"That much is true," Zhao Xiaoyan admitted with a nod, though inwardly she thought: Enjoy it I did, but the price you paid for it was a bit steep.

"So then, this stays between us. Don't breathe a word of it to my cousin, or you'll be sorry," Zou Ruoguang warned again, afraid she might let something slip.

"Don't worry, Brother Zou, I won't say a word," Zhao Xiaoyan said, thinking to herself that even if he begged her to tell, she wouldn't—did he take her for a fool? If she opened her mouth, she'd surely come to a bad end.

"Good. Then I'm reassured." Zou Ruoguang nodded. "Let's nail down the finer details."

Wei Jin climbed off Sister Gu without ceremony, glanced at the time, and saw that it was nearly time for the class reunion. He dressed, gave Sister Gu a pat on the back, and said, "I'll come find you tonight."

"Mm, I'll be waiting," Sister Gu said languidly from the bed.

Wei Jin left Sister Gu's room and dropped by Room 318, where Zou Ruoguang was staying, and happened to find Zou Ruoguang and Zhao Xiaoyan hashing out the details. Pleased, he said, "Thanks for your hard work, both of you. Rest easy—once this is done, I won't treat anyone shabbily."

"Come on," Zou Ruoguang said with a dismissive wave. "We're family—what's all this talk of 'anyone'? Don't worry, cousin. I guarantee you'll be satisfied."

"Good, then. Before the show starts, I'll call and let you know. For now, get some rest and save your strength so you can put on a good performance for me." Wei Jin nodded, then stood. "I'll be off, then. My classmates will be arriving any minute, so I won't keep you company, cousin."

"All right, don't worry. We'll be in touch by phone." Zou Ruoguang was delighted—this spare time would let him have a few more rounds with Zhao Xiaoyan.

Today's reunion was being hosted jointly by Wei Jin and Hong Kai, a classmate he'd been close to back in middle school. Wei Jin had just reached the entrance hall of the Xianren Resort when his phone rang—it was Hong Kai.

"Hey, buddy, where are you?" Having settled his grand scheme, Wei Jin was in high spirits, and even his voice carried a new energy.

"I'm here—Xianren Resort, right? Where are you?" Hong Kai asked.

"I'm right in the main lobby at the reception desk. Come in and you'll spot me," Wei Jin said.

"All right, let me park the car first," Hong Kai said, and hung up.

Before long, a tall man with a buzz cut pushed through the door into the Xianren Resort reception area.

"Hong Kai, over here!" Wei Jin spotted him at once and waved.

"Hey, buddy, a few days apart and you've gone and lost another ring or two!" Hong Kai spotted Wei Jin too and came striding over. The two were on good terms, so Hong Kai went straight for the joke.

"Don't get me started. Damn it, I couldn't even land a girl—I'm stewing over it, so of course I've lost weight," Wei Jin said with a grimace. He and Hong Kai had been friends for years, so he held nothing back.

"Still Liu Ting?" Hong Kai and Liu Ting had been middle school classmates too, so naturally he knew her.

"Who else?" Wei Jin shrugged and leaned back, sinking into the sofa. "I just don't get it. What am I lacking? Why is it so damn hard to chase down one girl?"

"You're not the only one. I chased Chen Shutang back in the day and never caught her, and I still can't get her out of my head," Hong Kai said with a rueful sigh.

"Hong Kai, don't tell me—after all these years, you still haven't gotten over your first love?" Wei Jin burst out laughing.

"Laugh all you want. As if you didn't chase after Chen Shutang yourself back then," Hong Kai said scornfully.

"I did chase her, sure, but I was sensible—I switched targets afterward and went after Liu Ting instead," Wei Jin said, shaking his head. "That girl Chen Shutang is completely immune to persuasion. She has no intention of dating anyone, and you know as well as I do what her old man does for a living. I was afraid if I pestered her anymore, he'd have me hauled in as a hooligan."

"That's you for you—scared of the wolf in front and the tiger behind. What's there to be afraid of? Li Yixun and I chased after her for three years and nothing happened to us," Hong Kai said smugly.

"Sure, three years of chasing and you never caught her either," Wei Jin retorted with a curl of his lip.

"All right, we're the pot calling the kettle black. You switched targets, and look how well it turned out—Liu Ting's fallen into someone else's arms too, hasn't she?" Hong Kai threw an arm around Wei Jin's shoulders and chuckled.

"Just you wait, buddy. By tomorrow at the latest, Liu Ting will have broken up with that guy," Wei Jin said smugly.

"What makes you say that?" Hong Kai asked, taken aback and puzzled.

"I'll tell you—I've already set a trap for that guy. He's finished tonight," Wei Jin said in a low voice. "I've set him up with a badger game."

"A badger game?" Hong Kai's eyes darted about. "No way—you've learned to play dirty too?"

"Heh. All's fair when a man's out to get his own," Wei Jin said with a cold laugh. "A man must fight for his own happiness—now that's a golden saying."

"But what if Liu Ting forgives the guy? You know how foolish women in love can be," Hong Kai said, a little worried.

"Heh heh. This humble strategist has a trick up his sleeve," Wei Jin said with a mysterious smile.

"Damn, just spit it out, so I can play my part when the time comes," Hong Kai said, a little put out. "Keeping secrets from your own brother, hemming and hawing just to keep me on tenterhooks?"

"Don't be angry. I'll tell you, then." Wei Jin leaned close to Hong Kai's ear and whispered, "The woman I hired has a disease."

"What disease?" Hong Kai asked.

"AIDS," Wei Jin said with a chuckle.

"Holy hell, no way—you're that ruthless?" Hong Kai said in astonishment. "I never would've guessed, Wei Jin. You've really come up in the world, buddy. I'm happy for you."

"That's right," Wei Jin said with a nod. "I was just too nice before—that's how that guy managed to snatch Liu Ting from me. Otherwise I'd have just forced myself on her and gotten it over with. Liu Ting's family isn't like Chen Shutang's—no big connections behind her, so she wouldn't be hard to handle. Besides, I wasn't going to toy with her. I truly wanted to make a go of it with her."

"That was a clever move of yours," Hong Kai said with genuine admiration. "Now, whether Liu Ting forgives that kid or not, you hold all the cards. If she doesn't forgive him, fine, forget it. But if she does, you let slip that the girl's an AIDS patient and see whether Liu Ting still dares stay with him."

"Hong Kai, you know me better than anyone," Wei Jin said with a nod. The two of them burst out laughing at the same time.

"By the way, is Chen Shutang coming to the class reunion today?" After they finished laughing, Hong Kai suddenly thought of something and asked in a lowered voice.

"Chen Shutang? I honestly didn't notice. Come on, man, don't tell me you're still hung up on her?" Wei Jin was a little incredulous. How many years had it been? How could the guy be this devoted?

"Aren't you the same about Liu Ting?" Hong Kai shot back.

"That's different. Liu Ting and I are classmates in university now. You and Chen Shutang haven't seen each other in years," Wei Jin said, unconvinced.

"Hey, you have no idea how beautiful Chen Shutang is now. Even prettier than before. You could call her the beauty of the city and not be exaggerating," Hong Kai said.

"How would you know? You've seen her again since then?" Wei Jin asked.

"Not in person, but I've seen photos. Doesn't our class have a QQ group? I found Chen Shutang's QQ number in there and sneaked into her profile space. That's how I saw her photos," Hong Kai said quietly.

"Damn, you really are a closet pervert. But wait, I remember her space had a password," Wei Jin blurted out.

"And you call me a closet pervert? How do you know her space had a password?" Hong Kai shot back sarcastically.