Chapter 100

"Dean Yin, did you call for me?"

Samson Nan knocked gently and pushed open the office door.

"Ah, Samson Nan, please sit~"

Dean Yin waved at him.

"Oh... Did you need something from me?"

He paced a few steps and sat down on the sofa next to him.

"No, I just wanted to chat with you."

"..."

Dean Yin said as he put a stack of documents on the desk and turned to look at him.

"How's work been lately?"

"Work? It's been fine..."

He paused for a moment and looked up.

"Really? But I heard... you haven't been in a good state recently? It seems like your proposal from the other day didn't pass?"

"..."

Samson Nan hesitated and thought for a moment before standing up again.

"Sorry, Dean Yin... If I've caused any loss to our department, I'll take the responsibility..."

"No, no, that's not what I mean~"

Dean Yin waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit down.

"He's not a robot, how can he not make mistakes in his work!"

...

"What's wrong? Are you having any trouble recently?"

"No..."

He forced a smile and shook his head.

"It's my own fault, I'll be fine after a while..."

"Heh, that's good then."

Dean Yin smiled and continued, "Besides, I want to discuss something else with you."

"What is it?"

"Well..."

Dean Yin stood up, walked over and closed the office door.

Then he came back and sat next to him.

He lowered his voice slightly and said, "Our department is planning to open a branch in another city."

"Another city...? That's great."

"Yes, the preliminary preparations and local connections are almost done. It will start operating as early as the end of this year or at the latest next year. We are still missing a person in charge, though..."

While Dean Yin was speaking, he scratched his head.

"As you know, our company is currently not doing well. The older group is basically in a retirement state and not motivated to work, while the younger group is too young to rely on..."

"Ha..."

He replied with a sound, probably guessing what Dean Yin was going to say next.

"During yesterday's meeting, I discussed with several senior executives and thought that the person who can handle this position now is..."

"Dean Yin."

Although it was a little impolite, he interrupted Dean Yin, who was about to speak.

"Sorry, but... I can't go."

"Huh? Why?"

Dean Yin probably didn't expect him to say this and looked at him with surprise.

"Samson Nan, this kind of opportunity is rare! Have you thought it through?"

"Yes..."

He didn't hesitate much and nodded.

"Maybe you should reconsider? If it's because of family reasons, I can call your dad to discuss it."

"Dean Yin, I appreciate your kindness... but..."

He said with a hint of helplessness in his smile.

"I don't want to go anywhere for now..."

"Is there something that's keeping you from leaving?"

"Sort of~"

"I see... that's a pity. Let's not rush into conclusions though. After all, I haven't mentioned it to you before. Just take your time and think about it."

"Okay..."

Although he thought there was no need to reconsider, he still nodded.

...

When he came out of the office,

He realized that countless pairs of eyes were staring at him. But as soon as they saw him coming out, they quickly returned to their seats.

"..."

He felt a bit uncomfortable and walked to his own seat.

"Samson Nan..."

Just as he sat down, Li Xing next to him quietly called him.

"I heard you're getting promoted?"

"..."

After glancing at Li Xing, he focused his gaze back on the computer screen.

"Who told you that..."

"You don't know? Since this morning, everyone in the company has been talking about it. Why else would the dean call you over?"

"..."

He was speechless, realizing that he was the last person to know about this...

"No~ I just got scolded, that's all..."

Since he had already refused, it was unnecessary to bring it up again.

"Hey, bro, it's not right for you to keep quiet and get rich, don't forget where you came from, have you heard of that?"

"I haven't..."

He typed on the keyboard while speaking.

"I'm telling you, when you first came to the company, you were just a trembling little rookie, who was the one who taught you step by step?"

"Brother Xing, you've worked so hard."

"Hehe, so when you take off, don't forget about your brother Xing."

"......"

"And..."

Ding ding ding

Just as Li Xingchang was thinking about his grand blueprints, Samson Nan's phone rang.

"Answer the phone."

He smiled and walked past him.

Finally, he could take a breath...

He walked to the balcony.

"Hello?"

"Samson Nan? Are you at work?"

William Wei's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Oh, what's up?"

"Just now, Lao He called me."

"Lao He..."

He was stunned for a moment. Lao He, mentioned by William Wei, was their former basketball team captain in high school.

"What's the matter?"

"He just finished his military service and came back. He wants us to meet up."

"Oh, I see... when?"

"Later this afternoon, it's the group of people from our school team. Are you free?"

"Today... let me think."

He thought for a moment.

"Okay, where?"

"6 o'clock, at the school gate."

"The school?"

"Yeah, Lao He said he wants to go see the old basketball court."

"Hmm..."

He sighed.

When did that rough captain become so nostalgic...

"Alright, let's contact each other later."

After saying that, he hung up the phone.

Come to think of it, since graduation, they haven't had much contact with each other.

As time went by, some of them even became unrecognizable.

There have been a lot of annoying things recently, so it's nice to be able to meet and chat like this...

...

They agreed to meet at 6 o'clock, but when he arrived at the school gate, there was no one there.

Only then did he suddenly remember something...

He had forgotten the usual habit of those guys on the team, whether it was training or gathering, they were never on time...

As it approached 6:10, the school bell rang and students began to leave the school gate... still no one had come.

He glanced at his cellphone screen. They had just created a group chat, and everyone in it said things like "coming soon," "stuck in traffic," "five minutes..." and so on.

...

...

He didn't expect anything else. There was nothing he could do but stand here and wait.

With that thought, he unconsciously looked up.

A person with a backpack walked out of the school gate.

"..."

He hesitated, took a step back and stood behind an electric pole, looking at her.

It was Raina Nan, burying her head, looking at her phone while walking.

"Can you show me the way..."

He muttered to himself in a low voice.

He couldn't remember how many times he had said this to her, but it was probably a habit that couldn't be changed...

"What are you looking at?"

At this moment, someone tapped him from behind.

"Damn, you scared me..."

He turned around and it turned out to be William Wei.

Furrowing his brows, he looked suspiciously at Samson Nan.

"Why are you hiding here alone?"

"Oh... just looking around."

He glanced with the corner of his eye, she had already disappeared from his sight.

Feeling relieved, he turned his head.

"We agreed on 6 o'clock, where is everyone?"

"Come on, you know them well. When making plans with this group of idiots, being half an hour late is common sense, right?"

William Wei looked at him as if it was a matter of fact.

"..."

"Who are you calling idiots?"

At this moment, a loud voice came from behind William Wei.

"Old He!"

Standing in front of them was Old He, whom they hadn't seen in several years.

Although he had gained some muscle since high school, he still looked the same.

With his green stubble and a familiar pair of ripped jeans, it seemed that his years of military service hadn't worn away his unique personality...

"Hey, isn't this Samson Nan?"

"What's up?"

He looked up at Old He, who was a head taller than him.

"Hey, I mean, we haven't seen each other in years, and your reaction is so cold?"

He said, pressing his large hand, capable of grabbing a basketball, against his head.

Old He was straightforward and didn't have any hidden motives. He treated everyone like brothers, so he had a good reputation.

Being a year older than Samson Nan and William Wei, he had always looked out for them like younger brothers both on and off the court when they were in high school.

They still remembered the day Old He left, when everyone from the basketball team went to the train station to see him off. If they remembered correctly, even William Wei cried like a girl that day...

"Welcome back, Old He~"

After a pause,

he finally smiled and said so.

"Hehe~"

Old He grinned.

Then he took out a pack of cigarettes from his bag and handed one to him.

"You want one?"

"Uh, I quit smoking..."

He hesitated and shook his head.

"Oh? Why? Are you having a baby?"

Old He smirked and nudged him with his elbow.

"No, it's been a long time since I quit..."

"Haha, don't even try to persuade him~ this guy has been banned from smoking by his sister~"

While lighting his cigarette, William Wei laughed.

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah, this guy is such a wimp. He doesn't even dare to smoke secretly, afraid of being caught by his sister~"

"Tsk..."

Samson Nan clicked his tongue and glanced at William Wei.

"Is that true?"

As soon as Old He heard this, he became interested.

"Haha, you're still being controlled by your little wife?"

"..."

He went speechless. Explaining would only make things worse, so he decided to keep his mouth shut.

...

"Damn it... Where the hell are these bastards? Why haven't they shown up yet?"

Old He complained and took out his phone.

Just five minutes ago, he was one of these bastards too.

Taking a deep drag on his cigarette, he typed a message on the screen and sent it to the group:

"Listen up, if anyone doesn't make it here within 5 minutes, I'll accompany them to have two drinks together later."

...

Anyone who knew Old He would know that those "two drinks" he mentioned could possibly mean twenty drinks.

With this threat, the effect was immediately apparent.

Within less than five minutes, people started to arrive one by one...

"Damn, can you guys be any slower?"

"Traffic, man! If I could fly, I would have been here long ago!"

Nan glanced at these faces he hadn't seen in years, most of them were people who had trained together every day before. He could still remember their names just by looking at their faces; some of them were temporary members of the team who hadn't stayed long, they looked familiar, but he couldn't remember their names.

It was amazing that Old He could call out all these people.

Since most of them were former school team members, they stood tall and strong at the school gate, causing passing students to take a glance in their direction.

"Hey, Old He, you called us out but didn't allow us to bring women. It's no fun having a bunch of guys only~"

"That's right!"

The group complained.

Because Old He had notified in the group that family members were not allowed, and that without any women present, the guys could have more fun...

But thinking about it, it was probably because this guy hadn't found a girlfriend that he made these unreasonable rules...

"Who said that? There are girls here."

Old He raised his head and suddenly said.

"What?"

Just as the group looked at him in confusion.

"No, sorry, I'm late... huh?"

A girl appeared in front of them, panting as if she had run all the way.

Samson Nan and William Wei were stunned, looking at her.

And the boys next to them started whispering and discussing in low voices.

"Damn, a beauty...?"

"Who? Do you know her?"

"How would I know..."

"Hey, Jocelyn~ Long time no see!"

Lao He waved at the girl.

"Huh?!"

"Wait, am I hearing it right?!"

"Jocelyn York?!"

"Oh my god, is that Jocelyn York? Don't lie to me!"

As soon as they heard Jocelyn York, they exploded with excitement.

In their memories, the girl who used to be seen at the court every day didn't look like this...

Ignoring the fact that Jocelyn herself was standing in front of them, the group started discussing one after another.

"You guys are too much!!"

She stamped her foot in anger and rushed towards them.

"Is it really that strange?! A bunch of lunatics!!"

"Hey, this reaction... seems like it's really her~"

"Ah, it's really her."

"It's her, it's her~"

The boys looked at each other and said so.

"You guys...!"

"Date me!"

"Huh...?"

At this moment, a boy suddenly raised his hand and shouted loudly.

Jocelyn York was startled and took a step back.

"Huh, you didn't even recognize who she is, and you're asking her out!"

"You're the same! Damn it!"

"Stop talking nonsense~ Look, you're making her feel awkward, can't you see?"

William Wei said, standing in front of her.

"Wei ge, this is not right of you~"

"That's right, we all know you and Jocelyn are close, but you can't stop a girl from pursuing her own happiness, like me, for example, a handsome guy~"

The boys said, running their hands through their hair.

"Huh, I'm wondering if you really don't know or if you're pretending not to know? Jocelyn has had feelings for someone for a long time~"

"Huh?!"

As William Wei said that, they were all dumbfounded.

"Right?"

He said, turning his head to look at Samson Nan.

And everyone's gaze shifted towards him.

Jocelyn York's face instantly turned red, she fumbled her words, and glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Ah...?"

Samson Nan was stunned, swallowed his saliva.

...

"Samson Nan~~"

"You brave little guy~~"

A group of people walked towards him, rubbing their hands, breathing heavily.