Chapter 48

It was a break during the second semester of sophomore year.

After gym class, Zhou Junfeng was still excitedly telling his classmates about the beautiful three-pointer he had just made, joking and tussling with a friend.

Accidentally, he bumped into a desk.

The desk tilted, and a few books fell to the floor.

The boy who had been playfully pushing Zhou Junfeng hurried off to the restroom, leaving Zhou to pick up the books himself.

This was Ji Xi’s seat.

Zhou Junfeng was familiar with most of the classmates but not very close to Ji Xi.

In fact, Ji Xi seemed to be distant from everyone in their class.

As Zhou bent down to gather the books, a piece of paper fluttered out from one of the textbooks and landed on the floor.

He stooped to pick it up and saw that it was a quiz paper.

On it was a name: Shu Shiran.

But this was Ji Xi’s seat—why would Shu Shiran’s test paper be here?

Before Zhou could ponder further, the paper was snatched from his hand.

Ji Xi had arrived.

“What are you staring at on my scratch paper?”

It was a single-sided test sheet; only then did Zhou notice that the back was filled with notes.

His surprise and doubts faded, and he smiled, saying, “I thought you liked Shu Shiran too, and you were secretly hiding a test she’d taken.”

Ji Xi’s subtle stiffening as he slipped the paper back into his book was barely noticeable.

The test paper was indeed something he had hidden.

That day, while doing problems in the office without scrap paper, the teacher handed him a stack of test sheets, saying the backs could be used for notes.

The papers happened to be from their class.

He had found hers among them.

As Ji Xi tucked the paper away, his peripheral vision caught someone passing by.

It was Qin Shengyan.

He had clearly stopped when he overheard Zhou Junfeng’s words.

Qin Shengyan was widely regarded as the one who suited her best—a true golden boy.

He had seen them walk together, chatting and laughing.

Some even said they were already dating.

Caught in Qin Shengyan’s gaze, Ji Xi felt his secret feelings exposed in the bright classroom. For a few seconds, his mind went blank, overwhelmed by a sense of shame.

If word reached her, it would only bring her disdain or contempt.

His heart raced, but on the surface, he denied coldly, “No.”

Pride and guilt tangled within him, and he added, “I already like someone.”

Teenage boys were always curious about these things.

Hearing Ji Xi reveal he liked someone, Zhou Junfeng perked up and asked, “Who is it? Is she in our class? Or from another?”

Ji Xi remained silent.

No matter how much Zhou pressed, he wouldn’t say another word.

Soon, the bell for class rang.

**

The sound of that break bell faded away, and they wouldn’t meet again for more than ten years.

Zhu Yan stood up and changed the subject as three people entered, saying, “We’ve been waiting for you, sit down.”

Qin Shengyan apologized, “Sorry, got held up with something.”

Others replied with “No worries.”

Three seats were vacant. Shu Shiran, Ji Xi, and Qin Shengyan took their places.

Shu sat in her original seat, next to Zheng Tingyan.

On her other side was Ji Xi, with Qin Shengyan beside him.

Zheng Tingyan had previously advised Shu to hold hands when entering, and they did, though her attention had already drifted elsewhere.

Ji Xi actually had a girl he liked in high school.

Everyone was present, and the food was passed around.

They exchanged greetings with Ji Xi and Qin Shengyan, who had just arrived.

Several female classmates occasionally glanced toward Ji Xi.

Qin Shengyan was known for his good looks and had many admirers in high school.

As for Ji Xi, most had barely noticed him before; seeing him now made them want a second look.

At that moment, Zhong Wanning asked, “Ji Xi, who was the girl you liked in high school?”

Ji Xi answered distractedly, “No one.”

It was the kind of dismissive answer anyone could hear through.

After a brief pause, he lifted his eyelids and looked at Zhong Wanning, asking, “You seem especially interested in this?”

His slow tone was less than pleasant.

Zhong Wanning felt awkward and explained, “Just a casual question. If you don’t want to answer, that’s fine.”

Zhou Junfeng, who had brought up the topic, cursed silently at Zhong for being clueless.

He shifted the topic, saying, “That was over ten years ago. It’s all in the past. How about talking about the present? I heard from Zheng Tingyan you two got in touch after Ji Xi returned to the country. How did you get together?”

Shu Shiran paused with chopsticks in hand, only to hear Ji Xi say, “I pursued her.”

The group made a tutting sound, ready to tease, but seeing Qin Shengyan present, they held back.

Shu lowered her gaze, appearing bashful to others, but inwardly she pondered Ji Xi’s earlier vague “no one,” wondering whether it meant he truly had no one or just didn’t want to say.

“Qin Shengyan, do you have a girlfriend now?” someone asked.

Qin Shengyan smiled, “No.”

Ji Xi’s eyes flickered as he glanced at Shu Shiran, lost in thought.

“You don’t have a girlfriend? No way! What about before? Did you date anyone?”

Qin Shengyan replied, “I did, but our personalities didn’t match. We broke up.”

To Qin Shengyan’s right sat Zhu Yan.

Zhu sensed Qin’s mood wasn’t very high.

Or rather, the overall atmosphere on his left side was rather dry.

Everyone had just discussed Qin Shengyan and Shu Shiran’s story.

As for Ji Xi and Shu, he was close to that circle and had heard bits and pieces.

Under Zhu Yan’s guidance, the conversation soon shifted to work.

Most of the time, Zhou Junfeng and his lively group carried the chatter, keeping the mood pleasant.

After dinner, Zhou suggested going for drinks, and some immediately agreed.

Others preferred to head home.

As the organizer, Zhu Yan planned to go.

He asked Qin Shengyan, “Are you coming?”

Qin answered, “I have some things to attend to, so I won’t.”

Zhu then asked Ji Xi and Shu Shiran, “What about you two?”

Ji Xi looked at Shu for her opinion.

Their eyes met briefly.

That evening, they exchanged few glances. Shu felt his lack of enthusiasm.

“No, probably not.”

She wasn’t keen either.

Zheng Tingyan said, “I’m not going either. I stayed up too late yesterday; I’m tired and want to go to bed early.”

Once decided, the group left the private room; those going for the second round did so, and the others headed home.

Ji Xi had a bit to drink and couldn’t drive. Shu had come with Zheng Tingyan, who was now driving her car back.

“Drive slowly on the way home, and let me know when you get there,” Shu told Zheng.

Zheng nodded, “You too. Let me know when you get home.”

After saying goodbye, Shu and Ji Xi left.

There wasn’t much traffic on the way back.

The car was quiet. At a red light, Shu glanced at Ji Xi in the passenger seat—he seemed asleep.

Actually, it was normal for him to have liked a girl in high school; everyone has their first crush, especially in those tender years.

So many years had passed.

High school memories had long faded.

They probably held less significance than the women he’d been seen with at bars before or the others who came and went in his life later.

“What did you talk about with Qin Shengyan?” Ji Xi’s low voice broke the silence.

Shu snapped back to attention.

The red light still had nine seconds left.

**

Shu had long put those old matters out of her mind, yet here they were again.

She wondered why Qin Shengyan suddenly asked such a question. Anyone else might have asked casually, but Qin was a person with a strong sense of propriety.

It wasn’t important, and Shu felt that if she spoke about it, the strange atmosphere in the car would become even more stifling.

“Nothing.”

Though she thought the high school stuff was trivial, her voice came out somewhat faint.

She nearly regretted not saying a bit more.

Ji Xi hummed in response, saying nothing further.

Her urge to speak again faded immediately.

The light turned green, and she pressed the accelerator.

The shifting lights and shadows inside the car moved with the passing street scenes like a silent film.

**

Back at Chuansong No. 1, Shu said “Good night” and exited the elevator.

She was exhausted from the long day. After sitting on the sofa for a few minutes, she picked up her phone and messaged Zheng Tingyan that she had arrived.

- Zheng Tingyan: I just got here too.

The “typing” notification flickered at the top of the chat.

Zheng sent another message.

- Zheng Tingyan: Ranran, were you thinking about Ji Xi’s high school crush during dinner?

Shu’s fingers paused.

- Zheng Tingyan: That was ten years ago.

- Zheng Tingyan: I think he’s forgotten about it himself.

- Shu Shiran: Mm, I know.

- Shu Shiran: I was just surprised.

- Zheng Tingyan: I was surprised too.

- Shu Shiran: Alright, aren’t you tired? Get some rest.

- Zheng Tingyan: I’ll shower then sleep. You do the same.

After chatting with Zheng, Shu exited the conversation and saw a new message pushed her high school class group chat to the top.

She noticed the name “Ji Xi.”

Clicking in, she saw two recent messages.

- “Ji Xi’s high school crush should be from our graduating class, right?”

- “I’m going to look through the graduation album.”

Moments later, both messages were retracted, leaving only a video Zhou Junfeng had posted of their singing at the second venue.

Looks like the messages were sent to the wrong group.

**

A new week began.

Dai Jiao had gone on a business trip Monday and wasn’t at the office.

Shu was busy all day, attending meetings and preparing several projects to report to clients soon.

In the afternoon, she messaged Aunt Dou to say she’d be working late and wouldn’t be home for dinner.

- Aunt Dou: Why are you and Ji Xi both so busy lately?

Ji Xi had a social engagement the previous night and hadn’t eaten at home.

- Aunt Dou: Make sure you eat well even when working late.

- Shu Shiran: Okay, Aunt Dou.

Shu worked overtime for two days straight, returning home well past midnight on Tuesday.

Wednesday afternoon, Qin Shengyan brought a team to Chunxiang.

This was Dai Jiao’s specialty, so Shu called her over.

The two sides talked in the conference room for over an hour. Shu and Dai Jiao gained a preliminary understanding of the project and agreed that Dai Jiao would take charge moving forward.

After leaving the conference room, Dai Jiao spoke briefly with Qin Shengyan’s team leader.

Qin looked at Shu and said, “Shiran, can we talk for a moment?”

“Della has a lot of experience with projects like this. You can rest assured,” Shu said as she walked with him to the side.

They stopped.

Qin nodded and said, “I apologize for being a bit rude when I asked you at the hotel entrance Saturday night.”