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Even without seeing the other person's face, he could still imagine their expression at this moment—brows slightly raised, the corners of their eyes curved downward, carrying a carefree and unruly smile.

He lowered his gaze to the white speech bubble on the screen.

Between the lines, the dissatisfaction and sulking from five days ago were already gone, as if they had completely forgotten the previous unpleasantness, pretending nothing had happened while chatting with him as usual.

What was this…

A peace offering?

His fingers lightly tapped the phone case a few times. His lowered eyelashes trembled slightly, as if he was absentmindedly counting down.

Three, two, one…

He deliberately didn’t reply.

Sure enough

The next second, Jiang Yuanye sent another message.

It’s been two minutes. Haven’t you finished watching the video yet?

He typed: It was alright.

Jiang Yuanye: That’s it? Just three words?

He replied: What else do you want me to say?

Jiang Yuanye didn’t say anything, just sent a sticker of a baby orangutan making a pitiful face.

He replied with a string of ellipses.

Jiang Yuanye: You won’t even humor me now?

He sent a question mark.

Jiang Yuanye: Alright, I get it. Our relationship has gone cold, huh?

Seeing the word “relationship,” he finally couldn’t help but reply:

Didn’t you just have surgery?

Jiang Yuanye, clearly guilty, sent a Doraemon sticker scratching its head.

It seemed expecting him to behave was about as realistic as expecting money to fall from the sky.

That day, after the race, Jiang Yuanye turned down all dinner invitations, drove alone to the Bund, and happened to catch a stunning sunset. Then, he casually snapped a photo and sent it to him.

Although Jiang Yuanye said it was casual, the sheer number of times he had “casually” shared things made it hard not to suspect that this was a new trick aimed specifically at him.

Once he arrived at the bund, Jiang Yuanye video-called him.

As soon as the call connected, his unfiltered face filled the screen in a sudden close-up. Even from such an unflattering angle, his sharp and striking features remained eye-catching.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

A lazy smile laced his voice, carrying through the speaker. Jiang Yuanye’s voice had a unique charm, something effortlessly natural, almost impossible for others to imitate. When his tone lifted slightly at the end of a sentence, it felt like he was teasing.

He glanced at the contract in his hands and answered truthfully:

"Working."

"Shouldn’t you have said you were thinking about me?"

Jiang Yuanye pulled the phone back slightly, revealing the skyscrapers bathed in golden light and the shimmering waves of the water behind him.

"…Why did you call me?"

"To show you the sunset."

As he spoke, Jiang Yuanye flipped the camera, pointing it at the horizon, where pink, orange, and deep blue hues blended into a breathtaking display.

"Well? Looks nice, doesn’t it?"

Even through the screen, he could feel the beauty of the setting sun. He spoke the truth... it was beautiful.

The screen flipped again, and Jiang Yuanye’s face once again dominated his entire screen.

He had previously heard Zhao Xiaohui mention that their company was developing a tri-fold phone. At the time, he hadn’t thought much of it. But now, because of Jiang Yuanye’s face, he changed his mind. He figured he should invest more money into it and have them speed up development.

He needed a bigger screen, one that wouldn’t just barely fit Jiang Yuanye’s face.

"Am I better looking?"

Jiang Yuanye asked jokingly.

He was stunned for a few seconds, not expecting Jiang Yuanye to ask that. Was he having a bout of narcissism?

"...Speak properly."

"I am speaking properly." Jiang Yuanye chuckled and quickly moved past the question. "Are you adjusting well to life over there?"

"It’s fine."

"What about the food? I remember fast food is more common in Europe. You’re so busy with work, are you even managing to eat a proper meal?"

Jiang Yuanye’s sudden, straightforward concern felt a bit strange. But strange or not, he still answered, "The company arranges meals."

Jiang Yuanye shrugged. "Alright, forget I asked."

The strange feeling only grew stronger. He couldn’t help but ask, "Jiang Yuanye, what’s up with you?"

Jiang Yuanye looked puzzled. "What do you mean what’s up with me?"

He carefully chose his words, trying to tactfully express that Jiang Yuanye’s recent tone and behavior seemed off.

Jiang Yuanye was sharp, he caught on the moment the first sentence was spoken. But instead of interrupting, he patiently waited for him to finish before replying slowly, "You’re my boyfriend. What’s so strange about this?"

He paused for a moment, then quickly erased the recent thought in his mind that Jiang Yuanye is actually a decent person.

"Oh, I can see your company building."

Jiang Yuanye didn’t turn the camera around. The phone remained in his hand, and from across the screen, he could only follow his movements, falling into his restricted field of view.

All he could see was his clothes.

After changing out of the red racing suit, Jiang Yuanye was now wearing a black workwear denim jacket over a white t-shirt, he looked effortlessly casual.

"I used to stand right here and think, It would be great if one day I could have my own company across the river too.’" Jiang Yuanye’s voice was soft, like a breeze before sunset.

He didn’t interrupt his thoughts.

"Back in 2017, I was still working part-time in Kyoto. At the time, all I felt was how suffocating that city was. Then I took a train here. On my first day, I realized I didn’t belong in this city at all."

Jiang Yuanye exhaled lightly. "It’s too big, too prosperous. Everyone who comes here will, at some moment, recognize their own insignificance..."

Jiang Yuanye hadn’t said much, yet even these plain words allowed him a glimpse into his struggles back when he was trying to establish himself in the city.

"...Do you still feel that way now?" He asked.

"Yes. People are just tiny specks in this vast world. Even though I have all this now, I still feel like none of it truly belongs to me. Do you know that feeling? It looks like you’re holding onto it, but in reality, this kind of grandeur is just like a handful of sand. It slips away so easily from your fingers..."

"You know," Jiang Yuanye sighed, "I used to envy you. I envied that you had everything.. your family’s love, material wealth, a powerful background… You had so much that I never did. So I couldn’t help but be jealous. Jealous that you had more than me, jealous that you could get people’s affection so easily without needing to please anyone..."

The Bund was bustling with people, yet the voice in his ear was unmistakably clear.

"Back then, I always wanted to defeat you, to tear off your mask, to pull you down from the pedestal and prove that I wasn’t any worse than you…"

Something inside him stirred. This version of Jiang Yuanye felt unfamiliar.. too honest, too direct. It was as if, all of a sudden, Jiang Yuanye had untied the knots in his heart and was silently letting go in a place where no one else could see.

Only by letting go could he speak so openly in front of him.

"But the older I got, the more I realized how foolish I used to be." Jiang Yuanye chuckled as he continued, "It wasn’t until now that I understood people need to recognize their own limitations, slowly learn to accept their mediocrity and shortcomings, and admit that others are simply better in certain ways. There’s nothing shameful about it. Maybe only by realizing this can someone truly escape the shadows of life and find relief."

This unfamiliar side of Jiang Yuanye was one he had never seen before.

Even though he knew they were rivals, opponents constantly at odds with each other, enemies brought back together by fate even after four years apart, competitors who had been locked in battle from high school to adulthood—he still found himself unconsciously moved by this version of Jiang Yuanye.

Perhaps the others were right. He and Jiang Yuanye didn’t have any deep-seated hatred. It was never so serious that they had to fight to the bitter end, ignoring the bond of former classmates.

"Can you turn the camera around for me?"

He suddenly spoke, snapping Jiang Yuanye out of his thoughts.

"Ah… Sure, do you want to see the sunset?"

"No, the opposite shore."

"Oh…"

The camera flipped, and in just a few inches of screen space, the brilliance and grandeur of the opposite shore unfolded before his eyes.

Towering skyscrapers stretched high into the sky, their varying heights creating a distinct skyline. The golden afterglow bathed the silver-clad buildings, spilling over them like molten light, painting both the towering structures and the gently flowing river in warm hues.

The sound of water, the chatter of people, the calls of seagulls.

Amidst the blend of these sounds, he saw the iconic landmark symbolizing voyages and exploration, as well as the modern architectural marvels standing tall among the cityscape.

"I see your company," he said. "To have built all this in just four years… aside from you, I haven’t seen anyone else achieve something like this."

Jiang Yuanye fell silent.

Acknowledging a rival’s strength wasn’t anything unusual, but saying it out loud, this was a first.

For both Jiang Yuanye and himself, this was completely unheard of.

So, after speaking, he also fell into silence.

And in that silence, a sweet, pleasant voice suddenly interrupted—

"Hi, handsome! Sorry to bother you, but do you have a girlfriend?"

Hearing that, he set aside the contract resting on his lap, placed it on the desk, shifted his posture, and leaned back into the soft cushion of his chair.

"...No," he heard Jiang Yuanye reply.

In that moment, Zhou Chaosheng suddenly had the urge to say something—anything—to break the barrier between them, to remind the girl that there was a third person present, to speak just for the sake of speaking.

But he held back.

Maybe because he didn’t know what to say. Maybe because he didn’t know what saying something would lead to.

In the end, he chose to stay silent.

"Then… can I add you on WeChat?" the girl asked.

The camera shook several times.

For some reason, his heart clenched, gripped tightly by an unseen force.

He couldn't help but wonder.... was this girl beautiful?

Beautiful enough…

That even someone like Jiang Yuanye, who was used to seeing gorgeous women, would say yes?

"Ah... sorry."

He could almost hear the vibrations in his own chest, his heartbeat faster than usual.

As if anticipating something, as if nervous about something.

Jiang Yuanye gave an apologetic smile.
"I'm on a call with my boyfriend."

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