Jiang Yuanye held his hand.
At first, it was just their fingertips touching, but gradually, their palms pressed together. Not long after, Jiang Yuanye's fingers skillfully and lightly slipped between his, interlocking their fingers.
But soon, he let go.
Because up ahead, Zhuo Chenyang suddenly stopped in his tracks, as if something had just occurred to him. He turned around and said, "Ge, there's something..."
Zhou Chaosheng lowered his gaze and looked at his now-empty fingers, momentarily unsure of what to say.
Jiang Yuanye, trying to cover up, made a casual noise. "What?"
They had let go quickly, so Zhuo Chenyang hadn't seen anything. His expression showed that he genuinely had something to ask Jiang Yuanye. First, he smiled a little awkwardly, then he finally said, "So… tonight, I want to edit all the footage I recorded today and try to post it online by tomorrow morning."
Jiang Yuanye said, "Sure, what's the problem?"
Zhuo Chenyang continued, "Well… at the start, you recorded a video for me, right? I was thinking of using it for the opening. I just matched it with some background music, and I think your delivery was amazing, really set the mood. It’s way better than what I could do. But if you mind, I won’t use it."
Having their hand-holding interrupted, Jiang Yuanye had expected something urgent, only to find it was just about this. He couldn't help but chuckle. "I don’t mind. Go ahead, use it. Just don’t put my full name in there."
Zhuo Chenyang was overjoyed, thanking Jiang Yuanye repeatedly and even promising to treat him to a big meal once they got back home. They exchanged contact info, and Zhou Chaosheng, who had been standing quietly by the side, listened to their conversation without saying anything.
Before long, Zhuo Chenyang turned his gaze toward Zhou Chaosheng and hesitantly asked, "Um… President Zhou, can I add you too?"
There was a cautiousness and anticipation in his voice, as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
If Zhou Chaosheng had known that Zhuo Chenyang saw him as an idol, he probably wouldn’t have agreed. But since he didn’t know, he just wanted to get it over with quickly and move on.
After exchanging contacts, Zhuo Chenyang didn’t walk away. Instead, he stuck around, making small talk with Zhou Chaosheng. He either asked about professional topics or inquired about Huajie’s recent developments. Zhou Chaosheng, though a little exasperated, patiently answered his questions.
As they neared the hotel, Zhuo Chenyang began gushing with exaggerated admiration, making Zhou Chaosheng feel a bit overwhelmed.
When they climbed the stairs and reached their rooms, Zhou Chaosheng finally realized they were on the same floor, only a few doors apart. Zhuo Chenyang stopped at his room, looking reluctant to part, and said, "President Zhou, talking to you has really made my day. It’s truly my greatest fortune to have met you. You have no idea how much I admired you back in university, I even joined Huajie because of you."
Jiang Yuanye, who was just about to enter his room, turned around with interest upon hearing this. "Because of him? But back then, our President Zhou wasn’t famous yet."
Zhuo Chenyang grinned sheepishly and explained, "Not gonna lie, I graduated from Peking University. Back when Peking University and Tsinghua were jointly developing the High-Precision Integrated Circuit Innovation Center, they mostly recruited PhD graduates. But then I heard from senior students that a first-year undergrad had joined the project’s research team. Later, when I found out that student was President Zhou, I started following his work ever since."
Ever since China faced severe restrictions in integrated circuit and chip manufacturing industries, universities had started prioritizing research and development in these fields. The deep collaboration between the two top universities was part of the nation’s efforts to advance technology under government support.
Jiang Yuanye raised an eyebrow. "I was in that project too. How come you don’t remember me?"
Zhuo Chenyang quickly defended himself, "Brother Jiang, of course I remember you! You and President Zhou were basically famous across multiple universities. It wasn’t just our school, most people in that university district had heard of you two. And since you were always seen together, your names kept popping up on confession walls. Even students who didn’t know about the research project could learn about you just by scrolling through their social media feeds."
"So... did all of you know my name from the very beginning?" Jiang Yuanye asked uncertainly.
"Yeah, we all knew. At the time, I was even wondering why you chose that English name, Brother Jiang."
Jiang Yuanye: "..."
The sky had fallen.
—
After Zhuo Chenyang left, Zhou Chaosheng and Jiang Yuanye entered their room as well. Once the door closed, they silently looked at each other for a few seconds before Jiang Yuanye spoke first. "What do you want to do?"
"Take a shower."
"Oh... then go ahead."
Zhou Chaosheng, who had a cleanliness obsession, took his change of clothes and went to shower. Jiang Yuanye, on the other hand, lounged on the bed with nothing to do and started playing a game.
Twenty minutes later, Zhou Chaosheng finished his shower and came out, only to find Jiang Yuanye asleep against the headboard. His phone was still lit up in his hand, the screen displaying a game of Peace Elite.
Zhou Chaosheng sighed silently, walked over, and took the phone from his hand, setting it on the nightstand to charge. Then, debating between carrying him and waking him up, he chose the latter. He gently shook him a few times, and after a while, Jiang Yuanye drowsily opened his eyes. "You're done showering?"
"Mm, lie down and sleep properly. Sleeping like that isn't good for your neck."
"Oh..." Jiang Yuanye obediently lifted the blanket and lay down.
"I'm lying down now." He patted the space beside him and smiled at Zhou Chaosheng. "Come sleep too."
Zhou Chaosheng looked down at him. An impulse surged through his mind again, making it hard for him to suppress the urge to do something.
"Jiang Yuanye..."
"Hmm? What's up?"
Zhou Chaosheng casually pinched his fingertips.
"I asked you a question before, but you haven't answered me yet."
"What question?"
"When did you start liking me, and why?"
Jiang Yuanye chuckled. "That's two questions."
Zhou Chaosheng pursed his lips. "That doesn't matter. Answer me first."
"Pfft." Jiang Yuanye couldn't help but laugh. "How did I never realize before that you're actually so cute? Hahaha..."
Zhou Chaosheng felt like he wasn't taking the question seriously and was even trying to change the subject.
"...Jiang Yuanye."
"Here!"
"..."
Jiang Yuanye sat up, leaning against the headboard again. He tilted his head slightly, smiling as he looked at him. "Alright, alright, I'll stop messing around. If you really want to know, I'll tell you..."
"It's actually nothing complicated. Do you remember the phone call and the name I gave you when you were in the hospital?"
Zhou Chaosheng remembered. Back then, after receiving a message from Jiang Yuanye, a call had come in from the man he had encountered in the hallway. The man had expressed his deep gratitude and promised to repay the money one day.
Zhou Chaosheng hadn't really cared about whether the money would be repaid. It was like charity, helping others when possible, just a way to accumulate goodwill.
"Mm, what about it?"
"Because that guy found me, I realized it was you who helped me back then."
Zhou Chaosheng was momentarily stunned. While he had expected that man to contact Jiang Yuanye, he hadn't thought Jiang Yuanye would discover that it was him who had helped pay off the debt eight years ago.
And upon realizing what Jiang Yuanye was about to say next, Zhou Chaosheng suddenly didn't want to hear it anymore.
"So... you only changed your opinion of me after realizing I was the one who funded you back then?"
"That's part of the reason"
Zhou Chaosheng interrupted him. "I get it."
Jiang Yuanye keenly noticed that something was off about Zhou Chaosheng’s mood. He reached out and held his hand, giving it a slight shake. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Zhou Chaosheng withdrew his hand and said, "Let's talk after we wake up in the afternoon. I'm a little tired now."
Jiang Yuanye refused to let go. "No way, tell me now. I feel like you're unhappy."
Zhou Chaosheng looked up. "You really don't know?"
Jiang Yuanye felt helpless. "I won't know unless you tell me why you're upset."
Seeing his exasperated expression, Zhou Chaosheng became even more reluctant to speak. He pushed his hand away, lowered his gaze emotionlessly, and said nothing.
Jiang Yuanye was about to press him further but suddenly remembered that they were no longer the rivals they once were. With that in mind, he slowly restrained the urge to confront him and relented.
"...Alright. If you don't want to talk, then don't. Let's sleep first and talk about it when we wake up later, okay?"
Zhou Chaosheng pursed his lips. "Mm."
He walked to the other side of the bed, pulled the curtains tightly, lifted the blanket, and lay down. His mind was filled with too many thoughts, making him unwilling to face Jiang Yuanye at this moment, so he turned his back to him and slept.
Jiang Yuanye didn't say anything either. The two remained silent like this until the afternoon alarm rang.
Perhaps due to his restless mind, Zhou Chaosheng had been awake the whole time and never fell asleep. When he got up, his head ached slightly in a physical sense probably because he hadn’t rested well the night before, combined with walking around constantly in the morning, his body couldn't take it anymore.
He hadn’t been like this before. Maybe it was because of the long years of staying up late and working overtime. Unknowingly, he had accumulated some lingering ailments. Although he underwent a full-body checkup every month, so far, apart from high mental stress, there had been no other severe symptoms.
After Jiang Yuanye turned over and got up, he noticed Zhou Chaosheng’s pale complexion and asked with some concern, “Do you have a headache?”
“A little.”
“Should we stay in the hotel? You can sleep a bit longer.”
Zhou Chaosheng shook his head and said, “I’m fine,” as he lifted the blanket, put on his shoes, and walked toward the bathroom.
Suddenly, he heard Jiang Yuanye sigh behind him very softly, so soft that he almost thought it was his imagination.
Zhou Chaosheng lowered his eyelashes slightly, feeling somewhat uneasy.
—
After the two freshened up, they went downstairs to meet up with Lucas and the others. The two ladies were probably still doing their makeup, so they took more than ten minutes to come down. The group set off from the hotel at 4:50 PM, heading toward Lake Toning.
Zhou Chaosheng originally wanted to find an opportunity to explain things clearly on the way, but there were too many external interruptions. Just as he started speaking, Fang Yi approached them and struck up a conversation.
Ever since Zhou Chaosheng noticed that Fang Yi might have certain feelings toward him, he had lost interest in interacting with the man. He was about to dismiss him with a casual response, but unexpectedly, Fang Yi turned his attention to Jiang Yuanye.
Jiang Yuanye didn’t expect Zhou Chaosheng’s bad mood to extend even to the people around them. It wasn’t that his tone was harsh—he just outright ignored people, which was a bit impolite.
Internally sighing, Jiang Yuanye wasn’t sure what he had said wrong to annoy Zhou Chaosheng. But to avoid making Fang Yi feel awkward, he responded to his questions.
Fang Yi had a lot of questions but was good at conversing. Perhaps due to his experience working in a news agency, he had a knack for quickly engaging others in conversation.
So, during the walk from the hotel to Lake Toning, Zhou Chaosheng remained silent while Jiang Yuanye chatted casually with Fang Yi.
However, for the most part, it was Fang Yi doing the talking and Jiang Yuanye listening. Since Zhou Chaosheng refused to look at them, he naturally didn’t notice the absentmindedness on Jiang Yuanye’s face.
At 5:17 PM, they arrived at Lake Toning.
In Iceland’s summer, the sunset was several hours later than in winter, so it was impossible to catch a grand sunset at this time.
The sky remained a clear blue, and the water’s surface rippled gently. Groups of white and black swans floated on the lake, appearing from a distance like scattered white and black dots adorning a vast blue canvas—white ones soft and warm, black ones glossy and striking. The shimmering waves of the lake enhanced their beauty, making them gleam brilliantly.
“Fang Yi, I have something to discuss with him.”
Zhou Chaosheng had returned to his usual decisiveness. He waited until their conversation reached a pause before speaking.
Fang Yi glanced at him and then nodded with a smile. “Alright, I’ll head over there and take a look.”
Once Fang Yi walked away, Jiang Yuanye subtly tugged at Zhou Chaosheng’s hand. “Now, can you tell me why you’re upset?”
Zhou Chaosheng averted his gaze and said in a low voice, “I’m not upset.”
“Liar. You obviously are. Do you think I don’t know you? When you’re mad at me, you always ignore me.”
Zhou Chaosheng froze for a moment.
“…Maybe a little.”
“Then why? Did I say something wrong?”
Zhou Chaosheng was silent for a few seconds before replying, “You didn’t say anything wrong, I just don’t understand.”
“What don’t you understand?” Jiang Yuanye’s tone carried a hint of urgency.
“I don’t understand…”
Zhou Chaosheng turned back to meet his eyes and said, “What exactly is the reason you like me?”
Jiang Yuanye responded, “I told you already. It’s because I found out you helped me back then. After that, my perception of you started to change. I suddenly realized that you’re actually a good person—not as bad as I had imagined…”
Zhou Chaosheng cut him off. “Jiang Yuanye.”
Jiang Yuanye didn’t know if it was just his imagination, but he could actually hear a faint trace of bitterness in his voice.
“Do you really know the difference between liking someone and being moved by them?”