Duàn Xiū smiled brilliantly. As a young man full of youthful vigor, his smile made many girls nearby feel a flutter in their hearts.
"It's been a few years, hasn't it?" Lou Yùmíng scanned him from head to toe. Except for growing a bit taller, nothing else had changed.
Duàn Xiū scratched his head. "I haven't seen you since I went abroad in my second year of high school. By the way, why are you here?"
Lou Yùmíng flicked the ash from his cigarette. "Why shouldn't I be here?"
It wasn't that he couldn't be, but in Duàn Xiū's memory, Lou Yùmíng had always disliked attending such events, and it didn't suit his status.
"Are you staying this time, or leaving again?" Lou Yùmíng glanced at his watch and asked casually.
"Probably... not leaving."
Duàn Xiū wasn't sure. If his mother hadn't forced him, he would have wanted to have fun abroad for a few more years. He didn't understand why, at twenty, his mother was in such a hurry to get him married. Uncle Lou hadn't even married yet!
Duàn Xiū secretly looked at Lou Yùmíng.
He thought to himself how Uncle Lou seemed to have found the elixir of immortality. He looked the same now as he did when he was a child, completely unchanged. The aura he exuded was even more chilling.
Duàn Xiū suddenly remembered the parent-teacher conference in his first year of high school, where Zhāng Qǐ had been constantly complaining that his uncle would be attending.
Duàn Xiū wasn't particularly close to Zhāng Qǐ, but he knew of him.
Several times, as Duàn Xiū passed behind Zhāng Qǐ and his group of friends, he could hear them complaining about Zhāng Qǐ's uncle. They said he was like a devil, always meddling in things, and that their home felt like an ice cave whenever he returned.
Lou Yùmíng's reputation was well-known in their circle. With Zhāng Qǐ's embellishments, Duàn Xiū felt it was best to stay away from Lou Yùmíng.
Unexpectedly, on the day of the parent-teacher conference, Duàn Xiū's parents couldn't make it due to work, and he felt a bit disappointed. Zhāng Qǐ, meanwhile, was incessantly grumbling about Lou Yùmíng, finding him annoying.
Somehow, the conversation reached Lou Yùmíng's ears. Perhaps he hadn't heard it at all.
Duàn Xiū still remembered the scene: the handsome man, impeccably dressed in a suit, standing at the doorway. Those deep, dark eyes swept over him and stopped.
Duàn Xiū's heart skipped a beat.
The next moment, a cold voice spoke, "Duàn Xiū, I'm here on behalf of his parents."
Duàn Xiū was stunned. The people around him were also taken aback.
Zhāng Qǐ, in particular, looked as if his eyes were about to pop out.
From that day on, Duàn Xiū became the target of Zhāng Qǐ's teasing.
But fortunately, the Duàn family was considered a prominent one in A City, so apart from verbal taunts, Zhāng Qǐ didn't dare to do anything more.
His thoughts snapped back to the present. Duàn Xiū looked at Lou Yùmíng. These years of training abroad were all in his desire to become a man like Uncle Lou! Uncle Lou was his idol! He wondered if Uncle Lou was married yet. He probably wasn't; his mother hadn't mentioned it. However, he had heard from people in their circle that Zhāng Qǐ had gotten a girl pregnant and was now sent abroad by his grandmother...
"Is there something else?"
Seeing Duàn Xiū staring at him, Lou Yùmíng frowned.
Duàn Xiū smiled. "Uncle Lou, do you have a girlfriend now?"
"What, are you going to introduce me to someone?" Lou Yùmíng's lips curled slightly as he crushed his cigarette and casually tossed it into the trash can.
Judging by his words, it seemed he didn't have one.
Duàn Xiū breathed a sigh of relief. It was normal for Uncle Lou to be unmarried at his age, but he genuinely couldn't imagine what kind of woman would be worthy of him.
"How much longer?"
Lou Yùmíng glanced at his watch and realized only ten minutes had passed. A hint of impatience flickered across his features.
Duàn Xiū, being clever, said, "A stand-up comedy show usually lasts 2-3 hours. It will probably be a while longer."
Lou Yùmíng's eyes widened in surprise. "You seem to know quite a bit."
A flicker of nervousness crossed Duàn Xiū's eyes. "I read it online. I'm not interested in stand-up comedy."
"It's not very interesting indeed." Lou Yùmíng agreed with his statement, oblivious to the hint of disappointment on the young man's face standing before him.
Lou Yùmíng wasn't going to stand around like an idiot waiting. He glanced at Duàn Xiū and asked, "Have you eaten?"
Duàn Xiū wasn't actually hungry, but seeing Lou Yùmíng ask, he immediately replied, "Starving!"
"Let's go."