They stepped into a quieter corner as the crowd moved around them like warm water, and Daryl and Lian Yue stood close without touching, near enough for private talk but distant enough not to draw attention.
She smiled and he tried to match it while her hand lifted to tuck a strand of hair away, and she laughed softly as she admitted she had not known he was coming, her voice low and pleased rather than surprised.
She added that she had honestly thought maybe someday, and Daryl swallowed as he kept his voice small, saying he wanted to know and see for himself, words chosen carefully to keep his balance.
She laughed and teased him for always making things dramatic, and he answered with a crooked smile that he only did so when it mattered, which earned them an easy shared smile.
For a brief second it felt simple, as memory settled between them, and she touched a point on the table while suddenly mentioning the library corner, asking if he remembered.
He did remember, seeing stacked books, a small lamp, and the way her head drooped when she fell asleep, recalling how he watched not from prying but from staying awake beside her.
She laughed as she said she kept falling asleep on the desk and noted that he never woke her, while his quiet reply admitted he remembered every detail.
She looked at him then, and there was a light in her eyes he had not expected, something warm that loosened the tight band of nerves in his chest for a single breath.
Around them glasses clinked and music breathed softly while laughter hovered, and the reunion hummed in a comfortable way that was neither loud nor intrusive.
Daryl glanced around at other clustered groups of polished professionals whose smiles were practiced and laughter timed, people who had learned how to carry themselves in rooms like this.
He felt the difference sharply, knowing it was still not his world, yet here he was, trying to breathe it in as he watched a man adjust his jacket and a woman laugh with knowing ease.
Another group debated a startup pitch in low voices, and Daryl felt the old hunt-sense return as he watched people the way he once watched corners for ghosts.
Lian Yue teased him gently for studying everyone like he was hunting ghosts again, and he smirked as he admitted old habits died hard, which made her smile.
They shifted closer to the wall and away from the center as the noise softened into a wash, and they talked about safe things like professors with predictable lunches and students who wore pajamas to seminars.
They laughed easily, nostalgia fitting them like worn clothes, until the tone subtly shifted and a little depth slid into the space between them.
She asked about his life with genuine curiosity rather than cruelty, mentioning freelance projects, and he shrugged as he said it kept him busy and alive.
She raised a brow at that word with a half-smile and said it sounded like trouble, and he answered faintly that she could say that, while she chose not to push.
She told him she worked at the college library as a librarian, honest and steady rather than glamorous, and added that she ran a small shop on the side.
He blinked in surprise and asked if it was a supermarket, and she nodded as she explained her niece handled most of it while she helped when she could.
She casually invited him to visit the library and the shop, and the offer felt like a warm hand as he promised aloud that he would, understanding how much it mattered.
Kang Wei watched the easy exchange from a respectful distance, smiling and nodding when their eyes met before moving away to give them space.
Lian Yue laughed softly and said it was strange that they were here now, and Daryl shrugged in agreement as they let a quiet beat settle between them.
The music shifted subtly as a piano riff threaded the air and the room's temperature changed, while a ripple passed through the crowd and heads began to turn.
Lian Yue noticed first as her smile faded and she looked toward the entrance, and Daryl followed her gaze as a trio entered the room with quiet certainty.
They walked like they owned the space not through force but presence, moving with clean lines that drew whispers and attention without needing raised voices.
Lian Yue mouthed a soft "Oh" and laughed in a way that sounded like an intake of breath, while Daryl's pulse stepped up and his chest tightened.
These were the ones the reunion had been waiting for, the so-called elites who carried themselves like appointments, and Daryl felt himself recede into the corner.
There was no anger or malice in their faces, only polished confidence that sat like a second skin, effortless and unforced.
The first was a woman whose elegance stopped sentences, her movements measured as she scanned the room like a conductor, smiling softly as people met her gaze.
Someone near them murmured her name, Mei An, and Daryl held it as he watched her move with the ease of someone always noticed, the Beauty of the class.
Next came a man with sharp glasses and exact posture, moving with silent authority as small circles broke for him, and someone whispered Zhou Chen.
He nodded to acquaintances like the Genius of the class, a man whose words could turn ideas into plans with quiet precision.
The third arrived with a richer air, his tailored suit and easy laugh drawing attention, and when his name drifted over, Lin Haoran, Daryl recognized the Rich Young Master.
The trio's arrival did not shout but reset the room's tone, bending conversations and pulling people closer as they passed near Daryl.
Mei An glided by with a smile that moved like light, Zhou Chen nodded with focus, and Lin Haoran joked as laughter followed him.
The room shifted as music swelled slightly and a glass chimed, conversations folding around the newcomers as if by instinct.
Lian Yue whispered that they were the class elites, her tone holding awe without envy, while Daryl felt invisible rather than bitter.
He had planned to be brave and be seen, yet standing there he felt the shadow of other lives that fit the room without effort.
He listened as Mei An greeted the room warmly, Zhou Chen joked about not stealing attention, and Lin Haoran remarked on familiar faces.
They moved deeper into the hall as people turned toward them like flowers to sun, and Daryl's chest tightened while Lian Yue watched with quiet focus.
She seemed distracted not by the trio but by how the room rearranged itself, and Daryl tried to laugh at his own unease.
He told himself they were just names and faces, but the moment carried weight as the real class shaped the space around them.
She leaned close and asked if he knew them, and he answered steadily that he knew them a little from class and campus.
Her eyes followed Mei An for a breath as she murmured wow with honest admiration, and Daryl forced a joke about them looking like a catalogue.
She laughed and nodded toward Lin Haoran, saying he always dressed that way, while Daryl noticed her interest was observational rather than emotional.
Kang Wei returned then with a practiced greeting, grinning and asking how things were going, and Daryl answered fine while Kang Wei chose not to press.
The elites spoke near the center with showman's ease as Mei An laughed, Zhou Chen spoke precisely, and Lin Haoran joked, restoring the room's rhythm.
Yet the dynamic had shifted as conversations bent toward them and Daryl realized doors had opened he was not meant to walk through.
Lian Yue touched his arm lightly, grounding rather than soothing him, and asked if he was alright as he admitted he was just thinking.
She smiled warmly and told him he would be fine, and he wanted to believe it even as he understood the truth of the life he had chosen.
He had learned different skills in empty halls with a camera for company, skills not rewarded tonight, and the realization sat quietly in him.
The trio moved deeper and paused with the host as laughter and nods followed, while Daryl's focus split between Lian Yue and the growing circle.
A small panic flared, not decisive but familiar, as Mei An's eyes passed over him politely without recognition.
He could have left but chose not to, standing still and breathing as the music rose and glasses clinked.
Everything felt poised as he stood in a narrow beam of awareness, neither storm nor spectacle, just pressure.
The trio held the room's attention as Daryl and Lian Yue remained where they were, and he felt both seen and invisible.
He thought of her library and shop, of the life he chose, and felt the weight, the ache, and his own smallness.
The room tightened into quiet as the elites drew focus, and Daryl watched from the edge like a shadow among faces, waiting for what comes next.