Apart from some of his relatives who had never changed their number, Qin Sheng could only remember important persons’ cell number. Though Hao Lei was important to Qin Sheng, he had changed a lot, and his latest number was registered in Hangzhou. That was why Qin Sheng had to ask Xin Xin for help to get in touch with him.
Going back to Xi’an, Qin Sheng was ready to start a new life here. He had overcome all kinds of difficulties, accepted his new identity, and reflected on what had happened before. Now it was time for him to get in touch with his old friends, who had experienced ups and downs together with him.
On the other end of the line, Hao Lei burst out laughing, scaring his friends around him so much that they almost thought he was mad and decided to call an ambulance for him.
Hao Lei was playing mahjong and chatting with Lao Meng and his other good friends from junior and senior high. They all knew that Hao Lei was down since he got back from Hangzhou and he often went out for drinks at midnight. Nobody knew what happened and he told others nothing at all. His friends were worried about him, so they stayed with him as often as possible. It was the Spring Festival and it was time to get together and have some fun.
Lao Meng held Hao Lei’s shoulders and said, “What the f*ck are you doing, bro? Don’t scare us on the Spring Festival!”
Aside from Lao Meng, Wu Hao and Zhao Xuan were there, together with their girlfriend and wife. They both reflected on what they had done to Qin Sheng. They shouldn’t have boasted about themselves in front of Qin Sheng, their real brother, which was disgusting. Lao Meng also criticized them for this. But he knew that they had been feeling jealous of Qin Sheng for a long time, since Qin Sheng did everything better than them, let alone the things about Su Qin. They all had rather good careers with the help of their families after graduating from university, so they thought they could finally show off in front of Qin Sheng as compensation.
Qin Sheng was angry about what they had done, for he had treated them as his real friends. Lao Meng and Su Qin talked about this several times. And they experienced a lot in recent times. Additionally, they and Hao Lei went out for drinks often and talked honestly after getting drunk. Now, they finally reflected on their mistakes.
“Brother Lei, what happened? Did you win the lottery?” Wu Hao was wondering.
Hao Lei was so excited that he nearly cried. He shouted, “Shut up! I’ll tell you more later.”
Hao Lei picked up his cell and walked to the balcony. He was extremely surprised and asked, “Where are you?”
“Jindi Furong Shijia, in Xi’an,” Qin Sheng said, squinting. He heard Hao Lei’s exhilarated laughter.
Hao Lei didn’t hesitate at all and said, “Wait for me. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“OK. I’ll be waiting for you somewhere nearby. Call me when you arrive,” Qin Sheng said.
Hao Lei hung up the cell and went back into the room. Zhao Xuan couldn’t wait to ask, “Brother Lei, who was it? You look very happy. Your girlfriend?”
“Take a guess?” Hao Lei purposely asked.
Wu Hao got it and asked, “Qin Sheng?”
Hao Lei patted Wu Hao’s shoulder and said with a smile, “Good boy. Qin Sheng’s back in Xi’an. I’m going to meet him right now. Are you coming with me?”
Lao Meng was excited about Qin Sheng’s return. “Bravo! He’s back! He’s been gone for a long time. I have to go with you. I have a thousand words for him. How dare he disappear again! I’m afraid he may die somewhere.”
Wu Hao and Zhao Xuan looked at each other, thinking about what they had done to offend Qin Sheng last year. They might have been killed without Qin Sheng’s help considering their relationship.
So Wu Hao asked anxiously, “Can we go together?”
Lao Meng looked at Hao Lei, waiting for him to make the decision. After all, Hao Lei was still close to Qin Sheng and had been working with him in the past two years.
Due to some experiences, Hao Lei cherished their brotherhood even more than before. He knew that Wu Hao and Zhao Xuan had reflected on their mistakes in their heart and felt regret for what they had done. But considering their years of brotherhood, conflicts were temporary and would be bygones in the end.
Most people would find that no matter what they experienced in society, no matter who they were, big shots or small potatoes, their most real and honest friends were from junior and senior high, who shared memories with them.
Throughout one’s whole life, people were all pursuing these kinds of friends and were not able to keep every one of them forever. Hao Lei hoped that his old friends would always be with him. Since he had been back, Wu Hao and Zhao Xuan were ready to help and had talked about what happened before with him several times.
Hao Lei thought for a while and finally made the decision. “Don’t worry. Qin Sheng won’t care. He’ll treat you like before as long as you consider him as a real friend. After all, we don’t have others, and now we should cherish others more.” He knew about Qin Sheng, who never cared about these matters. Though Wu Hao and Zhao Xuan had offended him, their brotherhood would never end.
Hao Lei’s words made Wu Hao and Zhao Xuan feel relieved. They had been eager to find a chance to apologize to Qin Sheng and undo the knot in their minds.
“Let’s go. Qin Sheng can beat us or scold us. We can take in everything for his forgiveness.” Wu Hao stared at Zhao Xuan, locking his jaw. Zhao Xuan nodded and said nothing.
So the four men went to Jindi Furong Shijia from the area of the television tower. They didn’t take their girlfriends or wives since they were going to have a conversation for men.
At Jindi Furong Shijia, after hanging up the cell, Qin Sheng thought about Chang Baji, wondering if he was in Xi’an. So he called him, only to find that Chang Baji’s phone was powered off. Qin Sheng felt worried then.
Finally, Qin Sheng’s thoughts wandered to Lin Su. He hesitated a little and didn’t dial her number. Maybe it would be proper to call her the next evening.
After that, Qin Sheng went back to the sitting room and said, “Auntie, Xin Xin, I’m going out. I might be back late tonight.”
“It’s late already. Where are you going?” Auntie Wang asked surprisedly.
Qin Sheng smiled and explained, “I’ll stay in Xi’an for only two days. I’m going to meet Hao Lei. I haven’t seen him in a long time.”
“Ah, Lei. He’s in Xi’an now. He came to visit me recently. Be careful, and come back home early.” Auntie Wang was familiar with Hao Lei, one of Qin Sheng’s best friends. Every time Hao Lei went back to Xi’an, he came to visit her.
Qin Ran smiled and stood up. “Can I go with you? I can drive you there before going back to the hotel. And I’ll pick you up here tomorrow morning.”
Qin Sheng nodded and said, “That’s fine.”
Qin Ran turned to Xin Xin and Auntie Wang and said, “Auntie Wang, Xin Xin, I gotta go. We still have a lot to talk about. Next time, I’ll stay in Xi’an with you for a longer time.”
Auntie Wang said politely, “OK. If I get a chance, I must go to Beijing to meet you. By the way, Ran, Qin Sheng is impulsive sometimes. If he does anything wrong, just criticize him, or he might suffer more.”
Qin Ran smiled and said, “Auntie Wang, trust me. I can handle him.”
They chatted a little more then Auntie Wang and Xin Xin sent Qin Sheng and Qin Ran out. Qin Sheng searched online and found a Dim Sum House near the Hyatt Hotel. Qin Ran then drove him there.
They arrived and Qin Sheng sent Hao Lei a message with the address. When they were seated in the room, Qin Ran said, “I know Hao Lei. He has been working with you.”
“He’s my best friend, and he suffered a lot with me,” Qin Sheng said and nodded.
Qin Ran smiled and said, “Now he can harvest.”
Qin Sheng, of course, knew what his sister meant. Apart from what the Qin Family would give Hao Lei, he would never let Hao Lei down. He would share all his honor and wealth with this friend, guaranteeing him a promising future.
About 10 minutes later, some noises came from the outside. Qin Sheng gave the door a wondering glance. At this very moment, the waiter pushed open the door, and Hao Lei, accompanied by Lao Meng, came in first, with Wu Hao and Zhao Xuan, who were hesitating and feeling embarrassed, following.
Qin Sheng stood up to welcome them. He was not surprised by Lao Meng coming, for he had guessed that Lao Meng was with Hao Lei. But his smile froze when he saw Wu Hao and Zhao Xuan following behind.
Though they used to be friends, Qin Sheng was sad about what they had done to him. He had decided to end their friendship and would never see them anymore. He never expected that Hao Lei would bring them here.
“Why?”
Hao Lei’s intelligence was hidden behind his quietness and wordlessness. After all, his strength was not enough to make him an ace in the army.
Qin Ran didn’t know what had happened between Qin Sheng and them. She thought Hao Lei brought some of Qin Sheng’s good friends in Xi’an, so she just kept her smile to everybody.
The atmosphere was awkward then. Qin Sheng didn’t understand why Hao Lei took these two people here. But he considered their past friendship and didn’t want them to be too embarrassed. So he still forced a smile and said, “Hi, just come in.”
After everybody took a seat, Hao Lei tried to start the conversation. But it would be awkward to mention what had happened in Hangzhou and Qin Sheng’s present situation.
He saw the gorgeous Qin Ran the moment he entered the room. He felt a little uncomfortable, but he had gotten used to seeing beauties around Qin Sheng. When Qin Sheng was in the relationship with Lin Su, he had nothing to do with Han Bing. So Hao Lei understood him at that time.
Lin Su was Qin Sheng’s girlfriend now and she had suffered a lot for him. But now, Hao Lei felt uncomfortable, for Qin Sheng was seeing somebody else regardless of Lin Su.
So he squinted unpleasantly and asked, “Aha? Who is this gorgeous one?”
Qin Ran realized that the atmosphere was weird, for she found that Qin Sheng was not as happy as she had expected. But before she got to know what was going on, Hao Lei started the conversation with her. Qin Ran realized that there was some misunderstanding. Hao Lei was staring at her in the same way as Xin Xin.
So before Qin Sheng said anything, Qin Ran introduced herself to everybody. “I’m Qin Ran, Qin Sheng’s sister.”
Hao Lei felt quite relieved after that. The others were also curious about this beautiful young lady, thinking the same thing as Hao Lei. They had been jealous of Qin Sheng’s ability to attract women. But now they found that they were wrong and said hello to Qin Ran one after another.
But Qin Sheng said nothing…