Tao Yong's companion, Zhang Yu, rolled her eyes and kept quiet.
"Someone should call him. He didn't drive here like we did. What if he took the wrong bus or missed his stop?"
Meng Jianshu's companion, Lili, said, "I doubt that. Maybe he's driving and hasn't checked his messages. Just give him a call."
Meng Jianshu didn't notice the certainty in Lili's tone when she suggested Chen Xiao was driving. "I'll give him a call!" he said.
"Hey, Chen Xiao... You're here? Great. We're in the main lounge. Just come on over."
He parked his car, got out, and saw Meng Jianshu's BMW 3-series.
Following Meng Jianshu's directions, he found the lounge and went inside with Zhao Xiangjun.
"Hey, when Chen Xiao gets here and sees that each of us has a beautiful woman with us, don't you think he'll be embarrassed? Haha!" said Meng Jianshu.
"Nah, I doubt it. Chen Xiao is so handsome. A ton of girls liked him back in high school!"
"Liu, you just don't get it. You call that 'liking' someone in high school? That's just a childish crush. Once you're out in the real world, what good is being handsome? Can it buy you a house? A car? A designer bag? It all comes down to your financial status, right, Lili?"
He spoke with an air of pride, and Lili chimed in, "That's right!" 'But she didn't really agree. She remembered the car Chen Xiao had been driving the other day probably cost over 500,000 yuan. His financial situation couldn't be bad. Add his youth and good looks to the mix, and he was the total package—tall, rich, and handsome. How could a guy like that not have a date?'
Tao Yong chimed in, "Meng is right. These days, men are the ones who care about a woman's looks. A man's face isn't worth a damn!"
Zhang Yu cut in dryly from the side, "Just because a man's face isn't valuable doesn't mean he can be shameless."
None of the others understood what she meant. Only Tao Yong let out a few awkward laughs.
Just as Chen Xiao entered the lounge, he saw the group of them chatting.
He greeted them. Meng Jianshu and the others turned their heads, and their jaws dropped.
Chen Xiao knew the devastating effect a beauty like Zhao Xiangjun had on men. It was why she rarely went out on her days off. Whenever she did, she was relentlessly hit on, much to her annoyance.
'Holy shit, she's a goddess in the flesh! Even more beautiful than a fairy!'
'How is a woman more beautiful than a celebrity with Chen Xiao?'
'It's unfair for someone to be that gorgeous. To look that beautiful and be all-natural... compared to her, the money we spent on our procedures was a total waste!'
'You can't hang out with a woman like that. When she's around, no one would even look at girls like me and Nana!'
Zhao Xiangjun, trailing behind Chen Xiao, greeted them briefly before quietly taking a seat beside him.
After a moment, the group snapped out of their shock. Meng Jianshu was the first to speak. "Chen Xiao, is this a colleague of yours?"
"A friend."
Meng Jianshu looked incredulous. After a long pause, he said, "Well, let's go pick some pomegranates. This orchard belongs to a friend of mine. I've already cleared it with him."
As the group got up, Meng Jianshu added, "The orchard is still a few kilometers away, so it's better to drive. It's no problem for us guys to walk, so the ladies can just ride in my car."
Liu Bo and Tao Yong had both taken the bus, and Meng Jianshu assumed Chen Xiao had as well. That meant all four women could ride in his car.
None of the other women objected, but Zhao Xiangjun didn't move. Seeing this, Meng Jianshu dangled his BMW keys ostentatiously. "Come on, beautiful, ride with me. We'll let the guys walk!"
Zhao Xiangjun frowned and replied coolly, "I'll go with Chen Xiao. You all can go ahead."
Meng Jianshu was taken aback. He turned to Chen Xiao. "Chen Xiao, talk to her. It's a hot day, and women don't like being out in the sun!"
How could Chen Xiao not see what he was up to? He was already losing his patience. "Meng, I have my own car, so don't worry about it."
"Oh yeah? Did you bring the company's delivery van or something?"
Chen Xiao shook his head and walked out, with Zhao Xiangjun right behind him.
Having been snubbed, Meng Jianshu awkwardly told everyone to follow. At this point, Liu Bo and Tao Yong were basically following his lead.
Once they were outside, Zhao Xiangjun said, "Chen Xiao, let's just go by ourselves. You should probably spend less time with these classmates of yours in the future."
"Yeah. We're on completely different paths."
'It would be more relaxing to hang out with complete strangers than with these guys.'
'I was actually looking forward to this reunion, but it's just so boring.'
"Come on, let's follow them! Let's see what kind of company car our dear classmate Chen Xiao brought. Any of you ladies want a ride in a work vehicle?"
Having been put in his place, Meng Jianshu tried to regain the upper hand verbally.
Nana played along perfectly. "I want to ride in the BMW, not some company car!"
Zhang Yu chimed in with her agreement, but Lili remained silent. She knew Chen Xiao definitely wasn't driving a company car.
Liu Bo and Tao Yong, both in the mood to watch a spectacle, followed them out to the parking lot.
'Holy crap, no way. Did Chen Xiao just get into the wrong car?'
'He drives a Mercedes-Benz?'
'That car doesn't look cheap…'
Nana also asked, "Brother Meng, which car is more expensive, his or yours?"
Zhang Yu, who seemed to know about cars, said, "That's a fully loaded Mercedes-Benz CLS. It costs nearly 700,000 yuan. You could buy three of Brother Meng's cars for that price."
Meng Jianshu was utterly humiliated. "Fuck! I never would've guessed. He probably borrowed it from somewhere just to show off. Look at how he's dressed. He doesn't look like someone who drives a Mercedes-Benz."
Zhang Yu said, "And that beautiful woman with him? Her outfit is all Descente. That's probably several thousand yuan right there. I also noticed the watch on Chen Xiao's wrist is an Omega—that has to be tens of thousands!"
Meng Jianshu fell silent. He glanced at the Tissot watch on his own wrist. 'This is so fucking backward!'
Just then, Chen Xiao politely called out to them. Since there were only two cars, someone would have to ride with him.
In the end, Tao Yong and Zhang Yu got into his back seat.
"Damn, Chen, the back of your car is so comfortable! These seats are like a plush sofa. It's way better than Meng's BMW. The back seat in that thing is so stiff, and there's no room. I can't even stretch my legs!"
In reality, the CLS didn't have much space in the back either. Chen Xiao just smiled and said nothing.
Zhao Xiangjun just kept her head down, playing on her phone. But Tao Yong was a motormouth and continued, "I'm just saying, Chen, you don't even make as much as I do, and you're already driving a Mercedes-Benz."
Chen Xiao was completely speechless, unsure how to even respond. Zhao Xiangjun stared ahead, her face a blank mask. Only Zhang Yu shot Tao Yong a sharp look. "The man is driving a Mercedes-Benz and you don't even have a beat-up Ford. What makes you think he earns less than you?"
Tao Yong retorted, "He's just a sales rep! How much can he make? I make close to 400,000 a year!"
Zhang Yu sneered, "Is that 400,000 in Korean Won?"
Seeing Zhang Yu constantly shutting him down, Tao Yong chuckled awkwardly and finally went quiet.
The pomegranate orchard was only a few kilometers away, and with all the talking, they arrived in no time. Chen Xiao let the two of them out, saying, "We're going to head a bit further down. Let's split up for now."