Seeing Uncle Huzi eating like a starving wolf, I really didn't want to sit at the same table with him. I even suspected he had brought a takeout bag to sneak some food away after we finished.
The world has really gone downhill. Master, oh Master, look at the life we're living after you left.
During the meal, I tried to keep my distance from Uncle Huzi, pretending not to know him.
I had eaten quite a bit myself and was just about to start on a fish on my plate when Uncle Huzi beat me to it—one chopstick swipe, and the whole fish was in his mouth. He chuckled while eating, "So delicious."
I gave him a look of disgust. Just then, the crowd suddenly stirred.
Someone whispered, "A big shot has arrived."
I froze for a moment and looked up to see who it was.
What we saw left both Uncle Huzi and me stunned.
The so-called big shot was the daughter of Zhang Yucheng—the same man who came looking for us at the courtyard house before.
She wasn't even in our class; why was she attending this banquet?
"That beautiful girl, isn't she Zhang Yucheng's daughter from Julong Group?" Uncle Huzi whispered.
As he spoke, the girl moved forward like a star surrounded by a halo, attracting countless admiring gazes.
She was clearly dressed up for the occasion, lightly made up, with a cascade of silky hair draping over her shoulders. Standing among the crowd, she looked like a crane among chickens.
Even Wang Chaoyang's father scurried over like a lapdog, smiling broadly: "Yao Yao, you came too? How's your father doing lately?"
"Thank you, Uncle Wang. My dad is doing well," she replied warmly and gracefully.
At that moment, Wang Chaoyang himself walked over, his face flushed with excitement, warmly greeting her.
A group quickly gathered around her, escorting her to the VIP table, where she sat with Wang Chaoyang's parents.
I kept watching her and noticed the dark energy swirling above her head had grown thicker—signs that ominous qi had entered her body. When she came with her father to see me some time ago, the aura wasn't nearly as strong.
Looks like trouble is brewing for her recently.
If it weren't for Master's rules and out of respect for money, I would have intervened already.
But alas…
That's what I thought to myself.
By now, Uncle Huzi and I had nearly finished eating. He discreetly gestured that it was time to make a quick exit.
He figured that since I had no money and hadn't brought any gifts for Wang Chaoyang, it would be awkward if Wang approached us later. Since we'd eaten our fill, it was best to slip away—after all, this was probably the last time we'd see these classmates.
I thought about it and agreed his plan was pretty good.
Just as we were about to sneak out, Wang Chaoyang suddenly walked toward us.
He held a glass of beer—coming to toast.
Uncle Huzi and I had just stood up but hurriedly sat back down.
If we left now, we definitely wouldn't get away.
Wang Chaoyang approached our table and smiled, "Thanks to all of you for coming to this banquet. Our class is going to scatter soon, everyone heading off to different universities far and wide, so I wanted us to get together one last time. Let me toast to you all first."
He downed his beer, and everyone raised their glasses in unison.
After the toast, a classmate stood up holding the latest model laptop, "Wang Chaoyang, I don't have much to give, but since we're going to university soon, I bought two laptops—one for you and one for me."
The laptop must have cost several thousand yuan at least, and Wang Chaoyang kept thanking him profusely.
One after another, classmates presented their prepared gifts to Wang Chaoyang.
The cheapest gift was worth a few hundred yuan.
Everyone had given something—except me.
At that moment, I stood out like a sore thumb.
A classmate who was usually close to Wang Chaoyang gave me a malicious glance and sneered, "Wu Jie, everyone else brought gifts for Wang Chaoyang. What did you bring? Show us."
Uncle Huzi turned his head away awkwardly—pretending not to know me.
I wasn't bothered. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a folded triangular talisman.
Handing it to Wang Chaoyang, I smiled, "We're classmates after all. I don't have much, but this is a talisman I drew myself. Carry it with you to ward off evil and avoid misfortune."
The whole table froze when I presented it.
None of them knew about my training under Master, nor Master's reputation, and certainly not the significance of this talisman.
Rich people seek these talismans from my Master at a price almost impossible to afford. Though I drew this one, its power was close to Master's own.
Honestly, this gift was a hundred times more valuable than anything the other classmates gave.
This talisman really worked.
Everyone was stunned, then the same classmate who spoke before burst out laughing, mocking me: "Wu Jie, are you joking? Even if you didn't bring Wang Chaoyang a gift and just said some nice words, that'd be fine—we're all classmates. But you drawing your own talisman? Come on, stop messing around. What are you, a monk or a Taoist priest now?"
His words triggered a burst of laughter around the table.
Uncle Huzi was about to lose it, but I held him back.
"That's right, you're the only one in our class who didn't get into university, didn't even take the college entrance exam. I guess you were too scared to try. People like you, treating classmates like that, don't expect to get anywhere. You're a disgrace," another classmate, usually close to Wang Chaoyang, sneered.
Wang Chaoyang smiled at me, holding his glass, saying nothing.
The commotion at our table drew a crowd.
Suddenly, the crowd parted, and someone stepped forward, saying in a deep voice, "I'll pay one hundred thousand for that talisman."
Everyone turned to look, and it was none other than the girl named Yao Yao.
"Zhang Yun Yao, are you crazy? One hundred thousand for this doodle?" Wang Chaoyang said in disbelief.