Ye Zisu smiled and came along cooperatively to the corner when Xia Lan softly said,
"Zisu, you and Wang Zheng.... don't have anything going on between you two, right?"
Ye Zisu smiled and said, "We're good friends, work partners, and we're from the same highschool. Now we're in the same college."
"Ah... Well, I saw you sitting with him and I got a shock. Don't be tricked by him. I'm not saying that he's not good, it's just... he's definitely not good enough for a princess of OMG like you."
"I'm not as great as you make me sound, and what's this about being a princess? Come on, don't spread this nonsense..."
"I'm not. OMG is like the midday sun. I've overheard people in a high society saying that your family has surpassed even the Chronos Clan... Oh, right, Yi Xisi will be here too. He's been trying to woo you for three years now and he refuses to give up. Determined guy… He was part of your pack of admirers back in the day, and he's even more impressive now!"
"Have you been bribed?"
"No way, I'm just saying he's a pretty good choice. But I mean, we're still young and good-looking, there's no need to hurry. Hehe. Let me tell you, when it comes to men, we've got to play hard to get if we want them to treat us better…Ah, then again, I forget…you don't need that anymore, but just make sure not to get compromised or tricked, alright?"
Ye Zisu simply smiled. Maybe Xia Lan was being nice, maybe she was just being gossipy. These were the things she used to say in school, but hearing these words now somehow felt different to her...
It can only be said that society was always in flux.
Xia Lan obviously did not notice the look in Ye Zisu's eyes and continued talking at length. One person had returned from some college and had high hopes of becoming a politician... Some other guy started a business in college and had a bright future....
"It's about time to leave."
"Ah! Silly me. I've been so excited, I completely lost track of time! Zisu did you drive here?"
"I came in Wang Zheng's car."
"Oh. What does he drive?" Xia Lan asked, batting her eyelids.
"Pulley."
"No way! Even I'm driving a Lingfeng..."
"It was a prize from our college."
"Oh, a prize? Haha. That makes sense. Even though he's made a name for himself now, he's still a student. Hm, why don't you ride with me, Zisu? We can continue talking on our way back. If you're not comfortable telling him, I'll go let him know."
Ye Zisu shook her head and smiled politely. "No need for that."
Xia Lan was stunned. She nodded. "Well, if that's the case, then it's your choice... You know, you're still exactly the same. You haven't changed one bit."
Ye Zisu returned to Wang Zheng's side and smiled apologetically. "Let's go."
At the carpark, Xia Lan watched as Ye Zisu crawled into an ugly-looking Pulley levitating car. She shook her head and activated her Lingfeng. The engines roared and it flew into the highspeed airways, disappearing quickly.
"About before, that Xia Lan... she blabs and speaks whatever is on her mind. Don't be bothered by it."
Ye Zisu knew Wang Zheng's true capabilities. But even though they had spoken privately in a corner, Ye Zisu wondered if Wang Zheng had heard everything they had said.
Wang Zheng laughed. "What did she say about me?"
"You didn't hear her?"
"Do I look like I enjoy eavesdropping on others?"
"Oh... Well then, it's nothing."
"That's not true, she definitely said something about me. Did she say something bad? Or maybe she complimented me?"
"Pfft. What's there to compliment about you? Don't try to learn from Second Brother. That trick doesn't work on me."
"How does it not work? You're smiling."
"Heh. Stop wasting our time talking about this and drive faster, will you?"
"Ahem... I'm still adjusting to it. I'll be able to drive faster soon."
Wang Zheng was driving at the lowest speed limit on the highway.
"Hurry up!" Ye Zisu began to find it funny and kept rushing him.
"You do that again and I'm stopping the car."
Wang Zheng's unique sense of humor put Ye Zisu between laughter and tears.
Finally, they arrived at the hotel where the gathering was held. Aolin Holiday Inn - the Milky Way's five star hotel.
An entire level was booked out for the event. There was even a laser light scrolling banner hung up at the hotel's main entrance that read "Dawn highschool's homecoming on level 3". It was evident that everybody had made tremendous improvement in their years apart. Some of those who joined the workforce did particularly well and had climbed up the ranks.
Upon entering the hotel lobby, a few familiar silhouettes could be seen from afar. Just then, a staff member quickly made his way up to greet her. "Miss Ye?"
Ye Zisu nodded. The hotel's staff immediately acted as if they were waiting upon a country's leader, carefully escorting the two of them up the elevator.
On level three, Xia Lan was chatting with a handsome man with golden hair, glancing at the elevator from time to time. When she saw Ye Zisu, she immediately came up and said, "Zisu, you took quite some time."
The handsome man with golden hair slowly walked up, looking at Ye Zisu coolly.
"Zisu, long time no see."
"Yi Xisi, long time no see."
"This schoolmate here doesn't look very familiar. Sorry, level 3 is for those of us who know one another well to get together. The hall on level one has been booked, it's for everyone to gather. We'll be there in a while too."
Yi Xisi did not invite everyone to join them. He looked at Wang Zheng.
Wang Zheng now understood what was going on. No wonder Ye Zisu had wanted to bring him along for her class gathering - to deal with these people. As her big brother, taking out these annoying flies was part of his duties.
Back in highschool, Zisu had no lack of suitors. She and Yue Jing were the two unparalleled beauties. As Yue Jing disappeared, Ye Zisu became even more popular. With beauty and fame, many of them had different ideas in their heads and had an ulterior motives coming to this gathering.
Wang Zheng was not actually interested gatherings like this. They may have been competitive in school, but they were schoolmates after all, and they could laugh things off. But now, being in college or in the working world, doing things like that left a different taste in their mouths. Even then, given a situation like that, Wang Zheng did not want to act like he was riding a high horse.
Xia Lan grinned. "Student Yi, you're too ill-informed, aren't you? This is Wang Zheng, the team captain of Solar System's IG team, the pride of Ares College."
"IG? Oh... I remember now. You play with swords and guns. Tsk tsk. The country's safety is in your hands, the super soldier of the future!"
Yi Xisi nodded, smiled, and made a gesture of invitation for him to join them. It was clear that all those things about level three being reserved for closer friends was bullsh*t. It was for successful people.
Wang Zheng chuckled. "No need. I'll go to level one. I saw my classmates, Xiao Lu and friends, earlier on. I'll go and say hi to them."
Yi Xisi gleamed. "Suit yourself then. You can come up here and join us if you want. I've heard the news introduce what IG is. Seems interesting."
This was a classic move. He didn't actually care. Ye Zisu had obviously predicted this to happen. She secretly batted her eyes at Wang Zheng coyly. You're my big brother, and these things should be dealt with by you.
Xia Lan made a few faces at Wang Zheng. What a dummy! Level one is for those laymen, and level three was the place where the successful congregated! A network of schoolmates was a money-making network. People were separated by class and status. It was alright in school, but outside of school and in society, this difference was a lot more stark and obvious, and people should know where they stood.
Wang Zheng grinned at Xia Lan. "Zisu, why don't you come to our level and chat first, then go back up. Otherwise, you'll never be able to come back down."
Wang Zheng said, with a hint of mockery.
Ye Zisu smiled. "I'll come with you. It's been a long time, I kind of miss them, too."
She said while entering the elevator with Wang Zheng.
Yi Xisi stared. Xia Lan gaped. No way! No matter how innocent or naive Ye Zisu was, she couldn't possibly fall for someone like that!
Forget about what team leader you were. Even if you were a super warrior, you're just someone who sent himself to death! He was not a commander, he was just a mech warrior on land, pretty much cannon fodder.
Inside the elevator, Wang Zheng looked at Ye Zisu. "Were you already expecting that?"
Ye Zisu smiled and lightly tugged at Wang Zheng's arm. "Can't you indulge me just this once?"
Wang Zheng shrugged. "Sure, no problem. I'll do my job well."
The two of them chuckled. Ye Zisu was helpless. She was too popular these days, and she attracted so much attention that she couldn't reject them in time. Never underestimate the fighting will and determination of these slutty men. They would chase and pursue relentlessly, and they stuck pretty hard. Plus, they were classmates, and it was hard to reject and turn them away. It's been said that it's within your rights to accept or reject, but it's others' freedom to love or not.
Xiao Lu's results in class were on the lower end, and so he had a pretty good relationship with Wang Zheng and Yan Xiaosu. They had some sort of interaction at the very least.
They would share their good fortune but would split ways when in woe. Their relationship was akin to "every man for himself".
But even then, this type of friendship, while not as sincere and trustworthy as Yan Xiaosu's, where they were willing to die for each other, was one where they knew and understood each other well. Suddenly seeing each other after being apart for more than a year, they were genuinely happy and nostalgic.
"Wang Zheng! Aha!"
Xiao Lu jumped out of his seat. Just as he was about to dash into Wang Zheng for a bear hug, he caught glimpse of Ye Zisu behind him. Snap! His smile immediately turned into a nervous twitch. "Ye... Ye... Student Ye... Oh, my, you... why are you here?"
Ye Zisu smiled. "Isn't this a class gathering? Why, am I being excluded?"
"No, no, how could we? Hehe. Student Ye, here, please, haha."
Another male student came running up, smiling agitatedly, his heart thumping as if a thousand horses were galloping inside. Damn! What was this goddess doing here instead of being on level 3?
If he had known earlier, he wouldn't be wearing this 500 dollar flea market stuff. He'd rent a 10,000 federation dollars luxury suit no matter what. What a failure on his behalf!
To put it nicely, there was not enough space here. But in actual fact, everybody knew what was going on. No matter what, those people on level three were the ones who paid for the gathering, and it wouldn't be nice to say anything. If they were really confident, they could go to level 3 too.
Ye Zisu glanced at Wang Zheng, and seeing Wang Zheng blink at her, she walked off into the crowd to say hi to everyone. She was well-liked by people. Although she was pretty, the girls liked her anyway. The things she wore were other girls' fashion goals.
In an instant, a group of girls had crowded around her. "Zisu, your earrings are beautiful! They must be expensive!"
"This one's okay, not very expensive. They're from D&D, 300 federation dollars."
"No way! They don't have these in the DD outlets!"
"It's on the members' exclusive catalogue. It's because I've bought quite a lot of things at their shop and accidentally became a diamond-class member. That's why they send the catalogue to me. The items on there are all unique and never repeat. They're not too bad. If any of you like it, I can buy them on your behalf."
"Really? Is it too much trouble?"
"Nah. You can earn some members' points for me. It's okay if you're not interested."
"No, no, no, quick, show us the catalogue."
Ye Zisu and the girls were happily chatting, obviously nothing men could join in on. Xiao Lu remembered Wang Zheng. "Damn, Bro! Something wrong with you? School belle Ye was behind you and you didn't realise? I heard you're the team captain of IG Solar System. Awesome! Glory for all of us!"
"About right. I'm general material anyway." Wang Zheng chuckled.
"What a brag. I've seen the professional analysis on forums. Looks like they chose you to balance out Lear, Lie Xin, and Achilles. But it's awesome you were seen as a balanced choice. Let's go drink to our hearts' content!" Xiao Lu laughed heartily. He was more concerned with IG and could be considered a military mech head.