Chapter 252: Chapter 144: He, Xu Yun, Doesn’t Want to Flex, Unless He’s Forced To

"Xu Yun."

Gao Wenwen smiled. "It’s been so many years. You’ve gotten more and more handsome."

"You too. You’ve gotten prettier."

Lin Xi looked at Xu Yun and said softly, "Xu Yun, long time no see."

’Back in high school, when faced with the affection of both the class president, Zhu Jingheng, and Xu Yun, she had actually preferred Xu Yun.’

’It was because he was handsome, after all.’

’But back then, Zhu Jingheng’s family was better off than his, and his grades were better too. Aside from his average looks, he was a decent choice.’

’So after the college entrance exams, after weighing all the factors, she had rationally chosen Zhu Jingheng.’

’However, their relationship only lasted for one semester of their freshman year before they broke up due to the long distance.’

’Nothing even happened between them!’

As for Lin Xi, she had been picky in college and found a great, high-quality guy, dating him for over three years.

She thought they would get married right after graduation, but he ended up dumping her.

The reason was that his mother had hired someone to read their fortunes and was told their birth charts were incompatible.

’How ironic and absurd!’

So, she had been single ever since graduation, working as a doctor in a hospital.

Although Zhu Jingheng had been pursuing her relentlessly, she had never said yes. She wanted to wait and see if someone better would come along.

’To be honest, she was quite happy to see Xu Yun again.’

’It also brought back a lot of feelings.’

"Long time no see, Lin Xi," Xu Yun said with a smile.

Seeing the ’white moonlight’ of his high school days again, he felt not a single ripple in his heart.

’He even felt that she wasn’t as good-looking as she used to be.’

’Any of the women around him now were just as beautiful, if not more so.’

"Alright, let’s head in first," Zheng Yi said. "We can chat while we hike."

"I’ll go buy the tickets."

Eager to show off, Zhu Jingheng spoke up. "Everyone, give me your IDs."

"Okay." Everyone handed him their IDs.

When it was Xu Yun’s turn, he smiled and said, "Class President, you don’t need to get mine. I already bought one."

"Oh, you. It would have been better to wait and buy them with us," Zhu Jingheng said. "You’ve finally come back for a visit, and you won’t even give me a chance to treat you."

"Next time, there’ll be other chances."

After buying the tickets, the group entered the scenic area and walked along the path to a ferry dock inside.

The ferry was free.

They had to take the ferry across the river to the opposite bank before they could start their hike for the day.

A few minutes later, they arrived on the other side and saw a sign: [Taoyuan Mountain This Way.]

The entire trail up Taoyuan Mountain was 7.5 kilometers long and usually took about four to five hours to climb. The path wasn’t in great condition.

The most famous sections were the 72 consecutive switchbacks and the Perilous Stone Bird Path.

So, before setting off, Zheng Yi bought everyone a hiking pole and also prepared dry rations and water.

Each person’s backpack weighed at least five and a half pounds.

Once everyone was ready, they began the ascent.

At first, everyone was in high spirits and full of energy, especially since the path was still relatively flat.

So they were able to chat as they walked.

Of the five people on the trail, the other four were quite familiar with each other’s basic situations. The only one they knew nothing about was Xu Yun.

He had rarely contacted anyone since high school graduation.

He never attended the annual class reunions either.

Today was the first time most of them had seen him since graduation.

Zhu Jingheng was the first to ask, "Xu Yun, after graduating from college, which big city are you in now?"

"Jiangcheng."

"A good place."

Zhu Jingheng replied insincerely before continuing, "So what kind of work do you do?"

"I used to be a low-level employee at a media company," Xu Yun answered casually. "But I quit recently, so I’m just taking it easy."

But to the others, his words had a completely different meaning.

The current market environment was terrible. Many large factories and major corporations were ’optimizing their internal structure,’ which was really just a euphemism for layoffs.

’Xu Yun was probably laid off too.’

Hearing this, Zhu Jingheng’s sense of superiority swelled.

He subconsciously glanced at Lin Xi.

Lin Xi hadn’t expected Xu Yun to be unemployed. It seemed he hadn’t been doing too well for himself all these years.

"The pace of life in big cities is fast. It’s good to come back and take a break," Lin Xi comforted him from the side. "Once you’re well-rested, you can find an even better job."

"Xu Yun, why don’t you just take the civil service exam for our county?" Zheng Yi suggested. "You won’t make a fortune, but at least you won’t be doing too badly, and the work is easy."

"Thanks, but I’ll pass," Xu Yun replied with a smile. "My ideological awareness isn’t as high as yours. I don’t want to ’serve the people’; I’d rather be one of the people you serve."

"Uh..." Zheng Yi trailed off.

"Xu Yun, if you don’t want to be a civil servant, you can ask our class president for help," Gao Wenwen said. "Our class president is doing great for himself now. He’s a filthy rich capitalist, probably worth tens of millions. It shouldn’t be hard for him to arrange some job for you in his company."

"Right, right, Mr. Class President," Zheng Yi chimed in. "How about you set something up for our Xu Yun?"

"We’re all old classmates. Since you’ve all put it this way, how could I refuse?" Zhu Jingheng smiled at Xu Yun and said, "Xu Yun, if you don’t mind, you can come work at my company. I’ll give you the five social insurances, and you’ll just be in charge of materials at my construction site. I’ll pay you 5,000 a month."

In a small county like this, there were basically no large corporations, and the business models were very simple.

Most businesses were sole proprietorships related to food, drink, and entertainment, and employee salaries were not high, generally around 2,000 to 3,000.

The only decent jobs were in the civil service, public institutions, and state-owned enterprises.

There were also some energy companies.

But for positions like those, you either had to pass an exam or have connections to get in. They were highly sought-after.

So, Zhu Jingheng’s offer of 5,000 a month was actually considered a pretty good salary for a private company.

Zhu Jingheng thought Xu Yun would accept his offer without a second thought.

But who would have known, Xu Yun didn’t even consider it and politely refused, "Thank you for the kind offer, Class President, but I just want to rest for a while. I’m not thinking about work right now."

Being rejected by Xu Yun, Zhu Jingheng felt a little displeased.

He assumed the other man thought the pay he offered was too low.

"Xu Yun, you probably don’t know," Zhu Jingheng explained. "The salaries in our small county can’t compare to the big cities. 5,000 a month isn’t low here, really. If you looked for a job on your own, a typical position wouldn’t pay this much."

"He’s right, Xu Yun," Gao Wenwen tried to persuade him. "That salary really isn’t low, and the job is cushy. Xu Yun, since you’re free anyway, you might as well take it for now."

"Really, it’s fine. I’m not that interested in construction," Xu Yun refused again.

Lin Xi thought Xu Yun was afraid of losing face by working under Zhu Jingheng. She spoke up considerately, "Class President, since Xu Yun isn’t interested in construction sites, why don’t you introduce him to another, better company?"

"Well, that’s a bit difficult," Zhu Jingheng pretended to be troubled, then said, "But since you’re the one asking, Lin Xi, I’ll give it a try. I happen to know a few bosses from other companies. After we get back today, Xu Yun, you can send me your resume, and I’ll show it to them."

"What are you all doing? You don’t actually think I had Zheng Yi deliberately invite you all out today just to help me find a job, do you?"

Xu Yun gave a helpless smile. "I really don’t need your help. I truly just came here today to hike. Zheng Yi invited me, otherwise I wouldn’t have even come. You can all stop worrying about my affairs. No matter how badly I might be doing, finding a job that pays a few thousand a month is still very simple. I haven’t fallen so low that I need to come begging you for help."

’These classmates of his... they meant well, they really did.’

’But this kindness, Xu Yun felt, was mixed with a heavy dose of pity and charity.’

’One was a civil servant, one a doctor, one a teacher at a top high school, and one a boss worth tens of millions.’

’In a small county like this, they were indeed considered part of the upper crust.’

’And him? In their eyes, he was probably just an unemployed youth, the pathetic type.’

’So when they looked at him, they couldn’t help but feel an inexplicable sense of superiority.’

’Especially Zhu Jingheng. That guy was rotten to the core.’

’He pretended to help me out of kindness, but he was actually just trying to humiliate me in front of Lin Xi!’

’He wanted to prove how outstanding he was to Lin Xi by stepping on me.’

’Childish!’

’Offering me 5,000 a month?’

’Who is he trying to insult?!’

’Even if I were willing to agree, my System probably wouldn’t!’

’But then again, one should judge actions, not intentions.’

’No matter what his motives or psychological reasons were, the result was that he was, in fact, helping me.’

’If I really were an unemployed youth, his "kindness" would have genuinely been a help.’

’That was why he didn’t just shut him down on the spot.’

’He, Xu Yun, didn’t want to flex, unless his hand was forced!’