It was that same face, still familiar to the point of impossibility.
The clumsy, old-fashioned black-rimmed glasses that Zhang Fu always relied on were gone, revealing Yao Ge’s large, glistening, round eyes.
They saw something, then curved slightly, smiling brighter than the coming spring.
Immediately, Zhang Fu heard several female classmates whisper in astonishment beside him.
If it was like this, then forget it.
Zhang Fu instinctively looked at Yao Ge’s outfit.
It was a strikingly incongruous ensemble.
The red turtleneck sweater seemed to envelop him, making his already small face appear even tinier, yet giving him a rosy, sun-kissed glow. His smile was both sweet and radiant, like winter sunshine.
On his head was a knitted hat, with a few wavy strands of hair falling on his forehead and temples.
The curling hair made Yao Ge look even more delicate and cute, paired with those big, round eyes—so exquisitely perfect, like a little prince from a fairy tale, not a real person.
He walked straight toward them, his wrist swinging as he went, revealing a strip of white cuff—and a wrist just as pale and luminous as the cuff itself.
Delicate. Clean. Pure.
In that instant, Zhang Fu felt as though a single outfit had divided them into two entirely different worlds.
They were ordinary people scrambling for fame and profit in a decaying, ailing world;
while Yao Ge was an artist who lived entirely within his own inner realm.
A vague sense of frustration immediately coiled around Zhang Fu’s heart.
But just as quickly, he reined himself in.
Fine—so Yao Ge was clean and pristine, like some little prince. So what?
Zhang Fu had not forgotten the look of shock on Yao Ge’s face when he heard him mention the twelve hundred yuan contribution.
Even if he was a little prince, a poor little prince—jobless, maybe even a shut-in—could he really compare to him?
With that thought, Zhang Fu adjusted his tie again.
He glanced around and saw the woman who was already his wife staring blankly at Yao Ge.
A flicker of panic rose in his chest, only to harden almost immediately into anger.
He knew it. He just knew it.
But even so, Yao Ge still couldn’t compare to him.
He was the one who had turned out the best.
“I can’t believe it, Professor—you’ve really gotten old!”
The moment Yao Ge was surrounded, he stiffened, too scared to move.
He was even a little at a loss—why was it that after only one year, the female classmates who used to keep their distance now dared to rush up and pinch his cheeks?
Some of them were even calling him cute.
That was terrifying.
The instant he caught sight of his mentor, Yao Ge felt as though a god had descended from heaven. His teacher was his savior.
Save the child!
Noticing the flash of panic in the eyes of his favorite student, the old man felt both amused and exasperated.
It had been a full year since graduation—how had he still not learned how to deal with people?
With no choice, he put on a shameless old face and came over to shoo the surrounding students away.
Only then did he manage to rescue Yao Ge.
After saving him, the old man gave him a careful once-over from head to toe.
“You made these clothes yourself?” he suddenly asked after a moment.
“Huh?”
Yao Ge still looked a little dazed, but quickly came back to himself and nodded obediently.
“Yes. I made everything myself.”
As he spoke, he looked a little embarrassed.
“They’re not very good, are they? Did I embarrass you?”
They really weren’t that great.
But…
The old man swept his gaze around the room and let out a soft sigh.
“They’re not bad.”
Several students standing nearby immediately flushed red.
Yet none of them could refute it.
Among them, shockingly few had truly stayed on the path of design.
And of those who had, none dared to openly wear clothes they had designed themselves, the way Yao Ge did.
Some felt they weren’t good enough; others were afraid of making a fool of themselves.
Yao Ge didn’t quite grasp the situation. He only scratched his head shyly.
“Teacher, you’re just comforting me again.”
The old man raised an eyebrow.
“So you know I’m just humoring you?”
Yao Ge froze.
Huh?
So he really was just humoring him?
The classmates nearby watched with slightly dazed expressions.
For some reason, the scene felt oddly familiar.
Back in school… hadn’t they seen this exact thing countless times?
Just as the atmosphere grew warm and harmonious, Zhang Fu’s voice abruptly shattered the calm.
With his arm wrapped around the woman in his embrace, he strode over, his face wearing a smile so polite it was practically fake.
“Yao Ge, you’re late this time. Back in school, you were always the first to arrive. Guess things are different now—you like making a grand entrance, huh? Hahahahaha.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the old man frowned slightly.
Several of the female classmates also sensed something off.
They instinctively glanced at the woman in Zhang Fu’s arms and all curled their lips faintly.
He was holding her so tightly, as if afraid she might run off at any moment.
But then again, that made sense. Who didn’t know that the former class beauty had actually liked Yao Ge back then?
Yao Ge paused, then blinked.
“But that was because sometimes the professor would come early,” he said earnestly. “He had to organize teaching materials and things. For a gathering, isn’t it fine as long as you arrive on time?”
Zhang Fu was momentarily left speechless.
The chill in the old man’s brow eased slightly.
Listen to that. That was exactly why he liked this kid so much.
So considerate, wasn’t he?
When one plan failed, Zhang Fu quickly devised another.
His fingers tightened slightly around the woman’s waist, and his smile grew even brighter.
“That’s true. But since you’re here now, you should really tell everyone how you’ve been doing lately. Especially the professor—he cares about you the most. Right, Professor?”
The old man’s expression, which had just softened, froze again.
He shot a cold look at this former student—he remembered him well. Always inattentive in class, always ambiguous with several female students. He had caught him more than once.
He hadn’t expected that after graduation, not only had he failed to improve, he had actually gotten worse.
“Huh?”
Yao Ge hesitated. He was about to say that he hadn’t found a job, but then he wavered.
He wasn’t exactly unemployed, was he?
He had signed a contract with Agent Fan. He had made clothes. He had gotten paid.
So he should count as having a job, right?
But…
Yao Ge felt a little lost.
How was he supposed to introduce this job, exactly?
Professional custom-made fetish outfits…?
Seeing Yao Ge’s hesitation, Zhang Fu finally relaxed.
See?
No matter how much the professor favored him, no matter how good his grades had been—
Trash was still trash.
He slowly straightened his chest, putting on an expression of sudden realization.
“Oh—right, I almost forgot. When I asked you the other day, you already told me, didn’t you? You still haven’t found a job and are staying at home, right? Look at my memory—completely slipped my mind. My bad, my bad.”
He paused, then added maliciously,
“But Yao Ge, you can’t just stay at home forever without looking for work, can you? Leaving everything else aside—do you really think you’re doing right by all the effort your teacher put into cultivating you? He’s always had such high hopes that you’d make something of yourself.”
Huh?
But Zhang Fu had never asked him about that.
Yao Ge froze.
He didn’t quite understand what was going on anymore.
The other classmates froze too the moment they heard this.
What?
Yao Ge still hadn’t found a job? He was actually just staying at home?
In an instant, the looks directed at Yao Ge changed.
A few of the male classmates even burst out laughing.
“No way—Yao Ge, you still haven’t found a job?”
“This won’t do at all. Don’t tell me the contribution money for this gathering was paid by your grandpa too? No way, right? Don’t tell me there are still people these days living off their families?”
Zhang Fu was about to say more when the old man suddenly shouted,
“That’s enough! What are you all making such a fuss about?”
He shot Zhang Fu a cold look. “Are you holding a class reunion here, or some kind of public shaming rally?”
He had lived for decades—how could he possibly fail to see through Zhang Fu’s little schemes?
With that, many people quieted down.
But Zhang Fu was unconvinced.
He let out a cold laugh, his tone haughty.
“Professor, don’t you think you’re being a bit too biased? I organized this reunion. I arranged the venue. I even negotiated a thirty percent discount with the hotel. You come here and don’t praise me for being capable, but instead you’re showing so much concern for Yao Ge, someone who stays at home living off his family. Aren’t you worried about discouraging the rest of us as your students?”
As he spoke, he lowered his head and teased the woman in his arms.
“Right, honey? See that? Our professor—he really plays favorites.”
Everyone’s gaze fell onto the woman he was holding.
Someone couldn’t help but whisper,
“Class monitor, did you and the class beauty get married?”
Zhang Fu smiled smugly.
“We’ve already registered. Next month we’ll be holding the banquet right here. When the time comes, everyone come and give us some face—share a bit of our good fortune.”
Then he turned to look at Yao Ge.
“Yao Ge, our great genius, you’ll come too, right? I won’t even take your contribution money. How about that?”
Once again, everyone’s eyes shifted back to Yao Ge.
Even the slowest among them, after glancing at the former class beauty and then at Yao Ge, finally understood.
No wonder Zhang Fu was targeting Yao Ge so relentlessly—it was a matter of old romantic grudges.
Yao Ge, meanwhile, still looked completely bewildered.
Setting everything else aside—what was even happening right now?
He hadn’t sorted it out at all. Hearing Zhang Fu’s words, he instinctively shook his head.
Zhang Fu thought he was trying to save face and was just about to feel pleased when he heard Yao Ge’s clear, puzzled voice.
“But I never said I was coming.”
Wow.
A clean, beautiful counterattack.
Listening to the entire scene through the phone call, Fan Qing couldn’t help but let out a whistle for that line.
Not bad—he’d thought Yao Ge was really that dense.
Looks like it was about time for him to make his entrance.
With that thought, Fan Qing unbuttoned his coat completely.
Back in the hall, Zhang Fu froze.
The other classmates who heard Yao Ge’s words froze too.
Only the old man couldn’t help but smile.
No one spoke—until the woman in Zhang Fu’s arms broke the silence.
“Y-Yao… Yao Ge, why wouldn’t you come? Is it because…?”
She trailed off, but everyone understood what she meant.
“Huh?”
Yao Ge was stunned again by the question.
Why wouldn’t he come?
He scratched his head, glanced at Zhang Fu, then at the woman, his face full of confusion.
“Is it mandatory to come? But I don’t really know either of you that well. This place is pretty far from my house, and I still have to take care of my grandpa and work. I only managed to come this time because I stayed up late rushing a job.”
He paused, then looked shyly at the old man.
“I heard that you were coming, Professor. That’s why I came.”
The old man felt both touched and helpless.
This student of his really had just one small flaw.
With so many people around, how could he go and tell the unvarnished truth like that?
On the other side, the woman was struck hard by Yao Ge’s seemingly clueless yet utterly merciless words.
Zhang Fu hadn’t expected Yao Ge to go even harder than he did.
Still, he latched onto the loophole in Yao Ge’s words and sneered.
“Taking care of your grandpa, sure. But working? May I ask where exactly you’re employed? I’d really like to hear you explain that properly.”
The moment his words fell, a clean, cool, magnetic voice sounded from outside the crowd.
“Hm? Isn’t this Designer Yao? What are you doing here?”
Everyone instinctively looked over.
Then, one by one, they sucked in a sharp breath.
The newcomer was over six feet tall. A camel-colored overcoat accentuated his long, lean frame, his presence overwhelming. With just a single glance in their direction, his aura alone stunned many—and dazzled just as many.
But who was this?
And who had he just called out to?
Everyone subconsciously looked toward Yao Ge.
Yao Ge froze, then instinctively stepped forward.
“You—” The words reached his lips, then shifted. “Why are you here?”
Fan Qing smiled faintly. He removed his sunglasses, poised and aloof.
“There happened to be some company business nearby, so I came to take a look. But Designer Yao—you seem pretty free lately? The few outfits I ordered from you before, when do you think you’ll be able to finish them?”
“Huh?”
Yao Ge blurted out instinctively.
“But didn’t I just rush out the previous batch and deliver it to you yesterday?”
That single sentence landed like a hard slap across Zhang Fu’s face.