Chapter 128: Going Home

After a long while, the two classmates returned to normal, looking at Liu Sheng, Ren Xiadong, and Yang Yu right before them.

"Why are you looking at us like that?" one of the male students asked.

Liu Sheng directly placed the pill from his hand in front of the two and asked, "Where did this come from?"

Seeing what was in Liu Sheng's hand, the male student did not hide anything and answered directly, "When we were playing just now, a bald guy sold it to us, saying it makes people feel happy and more excited."

"Do you even know what this is? And yet you dared to eat it!" Liu Sheng asked, looking annoyed.

The two male students did not know how to respond to Liu Sheng's question; they simply looked at each other. At this point, Liu Sheng realized that these two had no idea what this substance actually was.

He therefore lowered his voice and told the two classmates, "This is poison. You'd better never touch it again."

At that moment, Ren Xiadong stormed off angrily toward the exit, but Liu Sheng grabbed him and asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to find that bald guy and kill him! How dare he pull this kind of stunt on our turf!"

Liu Sheng replied directly, "After what just happened, do you really think he's still going to be here? He's just a small fry; there's definitely someone behind him. If we're going to investigate, we need to trace it all the way to the top."

Afterward, Liu Sheng made a phone call to Zhou Jin, telling her that drugs had been found in the Wu family's nightclub. He asked her to secretly check recently if any other places had them, and to find out who the mastermind behind the scenes in Chongshi was, all without alerting the enemy. Once everything was investigated thoroughly, Liu Sheng intended to handle the matter personally. He would never show mercy to anyone who dared pull such stunts right under his nose.

Following this incident, the gathering of classmates ended on a sour note. Liu Sheng promised that on the day of school registration, he would treat everyone to a proper outing to make up for this unfulfilled gathering.

After going home and sleeping soundly, Liu Sheng, Ren Xiadong, and Tian Yun boarded a flight back to Xinghai City together. Two hours later, they arrived. For Liu Sheng and Ren Xiadong, returning to the city that raised and nurtured them was truly a joyous occasion. As soon as they stepped off the plane, the two were already brimming with excitement. Their parents, classmates, and friends whom they hadn't seen in a long time—this time, they were determined to see every single one of them.

The very first thing they did after leaving the airport was for Liu Sheng and Ren Xiadong to accompany Tian Yun to the long-distance bus station. Although Tian Yun's hometown didn't have an airport, it bordered Xinghai City, and the bus ride took only two hours.

When Tian Yun was boarding the bus, Ren Xiadong felt a deep reluctance to part with her. He promised to visit her whenever he had time, reasoning that it wasn't far and it would be convenient since he had his own car.

Sitting in a taxi, the two looked at the scenery outside the window, feeling a sense of familiarity mixed with novelty, along with an inexplicable wave of inner happiness. Perhaps this was what it truly felt like to come home.

Liu Sheng and Ren Xiadong got out of their respective taxis. Liu Sheng stood at the entrance of his apartment building. Heavy snow was falling, and as he stepped into the residential compound, his boots crunched against the snow, making crisp crackling sounds.

"Knock, knock, knock." A knock echoed on the door.

Following the sound of the door opening, a woman poked her head out. Seeing that it was Liu Sheng, she hurriedly said, "Oh my goodness, you came back without even giving a heads-up!"

Liu Sheng hadn't told his family this time, intending to give them a surprise. Unfortunately, Liu Sheng's father wasn't home; he was busy at the hot pot restaurant. Winter was the peak season for hot pot, so he was swamped with work.

However, the sound of gaming came drifting from his younger brother's bedroom. Listening to the noise, Liu Sheng smiled, knowing that his little brother must be playing video games. Even though he was already in elementary school, he still loved gaming just as much.

Liu Sheng pushed open his brother's bedroom door and said, "Can't you spend some time actually studying?"

Hearing Liu Sheng's voice, his brother hurriedly turned his head and said, "Big brother! When did you get back?"

Hearing his brother's words, Liu Sheng felt slightly speechless; it sounded almost as if he shouldn't have come back at all.

That day, Liu Sheng accompanied his younger brother playing video games for the entire afternoon. In the evening, accompanied by his mother, he took his brother to their father's hot pot restaurant.

Seeing Liu Sheng return, his father was extremely delighted and instructed the back kitchen to prepare a massive table of dishes. The family enjoyed a warm, lively, and lavish dinner together.

Because he had drunk quite a bit of alcohol with his father that evening, Liu Sheng fell fast asleep the moment he returned home.

Early the next morning, Liu Sheng's mother began shouting at the top of her lungs, "Get up and eat breakfast, both of you!"

Liu Sheng and his brother in the adjacent room shouted in unison, "Just a minute!"

Liu Sheng suddenly chuckled to himself. Although his personality was entirely different from his brother's, that stubborn habit of delaying breakfast with a "just a minute" would never change.

During breakfast, Liu Sheng's mother said to him, "Mom just made a new friend, and she has a daughter who is exceptionally pretty and charming..."

Before his mother could finish, Liu Sheng interrupted, "Alright, alright, I have no interest."

"Why are you like this, child? I've already promised the other family that you'd go meet her. There are too few girls around nowadays; if you don't seize the opportunity, you're going to end up a bachelor for the rest of your life!" Liu Sheng's mother retorted in annoyance once again.

Right at that moment, Liu Sheng received a message from Ren Xiadong: "I'm so bored. Do you want to go out and hang out? It's not easy getting back here."

Glancing at his phone, Liu Sheng told his mother, "I'm going out for a stroll in a bit. I haven't been back in a long time."

Refusing to give up, his mother said, "Just do it as a favor to me and go meet the girl. What if you end up liking her?"

To appease his mother, Liu Sheng agreed on the spot.

As Liu Sheng was heading out the door, his mother repeatedly reminded him that he absolutely had to go on the blind date tomorrow afternoon.

When he met up with Ren Xiadong, Liu Sheng asked, "What are we planning to do?"

"Let's go check out the company. We haven't been there in almost a year. We collect the company's money every day, yet we never even bother to show our faces there."

Feeling that Ren Xiadong made a lot of sense, Liu Sheng hailed a cab and headed to their company.

"Hello, sirs. Are you here to see someone? Please sign in at the front desk first," the receptionist said to Liu Sheng and Ren Xiadong as they walked in.

Ren Xiadong whispered quietly, "Look at that. The people at the company don't even recognize the two of us anymore."

Liu Sheng smiled, signed the guest log, and said, "I'm looking for Liu Yanan."

Liu Yanan was Sister Ya, who was currently the chief executive running the company.

Hearing that they were looking for Sister Ya, the receptionist picked up the phone, dialed the office extension, and said, "Director Liu, there are two gentlemen outside looking for you."

Moments later, Sister Ya walked out. Upon seeing Liu Sheng and Ren Xiadong, she was startled at first before exclaiming, "Oh my god, what rare guests! The bosses actually only visit the company once a year. I honestly thought you two were planning to abandon this company altogether."

Hearing that the people standing before her were the actual bosses, the receptionist looked utterly shocked. Observing the receptionist's expression, Liu Sheng turned to Sister Ya and said, "This new receptionist is quite good—dilute and dedicated. Give her a raise."

Upon hearing that Liu Sheng was going to give her a raise, the receptionist hurriedly expressed her gratitude, saying, "Thank you, boss!" Her smile was as sweet as sugar as she spoke.

After getting a brief update on the company's performance over the past year, Liu Sheng distributed a bonus of one thousand yuan to every single employee. Having handed out the rewards, he also promised the staff that even more would be given to them at the year-end gala.

Learning this news, the employees broke out into enthusiastic cheers. Listening to their joyful sounds, Liu Sheng muttered to himself, "This is the kind of atmosphere a vibrant company ought to have."

Sitting in the office, Liu Sheng asked Ren Xiadong to contact their high school classmates—since most of them should be on break by now—to gather everyone together for a proper meal.

After a morning of making calls, Ren Xiadong reported, "Most of them can come, though a few still can't make it. But Li Dong and Tao Nan are both able to come. I honestly don't get it; those two got together back in their freshman year of high school, so why haven't they broken up yet?"

"They're planning to get married, why would they break up?" Liu Sheng said with a smile.

Ren Xiadong gave Liu Sheng a bizarre look and said, "I seriously suspect you have the ability to foretell the future. Tell me, what else do you know?"

Liu Sheng smiled and replied, "Let me calculate... Tencent will launch a mobile game called Honor of Kings in October next year, and it's going to sweep through elementary school students nationwide."

"Is there anything else?" Ren Xiadong asked again.

Liu Sheng smiled and said, "Plenty of things, but what does that have to do with the two of us? We already have more money than we could ever spend."

Liu Sheng and Ren Xiadong stayed at the company until the end of the workday, then headed over to Wang Chen's Century Grand Restaurant. Waving the lifetime VIP pass Wang Chen had given them, they hosted a banquet for their high school classmates.

Sitting on the sofa in the private dining room, watching one familiar face after another walk in, Liu Sheng felt immense joy in his heart. People are always like this—reliving past beauty makes a person even more joyful, precisely because there were so many things in the past that they failed to cherish.

"Director Liu, what is this all about, bringing us to such a high-end place for a meal? I heard that you and Ren Xiadong helped the police crack a murder case in Chongshi. It looks like the police must have given you quite a handsome reward," the class monitor remarked as he spoke up.

Liu Sheng smiled and replied, "They did give us a little money, so aren't I taking it out to share with all my classmates? It's been a long time since we last met, so let's not talk about that too much. We need to have a good drink together."

"Liu Sheng, long time no see," Tao Nan's voice rang out, immediately followed by Li Dong's, "I heard you took a leave of absence in your senior year because you were directly recruited by Chongshi Normal University. Is that true?"

Looking at Tao Nan, the very first girl he had ever harbored feelings for, Liu Sheng felt a quiet appreciation. Things were always like this: what you could never quite grasp remained the most beautiful. After exchanging a few polite and reserved remarks with the two of them, Liu Sheng officially kicked off the dinner.

Looking at the bird's nest and shark's fin being served, everyone began to salivate, continuously praising, "Liu Sheng is truly a big spender. Even dining is done with such refinement."

"What? Did all of you turn into smooth-talkers after graduation? So many words just for a meal," Liu Sheng said, lifting his wine glass to stand up. He continued, "My fellow classmates, long time no see. There are a few things in my heart I'd like to share with everyone. Back when we were young and ignorant, I frequently picked on my classmates. As I've grown older, I've deeply felt that I owe all of you an apology. Today, I'm hosting this banquet for two reasons: first, since it's been so long, we can sit together and rekindle our bonds; second, to apologize to everyone for my past behavior. I hope you won't hold it against me and Ren Xiadong."

At that moment, Ren Xiadong also stood up with his wine glass and added, "Liu Sheng is right. After leaving you all behind, I would constantly find myself reminiscing about our high school days. Tonight, let's drink until we drop, eat and drink to our hearts' content, and don't stand on ceremony with us."

The class monitor stood up as well, taking the lead to say, "Who hasn't had their hot-headed, youthful days? It's all in the past now. Since we can still sit together today, it proves that our bond is extraordinary. No need to say more—let's drink!"

Following the class monitor's words, the students across all three tables raised their glasses simultaneously and shouted in unison, "Class 1, Grade 1, everlasting through the ages!"

The reason it was Class 1, Grade 1 was because the people called this time were specifically the students from their freshman year class. Because Liu Sheng and Ren Xiadong had ended up in different classes later on—though they eventually reunited in the same class again—to keep things simple, they had simply contacted everyone from their freshman Class 1. Unfortunately, Liu Meng wasn't able to come. Even if she had come, Liu Sheng wouldn't have known what to say, as he felt he owed Liu Meng far too much.

After the dinner concluded, Liu Sheng took his classmates to a KTV, where they sang right into the late hours of the night. After all, when young people gather together, isn't it simply to seek happiness? Therefore, as long as the classmates had a request, Liu Sheng fulfilled it without hesitation.