78

Aunt Guo was stunned for a moment, completely unable to believe what she had just heard. Her gaze remained fixed on their closely pressed shoulders for a long time before she finally snapped out of it when Jiang Yuanye called her twice. She forced a smile to ease the awkwardness.

“Ah… Xiao Zhou, are you still in school?”

Before Zhou Chaosheng could respond, Jiang Yuanye burst into laughter. “Auntie, do I look like like a pedophille? He’s the same age as me, twenty-seven.”

Aunt Guo was a little surprised. “Really? He doesn’t look it…”

Zhou Chaosheng finally recovered from the loud beating of his heart and politely introduced himself, “Hello, my name is Zhou Chaosheng.”

Aunt Guo repeated the name, her expression thoughtful. “That name sounds so familiar…”

Jiang Yuanye glanced at the neighboring table, where a group of college students kept stealing glances at them. He quickly interrupted, “Auntie, we’ll have two bowls of wontons. One without scallions, garlic, ginger, or cilantro, and the other as usual.”

Aunt Guo responded, “Alright, I’ll have them made right away.”

After she left, Jiang Yuanye leaned in and whispered into Zhou Chaosheng’s ear, “Next time, don’t go around casually using your real name in public. You’ll get recognized.”

Zhou Chaosheng glanced at the college students who had been staring at them and didn’t seem to mind. “Aren’t you going to take off your mask while eating?”

Jiang Yuanye: "…."

He completely forgot about that.

Zhou Chaosheng turned his head to look at Jiang Yuanye and chuckled. “But you... why did you suddenly introduce me just now?”

“What do you mean? Haven’t I introduced you before?” Jiang Yuanye raised an eyebrow.

The last time was by the river.

“That was different.” Zhou Chaosheng shook his head and clearly laid out the distinction. “Back by the river, we weren’t together yet.”

“Pfft, alright then.”

A dozen minutes later, Aunt Guo brought over two steaming bowls of wontons. The awkwardness from earlier was completely gone, replaced by a genuine smile. “These two bowls are on me. Consider it my blessing for you two.”

Zhou Chaosheng was about to decline, but under the table, he suddenly felt Jiang Yuanye pinch his leg. The words at the tip of his tongue were swallowed back down. Then, he heard Jiang Yuanye cheerfully say, “Thank you, Auntie! I’ll bring a few more friends here next time.”

“Good, good,” Aunt Guo beamed, her smile blooming like a bright flower. “Alright, I’ll go get busy now. You two enjoy your meal.”

After Aunt Guo left, Jiang Yuanye took off his mask, scooped up a wonton with his spoon, and blew on it while saying, “This place was my go-to spot in college. Aunt Guo was also the first person who helped me back then. I was broke and had no food to eat, so I took on a part-time job. My first job was working here as a waiter.”

No wonder he had brought him here… Zhou Chaosheng thought.

“Here.” Jiang Yuanye reached out, took off Zhou Chaosheng’s mask, and then held the spoon with the cooled wonton up to his lips. “Try it. The portions here are big and filling.”

The freshly cooked wonton emitted an enticing aroma as steam curled up from it.

Zhou Chaosheng froze.

There were still people watching. Was this guy really about to feed him in public?

“Aren’t you afraid of being photographed?” Zhou Chaosheng stared directly into his eyes, trying to find even a trace of pretense but there was none.

Jiang Yuanye was simply, earnestly, trying to feed him.

“Are you afraid?” Jiang Yuanye asked with a smile.

“I’m not,” Zhou Chaosheng answered with certainty.

Jiang Yuanye moved the spoon closer, pressing it lightly against his lips as he grinned. “Then hurry up and eat it’s getting cold.”

Zhou Chaosheng followed his lead, opening his mouth and taking in the whole wonton. His cheeks puffed slightly as he chewed. Looking at Jiang Yuanye, who was smiling with crescent-shaped eyes, his brows curved like the soft branches of a willow in spring, gentle and beautiful.

The rich meat filling, the light taste of seaweed, the salty fragrance of dried shrimp—all the flavors gradually spread across his taste buds. As he chewed and swallowed, warmth filled his stomach.

“Is it good?” Jiang Yuanye asked.

“It’s good,” Zhou Chaosheng nodded.

Just as Jiang Yuanye was about to say something else, a hesitant, youthful voice came from the side.

“Um… are you Jiang Yuanye?”

Since Zhou Chaosheng had his back to the college students, they hadn’t gotten a full look at his face. But even from his side profile, they felt he looked familiar.

Jiang Yuanye, having been recognized, didn’t bother denying it. Calm and unhurried, he put down his spoon and casually greeted them, “Hi.”

The confirmation sent the group of college students into a frenzy, screaming like a bunch of excited rubber chickens. The whole restaurant turned to look, and Jiang Yuanye and Zhou Chaosheng awkwardly turned their backs to avoid the staring crowd.

After finally regaining their composure, the students quickly lowered their voices and huddled closer, excitedly asking for autographs and photos. Their eyes sparkled as they gushed, “Senior, I really admire you! You’re my idol…”

The college student’s voice suddenly faltered. Then, their eyes widened in shock as they stared at the person sitting beside Jiang Yuanye, their brain seemingly short-circuiting. “This… this is—”

Someone let out a sharp gasp, and the whole group froze as if someone had pressed the pause button. They all stared, dumbfounded, at the young man sitting next to Jiang Yuanye.

The young man had an air of noble elegance. Even under the overhead lighting, his strikingly exceptional features were impossible to overlook, his sharp jawline and well-defined contours standing out perfectly.

“Zhou… President Zhou?!”

Zhou Chaosheng nodded slightly, his expression indifferent. “Hello.”

The group of college students seemed to recall something, their expressions turning ambiguous, as if they wanted to say something but hesitated.

Unbothered by their reactions, Zhou Chaosheng picked up a wonton with his spoon, blew on it a few times, then moved his arm and brought the spoon to Jiang Yuanye’s lips. He spoke simply and directly, “Eat.”

Jiang Yuanye glanced at the college students still standing beside them. Seeing their utterly stunned expressions, he hesitated, unsure whether he should eat or not.

After waiting for a moment without Jiang Yuanye taking a bite, Zhou Chaosheng expressionlessly withdrew his hand, letting the now-cold wonton slip back into the hot soup as if doing so could somehow warm up his suddenly chilled heart.

Noticing the slight drop in Zhou Chaosheng’s mood, the college students quickly assessed the situation and decided not to linger. Politely, they said, “It’s really an honor to see you both here. We’re so sorry if we disturbed you.”

Jiang Yuanye smiled. “It’s okay, you’re not disturbing us. How about we take pictures after we finish eating?”

Their eyes lit up instantly. “Really?! Ahhh, thank you, Senior!!”

Once the students returned to their seats, Zhou Chaosheng calmly asked, “Weren’t you ‘not afraid’?”

Jiang Yuanye caught the hint of sarcasm in his tone. Feeling a bit helpless, he patiently explained, “I’m not afraid. It’s just that… doing something like that in front of them felt a little…”

“Embarrassing?”

“Something like that.”

Zhou Chaosheng fell silent.

Jiang Yuanye soon noticed that Zhou Chaosheng seemed unhappy. Instead of saying more, he softened his tone and coaxed gently, “Alright, let’s keep eating, okay? It’ll get cold if we wait too long.”

Zhou Chaosheng looked at the bowl of wontons in front of him. For some reason, his appetite suddenly disappeared. But he didn’t say anything. He just lowered his head, eyelashes drooping, and quietly scooped up wontons, eating them one bite at a time.

“…”

Jiang Yuanye glanced at Zhou Chaosheng, who was clearly not in the mood to talk anymore, and chose to stay silent as well.

Ten minutes later, the two of them finished their meal without a word.

Afterward, they put on their masks, bid Aunt Guo goodbye, and walked out of the shop only to see the group of college students waiting for them outside.

“Senior!”

“We’re here!”

Jiang Yuanye chuckled and asked, “Can I keep my mask on for the photo?”

The students quickly nodded. “Yes, yes, of course!”

After getting their approval, Jiang Yuanye turned to Zhou Chaosheng to ask if he wanted to join. But Zhou Chaosheng, clearly uninterested, shook his head. “You guys take the photos.”

Jiang Yuanye glanced at Zhou Chaosheng’s expression, hesitated for a moment, then turned to the group of college students and said, “Your President Zhou keeps a mysterious image, so how about just me in the photo with you all?”

The students were very understanding.

So, the task of taking the pictures fell to Zhou Chaosheng. Holding the phone, he pointed the camera at Jiang Yuanye, who was surrounded by the excited students, and pressed the shutter with a blank expression.

After snapping a few perfunctory shots, he handed the phone back to one of the girls. She had been sneaking glances at him for a while, and now that they were up close, she had the starry-eyed look of a true fangirl.

With barely contained excitement, she asked, “President Zhou, could you sign something for me?”

Though he wasn’t in the best mood, Zhou Chaosheng rarely refused such simple requests. “Sure,” he said, pulling a pen from his pocket and signing his name in bold, elegant strokes on the notebook she handed over.

The girl clutched the signed notebook to her chest, beaming. “Thank you so much!”

Then, as if summoning her courage, she fished something out of her pocket and, with a slight blush, held it out to him. “This… this is for you.”

Zhou Chaosheng was about to refuse when he noticed what it was—two cartoon characters on a keychain. He paused.

“What’s this?”

The girl lowered her head shyly, her voice barely above a whisper. “It’s… um… you and President Jiang…”

By the time she finished speaking, her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s buzz.

Zhou Chaosheng was surprised. He studied the two cartoon figures, and suddenly, he saw something familiar in their features and expressions—him and Jiang Yuanye.

He accepted the keychain and examined it closely.

He hadn’t expected that the CP fan campaign he’d orchestrated just days ago would take effect so quickly. In such a short time, people had already started making merchandise of them.

And the quality was actually pretty nice. Holding it in his hand, Zhou Chaosheng found himself unexpectedly fond of it.

The girl, noticing his expression, grew visibly excited. She looked as if she had just witnessed a moment of her OTP becoming real. But when Zhou Chaosheng glanced up, she quickly coughed to suppress her uncontrollable fangirl grin.

“I’m glad you like it…”

Zhou Chaosheng gazed at the intricately designed chibi version of Jiang Yuanye in his hand and, for the first time that night, gave a genuine smile.

“Thank you. I really like it.”

Next