bald man, getting the hint, stepped forward and warned in a hoarse voice, "Friends, we’re Fish Brother’s people. We advise you not to meddle in our business, or else, beware of getting hit by a brick on a dark night!"

The bald man with black circles under his eyes also shouted into the phone, "Hey! Boss, some idiots are causing trouble for us, come and save us!"

The others were ordinary people and had never seen such a scene. Seeing their thug-like behavior, they were all a bit nervous, but they couldn’t just abandon their friend. If it came to it, they would have to fight.

At this moment, Han Qiu stepped forward and pulled Qin Yi back, signaling that he would handle it.

"Big brothers, the girl inside is with us. Give us a break, and we’ll treat you to drinks and beer. What do you say?" Han Qiu smiled, a bit subservient, which made everyone uncomfortable, but they understood his approach. In this society, after two years of hard work, everyone knew that it was better to spend a little money to avoid trouble.

Qin Yi looked at everyone and decided not to fight. He and Yefang weren’t afraid of trouble, but he had to consider the others.

However, the strong bald man became even more arrogant, "Hmph, you know your place! Here’s the deal, give us 10,000 yuan, and we’ll leave!"

Everyone’s faces darkened. 10,000 yuan? Go to hell! Although Qin Yi had money, he wasn’t going to be bullied like this! So, he no longer held back, and in one swift move, he punched the strong bald man in the face, making him spit blood and lose a few teeth. The man fell to the ground, groaning and unable to get up.

Seeing Qin Yi attack, Wang Xixi and Fang Yue were about to rush over to join in, but Yefang held them back. They looked at Yefang in confusion, but he nodded at Qin Yi, signaling them to watch.

Qin Yi, after landing the punch, didn’t bother with the strong bald man. He grabbed the skinny bald man’s fist, kicked the bald man with black circles under his eyes, sending him flying two meters and lying on the ground, coughing up blood. Then, he twisted the skinny bald man’s arm, slammed him against the wall, and let him fall to the ground, moaning, before walking over to the strong bald man on the ground.

Everyone was stunned. In four years of college, no one knew Qin Yi could fight like this. The strong bald man was taken down with one punch, clearly a trained fighter! Wang Xixi and Fang Yue were also surprised. They knew Qin Yi had trained in college, but it was just for show; this was a different level!

No wonder Yefang had held them back; he must have known Qin Yi’s skills.

Qin Yi walked to the side of the strong bald man, kicked him in the shoulder, and asked calmly, "Where’s your Fish Brother? How long will he be here?"

Before the strong bald man could answer, a few security guards ran up from downstairs. A young man who looked like the leader stepped forward, "Sorry, everyone! We saw the surveillance and came, but you were faster." He apologized to Qin Yi and the others, then looked at the bald men, "There’s no Fish Brother. I’ve been here for years and have never heard of him. These guys are just scammers. They try to scare people and demand money, and if they can’t, they fight and run. I’ve seen it many times."

Everyone was speechless. The names and calls were just to scare them. If the bald man hadn’t been so greedy, they might have given in!

In the end, the security guards escorted the three men out, and the incident was over. No one wanted to call the police and ruin a good class reunion.

Qin Yi hadn’t expected it to end like this. He had planned to fight and, if the Fish Brother was a big deal, have Yefang call in a favor to resolve it. He didn’t want to involve Yefang in the first place, as favors are hard to repay these days.

Now, it was good that everyone faced the situation without backing down. Whether through fighting or talking, as long as they genuinely helped their friend, it showed that their friendship was still strong.

After the incident was resolved, Qin Yi called Kekuo to come out. He hung up, and the bathroom door slowly opened. Kekuo peeked out and, seeing Qin Yi standing there, ran up and gave him a big hug. In the past, the always ladylike Kekuo would never have hugged someone so openly, but she was just scared.

Kekuo, 1.6 meters tall, was small and cute, and very pretty. Qin Yi was happy to receive the hug. Everyone comforted her for a bit, and then they went to eat.

After a few drinks, the atmosphere became even more lively. Everyone raised their glasses, sharing their struggles over the past two years, boasting and joking, in a relaxed and carefree manner. By the end, several people were drunk, talking about all sorts of things, making everyone shake their heads.

Kekuo, who had been scared earlier, drank a few more and got drunk. She started babbling to Qin Yi about wanting to be kept, which made everyone laugh and gather around, leaving Qin Yi quite embarrassed.

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