Chapter 8: Familiar Stranger

  The three-day final exam has ended, which means the winter vacation has arrived. A heavy snowstorm kept Wan Chao Hui at home for a week, originally she was planning to go to her uncle's house to play, this is a habit that started from elementary school, every winter and summer vacation, Wan Chao Hui would pack up her clothes and report to her uncle's house on time. Her uncle is her mother's older brother, he and his wife are ordinary workers, their eldest daughter Ouyang Jing is five years older than Wan Chao Hui, she has a introverted and steady personality, the second daughter Ouyang Rong is two years older than Wan Chao Hui, she is generous and straightforward, the youngest daughter Ouyang Qin is nine months younger than Wan Chao Hui, she is mischievous and lively, and together with Wan Chao Hui, they have created many pranks. The couple supports their three daughters to study, living a very frugal life, Wan Chao Hui's mother as an aunt, always helps out economically within her means, so Auntie is always warm and thoughtful towards Wan Chao Hui, Wan Chao Hui has been good at observing people's words and expressions since she was young, if she finds that Auntie has any dislike or neglect towards her, she would not have gone to their house.

  The snow and ice melted, the weather cleared up, and the warm winter sun shone on people's bodies, making them feel especially comfortable. Wan Chao Hui sat on the balcony every day, reading world classics, wearing headphones to listen to music, feeling particularly relaxed and at ease.

  Yeh Caizyun called that day, she had a five-day delay in her holiday compared to Wan Zhaohui. "Zhaohui! The day after tomorrow is the high school reunion, Teacher Pan asked me to inform you, do you have time to go?"

  "A class reunion? It's only been half a year since we graduated, and now there's already a class reunion! How boring!" Wan Chao Hui thought sensitively that Pan Jian Guo's purpose in organizing this class reunion was to maintain connections between his favorite students, perhaps even paving the way for future favors. Or maybe it was all for the sake of his newborn son's future! She remembered how when they first entered high school, Teacher Pan would talk about his experiences studying in rural areas and his disdain for the world, but now, after just three years, he had been transformed by the city's influence. A young man who once loved literature had become someone who would marry the niece of the school cafeteria manager - a pretty girl with a gentle face - just to get ahead in life, get a welfare apartment, and save face. And indeed, after getting married, they were allocated a two-bedroom apartment. Wan Chao Hui had heard from classmates that Pan Jian Guo's marriage was often troubled, and the sound of pots and pans clanging could be heard coming from their home, so in her eyes, Pan Jian Guo was still a bit soft at heart.

  "Zhaohui, don't be so sensitive, okay? Teacher Pan just wants us to get together. Now our classmates are scattered all over the country, and since we've just entered university, our studies are relatively relaxed. Let's take this opportunity to gather together, or it'll be hard to get everyone together again!" Ye Caiyun comforted Wan Zhaohui. She actually wanted to get together with her other high school classmates too. Since entering university half a year ago, she had limited contact with people in school, and many of her classmates were from out of town, so they didn't have much in common. However, the main reason was that she wasn't good at communicating and interacting with others, and deep down, she always felt a lack of confidence, afraid of saying something wrong in front of her classmates and leaving a bad impression.

  Her high school classmates were different, though. Back then, they had all been young and naive, gathered together under one roof to study and live for three years. They could talk openly with each other, and besides, several of them had gone on to attend universities in Beijing and Shanghai. Ye Caiyun really wanted to keep in touch with them and learn more about the outside world.

  Before the college entrance exams, Ye Caiyun had originally been admitted to Suzhou Railway Vocational University without needing to take the exam. However, her father thought she was too introverted and worried that as a girl, she would be vulnerable and alone in a foreign place, getting taken advantage of by others. Her father also had higher hopes for her, thinking that if she really wanted to attend university in another city, it should be in a first-tier city like Beijing or Shanghai.

  However, Ye Caiyun didn't do well on the exams and only got into a second-rate local university. So her father told her to major in finance, saying that this field would always have job opportunities. "Zhaohui, are you...are you going or not?" Ye Caiyun asked hesitantly. She was afraid that Wan Zhaohui might feel inferior because he hadn't done well on the exams and wouldn't want to face their classmates who had gotten into top universities.

  "Go ahead, why not go?" Wan Zhaohui replied without hesitation. Wan Zhaohui had never felt inferior to those so-called top students in her class, and she even admired Lin Boyang's arrogant statement: "Even if you don't study, you can still get good grades." Wan Zhaohui thought the same way in her heart, but as a girl, she wasn't as outspoken. What she remembered most deeply was the final sprint stage of high school, when Wan Zhaohui didn't feel like studying, but once, the chemistry teacher gave a difficult mock exam, and out of 62 people in the class, only 9 passed, including Wan Zhaohui. At that time, she also had the same arrogant thought, thinking that even if she didn't study, she could still get good grades, and if she really studied hard, her scores would definitely surpass those "bookworms". Wan Zhaohui was very curious about what those top students in Pan Jianguo's eyes would become after entering university!

  "The day after tomorrow, we'll go to the Cultural Palace together. Teacher Pan has rented a recreational hall there that can hold dozens of people!" Ye Caiyun hadn't expected Wan Chao Hui to agree so readily.

  "Okay, what time will you arrive the day after tomorrow?"

  "Class monitor Gao Qing told me the gathering time is 9:00 am at the entrance of the Cultural Palace, let's meet at the bus station near my home at 8:30!"

  "Alright then! See you the day after tomorrow!"

  "See you the day after tomorrow!"

  The next day, Wan Chao Hui spent five hours getting a trendy hairstyle called "sponge heart", which was her first time dyeing her hair. Looking at the stylish new look in the mirror, she thought it was worth it.

  Early in the morning, accompanied by the alarm clock ringing, Wan Zhaohui woke up from her sleep. She had set the alarm clock to 7:00 sharp last night, so that she could have more time to dress herself up in the morning. Although Wan Zhaohui didn't take this high school reunion seriously at heart, her vanity still made her want to dress up and look pretty, just to show off a bit.

  The weather remained clear after the snow and ice melted, and the temperature rose significantly, so there was no need to wear down jackets. Wan Chao Hui put on a thick purple woolen coat that her mother had just knitted for herself, paired with black tight-fitting trousers with dark flower patterns, and black half-length sheepskin boots, which made her legs look slender and straight. In front of the large mirror above the wardrobe, Wan Chao Hui smoothed out her curly hair at the waist with both hands, suddenly thinking, why not try a "Little Deer Chunzi" hairstyle? Since she was in kindergarten, Wan Chao Hui had been imitating the hairstyles of TV actors, even her favorite Huang Rong's hairstyle, which she had also tried to recreate at home. With her clever mind, she cut off a fake pearl necklace, threaded the pearls onto thin iron wire, twisted them into flower shapes, and made a beautiful hairpin, which she inserted into her styled hair. She also draped a bright scarf over her body, admiring herself in the mirror, and indeed had a few hints of an ancient beauty's aura. Then she smiled sweetly, applauding her own cleverness.

  In less than a minute, she neatly combed her hair and dressed up looking quite pure and elegant yet trendy. Wan Chao Hui glanced at his watch, it was exactly 8 o'clock, he hastily grabbed his deep blue cartoon character single-shoulder canvas bag and headed out the door.

  After walking for twenty minutes, Wan Zhaohui arrived at the station near Ye Caiyun's home and met with Ye Caiyun who had just rushed over.

  "Wow, you've permed your hair! It looks great! Another style, quite exotic!" Ye Caiyun gazed at Wan Chao Hui with envy.

  "Go get a perm tomorrow, will you!" Wan Zhaohui said with a chuckle, her cheeks flushed red from the rapid walk, which made her look particularly lovely. Less than twenty meters away, in front of the bus stop sign, a pair of dark, gloomy eyes stared intently at Wan Zhaohui.

  "I'm afraid it won't work, my hair is too thick and coarse, if I perm it, it will look even more unruly and difficult to manage." Ye Caiyun said cautiously, "Zeng Tao and the others have arrived, let's go!" Ye Caiyun had already seen Zeng Tao waving at them. She pulled Wan Chao Hui along as they walked forward.

  "What are you looking at? Let's go, they're here!" Zeng Tao said straightforwardly to Han Bin beside him. Yesterday, he and Ye Caiyun agreed to meet at the train station this morning, and everyone would go to the Cultural Palace together. Han Bin and Zeng Tao were iron buddies who had played together since childhood, and not only that. The two of them were in the same class from elementary school to high school, and wherever Zeng Tao went, Han Bin almost always appeared at the same time.

  "I don't know, of course I want to take a look!" Han Bin was deeply attracted by Wan Zhaohui's youthful and lovely appearance, but he said it in a calm and indifferent tone.

  "Are you kidding me? It's Ye Caiyun and Wan Zhaohui, we've been in the same class for three years, living and learning together, not to mention we often ride our bikes home together. How can you say you don't know them?" Zeng Tao said loudly to Han Bin.

  "Yè Cǎi Yún, of course I know her, she's the hygiene committee member in our class! We've interacted before, I'm talking about that person next to her! What's with being in the same class and going home together? I haven't exchanged a single word with her, so we don't know each other!" Hán Bīn said somewhat aggressively towards Zēng Tāo.

  "Alright, whatever you say goes!" Zeng Tao said helplessly, shaking his head.

  "Oh, you've made an appointment with Zeng Tao again!" Wan Chao Hui looked at Zeng Tao and another boy walking towards them, "Cai Yun, who is the one next to Zeng Tao? I don't recognize him."

  "Han Bin, you don't even remember, we often rode our bikes home together. He's quite handsome, one of the school girls' picks for a heartthrob, just a bit cold and doesn't talk much." Ye Caiyun said with a smile.

  "Who is Han Bin? I don't seem to have any impression of him. You know, in high school, I only talked to a handful of people, and the friends I was close to were just you, Lin Boyang, Xie Fei, Wen Lan, and Dai Xin. Everyone else was just a casual acquaintance." Wan Chao Hui said matter-of-factly, her mind searching for any impression of Han Bin, but unfortunately, there wasn't one.

  "That's right!" Ye Caiyun said thoughtfully. In high school, Wan Zhaohui was less in contact with her classmates than she was. At least she was the hygiene committee member of her class, reminding her classmates to clean up every day, and naturally got familiar with everyone. Sometimes they would chat and laugh together. "Then you'll get to know each other well later!"

  "Whatever, just look at him with that slightly raised chin and cold gaze, so arrogant! I don't want to know someone like that. You guys think he's handsome, but I don't, his big eyes are dull, definitely not a smart or interesting person! How boring!" Wan Zhaohui said this, but her words didn't match her heart. Her eyes were particularly good, both 1.5 diopters, and she clearly saw Han Bin getting closer and closer, their eyes meeting from afar for a brief moment. For some reason, Wan Zhaohui's heart suddenly started racing rapidly, something that had never happened before. She herself was puzzled: Could it be that I have a good impression of him? Impossible! More importantly, Wan Zhaohui felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity in her heart, like Jia Baoyu's first meeting with Lin Daiyu, a mysterious and unexplainable feeling: "I've seen this sister before!" She looked at Han Bin and felt a strong sense of déjà vu.

  "Ye Caiyun, Wan Zhaohui, hello!" Zeng Tao smiled and greeted. Seeing Han Bin didn't make a sound, Zeng Tao stretched out his hand behind him and gave Han Bin a strong push.

  "Hello!" Han Bin greeted with a lukewarm tone. The moment their eyes met, the indifference in each other's gaze immediately hurt the other's self-esteem. In fact, they were two people with similar personalities, and this was an instinctive self-protection mechanism when facing strangers, especially since they were facing someone who made their hearts flutter, and they didn't know how the other would perceive them! However, these young people didn't understand this point!

  "Long time no see! How are you all?" Ye Caiyun said with a smile.

  "Hello!" Wan Chao Hui's greeting was a bit stiff and in a flat tone.

  A station away from the Cultural Palace, the four of them walked side by side on the pedestrian path. Ye Caiyun and Zeng Tao were in the middle, chatting a lot, with Zeng Tao consciously asking questions back and forth, occasionally also talking to Wan Chao Hui, while Han Bin was silent and taciturn beside them.

  "Hey Bin, what major are you in at Q University now?" Yecaiyun couldn't help but ask.

  "Computer!" Han Bin was indeed stingy with his words, and then there was no more to it. Faced with such a dull boy, Wan Zhaohui couldn't help but wonder: Was he just like herself, not bothering to say unnecessary words, or was this an expression of his inner cowardice and poor communication skills?