In the room, many classmates gathered together in groups, chatting happily.
Wang Chao scanned the room but didn't see Pei Donghu and Song Henian. He furrowed his brows with concern.
"Why haven't these two guys come yet? Did something happen?"
He found a relatively quiet spot and sat down, took out his phone, and sent a message to Song Henian: "I'm here, where are you?"
About five minutes later, Song Henian replied: "On the subway, will be there soon."
"What about Pei Donghu? Is he with you?"
"He had something come up at home and won't be able to make it today."
"What happened?"
"It's not clear in WeChat, we'll talk about it when we meet later."
"Okay."
Wang Chao put down his phone and frowned slightly.
His intuition told him that Pei Donghu might be facing difficulties.
However, with the current situation being unclear, he couldn't confirm anything. He could only wait to get more details after Song Henian arrived.
He looked around and noticed that many people were surrounding Lv Haoran, flattering and fawning over him, as if he was the center of attention.
"Mr. Lv, I heard that your two houses are going to be demolished, seven-story buildings, with this area being redeveloped, you'll be a billionaire."
"Congratulations, Mr. Lv."
"I knew Mr. Lv was not an ordinary person from the moment I saw him in high school. He is destined to be successful."
"Mr. Lu, come, let me toast to you."
Those people smiled and looked at Lv Haoran with envy and respect.
Although Lv Haoran's family was not very wealthy, he was a local in Canton, and his family owned two buildings that were about to be demolished, with compensation reaching up to 100 million yuan.
As long as the demolition started, Lv Haoran would become a billionaire. He would be extremely wealthy.
"You guys don't need to be like this. The matter is just settled, we haven't even signed the contract yet. It's all rumors, not reliable, not reliable." Lv Haoran smiled modestly and waved his hand.
In fact, he was overjoyed in his heart.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtAlthough he hadn't received the money yet, their village had indeed been included in the redevelopment plan. Once the developers started construction, his family would receive at least 100 million yuan in compensation, as well as shares in the large corporation and three houses in the city center.
With such assets, he would become a person of high status.
That's why many local classmates were trying to please him.
Among the local demolition households in Canton, many only had assets worth millions or tens of millions. Lv Haoran not only had the demolition compensation, but he also owned a company worth several million yuan, making him somewhat successful.
If he received the demolition compensation, Lv Haoran's company was likely to grow rapidly and achieve great success.
So, these classmates saw his potential and treated him with such respect.
Lv Haoran enjoyed the flattery and felt like an emperor, smiling uncontrollably on his face.
"Such immaturity," Wang Chao shook his head as he watched Lv Haoran's behavior.
He lit a cigarette and smoked while waiting.
As time passed, more and more classmates came here.
However, most of these people were also snobbish, unfamiliar with Wang Chao, and looked even more disdainful when they saw Wang Chao's old-fashioned dress. They ignored Wang Chao and instead chatted enthusiastically with some other classmates who were dressed elegantly and looked wealthy.
Wang Chao was ignored and left alone.
He didn't care about them, just smoked his cigarette and waited quietly.
After all, high school reunions and alumni gatherings were all about comparing how well one had done in life.
He didn't come for Lv Haoran and his group, but for Pei Donghu and Song Henian, the two brothers.
He didn't care about others.
"Brother Chao, come, let's have a drink together."
At this moment, Li Dongpeng walked over with two glasses of red wine, handing one to Wang Chao with a smile and a grateful look. "I really appreciate what you did last time."
If it weren't for Wang Chao's help last time, he might have been in a terrible situation.
"It was just a small favor, no need to be so polite." Wang Chao took the glass of wine and clinked glasses with Li Dongpeng.
Li Dongpeng sat beside Wang Chao, frowned slightly as he looked at the classmates who were flattering Lv Haoran but ignoring Wang Chao. "Brother Chao, why don't you show off a bit?"
He knew that Wang Chao was now a multimillionaire, and he had specifically checked the stocks that Wang Chao had bought, which had already multiplied several times.
It could be imagined that Wang Chao's wealth was even greater now.
If Wang Chao showed off his wealth, the attitudes of those snobbish classmates towards him would definitely change significantly.
"I'm not familiar with them, so there's no need to show off." Wang Chao said calmly.
Li Dongpeng nodded, looking at Wang Chao with even more admiration and said emotionally, "I envy you, you have such great patience."
To hide one's strengths and weaknesses, to remain calm and composed.
Even when looked down upon with such disdainful eyes, Wang Chao remained calm and unaffected by others.
This kind of mentality made Li Dongpeng envious and admiring.
Because he couldn't do it himself.
If someone looked down on him and deliberately belittled him, he would definitely be unable to resist fighting back and revealing his own trump cards, hitting the other person hard.
Wang Chao's ability to remain so calm and endure others' ridicule and belittlement was truly impressive.
"Patience?" Wang Chao was startled.
"Yes, Lv Haoran said so many rude things just now, aren't you angry?" Li Dongpeng said.
"Oh, it's nothing. In my eyes, he's just a clown, not worth getting angry over a few words from them," Wang Chao chuckled.
At this moment, the door opened, and a slim, modestly dressed man walked in.
He had handsome features, but his skin was dark, clearly tanned from long hours of laboring under the sun.
He had short hair that looked neatly groomed, and his clothes seemed to be carefully chosen, but compared to the luxurious attire of Lv Haoran and others, he appeared particularly plain and poor.
His hands were calloused, indicating that he often did hard manual labor.
Moreover, there was mud on his shoes, obviously coming from a muddy road.
A laborer!
That was the impression he gave!
As he walked in, he stood out among the crowd, and many of his classmates stared at him with disdainful eyes.
Upon seeing the decor of the room, and being scrutinized by so many eyes, he suddenly felt awkward, with a look of inferiority and unease, as if he felt guilty for entering here.
He stood frozen in place, not knowing where to go, and feeling at a loss.
"Who is this? A laborer? How did he come into our gathering place?"
"Hey, you there, this is where we classmates are gathering, not a place for workers like you to enter. Get lost."
"Damn, workers these days are really audacious, daring to come into our classmates' gathering and freeload. Asking for trouble!"
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Just look at him, his feet are covered in mud, and there's dust and dirt on his pants and clothes. So filthy! It's ruining the atmosphere of our classmates' gathering."
"Hey, worker, if you don't leave now, we'll call security."
Many people were furious upon seeing this person, and they all scolded and threatened him, demanding that he leave.
The person's gaze became even more evasive and ashamed upon hearing these words. He kept rubbing the mud off his shoes with his feet, afraid to look up at anyone.
"Song Henian, I'm here."
Wang Chao saw the person and his eyes lit up. He immediately stood up, waved to the worker, and walked towards him excitedly.
Song Henian looked at Wang Chao and hesitated for a moment, as if not daring to recognize him. After staring at Wang Chao for ten seconds, he finally recognized him.
"Hahaha, my good brother, long time no see."
Wang Chao laughed heartily and rushed over, hugging Song Henian tightly, full of enthusiasm, not caring about the dirtiness and messiness on Song Henian's body at all. He said with a smile, "Why are you so late? I really wanted to see you!"
After speaking, he patted Song Henian's chest, "Come on, let's drink, today we won't go back until we're drunk."
Without waiting for Song Henian's response, he pulled him and sat him down beside him, and directly opened a bottle of wine worth thousands of dollars.
At this moment, Li Dongpeng quietly distanced himself from Song Henian, his eyes showing a hint of disgust.
Song Henian clearly felt Li Dongpeng's disgust and became even more at a loss.
"Brother Song, come on, drink!" Wang Chao poured a glass of wine and handed it to Song Henian.
"No need, no need, I don't drink, thank you." Song Henian was surprised and kept declining, looking very restrained.
He looked at the price of the wine and was even more shocked, and dared not drink it.
Wang Chao felt uneasy seeing him like this.
Song Henian and him seemed to be not as close as they were eight years ago, and their words were full of politeness.
"Brother Song, what has happened to you in these years?" Wang Chao asked.
In his memory, Song Henian was a rebellious youth with great ambitions, dissatisfied with the world, and persistent in his dreams. Every time he talked about his dreams, there would be a dazzling light in his eyes.
But now, Song Henian's eyes had lost that light, and he had become insecure, sensitive, and restrained.
Life seemed to have changed him, taking away the things he was most proud of.
Wang Chao really wanted to know what Song Henian had experienced in these years.
"Hey!"
Before Song Henian could answer, Tang Xi had already walked over, looking down on Song Henian with cold and disdainful eyes, and said coldly, "Song Henian, our boss Lv said that your identity as a worker seriously lowers the standard of our company's gathering, and belittles our boss Lv's identity."
"So, you are not welcome here. Get out immediately!!"