Ning Zhu spent the morning at the tech park. When he returned to Qisheng headquarters in the afternoon, Xiao Tao came to brief him, looking a bit shy as he asked for a day off for his engagement, noting that his work handover had already been arranged.

Ning Zhu nodded, offered his congratulations, and cast a sidelong glance at him. Xiao Tao was only two or three years older than that kid—and he was already engaged?

It was still lunchtime, and Xiao Tao glanced at Ning Zhu and added, “President Ning, have you been feeling a bit down lately? Haven’t we already finalized the partnership?”

The collaboration with Lu’s Group was going more smoothly than Ning Zhu had anticipated. It had already reached the contract drafting stage, and the agreement would be signed by next week at the latest. The departments involved in the project, where the atmosphere had been stifling just a few days ago, had finally come back to life with a flurry of activity over the past couple of days.

Xiao Tao glanced at his boss. It wasn’t exactly that Ning Zhu was in a bad mood; it was just that he was usually all smiles outside of work, but lately he seemed to be hiding something. He was often seen staring into space, looking overly serious.

Ning Zhu forced a smile. “I’m in a great mood.”

“……” Xiao Tao was startled by the stiff smile on his face. He gave a dry reply and walked away. Ning Zhu dropped the smile, picked up his phone, and sent the other person a red envelope for their engagement.

Afterward, he stared blankly at the computer screen for a moment. His gaze drifted to the date in the bottom right corner of the screen, and it suddenly occurred to him that this date was very close to the one on a certain ID card he’d seen before.

He had a vivid memory of that ID photo, which was why he also remembered Dou Changxiao’s birthday so clearly. Perhaps it was because the other person was also from Haicheng. Ning Zhu was just a few months shy of turning twenty-seven; his life had been divided exactly in half between Beicheng and Haicheng.

After leaving Haicheng upon graduating from junior high, he had never returned to that place.

That place held many of his memories—both good and bad—and Ning Zhu wasn’t particularly keen on bringing them up on his own. So when he first learned that Dou Changxiao was from Haicheng, there were no small talk pleasantries to exchange between fellow townsfolk.

It wasn’t time to go to work yet, so Ning Zhu browsed a few of his usual brand websites, hesitating over whether to send him a gift. But he worried that doing so might complicate the already ambiguous relationship between him and Dou Changxiao even further.

He casually clicked into the jewelry section and browsed absentmindedly, pausing when he caught sight of a silver choker. He suddenly recalled Dou Changxiao’s bare neck and, on a whim, placed the order.

As the order page loaded, Ning Zhu finally realized something was off, and his expression tightened.

The nature of this gift was even more ambiguous than his relationship with Dou Changxiao.

Ning Zhu selected another very conventional gift, and by the time he closed the window, his whole body felt stiff. He thought: If I keep being this vague, that kid is really going to ruin me.

Dou Changxiao’s birthday fell on a Saturday. The night before, he received the restaurant address from Lu Chao and only then remembered that he had casually agreed to meet up with him on his birthday. At the time, he hadn’t realized it would coincide with his scheduled meeting with Ning Zhu.

Lu Chao sent him the restaurant address, and Dou Changxiao decided to meet Lu Chao first, arriving right on time at noon.

It was a day off, so Lu Chao was dressed in casual clothes. His style wasn’t flashy—in fact, it was downright laid-back—but without the dark suit to temper his presence, he looked much more flamboyant, a stark contrast to Dou Changxiao’s demeanor.

The two were of similar stature, and when they sat across from each other, the scene was quite harmonious. Lu Chao pushed the menu toward Dou Changxiao, letting the birthday boy order.

Dou Changxiao had no particular preferences when it came to food; he ordered a few signature dishes. When it came time to look at the drinks menu, he stared at a certain item for a moment before asking the waiter to bring him a glass of apricot liqueur.

Among the selection of premium spirits, the apricot liqueur was merely there to fill the list.

Lu Chao stopped him: “Have you forgotten you can’t hold your liquor? If you get rowdy later, I won’t be able to stop you.”

Dou Changxiao: “I won’t drink. I’ll just watch.”

Lu Chao: “……” What’s wrong with him?

Could there be something special about this drink? Lu Chao thought for a moment and said, “Then I’ll…”

Dou Changxiao glanced at him and said, “Order something else.” 

“……”

Lu Chao: “By the way, how did you end up outside the club that day?”

Dou Changxiao replied, “Looking for someone.”

Seeing that the other party didn’t want to explain, Lu Chao found it odd but didn’t press the matter further.

That business club was a legitimate establishment, and he knew Dou Changxiao’s character well—the kid was heavily influenced by Dou Linyuan and wouldn’t do anything out of line.

Dou Changxiao asked, “Were you discussing business with Qisheng that day?”

“Well, the partnership with Qisheng has been finalized. After signing the contract, I’ll stay in Beicheng for a week, then head back.” Lu Chao thought of something and said: “Actually, Qisheng’s boss surprised me—he’s very young, and some of his views and ways of doing things are quite similar to mine.”

Dou Changxiao said indifferently, “He’s nothing like you.”

“Have you met him?”

Dou Changxiao: “He came to our school to give a speech.”  

“Oh.”

Lu Chao sighed. “But this time, we’ve completely fallen out with the Ren family. I don’t really care, but Dad places a lot of importance on maintaining the relationships left behind by the older generation. I’m bound to get a lecture or two when I go back.”

Dou Changxiao: “We’re just not collaborating anymore. At most, there’s some underlying tension—how could that be considered a complete falling-out?”

“Ren Hongyuan wouldn’t do that, of course. But not long ago, he handed over our joint project to his eldest son to manage, and that guy’s approach to dealing with people is rather extreme…” Lu Chao furrowed his brow, likely recalling some unpleasant memories. “Ugh, if I’d known it would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have asked you to go to that art exhibition and support that ‘young master’ back then.”

Dou Changxiao thought for a moment and said, “I suppose I would have gone anyway.”

While they waited for their meal, Lu Chao slid a gift box across the table.

Dou Changxiao took it and said, “Thanks, brother.”

Dou Changxiao didn’t often call him “brother.” He usually stuck to business when necessary, but when the occasion called for it, he didn’t hesitate. Lu Chao smiled. After the two brothers parted ways, Dou Changxiao drove to Ning Zhu’s house.

The living room was empty. Before Dou Changxiao could call out, the door to the study on the second floor suddenly opened—likely because someone had heard him enter. Ning Zhu emerged from inside, glanced at the time, leaned on the railing, and said with a smile, “That’s quite something—you actually made it here at two in the afternoon.”

“You finally made it at the agreed-upon time.”

Dou Changxiao: “Were you working?” 

“No, come on up.”

Ning Zhu walked straight to the bedroom and took a slender gift box from the nightstand.

Dou Changxiao followed him in and closed the door. A sweet scent immediately filled the room.

Ning Zhu turned to look at him, somewhat speechless. Wasn’t he being a little too self-conscious?

He tossed the gift across the room.

Dou Changxiao caught it, paused for a moment, didn’t open it, and asked, “For me?”  

“Yeah.”

Dou Changxiao paused. “You know my birthday?” He didn’t think he’d ever told Ning Zhu.

“I saw your ID earlier.”

Dou Changxiao: “You remembered it after just one look?”

Ning Zhu: “…I have a good memory.”

Dou Changxiao said nothing, lowering his head to gently twist the ribbon on the box.

Watching him handle it with such care, Ning Zhu’s heart softened inexplicably, and he suddenly felt he should have prepared more thoughtfully. He even hesitated to say the words he’d prepared.

But he still pushed a chair over from the side, the swivel chair gently bumping against Dou Changxiao’s knee.

Dou Changxiao glanced at it but didn’t sit down. Ning Zhu stood there with him. “I’ll just come right out and say it.”

After delivering this rather bold opening line, Ning Zhu still took a few seconds to gather his thoughts.

“Changxiao,” he exhaled deeply, “I know you’ve been… feeling a bit, ahem, physically drawn to me lately.” 

“Drawn?” Dou Changxiao repeated, lowering his eyelashes as he gazed into Ning Zhu’s eyes.

Ning Zhu looked away, about to continue: “But as for me…” 

“Ning Zhu.” Dou Changxiao cut him off,

Ning Zhu continued, “As for me…”

Dou Changxiao fell silent, watching him in silence.

“……”

“It’s not impulse…” Ning Zhu clenched his teeth, then his voice slid down like a roller coaster, growing softer as he corrected himself: “…You like me.”