A Round Trip to Love 2: Separate Routes

Chapter Four

The turnout for the alumni gathering was bigger than anticipated, everyone obligingly brought a 'family' with them. The number of attendees easily doubled, extending beyond the ballroom to take up the entire floor of the hotel, the atmosphere very vibrant.

Lu Feng's relationship status is set to 'colleague' for the record. It is impossible for his tall and suave self not to stand out in a crowd despite not intentionally doing anything to draw attention upon himself. A chain effect is set off in which everyone start questioning as to why Cheng Yi Chen did not bring along a girlfriend. How lamentable that he had to get a male colleague to stand in for a family member, fully deserving an honorary mention in the Xiamen University Bachelors Association.

"Why did you come 'empty-handed'? The former class president Xiang Zhen patted my shoulder and asked light-heartedly, his beautiful girlfriend standing by his side like a jade pavilion.

"Girls are unattainable these days, their standards too high for me to climb, moreover I am not as handsome or as rich as you, which girl would want to look at me?"

Xiang Zhen assessed me up and down and mocked, "Stop pretending to be modest. Do you know how many girls liked you back then?"

" .......... You're joking."

"Are you pretending not to know?" He seem to be even more surprised than me. "Zou Wenyu from class 03 had a crush on you for four years, did no one tell you that?"

"..........." Cold sweat forming. I have not a clue that I possessed the charm to keep the school belle enchanted for so long.

It has never occurred to me that I might be appealing to heterosexuals ....... now it suddenly seems like such a waste to be gay .......

"What ........ did they see in me?" I pursued while ignoring the imposing man standing next to me with the unfriendly eyes. Legend has it that I belong to the unfortunate category of guys who 'have the kind of flattering looks that will attract men', so it is only natural I am immensely curious about what women thought of me.

Xiang Zhen once again judged me with an added layer of seriousness, "You are very good looking ........ your grades are good, most importantly, you don't take the initiative to talk to girls."

Is, is that true? A person like me whom women holds no allure, must have kept a safe distance from the opposite sex subconsciously.

"One of the girls in our class even set up a bet to see which girl is able to speak to you for more than ten sentences. Everyone placed a bet for a winner."

" ........" No impression at all that something like this took place. "So who won?"

"A black horse." Xiang Zhen answered regrettably. "It's Zhuo Lan, we had to pay up like mad." He is speaking like he is discussing the odds of winning in horse racing.

"Zhuo Lan, come over here, Yi Chen is here." The loud-mouthed woman is Shao Xian. Word gets around that she is getting hitched, her groom worth millions, her future father-in-law a prominent figure in Xiamen city. The Gucci clothes she is wearing and the LV bag she is carrying are previews of her pending status as a wealthy married woman. Shao Xian is pretty as a picture and an expert in seizing opportunities, so for everything to go smoothly for her is only logical.

Zhuo Lan with her impeccable manners and unadorned self is in sharp contrast to her. She has not changed much from my last memory of her, still slender and thin, with a fresh and beautiful dollface, long black hair, her entire demeanor shy and polite, pleasing to the eyes and to the heart, absolutely in no way does she appear to be older than me by three years.

Shao Xian is unquestionably more interested in Lu Feng than her old classmate me, a soon-to-be bride busy blasting flirtatious signals at a virile man. That leaves me and Zhuo Lan with nothing much to chat about, our quiet and reserved personalities doing nothing to help break the ice, finally resorting to flashing meaningless smiles at each other.

The reason why my impression of these two ladies is so deep is probably due to how, during college days, Shao Xian would drag Zhuo Lan around the library all day chasing after me, asking for my help on all kinds of mind-bobbling topics. Thanks to them, no matter how perplexing or challenging the assignments which the professor came up with are, I was able to ace it.

After exchanging more pleasantries, we went our separate ways to help ourselves to the buffet, dividing ourselves into groups of two or three reminiscing on old days. At the meantime, Lu Feng made a big blunder, he went up to the reception to settle the bill, and did not think it a big deal to simply pay up for everyone. Xiang Zhen was mortified when he turned up just a step behind for the same purpose. For gatherings of such magnitude, the usual practice is to go Dutch, everyone hand over their share to the class president who takes on the task of footing the bill, but who knew it will be preempted by an unknown 'colleague'.

Xiang Zhen has not got over his shock, and kept enquiring how much my salary is in a month, and thought the amount I stated must be in US dollars. After learning the amount is not all that impressive after all, he was so touched that he had tears in his eyes when he came over to shake Lu Feng's hands repeatedly saying that he is too kind and too generous, insisted on paying him back, and refused to include his share. Lu Feng held the rigid pile of cash forced into his hand, at a loss with what to do with them.

"Are you stupid?" I scolded him with a lowered voice.

"How would I know you are all going Dutch?" He said dully.

"That goes without saying, everyone of us belong to the working class, we do not have a tycoon amongst us, if not going Dutch where do we find a schmuck to be the big shot?"

"Tycoon? When it comes to being rich, it is not as if there are none amongst your friends here." He raised his vision in the direction of Shao Xian.

"Shao Xian is going to marry into a wealthy family, right now she is still a commoner."

"Not her, the one next to her with the black hair."

The whole lot of them had their hair dyed either light brown or dark brown, the only one with pristine dark hair is ...... are you kidding, Zhuo Lan?

"You must have seen wrong?" I remembered filling in the family particulars form for college entry, there were a variety of questions including the specifications of family members occupation, she filled in for 'Mother: Homemaker; Father: Clerk' It is well known she does not buy clothes and shoes in expensive boutique stores like the other girls does, the type of branded goods that college girls take pride in, could never be seen on her. It is said that the goods in Xiamen is much more expensive than in other cities, so that must be the reason why her daily necessities were sent over in boxes after boxes from home.

"The girl with the coffee colored hair, even if you add up the value of all the items on her body, would not even compare to the price of one of her shoes."

My initial thought is he is simply exaggerating, but Lu Feng is not one to embellish his words, his eye for details are also not something to be doubted.

"Do you think it strange that none of her clothings can be seen in ready-to-wear clothing stores? That's because it is all handmade."

I looked at Zhuo Lan in amazement, she raised her head up coincidentally to look at me, we met eye to eye, a small flush crept up her palm-sized face, she smiled briefly, and hurriedly lowered her head timidly.

A strange ominous feeling crept up my back leaving me in chills.