Chapter 11: Party Storm (Additional Chapter 3)

Li Yao have washed and freshened up, checked the time and it was only quarter past eight in the morning, still early from ten o'clock.

The hover cars were fast nowadays. Once he got on, it would only take ten minutes to get to the Dao Ming Pearl Hotel, where he lived. So, Li Yao wasn't in a hurry and logged into the game.

After a day of training with Pupil, there were only a few Exploding Sheep and Spike Traps left in his bag. Li Yao paid the leasing fee to the trainer at the crafting station and started crafting.

You can't have too many or too few of these items. Plus, they were incredibly expensive. Pupil and the Enchantress only saw the sharpness and high damage of Li Yao's Mechanical Hunter, but they had no idea that it cost him gold coins every day to maintain his character. Players typically reached level three on the fourth day of the game, but the daily income was only four or five silver coins.

The trainer didn't think much of Li Yao renting the crafting station at first, but once he saw the Exploding Sheep smoothly crafted by Li Yao one by one, he knew that Li Yao was no novice. So far, he had not seen Li Yao fail once.

Until an hour later, Li Yao had crafted hundreds of sheep.

"You're pretty good, a promising candidate. Next time I'm not around, you can use this crafting station. Just leave the leasing fee," said the trainer as he saw Li Yao leave.

"Thank you." Li Yao nodded and chose to log out.

"I will recruit two players interested in Engineering in the future. Crafting all by myself is too time consuming." Li Yao thought to himself, then changed into a clean suit and walked out.

The hover bus had its own dedicated air routes, and there were plenty of buses. After waiting for two minutes, Li Yao got on.

Looking at the holographic screen on the ceiling of the hover bus displaying promo videos of "The Ancient God World", Li Yao smirked. With the support of the country, the promotion of "The Ancient God World" was overwhelming.

It was impossible to ignore. The skyscrapers outside the window also had giant holographic screens displaying various kinds of ad content, only calming down when it finally became a real secondary world.

Pearl Hotel was one of the iconic buildings of Mingzhu City. From a distance, it looked like a towering blue dragon.

This was a building constructed by a new generation of Chinese architects using new materials, modeled after the Azure Dragon of the East.

"Li Yao, you finally came."

As soon as Li Yao appeared, a beautiful and sharp woman waved to him.

"It's been a while, Head Girl. You've become even more beautiful." Li Yao said with a smile.

"You're just trying to please me. I'm getting old, there's nothing beautiful about that." Wang Xiaolei gave a charming smile. She took Li Yao by the arm and walked into the hotel,"Let's go up quickly. Everyone who could come has come. You're the last one."

"I'm sorry. I didn't expect everyone to arrive so early." Feeling a bit hot in the face, Li Yao, despite being a resident of the city, was the last one to arrive, which was somewhat embarrassing,"I guess I was a bit careless."

"That's okay, it's only half-past nine." Wang Xiaolei led Li Yao into the elevator, pressed the button for the 105th floor, and whispered when she saw only two of them in the elevator,"Today, it is Li Haitao who paid for this meeting. It's a rare opportunity for all classmates to gather, so please stay low-key and don't create any scenes."

"Don't worry, I know what to do." Li Yao understood Wang Xiaolei's intentions. He was well aware that his old rival, Li Haitao, won't miss any opportunity to provoke him. His past life was the best proof of this.

When they first started college, although they were not fond of each other, it was because Li Yao despised how Li Haitao, despite being class monitor, depended on his father's influence. In contrast, Li Haitao disliked Li Yao for his impoverished appearance despite his numerous accolades.

The real contention between the two was mainly due to a woman, a distinguished girl named Feng Yi.

Rumor had it that Feng Yi was of mysterious origin and high status, but she was also humble and courteous, without showing off at all. As soon as she arrived at the university, she became the dream girl of a multitude of students at Huaxia University.

No other girls could challenge her status after she topped the school flower ranks. Normally, such a girl would be the common enemy of all girls, but on the contrary, many girls surrounded her and admired her.

In terms of Li Yao's conditions, there was a massive difference between him and Feng Yi. He had some achievements, but at most he was just a little handsome and didn't even qualify for the school's heartthrob. Moreover, he was from a civilian background, while she was from a noble bloodline. In terms of their statuses, one was a phoenix in the sky, the other a chicken on the ground.

This wasn't a mockery, but an unarguable fact. With the initiation of the Interstellar Project, although people were legally equal, the actual situation was rather estranged.

Such two students, although in the same class, normally wouldn't develop feelings beyond friendship.

However, during a school-organized trip to a primitive forest, after an equipment accident happened, Li Yao and Feng Yi were grouped together and got lost in the forest.

While the other students were panicking, these two worked together to lead the others back to the gathering spot safely. From then on, they got to know each other better and even started dating a year later.

Li Haitao always considered himself the most eligible boyfriend for Feng Yi. Seeing her being intimate with his enemy every day was unbearable for him.

From that point, he started obstructing Li Yao at every turn and hatched plans to ruin their relationship. However, both were rational and intelligent people, so their bond strengthened instead of weakened through these trials.

By senior year, Li Haitao had already given up hope. But when he attended a high-class banquet with his father, he saw Feng Yi being revered, and he realized her true identity.

He subsequently made such a fuss over Feng Yi that it affected Feng Yi's family. Only then did Li Yao come to know about Feng Yi's high-status background. What was even more annoying was that Feng Yi had been engaged since childhood.

He knew nothing about this. In addition to the interference from Feng Yi's fiancé's family, who even threatened Li Yao's family, this left Li Yao deeply troubled.

Under immense pressure from all sides, a disagreement between the two exploded, leading to a heated argument and cold war between them.

Both were proud and stubborn in nature. In their previous lives, even until their reincarnation, they had not made up.

In this life, it could be said that Li Yao hadn't seen Feng Yi for ten years. Seeing her again stirred a mix of emotions in him.

The two silently stared at each other for a few moments, then Li Yao smiled faintly and walked over to his close friends. Even he himself didn't know what was going through his mind at that moment.

Was the love that was ingrained in his bones still there? Li Yao was unsure. Ten years of trials and tribulations, even the sincerest feelings would fade.

Enduring love until the seas run dry and the rocks crumble, perhaps it was only possible in fairy tales. The complexity of facing an estranged love was indescribable.

"She was always full of herself in school, and even after graduation, her ego remains just as big," complained Wang Qiang, one of Li Haitao's sidekicks.

On the other side of Li Haitao, Zhang Ming sarcastically chimed in, "I think she's just looking down on us, her old classmates. She lives the closest, but she's the last to arrive."

Knowing Feng Yi's family situation, even a rich playboy like Li Haitao didn't dare to pursue her anymore. But his grudge against Li Yao never ended.

A female classmate laughed, "She's dressed so casually, she clearly looks down on us. Besides, judging by her outfit, she must not be doing well. I've always said, studying well doesn't guarantee success after graduation."

Before Li Yao could say anything, his friend Zhao Lei suddenly stood up and said loudly, "Enough, is this what a school reunion looks like to you guys?"

Zhang Ming laughed uproariously, and said loudly, "Zhao Lei is right, Li Yao is not doing it intentionally. I heard Li Yao is not doing well, he has never been to classy places like this. It's normal for him to get lost."

Some of them laughed out loud, while others looked uncomfortable. The amiable atmosphere before Li Yao arrived instantly froze and split into two factions. After all, Li Yao's supporters were no less than those of Li Haitao.

Zhao Lei was about to pound the table in anger, but Li Yao held him back, sat down calmly, and didn't bother to look at them.

"Yaozi, how can you tolerate this?" Zhao Lei was furious.

Li Yao pulled Zhao Lei back to his seat and said calmly, "Stay calm. No need to stoop to their level and downgrade ourselves to a dog's level."

Now it was Li Yao's side that burst into laughter. Even Feng Yi, who had been studying her drink, looked at Li Yao in surprise, as if she was seeing him in a new light.

The two had lived together for over two years and knew each other well. From just a single sentence, she could tell that Li Yao seemed different from before, but she couldn't quite put her finger on what had changed.

Now it was Wang Qiang's turn to be furious. He pointed at the laughing classmates and said loudly, "Don't forget that if it weren't for Haitao's influence, we wouldn't be able to gather in such a place. Do any of you have any conscience?"

Mingzhu Hotel was not a place where everyone could enter. You needed a certain social status. Upon hearing Wang Qiang's words, the faces of the others changed.

Li Yao said lightly, "I just want to clarify, is this a school reunion or someone's treat?"

Zhang Ming sneered, "Are you an idiot? Of course, it's a school reunion."

Li Yao's smile grew brighter, "That makes me even more puzzled. If it's a school reunion, then we're all the guests. I admit I can't afford to split the bill evenly, but at least I can pay for my own share. I'll settle my own bill so as not to get nagged at."

Zhao Lei laughed out loud, "I will pay for my own share too, it's better than letting others use this as an excuse to gossip about our classmates."

"I'll pay for my own too."

Suddenly, more than half of the classmates living in the dozens of rooms wanted to pay their own bill.

Li Haitao stared at Li Yao for a long while before standing up and saying loudly, "Please calm down, everyone. Trust me, I, Li Haitao, never had this intention. This banquet hall was given to me by my father after a meeting, and the bill has already been paid. We have been classmates for so many years, why are we letting this small matter strain our relationships?"

After Li Haitao finished speaking, he glared at his two sidekicks, raised his glass to Li Yao and said, "Don't mind the misunderstanding prior Yaozi, I'll punish myself with a drink, you're free to do as you wish."

Li Yao also stood up, grinned, and said, "Naturally, I won't hold a grudge against a classmate. I'll drink too."

Having said that, he drained his glass in one gulp, then sat down smiling widely. The classmates cheered for Li Yao's magnanimity.

Li Yao looked at Li Haitao, who was still holding his glass and was somewhat taken aback. In his heart, he sighed. Who doesn't know how to put on a show? Against me, with ten years of social experience, Li Haitao can hardly be an opponent.

Indeed, Li Haitao was stunned. Because Li Yao has always been very proud and hotheaded, often embarrassing others, especially him. Because he broke up the relationship between Feng Yi and Li Yao, Li Yao used to see him as an enemy who must be killed. Therefore, he couldn't let go so conveniently.

Today, he intended to undermine Li Yao's prestige, even if he failed, his own magnanimity would overshadow Li Yao's; he would dominate the scene and let his classmates understand who is the pride of the heavens.

However, the first step of his plan had completely changed ...