Quietness prevailed across the room.

Jing Tian was still a bit annoyed, “Why aren’t you saying anything? If you’re not talking, why did you make the call?”

Chu Chen Tao finally spoke, sounding somewhat hesitant, “Why did you suddenly…”

Only then did Jing Tian realize that his previous reaction seemed overly dramatic to Chu Chen Tao, who was unaware of his recent situation, and it didn’t match his recent behavior.

Just as he was hesitating whether to explain, Chu Chen Tao seemed to have guessed the answer.

“You remembered everything?” he asked.

Jing Tian only mumbled a response. With his memories restored, Chu Chen Tao’s past actions and words became more vivid and discomforting in his mind. The realization of his own past misjudgments made him feel irritated.

Chu Chen Tao was oblivious to his internal turmoil and spoke cheerfully, “That’s great.”

Jing Tian hesitated for two seconds, then forced a grin and suppressed his irritation before replying, “Yeah.”

Afterward, he covered the phone’s microphone, took a deep breath, then released it before speaking again in a tone much softer than before, “Senior, what’s the matter?”

“It’s nothing major,” Chu Chen Tao said, “Did I disturb you?”

Jing Tian almost cursed in frustration.

“Is that the guy surnamed Chu?” Yang Yue, who was nearby, asked with widened eyes.

Jing Tian gestured to him with hand movements and mouthed to him to stay quiet.

As Yang Yue furrowed his brows, Jing Tian forced a twisted smile, “I was playing a game just now, and you suddenly called, causing me to freeze up.”

Luckily, his tone sounded normal, and the person on the other end didn’t notice anything unusual.

“I’m sorry, it’s really embarrassing, my mistake,” Chu Chen Tao said, “You go ahead with what you were doing, we can talk later when you’re free, no rush.”

Jing Tian thought, what’s with the act? You’re not in a hurry, but you keep calling incessantly, are you trying to annoy me to death?

“It’s okay, I’m free now,” his acting skills were lacking, as there was no trace of amusement in his voice, “What’s up?”

“Oh, it’s like this,” Chu Chen Tao said, “I happened to see you with Zheng Xunqian just now, it seemed… a bit unpleasant?”

Jing Tian felt even more annoyed, almost blurting out “What’s it to you?”

“Was he… bothering you?” Chu Chen Tao asked.

Holding onto his phone, Jing Tian hesitated.

Chu Chen Tao misunderstood, “Are you in trouble? Do you need my help? Last time we had a bit of a disagreement, actually that was…”

“It’s fine, Senior, I know, it was my fault last time,” Jing Tian interrupted, “Blame me, I misjudged. I remembered everything, what you said was all true.”

Chu Chen Tao seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, his voice now tinged with amusement, “It’s good that you remembered.”

“Yeah, Zheng Xunqian lied to me, we never even dated,” Jing Tian said, “That day, we were supposed to have dinner together, right?”

Yang Yue couldn’t bear it anymore, his face stern, he reached out to grab him. Jing Tian quickly dodged backward, gesturing to him continuously.

“I finally cleared my grievances,” Chu Chen Tao sighed deeply, “I’ve been feeling regretful all this time. I shouldn’t have acted impulsively that day. I was in so much pain, which led me to say those hurtful words to you, I’m sorry.”

Holding the phone, Jing Tian was somewhat absent-minded for a moment.

If only those words had come from Zheng Xunqian, it would’ve been great.

Seeing his silence, Chu Chen Tao continued, “I shouldn’t have made excuses. Even though being forgotten and abandoned by you hurt me a lot, it wasn’t your fault. I should’ve been more understanding towards you. I’m really sorry, I won’t do it again in the future.”

Jing Tian smiled again, this time much more naturally than before.

He thought, this person truly regards me as a fool. In the past, I might have felt guilty because of these words. Being overly considerate of others isn’t a good thing at all.

“It’s okay, it’s all in the past,” he said.

“Then… can we redo the date we missed?” Chu Chen Tao asked.

Clearing his throat, Jing Tian replied, “Of course.”

The moment he pressed the end call button, Yang Yue immediately jumped up, “Are you crazy?”

“Don’t get worked up,” Jing Tian felt a bit embarrassed, trying to pull him back, “It’s not what you think…”

“Isn’t Zheng Xunqian better than this nonsense? Even if you broke up with Zheng Xunqian, there’s no need to look for him,” Yang Yue exclaimed, “This isn’t called giving it another try, it’s called eating your own vomit!”

Before Jing Tian could speak, Shu Ziqin, who was beside them, asked in surprise, “Broke up?”

This kid, despite knowing them for a while now and even secretly admiring Yang Yue, seemed completely oblivious to the ambiguous relationship between these two male compatriots. It could be considered a talent in its own right.

“Are you trying to deliberately make Zheng Xunqian jealous?” Yang Yue asked. “Do you want him to feel jealous?”

Shu Ziqin sat dumbfounded on the side, while Jing Tian felt embarrassed by the commotion. “Where did you get that idea?” he asked.

Yang Yue furrowed her brow and sat back down. “Then why exactly?”

Jing Tian lowered his head, nervously playing with his fingers. “Let me tell you, I’m someone with a strong sense of retaliation.”

Ironically, almost everything Chu Chen Tao said after losing his memory was true.

During that time, the two were very close, meeting frequently. From Chu Chen Tao’s perspective, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it dating.

Having meals and shopping together with Chu Chen Tao was generally a safe activity. Unlike Zheng Xunqian, he was very conscious of the gazes of strangers around him. Whenever they were out, he wouldn’t even dare to hold hands if there were others present.

And Jing Tian deliberately avoided being alone with him.

He told Chu Chen Tao that despite his outgoing appearance, he was actually quite conservative and needed to take things slowly, starting with being friends.

Chu Chen Tao knew about his past and didn’t doubt him.

Whenever Jing Tian felt suffocated because of Zheng Xunqian, he would turn to Chu Chen Tao for comfort. Chu Chen Tao seemed fascinated by his appearance, readily fulfilling his requests.

Jing Tian was certain that he could never accept him. He just wanted Chu Chen Tao to experience firsthand how it felt to be played with and despised by someone you like, preferably humiliating him in front of his friends.

The plan was elaborate, but due to his poor acting skills and his own aversion to Chu Chen Tao, it didn’t progress much.

On the day they parted ways with Zheng Xunqian, when he was feeling extremely frustrated, Chu Chen Tao happened to send him a message. Feeling upset and needing to vent, he planned to meet Chu Chen Tao that evening and let out all his grievances.

But with that misstep on the stairs, this somewhat childish revenge plan was forced to be put on hold.

After regaining his memory, Jing Tian hardly ever thought about it again.

Zheng Xunqian, a man he both loved and hated, was enough to occupy his mind. He simply couldn’t spare the energy to actively engage with someone he purely found repulsive.

Unexpectedly, Chu Chen Tao came to him, and in such an annoying way.

“I know you definitely oppose it,” Jing Tian muttered, “so I didn’t dare to bring it up back then.”

Yang Yue couldn’t help but laugh in frustration, while Shu Ziqin, who had been forced to listen to the entire conversation, sat dumbfounded. Just ten minutes ago, he thought he was the only guy within a hundred miles who liked other guys, feeling very lonely.

Seeing homosexuals popping up around him like mushrooms after the rain, he couldn’t help but look at Yang Yue with a hint of expectation in his eyes.

“I’m speechless,” Yang Yue shrugged, “you three men are like a drama, and I, a heterosexual, completely can’t understand!”

Shu Ziqin withdrew his gaze and sighed.

Yang Yue, oblivious, grabbed Shu Ziqin’s arm. “Poor little lunch, also being subjected to this torture. Don’t worry, we’ll ignore them.”

Shu Ziqin turned his head and silently swallowed his saliva.

“That being said,” Yang Yue sighed again, “I feel like this isn’t very good.”

“Too harsh?” Jing Tian asked.

“Of course not,” Yang Yue shook his head, “the Chu guy definitely isn’t a broad-minded person. I’m afraid this tit-for-tat between you guys will never end.”

Jing Tian thought to himself, I’m not afraid of him. Even if I can’t beat him, I can run faster.

He had arranged to meet Chu Chen Tao at an Italian restaurant near the school.

The spaghetti there barely had any meat, but the sauce was exquisite, the prices were reasonable, and it was one of the few restaurants nearby with a tasteful decoration, very popular among students, especially student couples.

The restaurant didn’t take reservations, and Jing Tian, dragging his feet due to his inner resistance, arrived twenty minutes late. When he got to the door, he found a long queue.

Chu Chen Tao was somewhat critical of his tardiness, but considering this was their first meeting after resolving their past conflicts, he pretended to be magnanimous. Now seeing the long line, he immediately lost his patience.

“How about we go somewhere else?” he asked Jing Tian. “What do you think?”

Jing Tian didn’t want to stand outside with him doing nothing, so he had no objections. “Whatever, I’m fine with anything.”

Chu Chen Tao looked around and then checked his phone for a moment before making a choice: “Less than two hundred meters ahead, there’s a highly rated restaurant that serves both fish and noodles. You should like it. Let’s go there.”

Jing Tian casually nodded and began to walk in the direction he pointed.

After walking less than ten meters, he suddenly realized something was wrong.

“Are you talking about that four-year-old restaurant with yellow croaker noodles?” he asked Chu Chen Tao.

“Yeah, that’s right,” Chu Chen Tao smiled and nodded, “Have you been there before?”

Jing Tian lowered his head: “…No.”

“Well, that’s perfect. Since you like eating fish, take this opportunity to try it,” Chu Chen Tao said, “I checked earlier, and this is the highest-rated restaurant nearby.”

Jing Tian remained silent.

Chu Chen Tao tried to make conversation: “Being able to walk with you like this feels like a dream.”

Jing Tian forced a laugh twice, thinking to himself, you can dream on.

He felt uncomfortable. Wanting revenge was one thing, but he didn’t enjoy the process itself, feeling a bit tortured even.

Yang Yue told him last night that he didn’t think he was cut out to be a villain.

At that time, Jing Tian didn’t agree, but now he thought Yang Yue understood him after all.

He needed to quickly find a way to get Chu Chen Tao to introduce him to his friends. Then he could throw back all the mocking words Chu Chen Tao said about him behind his back, once and for all, and be done with it.

His time and energy shouldn’t be wasted on people he despised.

The distance of over a hundred meters, even if he deliberately slowed his pace, would only take a few minutes. Returning to this familiar place, Jing Tian felt a sense of nostalgia.

“Besides the signature yellow croaker noodles here, is there anything else you want to order?” Chu Chen Tao asked after they were seated.

Jing Tian thought for a moment: “…Let’s add a braised egg. I heard the braised eggs here are delicious.”

Chu Chen Tao nodded and then signaled the waiter: “Excuse me, we’re ready to order!”

“Just a moment,” the waiter holding a bowl of noodles said to him, then shouted loudly, “Order number 16, order number 16 ready!”

This number triggered Jing Tian’s memories. Before he could reflect on it, a familiar voice came from not far behind and to the side.

“Here, thank you.”

Jing Tian’s eyes widened instantly. He quickly turned around and indeed saw the familiar figure he had anticipated.