Ultimate Scheming System

People find themselves in all sorts of awkward situations all the time. As, for example, when they wear the same outfit as someone else, it is always the uglier one who feels most embarrassed.

Xu Que had never been afraid to share outfits with anybody, as he knew that he was exceedingly handsome. However, the awkwardness of mistaking an old friend was not something he had anticipated. After all, he and Lao Cai relied on phone calls and the internet to keep in touch. They had rarely met up after they graduated from middle school.

The same could be said for Huang Cheng, who now stood before him. They weren’t precisely besties from high school and had never met after they graduated. Xu Que had spent a year in college and then delved into the world of cultivation for an extremely long time. Most important, he had spent decades in the Mystery Land with Zixia Fairy.

Therefore, while others had not seen him for a few years, to him, he had not seen them for several decades. Naturally, he would not recognize them. Of course, it was also too much of a coincidence. Lao Cai had said that he was just around the corner and would arrive soon, and so Xu Que had assumed that this man was Lao Cai.

However, he had forgotten that he had completed both middle and high school in Linshen City. He could bump into familiar faces like Huang Cheng everywhere.

“Aha, ha, what are you saying, dude, of course I know that you’re Huang Cheng! But you were so bad in games back in high school that we all called you ‘Lousy’ behind your back! Didn’t you know?” Xu Que tried to laugh it off with some forced explanation.

Huang Cheng seemingly remembered their past days and nodded, “Geez, I thought you forgot about me! Wow, you’re doing good! I haven’t seen you for some years, but you became even more good-looking! As expected of the campus beau of No.1 Senior High!”

“Eh, tone it down, it’s all in the past!” Xu Que waved his hand and said humbly.

“Where have you been making your fortune? Ah right, we have a reunion dinner tonight! Come on, let’s go together, everyone’s been missing you!” Huang Cheng asked enthusiastically.

Xu Que was worried.

Another reunion dinner? What’s the occasion, middle school and high school classmates are all gathering on the same day?

Creak!

At that moment, another car stopped beside them. The car window lowered. The man shouted at Xu Que through the car window, “Crap, Xu Que, it’s me, Lao Cai!”

Swoosh!

Xu Que was caught in an awkward situation. Still keeping that dry smile on his face, he looked at the confused Huang Cheng.

This…this is what you call a fucking awkward situation!

He had just explained ‘Lao Cai’ as ‘Lousy’ misheard, and now the real Lao Cai shows up just a few seconds later!

“Lao Cai?”

Huang Cheng turned to look at Cai Tengjin. Once he recognized him, he was overcome with shock and exclaimed, “Aren’t you that Director Cai? Xu Que, how do you…to think that you would know a big shot like Director Cai!”

Yo, you mean Lao Cai’s a big shot now?

Huang Cheng’s reaction amused Xu Que.

Huang Cheng’s attention was diverted instantly. He jumped out of his car at once and quickly rushed to Lao Cai’s car window and shook his hand excitedly, “How do you do, Director Cai, I’ve long heard of your name! I am Huang Cheng, Xu Que’s high school classmate. I’m currently the owner of a construction company. I have loved your movies since I was young! Especially The Greatest Anti-Trope: The Invincible Food God Who Plays Tropes With a Flip of the Hand. It is so good!”

Hell, that’s my fucking movie!

Xu Que cringed a little and patted Huang Cheng’s shoulder, “Stop that bootlicking. Lao Cai is my middle school classmate. We belong to the same generation! How could you have seen his movies since you were young?”

“Eh, don’t sweat the details! I’m just…eh, wait a minute, the movie last year had its director and screenwriter both as Xu Que.Crap,don’t tell me that you’re the one who made the movie? Damn, I’ve always thought that it was just a coincidence that you had the same name!” Huang Cheng’s gaze became increasingly astounded as he chattered on.

Xu Que shrugged but didn’t answer.

Lao Cai laughed heartily. “You guessed it, he’s the one who made the movie! I have been his scapegoat for so many things this past year!”

“What the heck, that’s awesome! Xu Que, you’re such a shocker, you know that? Spill it, when’s your next movie? I’ll invest!” Huang Cheng grasped Xu Que’s hands in great excitement and agitation. He wanted to write him a check right then and there.

Xu Que was speechless. Although he knew that the movie was a great hit, he had no idea that it would be this popular. Even an old classmate whom he had not seen for years wanted to give him money to invest in a new movie right on the spot!

“Was it that great?” Xu Que glanced toward Lao Cai.

“It’s that great!” Lao Cai nodded. They exchanged glances and smiled.

Huang Cheng smiled too. “I was too hasty. Heh, why don’t we do it this way? Let’s find somewhere to sit down and chat while we drink!”

“I’m afraid I can’t. I’m planning to attend my middle school class reunion with Lao Xu!” Lao Cai shook his head.

Taken aback, Huang Cheng paused, “What a coincidence, our high school class reunion with Xu Que’s high school classmates is also on today! It’s at Dalaideng Restaurant!”

“Crap, our reunion is also at Dalaideng Restaurant!” Lao Cai answered in surprise.

Xu Que’s eyes almost bulged out of his head in disbelief. “Isn’t that too much of a coincidence?”

Lao Cai and Huang Cheng exchanged a look and nodded at Xu Que. Together they chorused, “Looks like it’s that much of a coincidence!”

In all honesty, the two of them had not expected something this coincidental to happen, that both reunions were being held on the same day and at the same Dalaideng Restaurant.

“Okay, we don’t need to fight now! Let’s head there together!” Lao Cai chuckled.

“Sounds good!” Huang Cheng nodded in agreement.

Just like that, Huang Cheng and Lao Cai began to chat as they got Xu Que into the car. They then drove directly to the restaurant.

Huang Cheng even left his car by the roadside. He got into Lao Cai’s car, chatting away energetically with Xu Que about anything and everything under the sun, completely oblivious to the impression he was creating.

In the end, Lao Cai finally pulled the topic back to Xu Que.

“With that said, where did you go, having disappeared for so long?” Lao Cai asked curiously as he drove.

Xu Que smiled, “I practiced cultivation!”

“Cultivation?” Lao Cai and Huang Cheng’s minds went blank for a second. They tried to make sense of Xu Que’s words, and finally assumed that he had just been studying meditation at some Taoist temples. After all, such studies were quite common in the modern world. Many college students or movie stars got tired of the mortal world and liked to delve into deep mountains and old forests, living a life of isolation and peaceful tranquillity.

“Can’t tell just by looking at you, Xu Que! To think that you have these sorts of graceful pursuits in you, young man. That’s so different from when you were younger. You were the rowdiest kid of all!”

Huang Cheng looked weird. “Xu Que, don’t tell me that you hid in the forests and mountains because the school beauty dumped you in university?”

“Huh?” Xu Que was surprised, and at a slight loss for words. “You know about my university days?”

Xu Que was perplexed. If Huang Cheng knew about what had happened between him and the school beauty, how could he not know that he had already died in a car accident?

“What the heck, Xu Que was dumped when he was in university? By a school beauty? Which school beauty would be that blind?” Lao Cai exclaimed.

Huang Cheng scratched his head. He grinned. “I heard it from Liu Xiaoli. Xu Que, do you still remember Liu Xiaoli? The only girl you ignored when she pursued you during high school?”

“Crap! Could what she was doing be called pursuing? She was trying to make me her kept man!” Xu Que answered disapprovingly. That incident had left a deep impression on him. When he was in high school, his class was famous for having many rich kids. Liu Xiaoli was one of them – mediocre looks but her family was very wealthy. She was always arrogant in both actions and attitude, but nobody dared to say anything despite disliking her ways.

Back in the day, Xu Que was fair-skinned, tender, and the top scorer in the class. He was immensely popular. Liu Xiaoli wasted no breath and simply threw a bank card at his face, demanding him to be her boyfriend.

Xu Que was, of course, unwilling. He threw the bank card away instantly. After that, Liu Xiaoli made the class beau of the neighboring class her boyfriend, always flaunting her newfound boyfriend in front of Xu Que while picking on him.

Sitting in the car, Huang Cheng spilled everything that had happened years ago.

Lao Cai was amazed. “Are you sure that Xu Que was that upright?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Even I have my baselines! The hero can be killed but not humiliated! I, Xu Que, stand as upright as any man on Earth. Do I need someone else to provide for me?” Xu Que glared.

“Bull!” Huang Cheng couldn’t help but retort, “You didn’t say that back then! You said that she didn’t give you the password for the bank card, and so you threw it away!”

“…”

“…”

The car fell instantly silent. Both Lao Cai and Huang Cheng looked at Xu Que in disdain.

Xu Que grinned.

“Shameless!” Lao Cai and Huang Cheng said at the same time.

That was when they knew that Xu Que had not changed at all. He was still the good old God of Shamelessness!

“Heh, Xu Que, don’t say that I didn’t warn you! Liu Xiaoli’s attending the reunion too. You must keep your guard up, ha, ha, this woman keeps getting worse as the years pass. She’s got some terrible mouth!” Huang Cheng laughed and looked gloatingly at Xu Que.

Xu Que lay down on the car seat and answered casually, “So what if she’s worse than before? With my status and abilities today, all beings in this world are nothing but mere ants!”

“Pooh, ants, my ass! Has your mind gone crazy from all that cultivation?” Lao Cai said.

Huang Cheng waved his hand and said solemnly, “Xu Que, I might have beaten around the bush, but all I’m saying is that this woman has not stopped badmouthing you ever since we started our class reunion years ago. She’s the reason we knew that the school beauty dumped you. For the next few years, I skipped the gatherings since I was too busy with work. I have no idea what else she said about you.”

“What the hell, it was just a little conflict during their school days. Does she have to be that vengeful?” Lao Cai could not understand what she was thinking at all.

Xu Que smirked. “Whatever. There are always some people in the world who cannot forget every little conflict and bear them in their hearts for life!”

However, he was intrigued. From what Huang Cheng had said, Liu Xiuli had most probably known that he had died in that car accident years ago. If she saw him at the class reunion later, would she be scared out of her wits?

“Well, there’s something more important though.” Huang Cheng suddenly turned to Xu Que. “I heard that your school beauty ex-girlfriend might also be attending this gathering!”