He ran into his ex-girlfriend
Li Wei walked out of the mall carrying an LV shopping bag.
The sunlight was blinding.
He squinted his eyes and pulled out his car keys.
In the underground garage, the black mercedes-benz s65 sat there quietly.
Li Wei pulled open the car door and tossed the shopping bag onto the back seat.
He sat in the driver's seat.
The feel of the leather seats put him in a good mood.
Li Wei started the engine.
A low roar echoed through the garage.
Just as he was about to shift gears, his phone rang.
It was a text message.
"Brother Wei, are you free tonight? Let's get together at the old spot; it's been a long time. — Zhang Lei"
Li Wei looked at the message and thought for a moment.
Zhang Lei was his college roommate, and they were on good terms.
During these three months of unemployment, he had basically not contacted any of his friends.
It wasn't that he didn't want to.
It was that he didn't know what to say.
Unemployed people always feel like they're a head shorter than everyone else.
But things were different now.
Li Wei replied to the message.
"Sure, what time?"
"Six-thirty, at the same old hot pot restaurant."
"Okay."
Li Wei put away his phone and drove away from the mall.
---
Five o'clock in the afternoon.
Li Wei returned to his rental room, took a shower, and changed his clothes.
A black T-shirt, light-colored jeans, and white sneakers.
Simple but clean.
He looked at himself in the mirror.
It was still the same face.
But his complexion was clearly much better.
Maybe it was because he slept well last night.
Or maybe it was because there were several hundred thousand more in his bank account.
Li Wei smiled, picked up his car keys, and went downstairs.
---
The hot pot restaurant was on an old street in the city center.
The storefront wasn't large, but the food tasted good and the prices were affordable.
Li Wei and Zhang Lei used to come here often during college.
Li Wei parked his car by the side of the road.
The mercedes-benz s65 looked a bit out of place parked on this old street.
It was surrounded by family cars worth around a hundred thousand.
Li Wei locked the car and walked into the hot pot restaurant.
There weren't many people in the restaurant.
Zhang Lei had already arrived and was sitting in a window seat.
Seeing Li Wei enter, he stood up and waved.
"Brother Wei! Over here!"
Li Wei walked over.
The two shook hands.
"Long time no see."
"Yeah, it's been three months, hasn't it?" Zhang Lei patted Li Wei's shoulder. "How have you been lately?"
Li Wei sat down.
"I'm doing okay."
Zhang Lei smiled.
"I heard you're unemployed?"
Li Wei nodded.
"Yeah, I was laid off last quarter."
Zhang Lei sighed.
"The internet industry is tough to work in right now; our company also laid off a group of people last month."
Li Wei didn't respond.
Zhang Lei asked again, "Have you found a new job?"
"Not yet, I'm taking a break for a while."
Zhang Lei nodded.
"That's fine; your savings should be enough to last you a while anyway."
Li Wei smiled.
Enough to last a while?
Right now, he had over a million in his bank account.
Forget a while; it wouldn't be a problem to last a few years.
But he didn't say it.
There was no need.
The Waiter came over to take their order.
Zhang Lei picked up the menu.
"The usual? Beef tripe, duck intestines, shrimp paste?"
"Sure."
Zhang Lei ordered a bunch of dishes and asked for two bottles of beer.
The Waiter took down the order and left.
Zhang Lei looked at Li Wei.
"By the way, did you know? Wang Ting has been doing quite well lately."
Li Wei was stunned for a moment.
"Wang Ting?"
"Your ex-girlfriend." Zhang Lei lowered his voice. "I saw her posting photos on Moments last week; it looks like she's with a sales manager who drives an audi."
Li Wei picked up his teacup and took a sip.
"Oh."
Zhang Lei was a bit surprised to see his flat reaction.
"You're not angry?"
"Why should I be angry?" Li Wei put down his teacup. "We've already broken up."
Zhang Lei nodded.
"True, but to be honest, Wang Ting is a bit materialistic. You were together for three years, and she just ended it like that."
Li Wei didn't say anything.
He didn't have any feelings for Wang Ting anymore.
He was even a bit grateful to her.
If she hadn't initiated the breakup, he wouldn't have gone on the Social App.
If he hadn't gone on the Social App, he wouldn't have met Yang Yun.
If he hadn't met Yang Yun, the system wouldn't have been activated.
A blessing in disguise.
Just then.
The door of the hot pot restaurant was pushed open.
A man and a woman walked in.
Li Wei instinctively looked up.
Then he froze.
Wang Ting.
His ex-girlfriend.
The one he had just broken up with a month ago.
Wang Ting also saw Li Wei.
The smile on her face instantly froze.
The man beside her looked to be in his early thirties, wearing a white shirt and black trousers, with a Longines watch on his wrist.
He must be the sales manager Zhang Lei mentioned.
Wang Ting tugged at the man's sleeve.
"How about we go somewhere else?"
The man frowned.
"Why? Didn't you say this place was good?"
Wang Ting bit her lip and said nothing.
But it was already too late.
The man had already seen Li Wei.
More accurately, he had seen Zhang Lei sitting across from Li Wei.
"Zhang Lei?"
Zhang Lei looked up and was stunned for a moment.
"Brother Chen?"
The man smiled.
"It really is you. Long time no see."
Zhang Lei stood up.
"Yeah, how have you been lately, Brother Chen?"
"I'm doing okay, just getting by."
Brother Chen patted Zhang Lei's shoulder and then looked at Li Wei.
"And this is?"
Zhang Lei paused.
"My friend, Li Wei."
Brother Chen nodded and reached out his hand.
"Hello, I'm Chen Yu."
Li Wei stood up and shook hands with him.
"Hello."
Wang Ting stood behind Chen Yu, keeping her head down and not speaking.
The atmosphere was a bit awkward.
Chen Yu glanced at Wang Ting, then at Li Wei, and suddenly smiled.
"So you're Li Wei."
Li Wei raised an eyebrow.
"You know me?"
Chen Yu waved his hand.
"I don't, but I've heard Wang Ting mention you."
He put his arm around Wang Ting's shoulder.
"She said her ex-boyfriend was also named Li Wei. It wouldn't happen to be you, would it?"
Wang Ting's expression was a bit unnatural.
"Chen Yu..."
Chen Yu ignored her and continued.
"But it doesn't matter; it's all in the past. Since we've run into each other, why don't we eat together?"
Zhang Lei glanced at Li Wei.
Li Wei smiled.
"No thanks, we've already ordered."
Chen Yu shrugged.
"Alright then, we'll sit over there."
He pulled Wang Ting toward a corner table.
Wang Ting looked back at Li Wei.
Her gaze was complex.
A bit of awkwardness, a bit of guilt, and something else.
Li Wei withdrew his gaze and sat down.
Zhang Lei lowered his voice.
"Holy crap, what a coincidence!"
Li Wei picked up his teacup.
"It is quite a coincidence."
Zhang Lei looked at him.
"Are you okay?"
Li Wei shook his head.
"What could be wrong?"
Zhang Lei breathed a sigh of relief.
"That's good. I thought you would..."
"Would what?"
"Be angry, or feel bad or something."
Li Wei smiled.
"We've already broken up, why would I be angry?"
Zhang Lei nodded.
"True."
Just then, the Waiter came up with the dishes.
Beef tripe, duck intestines, shrimp paste, and a bunch of vegetables.
Zhang Lei picked up his chopsticks.
"Come on, let's eat."
Li Wei picked up a piece of tripe and put it into the pot.
Over in the corner, Wang Ting sat somewhat uncomfortably.
Chen Yu looked at the menu.
"What do you want to eat?"
Wang Ting shook her head.
"Whatever."
Chen Yu smiled.
"Then I'll order."
He called the Waiter over and ordered a bunch of dishes.
"And two bottles of Snow."
The Waiter took down the order and left.
Chen Yu looked at Wang Ting.
"What's wrong? You're unhappy because I teased your ex-boyfriend?"
Wang Ting forced a smile.
"No."
Chen Yu leaned against the back of his chair.
"Good. It's really nothing; it's all in the past."
He paused for a moment.
"But to be honest, your ex-boyfriend doesn't seem to be doing very well for himself."
Wang Ting said nothing.