Nie Shanglin had been acting like a voyeur, with a private detective following Cheng Zhou for almost three months.

People are like this; the closer someone is to you, the less you learn to cherish them. You even harm that person with indifference and coldness. When they leave, you deceive yourself into thinking it doesn’t matter at all, until you realize that you can’t live without them. By then, it’s too late.

On this day, he finally took care of everything regarding the Cheng family, restoring it to its original state. He had scheduled a meeting with the lawyer and nervously dialed Cheng Zhou’s number.

“Hello—” Cheng Zhou’s voice sounded a bit lazy. Nie Shanglin knew he had just woken up. When he was doing post-production work, he was accustomed to staying up late, sometimes even pulling all-nighters, only to collapse onto the bed with his temples pressed in the morning around seven or eight and then sleep until two in the afternoon.

Nie Shanglin was aware of all this now and worried about his health. However, he had no position to persuade Cheng Zhou to change his routine. Three months ago, he had sent Cheng Zhou some things, like scar-removing ointment, but they had all been returned by Cheng Zhou, who told the messenger that if he sent anything over again, he would leave this place.

For the next three months, he didn’t dare to disturb him again, nor could he let the private detective stop the surveillance, fearing that he would wake up the next day to find Cheng Zhou gone from his sight.

Although Cheng Zhou’s voice was lazy, it was still polite, with a languid nasal tone that carried an inexplicable sexiness, sending a shiver through Nie Shanglin’s ears.

Nie Shanglin swallowed hard, his heart racing, and cautiously spoke with a serious tone: “It’s me.”

On the other end, Cheng Zhou furrowed his brow.

“Is something the matter?”

Nie Shanglin softened his voice and said, “Do you have some time? I’d like to discuss a few things with you.”

Nie Shanglin had checked Cheng Zhou’s recent schedule and knew he would have some time to rest after finishing his work last night. He had memorized Cheng Zhou’s daily habits well. After working, when Cheng Zhou slept in until he woke up naturally, he was both confused and charming. Nie Shanglin chose to call him at this moment specifically to avoid hearing Cheng Zhou’s indifferent voice.

He could no longer bear the distance and restraint in Cheng Zhou’s voice whenever they spoke, as if he were being pushed away.

On the other end, Cheng Zhou rubbed his forehead in irritation upon hearing Nie Shanglin’s voice. He had just finished editing a video after staying up all night, and now, waking up from a deep sleep, he was at his most disoriented but also in a relatively good mood. However, receiving a call from Nie Shanglin at this moment soured his previously good mood.

Cheng Zhou asked, “Is there something that can’t be said over the phone?”

“This matter is better handled in person.” After getting to know Cheng Zhou, Nie Shanglin didn’t even dare to directly say that he wanted to return the Cheng family to him. Cheng Zhou was a straightforward and decisive person, and once he made a decision, he wouldn’t look back. Since he had genuinely given up on the Cheng family, he wouldn’t think about getting it back, just like he had given up on himself.

Thinking about this, Nie Shanglin felt a dull ache in his heart.

Cheng Zhou sat up in bed, rubbed his messy hair, and squinted his eyes. After thinking for a moment, he realized he did have something to discuss with Nie Shanglin. So he said, “Okay, let’s meet tonight. You pick a place.”

Nie Shanglin thought he would have to say more to justify meeting him, but he was surprised that Cheng Zhou agreed right away. He quickly replied, “Great! I’ll send you the address. Let’s meet at seven tonight, okay?”

Cheng Zhou replied softly with an “mm” and asked, “Is there anything else?”

“No, I—”

After hearing there was nothing else, Cheng Zhou simply hung up the phone.

Even though Cheng Zhou ended the call, Nie Shanglin still felt good. The fact that Cheng Zhou agreed to meet without much hesitation made him wonder if he no longer disliked him as much.

But he didn’t dare to think too deeply, fearing it would just lead to false hopes. It was already enough that Cheng Zhou hadn’t run away, even after all the mistakes he had made.

Of course, he purposely didn’t remind himself that the reason Cheng Zhou hadn’t left was simply because he didn’t care.

In the evening, Nie Shanglin arrived early at the agreed location.

It was just past six o’clock, and Nie Shanglin felt like a young man in love, eagerly arriving with a nervous heart as he waited.

The lawyer Nie Shanglin had hired would arrive at eight o’clock, which was when he and Cheng Zhou would probably finish their meal.

Cheng Zhou arrived at the restaurant at six fifty.

This restaurant was owned by a friend of Nie Shanglin. Because it was expensive and had good privacy, there weren’t many customers, but those who did come were all people of status. Nie Shanglin had originally wanted to choose Jiu Yuan Zhai, since Cheng Zhou liked the food there, but it was fully booked that day, and there were no available tables. Since Cheng Zhou didn’t like meat, he quickly thought of this restaurant instead.

After Cheng Zhou arrived, the waiter took their orders and then went to prepare the food.

Cheng Zhou, looking casual but still appropriate, sat down across from Nie Shanglin. “Do you have something to discuss?” he asked directly.

Nie Shanglin smiled and said, “Let’s eat first. We can talk after the meal. I ordered your favorite dishes.”

He thought it had been a long time since he and Cheng Zhou had sat together calmly like this. It felt as if all the times he hadn’t come home were a long time ago. He realized he had missed out on so much time with Cheng Zhou.

“Is that so?” Cheng Zhou said. “In that case, let me finish what I want to say first. I do have something to ask you.”

Yes, Cheng Zhou agreed to meet because he also had something to discuss with Nie Shanglin in person.

Nie Shanglin’s face lit up with joy as he quickly replied, “Okay, go ahead.”

As long as Cheng Zhou asked, he would do anything for him. Even though they had become like strangers, at least Cheng Zhou still turned to him for help when he faced problems, right? Thinking about this made Nie Shanglin unable to hide his smile.

Cheng Zhou took a sip of floral tea to soothe his throat and looked up calmly. “I’ll ask you a favor: please don’t send anyone to follow me anymore.”

Nie Shanglin immediately straightened up and tensed his nerves upon hearing this.

“It’s very bothersome.”

“Also,” Cheng Zhou paused at this point and looked directly at Nie Shanglin, “it’s very disgusting.”

Nie Shanglin felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him, chilling him to the core.