HLM – Chapter 106 Class Reunion

Over the next day or two, Wang Bo kept a close eye on the pair of red-crowned cranes. Through observing them, he gained a general understanding of the Heart of the Nest’s functions.

The first function was its attraction to birds and beasts. Not only did the crane couple like to stay near the nest’s location, even Zhuang Ding and the Commander preferred lingering there. But the second function was even more impressive—healing!

More specifically, the Heart of the Nest could purify the lord’s energy and inject it into the animals within its influence, improving their physical condition.

He had previously been puzzled about how the injured male bird could suddenly fly again after just one night. But then something even stranger happened: the female crane’s severely fractured talons began to heal!

By the fifth or sixth day of the lunar new year, the female crane could already stand and walk, albeit shakily—this shocked Wang Bo the most.

That night, he had examined her injuries using his phone’s flashlight. Her broken legs, untreated and exposed to the freezing riverbed, were essentially crippled.

But now, the female bird could move around slowly. The only explanation was the Heart of the Nest.

The red-crowned cranes had claimed the nest’s range as their roost. On the second day of the new year, the male crane even carried the egg into the castle. Now, except for occasionally standing and moving around, the female spent her time nestled in the nest incubating.

Seeing how satisfied the cranes were with their new home, Wang Bo was relieved—no need to worry about helping them for now. Let them stay in the castle.

In fact, the first few days of the lunar new year had been quite busy for him. He had to visit relatives every day—an essential Chinese New Year tradition.

By the tenth day, Wang Bo was getting ready to attend a high school reunion in the city when a call came from the postal service: he had a large delivery waiting.

Wang Bo was momentarily confused before he remembered—the grass seeds he had ordered had finally arrived. It had been almost half a month; he’d completely forgotten about it.

The order had cost tens of thousands of yuan. The seeds came in cardboard boxes—forty boxes in total.

Wang Bo checked and found the seeds were well-preserved. Each type of wild vegetable came with a small booklet—a planting guide. Everything looked very professional.

He hired a vehicle to transport the boxes to a secluded spot by the sea, then moved them into the basement of the castle’s outer yard—silent and unseen.

That evening, he had to attend a class reunion in Haiqing City. He had already attended a high school gathering on the fifth day—just a group of old friends catching up.

But the high school reunion hadn’t been very interesting. Most of his classmates were now married with kids, and all they talked about was buying houses, cars, and raising children—topics Wang Bo couldn’t relate to.

He was more excited about the college reunion, since most of his old college friends who stayed in Haiqing City were still unmarried jokers.

The gathering was booked at a budget hotel near Haiqing University called Fragrant Bamboo Lodge. Though marketed as mid- to low-end, for college students, it was considered quite upscale.

Haiqing University was Wang Bo’s alma mater, where he had spent four joyful years, and Fragrant Bamboo Lodge held fond memories for him too.

Since the university’s winter break hadn’t ended, the hotel was relatively quiet. Wang Bo greeted the familiar chubby boss at the front desk and said, “The Maotai Room.”

The “Fragrant” in the hotel’s name referenced the poetic phrase “Jade liquor wafts fragrance” from Li Bai’s verse—giving it a touch of elegance.

The Maotai Room was one of the larger private rooms, big enough for twenty people. Wang Bo scratched his head—they only had seven people in total for the reunion. Wasn’t this room too big?

The chubby boss grinned and led him upstairs to the second floor. Inside the room, two guys and two girls were already chatting. As the door opened, the two guys looked up and grinned at him.

“Hey, Wang Bo, you just got here from next door?”

Wang Bo hugged them and said, “Beast, Mr. Su, long time no see! Missed you guys. But these two beauties are…?”

“This is my girlfriend, Yao Ranyan. And that one is Mr. Su’s girlfriend, Zhu Fang,” said the one nicknamed “Beast” with a smile.

“Beast” was Song Jiashu, a guy from Fujian. His name sounded similar to “beast” in Mandarin, and that’s how he got the nickname. Mr. Su was Su Dongdong, a top student who had now stayed on as a teacher at the university.

Wang Bo looked embarrassed. “You guys already have girlfriends?”

“You don’t? Come on, we all know—you’re still single!” Song Jiashu laughed heartily.

Su Zhimin changed the subject. “Wang Bo, did you really go overseas to run a pyramid scheme? How’s that going?”

Wang Bo shrugged. “I scammed all the New Zealanders into limping.”

After going to New Zealand, he’d often chat in the group and jokingly share some of the absurd rumors from back home. These friends of his had sharp tongues and actually believed he’d gone abroad to scam people.

“Did you scam a wife too?”

“That—definitely not,” Wang Bo sighed, suddenly feeling a bit depressed.

Later, two more classmates arrived—Cao Bo and Hou Haibo—both also bringing girlfriends.

Now Wang Bo was even more depressed. He scowled, “Are you guys messing with me? Who said in the group chat that they were single? Don’t tell me Song Tiantian and Zhao Xiaohui brought plus-ones too?”

The reunion had seven old classmates: five guys and two girls. The two girls were, of course, Song Tiantian and Zhao Xiaohui.

The two girls arrived together, and when they opened the door, Wang Bo was hit with despair: two unfamiliar young men were with them—clearly their boyfriends.

Behind Zhao Xiaohui, however, stood another woman—a stunning beauty with flowing long hair.

Wang Bo didn’t recognize her, but her looks were exquisite. Her eyes were clear and bright, her curved brows elegant. Her long, curled lashes looked like tiny fans. Her skin was flawless and pale with a rosy blush that made her lips look full and dewy.

She wore a light down jacket, her black hair cascading over her shoulders, with no accessories—natural, graceful, and charming.

The old classmates greeted one another. Zhao Xiaohui smiled and introduced the girl beside her: “This is Chen Luoxian, also our university classmate. She was from the Literature Department. We’re renting a place together now. I brought her along—is that too forward?”

Song Jiashu jumped in, “Not at all, not at all. Come, classmate, please sit!”

Seeing her, none of the other guys looked surprised—it was as if they already knew she would be here.

And so Wang Bo understood. He had thought these “friends” brought their girlfriends just to mess with him, but that didn’t seem to be the case. Zhao Xiaohui had likely brought Chen Luoxian hoping to set him up—maybe spark some romance.

But the guys clearly didn’t know her, so they all got up to introduce themselves one by one.

Hou Haibo, a literary type, was instantly smitten by her beauty and elegance. He couldn’t help but flirt a little: “Chen Luoxian… what a lovely name. ‘Luoxian’—a name as ethereal as an immortal’s, untouched by the dust of the mundane world.”

Chen Luoxian smiled, revealing her teeth. “Thank you. Your name is quite nice too—‘A marquis is not my desire, but may the sea waves remain calm.’”

Hou Haibo was overjoyed, feeling as if he had found a soulmate. But his girlfriend’s expression turned cold, and he quickly sat down obediently, not daring to flirt further.