OSM Chapter 1: High school reunion

He Zhiqiu saw Jiang Cheng again at a high school reunion, ten years after they last met.

Before this, they had crossed paths once by chance.

It was hard to say if it was that brief but intense reunion that stirred something in Jiang Cheng’s heart. He immediately asked for He Zhiqiu’s phone number, and before long, the event spiraled into a massive high school reunion.

This was undoubtedly the largest reunion they’d had in years, with even the retired head of the department being invited, and their former homeroom teacher attending as well.

The venue was luxurious — one of the best hotels in the city, with an entire floor rented out.

And not just any floor — it was the most expensive one, the one with the best view.

They say “the wheel of fortune spins,” and Jiang Cheng, who had once been the gloomy, introverted kid at the back of the class, had somehow become the most successful person in their batch.

Tao Yang walked over with a drink in hand and greeted He Zhiqiu. Back in school, they were the closest of friends, sitting in front and behind each other. Even though they hadn’t kept in touch much over the years, they’d still send messages during holidays and festivals. When He Zhiqiu returned to town, Tao Yang was the first to reach out, picking him up from the train station and even helping him rent a place.

“You met Jiang Cheng?” Tao Yang asked.

He Zhiqiu, standing by the buffet table with a dry, old-fashioned biscuit in hand, nodded.

“Where? It’s not on a production set, is it?”

He Zhiqiu replied, “Mm.”

“Damn.” Tao Yang muttered, rolling his eyes at Jiang Cheng’s back. “This idiot must think he’s hot stuff by now, huh?”

He Zhiqiu chewed his biscuit and sipped his lemon water before saying, “Not quite.”

“Not quite?” Tao Yang scoffed. “I can already picture his smug face when he saw you.”

He Zhiqiu smiled faintly, not responding.

Tao Yang couldn’t help but frown. “If your grandfather hadn’t had that accident, the opportunity would’ve been yours, no doubt. Where would there have been room for Jiang Cheng to strut around?”

He Zhiqiu shook his head. “It’s fine, Tao Yang. Everyone has their own fate. Even if the opportunity had come to me, I wouldn’t have necessarily done a better job than Jiang Cheng.”

“He’s a joke.” Tao Yang spat into a nearby trash can. “Some small-time actor, and now he’s acting like he’s some big shot.”

Jiang Cheng had become an actor shortly after high school. He didn’t even finish school before he found fame. There had been a production crew that came to their school for a location shoot and needed a teenage actor. The director decided to hold a large-scale casting call on campus to find the most authentic representation of youth.

At that time, everyone was chasing their dreams, and many students who secretly harbored starry ambitions put in a lot of effort. He Zhiqiu, who had always loved acting, was ecstatic when he heard about the opportunity. Every day after class, he’d study the scripts, practicing the roles. The director paid special attention to him, hopeful that he would stand out in the casting.

But as often happens, life doesn’t go as planned. The day before the casting call, He Zhiqiu’s grandfather had an accident. He rushed back to his hometown with his parents and didn’t return until after the drama had already been filmed…

As He Zhiqiu remembered the past, he stared absentmindedly at the glass in his hand.

“Honestly, the one who’s really done well out of all of us is Li Yuze.”

He Zhiqiu’s hand trembled, and the surface of his lemon water rippled.

“He… didn’t come, did he?”

“Who?”

“Li… Yuze.”

“Don’t joke around.” Tao Yang snorted. “Do you think Jiang Cheng can afford to invite him? With his status, he’s not even worthy of carrying Li Yuze’s shoes.”

A few women nearby overheard Li Yuze’s name and leaned over.

Xu Lanlan, their class’s cultural committee member, with her big waves of hair, bright red lipstick, and an elegant black dress that perfectly outlined her curvy figure, joined the conversation. When she wasn’t speaking, she looked like a glamorous beauty, but the moment she opened her mouth, it was clear she was one of those old-school fan idols.

“Li Yuze’s not coming? Then what a waste of my time. I pulled out all the stops for this reunion — even brought out my best shots! And now I’m just here snapping photos of you greasy, middle-aged guys?”

Tao Yang raised an eyebrow. “Who’s greasy?”

“Definitely not He Zhiqiu.” Xu Lanlan smiled, giving He Zhiqiu a flirtatious wink.

This year, everyone was in their late twenties, some married, some established in their careers.

After ten years apart, everyone had changed a lot. For those who didn’t prioritize fitness and skincare, their appearances had definitely shifted. Just look at the class president. He had once been a sharp young man, but now his belly was so big, from a distance, you’d think he was five months pregnant. Up close, his face was shiny with oil, and when you asked what he was doing now? Running a BBQ joint in the night market. Not quite the same as the scholarly, pure boy who used to dream of studying classical Chinese literature.

But the BBQ life was good. He’d opened dozens of chain stores, had a full family with kids, and his life was stable. Gone were the lofty dreams of youth, but he had everything now — the kind of practical happiness people only dream of when they’re older.

The class president blamed it all on time, saying that time was a knife, and it had hacked away at his youth. He often couldn’t sleep at night, staring at old photos and feeling nostalgic for the past.

Some people hadn’t really changed much, they had only smoothed out a few rough edges and gained a more mature aura. Take Tao Yang, Xu Lanlan, and especially He Zhiqiu, for example.

He Zhiqiu was particularly notable. Anyone who had seen him before could recognize him at first glance.

He still looked like the clean-cut seventeen-year-old he used to be, wearing a white shirt, with his short hair slightly tousled. Time seemed to have left no mark on him at all. His smile was still as bright as ever, and when he spoke, his voice was as gentle as before.

Xu Lanlan had once secretly harbored a crush on him, but after meeting Li Yuze, she switched allegiances in the blink of an eye. As she put it, no one could resist Li Yuze’s face. He Zhiqiu was still human after all, but if you had Li Yuze’s face, you could pretty much say goodbye to the mortal world.

“How have you been these years, Ah Qiu?” Xu Lanlan raised her glass and clinked it with He Zhiqiu’s.

He Zhiqiu smiled lightly. “Pretty good. I was a bit busy the past few years, but it’s gotten better recently.”

“Is your grandfather doing well now? I only heard about it from Tao Yang later.”

“He’s almost fully recovered,” He Zhiqiu said apologetically. “It was all so sudden back then, I didn’t get a chance to say a proper goodbye.”

Xu Lanlan waved her hand. “What are you talking about? Saying goodbye is a small thing. As long as your grandfather’s okay, that’s all that matters. And look at us, we’re meeting up again, right? If you really feel bad about it, just stay in touch more often.”

Her personality was straightforward and easygoing, never hiding her thoughts or beating around the bush.

Jiang Cheng had liked her before, and probably still did.

“So, are you staying in A City to develop your career?” Just then, the main organizer of today’s reunion finally squeezed out from the crowd.

Jiang Cheng, dressed in a well-tailored dark gray suit, greeted them with a smile.

He had always looked decent, but after years as an actor and some facial adjustments, he’d become undeniably handsome, his charm and aura much improved.

Theoretically, Jiang Cheng should have been closer to He Zhiqiu than Tao Yang. Both of them had come to A City with their families to start over, and years ago, they had lived in a shabby building full of transient people.

He Zhiqiu’s parents were skilled at cooking and ran a small restaurant, while Jiang Cheng’s parents were vendors at the nearby market, supplying vegetables to the restaurant. Over time, they got to know each other.

However, Jiang Cheng had never thought highly of his parents’ work. After high school, he began to avoid He Zhiqiu, afraid He Zhiqiu would tell others about his family background and bring him shame.

Years had passed, and Jiang Cheng had built himself a persona of being hardworking and resilient, someone who could endure any hardship and never gave up on his dreams. He didn’t just think his parents’ humble vegetable-selling job wasn’t tragic enough, but he also embellished the story, turning his father’s perfectly healthy limbs into a tale of a disabled man.

Tao Yang, who worked in the media, was one of the few who couldn’t stand Jiang Cheng. What bothered him most was that Jiang Cheng had taken a part of He Zhiqiu’s own story of working and studying hard to support himself and passed it off as his own to win the sympathy of fans.

“Did you see how he’s walking? He’s treating the hotel lobby like it’s an international runway. And it’s the middle of summer, yet he’s wearing a thick wool suit. Is he trying to get some rashes and land an advertising offer for rash powder?” Tao Yang’s words were sharp, and he never held back his disdain for Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng, well aware of this, usually avoided Tao Yang.

The media and entertainment industries were like a delicate balance of mutual benefit and constraint. Oddly enough, Tao Yang’s newspaper and Jiang Cheng’s entertainment company had some cooperative ties, with both sides having signed non-disclosure agreements. So even though Tao Yang knew Jiang Cheng’s entire persona was fabricated, he couldn’t just go around telling people, and even if he did, it wouldn’t make a difference.