CHAPTER 56: CHAPTER 56: THE GIRL BEHIND

Coming out of the esports arena, after sitting for too long, Huang Jun stretched comfortably, and his whole body crackled like firecrackers.

With his massive build, he looked even more like a giant bear when he spread his arms.

"This online session was the most fun I’ve ever had in my life!"

Huang Jun, with a satisfied look, put his arm around Li Jing’s shoulder and grinned, "Brother Jing, from now on, I’m sticking with you."

"If you want to make a name for yourself, you still need to rely on yourself."

Li Jing glanced at him, "I’ve already laid the road for you, from now on, you have to walk it yourself."

"Hey, I know, I know."

Huang Jun was full of anticipation, "At first, I didn’t have much concept of a rich life, but after today’s online session, I realized that the world of the rich and the world of the poor, even under the same blue sky, are completely two different worlds!

I’ve made up my mind, I’ll go back and fully prepare for the competition, Director He has already started helping me contact foreign coaches."

Watching Huang Jun rubbing his hands in excitement, Li Jing nodded secretly.

He’s not someone who enjoys standing alone at the top of the mountain, looking at the scenery.

People are social animals; no matter when, they always hope to have reliable partners around.

If he were to truly reach the peak of wealth, but have no one around, that’s not the life he wants.

That’s why he hopes to help friends whenever he can, of course, the premise is that they deserve his trust and assistance.

"By the way, Jingzi, are you still in touch with Zhou Li?"

At this point, Huang Jun looked at the darkening sky, took out his phone and said, "I just posted on my Moments with a location tag, and Zhou Li commented saying she’s also in Lishui City, claiming that old classmates haven’t met in a long time, and maybe we can get together tonight."

"Zhou Li?"

Li Jing searched his mind for a moment before he remembered the ponytailed girl who sat behind him in high school.

They had a pretty good relationship at the time, but since graduating from high school and parting ways, they had lost contact, especially after starting work.

So Li Jing had to search his long-lost teenage memories for a while before he remembered this impressionably pure and shy girl.

"How did she end up in Lishui City?" Li Jing was curious, "Wasn’t her hometown the same as ours?"

"I heard she was working in Celestial Sea City before, but her boss ran away. After that, she kept looking for jobs in various companies, but her luck was not very good."

Huang Jun sighed, "Later, when she really couldn’t find a suitable job, she relied on part-time work and minimal expenses to make a living for two years, and eventually passed the civil service exam for Lishui City."

"She entered the system here?"

Li Jing was a bit surprised, "If she wanted to take the civil service exam, why not take it back home?"

"Probably afraid of having her life arranged if she went back."

Huang Jun shrugged, "I heard she’s the only female college graduate in her village. If she went back after failing to make it outside, she would probably face pressure to marry, be set up with a barely suitable man, and have kids, seeing her life path come to an early end.

With her personality, she wouldn’t want such a life, right."

Hearing this, Li Jing slowly recalled the shy demeanor from her youth.

Despite her purity and introversion, she had a stubborn nature, with a steadfast dream of striving in big cities.

But fate played tricks, and Zhou Li ultimately couldn’t stay in a big city.

Looking at it from a different perspective, staying in Lishui City as a civil servant might also be a good choice for her.

At least, she managed to change her original life trajectory through her efforts, coming from a small village.

Thinking of this, Li Jing suddenly asked curiously, "Da Jun, were you close with her before? You seem to know her quite well."

"Well..."

When this was brought up, Huang Jun sneaked a glance at Li Jing, with a strange look, seeming like he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Seeing this, Li Jing frowned and urged, "Spit it out, stop being so coy for a grown man!"

"Actually, my contact with her was mainly because of you."

"Because of me?" Li Jing frowned, not expecting this answer at all.

"Yeah, I originally promised her not to say anything, but thinking it’d been so long, telling you shouldn’t matter."

Huang Jun scratched his head, laughed awkwardly, and explained, "A couple of years ago, I think shortly after Zhou Li passed her civil service exam, she added me actively.

At first, I didn’t think much of it, but it turned out that most of the things she wanted to talk about were about you."

Seeing Li Jing’s puzzled look, Huang Jun scratched his head again, grinning widely as he continued, "Then I realized she had a crush on you since middle school. Having heard that you were in Celestial Sea City, she wanted to ask about your current situation through me."

"A crush on me?"

Li Jing raised his eyebrows, remembering the pure girl who occasionally blushed when talking to him, suddenly realizing, "So at that time, all the things she did..."

"Well, Jingzi, you were so focused on preparing for the college entrance exams that you didn’t notice, and with her personality, she didn’t dare to confess."

Huang Jun looked regretful, shaking his head with a sigh, "This Zhou Li is so persistent, who would’ve thought she would like you for so long, even after graduating from college she’d come to ask about you.

When she heard you had a girlfriend, she basically stopped asking about meeting you, only occasionally inquiring about your situation while chatting."

After hearing this, Li Jing’s expression became a bit complicated, not expecting that there was such a story between Zhou Li and himself.

Thinking of this, he raised an eyebrow and looked at Huang Jun next to him, and said, "You really are something, hiding this from me for so long..."

"Huh? No, Zhou Li made me promise not to tell you, you can’t blame me."

Huang Jun immediately explained, "Plus, seeing as you had a girlfriend at the time, I didn’t want this to cause any misunderstandings!"

Then, he acted all serious and said, "And if you think it’s not appropriate, I’ll just decline Zhou Li’s invitation right away. After all, I don’t know her that well, we only contact each other two or three times a year, and every time she asks a few questions about you.

Jingzi, you decide, do you want to accept Zhou Li’s invitation or not, I haven’t told her you’re here yet."

Hearing this, Li Jing paused, hesitating.

Huang Jun then showed a mischievous look again, leaned in and urged, "A woman has waited for you for so many years, are you really so heartless to not even meet her once?

She kept her feelings hidden all for you, back in middle school for fear of disturbing your studies, later for fear of interfering in your relationship, what a great girl, and she’s really sweet-looking too..."

"Have you eaten too many sweet potatoes? Out demonstrating the after-effects, aren’t you?" Li Jing gave Huang Jun’s mischievous face a side glance.

Even after being talked down to, Huang Jun wasn’t angry, he shrugged and said, "So, have you decided, are you going or not?"

"Go. Why wouldn’t I go?"

Li Jing stopped hesitating and calmly said, "Even if it’s just to have a meal at your expense, I have to go."

Saying that, he directly walked towards the roadside to hail a cab, "Don’t forget, since you’re so keen on this reunion, this meal is on you."

"Huh?! Damn it, why should I pay when you two old flames meet?"

"What do you mean, a six-foot-three giant meeting with an old classmate, and you want the girl to treat?"

"I... Fine, fine, guess I’ll see through my role as the middleman. So where have you decided to go for dinner?"

"I checked, there’s a Michelin three-star restaurant nearby called ’Zhenwei Pavilion,’ let’s go there."

"What the hell?! Michelin three-star?? You’re losing all sense now, aren’t you?!"