My classmate got married, I didn't go, and I transferred 600 yuan as a gift.

My classmate didn't accept it and replied: "You got married, I gave 1,000, and you only give 600, what's that?"
This sentence was directly posted in the chat box, without even an emoji, a cold line of words lying on the screen, like an IOU stuck on your forehead.
I stared at that sentence for a long time, fingers hovering over the keyboard but unable to type a single word, feeling not anger but an indescribable absurdity—turns out, our ten years of friendship is just an account to him, settle how much you owe, if you're short by 400 yuan, it's worth tearing your face apart.
My old Zhao and I are college roommates, slept on bunk beds for four years.
His family is not well-off, and at the end of the month, when he has no money for food, I buy two dishes and split one with him.
After graduation, we went our separate ways, gradually losing contact, exchanging greetings during festivals, occasionally liking each other's posts on social media.
I always thought that although our friendship had faded, the foundation was still there.
Two years ago, I got married, and he came, wearing a slightly faded blue shirt, sitting at the edge of the classmates' table, not saying much, and left after the banquet.
Later, I looked at the gift record and saw his name followed by 1,000, which made me feel a bit guilty.
Knowing he didn't earn much, that 1,000 yuan was not a small amount for him.
So this time, when he sent me an invitation to his wedding, I was planning to go, but suddenly my work assigned me a business trip, and I really couldn't leave, so I transferred 600.
I admit, 600 is less than 1,000, I didn't mean to take advantage of him, I just casually transferred a similar amount, thinking that as long as the gesture was there, it was enough.
I planned to treat him to a meal when I returned home for the New Year to make up for it.
I never expected that he would directly say that sentence, leaving no dignity at all.
I stared at that line of words for about two minutes, deleting, editing, and deleting again in the typing box, but in the end, I didn't reply anything, turned my phone face down on the table, and leaned back against the chair.
The fluorescent tube on the ceiling hummed, illuminating the entire office in a ghostly white.
A colleague asked me what was wrong, why I looked so upset, I said nothing, just felt disgusted by an old classmate.
He asked what happened, I turned my phone around to show him that message, and after reading it, he was also stunned, saying: "Is this guy serious? Giving you 600 yuan as a moral lesson?"
Later, I still paid back that 1,000 yuan.
Not because I was in the wrong, but because I didn't want to owe anything to this kind of person.
I transferred another 400, with a note saying: "Clear both sides, no thanks."
He received it instantly and replied with an OK emoji.
That yellow round face with a thumbs-up, a slight smile at the corner of his mouth, looking polite and friendly.
I stared at that emoji, suddenly feeling a wave of nausea, like swallowing a fly.
I opened his profile picture, clicked the three dots in the upper right corner, hesitated for a few seconds looking at the "Delete Friend" option, but finally didn't press it, just set him to do not disturb.
That profile picture sank to the bottom of the chat list and never lit up again.
More than a year later, I almost forgot there was still such a person in my contacts.
That night, I was at home playing Lego with my kid when my phone vibrated.
Old Zhao sent a message: "Bro, are you there? Can you lend me 30,000 yuan? My dad is hospitalized and in urgent need."
I looked at that message and was stunned for a while.
In the living room, my kid held up a half-assembled dinosaur and shouted, "Dad, look, look!"
I took the dinosaur and placed it on the coffee table, then went to the balcony with my phone and lit a cigarette.
The early autumn night breeze was cool and seeped into my collar.
I read that message over and over again, recognizing every word, but together, it felt unreal.
Someone who gave me 1,000 yuan at my wedding, then turned against me when I gave 600, now asking to borrow 30,000.
I finished the cigarette, replied: "No, I won't lend it. I paid back the 1,000 yuan you gave me with interest, and neither of us owes the other."
After sending, I turned my phone to airplane mode, stood on the balcony watching the lights in the opposite building go out one by one.
I couldn't tell if I felt relieved or sad.
My kid inside was shouting "Dad" as he finished the Lego.
I pinched out the cigarette, opened the door, and walked back in, hugging him into my arms, taking the block of building bricks from his hand.