RSDH CH71

In high school, Jiang Siqi held a necklace worth five figures, saying it was a birthday gift for Duan Xingye, and mocked Cheng Duzhou for only being able to afford a fountain pen.

Seven years later, Cheng Duzhou struck back.

However, Jiang Siqi had always been a rascal and didn’t have a deep impression of the bad things he had done. Therefore, Cheng Duzhou’s counterattack didn’t cause substantial harm to Jiang Siqi; instead, it made him appear very aggressive and confusing.

Jiang Siqi let out a “heh,” followed by a string of dry “hehehe” laughs. He shook Duan Xingye’s hand, released it, and swept his gaze back and forth between the couple, saying, “It must be genuine. Eight figures… spending such a huge sum on a watch, seems like you guys have earned quite a bit these years. Really envy those who become celebrities.”

Duan Xingye didn’t want to show off, but Cheng Duzhou was showing off like a nouveau riche, making the atmosphere very awkward. He didn’t know how to respond to Jiang Siqi.

Just then.

A group of classmates saw the newly arrived Jiang Siqi through the porch. One of them raised his hand happily: “Siqi!”

Jiang Siqi turned his head to look and said to the couple, “Let’s go, head over together.”

Duan Xingye took the opportunity to push Cheng Duzhou in another direction, saying, “You go first; we still have some guests to meet. See you later.”

“Sure!” Jiang Siqi agreed readily and left.

But Duan Xingye didn’t take Cheng Duzhou to meet guests—such an embarrassing guy, he wished he could bury him right there!—instead, he pushed him into the corner under the stairs.

Cheng Duzhou stumbled from the push, steadied himself, and looked blank: “What?”

“What is wrong with you?” Duan Xingye crossed his arms, his snow-white face freezing. “You made me wear the watch just to show off wealth in front of Jiang Siqi? What’s there to show off? Where did you pick up this bad habit?”

“What’s wrong with that.” Cheng Duzhou tightened his brow slightly, showing no awareness for reflection. “I bought this watch for you, it is eight figures, and you won’t even let me say it.”

“???” Duan Xingye reached out and tugged at Cheng Duzhou’s shoulder sleeve. “Are you polite? Jiang Siqi just arrived, you didn’t even greet him, just rushed to report the price. What would he think as a guest?”

Unexpectedly, the bumpkin stiffened his neck, looking stubborn: “You only know how to consider his feelings! Then when you ate fried rice cakes with him, why didn’t you think about me?”

“…………”

Duan Xingye was rendered speechless.

Fried rice cakes… fried rice cakes again… everything could be linked to fried rice cakes.

He narrowed his eyes slightly at Cheng Duzhou. The translucent blue veins on the side of his neck jumped twice, and his voice suddenly rose: “Fried rice cakes have become an insurmountable hurdle, haven’t they, Cheng Duzhou!”

Coincidentally, an auntie (maid/helper) passed by the stair entrance with a tray. Startled by the sudden clear voice, she poked her head to look at the corner.

Keenly sensing the gaze from outside, Duan Xingye put his hands on his hips and turned his body to the other side, his back facing the auntie’s direction.

Cheng Duzhou also consciously turned elsewhere.

Both pretended nothing had happened.

The auntie looked twice and walked away in confusion.

The corner quieted down, the couple still facing different directions.

The atmosphere of the cold war condensed the surrounding air inch by inch.

Duan Xingye kept a cold face, leaving Cheng Duzhou hanging, not indulging him.

Cheng Duzhou stood against the door of the storage room, hanging his head, lightly tapping the slightly raised door frame with the toe of his shoe.

After a while, his voice was low, carrying a petulant tone:

“You just don’t care about me… you don’t like me at all… others are all good, go play with others then.”

“……”

Duan Xingye took a deep breath, looked upward, the corner of his mouth trembling slightly, teeth biting his lower lip, unsure of what expression to make.

Every time he encountered an unreasonable Cheng Duzhou, he often couldn’t tell if he wanted to laugh or cry, or if both feelings existed simultaneously, breeding a restless sensation.

A thin red quickly rose on Duan Xingye’s snow-white cheeks due to emotion. He sorted out his mood, turned around, grabbed Cheng Duzhou’s arm to turn him around, took two steps forward, reached out to hug Cheng Duzhou’s waist, raised his face high, and rested his chin on the man’s shoulder.

Cheng Duzhou didn’t hesitate. He accepted the embrace, bent his back, and reached out to hug Duan Xingye too.

They made up just like that.

The surround sound system in the first-floor hall transmitted Bach’s Unaccompanied Violin Partita No. 1 to every corner. The chatter and laughter of guests from a distance intertwined with the crisp sound of clinking glasses. Light flowed everywhere like amber honey, and the scent of fresh flowers and fragrances fluctuated subtly with the air.

The couple maintained their embrace in the corner under the stairs, quietly forming a space belonging only to the two of them.

After a long while.

Duan Xingye spoke. Because his jaw was pressed somewhat tightly against Cheng Duzhou’s shoulder, his head moved slightly with the opening and closing of his lips: “Don’t make a fuss with me.”

Cheng Duzhou: “I didn’t…”

Duan Xingye stroked his back up and down and said, “No one looks down on you.”

Hearing this, Cheng Duzhou tightened his hold on Duan Xingye and nodded.

He suddenly felt his eyes stinging a little, and his nose too.

As guests arrived as scheduled, the first floor became livelier.

Kan Dashan was over sixty but still hale and hearty. When chatting with old friends, his laughter could be heard across most of the hall.

Duan Xingye and Cheng Duzhou came out from the stair entrance one after another, walking towards the living room together.

Duan Xingye said, “Not allowed to pull a long face in front of Jiang Siqi and the others.”

Cheng Duzhou lowered his eyelashes indifferently: “Oh.”

Although the unpleasantness in high school had passed for a long time, Cheng Duzhou had remembered it for so many years. Some emotions couldn’t be easily written off. But he had grown up now and become strong, not easily affected by others. Most importantly, he had just been scolded by Duan Xingye, so when facing Duan Xingye’s group of friends later, he would do enough superficial politeness.

While the two were whispering, the voices in the hall slowly receded like a tide, becoming buzzing whispers. Even Kan Dashan’s laughter disappeared. Guests kept looking toward the door.

Duan Xingye sensed the change in atmosphere and followed everyone’s gaze to investigate.

He saw a woman with a face as clean and elegant as snow, long black hair draped down smooth and soft. Over her plain clothes, she wore a lake-green printed bohemian robe that fell to her ankles, light and romantic. Coupled with her distant expression, it shaped an artistic and free temperament around her.

There was a traffic jam on the way from the airport, so Kan Yu was a bit late. Under the focused gaze of the whole venue, she showed no constraint. She stood still after entering the door, her gaze lingering somewhere in the venue from time to time. Finally, across the crowd, it landed on a young man with snow-white and gorgeous features.

Kan Yu looked for a moment, revealing a faint smile that seemed slightly polite due to not seeing each other for a long time.

Duan Xingye stood in place. That familiar yet strange feeling triggered a chaotic flight of memories, like thousands of butterflies flapping their wings out of a sealed box. Under complex feelings that couldn’t be described as absolutely good or bad, he felt a bit breathless.

Perhaps if he had been given two more seconds to prepare, it wouldn’t have been so abrupt and hard to suppress.

Just then, Cheng Duzhou stepped forward and took Duan Xingye’s hand.

Temperature transmitted from the hand. Duan Xingye came back to his senses in an instant, unconsciously grabbing Cheng Duzhou’s fingers.

He was no longer alone; he would continue writing a new chapter of life with his lover. He had walked out of the family relationship that had long shrouded him in gloom yet was hard to part with.

Duan Xingye nodded slightly to Kan Yu, returning the greeting. He gathered the emotions in his dark eyes, then moved his gaze down to look at the little boy she was holding, who was looking around.

—Brown curly hair, big black eyes, a face like a doll because of his mixed heritage.

Like him, the eyes resembled their mother.

…

After the family gathering officially began, Cheng Duzhou went to entertain the classmates in Duan Xingye’s place.

Duan Xingye sat in the living room with Kan Dashan. Beside them were not only Elder Zheng and Teacher Cao, but Kan Yu with little curly-haired Bernardo was also there.

It was mostly Elder Zheng and Teacher Cao asking Kan Yu about her life all these years, while Kan Dashan sat upright with hands clasped, not participating in the conversation, keeping a straight face the whole time.

But Duan Xingye still noticed. Kan Dashan’s gaze slanted toward Bernardo several times. When leaning forward to take tea from the coffee table, the back of his hand nudged a row of Yakult, quietly pushing it towards Little Bo’s direction.

Duan Xingye’s tsundere (proud/aloof but affectionate) personality resembled Kan Yu, and Kan Yu inherited it from Kan Dashan. So sometimes, the three generations even acted exactly the same.

Duan Xingye saw Kan Dashan’s behavior and laughed in his heart. He found an excuse to get up and temporarily leave to find Cheng Duzhou.

With him sitting there, his grandfather was even less willing to appear nice to Bernardo.

…

On Cheng Duzhou’s side, former classmates gathered together to chat. Since everyone basically went to the same school from elementary to high school, even if they weren’t in the same class during the process, they were all familiar with each other.

Everyone was quite curious about Cheng Duzhou’s celebrity life, and the topics centered on him.

Cheng Duzhou answered very officially, lacking the familiarity between friends, so the atmosphere became more depressed the more they chatted.

Everyone didn’t know how to start a conversation anymore and drank champagne to cover it up.

A male classmate held his glass, looking at Cheng Duzhou with emotion: “Really unexpected. Back then, I always thought you would go abroad to study and find a job in a top company. After all, your grades were so good then. As a result, you became the most famous and richest among us.”

Cheng Duzhou’s eye color darkened slightly, lowering his lashes to conceal it.

The male classmate bore no malice and was sincerely expressing admiration, but his words revealed the natural sense of superiority of his class. He couldn’t imagine it because he thought that no matter how hard a driver’s son worked, the best outcome would be middle class.

But he didn’t realize the problem with his words, nor did he think he needed to be cautious in front of Cheng Duzhou. Because people like them didn’t need to look at others’ faces or please anyone growing up, they naturally lacked an area of empathy.

Cheng Duzhou nodded and said, “With hard work, anything is possible.”

He didn’t retort sarcastically, which would only expose his sensitive self-esteem. Instead, he stated the fact indifferently.

“Good!” Jiang Siqi raised his glass high. “To our big star!” Then to Cheng Duzhou, “You have to finish it; clink one for Little Duan too.”

After clinking glasses, the old classmates dispersed in twos and threes.

Cheng Duzhou guessed Duan Xingye was still with Kan Dashan. With Kan Yu back, they should have things to say, so he didn’t disturb them. He walked through the kitchen alone to the terrace outside the house, leaning his arms on the railing to catch the breeze.

Cheng Duzhou had lived in this small building for twelve years. The place to relax wasn’t the front yard or the back garden, but the terrace outside the kitchen.

Because he was most familiar with the kitchen.

Just then, footsteps came from behind.

Cheng Duzhou turned around and saw Jiang Siqi, who had followed him.

Jiang Siqi held red wine in his hand, walked up to Cheng Duzhou familiarly, leaned his waist against the railing, and handed over a silver cigarette case: “Want one?”

Cheng Duzhou waved his hand.

He didn’t smoke.

Jiang Siqi put the wine glass aside, took out a cigarette, held it in his mouth, and asked, “Mind if I smoke?”

Cheng Duzhou didn’t stop him, just pointed to the right and said, “Stand over here.”

“Why?” Jiang Siqi asked him, but still moved, changing to the other side of Cheng Duzhou to lean against the railing.

Cheng Duzhou: “Downwind.”

“……”

This way, the wind blew from Cheng Duzhou towards Jiang Siqi, so he didn’t have to inhale secondhand smoke.

A flame flickered, and Jiang Siqi lit the cigarette. He took a deep drag, released it with satisfaction, and exhaled with squinted eyes. The hazy white smoke immediately drifted to the other side in the dark night.

Jiang Siqi suddenly chuckled, shook his head, and muttered to himself, “Really unexpected…”

Cheng Duzhou thought he was going to say the same thing as that male classmate and pretended not to hear.

Jiang Siqi said, “You two actually ended up together in the end.”

“Actually ended up together in the end” and “ended up together in the end” had slightly different meanings. Jiang Siqi seemed to have expected them to be together long ago, yet felt it shouldn’t have happened.

Cheng Duzhou paused and looked at him: “What?”

Jiang Siqi couldn’t explain that vague feeling, only smiling: “Maybe because seeing how good your relationship was in high school, I can’t imagine how Little Duan developed a brother into a legal partner.”

Duan Xingye didn’t develop it. Reaching this step today relied entirely on favorable timing, geographical convenience, and Cheng Duzhou’s initiative.

Cheng Duzhou lowered his eyes and said, “Still not as good as his relationship with you guys.”

“You and him not as good as him and us?” Jiang Siqi looked at Cheng Duzhou, his voice raised in surprise. “Are you sure?”

Cheng Duzhou bent down, propped his chin with one hand, gazing at the grass ahead, acting nonchalant and uncaring, his tone passing over lightly: “You guys would eat fried rice cakes together and stuff… looked quite happy.”

“Isn’t it normal for friends to eat together?” Jiang Siqi said, “But Little Duan treats you as more than a friend. Little Duan likes you to death.”

“……”

Cheng Duzhou froze for a full two seconds, understood, and looked at Jiang Siqi.

Jiang Siqi rested both hands on the railing behind him, looking up at the eaves above, recalling: “How do I know? Once we went out to eat together—forgot if it was near Raffles City—coincidentally you were setting up a stall promoting an educational institution near the mall. Suddenly a bunch of girls surrounded you to scan codes, leave contact info, and get materials. I saw Little Duan’s face wasn’t right. It was obviously jealousy, but not the kind where one is jealous of a good brother’s luck with women. Anyway, he didn’t eat much that noon. Originally, he even packed a meal for you…”

Suddenly, Jiang Siqi tutted heavily, remembering: “Right, it was fried rice cakes! It was a Korean restaurant. Little Duan packed a portion of fried rice cakes for you, no spice.”

Waves of warm tides surged through Cheng Duzhou’s heart. His brain felt hot. He opened his mouth but was stunned into making no sound.

Jiang Siqi turned his head to flick the ash: “But later he didn’t go find you. He fed the rice cakes to a street dog as soon as he went out.”

“…………”

Only after finishing did Jiang Siqi suddenly react: “Is it okay for me to expose Little Duan like this? You’ve been married for two years; you should have connected your hearts long ago. I just suddenly thought of it and mentioned it casually. Just listen and forget.”

Cheng Duzhou licked the corner of his lips, finding his voice again, though a bit hoarse: “Okay.”

“By the way, I admit I was a bit loud with you before, but that was because I thought my goddess liked you, so I didn’t have a good impression of you. Young and ignorant, always wanted to compare with you.” Jiang Siqi patted Cheng Duzhou’s shoulder, still looking like a rascal, and said, “Sorry about the past, brother. Seeing you living so well now, and that you can give Little Duan happiness, I’m sincerely happy for you pair.”

This apology, years later, was still meaningful. But the current Cheng Duzhou’s mind was full of Duan Xingye packing a portion of fried rice cakes for him, so his attention wasn’t on Jiang Siqi.

Jiang Siqi finished smoking a cigarette, satisfied his addiction, said goodbye, and went inside.

The evening breeze outside had a cool comfort, but Cheng Duzhou couldn’t suppress that hot, restless heart. On one hand, he felt it was unbelievable, unreal like a dream. On the other hand, he thought if what Jiang Siqi said was true, then given Duan Xingye’s personality of not speaking his mind, and his own inferiority and sensitivity in his youth never overstepping to ask more, what he missed might be more than just a packed portion of fried rice cakes.

Cheng Duzhou felt chaotic inside, like he was drunk. He had to calm down for a while. Waiting until the heat on his face dissipated slightly, he went inside to find Duan Xingye.

He wanted to ask Duan Xingye.

Do you like me?

Did it start from a long time ago?

Cheng Duzhou arrived at the living room.

Kan Dashan was peeling the white fibers off a tangerine, occasionally glancing at the foreign kid sitting next to him eating tangerines, speaking to him in a mix of Chinese and English.

Duan Xingye and Kan Yu were nowhere to be seen.

Cheng Duzhou asked.

Kan Dashan looked left and right, unsure: “Should be on the first floor, take a look.”

Cheng Duzhou searched among the guests but didn’t see Duan Xingye.

Standing in the hallway, he took out his phone to call. The door next to him opened, and an auntie came out holding a pile of white bed sheets, almost bumping into him.

Cheng Duzhou was all too familiar with this room; it was exactly where he used to live.

Seeing him, the auntie smiled: “Little Cheng, it’s you. I was about to clean up the room for you. Master Kan said since you’re back, the room should look proper.”

Cheng Duzhou thanked her faintly and looked inside through the door.

When he came before, it was always for short stays. He took it for granted that his room had been cleared out, so he never went to look. Now seeing the books on the desk, the ornaments, everything in the room, the familiar feeling struck again.

Cheng Duzhou put away his phone temporarily and walked into the room, discovering no one had moved his things. It was exactly the same as the day he moved out.

Cheng Duzhou sat by the bed that only had a mattress left, stroking it with one hand.

Very clean; usually covered with a sheet.

A big bed. He used to sleep only on the left side because he had to leave the right side for Duan Xingye, in case Duan Xingye came to find him at night.

Cheng Duzhou looked around, suddenly thought of something, listened quietly to the movement in the hallway outside, then knelt on the floor, prostrated himself, and looked under the bed.

Not sure if it was still there…

Cheng Duzhou saw it. Deep under the bed, on the dusty floor, lay an iron box.

He reached out and retrieved the iron box, straightened up, sat back on the bed, held his breath, blew off the dust, and wiped it clean.

Cheng Duzhou looked down at the box without opening it. Inside were stored many memories of him and Duan Xingye growing up together. Such a precious existence should have been taken away when moving. But because they had a final argument before leaving, Cheng Duzhou left the box here in a fit of pique.

Cheng Duzhou still remembered the course of that argument.

It was the second semester of the second year of high school. As the day of his moving approached, Duan Xingye gave him less and less of a good face. Many times, Cheng Duzhou suspected Duan Xingye was deliberately picking a fight, but he endured it and didn’t respond, so the relationship between the two became tense.

The night before moving, Cheng Duzhou had packed his luggage. Returning to the room, he saw Duan Xingye sitting at his desk with his back to the door. As soon as he arrived at the door, Duan Xingye suddenly stood up, then turned around nonchalantly as if he hadn’t seen him, walking towards the door.

Cheng Duzhou was about to leave. Not only did Duan Xingye not want to cherish the last moments with him, but he also frequently acted awkwardly. He felt bad enough inside, and seeing Duan Xingye acting arrogant, just as Duan Xingye was about to pass, Cheng Duzhou tensed the aching veins on the side of his neck and said, “Can you not enter my room casually?”

A series of recent events made him feel that Duan Xingye coming and going freely in his room might not be out of intimacy, but because he never valued his existence.

Hearing this, Duan Xingye stopped. His dark eyes flashed with disbelief and mockery. Then he approached aggressively, pinning Cheng Duzhou against the door frame, saying word by word: “What you eat, where you live, what you use, are all my family’s. This room you live in is also mine. What right do you have to stop me from entering?”

This undoubtedly poked the self-esteem Cheng Duzhou had carefully maintained for a long time.

If others said it, he could pretend not to hear, but Duan Xingye saying it was a devastating blow to him.

The two argued just like that.

Duan Xingye had a strong personality, always looking reasonable; even without reason, he would argue for three points of reason.

At the end of the argument, Cheng Duzhou pursed his lips and said repressively, “You never treated me as a friend.”

“What kind of friend are you?” Duan Xingye was still emotional. “Jiang Siqi and the others will accompany me. What about you?”

Cheng Duzhou: “You have them; do you still need me to accompany you?”

Duan Xingye shut his mouth abruptly, his chest heaving obviously twice. A cold mockery suddenly appeared on the teenage face: “Right, don’t need.”

After speaking, he turned and left.

Cheng Duzhou leaned against the door frame, calming down too, but still unwilling in his heart. He shouted at Duan Xingye’s back: “Can you stop always being like this? Do you actually want me to stay or not?”

Duan Xingye didn’t look back: “Stay or leave as you like.”

Cheng Duzhou’s teenage heart shattered into slag. He returned to the room, closed the door, and quietly wiped his eyes.

He returned to the desk. In the center was the “treasure box” he hadn’t had time to stuff into the suitcase—just a battered iron box.

But inside were photos of him and Duan Xingye, the sticker photos Duan Xingye dragged him to take at street machines, birthday cards Duan Xingye gave him, several postcards Duan Xingye drew… all odds and ends, but he could tell a related memory for each one.

Cheng Duzhou picked up the box and stuffed it under the bed.

Duan Xingye didn’t want him as a friend; he didn’t want him either.

He returned the room to Duan Xingye, returning their memories along with it.

…

…

In the room, Cheng Duzhou brushed the dust off the box, a trace of helplessness flashing in his eyes. recalling the past from the present, he felt that pretending to be deep all day in high school was actually just being a child who hadn’t grown up.

Judging by the accumulated dust, no one had moved this box since he left.

Cheng Duzhou wanted to see the old things inside. He pried the edge to loosen the lid and opened it.

A piece of paper folded twice, losing its constraint, popped up.

Cheng Duzhou blinked.

That lined paper wasn’t folded neatly, nor were the creases pressed firmly. It was as if it had been torn casually from a notebook page, folded twice casually, and stuffed into the box, so that after so many years, it still looked like it was just put in.

Cheng Duzhou didn’t remember the existence of this paper in his collection. He picked up the paper, unfolded it, and saw six handwritten characters on it.

——”Cheng Duzhou, don’t go.”

“……”

Cheng Duzhou looked at the paper quietly, motionless for a long time.

A message late by seven years finally arrived in his hands.

If he could have taken the box with him then, could have opened the box to take one more look…

Cheng Duzhou held the paper and fell back onto the mattress.

Seven years ago, he crossed the river, entered the station, and sat on the train about to depart holding the iron box.

He was sad about leaving, a trace of expectation remaining in his heart, hoping Duan Xingye would send him a text message. But he waited and waited without result, so he opened the iron box trying to find some memories and discovered the paper inside.

He jumped up, ran off the train just before the doors closed, ran out of the station all the way, took the cable car, took a taxi, returned to the Kan family’s small building, and amidst the surprised gazes of the aunties, rushed to Duan Xingye’s room.

Duan Xingye was sitting at his desk sulking. He walked in. Duan Xingye just looked back at him, a moment of surprise flashing across his face, then turned his head away, ignoring him, but his back looked truly aggrieved.

He walked over, blushing, at a loss, but finally said, “Actually, I don’t want to go either.”

Duan Xingye finally looked at him, made a face, got up and hugged him. They cried and laughed, ashamed of last night’s argument.

Then one month, two months, three months… at most three months, Duan Xingye walked out of the shadow of being abandoned by his parents.

They spent their eighteenth year together, graduation season, went to the same city for university. Duan Xingye majored in music, he majored in architecture—if not for wanting to make money quickly to stand out, he would have become an architect—they waited for each other after class, walked on campus. One day he wouldn’t be able to resist holding Duan Xingye’s hand, telling him his feelings. Then they would experience a complete romance, like all couples, with more laughter than tears, sweetness longer than bitterness, and finally step into marriage together amidst the blessings of friends and family.

How good would that be.

Duan Xingye wouldn’t have had to endure the long time of loneliness and helplessness.

Thinking and thinking, Cheng Duzhou’s eyes became wet.

——”Cheng Duzhou, don’t go.”

He placed the paper over his heart, looking at the ceiling, wet tear tracks breaking from the corners of his eyes and flowing down.

Just like that afternoon seven years ago when he left, Duan Xingye lay in the same position as him now, listening to the sound of the car starting in the courtyard, tears flooding past his temples.

Two tears crossed time and space, finally overlapping.

Following his classmate’s hint, Duan Xingye went outside but didn’t find Cheng Duzhou.

He wanted to leave time for his grandfather, so he simply didn’t enter the house and sat on a bench in the courtyard to rest.

Before long, a wisp of faint fragrance approached. A woman sat down beside him and said, “Can I sit here?”

“……”

Duan Xingye turned his head to glance at Kan Yu.

She had already sat down; he didn’t know what to say.

Kan Yu took out a cigarette case and asked, “Mind if I smoke?”

Duan Xingye didn’t know when she picked up this habit and indicated he didn’t mind.

Kan Yu crossed her legs, lit a slender ladies’ cigarette, and held it between her fingers with a practiced posture.

She smiled: “I never smoke in front of my youngest son, but with you, I lose restraint.”

Kan Yu seemed to be emphasizing her incompetence towards him.

Duan Xingye said, “If I were still small, you definitely wouldn’t smoke either.”

Kan Yu restrained her smile, looking elsewhere with a somewhat desolate expression: “This place hasn’t changed a bit.”

Duan Xingye gave a lukewarm mn: “Grandfather is old-fashioned.”

Kan Yu propped her cheek on one hand and changed the topic: “Saw Duzhou when entering just now. Changed so much. When I heard you got married two years ago, I wasn’t surprised at all.”

Duan Xingye looked at her: “Why?”

Kan Yu raised an eyebrow, seeming to think Duan Xingye’s question was superfluous, and said, “Didn’t you two date in high school?”

Duan Xingye: “…………”

Regarding the matter that everyone around them thought he and Cheng Duzhou had dated, the parties involved truly had no knowledge.

__

Author’s Note:

Kan Dashan: You guys dated.

Kan Yu: Didn’t you guys date?

Jiang Siqi: You two were so close in high school.

The husband couple gradually became unconfident: …Did we?