The Reunion

Huo Xuan flexed his aching arms with a grin. "Picking money's exhausting work. Nearly passed out selecting stones today—took three breaks. Brutal labor."

Lin Yue rolled her eyes. "Oh yes, the hardest-working cash harvester alive." She checked her diamond watch. "We need rest—tomorrow's your alumni reunion."

They retreated to the hotel.

Golden light pulsed from Huo Xuan's left eye, seeping into his sinews and veins. Cellular rejuvenation flooded his exhausted limbs.

If golden light reverses decay... Could immortality be possible? He scanned his revitalizing biceps.

For hours, he irradiated every inch—lingering on his groin with hopeful scrutiny.

His neck and skull remained frustratingly opaque to the light.

Dawn found him vibrantly alert—all fatigue vaporized.

At 10 AM, they entered the St. Regis' lobby—alumni reunion scheduled for 11.

In the penthouse suite, fifteen Jiangzhou University graduates fawned over Chen Fusheng and Ye Qian—the golden couple radiating privilege.

"Qianqian, Fusheng's the campus legend—tall, rich, and handsome! We're all green-eyed monsters here!" A plump woman caked in foundation shrilled.

Ye Qian basked in the flattery. "He's always networking," she sighed with faux melancholy. "Hardly spares me a moment."

"Powerful men socialize, darling!" The woman gushed. "His schedule proves his prowess!"

Ye Qian pivoted sharply: "Xiaohui, aren't you marrying into Japan?"

Hu Xiaohui preened. "My fiancé's a Tokyo software engineer! Wedding bells next spring!"

A gangly man snorted. "Kamebe Hachiro? The 4'11" bow-legged exchange student? His parents till radish fields. Planning to farm shit in Hokkaido?"

Hu Xiaohui sprang up like a scalded cat. "Jealous bastard! Japanese farmers outclass your bankrupt ass! I regret dating gutter trash like you!"

Ma Baorui's neck veins bulged, speech strangled by rage.

The crowd hurriedly intervened. Everyone knew the backstory: campus sweethearts turned enemies after Hu dumped Ma for the Japanese student.

Ma had nursed this humiliation for three years—a festering wound now ripped open.

The crowd failed to restrain Hu Xiaohui. After a venomous tirade, her gaze locked onto Liu Ting.

Liu Ting, demure and silent, froze under the predatory stare.

"Ma Baorui!" Hu shrilled. "Look at Liu Ting and Ye Qian! Would their lives be this glamorous if they'd married that pauper Huo Xuan?"

Ma trembled with rage. "You... you..." He stomped out, shoving through people.

Huo Xuan and Lin Yue entered, colliding with the fleeing Ma. "Huo Xuan!" Ma gasped.

"Ma! Didn't expect you first here." Huo grinned—former dormmates turned comrades.

"This cesspool's not worth it." Ma's face ashened.

Huo gripped his arm, nodding toward Hu. "That traitor got under your skin again?"

The campus knew Hu's shame: slapped publicly by Kamebe yet still simpering. "Traitor" became her epithet.

"She used you as a cautionary tale," Ma spat. "Said they dodged a bullet not marrying you."

Huo's jaw tightened. "Leaving lets her win. Stay—we'll ghost that cockroach."

Pride overriding pain, Ma nodded.

Lin Yue's radiance struck Ma dumb. Since when does Huo Xuan run with goddesses?

They merged into the reunion buzz—hugs, backslaps, hollow "long time no see"s.

Chen Fusheng's eyes lit up. Lin Yue here for me? He oozed forward: "Miss Lin gracing us—what an honor!"

Men gaped; women seethed as Lin Yue's aura dominated the room.

Her neckline murdered egos: a diamond-studded choker anchoring a thumb-sized emerald heart—couture warfare.

The blush silk gown clung like liquid, every curve a calculated masterpiece.

Ye Qian's nails dug into her palms as Chen Fusheng fawned over Lin Yue. Her venomous glare went unnoticed—Lin Yue serenely acknowledged others with regal nods.

Liu Ting's gaze dropped when she spotted Huo Xuan. Old guilt gnawed at her—their college romance wasn't so easily erased.

A 5'7" man in navy suit materialized behind her, gold-rimmed glasses glinting. "That's the infamous Huo Xuan?" His androgynous tone dripped honeyed arsenic.

Zhou Hong—Liu Ting's current beau, a Princeton Ph.D. candidate—deciphered her microexpressions with clinical precision.

Liu Ting's silence screamed louder than words.

Zhou's eyes scanned the room like a predator. "The stage is set," he whispered, a serpentine smile curling. "Just needs... accelerant."

"Hong, don't—" Liu Ting grasped his sleeve, knowing his Machiavellian depths.

"Chen Fusheng's father chairs the Municipal Development Committee." Zhou adjusted his cufflinks. "Impress him now, secure my civil service position later."

Her protest died—Zhou's decisions were stone tablets carved in advance.

Amidst hollow greetings, Zhou locked onto Hu Xiaohui—a venomous hedgehog primed to strike. Champagne flute in hand, he glided toward Huo Xuan.

"Huo Xuan, I presume?" Zhou's smile held Arctic warmth. "Zhou Hong. Liu Ting's... companion."

Huo Xuan had noticed Liu Ting earlier but avoided awkwardness. Zhou Hong's approach now reeked of provocation.

"Huo Xuan," he nodded curtly.

Zhou chuckled, glancing at Hu Xiaohui. "Miss Hu mentioned your... romantic résumé. Dating both Liu Ting and Ye Qian? Quite the overachiever."

Huo's face iced over. Zhou was parading his romantic failures like circus attractions.

Hu Xiaohui's venom found fresh targets. "Scholarship rats like you," she sneered internally, "couldn't land Ye Qian, let alone a goddess like Lin Yue!"

"A toad lusting after swans!" Hu shrilled. "Thank God Ye Qian had standards!"

Her claw-like finger jabbed at Liu Ting. "Wasting your prime on gutter trash—what a tragedy!"

"Brave now with your fellow loser?" She pivoted to Ma Baorui.

"Rabid bitch!" Ma roared. "Huo never wronged you!"

Huo's gaze turned glassy, dissociating from the carnage.

Chen Fusheng's glee swelled. Zhou Hong's blade cuts beautifully, he mused, mentally drafting alliance papers.

The reunion's guest list was no accident. Chen's bruised ego still festered from Huo's past audacity to court "his" woman.

Chen's smirk widened as Huo trembled slightly—a mouse cornered by cats.

Lin Yue's jade hand enveloped his fist.

She'd decoded their predation within minutes. Their cruelty ignited something primal in her.

"Lin Yue." Her voice cleaved the toxicity. "Huo's current girlfriend. Surely you agree he upgraded from... weeds?"

The room flatlined.