Vol. 1 - Ch. 7 - Ten years

Wang Man's words couldn’t help but make Li Han smile bitterly.'This girl…she hasn't changed at all.'

"Back off, don't worry." Her brother laughed and said, "I lied when I said they weren't backing off. It's actually to introduce someone to you."

At that moment, Wang Man's face darkened, and she crossed her arms and said coldly, "What did you say? Say it again and see what happens."

"Hey, don't get angry!" Her brother became nervous all of a sudden, "Listen to my explanation!"

"Explanation, my ass!" Wang Man said angrily, her angry posture was exactly like her brother’s, "I've told you so many times, I don't want to date. You know my situation!"

"Brother knows, brother knows, but you can't always be alone all the time. If one day..."

At this point, her brother stopped and turned to Li Han. "Anyway, don't reject him hastily. This guy is pretty good and very honest. He doesn't have a girlfriend and doesn't fool around outside. Get to know him first!"

Wang Man glared at her brother with her wide beautiful eyes and then turned to Li Han.

"Hmm?" Seeing Li Han, she frowned, "You look a bit familiar; do we know each other?"

"I guess you don't remember me anymore." Li Han politely smiled and said, "I'm Li Han, your junior high classmate."

Wang Man recalled for a moment and then had a look of realization, "Ah! I remember! We were desk mates!"

Li Han was slightly surprised. They had only been desk mates for a month.

In the third year of junior high, there were monthly exams, and after each exam, the seating arrangement changed, so Li Han had many different desk mates that year.

"Oh, this is fate." Her brother chuckled with excitement, grabbing their shoulders and gesturing for them to sit down, "Come, let's chat. It must be fate for you two back together again..."

At this moment, Wang Man glared at him again, and her brother held back the rest of his sentence and changed his tone. "Well, um, you guys catch up, I just remembered I have something to discuss with that guy selling cars, so I'll go first..."

After saying that, her brother hurriedly left without even eating his meal, leaving Li Han and Wang Man alone.

"I'm sorry for getting you involved," Wang Man said with a bitter smile.

"It's alright, it's nice to see an old classmate," Li Han said, sitting down at the table.

He wouldn't change his impression of Wang Man because she was beautiful. He still didn't like her very much, but now Li Han had many questions.

Firstly, Wang Man's cousin said she has never been in a relationship all these years.

In Li Han's impression, Wang Man can be considered a delinquent girl. A normal development for her should be early dating, accidental pregnancy followed by abortion, dating dozens of boyfriends, and eventually settling down with a decent person.(T/N: …are all delinquent girls in China like this?)

'Show her dating big data,' Li Han instructed and Wang Man's data instantly appeared in Li Han's field of vision.

"In her 26 years of life, she has been in '0' relationships, had '0' boyfriends, had '0' intimate encounters with males, and earned the title of 'Chaste Lady' in the App's categorization of people based on their romance statistics."

It's actually true! Li Han was somewhat surprised.

Could it be that Wang Man is the type who appears bold but is actually innocent? It doesn't seem like it... Li Han was puzzled.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it? About ten years, I guess? Look at how tall you've become." Wang Man sat down across from him and teased, "Back in junior high school, you were even shorter than me. Now you must be around 1.8 meters tall."

"Exactly 1.81 meters," Li Han nodded, then cautiously asked, "How...have you been all these years?"

Wang Man smiled and replied, "Just okay. You know, my grades in the entrance exam were not good, so I didn't continue my education after graduating. But I didn't expect that with your excellent grades back then, you’re only working as a car sales agent at a car dealership. I thought you would become a scientist or some company’s executive."

"Life doesn't always go smoothly," Li Han chuckled bitterly. "Many of the students in our class, who didn't do well academically, are now bosses. Looking back now, it's ironic how our teachers used to say to those people, 'You'll become the scum of society,' and now they've proved them wrong."

"That's right," Wang Man sighed, "How about we have a few drinks, shall we? Waiter, bring two bottles of beer."

Show her consumption big data as well,' Li Han commanded in his mind and another set of data appeared around Wang Man.

"In her 26 years of consumption history, the highest expenditure category is 'medical expenses,' accounting for 53% of the total consumption; the highest single consumption amount is 60,000; frequent instances of overdraft consumption behavior."

Medical expenses account for a staggering 53%! Li Han was immediately shocked and he observed Wang Man closely.

Her complexion was quite good, with fair and radiant skin, and she appeared healthy, not like someone who was ill. Based on this inference, it could be assumed that her family member has a chronic condition requiring long-term treatment, which explained why it accounted for 53% of her total consumption over 26 years.

53%... Li Han couldn't help but frown. With such high medical expenses, plus excluding utilities bills, it's likely that she doesn't have much disposable income left. How has she been getting by all these years?

Seeing this, Li Han realized that he didn't really understand Wang Man at all and had made unfounded comments about her. He suddenly felt ashamed.

Out of curiosity, and also out of guilt, Li Han wanted to know more about her, and about how she had spent the past ten years. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the NʘvᴇlFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

"So, are you still single now?" Li Han asked with great interest.

“Why? Is it strange?" Wang Man replied with a smile.

"It is indeed strange. You're so beautiful, so logically, many people should be pursuing you," Li Han nodded.

"You're handsome too, aren't you? And yet, you're also single, right?" Wang Man said as she opened a beer bottle cap and poured a glass for him.

"Back in junior high school, you were as round and chubby as a watermelon boy, but you've completely changed, and even your face has become more angular."

"You are still as beautiful as you were in junior high," Li Han said with a smile. "Hey, can we exchange WeChat IDs, okay? We can chat occasionally in the future."

Wang Man's smile became a bit forced.

"I...don't have any plans to date at the moment. My family situation is quite complicated."

Li Han figured it must be a sick family member that was holding her back, and she didn't want to be a burden to anyone else.

But it also made Li Han even more curious about her situation and her experiences over the years.

Li Han continued, "How about we communicate as friends? How about that? Seeing old classmates always brings back nostalgia, don't you think?"

Wang Man looked a bit helpless. Seeing her expression, Li Han added, "Don't worry, I won't persuade you or your relatives to buy a car.”

Wang Man chuckled at his remark, and then took out her phone. "Why don't you scan mine?"

Li Han noticed that Wang Man's phone was also a bit old, clearly indicating that her economic situation was indeed not great.

But in fact, Li Han himself was still using an iPhone 7 from a few years ago, and hadn't upgraded. It seemed that Wang Man also noticed that.

"I'm sentimental," Li Han shrugged. "It's been with me for a long time and still works fine, I can't bear to part with it."

"I didn't say anything," Wang Man pursed her lips and smiled.

'This time, I must get to know her more comprehensively.' He then added Wang Man on WeChat.

"Alright, alright," Wang Man put away her phone and raised her glass and said with a smile, "Come, let's toast to our reunion after ten years. Cheers."

"Cheers," Li Han said, raising his glass, preparing to take a sip, but Wang Man on the opposite side drank it all in one go.