Chen Feng could sense the strong jealousy in her words. It seemed like she was standing up for Zhao Zixuan, but in reality, she was defending herself.

That's exactly how things were back then. Almost all the guys in the class had their eyes on Cheng Yuhuan. Under her dazzling glow, other girls appeared dull in comparison, and that certainly included the tomboy Guo Mengyao.

"I can believe she doesn't like to dress up, but deliberately making herself look ugly? How is that possible?" Chen Feng said, a bit stubbornly.

Guo Mengyao said seriously, "Back in high school, she definitely tried to make herself look ugly on purpose. Her mom asked her to, and all the girls in her dorm knew it. If she had let her hair down and removed her glasses, which weren't even that strong, she'd definitely have been a beauty. But at that time, she wore large black-rimmed glasses, often tied her hair in unfashionable pigtails, and dressed quite plainly, so she couldn't attract attention from you guys. That's what her mom wanted — she feared her daughter might have a high school romance or be harassed by boys. Since she was an obedient girl, she followed her mom's instructions and deliberately made herself seem unattractive."

"There are really mothers like that?" Chen Feng found it hard to believe.

"Having a mom like that is quite normal. Worrying about early romances or protecting her daughter from unwanted attentions by having her make herself look less attractive, especially before she becomes an adult, is actually quite a good arrangement."

Chen Feng thought about it carefully and found it was indeed quite reasonable, even smart. If he had a daughter in the future who was also very pretty, he might do the same when she was in junior or senior high school, making her look unattractive to avoid early love affairs or the attention of bad people.

Of course, it would depend on her willingness. If she firmly disagreed, as a parent, it wouldn't be right to force her.

"So Zhao Zixuan wasn't originally ugly, and now she's even more beautiful. Do you have her picture? Send it to me so I can take a look."

Chen Feng was quite curious about how Zhao Zixuan, his high school classmate, looked now. Especially since, from Guo Mengyao's words, she seemed even prettier than Cheng Yuhuan, which piqued his interest further, making him want to see her true appearance.

Guo Mengyao snapped back, "What's the point of looking at a photo? See her in person the day after tomorrow; she's also attending Qin Zhen's engagement party."

Chen Feng chuckled and decided not to insist on seeing the photo. Instead, he asked, "What's Zhao Zixuan doing now? Is she married?"

When Guo Mengyao heard this, she was even more displeased, but she still replied, "She's still single. Besides, she went to graduate school at Zhendan University and now works at an investment bank in Shanghai, earning 100,000 a month, over a million a year. She's already managed to buy a house and a car there through her own efforts. Plus, considering her impressive family background, if I were a guy, I'd likely pursue her too. After all, getting together with her would not only mean being with someone beautiful and wealthy, but you'd also have her family's connections to rely on."

Chen Feng asked, "Is her family extraordinary? I really didn't notice back in school."

Guo Mengyao said, "You were just buried in books back then; what did you know? I, on the other hand, noticed a long time ago. Many teachers were exceptionally kind to her. Especially that Extinction Master math teacher, who was very strict with other students, but always spoke softly to Zhao Zixuan."

Chen Feng had no recollection of these things and merely shook his head, "I didn't notice anything."

Guo Mengyao continued to spill the beans: "Her mom is from Shanghai, her maternal grandfather worked for the Shanghai municipal committee back in the day, and her grandmother is a university professor. Besides, she has two uncles, each more impressive than the other, and an aunt who is said to have married well. Her mom is the youngest and met her dad when they were classmates at Zhendan University, and that's how they ended up together.

Her dad is from our Lin Nan, and after university, he was assigned to work here, so her mom followed him. Back when we were in high school, her mom was a leader at the electricity bureau, and her dad worked at the x-committee, got it? Now, more than ten years have passed, and her parents have moved up to work in Shanghai and settled down there."

Chen Feng was genuinely surprised by this revelation. He really hadn't expected that his high school classmate Zhao Zixuan, who kept such a low profile, had such an impressive family background.

"I really didn't see that coming," Chen Feng sighed, "If those guys in our class had known about her family background and beauty, they would have pursued her long ago."

Guo Mengyao gave him a sideways glance, "That's why her mom was so foresighted. During high school, she deliberately made her look unattractive, sparing her the harassment from boys like you. Do you regret not pursuing her back then?"

Chen Feng shook his head, "What would I regret? Her family background wasn't really my thing. I can barely remember what she looked like now; when I meet her the day after tomorrow, I probably won't recognize her."

"Don't worry, even if you don't recognize her, everyone else will. I told you to join the class group, but you didn't, and now you've missed the chance to connect with a rich girl like her. Don't you feel it's a pity?"

Chen Feng replied, not amused, "I told you she's not my type. But perhaps I should join the class group now, considering I'll meet so many classmates the day after tomorrow. Not joining the group would certainly get me talked about."

Guo Mengyao looked at him speechlessly, "Everyone's already been complaining about you in the group, saying you deliberately refused to join because you look down on us. Some even said worse things, that you must be doing really poorly and are ashamed to meet people."

Chen Feng widened his eyes, "Did you tell them I refused to join the group?"

Guo Mengyao quickly clarified, "It wasn't me, it was Xiao Yue. But you can't blame her; both Qin Zhen, Xiao Yue, and I tried to add you to the group, but you never accepted. So when other classmates asked, she just said you didn't want to join."

Even though Chen Feng felt a bit awkward hearing this, he quickly got over it. He genuinely didn't want to join the class group back then, and he had nothing to be embarrassed about.

"Alright then. I'll just stick to it and not join the group."

He initially wanted to join the group mainly because he was curious about how Zhao Zixuan and Cheng Yuhuan looked now, as well as some other high school classmates. After all, people are naturally curious, and Chen Feng was no exception.

"I think you should join anyway. If not, when you meet all those classmates the day after tomorrow, someone will definitely use it against you." 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Guo Mengyao was giving Chen Feng some advice.

Chen Feng thought about it but ultimately shook his head, "Forget it. You know, I didn't really have any close friends in high school. There are some classmates whose names I can't even remember now. No need to reconnect and risk being bothered by them."

Guo Mengyao looked at him, a bit of a complex expression in her eyes, and said, "I don't know if your personality is a good thing or a bad thing. But you seem to be living quite freely now."