Saturday was spent entirely on eating, drinking and enjoying themselves.

When they got back to the hotel that evening, Xu Ye and Qin Zhiwei collapsed onto the beds in unison, faces empty of any will to live.

Qin Zhiwei said feebly, "Xu Ye, tomorrow let's just stay in the hotel. Whatever we do, let's not go out — they can keep going forever."

"Great minds think alike."

"Did you leave the high school group?"

"Ages ago. Why?"

Qin Zhiwei laughed. "Nothing much. Somebody mentioned you in there, said you'd forgotten your old classmates. And there's another thing."

Xu Ye: "Say it all in one go."

Qin Zhiwei said, "Gu Mengyao seems to have found herself a rich kid for a boyfriend. She hasn't brought it up in the group herself — it's Liu Qian who keeps mentioning it."

"What the hell has that got to do with me?"

Qin Zhiwei went on quickly, "And... Shen Xinyi suddenly asked me today whether you'd ever been in a relationship."

Xu Ye sat up on the bed, perfectly serious. "What did you tell her?"

"I said you hadn't. You chased Gu Mengyao in high school and never got anywhere."

"Good man."

"Somebody's been stirring up the idea of a class reunion in there again lately. Xie Hong and Jiang Lei are leading it — those two dipshits. Neither of them got into university, so one went and trained as a mechanic and the other got his license and drives a heavy truck with his father now. They've got nothing better to do all day than yap in the group."

Xu Ye laughed. "Just ignore them. Three or five friends is plenty. Haven't you heard the line — you're the average of the six people closest to you?"

"The average?"

"It means that if your friends are all doing well, chances are you are too, and if your friends are useless, then you're definitely useless as well. That's why so many people fight so hard to squeeze into higher circles once they're out in the world."

Xu Ye paused, then said, "That reminds me…