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Thank him?

Wasn't he just doing what any normal person would do?

If it had been anyone else there last night, they would have sent the person to the hospital too...

Receiving a call from Jiang Yuanye was already strange enough, and now, being thanked out of nowhere made Zhou Chaosheng feel even more uncomfortable. That kind of discomfort was similar to not knowing how to handle someone's sudden emotions.

Zhou Chaosheng opened his mouth but couldn’t make a sound.

He had studied countless books on communication and conversation techniques, but none had ever taught him how to comfort a rival whose emotions were on the verge of collapse.

His mind felt like it was stuffed with cotton, leaving him confused and at a loss.

"Stop crying."

Zhou Chaosheng said softly.

Jiang Yuanye wiped his nose and mumbled, "I'm not crying!"

Zhou Chaosheng took out a lighter from his pocket, flicked it between his fingers, and casually went along with him, "Alright, alright, you're not crying."

He paused, deliberately avoiding sensitive topics, and asked, "Did you call just to say that?"

"...No. When are you coming back?"

"Not sure, probably in two or three months."

"Aren't you supposed to have amnesia? How are you still working?"

"No choice." Zhou Chaosheng closed the lighter lid and lazily replied, "A company this big can’t be left unattended. Besides, with my brain, even if I lost my memory and had to relearn everything from scratch, I’d still pick it up in no time. You don’t need to worry about that."

Even a fool could hear the pride in his tone.

Jiang Yuanye was silent for a moment.

"...I'm not worried."

Hearing that his emotions had finally settled, Zhou Chaosheng let out a short chuckle. "Not worried, yet you're asking all these questions?"

"I'm just asking, is that not allowed?"

"Of course it is. You're my partner, after all."

As soon as he said that, the other end went silent again.

Zhou Chaosheng raised an eyebrow. Normally, at this point, wouldn't the other person joke back?

Why was it so quiet?

"Zhou Chaosheng."

"Mm?"

"I..."

The words suddenly stopped. Zhou Chaosheng didn’t rush him, instead patiently waiting.

After who knew how long, Jiang Yuanye finally spoke again, but the topic had changed. "Where exactly is your business trip this time?"

"Luxembourg," Zhou Chaosheng replied.

"Oh... so you're flying straight there?"

"Mm, with a layover in Zhejiang."

"How long is the flight?"

"About thirty-eight hours. Why are you asking?"

Jiang Yuanye hesitated. "Are you in a hurry to leave?"

Zhou Chaosheng glanced outside at the gradually easing rain and thought about the urgent legal battle and market shift ahead. He needed to launch a strong counterattack against the U.S.'s unreasonable accusations against Huajie and, after that, find a viable retreat for the company.

"Mm, I'll leave as soon as the rain stops."

Jiang Yuanye seemed to have expected this answer and didn’t sound particularly disappointed. "I figured."

Silence fell again, as if they had run out of things to talk about.

Just as Zhou Chaosheng was about to find an excuse to hang up, he heard the other person speak again.

"Zhou Chaosheng, have you ever been to Iceland?"

How could he not have?

Back in the day, Zhao Xiaohui used to drag everyone along on trips, claiming they were "traveling the world to experience different cultures," when in reality, it was just for the sake of posting on social media.

His captions would be things like "Life isn’t a track, it’s a wilderness," "The world is a giant puzzle," or "Bromo Volcano, listening to the heartbeat of the earth"—all the typical poetic captions meant to convey a sense of freedom and wanderlust.

Not just Zhao Xiaohui, but almost every rich second and third-generation heir he knew would post the same kind of thing.

As the years passed, though, he noticed Zhao Xiahui had set his social media to show only the past three days of posts. He no longer flaunted his confidence like he had at fifteen or sixteen and had gradually become more reserved and mature.

"I don't remember."

"Mm... do you want to go?"

Jiang Yuanye's question made Zhou Chaosheng unsure of his train of thought, so he asked back, "Why are you asking?"

"Because I've never been there and really want to go once."

Zhou Chaosheng was confused. If he wanted to go, then just go. Why ask him? And as far as he knew, Jiang Yuanye hadn't lost his memory. Was he asking because he wanted to go together?

But weren’t they supposed to be rivals?

Logically speaking, Jiang Yuanye should be avoiding him, wishing for him to get as far away as possible. Why was he suddenly acting like this?

Even though Zhou Chaosheng had countless questions in his head, the only one that came out was: "Why do you suddenly want to go?"

He didn't ask if Jiang Yuanye meant to go together, nor why he hadn’t gone despite having the money. He simply avoided both and changed the subject.

Jiang Yuanye leaned back in his seat and chuckled softly. "Going to Iceland was my childhood dream. Back then, I always thought that if I made a lot of money, I'd definitely go see the Northern Lights. But after growing up and actually making money, I got too busy and never found the time..."

"Now, I suddenly want to go, probably because of you."

Zhou Chaosheng was so startled that he nearly dropped his lighter. He thought, Jiang Yuanye must really enjoy messing with him... even saying things like this.

"...Because of me?"

"Mm, because of you."

"Why?"

"Because... I want to settle some things."

Jiang Yuanye’s voice was light, coming through the phone as if wrapped in a thin layer, close yet distant.

Zhou Chaosheng rubbed his ear. "What things?"

Jiang Yuanye simply said, "It's a secret for now."

Then, he chuckled and formally asked,

"Zhou Chaosheng, would you go with me?"

His tone was calm and genuine—no hidden tricks, no sarcasm. It was just a straightforward question.

Zhou Chaosheng found this version of Jiang Yuanye unfamiliar. Without his usual sharpness, he no longer felt like the same person.

Strange.

Very strange.

Why was his rival suddenly acting this way?

Was this some kind of trick again?

Zhou Chaosheng thought about it. It was entirely possible. After all, Jiang Yuanye had even gone so far as kissing him just to mess with him. If he could do that, what wouldn’t he fake?

Thinking this, Zhou Chaosheng decided to just go with it and see what happened. If Jiang Yuanye was playing games, he didn't mind playing along he’d wait and see who would win in the end.

"Sure, but I might have to wait until I'm done with work."

"No problem, I'll wait for you."

"Then I'll let you know when I'm finished?"

"Mm, I'll come find you then."

Zhou Chaosheng rubbed his ear again. He still wasn’t used to this version of Jiang Yuanye, without his usual taunts and sarcasm.

"...Mm."

Zhou Chaosheng responded quietly.

Jiang Yuanye wiped his tears, balled up the tissue in his hand, and placed it on the table, adding it to the pile of used tissues. Then, he turned to look at the sky outside. The rain had stopped, and the sun was coming out. His mood suddenly lifted, and the corners of his lips curled slightly.

"Alright, that's it for now. Safe travels."

"Okay."

"Message me when you land."

"Mm."

"Don't forget."

"...I know."

Before Jiang Yuanye could hang up, Zhou Chaosheng said one last thing:

"Listen to the doctor and get well soon."

Jiang Yuanye smiled and said, "Got it."

Zhou Chaosheng hesitantly asked, "Then... I'll hang up?"

"Mm, you hang up," Jiang Yuanye said.

Even though he said so, Zhou Chaosheng didn’t immediately end the call. Instead, he remained silent for a while. Seeing that the other person truly had nothing more to say, he finally responded, "I'm really hanging up now?"

"Just hang up already," Jiang Yuanye urged.

"...Mm."

Zhou Chaosheng said this, then decisively hung up.

After putting his phone back into his pocket, he leaned against the wall, looking at the bustling airport terminal in the distance. His mind went blank, drifting aimlessly without knowing what he was thinking about.

At that moment, the airport broadcast began playing, announcing the resumption of flights and that his flight was about to board.

"Attention, passengers traveling to Zhedong. Flight CZ8940 is now boarding. Please bring your belongings, present your boarding pass, and proceed to Gate 5 for boarding. Have a pleasant journey!"

Zhou Chaosheng didn’t move immediately. He lowered his gaze and listened as the announcement switched to English. Only then did he finally start walking toward Gate 5.

On the other side, 

Jiang Yuanye also remained silent for a long time after hanging up the phone. It wasn’t until he heard the distant roar of an airplane passing overhead that he slowly came back to his senses. He turned his head and looked out the window at the sky, which had unknowingly become clear and blue.

A silent emptiness crept up his heart like vines, quietly wrapping around him.

Now that the weather had returned to normal, the airport resumed flights, and one plane after another took off, passing through the city, steadily cutting across the blue sky. Their lifted wingtips sliced through the clouds, leaving behind long white contrails.

Raising his head to look at the departing plane, for some reason, he had a strong feeling he was certain that this must be the international flight Zhou Chaosheng was on.

This certainty made him instinctively pick up his phone, open WeChat, scroll to the chat with Zhou Chaosheng, and tap his fingers on the keyboard, typing—

I think I miss you.

Without hesitation, he hit send.

After sending it, he stared at the almost empty chat history and suddenly felt an absurd sense of disbelief.

Why did he send this message?

Even if he had guessed correctly, so what?

Zhou Chaosheng was on the plane and wouldn’t see it anyway. What was the point?

And besides, their relationship wasn’t one where they would send messages like this.

Even if Zhou Chaosheng had lost his memory and mistaken him for someone intimate, he himself hadn’t forgotten that the two of them were supposed to be rivals.

So…

Why did he do this?

Why did he have the urge to share what he saw with Zhou Chaosheng, carrying a sense of expectation?

Jiang Yuanye thought about it for a long time. He remained silent for even longer.

And as he kept thinking, a string in his mind suddenly snapped.

He realized that he might really…

No longer see Zhou Chaosheng as the rival he once hated.

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