Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 24 Classmates from Those Years
After a busy afternoon, I finally finished everything and left Wang Qingshan's house. By the time I left, Qianqian's emotions had stabilized. Perhaps it was because all of this would soon be behind her. Even if there were many regrets in her heart, she could only bury them deep inside. Perhaps this unusual romance would remain hidden in her heart for a lifetime. Although this love came with sadness and desolation, for her, it also held happiness and sweetness.
Who can say otherwise? Love is just like that. There are too many loves in the world—some are fated to pass by due to fate's tricks, while others are obstructed by reality. Too many people are destined to be together yet end up apart, ultimately having to let go and hide their feelings deep within. When you think back on it, the feelings may not only be sadness; more often, they might be bittersweet memories. Time dulls everything; you won't regret that fated romance but will feel comforted for having experienced such a love because you both were once happy and joyful.
Of course, Duan Yang's ending is somewhat tragic, even pitiable, but I know this is the best outcome. After all, he is the Paper King. Even if he has not yet become the true Paper King, he will eventually become one and cause harm to others because that is his nature.
From the day he became the Paper King, his fate and ending were sealed—either he would continue to harm others or be confined to the Underworld with no chance of rebirth, or he would face divine retribution.
The path was chosen by himself; it was destined from the very beginning...
Walking down the streets of the county town, I thought about Duan Yang and their matters and couldn't help but sigh deeply. Shaking my slightly dizzy head, I realized that it was all in the past now; everything had passed. Dust returns to dust, earth returns to earth; I had no reason to dwell on it any longer.
With that thought in mind, I strode towards the bus station, preparing to take a bus home. Just then, out of the corner of my eye, I suddenly saw a graceful figure with long hair in a flowing dress walk past me. In an instant, I felt as if I had been electrified; my heart trembled slightly because this figure was so familiar—it resembled someone I used to know.
I froze for a moment and hurriedly turned around to look at the girl who had just walked by me. She wore a long dress, had a slender figure, and her long hair cascaded down her back, held up lightly with a silver ribbon. Looking at her back, my heart tightened. Lin Xiaoqi? It must be her; it was definitely her...
Lin Xiaoqi was my classmate in high school and the school beauty. She was beautiful and came from a good family—she was the crush of all the boys. However, very few boys dared to pursue her; perhaps her conditions were just too good that they felt too inferior to make a move. Of course, I was one of them.
At that time, Lin Xiaoqi sat right behind me in class. I had a crush on her, but she could never have known because even though she always sat behind me, I never dared to turn around and look at her directly—not to mention confessing my feelings. However, she often playfully tapped my shoulder or kicked my chair during class, teasing me and making all the boys in class envious of me.
But that was many years ago. Later on, I had an ordinary girlfriend with whom I exchanged love letters and notes daily until high school ended. I returned to my village to become a Paper Effigy Maker while they naturally continued on to university. Fate can sometimes be like this; sometimes it's just destined—my grandfather was a Paper Effigy Maker, so my life was destined to follow that path as well—even becoming someone who dabbles in "superstition."
Looking at her as she passed by me—the goddess of my youth—my heart raced rapidly. But I didn't think about calling out to her; I didn't have the courage back then when we were in school, and now I certainly lacked it even more.
Just as I was about to quietly turn and leave, she suddenly seemed to sense something, slowly turning her head back. Our eyes met, and my heart immediately started racing.
I still don't know what kind of expression I had at that moment; my smile might have been very stiff. All I knew was that when she saw me, she looked surprised and immediately came closer, excitedly asking, "Pan Shenbao, is that you?"
I let out a silly laugh and nodded in response because I was afraid that if I spoke, I would stutter. Maybe I'm just naturally clumsy with words.
She pursed her lips, smiling as she looked me up and down, then said, "What’s this? You didn’t even say hello when you saw me. Come on, tell me you remember my name."
I replied that it wasn’t like that; I just saw her rushing by and hadn’t had the chance to call out to her.
At that moment, I had to say it like that. Would I really tell her that I lacked the confidence to greet her? Indeed, she looked even more beautiful than when we were in school because she had gained a certain maturity. She appeared extremely lovely and sexy; her pure and stunning aura was not something an ordinary boy would dare to approach casually.
Next, we found a café and chatted about our situations. I learned that she had just graduated from graduate school and was currently resting at home without a job. However, I knew her father ran a large company in Shenzhen, so someone like her didn’t need to look for a job; she just needed to manage the family business well.
When she asked about my recent situation, I felt embarrassed to speak. Should I tell her that I was at home making paper figurines for the dead and wreaths? Or maybe mention that I also help draw talismans for disaster prevention?
You see, the girl in front of me had received higher education; how would she view me if I said such things?
However, in the end, I'm not someone who likes to lie. After all, this is what I do for a living. If they look down on me for it, then so be it! With that thought in mind, I decided to share everything about my situation.
I originally thought Lin Xiaoqi would scoff at it, but surprisingly, after hearing it all, she laughed in astonishment and asked how I really ended up doing the family business. "That sounds so interesting! I'd love to come to your shop and help make some little figures with you; it must be so much fun!"
Hearing this made me feel like this girl still had a childlike innocence. While others might be scared of such things, she wanted to come to my shop and play with paper figurines.
But seeing that she didn’t have any disdain for my profession made me very happy.
Chatting with the goddess in my heart made time fly by quickly; before we knew it, an entire afternoon had passed. At this point, she asked if I came to the county town for a class reunion. I had never heard of any class reunion; after graduating from high school, I lost contact with my classmates. They went on to their universities while I stayed in the mountains making paper figurines—who would invite me to a reunion?
Lin Xiaoqi saw my puzzled expression and said, "Did they not invite you? They said they invited everyone in the class. It seems they lied to me."
Then she mentioned that the time for the class reunion was approaching and asked if I could accompany her. I replied, "Is that okay? They didn't invite me, so it wouldn't make much sense for me to just show up."
Lin Xiaoqi said, "What are you afraid of? They didn't invite you, but I'm inviting you now. Why don't you just come along with me?" As she said this, she smiled and playfully grabbed my hand, saying, "I'm the school beauty from back then; you wouldn't refuse to accompany the school beauty, would you? Hehe..."
Her hand held onto my arm, and I felt a sensation I had never experienced before. I thought to myself that it would be wonderful if she could hold my arm like this for a lifetime. However, I knew we were too different for that to happen; she was just joking with me.
But since she had already put it out there, I couldn't refuse any longer, so I nodded and agreed.
Soon after, we left the café. It was getting dark outside, so we got into her car and headed to a KTV where they had made reservations...
When we arrived, we entered the large private room they had booked. Many classmates were already there. Some were sitting or standing, drinking, chatting, and singing, creating a lively atmosphere.
When they saw us come in, they all shouted in unison, calling out Lin Xiaoqi's name. Some praised her for becoming more beautiful or called her sexy. In short, as expected of a rich and beautiful girl attending a reunion, there were plenty of excited screams.
Perhaps they didn't recognize me anymore, or maybe they had forgotten my name, or perhaps their attention was completely drawn to Lin Xiaoqi, the rich beauty. None of them reacted to my arrival at all.
However, Lin Xiaoqi didn't neglect me; she casually smiled and greeted everyone before pulling me in front of her and announcing to everyone, "Look who I brought! Back when we were in college, we all kept in touch except for Shenbao, who cut off contact with us. I found him today; isn't it a surprise?"
Everyone laughed and then started greeting me.
To be honest, after being apart for so many years, I couldn't remember many of their names and didn't recognize some of them at all. Perhaps time really can erase some memories.
They all asked what I had been doing since graduating high school. I told them directly that I took over my family's paper shop and spent my days making paper crafts. They seemed surprised and asked why I chose this line of work or how much I earned from it. I smiled and said it was just enough to get by; there wasn't much income to speak of.
Then they all sighed and said that they shouldn't have gone home so early after graduation; they should have studied more to survive better in society. I smiled at their good intentions; perhaps knowledge can change one's fate, but mine seemed predetermined.
However, just as I was recognizing my former classmates, I suddenly saw a figure that looked exceptionally familiar, someone who was also looking at me. Wasn't that my girlfriend, Xia Ling, with whom I used to pass notes every day?
I walked over and greeted her. She had changed a lot, not necessarily becoming more beautiful, but rather she had learned to dress better than before.
After chatting about our recent situations for a bit, she said, "It's such a pity that you gave up on your studies back then." I smiled and replied that it didn't matter; life is still good, and I'm happy now.
She smiled politely but didn't say anything further. I sensed the atmosphere was tense, so I awkwardly asked her if she wanted to come over to my house sometime; the air there is nice. She smiled again politely but did not respond.
Even though she didn't reply and her smile was courteous, I understood her meaning.
Indeed, so many years have passed, and everything has changed. Although we were once a couple, people do change. How could we ever regain that sense of closeness we once had?
That night was the hardest night I've endured in years. Perhaps it was because I saw Xia Ling again or maybe it was just her polite smile; in any case, I felt very lost!
The gathering continued, but Lin Xiaoqi managed to escape from the crowd of classmates and sat down next to me to chat and drink. In the end, we left early while they continued to party on...
As we were leaving, they reminded us to remember tomorrow's plan and not to be late.
I asked Lin Xiaoqi what the plan was, and she said everyone agreed to go on an outing together tomorrow. As she said this, she hurriedly added, "But you can't say you're not going!"
I smiled but didn't say anything. What I didn't expect was that the outing the next day would lead to big trouble...
Comment 0 Comment Count