47

Zhou Chaosheng and he were like water and fire, sworn enemies, and evenly matched opponents. After so many years of battling each other, they had long since figured out each other's temperament and weaknesses down to the smallest detail.

In his impression, Zhou Chaosheng had always been the type to repay every grudge, a profit-driven smiling tiger—the kind of person who could chat and laugh with you on the surface but secretly make you doubt your entire existence.

Many times, Jiang Yuanye felt like he couldn’t see through him. But after spending this period of time together, he suddenly discovered that Zhou Chaosheng was actually quite easy to understand—his mouth was as hard as stone, but his heart was softer than cotton.

Although he held grudges, he was kind at heart. Although he was sharp-tongued, he was not without warmth—a classic case of "a tsundere whose actions contradict their words."

For example, this hospital visit. Zhou Chaosheng was a cleanliness freak who couldn’t stand going half a day without a bath, yet he endured an entire day just to keep watch over him.

Jiang Yuanye knew in his heart that Zhou Chaosheng was treating him this way because of the premise that they were "lovers," but even so, he couldn’t help but let go of past prejudices and grievances, feeling a small twinge of emotion.

Especially at the moment Zhou Chaosheng walked in with a bowl of millet porridge. Regardless of whether they were sworn enemies, if anyone else had treated him like this, Jiang Yuanye would have been moved all the same.

In that instant, his desire to take revenge on Zhou Chaosheng was no longer as strong as before. He even felt that this incident could cancel out the time Zhou Chaosheng had sabotaged his business deal.

“No matter what, thank you this time.” Jiang Yuanye looked at him and sincerely expressed his gratitude.

Zhou Chaosheng accepted his thanks with ease, then stopped him just as he was about to continue devouring the porridge.

“Don’t drink anymore. You just had surgery, it’s not good to take in too much.”

“Oh.” Jiang Yuanye obediently put the container down.

Perhaps only after experiencing the same suffering as someone else could one truly understand their pain. Jiang Yuanye deeply agreed with this sentiment and swore that from now on, he would never call Zhou Chaosheng "baby" again.

Watching Zhou Chaosheng clean up the dishes, Jiang Yuanye somehow blurted out what was on his mind: “Zhou Chaosheng, I suddenly find you quite pleasing to the eye.”

Zhou Chaosheng's hands paused as he slowly lifted his gaze. “You didn’t before?”

Jiang Yuanye didn’t bother to hide anything and answered outright, “No, I didn’t.”

Seeing that Jiang Yuanye wasn’t pretending anymore, Zhou Chaosheng finally looked at him seriously.

Jiang Yuanye, dressed in a thin blue-and-white striped hospital gown, leaned against the bed. The afternoon sunlight streamed in from the window, casting a glow on his perpetually fair skin. Even the fine, tiny hairs on his face shimmered under the light.

He raised an eyebrow slightly and asked in a soft voice, “Why?”

“Because I used to think you were so fake.” Jiang Yuanye smiled lazily, his tone as casual as if he were chatting with an old friend, carrying an indescribable sense of ease.

Zhou Chaosheng: "..."

“I mean, I still think so now.” Jiang Yuanye added.

Zhou Chaosheng’s throat moved slightly as he swallowed, restraining his impulse to argue with him. He repeatedly reminded himself that now was not the time to reveal everything.

“If you found me so unpleasant, then why did you choose to be with me?”

By the time he said this, Zhou Chaosheng had already finished tidying up. He leaned against the foldable chair, legs crossed in a relaxed manner, arms folded across his chest. With an air of an arrogant young master, his words carried a faint sense of interrogation.

Jiang Yuanye swallowed, looking at him with a complicated expression. Zhou Chaosheng could see how many times Jiang Yuanye hesitated, could see that he was struggling to find the right words to explain everything.

But Zhou Chaosheng didn’t need an explanation.

What he needed was for Jiang Yuanye to pay the price for his mistakes.

He needed Jiang Yuanye to understand just how severe the consequences of provoking him could be.

“I…”

“Jiang Yuanye.” Zhou Chaosheng cut him off, looking at him with the demeanor of a wounded victim. “Are you deceiving my feelings?”

Jiang Yuanye: "..."

Zhou Chaosheng continued, “Last night, I ran around for you, waited outside the operating room for over three hours, then sat by your hospital bed watching over you the whole night. From yesterday until now, I’ve had less than two hours of sleep. And now you wake up, give me a simple ‘thank you’ and think that’s enough? Then you want to distance yourself from me?”

Jiang Yuanye was at a loss for words. “I didn’t mean that, I—”

Seeing that he still wanted to argue, Zhou Chaosheng’s gaze grew cold. “After I lost my memory, you were the one who ran up to me, hugged me, and told me you were my true love. Then you kissed me to prove our relationship. I believed you. I accepted that you were my partner and kept telling myself to treat you well. And then? What did you do?”

Jiang Yuanye was so shocked that his eyes widened, his mind freezing up. It took him a long time to process what he had just heard.

“I was in a car accident for so long, and not only did you not visit me right away, but you waited almost a month before bringing a bunch of flowers and claiming to be my boyfriend. What were you doing all that time?”

Jiang Yuanye: “I…”

“You said you liked me, but you turned around and went drinking with other women at a bar. Tell me, what kind of ‘liking’ is that?”

Jiang Yuanye: “Let me explain—”

“Explain what? You’re the one who said you liked me, the one who said you hated me, and now you’re telling me you never liked me at all?” Zhou Chaosheng sneered, “What is this, some kind of game to you?”

Jiang Yuanye was utterly shocked. Initially, he had only wanted to mess with Zhou Chaosheng, but he had never imagined that the amnesiac Zhou Chaosheng would take all his words so seriously.

Even worse—

He might have actually fallen for him.

Jiang Yuanye was completely dumbfounded, his brain practically overheating.

In his imagination, once Zhou Chaosheng learned the truth, he should have been furious, shouting, “Jiang Yuanye, how dare you?!”

Not like this—

Not with his long, fluttering eyelashes hanging low, looking like he was on the verge of breaking apart, his voice filled with grievance and anger as he questioned why Jiang Yuanye had deceived his feelings.

“I took it seriously, Jiang Yuanye. I believed everything you said… But now, are you telling me it was all a lie?”

Jiang Yuanye opened his mouth, but his throat felt like it was blocked by a fishbone. He couldn’t make a sound.

Looking at the expression Zhou Chaosheng had never shown in front of him before, for a moment, Jiang Yuanye felt like he had done something truly unforgivable. He found himself unable to lift his head in front of Zhou Chaosheng.

Under this interrogation, memories of their time together—past and present—suddenly became both vivid and hazy in his mind.

Zhou Chaosheng asking if he was in pain on the overpass, taking the initiative to kiss him in the cramped car, handing him milk at the bar while worrying about his stomach, staying by his bedside the entire night, and even going downstairs to buy him porridge…

Jiang Yuanye’s brain completely stopped working.

So...

Not only did Zhou Chaosheng take his words seriously, but he also... liked him?

Oh god.

He had really messed up.

Jiang Yuanye was utterly dumbfounded and regretted everything.

If he had known earlier, he should have listened to Gao Zeming at the bar and not let his emotions cloud his judgment.

And now the consequence... Zhou Chaosheng had suddenly fallen for him.

As a straight man, he was doomed.

What made Jiang Yuanye even more unable to accept was that their rivalry could no longer remain as pure and beautiful as before. Now, from top to bottom, it was completely filled with undeniable tension!

Jiang Yuanye even felt like he couldn’t look directly at this "Zhou Chaosheng who liked him." Every time he saw him, the guilt in his heart surged uncontrollably.

"Zhou Chaosheng, things aren’t like what you think..." Jiang Yuanye tried to organize his words, but no matter how he structured them, he just couldn’t bring himself to say, "We used to be sworn enemies, and everything I said and did during this time was just to disgust you."

It was only at this moment that he realized the amnesiac Zhou Chaosheng was a blank slate, completely different from the one he used to be at odds with.

The current Zhou Chaosheng was innocent.

"Then what are they like?" Zhou Chaosheng asked.

"They’re..."

Jiang Yuanye paused.

Suddenly, he understood something. Since the massive lie had already been told and Zhou Chaosheng had completely bought into it, he might as well continue acting until Zhou Chaosheng regained his memory.

And what he had to do was to make Zhou Chaosheng disappointed in him before that happened, slowly untangling this relationship.

Simply put—break up.

Only this way could he lessen his guilt toward Zhou Chaosheng, and they could return to their previous state of mutual dislike.

"...It was my fault," Jiang Yuanye said.

Zhou Chaosheng was slightly surprised that he would apologize. "What exactly did you do wrong?"

Jiang Yuanye sincerely said, "Everything."

Zhou Chaosheng: "..."

"I’m asking you, specifically, what you did wrong."

Jiang Yuanye thought for a moment and said, "I was wrong for going to the bar to find women, and I was also wrong for always saying things that ruin the mood... But what I want to explain is—at the bar, I really didn’t do anything with that woman. She was the one who suddenly got close to me, and at that moment, I happened to see you, so my brain blanked out, and I didn’t push her away right away. I swear, it was just that one moment, I never touched her again after that!"

Zhou Chaosheng didn’t care whether he did or not.

"But the fact remains if you hadn’t brought her in, she wouldn’t have had the chance to get close to you."

"I only brought her in because there were no seats left."

"Right, because you always have a reason."

"...That’s not what I meant, I was just explaining."

Zhou Chaosheng didn’t want to keep going in circles over this and directly asked, "Forget about that for now, just tell me did you lie to me or not?"

"I didn’t."

Zhou Chaosheng didn’t believe him. "Prove it."

Prove it again?

Jiang Yuanye’s brain turned for a moment. He obediently placed both hands on the cup and said to Zhou Chaosheng, "Then come closer, I’ll tell you a secret."

What kind of secret needed to be whispered?

Thinking it was something important, Zhou Chaosheng casually lowered his legs, leaned in slightly, and moved closer.

"What—"

Before he could finish, Jiang Yuanye grabbed his hand and suddenly kissed his cheek.

Zhou Chaosheng: "....."

Zhou Chaosheng: !!!

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