Reaching the age of thirty, my income randomly doubled

Chapter 90: Chapter 78: The Girls We Chased After in Those Years

The X6's performance is still very stable.

At least Chen Pingsheng felt pretty good driving it.

It was only a half-hour drive to Sha City.

Chang Fu was very nervous, he hadn't seen Yang Qian since she got married.

They had even stopped contacting each other.

He only heard bits and pieces of news about her when he returned home each year, through the chatter of classmates.

This sudden meeting was even timed right when she was in the midst of a divorce.

His heart was a mixture of emotions.

Even a womanizer like him had been faithful to one in his youth.

He would occasionally send voice messages, and Chen Pingsheng couldn't be bothered to reply.

The agreed meeting place was a KTV, and as a person born in the 1980s, he had a special fondness for KTVs.

Going there to belt out a few songs had become a favorite pastime for many born in the '80s.

The room they booked was a large private room that could seat dozens of people comfortably.

In an attempt to ease his nerves, Chang Fu started with two songs titled "Friends" and even pulled Chen Pingsheng to sing with him.

Several people had driven there, so no alcohol was involved, which clearly made the atmosphere lack something.

"Old Chen, what should I say to Yang Qian when she arrives?"

"Hello, my name is Chang Fu."

"Can't you be a bit more creative?"

Chang Fu laughed in resignation, feeling like he was asking a blind man for directions.

He suddenly remembered that Old Chen had been married to the same woman all his life.

Not even a hint of scandal, asking him was truly like a blind man feeling an elephant.

Chen Pingsheng said, "It's just a simple face-to-face with an old classmate, why are you so nervous?"

"Not nervous, not nervous, it's just that I haven't seen her in so many years. Do you think she'll regret her choice back then if she knows I now drive a Benz?"

"Whether she'll regret it, I don't know, but you're definitely still carrying a torch for her."

"Get lost."

It was as if a hedgehog had its tail stepped on, suddenly bristling with irritation.

No matter who asked, he would never admit it.

That was a matter of a man's dignity.

Chen Pingsheng didn't want to hear his nonsense; Yang Qian would be arriving soon.

Once she arrived, all would be revealed.

He earnestly went to select songs for his wife, Song Yanxi loved to sing songs by René Liu.

Each time they went to the KTV, "Later" and "Deeply Love You" were must-sings.

She sang beautifully, too.

As he was selecting songs, two women entered the room.

Tall and full of literary grace, Yang Qian still sported her long black straight hair.

She was wearing a white down jacket that exuded a spotless vibe.

She looked the same, but with an added air of elegance and maturity.

After a decade, who remembers their youthful past loves, the once glowing moon in their lives?

In the classroom.

The teacher called out, "Chang Fu, sit behind Yang Qian."

With his head bowed, Chang Fu was nervous. The happiest time of his day was watching her concentrate on her studies.

In the crowd, he could only watch her from afar.

Their story began one day after school when Yang Qian was bothered by some delinquents.

Chang Fu, walking behind her, didn't say a word but took a brick and firmly struck it on one of their foreheads.

This not only deterred the gang but also scared Yang Qian considerably.

After that, Yang Qian began to pay unintentional attention to this quiet bad student who liked to sneak glances at her.

Later, when exams came around, Yang Qian was successfully admitted to the best high school in the county.

Chang Fu started learning hairdressing, choosing a salon closest to her.

Each time Yang Qian needed a haircut, she went to him.

From his initial cluelessness to being able to trim her hair properly.

Later, Yang Qian asked him, "Do you like me?"

She was a senior by then.

Chang Fu, having learned hairdressing for three years, grunted in affirmation.

Yang Qian chuckled softly, initiating their first date.

They spent a day in the park watching ducks and sipping on small Cokes.

Months later, half a year had passed.

Yang Qian took the initiative to invite Chang Fu to a hotel, where he thought they'd just chat. Surprisingly, after her shower, she wore only a small robe barely concealing her delicate figure.

She asked him, "Don't you want to sleep with yourself?"

Chang Fu shook his head, wanting to wait until he was successful in his career to give her a perfect marriage.

Yang Qian said nothing but cried bitterly that night.

Afterward, rumors spread that she was preparing to get engaged to the man she's with now.

Chang Fu was furious, feeling betrayed by her, that she had forsaken their love.

Looking down on him, the penniless and powerless hairdressing teacher, Mr. Tony.

After leaving the county, he moved to a big city to seek better opportunities, never returning to hairdressing.

He only knew that with each return, he did better than the year before.

It wasn't until now that he drove a Mercedes-Benz S-Class worth over a million.

Seeing her again, he still couldn't help but want to ask her why.

"Got a cigarette?"

Chang Fu was dumbfounded. In his memory, Yang Qian was a good girl with no bad habits.

But since she asked him for a cigarette, he still passed one to her.

Yang Qian took a couple of puffs, not very skilled, and coughed quite a bit.

"Chang Fu, you've made a fortune, huh?"

"Well, I've made a little money."

"Not bad at all. You've made your fortune, and here I am about to get divorced."

Unable to pinpoint her emotions, Yang Qian said, "We haven't been in touch for so many years, and you decide to come see me once you're rich, just to show off in front of me?"

"No, not at all."

Usually, Chang Fu was quite the ladies' man, but he was so nervous in front of Yang Qian that he could hardly speak.

Yang Qian chuckled lightly and sat down next to Song Yanxi with her friend.

Song Yanxi was much younger than them and now also pregnant, so wasn't up for too much activity.

"Back in school, one pest would only follow me around, while Chen Pingsheng would take care of you whenever he had a moment to spare. I never imagined you two could end up so happy, I'm really envious."

She had already heard about the affair in Wangcai Village.

After all, she was from Wangcai Village. When Chen Pingsheng came back, he threw a three-day feast.

The village elders who went could get a red envelope, and not just for one day, but every day.

With such a spectacle, if you told her he wasn't a millionaire, Yang Qian wouldn't believe it for a second.

"Heh, he's just foolish."

Women understand women. Song Yanxi took the initiative to ask her, "I heard you're getting a divorce, what happened?"

Yang Qian had nothing to hide from her. "My father-in-law wanted to climb upwards before his retirement. My husband caught the eye of a little princess from the provincial government, then my dad was exposed for tax evasion, and a series of problems were found in his company."

She got the picture.

It was clearly her husband's family pulling the strings for clear reasons.

A legitimate way to discard his wife and form an alliance with someone influential at the provincial level.

Then, leveraging their advantageous position in the province to further his father-in-law's career.

Yang Qian laughed at herself. "My old man brought it on himself. In those days, to ingratiate himself with this powerful family, he didn't hesitate to sell his daughter off. Now that they have a better option, they've kicked him to the curb without a second thought, and even had his company investigated."

"Now the thing that makes me happiest is watching the old man throw temper tantrums at home every day, cursing people for being ungrateful."

Once upon a time, her family had money.

Her family had grand ambitions, and her father racked his brain to make this match happen.

Now, they've been discarded like dogs.

"So, what about you..."

"No big deal for me, really. Initially, I got married because my dad valued his power, and they valued me, the daughter with good grades. There was also a little bit of money involved. Divorce is just another form of liberation to me."

Yang Qian spoke calmly, but Song Yanxi heard an unusual depth in her words.

Perhaps Yang Qian had tried to resist once, even letting Chang Fu sleep with her.

Yet that night, Chang Fu was so clueless about everything.

He just thought inferiorly that he would give her happiness once he had money.

But by the time Yang Qian left the next day, her father and the other family had already decided everything.

She was just a pawn for her father to gain benefits.

She had resisted. If only Chang Fu had been willing to sleep with her that day.

The next day, she would have left the city with him, foregoing the college entrance exam.

No more studying, just going with him to be a hair washer at a salon.

He would cut, she would wash.

The two of them would find a small place where no one knew them and open a little hair salon.

Perhaps they could have been happy that way.

This was her fantasy before making her decision, but sadly, Chang Fu was too foolish.

He hadn't picked up on her blatant flirting and initiative.

Afterward, she harbored resentment for more than a decade.

Youth is always spent in regrets and disappointments.

Maybe at that time, we all met someone we wanted to hold onto, but what did we, so young, have to keep a grip on their hand?

"I want a life that blooms with vigor.

"Like soaring across the vast sky,

"Like roaming through endless wilderness.

"To have the power to break free from everything.

"How many times have I lost direction before.

"How many times have my dreams been shattered.

"Now, I no longer feel lost.

"I want my life to be liberated."

Most people born in the 80s really like Wang Feng, because he sings of the confusion and disappointment of their era.

And their helplessness.

Chang Fu, realizing everything, cried bitterly, heart-wrenching sobs.

But what's missed is missed, when he looks back, Yang Qian would only think he pitied her.

As it turns out, she doesn't need anyone's pity.

Especially not Chang Fu's pity.