Chapter 253: Class Reunion

The fifth day of the Lunar New Year, 6:00 PM.

Chen Mo got dressed and left his home.

It was only yesterday that he received the news that today was the time for the class reunion.

After leaving home, he went straight to the parking lot in the Complex. The agreed-upon restaurant was about 4 kilometers away from his home; if he were to walk, it would take a long time.

In the middle of winter, he didn't want to walk outside for that long, especially since there had been a heavy snowfall two days ago.

He started his car and drove straight toward the agreed-upon restaurant.

Soon after, he found a parking space a bit far from the restaurant and parked his car. After all, it was a class reunion, and there were those who were doing well and those who were not.

If he drove directly to the restaurant entrance and was seen by the classmates waiting there, it would be easy for them to misunderstand and think he was going there to show off.

To avoid such gossip, it was better for him to be mindful.

After walking for a few minutes, he indeed saw a few figures standing at the restaurant entrance, looking around. Among them was an acquaintance—Wang Bin, whom he had met before the New Year.

Clearly, these people were his former classmates, though he could no longer recognize the names of some of them.

At this moment, Wang Bin also noticed him coming over and was waving his hand rapidly.

"Chen Mo, over here."

Seeing this, Chen Mo also raised his arm to signal back.

After walking closer, Wang Bin acted as the intermediary and began to introduce everyone to each other.

Listening to Wang Bin's introductions, Chen Mo thought hard; he still had some impression of some people, but he couldn't recall others at all.

This was mostly because when he was in school, he had been a maverick and didn't hang out with them.

But he couldn't be blamed for that.

Possessing the soul of an adult, how could he possibly hang out with a bunch of little brats?

He sighed inwardly and greeted these former classmates.

"Top Student Chen, it's been so many years, yet you haven't changed at all; you're still just as handsome."

"It's true. Back then, Top Student Chen was not only good at studying but also handsome; quite a few young girls had a crush on him."

"That's for sure; there were quite a few who sent love letters too."

"…"

Several female classmates crowded around, teasing him back and forth.

Chen Mo awkwardly rubbed his nose, not daring to reply.

It seemed that someone had indeed sent him love letters back then, but the content of those letters was just too childish. However, he didn't want to shatter those young girls' fantasies about love, so he just pretended not to see any of them.

As the saying goes, what you can't get is the best.

Soon, a few more classmates arrived.

"Most people are here; let's go in, let's not wait outside anymore."

"The few who are left have a longer journey; I'm afraid it will take them a while to arrive."

Wang Bin counted the number of people and began organizing everyone to go inside.

Chen Mo followed behind and secretly counted the number of people; about 20-plus people had come to this class reunion.

Back then, there were over 40 people in the class, so more than half had come.

After so many years, being able to gather more than half the people was already quite good.

They arrived at a private room in the restaurant, told the waiter they would order later, and everyone started chatting in the private room.

The topics of conversation were mostly funny things they had experienced back in school, or chatting with each other about work.

Of course, there were also a few single men and women sitting together, laughing and talking; perhaps after the reunion ended, a romantic connection might develop.

Chen Mo sat quietly to the side, watching without interjecting.

"Chen Mo, what work do you do in Jiangcheng? I forgot to ask last time."

Wang Bin, who was sitting to the side, suddenly asked. At the same time, a few classmates nearby also looked over.

Clearly, they were all very curious about what this former top student was doing now.

"Oh, after graduation, I opened a Garment factory with a friend."

Chen Mo thought for a moment and directly used the explanation he had given his family.

It wasn't a lie; he had indeed opened a Garment factory, though he just concealed his other companies.

"A top student is a top student; you started your own business right after graduation."

Wang Bin couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, though his eyes couldn't help but dim slightly; among these classmates, he was doing quite poorly.

Of course, it was all his own fault for insisting on becoming an actor.

After graduation, he didn't look for a job but went straight to Hengdian to work as an extra for over a year, hoping to be spotted by some big boss and cast in an important role or something.

However, the ideal was plump, but reality was skinny.

He had been an extra in Hengdian for over a year, and no director had taken a liking to him; in the end, he had no choice but to return home.

He was preparing to find a stable job this year.

However, when organizing the reunion, he suddenly heard that his old classmate Luo Xiao was now working as a director. This gave him some ideas: could he ask this old classmate for a role? It didn't need to be very important, just having some screen time would be enough.

Since he was in school, he had liked acting, but his grades weren't good, and he didn't get into a drama academy.

But he had always been reading books about acting, and when he was an extra, he would occasionally apply the knowledge from those books to see if he could get a director to notice his talent.

But he was disappointed; directors simply wouldn't pay attention to how extras performed.

This time, he hoped that Luo Xiao would be willing to arrange a role for him out of consideration for their old classmate relationship, fulfilling his dream of being an actor.

"Top Student Chen, I heard that running a Garment factory is very profitable. You must have made a lot this year, right?"

Another classmate asked.

"The factory's performance isn't great; there haven't been any orders in the last few months."

Chen Mo shook his head; this was the truth.

During this period, apart from that old six, Luo Yuan, finding a batch of agents for his company, there had basically been no other business.

And the agents only earned an agency fee; whether the clothing could actually be sold was another matter entirely.

"Indeed, the economy has been declining for the past two years, and starting a business is hard; many companies have closed down."

The classmate who asked sighed.

Chen Mo heard this and also sighed, thinking to himself.

That's right! With the economic downturn, couldn't he lose a bit more money?

Hearing the words of Chen Mo and that classmate, the classmates who had been relatively interested in Chen Mo also withdrew their gaze.

Seeing that no one was asking anymore, Chen Mo was happy to have some peace and quiet.

Not long after, a few more classmates arrived one after another. The last classmate to arrive attracted a warm welcome from the entire private room.

"Sorry, the road was a bit long; I kept everyone waiting for a long time."

Luo Xiao looked at the many classmates and said with a hint of apology.

"It's not late; we've been sitting here chatting and catching up, it's quite nice."

"Come, come, come, Director Luo, a seat has already been prepared for you, the center position."

"Let us welcome Director Luo to his seat."

"…"

A few classmates shouted, egging him on.

Luo Xiao looked at the enthusiastic classmates, his expression slightly stiff, and he sat down on the chair unnaturally.