Who Doesn't Have a Few Close Mates to Talk Watches With?

　　Back then, near graduation, we were interning outside, squeezed into a rented room in an urban village in Tianhe, Guangzhou. In a space under 30 square metres, there was only a single bed and a simple wardrobe, packed with five young lads. Cramped as it was, we were genuinely happy.

　　The area around the rented place was fairly quiet, likely because it was quite a distance from the city centre. A bus stop sat nearby, and everyone would wake up early every morning, queuing up to pack into the bus for work or interviews.

　　When coming back from work, we would arrange to meet up, stroll down the street, and wander through the nearby night market stalls. Even going for our first group haircut together felt thoroughly exciting. Summer in Guangzhou was roasting, and our cheap rented room had no air conditioning, so we would just wear shorts, go bare-chested, and sit around playing cards, having a right laugh. Sometimes, when we got bored of that, we would send one or two people down to the local shop to buy a few chicken frames to pick at.

replica Blancpain watches

　　Naturally, after getting paid, everyone was beside themselves with excitement, planning how to spend the money. Yet, without exception, everyone chose to buy a watch. Though our wages were modest and couldn't buy anything high-end, that didn't stop our determination to own a timepiece. Gritting our teeth, we bought decent quartz watches. After all, we were still young and not entirely sensible.

　　Over the next two or three years, everyone gradually left Guangzhou, some heading to other cities to hustle, and others returning to their hometowns.

　　Nowadays, some are fathers, others hold senior positions, living in homes they bought themselves and no longer tight on money, long accustomed to all sorts of workplace scenarios. Fortunately, we have kept in touch with one another, still gathering when time allows to share work and life, chatting about the same old topics from back then. As for watches, we have all gone through quite a few, yet we still wear that very first quartz watch bought together years ago.

　　Looking back now, it feels a bit puzzling. I wonder why an ordinary, inexpensiveQuartz watcheslooked so beautiful back then, and left such a profound impression in our memories.