Reborn in 2011, I am the chief designer of aerospace.

Song Xingye laughed and said, "I am the real Great Sage. Actually, your son has always been this talkative, you just didn't notice before."

Li Chunxia smiled kindly, then changed the subject, "Did you have a girl you liked in college? You've been studying at Jiaotong University for eight years, haven't you been attracted to any of them?"

She paused, her tone earnest: "Everyone says the girls in Shanghai are beautiful, but I don't hold you back in that regard. If you really find someone you like, even if they're local, your dad and I can scrape together the down payment for a house in Shanghai..."

Song Xingye interrupted her reverie, "Oh, don't worry about it. What's meant to be will be, right?"

Li Chunxia laughed, ruffled her son's hair, and said, "Your childhood friend Sun Peng is almost engaged, and you've only just started working... I heard that Dongyu Group is so busy all year round. If you don't hurry up, you might not be able to get married until after you're thirty!"

"Don't worry, it definitely won't delay your grand plan to have a grandson."

Song Xingye changed the subject, "Also, remember to get a full physical exam at the hospital every year. Don't take your health for granted."

"Okay, okay, Mom got it!"

Li Chunxia smiled slightly, picked up a long cardboard box from the table, took out a few tissues, and handed them to her son to wipe his mouth.

After finishing their melon, Song Xingye tidied up the bed in the room with his mother. They found a bunch of old clothes and toys from his childhood in an old box under the bed.

He sat on the ground, fiddling with things with great interest for a long time, and even went to great lengths to put on a junior high school uniform for his mother, which made Li Chunxia laugh out loud.

After that, Song Xingye slept like a log for several days, only getting up when the sun was high in the sky, as if he wanted to make up for all the energy he had overdrawn during the summer vacation at the Starry Sky Summer Camp.

That night, he slept soundly until dark before leaving his room. After dinner, he sat in the living room with his father to watch a movie.

The old DVD player was still sitting under the TV cabinet.

Song Xingye hadn't touched such an old relic for many years. He stared at those buttons for a long time, trying to recall what they were, and was then scolded by Song Zhenhua with a laugh, who said, "You've gone stupid from reading too much."

The disc tray slowly slid in, the opening credits of "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" flashed by, and soon the familiar faces of Jet Li and Zhou Xun appeared on the screen.

While the father and son were engrossed in watching, Li Chunxia called her father from the kitchen to get some boiling water.

Song Zhenhua nudged his son with his elbow, "Go ahead."

Li Chunxia immediately rolled up her sleeves and poked her head out of the kitchen: "Our son finally comes home, why are you making him suffer? Old man, you do it!"

Song Zhenhua muttered something reluctantly, then got up to get some hot water.

Just then, the phone rang in the living room.

Song Xingye picked up the receiver, and a familiar loud voice came from the other end.

Unexpectedly, it was my childhood friend Sun Peng, whom I hadn't seen in a long time, who called.

The other party didn't expect to find the real target so easily, and immediately excitedly invited him out for drinks.

Song Xingye was getting a bit moldy from staying at home all the time, so he readily agreed.

When his father came home, Song Xingye handed him the remote control, stood up, and asked, "Dad, where's the mountain bike I rode in high school?"

Mr. Song thought for a moment, then said, "The car has been moved to the basement. What, do you need it?"

Song Xingye nodded, went to get the basement key, and then found a rag to wipe the dust. "I'll go out and see some friends tomorrow."

……

The next day, Song Xingye found a Western restaurant at the address given by Sun Peng.

Pushing open the door to the private room, the lively scene inside startled him slightly—

There were at least seven or eight people sitting there.

This surprised Song Xingye, who thought it was his childhood friend inviting him for drinks alone.

Upon closer inspection, besides Sun Peng, there were quite a few junior high school classmates as well.

He and Sun Peng were childhood friends, having been classmates since kindergarten until they graduated from junior high school.

But these junior high school classmates had long since become blurred in Song Xingye's long life memories.

Upon seeing him, Sun Peng stood up triumphantly to greet him, first giving him a big bear hug, then shouting, "Classmates, our top student from Class 3 of '98 is here! Give him a warm welcome, clap clap!"

Song Xingye waved his hand dismissively and said, "What academic genius? Don't talk nonsense."

He was, after all, a prominent figure in his former class, so his appearance instantly created a small climax in the private room, with everyone taking the initiative to stand up and greet him.

"Song, the academic genius, is here?"

"You're late! Time for a penalty drink!"

"Squad Leader Song, long time no see! Where have you been working lately?"

"How come the class monitor is still so handsome? I'm starting to go bald!"

"It's been ten years since we last saw each other..."

"Sun Peng has a lot of influence; I've never seen the class monitor attend a class reunion before..."

Song Xingye patiently exchanged pleasantries with them one by one, and the lively atmosphere finally subsided after a while.

Sun Peng warmly greeted him, "Come sit here, I've already opened the beer for you."

At this moment, the door to the private room was pushed open again.

The other person immediately spotted Song Xingye and said somewhat flippantly, "Oh my god, it really is you! I was wondering why I saw that guy locking up his bike by the door who looked familiar. I didn't expect it to be our top student Song. Long time no see!"

Song Xingye didn't immediately recall the name, but after Sun Peng whispered a reminder in his ear, he vaguely remembered that the person's name was Xiao Ran.

This guy seems to have harbored considerable hostility towards me since middle school, and tracing back to the source...

It seems that his academic excellence always overshadowed his status as a rich second-generation, not to mention the sensational candlelight confession that shocked the entire school back then.

The girl's casual remark, "Sorry, I like someone like Class Monitor Song," completely humiliated Xiao Ran.

Sun Peng nudged Song Xingye and muttered, "Damn, why did Xiao Ran show up uninvited? I swear I didn't invite him, I don't know which gossip let it slip!"

Song Xingye lowered his eyes, sipped his tea, and shook his head, showing no sign of blaming him.

"This guy showed up uninvited, he's definitely up to no good. Maybe we should just leave. These kinds of gatherings are pretty pointless anyway, no need to waste time with someone like Xiao Ran..."

Sun Peng made the proposal sincerely.

Song Xingye smiled and said, "It's alright. Since we're here, let's make the best of it. It's been a lot of years since we last met, so catching up won't hurt."

As they were talking, Xiao Ran sat down casually and began to speak with a smile:

"Hoshino, I heard you're graduating soon? Where are you planning to work?"

"You haven't graduated yet?" a classmate exclaimed in surprise.

"They're pursuing a PhD! Don't they understand what a high achiever is? What's wrong with studying for a few more years?"

Xiao Ran feigned agreement, but was actually being sarcastic, "But it really did take a long time to finish reading, huh? We've all been working for several years now, and Hoshino hasn't even left the beginner's village yet, haha."

Sun Peng said somewhat discontentedly, "Why are you so concerned about whether someone graduates or not?"

"I'm just showing concern out of friendship with an old classmate!"

Xiao Ran chuckled and continued, "What was Hoshino's major again? Oh, aerospace engineering, right?"

"Aerospace Science and Technology," Song Xingye corrected casually.

"Oh, well, that's pretty much the gist of it. You're going to build rockets after graduation, right? If you ask me, with all your talent, you're wasting your potential by working for a military-industrial complex. These days, rocket builders aren't as well-off as those selling tea eggs. A friend told me that in those kinds of organizations, you spend more time writing PowerPoint presentations than doing research and development."

Xiao Ran spoke fluently, sounding every bit the industry insider, "Out of 365 days a year, I spend about 300 days preparing reports, going through procedures, and signing and stamping documents. And with overtime every day, I can't even go home, and I don't even get much money. If you include overtime, my hourly wage isn't even as high as a restaurant server's, is it?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Peng's expression changed instantly.

The private room quieted down, and the surrounding classmates exchanged glances, looking back and forth between Xiao Ran and Song Xingye, making the atmosphere somewhat awkward.

Seeing Song Xingye still drinking tea expressionlessly, Xiao Ran felt as if he had punched a cotton ball, and then increased the pressure:

"What, am I wrong? Hoshino, how about you tell me the salary and benefits at your Dongyu Group? You're not telling me that's confidential too, are you? Haha?"

Song Xingye put down his teacup, his expression calm. "There's nothing to be ashamed of. An annual salary of 200,000 yuan, plus residency permit, social insurance, and housing fund benefits. Understand?"

"20? Ha!"

Xiao Ran chuckled upon hearing this, looking at Song Xingye with a slightly condescending expression.

"You've studied for so many years, even earned a PhD, and this is all you get? This amount isn't even as high as the starting salary for a fresh graduate with a bachelor's degree at Xingkai Group!"

"Xiao Ran!" Sun Peng slammed his hand on the table.

Xiao Ran ignored him and said to himself, "Xingye, why don't you try working at Xingkai Group? The salary here is high. They can easily pay you 500,000 a year."

"After you work for a few years, your salary might catch up with mine. You can help me out then. Your old classmate definitely trusts your abilities..."