So, with that, Yu Ju walked half a step behind Gu Qianxing, following him out of the airport.

Gu Qianxing’s legs were really long—each of his steps took him farther than Yu Ju’s. For every one step Gu Qianxing took, Yu Ju needed 1.15 steps to keep up.

Yu Ju was already 182.5 cm tall, yet Gu Qianxing still seemed to tower over him.

It was a relief that Gu Qianxing was slowing down; otherwise, with Yu Ju trailing behind, he would have looked like a small pendant.

In that moment, Yu Ju suddenly thought back to the past.

That summer, Yu Ju had been even shorter than he was now, barely 180 cm, and the older brother in front of him could easily lift him up with just one hand.

Outside the old airport, things were chaotic, with no real organization. As soon as they stepped outside, the noise of vendors and calls could be heard, each one asking the people coming out where they were headed, be it young men or women.

The parking lot was even messier, so once they reached the roadside, Gu Qianxing put down Yu Ju’s luggage.

“Wait here for me. I’ll bring the car around.”

Yu Ju nodded. “Okay.”

Gu Qianxing gave a reminder, “Don’t wander off, and don’t pay attention to them.”

Yu Ju rolled his eyes, “I’m not a child.”

Gu Qianxing smiled, then raised his hand to gently press it on Yu Ju’s head.

It seemed like Yu Ju’s head could only truly think clearly when Gu Qianxing wasn’t around.

Watching Gu Qianxing’s figure disappear into the distance, Yu Ju slowly snapped out of some kind of trance.

Then, he frowned.

What’s going on right now?

“Yu Ju?”

A voice suddenly called out from beside him. Yu Ju turned around to see a girl with a suitcase walking toward him.

“Zhang Hui.”

“It’s really you!” The girl quickened her pace by a few steps. “What a coincidence.”

“Back from a business trip?” Yu Ju asked.

Zhang Hui nodded. “Yeah, and you’re back from your project.”

“Mm.” Yu Ju then asked, “Did my mom tell you?”

Zhang Hui laughed. “Who else?”

She pulled her suitcase over, then asked, “Waiting for a ride? Or have you called one?”

“I’m riding with a friend,” Yu Ju replied.

Zhang Hui nodded in understanding. “I was thinking of carpooling with you. The drivers here are too overpriced. I don’t know if my boss will reimburse me for all this.”

As they chatted, a car pulled up in front of them.

Zhang Hui instinctively glanced at the car’s logo, then let out an impressed “Wow!” “Your friend?”

“Yeah,” Yu Ju replied.

Before long, Gu Qianxing got out of the car, and Yu Ju heard Zhang Hui exclaim again, “Wow, he’s really handsome.”

When she saw Gu Qianxing walking toward them, Zhang Hui turned to Yu Ju and said, “I’ll head off then. I’ll look for a bus.”

Yu Ju didn’t want to trouble Gu Qianxing by asking him to take one more person, but to his surprise, Gu Qianxing spoke up first: “Are you classmates?”

Yu Ju nodded. “Yeah.”

Zhang Hui smiled at Gu Qianxing. “Hello.”

Gu Qianxing returned the greeting and then asked, “Are you headed to the city center? Yu Ju and I can give you a ride.”

The area was far from convenient, so Zhang Hui was clearly tempted by the offer. When she heard Gu Qianxing, her eyes brightened. “Would that be okay?”

Gu Qianxing answered smoothly, “Of course.”

Zhang Hui continued, “Just drop me off in the city center, anywhere is fine. Yu Ju and I live in different directions.”

It seemed like Gu Qianxing paused for a moment before asking, “Do you know where he lives?”

Zhang Hui nodded confidently. “Of course, it’s the apartment complex near the school.”

Zhang Hui was a little puzzled by Gu Qianxing’s sudden question and turned to Yu Ju, asking, “Did you move?”

Yu Ju shook his head. “No.”

Gu Qianxing didn’t say anything further. He just smiled politely and opened the passenger door.

Everyone silently acknowledged that the door was meant for Yu Ju, so he climbed in.

Gu Qianxing, still the gentleman, carefully placed both Yu Ju’s and Zhang Hui’s luggage in the trunk. Zhang Hui thanked him courteously and then got in the car.

As soon as the car started moving, Zhang Hui leaned forward slightly and said, “Oh, by the way, I almost forgot—your mom’s ginger is at my place. When are you free to pick it up?”

Yu Ju only then remembered that his mom had asked Zhang Hui to bring over the ginger a few days ago.

His mother and Zhang Hui’s mother had been high school classmates. Later, through fate, they ended up living in the same neighborhood and became very close friends.

When Yu Ju’s mother fell ill, and Yu Ju couldn’t be at home due to school, it was Zhang Hui’s mother who kept her company.

Because Zhang Hui often traveled for work and didn’t return home much due to her own health issues, her mother often asked Yu Ju to bring some nourishing soup for Zhang Hui.

Yu Ju didn’t actually do much; it was mostly Zhang Hui who came over to pick things up.

Of course, occasionally, Yu Ju’s mom would ask Zhang Hui to bring over some food or other things for Yu Ju.

“It’s fine, I’ll go get it,” Yu Ju said. “When are you free?”

Zhang Hui replied, “How about the same as before? I’ll leave it at the security booth of your community.”

“That works.”

Once this exchange ended, the car fell into silence.

Zhang Hui, sitting in the back, was absorbed in her phone, oblivious to the atmosphere. She probably thought that Yu Ju and Gu Qianxing were very close, very good friends, so she quietly sat in the back, minding her own business.

It was only Yu Ju, sitting in the passenger seat, who felt awkward.

About five minutes into the drive, Gu Qianxing’s phone suddenly rang.

The car’s system displayed the incoming caller ID: the chattering “Magpie.”

“Mr. Gu, I need a quick favor,” came the voice on the other end.

Gu Qianxing replied coolly, “What is it?”

Magpie: “Can I borrow your computer for a bit?”

Gu Qianxing responded with a hum, “Left drawer, the laptop.”

Magpie thanked him and hung up.

But not even half a minute later, Magpie called again.

Magpie: “What’s the password?”

Gu Qianxing paused for a moment.

Magpie, on the other end: “Hello?”

Only then did Gu Qianxing respond, “0815.”

Magpie: “Got it.”

Beep…

The car fell into silence again.

Yu Ju pressed his lips together, gazing out of the window.

“Huh?”

After a while, Zhang Hui suddenly reacted, her voice tinged with confusion. “0815, Yu Ju, that’s your birthday, right?”

Yu Ju: “No.”

Yu Ju wanted to say that the password had nothing to do with him, but it seemed that Zhang Hui wasn’t asking about that, so he replied, “Yes.”

Zhang Hui’s mouth rounded as she looked at Yu Ju, then at Gu Qianxing, smiling before lowering her head to play with her phone.

At the end of the trip, Gu Qianxing asked for Zhang Hui’s address, and he and Yu Ju waited downstairs until Zhang Hui brought the ginger down before they left.

His mother had packed it in a very beautiful bag. Even though it was sealed tightly, the fragrance of the ginger quickly wafted out.

Gu Qianxing probably hadn’t eaten this before. He asked Yu Ju, “What is it?”

Yu Ju explained, “Pickled ginger, a taste from my mother’s hometown.” He untied the bag. “Do you want to try it? It’s really delicious.”

Gu Qianxing merely hummed in response before asking, “How did she know your birthday?”

The question came suddenly, and Yu Ju’s hand, which was opening the bag, paused for a moment.

“Oh,” Yu Ju replied. “Her birthday is only a month apart from mine.”

Gu Qianxing tapped his index finger on the steering wheel. “So you know her birthday too.”

Yu Ju suddenly felt inexplicably guilty. “Yes.”

Gu Qianxing asked again, “Do you know my birthday?”

Yu Ju replied, “No, I don’t.”

Gu Qianxing didn’t say anything else.

Yu Ju held the bag tightly, unsure whether he should take out the ginger and give it to Gu Qianxing.

He also wasn’t sure what the situation was now.

There really wasn’t anything to it. Gu Qianxing seemed to have just asked casually, so why did it feel like he had done something wrong?

“Well…” After a few seconds, Yu Ju spoke up. “Because we were born in the same hospital, and her mother and my mother have a really good relationship. They talk about us all the time, so she knows.”

After speaking, Yu Ju’s eyes shifted, glancing toward Gu Qianxing.

“Childhood sweethearts,” Gu Qianxing’s voice was flat.

Childhood sweethearts, what nonsense…

“No, we’re not childhood sweethearts,” Yu Ju quickly corrected. “Zhang Hui got married at the end of last year.”

Yu Ju added, “She’s married now.”

Gu Qianxing asked again, “Then who’s your childhood sweetheart?”

“What childhood sweethearts…” Yu Ju suddenly thought of that bastard Zhao Yi. “Zhao Yi was talking about Zhang Hui.”

Yu Ju continued, “Zhang Hui isn’t really a childhood sweetheart. She and I were just elementary school classmates. After we graduated from college, her mother asked me to bring her some medicine, and that’s when we reconnected.”

He added, “Zhao Yi just happened to run into her when she came to pick up the medicine.”

He went on, “We’re not that close.”

The car fell silent again. Yu Ju stared blankly ahead, and after a few seconds, quickly glanced at Gu Qianxing.

To his surprise, he caught a glimpse of Gu Qianxing’s smile.

Gu Qianxing said, “Explaining yourself, huh?”

Yu Ju suddenly realized that he might have gotten a little too… worked up earlier.

He straightened up.

Clearing his throat, he slowly sat back down.

“I just didn’t want any weird misunderstandings,” he thought for a moment before adding, “It wouldn’t be good for the girl.”

Gu Qianxing said, “Sorry for misunderstanding you.”

Yu Ju tilted his chin slightly. “It’s fine.”

After a while, Yu Ju asked, “So when is your birthday?”

Gu Qianxing, as if waiting for Yu Ju to ask, quickly answered, “October 25th.”

Yu Ju replied, “Oh.”

Then he said, “Your computer password…”

He started to speak, but stopped halfway.

And then he regretted it.

Why ask about this? Was he expecting Gu Qianxing to answer whether it was related to him or not?

“What about the computer password?”

Gu Qianxing asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Actually, Yu Ju could tell that when Magpie had asked about the password earlier, Gu Qianxing had been momentarily caught off guard, a little unnaturally.

But now, that awkwardness was completely gone.

Yu Ju, of course, didn’t dare ask anymore. “Nothing.”

Gu Qianxing continued, “You can think whatever you want.”

Yu Ju turned his head. “I didn’t think anything.”

Gu Qianxing nodded. “That’s fine too.”

Yu Ju didn’t dare to reply.

“Yu Menghu.”

After a while, Gu Qianxing suddenly called out.

Yu Ju froze for a moment, then slowly turned to look at Gu Qianxing. “What?”

Yu Menghu?

In that instant, a damn image flashed through his mind.

It was still that night, Yu Ju holding onto Gu Qianxing’s sleeve, stubbornly demanding, “I’m a fierce tiger, I’m a fierce tiger, call me fierce tiger, call me fierce tiger, hurry up, hurry up.”

Yu Ju: “…”

Next time, if he drinks that much, he’ll be a dog.

“Open the box in front of you, there’s a smaller one inside,” Gu Qianxing said.

Yu Ju, looking suspicious as if afraid of being tricked, opened the box while asking, “What’s this?”

Gu Qianxing grinned, “I bought you a pair of tiger ears.”

Yu Ju: “Tiger… ears?”

Gu Qianxing bit back a smile. “Yes.”

This guy clearly had bad intentions.

Yu Ju, with the mindset of “I’ll just see for myself,” opened the storage box.

Inside, there was indeed a small white box. Yu Ju continued to open it, only to find two fluffy hair clips inside.

“Is this a tiger?” Yu Ju picked one up. “These look like cat ears.”

Gu Qianxing raised his tone slightly, feigning surprise, “Really? I thought they looked pretty good on you, I thought they were tiger ears.”

Yu Ju deadpanned, “Not funny.”

Yu Ju added, “Don’t call me Yu Menghu.”

Gu Qianxing replied, “Alright.”

Alright, fine. What’s with the laughter?

Gu Qianxing then said, “Try them on.”

Of course, Yu Ju didn’t want to. He tossed the hair clips back into the box. “I’m not wearing these.”

Gu Qianxing didn’t press him further but asked, “If not Yu Menghu, then what should I call you? Little tiger?”

Yu Ju shook his head. “No little tiger.”

Gu Qianxing raised an eyebrow. “Little kid?”

Yu Ju shot back, “You’re the little kid.”

Gu Qianxing smirked. “Little period.”

Yu Ju raised his voice, “Don’t I have a name?”

Gu Qianxing deliberately hummed in response, “Little cutie.”

Yu Ju gritted his teeth, and this person was still laughing.