Dragon Clan: Avoid the College Entrance Examination to Slay the Dragon

Chapter 22 Dinner Party
May 2008, 8 sunny
Lu Mingfei was engulfed in a heat wave the moment he stepped out of the convenience store. Sunlight pierced his hair, burning his scalp like countless needles. He squinted his eyes, stung by the glare, and formed a makeshift shelter at his brow with his right hand.

"then!"

He suddenly raised his hand and threw it, and the milky white object wrapped in cold air drew a bright parabola in the air. Gu Yi subconsciously opened his five fingers and caught the ice cream flying towards him.

Lu Mingfei leaned against the scorching railing. "As for me..." he said, dragging out the last syllable as he bit open the wrapping paper. "I only like March and April. I hate the other months equally."

"Why?" Gu Yi used his teeth to tear open the edge of the frost-covered packaging, and cold mist curled up from the crack. He was a little confused. It had only been three days since he last saw Lu Mingfei, so what was wrong with him?

Lu Mingfei was struggling with the melting butter, the sugary liquid sliding down his fingers to his wrist: "Because the temperature in these two months is like that prepared for living people."

"What about October and November in the fall?"

"Ah~" Lu Mingfei licked the ice cream with the tip of his tongue, and the coldness made him arch his back and shudder. He raised his middle finger to Gu Yi, "Don't argue. Do you believe that the autumn heat in October can kill people? By the way, how is your grandfather doing in BJ?"

Gu Yi paused chewing and said, "He's settled in. He's in the intensive care unit, with dedicated care and constant temperature and humidity. I went back and there's nothing wrong."

"They are willing to invest." Lu Mingfei said vaguely.

"Favors must be repaid."

Gu Yi looked up at the spire of the Gothic building across the street. The stained glass windows refracted the sunlight into seven prisms. "Have you been to the Regent Hotel?"

"My cousin's birthday party was held here before." Lu Mingfei suddenly stood up straight as if he had received an electric shock. "Hey! Don't mention the time I broke the crystal glass!"

"Do you need me to help you save a seat next to Chen Wenwen?" Gu Yi chuckled as he looked at the hotel's golden revolving door.

"Get out!" Lu Mingfei's face instantly turned redder than the sunset glow, and the rhythm of his shoes slapping the ground suddenly increased. The two figures disappeared into the cold light of the glass curtain wall.

The elevator door slid open silently on the sixth floor, and the light from the crystal chandelier poured down. Gu Yi narrowed his eyes, and the Venetian glass lamps hanging from the dome cast shimmering light on the dome.

The two walked to a door. When it opened, the round mahogany table, seating twenty, looked like a solitary island floating in a sea of ​​stars. Zhao Menghua's high-definition projector cast the gilded emblem of "Shilan Middle School" onto the carpet, creating ripples as they walked.

"Brother Lu, you really brought Gu Yi here!" Xu Yanyan, who was leaning against the door, slapped the table, causing the bone china tableware to clink.

Lu Mingfei forced a standard smile and made an awkward salute with his index finger next to his temple.

Gu Yi's gaze swept across the round table. Chen Wenwen sat to Zhao Menghua's right. A mist rose from the white porcelain cup in front of her, shrouding her book cover in a blurry mass of color. "Is anyone here?" Lu Mingfei pulled Gu Yi to a stop beside Su Xiaoqiang. The girl's Chanel No. 5 perfume mingled with the sweet aroma of ice wine.

The little angel shook her champagne glass and said, "This is a special seat reserved for you two."

A silver spoon suddenly made a resonant sound against the rim of a bone china cup. Chen Wenwen stood up, pressing her aquamarine dress. The light from the crystal chandelier reflected a soft shimmer on her collarbone. Under the floral hem that rose and fell with her breathing, her slender ankles shone like pearls in her beige sandals.

"Now that everyone's here, I'd like to say a few words as the study committee member," her voice flowed like a spring stream over pebbles. "After summer vacation, we'll be in our senior year. In this final year, everyone should push each other to be there, don't be late for morning reading, and don't sneak off to internet cafes for evening study. I hope that by this time next year, we'll all be in our ideal universities. Thank you all."

The applause immediately spread across the box like a rising tide. Gu Yi noticed that Lu Mingfei was clapping particularly hard, and the blush on his palms spread all the way to behind his ears.

"Everyone, use your chopsticks!" Zhao Menghua tapped the turntable with his fingers, and the sound of porcelain spoons colliding instantly drowned out the hum of the central air conditioning. Xu Yanyan was poking lobster salad with a fork and arguing with Xu Miaomiao about the favorites to win the Premier League this year.

"I heard from Lu Mingfei that you're going abroad?" Zhao Menghua suddenly turned to Gu Yi, holding a red wine glass, the deep red wine swirling between his fingers, creating a dark undercurrent. The clinking of knives and forks on the table abruptly stopped, and seventeen gazes converged on him like searchlights.

Gu Yi caught a glimpse of Lu Mingfei innocently stuffing mango mousse into his mouth, forgetting to wipe the cream off the corners of his lips.

"Yes, I'll be leaving in two days."

"Which school?" Xu Miaomiao's fork was suspended in the air, and the tuna sashimi fell into the mustard dish with a plop.

"Kassel Academy."

The round table fell into a strange silence, "Why haven't we heard of this?" someone whispered. Liu Miaomiao had secretly opened the mobile browser under the table.

"It's outside Chicago." Zhao Menghua swirled his red wine glass. "I heard you have to verify your qualifications before you can get in? I saw an interview with their board of directors in the Wall Street Journal last year. It's definitely an elite school."

Gu Yi slowly stood up, his slender fingers grasping the slender waist of the goblet, "I don't know their admissions standards, but thank you."

Zhao Menghua laughed and said, "To the one who escaped the misery of the college entrance examination early, I salute you."

The two wine glasses clinked together.

"Gu Yi, when you become the Wolf of Wall Street, don't forget your old classmates!" Xu Yanyan suddenly howled, and the whole table erupted in laughter. Lu Mingfei joined in the laughter, clapping his hands on the table. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Chen Wenwen dabbing the water stains from the cover of Stray Birds with a tissue, her spring-like profile reflected in the shimmering red wine.

(End of this chapter)