On the day before New Year’s Day, Ning Zhiyuan participated in a local winter marathon sponsored by a foreign charity foundation. They were the contributors to the first dollar fund they had just raised. To show support, Ning Zhiyuan registered for the event along with several partners and employees.

The race started at eight in the morning, and Ning Zhiyuan got up before six.

After breakfast, Cen Zhisen accompanied him as they headed out to the competition venue.

“Do your best, and don’t force yourself. Make sure to wear warm clothes; it’s cold outside,” Cen Zhisen kept advising him on the way.

“I know,” Ning Zhiyuan adjusted his knee pads carefully. He was cautious, even putting on these things.

Cen Zhisen looked at him. Ning Zhiyuan was wearing a beige sweater, a gray-white pullover on top, black athletic pants, running shoes, and a black wool hat with a pompom. He looked like he had returned to his student days.

However, the Ning Zhiyuan from his student days wouldn’t obediently listen to him. The high-necked sweater wouldn’t have those red marks bitten by him under the collar, either. Cen Zhisen retracted his gaze, chuckling to himself.

Ning Zhiyuan wondered, “What are you laughing at?”

Since there was a driver in the front seat, Cen Zhisen took out his phone and typed a line in the notes, handing it over to Ning Zhiyuan to read.

“With such good flexibility, you should have an advantage in running marathons.”

Ning Zhiyuan: “…”

The last time Cen Zhisen praised his good flexibility, it was about their intimate activities in bed. Today, bringing it up again was undoubtedly intentional.

Playing a rogue in a serious manner, only Cen Zhisen could do such a thing.

He didn’t say a word, just took Cen Zhisen’s phone and replied with a single word below.

“Oh.”

Cen Zhisen’s eyes deepened with amusement.

“Enough joking around,” after laughing, Cen Zhisen asked him, “Did I tell you that Dad will also participate in this event?”

“Dad is also participating?” Ning Zhiyuan exclaimed. “Is he physically capable?”

“I found out yesterday as well. I asked the family doctor, and there’s no problem. His recent physical examination results have been good. He may not be able to run the full distance, but a third or a quarter of it should be possible. Dad just refuses to admit he’s old; he has liked participating in such activities since he was young,” Cen Zhisen explained.

Ning Zhiyuan nodded, “I’ll accompany him. If he can’t handle it, I’ll advise him to stop at any time.”

“Good.”

But they hadn’t been back to the Cen family villa for more than half a month, not because they didn’t want to but because Cen Shengli refused to see them. After confessing their relationship to him, things remained awkward. The news spread throughout Cen An, almost reaching their social circle, so wherever they went, they could hear gossip about them.

Some well-meaning people came to gossip directly. Friends who were close asked if they would openly admit it, while others didn’t bother to deal with it.

“But Dad probably doesn’t want to see us,” Ning Zhiyuan continued.

Cen Zhisen asked, “What are you going to do if he’s really unwilling?”

Ning Zhiyuan smiled, “Stick to him shamelessly. He can’t just drive me away.”

They arrived at the location just before seven, not too early or too late.

The road ahead was blocked, so Cen Zhisen asked the driver to park on the side. There were already quite a few people here. Ning Zhiyuan noticed Cen Shengli’s car, parked not far ahead of them.

He pushed the door open and went down, calling out first, “Dad.”

Cen Shengli nodded when he saw him, his expression indifferent.

Cen Zhisen got out of the car too, came over to greet Cen Shengli, and held Ning Zhiyuan’s wool hat in his hand, gesturing towards him, “You forgot this.”

Ning Zhiyuan didn’t want to wear it, but Cen Zhisen directly took it and put it on for him. He adjusted Ning Zhiyuan’s somewhat long hair, tucking it behind his ears, and pulled the brim of the hat down to cover his ears. “Wear it; it’s windy. Don’t let your ears freeze.”

Their interaction was naturally intimate. Originally, it was nothing, but when he thought about their current relationship, Cen Shengli felt a pang in his heart. He simply avoided looking, nodded at Ning Zhiyuan, and left.

“Dad left,” Cen Zhisen said leisurely, retracting his hand.

“Nonsense, Cen Zhisen, are you crazy? Are you intentionally provoking Dad?” Ning Zhiyuan laughed and scolded.

“No, I didn’t mean that,” Cen Zhisen refused to admit it. He wasn’t doing it intentionally; he just didn’t want to go to the trouble of concealing things.

Ning Zhiyuan said, “I don’t want to talk to you. I’m leaving.”

“I’ll wait for you on the other side of the finish line later,” Cen Zhisen reminded, holding him back.

“Didn’t you say you were working overtime today?”

“Just a meeting,” Cen Zhisen said. “It should be over by the time you finish. See you later.”

Ning Zhiyuan waved his hand casually and walked towards Cen Shengli.

Cen Shengli didn’t come alone; he was accompanied by his assistant and family doctor. After checking in, they did some simple warm-ups near the starting area.

Cen Shengli didn’t want to deal with people. Ning Zhiyuan didn’t want to get in his way, so he moved around in a place a few meters away.

Liu Lu and the others also arrived one after another. They came over to greet Ning Zhiyuan and saw that the atmosphere between Cen Shengli and Ning Zhiyuan wasn’t right. They were consciously not disturbing and went elsewhere.

As the race was about to start, Cen Shengli’s gaze fell on Ning Zhiyuan, finally calling him, “Come here.”

Ning Zhiyuan obediently walked over, “Dad.”

“Do you and your brother live together now?” Cen Shengli asked, seemingly hesitant.

Ning Zhiyuan didn’t want to lie to him and honestly admitted, “Yes, we live together. We’ve been living together for some time.”

Cen Shengli fell silent for a moment and sighed, “Did you come here specifically for this event?”

“Not really,” Ning Zhiyuan explained, “Dad, you just saw Liu Lu and the others. We’re here to support the sponsors of this event. They just invested money in us, so we need to show face. I only found out this morning that you would be participating.”

“How is your venture capital fund doing?” Cen Shengli asked.

“It’s doing okay,” Ning Zhiyuan responded confidently. “After all, it has been less than a year since its establishment, but the financial returns look good.”

Cen Shengli said, “Can you come back to Cen An?”

“Probably not,” Ning Zhiyuan didn’t even consider it, smiling as he refused, “I’m doing well now, working independently gives me a lot of freedom, suits me.”

Cen Shengli frowned, “Is working with your brother too restrictive for you?”

“It’s okay,” Ning Zhiyuan spoke the truth, “But I don’t like the feeling of being controlled everywhere. I want more autonomy.”

“You and him…”

Cen Shengli actually wanted to ask, given your relationship with your brother, do these things still matter? However, he couldn’t bring himself to ask.

Ning Zhiyuan guessed his thoughts, “Dad, that’s another matter. People always need some ambition and competitiveness.”

“Zhiyuan,” Cen Shengli hesitated, “When you left Cen An initially, changed your surname, were you actually harboring resentment towards me?”

A faint smile lingered on the corner of Ning Zhiyuan’s mouth, “Dad, why would you think that?”

“Your brother told me a lot of things about your childhood that I didn’t know that day,” Cen Shengli’s expression was somewhat despondent, “It’s justified if you hold a grudge against me. I indeed wasn’t a responsible father.”

Ning Zhiyuan saw the white hair at his temples and lowered his voice, “Dad, forget it. There might have been some resentment before, but now it’s really gone.”

Cen Shengli asked, “If I absolutely disagree with your relationship with your brother, will you still resent me?”

“No,” Ning Zhiyuan said, “This is our own choice. There’s no reason to resent others.”

“Does Teacher Ning and his wife know about your relationship? Can they agree?” Cen Shengli asked him, “You should consider their thoughts too.”

“I will talk to them. I’ll find a suitable opportunity in a couple of days and tell them. Even if they don’t understand initially, with time, they’ll gradually come to understand,” Ning Zhiyuan said optimistically.

Cen Shengli nodded slightly. He still couldn’t say the word “agree,” but his attitude had softened noticeably.

With only five minutes left before the race started, Ning Zhiyuan requested, “Dad, if I can successfully finish the entire course within four hours, can you promise me about me and my brother?”

He had been like this since he was a child. When facing Cen Shengli, he wouldn’t directly ask for what he wanted; he would always fight for it under certain conditions, and in the end, he would always get what he wanted.

“Okay,” Cen Shengli finally relented.

After the race started, Ning Zhiyuan deliberately slowed down, staying beside Cen Shengli.

“Aren’t you afraid of wasting time by following me?” Cen Shengli reminded him. “There are people running with me. You can run on your own.”

“No need,” Ning Zhiyuan insisted. “It’s still early; it won’t delay anything.”

Cen Shengli didn’t insist further and patted his arm, saying, “Go for it.”

Ning Zhiyuan smiled, “Dad, watch me.”

An hour and a half later, Cen Shengli, who had run a quarter of the distance, was satisfied and stopped, withdrawing from the race.

Ning Zhiyuan drank some water and continued.

His speed wasn’t much faster than before, but he was focused, his body gradually warming up. His steps remained light, breathing in the brisk morning air with a hint of winter chill, feeling very refreshing.

When he crossed the finish line, there were only the last ten minutes left before four hours. His result was already quite good among amateur runners.

Both Cen Zhisen and Cen Shengli were waiting for him at the finish line.

Ning Zhiyuan walked over with large strides, first exchanging fists with Cen Zhisen. After running for so long, he still looked energetic and radiant.

“Congratulations,” Cen Zhisen said with a smile, handing him a bottle of water.

Ning Zhiyuan took it, “Thank you.”

Even the tone of his voice went up.

Cen Shengli observed their tacit and uninhibited interaction, sighed again, seemingly resigned.

After Ning Zhiyuan finished drinking water, he came in front of him, “Dad.”

Cen Shengli nodded, “Three hours and fifty minutes. It’s not bad.”

Ning Zhiyuan smiled at him.

Cen Shengli admitted defeat, “Both of you should be more low-key in the future.”

“I know,” Ning Zhiyuan said.

Cen Shengli’s gaze shifted to Cen Zhisen, hesitated for a moment, and said, “I will handle things at home. As for the rumors and gossip in the company, you need to handle it yourself.”

“Okay,” Cen Zhisen agreed.

Cen Shengli didn’t say anything else. He was probably still bothered by something and left first.

Ning Zhiyuan sent a message to Liu Lu and the others, asking them to have a meal together after they all finished and report their expenses to him later.

Cen Zhisen asked him, “Aren’t you going with them?”

“I want to have dinner with you,” Ning Zhiyuan typed on his phone without lifting his head.

Cen Zhisen said, “Let’s go.”

He had come by car himself, and the car was parked in a nearby parking lot. He only asked Ning Zhiyuan about what he said to his father after starting the car, “What did you say to Dad? How did you make him relent?”

“We made a bet,” Ning Zhiyuan laughed and said, “I said that if I could finish the entire course within four hours, he must agree to our matter. Dad just gave in.”

“You really understand Dad’s thoughts,” Cen Zhisen also laughed, starting the car.

As the car drove onto the main road, he glanced at the traffic in the rearview mirror and said, “I just met Cen Zhe at the company, and he also asked about our situation.”

“Oh?” Ning Zhiyuan was slightly surprised, “He’s curious about this too?”

“He might not understand it,” Cen Zhisen said, “Every time someone asks me, I have to explain that it wasn’t like this before. Not many people believe it. For Cen Zhe, the ‘before’ might make him a bit awkward.”

Ning Zhiyuan chuckled at his words, “Awkward? Oh, Cen Zhe probably thinks you’re a big pervert who dares to lay hands on his little brother.”

Cen Zhisen glanced at him, “Is that so?”

“You have to ask yourself about that.” Ning Zhiyuan teased.

Cen Zhisen clicked his tongue, clearly disdainful of his words.

“Cen Zhisen,” Ning Zhiyuan asked him, “If someone else grew up with you since childhood, would you treat him the same way you treat me? Would you care about him like this?”

“I don’t know,” Cen Zhisen replied honestly, “When you asked me before if Cen Zhe and I could be good brothers if there was no mistake, these two questions are essentially the same. I can’t answer you, and Cen Zhe probably can’t either. Everyone’s personalities are different, and no one can make assumptions about things that haven’t happened. Maybe we could get along harmoniously, or maybe the relationship would be worse.”

“No need to be jealous of nonexistent assumptions.” Cen Zhisen seemed to have seen through his thoughts.

Ning Zhiyuan asked, “How do you know I’m jealous?”

“Aren’t you?” Cen Zhisen countered.

“A bit,” Ning Zhiyuan admitted, “But you’re right; assumptions are indeed useless.”

Whether they could be together was both inevitable and accidental. It was meaningless to reverse the process from the result.

“Yeah, although he doesn’t understand, he said he supports us. He also mentioned that your parents are actually quite open-minded. If needed, he can help persuade them,” Cen Zhisen said.

Ning Zhiyuan shook his head, “Let’s talk to them ourselves. It shows sincerity.”

As the car returned home, when they got out of the car, Cen Zhisen seemed to think of something and suddenly laughed, “Zhiyuan, are you particularly prone to jealousy?”

“Do I seem like it?” Ning Zhiyuan asked.

“You think not?” Cen Zhisen teased him with his own words, “Everyone around me, every single person, my classmates, friends, those little boys of mine— you hate them all. Is this not jealousy?”

“Nonsense, Cen Zhisen, you’re a pervert.” Ning Zhiyuan retorted.

Cen Zhisen unbuckled his seatbelt, leaned in close, and stared into his eyes, lowering his voice, “Baby, don’t be jealous.”

Ning Zhiyuan sighed, “Forget it.”