41

The weather in March was still very cold, and the sky was covered with lead-gray clouds. Drizzling rain fell continuously, dyeing the road into a deep, dark shade.

Zhou Chaosheng sat inside the car, propping his chin up as he looked out the window.

The palm trees lining the road were lush and dense. As they drove toward the city center, coconut trees started appearing more frequently, their plump fruits hanging from the branches, glistening after being soaked by the rain.

"It's been so long since I last came back to the island," Zhao Xiaohui sighed beside him. "Five years? Or four? I remember last time I came back, this road wasn’t even finished yet..."

Hearing this, Zhou Chaosheng turned his head and asked, "Why did you come back?"

"To visit our teacher, of course," Zhao Xiaohui didn’t understand why his childhood friend would ask such a question. "Don’t tell me you haven’t visited Old Zhao even once since you came back from abroad?"

Zhou Chaosheng turned back to look out the window and replied, "I saw him once before I left the country, but not after I came back."

Zhao Xiaohui clicked his tongue. "Makes sense, we’ve all been busy anyway."

Zhou Chaosheng fell silent, unsure what he was feeling.

Old Zhao had been the homeroom teacher of Class Two for two years. When he and Zhao Xiaohui transferred in, Old Zhao had never played favorites and had taken care of them just the same.

The key thing was that back then, their identities had been kept secret. On the school’s official records, they were just ordinary students from normal family backgrounds. Naturally, there was no way Old Zhao treated them differently because of their status.

But at some point, Zhou Chaosheng’s perception had become colder. He followed the principle of prioritizing benefits above all else.

He believed that relationships between people were never truly pure. If there were no interests involved to serve as a bridge, most relationships would naturally fade away.

Like Zhao Xiaohui and Gu Qingqiu.

If not for their grandfathers' long-standing friendship and their fathers’ business and political connections, the three of them might never have even become friends.

Of course, that wasn’t to say that their personalities didn’t get along.

Half an hour later, the rain stopped.

The flashy Maserati pulled up in front of the Hilton Hotel. It was a car Zhao Xiaohui had bought not long after arriving in Qiongzhou.

After getting out of the car, Zhao Xiaohui casually tossed the keys to the approaching bellboy. Then, resting his hand on the car roof, he turned to Zhou Chaosheng and asked, "Need me to help you?"

Zhou Chaosheng’s leg had fully healed a month ago. "Get lost."

"Wow, so fierce," Zhao Xiaohui teased.

Just as Zhou Chaosheng was about to speak, a few excited and cheerful voices reached his ears.

"Brother Zhao, you guys are finally here!"

"It’s been so long!"

"Oh wow, Brother Zhou is here too?"

Zhou Chaosheng turned his head and saw that the classmates he remembered had long since shed their youthful innocence, growing into faces that were both familiar and unfamiliar to him.

The three people who had just spoken were all classmates who had been particularly close to Zhao Xiaohui during their senior year of high school.

"Fatty, you've lost quite a bit of weight," Zhao Xiaohui greeted them one by one with a smile, teasing one of them.

"Fatty," also known as Zhuo Wenyu, chuckled sheepishly and rubbed his head. "If I didn’t lose weight, no one would be interested in me."

"Oh? Sounds like there's a story here?" Zhao Xiaohui raised an eyebrow.

As they walked and chatted, Zhou Chaosheng remained silent, following beside Zhao Xiaohui and listening to their conversation. For some reason, ever since he had distanced himself from the world of power and wealth, he seemed to have lost the ability to socialize with others.

"It's nothing major," Zhuo Wenyu said, recalling the past. "Back in college, I had a crush on a girl, but she liked skinny guys. So I signed up for a gym membership and forced myself to lose weight…"

Speaking of the past, a pained expression immediately settled on Zhuo Wenyu's face. He frowned and said, "You guys have no idea how miserable I was back then. I swear, I’ve never eaten such bland food in my life. And I had to keep at it for six whole months! Even my roommates said that if I shaved my head, I could just move straight into a monastery."

Everyone burst into laughter, and the years of separation seemed to dissolve with this conversation, as if they had returned to the days of slinging arms over each other’s shoulders, going to internet cafés, and playing basketball together.

But among them, Zhou Chaosheng was an exception.

The laughter and chatter of others felt like they were separated from him by a thin, transparent barrier, cutting him off from the world.

He couldn’t blend in, nor did he want to force himself to.

The sound of the fountain, footsteps, conversations, laughter…

The noises around him gradually blurred, and Zhou Chaosheng could no longer clearly make out what they were talking about.

His mind began to drift, thinking about stock trends, the negative impact of Huajie’s official exit from the U.S. market, and…

Zhou Chaosheng gradually slowed his pace, keeping a slight but deliberate distance from the group.

Just then, the roar of an engine grew louder from afar. The tires screeched against the ground, splashing up water that seemed to transform into sharp ice shards, and along with it, a familiar voice landed in his ears.

"Hey everyone, good evening."

Before he even realized it, the barrier that separated him from the outside world had been silently broken by someone.

Everyone turned their heads toward the sound. A red convertible, even flashier than Zhao Xiaohui’s car, executed a stylish drift, stopping just a few centimeters away from them.

"President Jiang, your entrance is quite unique." Zhao Xiaohui never had a good attitude toward Jiang Yuanye. If not for the presence of others, he probably wouldn’t have even forced a smile.

Zhou Chaosheng lifted his gaze.

Today, Jiang Yuanye wasn’t dressed in his usual formal attire. Instead, he wore a white crew-neck knit sweater under a black zip-up sports jacket. His simple and casual outfit made him look much younger than usual.

His left arm rested on the car window, and as he moved, his sleeve slid up slightly, revealing a slender and well-defined wrist. Hearing Zhao Xiaohui’s remark, he wasn’t annoyed. Instead, he let out a lazy chuckle. "If it wasn’t unique, how else would I get your attention?"

As he spoke, Zhou Chaosheng clearly saw Jiang Yuanye glance in his direction, as if implying..

The person he wanted to attract was him.

Zhou Chaosheng lowered his eyes, attempting to avoid the other’s intense gaze.

Noticing the tension between them, Da Zhuang quickly stepped in to smooth things over. "Yuanye, long time no see! You’re still as handsome as ever."

Jiang Yuanye smiled. "Thanks."

Da Zhuang, whose real name was Wu Shaojie, pointed at the parking lot sign and suggested, "Why don’t you go park first? We’ll wait for you inside."

"OK." Jiang Yuanye responded casually. Before placing his hand back on the steering wheel, he glanced at the four of them, then let his gaze linger on Zhou Chaosheng. The corner of his lips lifted slightly, and he suddenly spoke.

"Chaosheng."

The moment the words fell, it was as if someone had pressed pause on the entire group. They froze in place, like broken robots whose gears had suddenly stopped turning.

Had they remembered wrong?

Zhou Chaosheng and Jiang Yuanye…

Weren’t they supposed to be sworn enemies?

Then why… why did he call him so intimately?

"You’re ignoring me?"

The group: "…."

Why are you asking that? Do you really have no idea?

Zhou Chaosheng: "…."

"Why should I acknowledge you?"

Jiang Yuanye: "Did you forget about our relationship?"

Aside from Zhao Xiaohui, the others slightly parted their lips, stunned into silence for a long moment.

What relationship?

Weren’t they mortal enemies?

Why would he ask something like that?

Zhou Chaosheng: "…What relationship?"

Jiang Yuanye: "What do you think?"

Zhou Chaosheng: "I won’t say."

Jiang Yuanye: "Then I won’t say either."

This somewhat childish exchange left everyone both shocked and utterly confused.

Not to mention that both of them were now major company executives, but in their memory, Zhou Chaosheng had always been reserved and indifferent. Given his prestigious background, he never seemed like someone who would engage in this kind of conversation with Jiang Yuanye.

"If you won’t say, then leave," Zhou Chaosheng said.

"You’re really no fun." Jiang Yuanye clicked his tongue.

"This is just how I am," Zhou Chaosheng replied coolly.

Everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief, their gazes darting back and forth between the two.

If it had been before, Zhou Chaosheng might have felt embarrassed or awkward under such scrutiny.

But now, he seemed completely immune.

"Alright then."

Jiang Yuanye shrugged, his expression carrying a hint of helplessness but also something indescribable, almost like indulgence.

Zhou Chaosheng: "…"

Before he could say anything, Jiang Yuanye pulled the handbrake, stepped on the accelerator, turned the steering wheel, and sped off.

The group fell silent, as if they had turned into stone statues, unable to react.

In the end, it was Zhou Chaosheng who remained unfazed. With his hands in his pockets, he asked, "How long do you all plan to stand here?"

The others snapped out of it. "Now, now! We’re leaving right now!"

As the three of them walked ahead in a daze, Zhao Xiaohui walked up beside Zhou Chaosheng, falling into step with him, his expression complicated.

"…What’s going on with you two?"

"Hm?"

"Don’t act dumb."

"Nothing."

Zhou Chaosheng looked ahead, replying casually.

The bright lights of the hotel shone down like daylight, casting onto their shoulders, stretching their shadows long on the ground.

In the glow, Zhou Chaosheng’s dark eyes were deep as ink, his jade-like face shadowed in obscurity.

Zhao Xiaohui turned his head, watching his childhood friend’s profile thoughtfully.

With what he knew of Zhou Chaosheng, if he had no interest in something, it would be over within half an hour—no, maybe not even half an hour. Within seconds, it would be dismissed.

At first, he thought Zhou Chaosheng’s dislike for Jiang Yuanye might drag the matter out a little longer, at most a few days. But what he didn’t expect was...

This had lasted for nearly four months.

"Don’t overthink it," Zhou Chaosheng suddenly said.

Zhao Xiaohui’s drifting thoughts were pulled back to reality. He froze for a moment, then dumbly responded,

"…Don’t overthink what?"

Zhou Chaosheng looked at the three figures ahead, his expression indifferent and cold, like the misty rain, holding an emotion that was hard to decipher.

He slowly parted his lips, his voice extremely light and faint, utterly devoid of fluctuation.

"My matters with Jiang Yuanye, don’t overthink them."

Hearing this, Zhao Xiaohui put away his tangled thoughts. His expression returned to its usual careless demeanor, and he laughed. "What could I possibly overthink…? You and Jiang Yuanye have been at odds for so many years, how could that change just because of a single memory loss?"

Although Zhao Xiaohui was laughing, Zhou Chaosheng could still hear the uncertainty in his words, along with a barely perceptible probe.

Zhou Chaosheng’s gaze shifted slightly, passing through the crowd to look at the underground parking lot sign. Cars were coming and going constantly, and not long ago, a red Ferrari had just driven in.

"You’re right."

He lowered his eyes and said indifferently,

"It’s impossible."

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