Chapter 1: Three thousand nights of drunken laughter accompanying the lord, no need to lament the parting cup.

  Zheng Wei sat on the muddy ground near the construction site, with the scorching October sun shining directly overhead. As far as the eye could see, everything was a dazzling white. The construction had only just begun, and the site was still in the stage of groundwork, with no shelter or shade to be found. A drop of sweat fell onto her eyelashes, and she casually wiped it away with her hand, smearing mud and sand onto her skin, turning it a murky grey. Her safety helmet clung to her hairline, sticky and itchy. After being exposed to the sun for over a month, when she washed up at night and looked in the mirror, she found that her originally pale face had turned as dark as Judge Bao's. Not only was her skin tanned, but the area under the safety helmet's chin strap remained as white as snow. When she took off her helmet, from a distance, it looked like someone had painted two white stripes on either side of her cheeks, making her look ridiculous. She had been teased by the rough men at the construction site for this. She took a sip of water and fanned herself futilely with her hand. If it weren't for the project manager, safety supervisor, and her instructor repeatedly reminding her to wear a safety helmet on her first day on site, she would have had the urge to throw away the helmet and free her head and neck.

  She had been striving for this job with the original intention of being with the person she liked every day. The person left, but the opportunity to work remained. Zheng Wei didn't know whether to feel ironic or fortunate. However, being able to enter China Construction, it is said that she just caught the last chance of this old state-owned enterprise recruiting formal employees before its restructuring, which is a lucky thing in the eyes of most of her classmates, especially after China Construction spread the word "no female recruitment" early today, her unexpected selection was indeed enviable.

  It's laughable to say, but she initially chose to study civil engineering because she naively thought that if she could see high-rise buildings rise from the ground with her own hands, it would feel great. Now that she's actually in the industry, she realizes that sexism exists for a reason - girls are far inferior to boys in terms of physical strength and endurance. Not long after returning from Wuyuan, she received a re-examination notice from China Construction, and during that period, she lived like a wandering soul, not knowing how she was accepted. After reporting for duty, she followed dozens of male students to the company's headquarters for a half-month pre-job training, and then they were all exiled to various project departments. According to China Construction's personnel system, new college graduates must have more than 6 months of on-site internship experience and pass the assessment before being assigned to a formal position. These 6 months are not long or short, but it's not easy to get through when you're actually in it. When Zheng Wei was assigned to this project department, her colleagues shook their heads as soon as they saw her, saying that sending such a delicate girl here was a waste of human resources. She spent two days like this, and her heart was also suffering, but she was stubborn by nature and refused to show weakness in front of people. Since she came, she would make the best of it. Everyone thought she couldn't take the hardship, but she wanted to let these people see that she, a delicate girl, wouldn't be underestimated so easily?

  Boastful words have been spoken, but it's not easy to reach the state of being willing to suffer and enjoy it like sugar. The master just said everyone can take a break, she sat down with a thud and didn't want to get up again, thinking of procrastinating for a while, when she saw that person holding the blueprint chasing after the master to ask questions.

  Sometimes, there is someone in your life who appears at a certain stage and is completely incompatible with you. For Zheng Wei, this person was called Wei Shao Yi. Wei Shao Yi was the only female recruit of the entire China Construction Group this year, apart from Zheng Wei. Unlike Zheng Wei, who went through multiple rounds of interviews and assessments before being hired, Wei Shao Yi was allegedly a relative of a retired senior leader from headquarters. The company had not originally planned to hire her, but due to the leader's strong recommendation before retirement and her professional qualifications, which were impeccable, they reluctantly gave her an extra quota to avoid offending the retired leader.

  Wei Shaoyi joined the company later than Zheng Wei and was directly assigned to the same project department as Zheng Wei without going through pre-job training. When she first met her, Zheng Wei instinctively felt that this girl was absolutely not her cup of tea. She disliked people who were too proud and too serious, and unfortunately, Wei Shaoyi seemed to be exactly that type, and she could tell that the other person didn't seem to like her either. As they say, "enemies are bound to meet", it's tolerable during the day on a construction site, but what's terrifying is having to face that cold, icy face again at night when returning to the dormitory - Zhongjian provided them with a two-bedroom, one-living room apartment shared by the two female college students who were newly hired this year, and becoming roommates was an unavoidable thing.

  Zheng Wei didn't understand, they were all children growing up under the red flag of new China, why did some people have such a bitter and resentful look on their faces? If you said two more sentences, it seemed like you had lost out. When others told jokes, she wouldn't even smile, what was this, pretending to be cool? She was just someone who relied on her connections to get ahead, did she need to act so arrogant? Not long after she started living with Wei Shao Yi under the same roof, they began to have small frictions. She couldn't stand Wei Shao Yi's cleanliness habit, and Wei Shao Yi also detested her slovenliness. Fortunately, after work, they would each lock themselves in their rooms and not bother each other, otherwise, they would both be unwilling to give in and would end up fighting.

  However, Zheng Wei's nature was sloppy, and she secretly hoped that everyone in the world would be like her, without great ambitions, just getting by, so that her guilt could be reduced to a minimum. Wei Shaoyi's compulsive diligence gave her a lot of pressure, and similarly, during their internship at the construction site, Wei Shaoyi never slacked off for a moment. She was like a man, competitive and striving for perfection in everything, and the more difficult and hard things were, the more she wanted to do them. Even during rest time, she would always be holding drawings and chasing after senior colleagues to ask questions, refusing to give up until she understood.

  Her expression would occasionally reveal a hint of disdain towards Zheng Wei, who was lazy and liked to take it easy. The two had a big fight in the dormitory once because of a small matter, which seemed to have started when Wei Shaoyi criticized Zheng Wei for playing music too loudly at 9 pm, affecting her drawing.

  In the end, their argument deviated from the topic, and they said many unpleasant things to each other. Zheng Wei pointed at Wei Shaoyi and said, "I just don't understand, what do you have to be proud of? Don't think that just because you work hard every day, others don't know that you came in through the back door." Wei Shaoyi retorted, "I'm even more puzzled, how could the personnel recruitment system of Zhongjian allow someone like you to be hired? If you were hired without any corruption, I would feel proud that I didn't come in through the same channel as you."

  After they finished speaking, both of them stormed back to their rooms, slamming the doors. From then on, they became sworn enemies, and even if they saw each other, they would still be cold-faced and hostile towards each other. They would occasionally make sarcastic remarks to each other.

  Everyone could see that the two girls didn't get along, but in terms of professional knowledge and diligence, Wei Shaoyi was better than Zheng Wei. However, Zheng Wei had a better relationship with others and was more likable, even if she made small mistakes, her superiors would be willing to cover for her. Therefore, in their work, the two were evenly matched.

  Zheng Wei was new to the workforce and not only immediately tasted the bitterness of work, but also felt depressed due to her feud with Wei Shao Yi. After work, when she was alone and bored, she couldn't help but miss those days that had become a thing of the past. Putting aside that unpleasant episode, looking back at her university days now seemed so wonderful. When she was free, she liked to call Ruan Ruan to chat, pouring out all her grievances to her, only then did she feel somewhat comforted.

  Ruan Ruan has officially started working at the architectural design institute in City S, but Zhao Shi Yong, who had promised to never leave her again, still couldn't resist his family's arrangements. Ruan Ruan chose to stay in unfamiliar City S for him, but after she signed the contract, he succumbed to his family's high-pressure policy and obediently returned to his hometown where his parents lived, entering a hot government department under their arrangement. Perhaps the old saying is true: for women, love is everything in life, but for men, it's just a small part of their lives; no matter what promises they made before, when faced with choices, they are always more realistic and rational than women.

  Zheng Wei felt indignant and resentful for Ruan Ruan, she couldn't understand why Zhao Shi Yong's family would oppose him being with Ruan Ruan, such a smart and beautiful girl with an impeccable character, this was clearly a blessing that many people couldn't even hope for, could it be simply because he was born into a family where both parents were high-ranking officials, while Ruan Ruan's parents were only elementary school teachers?

  Ruan Ruan wasn't one who hadn't been heartbroken before, yet she still forgave the boy she first fell in love with. She couldn't give up her job in S city, and after Zhao Shi Yong moved out of his parents' house, every time she had some free time, she would rush over to see him from S city. Zheng Wei sometimes got fed up and asked her, "When will your train ride finally come to an end?" Ruan Ruan just smiled, "Maybe when I can no longer sit on it." Zheng Wei could only sigh, what is love anyway? It actually made the usually clever Ruan Ruan unable to see through it, and she couldn't help but be ordinary.

  She often recalls the scene of the last "breakup dinner" in her senior year, after a lively dinner party in the department, many people in the class were drunk, and such a hearty drinking was either due to the sadness of parting or bidding farewell to their own pure era. The six girls in their dormitory, after the graduation dinner, got together and stumbled to a small restaurant near the school gate that they often visited.

  No one expected that at the entrance of the small restaurant, Zheng Wei saw Xu Kaiyang, who had graduated a year earlier than them and had not been in contact since then. She walked towards him excitedly, only to find that there was a delicate and beautiful girl standing beside him. The girl was someone they all knew, a junior from the Department of Physics and Electronics, two years younger than Xu Kaiyang, and lived in the same building as Zheng Wei.

  She smiled and called out "Kaiyang", but his expression made her unforgettable. It was a cautious and vigilant look, he glanced at her, subconsciously holding the girl beside him tightly. This caution and vigilance were more heart-wrenching than complete indifference to Zheng Weihan. She quickly understood that back then, his pursuit of her was well-known to everyone, and now she had fallen in love with a poor boy, while he had found another love. When they met again on this narrow road, he was so cautious because he feared the girl beside him would misunderstand, and stir up old feelings, making the person he deeply loved now resentful.

  Zheng Wei's bright smile was awkwardly frozen on her face, and a sour feeling surged up. She actually wanted to tell him, "Kai Yang, I'm just very happy to see you, really, that's all." But she finally chose not to say anything, only nodding at the two of them before following Ruan Ruan into the restaurant. As she walked past him, her shoulder accidentally touched his arm, a hand that had once so gently picked up the chess pieces in front of her, a boy who had once spoken with tears in his eyes, "Wei Wei, I want to make you happy..."

  What is called a fleeting encounter, nothing more than this.

  Is there anyone in this world who will wait for you forever? No. Zheng Wei knew this, but she couldn't let go of the feeling that the wary gaze still hurt her even after a long time; they used to be such good friends, yet the barriers between people are always stronger than their understanding.

  She couldn't remember how many beers she had drunk, but what did it matter? This might be the last time the "Six Daughters" got together to drink and make merry. Their carefree days would disappear with the end of tonight. Apparently drunk, Li Wei Juan didn't notice Ruan Ruan's warning glances, and with a thick tongue, she said to Zheng Wei, "Wei Wei, I really feel sorry for you. Chen Xiao Zheng is not a good guy. I've always said that men from poor families are insincere and heartless. You wouldn't listen to me, and now look at the big trouble you're in."

  Zheng Wei blinked and smiled, "What loss did I suffer? Who held a gun to my head? Don't keep saying I suffered a loss. No one forced me to do anything against my will. This is just a matter of you loving me and me willing to be foolish. He's willing to leave, and neither of us owes the other anything... Even if he left, those few years of happiness can't be taken away from me."

  She said, getting sentimental again. Annoying Lí Wéi Juān, hateful Lí Wéi Juān. Yet, after all, she was also someone who cared about herself. With the excuse of being drunk, she hugged Lí Wéi Juān's shoulders and cried, "Juān, in the future, without you to annoy me, I'll be unaccustomed... And you, Zhu Bei, where are you going? Why run to that godforsaken place in Xinjiang? If I miss you, what should I do?" Lí Wéi Juān didn't get into graduate school and found a job in Beijing. Zhu Xiao Bei was almost certain to pass, but the school she planned to attend was in ürümqi. She said that's where her secret crush from her first love lived.

  Zhu Xiaobei pushed Zheng Wei, "Don't make me cry, I'm happy, I just want to eat Turpan grapes with my secret crush. I don't want to be like you said, only finding out when we meet at the university for seniors that he also had a secret crush on me when he was young." She spoke carelessly, but her eyes were wet, as if asking for this sad atmosphere. Xiaobei raised her cup and said, "Comrades, sisters, let's have something positive and enthusiastic! Today we are good students, tomorrow we will be the pillars of society..." Amidst the dry laughter of her companions, she loudly shouted, "I'll recite a poem by Su Shi for my sisters, to dispel your depressed mood. What day will I achieve success and return home, drunk and laughing with friends at three million banquets? No need to explain, just drink heartily, never having any regrets..."

  Perhaps it's only after we're drunk that we can truly be free from the emotions of love and hate, gain and loss, as well as the sorrow of parting.

  Zheng Wei's last memory was of leaning on Ruan Ruan's shoulder, with tears wetting Ruan Ruan's clothes.

  After dawn broke, the "Six Great Marshals" disbanded and went their separate ways.