After having a meal with his former students and chatting with them for a while, Teacher Wang wanted to leave early to go home due to his old age as well as being concerned about his dog that had been left alone at home.
Song Tingshen offered to send Teacher Wang home, and Ruan Xia and Little Wang would naturally leave with him.
No one had any objections. After all, in their schooldays, Teacher Wang had valued Song Tingshen the most and treated him the best. Their teacher and student relationship had never been broken. There were even people that said Teacher Wang practically treated Song Tingshen as if he was his son.
After Song Tingshen and his family left with Teacher Wang, one after another, everyone left the venue too. After all, most of them had their own families. People in their thirties didn't have the energy or enthusiasm to go sing at Karaoke places or go wild at bars. They would rather go home to spend time with their spouses and children.
Ye Xuan had driven here. One of her good friends, who had also come to the birthday celebration, lived close to her, so she gave her a ride home.
Sitting in the passenger seat, her good friend ruefully sighed. "I really didn't expect to see Song Tingshen again. It's so maddening that I spend so much money on skincare products every month and I still don't look younger than him. It can't be true that women really do get older faster than men, right? That's too unfair. I'm a year younger than him, but now I look a few years older than him!"
Ye Xuan calmly said, "Calm down. You've already given birth to two children. Although you've done your best to maintain your health and appearance, it's inevitable there'll be damage from giving birth. Still, you're already doing a very good job on maintaining your looks."
"... Alright." Her friend sighed. "It's better to have kids when you're young. Look at Song Tingshen's wife. I heard she's only 25, which means she was pregnant and had their son when she was in her early twenties. Her figure and skin are so good. If you say that she's someone that had given birth, no one would believe you. If I had known this earlier, I would have had my children earlier." She paused and looked at Ye Xuan. "That's why you should hurry up with looking for a suitable partner. You're 35. That's considered advanced age for getting pregnant!"
Ye Xuan squeezed the steering wheel, but her expression didn't change. Over the years, many people had urged her to get married. The words that her parents had said to her on this topic was a thousand times more unpleasant, but she hadn't waivered. Why? Because her ambitions laid elsewhere. Her resolve wouldn't be shaken by a few words from others.
The words she should say, she had already said them so many times. She didn't want to waste anymore saliva on that.
Not getting a response from Ye Xuan, her friend added, "Actually, back then, it wasn't impossible for you and Song Tingshen to date. The two of you are such a good match for each other. Although it's too late to say these words now since he already has a wife and child, I still feel it's a pity. If it was Song Tingshen, you would be willing to marry him and have a child with him, right? Ultimately, you're looking for feelings. But what are feelings worth? Once two people get married, it's all the same. There's not much difference between having feelings and not having them. You'll still be passing your days."
Ye Xuan finally spoke. "I don't think it's a pity. I don't have any regrets either. Back then, after the college entrance examination was over, I confessed my feelings to him."
"... What? How come you never mentioned it?" This was big news. No one would have expected that Ye Xuan had confessed to Song Tingshen back then.