Cheng Zhou walked down the street with his suitcase. The morning air smelled damp and earthy, and he absentmindedly ran his fingers through his hair, making him look a bit messy and worn out.

Along the way, a few people glanced at him with curiosity. Some people are naturally curious and often spend their boring moments wondering about the sad lives of others.

His phone buzzed with two notifications. He checked and saw one message saying that ten million had been added to his account, and the other simply said, “I’m sorry.”

It must be Mu Chenfeng.

Before long, he received another text message. Cheng Zhou looked down and smiled; it was another twenty million, which he guessed was his breakup fee from Nie Shanglin.

Cheng Zhou grinned: “Now that I have money, it’s time to find a place.”

He felt completely justified in taking this money. Since the Cheng family’s business had been given to Cheng Yuze by Nie Shanglin, the Mu family naturally benefited from it too, and this amount was certainly not just a few million. Everyone—Mu Chenfeng, Nie Shanglin, and even Cheng Zhou himself—knew that very well.

Cheng Zhou had long lost interest in the Cheng family business. In his life, he didn’t have many ambitions; all he wanted was to enjoy good food and live freely, and with Nie Shanglin by his side, that was all he needed.

Hmm, what’s that smell?

Lost in thought, Cheng Zhou suddenly caught a whiff of something delicious that made his stomach rumble. He turned to see a famous snack street in the city. His eyes lit up, and he grabbed his suitcase and headed inside.

Just a few steps in, he spotted a middle-aged woman selling stinky tofu. She had a friendly face. As soon as she looked up and saw Cheng Zhou, she paused for a moment before smiling warmly, “Is that you, Xiao Zhou? It’s been so many years!”

Cheng Zhou smiled, his words as sweet as honey: “Yeah, auntie, it’s been so many years since we last met, and you still look so young and beautiful!”

“You’re the only one who knows how to flatter!” the woman complained with a smile, her tone full of familiarity and warmth. “One portion of stinky tofu, less spicy?”

Cheng Zhou raised two fingers. “No, two portions!”

——

“You finally made something of yourself; you even got into E University.”

Cheng Zhou casually glanced at the man in front of him, who looked extremely dissatisfied, and replied nonchalantly, “Of course! Luckily, I inherited my mom’s genes. Grandpa is counting on me to bring glory to the Cheng family.”

“What do you mean? You don’t consider me your father?!” The man was angry. He hated Cheng Zhou’s indifferent attitude and despised the fact that he looked so much like his mother.

“Of course I do!” Cheng Zhou said. “How could I not? Without your generous and selfless sacrifices, how would I have my Y chromosome?”

Father Cheng trembled with anger: “You! Where did you learn all this shit…”

“I’m going to see Grandpa,” Cheng Zhou said, turning to head upstairs.

“Can’t you learn something from Xiaozhe…” Father Cheng’s voice faded into the background.

Cheng Zhou scoffed. What was there to learn? He was already biased against him. No matter how well or perfectly he did, Father Cheng could always find something to criticize, even in the most insignificant things.

He reached the upstairs and shouted before even entering the room, “Grandpa, I’m here to see you!”

Unlike others, Grandpa Cheng was very fond of Cheng Zhou. Cheng Zhou’s mother, Liu Yunru, was also the daughter of a family friend whom Grandpa Cheng had watched grow up. With his son behaving so irresponsibly, causing Liu Yunru to pass away at such a young age, Grandpa Cheng had always felt too ashamed to face the Liu family, especially since they only had this one daughter. This year, due to a car accident, the head and matriarch of the Liu family—Cheng Zhou’s maternal grandparents—also passed away. Grandpa Cheng felt even more guilty toward Cheng Zhou and was determined to cherish and spoil him as if he were the apple of his eye.

Moreover, all of the Liu family’s inheritance had been passed down to Cheng Zhou.

Most importantly, when Liu Yunru married into the Cheng family, the Cheng family allocated some shares as her dowry. After Liu Yunru passed away, these shares also fell under Cheng Zhou’s name. Not counting the shares held by Grandpa Cheng, Cheng Zhou’s holdings were surprisingly not much less than Father Cheng’s. However, all of these were kept in Grandpa Cheng’s care, and they would be given to Cheng Zhou once he came of age. With his eighteenth birthday just three months away, that time was drawing near.

The more it was like this, the more Father Cheng couldn’t stand Cheng Zhou.

When Cheng Zhou walked into the room, he saw Grandpa Cheng smiling with kind eyes and said, “You brat, you still know to come and see Grandpa.”

“Of course! I think about you every day, Grandpa.”

Grandpa Cheng replied, “I’m getting older. If you don’t come to see me more often, you might not have the chance in the future.”

“How could that be? Grandpa, you’re young and healthy! I’m not even as strong as you!”

Grandpa Cheng really didn’t show signs of aging,he was imposing and vigorous.

After chatting with Grandpa Cheng for a while, Cheng Zhou heard laughter coming from downstairs. He could faintly hear the voices of Cheng Yuze and his mother, Ning Fang. The old man frowned and lost his smile, saying to Cheng Zhou, “Go see how they ended up at our house.”

After speaking, he walked down the stairs, and Cheng Zhou followed closely behind.

Sure enough, Ning Fang and Cheng Yuze were chatting with Cheng Fu, all smiles on their faces.

This made the old man frown even deeper.

Cheng Zhou ignored this; he had become accustomed to it over the years. However, his gaze was fixed on the person next to Cheng Yuze, and he couldn’t seem to look away.

“Nie… Shanglin?”

Nie Shanglin looked up and nodded at Old Master Cheng. “Hello, Old Master Cheng.” Then he turned to Cheng Zhou and asked, “Do you know me?”

Cheng Zhou was taken aback, feeling a mix of emotions. There was joy at being spoken to by him, but also an indescribable heaviness. “I should… know you.”

————

“After all these years, your taste hasn’t changed at all,” the middle-aged woman said as she placed a plate of fried stinky tofu in front of Cheng Zhou, a hint of nostalgia in her tone.

Cheng Zhou sat down at a small table at the roadside stall, not caring if the stains dirtied his high-end custom-made clothes. He casually rolled up his sleeves and replied while eating, “Haha, it’s hard to say; there have been some changes.”

“It’s been a few years, and you look like someone who can get things done now, unlike the impulsive person you were back then. You’re nowhere near as steady as that young man you often brought along,” she said, then added with curiosity, “What’s with the suitcase you’re carrying?”

“I’m not someone who gets things done; I’m just getting by,” Cheng Zhou said. “I just won a little prize and am planning to take a few days to travel and broaden my horizons.”

“Young man, it’s good to get out and explore. Have you decided where to go?”

“Mm, Tibet.”

Back in college, when Cheng Zhou stubbornly clung to Nie Shanglin, he was still a sentimental young man, always thinking about when he could take Nie Shanglin to Tibet. He envisioned them under the rising sun on the plateau, on the path where everyone prostrated themselves with every step, receiving blessings from faith amidst sincere and holy chants.

Of course, Nie Shanglin didn’t agree. Later, places like Tibet and Lijiang became known as trendy spots for pretentious “literary youth,” making it awkward to even express a desire to go. This time, Cheng Zhou had fewer expectations; he just wanted to see what altitude sickness was all about.

A month later, Cheng Zhou returned, his originally fair skin now tanned to a bronze color, likely unable to revert back after being stuck indoors for a year and a half.

Altitude sickness was truly unbearable; it varied from person to person, with severe cases leading to vomiting, nausea, fever, and fainting. Yet, despite this, Cheng Zhou still made his way around the Potala Palace amid the sounds of people worshipping.

With every step, he looked back.