The next morning, Fang Qingye got out of bed, washed up, and put on a jacket, jeans, and sneakers. His parents were already gone—he had no idea where—leaving only a note in the living room. He went downstairs, left the residential compound, and crossed the street to a small eatery where he had a bowl of fish noodle soup with a poached egg.
Before long, a white BMW pulled up at the entrance of the compound—Song Da Hai’s car.
Fang Qingye got into the passenger seat and said, “Let’s go pick up Chen Meimei from the water plant residential compound.”
“Sure thing.”
Song Da Hai turned onto Friendship Road and headed northeast.
Chen Meimei’s parents were ordinary employees at the county water plant, which had since been renamed Nanxin Water Group Co., Ltd. They lived in the water plant residential compound in the northern part of the city. Fang Qingye made a quick call, and by the time they reached the compound entrance, Chen Meimei was already waiting outside.
Today, she wore a light pink tracksuit, white sneakers, and carried a small black shoulder bag. Paired with her petite figure, she looked incredibly kawaii.
As soon as the car stopped, Song Da Hai leaned out the window and greeted her with a smile, “Chen Meimei, hop in!”
The girl spotted Fang Qingye in the passenger seat, acknowledged them, and took a seat in the back. The BMW immediately turned around and headed toward Century Square, where they had agreed to meet.
As they drove along Friendship Road, Fang Qingye noticed a white Volkswagen Polo ahead. After the traffic light, the Polo turned left onto Chaoyang Road, and Song Da Hai’s car followed.
“No way? Is she going too?” Song Da Hai couldn’t help muttering when he saw the Polo.
“Who is she?”
Fang Qingye asked curiously.
“That’s Qian Xiaoli’s car. Is she heading to Lang Mountain too? We didn’t invite her this time. Probably just a coincidence.”
Song Da Hai added, as if to reassure himself.
But things didn’t go as hoped.
The Polo drove to the northwest corner of New Century Square and pulled over by the roadside. Parked ahead was a silver-gray Honda Accord, and standing beside it was a young man in casual attire—the organizer of the day’s outing, Jiang Chen.
Three girls got out of the Polo: Qian Xiaoli, Shao Jing, and Wang Simin, and they began chatting with Jiang Chen.
So they were all going to Lang Mountain together!
Seeing this, Song Da Hai exclaimed, “Damn! What’s Jiang Chen playing at? Wasn’t Qian Xiaoli not supposed to be here?!”
“Since they’re here, we might as well accept it. Hurry up and park,” Fang Qingye replied, secretly amused.
Talk about enemies crossing paths—this was bound to be interesting.
The BMW pulled over behind the Volkswagen Polo, and the three of them got out, joining the group.
“Qian Xiaoli heard from Shao Jing that there was an outing today, so she wanted to join,” Jiang Chen explained proactively to Song Da Hai, who responded with a glare.
Qian Xiaoli, who was relatively tall, looked even more statuesque in her gray tracksuit. She stood at the back of the group with her hands in her pockets, not saying a word.
Fang Qingye introduced Chen Meimei to everyone. Since they were all around the same age, no further pleasantries were exchanged.
Just then, Jiang Chen announced, “Everyone! All expenses for today’s outing are on me. Da Hai, don’t even think about fighting me for the bill!”
Song Da Hai shrugged, as if to say, “Suit yourself.”
“Alright, ladies, let’s head to the supermarket first to buy ingredients for the barbecue. Feel free to pick whatever you like—don’t hold back.” After speaking, Jiang Chen led the girls into a nearby large supermarket. Chen Meimei hesitated for a moment before following them in.
Now only Fang Qingye and Song Da Hai remained.
“That Jiang Chen, he’s really putting on airs now,” Song Da Hai remarked, pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, lighting one, and taking a long drag.
Fang Qingye knew Jiang Chen’s situation well.
Jiang Chen’s father was a section chief in the Urban Construction Bureau, while his mother worked at a factory in the county town. Their family circumstances were fairly average, and with his salary from the Statistics Bureau alone, he certainly couldn’t afford a Honda Accord worth 200,000 yuan. However, he had made a fortune from stock trading a couple of years earlier.
From 2005 to 2007, the A-share market experienced a massive bull run, soaring from 998 points all the way to 6124 points. At that time, stocks and funds were selling like hotcakes. Even elderly folks who had no idea what a fund was rushed into banks, buying whatever they saw as if shopping at a farmers’ market.
As a result, some people made huge fortunes.
Jiang Chen was one of them.
Back then, he was still in university and persuaded his parents to invest in stocks and funds. Not only did they use their savings, but they also managed to take out loans from credit unions to pour into the stock market!
Even more impressively, when the A-share market peaked in October 2007 and began its steep decline, he managed to sell at the top!
He liquidated all his stocks and funds! Later, Jiang Chen privately revealed that he had made nearly 2 million yuan from it.
He bought a car and a three-bedroom, two-living-room apartment in Jinghai. After that, Jiang Chen’s tone when speaking to his classmates became noticeably more boastful.
It was said that all of this was masterminded by Jiang Chen himself, proving that the guy had both guts and vision.
Half an hour later, Jiang Chen emerged from the supermarket with the four girls, all carrying bags of groceries. They loaded the items into the trunks of three cars and prepared to set off.
“Wang Simin, Qian Xiaoli’s car is a bit crowded. How about you ride with me?” Jiang Chen suddenly extended the invitation.
Wang Simin, with her oval face, had passed the teacher qualification exam after graduation and was now a teacher at Xingguang Elementary School in the county town. Her father was the Party secretary of a township. After hearing Jiang Chen’s invitation, she hesitated briefly but eventually nodded in agreement.
The three cars started up one by one and headed out of the county town.
“That guy Jiang Chen is chasing after Wang Simin,” Song Da Hai said to Fang Qingye in the car.
“No kidding! Anyone with eyes can see that,” Fang Qingye retorted.
In his previous life, Fang Qingye recalled that the two had gotten married. They had even called to invite him to the wedding banquet. However, by that time, he had already moved to Shencheng and couldn’t make it back, though he still sent a monetary gift.
The car left the county town and merged onto the provincial highway.
Rows of lush metasequoia trees lined both sides of the road, with wheat and rapeseed fields not far away. The rapeseed flowers were in full bloom, creating a stunning golden vista.
Fang Qingye’s mood was cheerful.
The spring scenery was truly beautiful—nothing like the concrete jungle of Shencheng, which paled in comparison.
At that moment, Song Da Hai inserted a CD into the player, and the sound of Phoenix Legend immediately filled the car.
I look up at the moon above
How many dreams are freely soaring
Yesterday’s forgotten sorrows dried by the wind
I want to reunite with you on that vast road
The melodious song reminded Fang Qingye of the music video for this track, where the two singers drove a convertible, and Zeng Yi, with his shaved head and sunglasses, exuded a carefree, unruly charm.
Fang Qingye also began humming along softly.
But halfway through the song, Song Da Hai suddenly thought of something and turned off the player.
“What’s wrong?” Fang Qingye couldn’t help asking.
“This kind of song is a bit outdated. Let’s change it.” As he spoke, he took out another CD and inserted it. Soon, a very distinctive male voice began singing.
Blue and white porcelain with patterns drawn in light ink
The peony on the vase resembles your first makeup
The rising sandalwood fragrance through the window tells me your thoughts
The brush stops halfway on the paper
Jay Chou’s “Blue and White Porcelain”
Hmm… quite artistic indeed.
“Chen Meimei, how about this song? It’s ‘Blue and White Porcelain’ from Jay Chou’s latest album.” Song Da Hai spoke through the rearview mirror to Chen Meimei, who was sitting quietly in the back seat.
After a moment, Chen Meimei replied: “Actually, I think that ‘Phoenix Legend’ song was quite nice.”
Haha
Fang Qingye laughed heartily inside.
This guy tried to show off but completely missed the mark.