As the elevator ascended, Ning Zhiyuan leaned against the elevator wall, legs crossed, one hand in his pocket, and his thumb rhythmically rubbing the fabric with a lazy posture. His gaze lingered on Cen Zhisen, who stood nonchalantly, staring at the elevator doors.

“Do you live nearby too?” Ning Zhiyuan suddenly asked.

They had moved out of the Cen family villa a few years ago to live independently, but they hadn’t invited each other over in all these years.

Cen Zhisen casually mentioned the name of a residential complex. After hearing it, Ning Zhiyuan seemed to ponder for a moment and asked, “Is that near Lijing Tiandu?”

As these five words were spoken, a slight ripple finally appeared in Cen Zhisen’s eyes, and his gaze shifted towards Ning Zhiyuan.

Ning Zhiyuan smiled and teased, “Do you also have a suite in Lijing Tiandu?”

Cen Zhisen didn’t answer, attempting to read the reason behind Ning Zhiyuan’s sudden inquiry from his eyes. Unfortunately, the drunken gaze only contained laughter, with a hint of cunning and mockery, making it hard to decipher the underlying meaning.

The elevator stopped, the metal doors opened again, and Cen Zhisen stepped out first.

Ning Zhiyuan followed him slowly.

Once inside, he asked Cen Zhisen what he wanted to drink, “Coffee, tea, or soft drinks? I guess you wouldn’t want alcohol anymore.”

Cen Zhisen glanced around Ning Zhiyuan’s apartment, noting its cool and tidy decor, bearing the marks of a single occupant, similar to his own place.

“Just plain water is fine,” he replied.

Ning Zhiyuan went to the bar to pour a glass of cold water for him, but he didn’t drink anything himself. He reminded Cen Zhisen, “Wait here; I’ll go get something.”

After saying that, he turned and headed to the study.

Perhaps due to being drunk, he stood there for a moment in the study, lost in thought. Strangely, he couldn’t remember where he had put the things he wanted to give to Cen Zhisen.

He checked the folders on the desk, pulled open the drawers one by one, and then moved on to the nearby bookshelf.

After carefully searching from bottom to top, he finally found the envelope squeezed under a few professional books in the upper left corner of the bookshelf.

“Why did I put it here?” Ning Zhiyuan muttered, and he took out the envelope. Opening it a bit too hastily, he dropped it to the floor, scattering a dozen or so photos.

When Cen Zhisen came over, Ning Zhiyuan was crouched down, picking up the scattered photos one by one.

Approaching, Cen Zhisen stopped in front of him, half-crouching down. He casually picked up one of the photos, glanced at it, and frowned.

It was a candid photo of him with a young man, not just the one in Ning Zhiyuan’s hand, but all of them. Most were taken in the underground parking lot of the Lijing Tiandu residential complex that Ning Zhiyuan had asked about earlier.

The photos weren’t explicit, but anyone with discerning eyes could guess the nature of the relationship between him and the man in the pictures.

“What’s this?” Cen Zhisen asked, looking directly into Ning Zhiyuan’s eyes.

Ning Zhiyuan, without feeling guilty, was originally planning to return these photos to Cen Zhisen. “You’ve seen them. Candid photos.”

Cen Zhisen asked, “Did you hire someone to take pictures of me?”

“Yeah,” Ning Zhiyuan openly admitted, “I did it last year. I wanted to find something to use against you. I didn’t expect to capture these interesting private life photos. Imagine if I had shown these photos to Dad at the time. He would have had to reconsider whether you playing around with men outside would affect the family line. Maybe he would have thought about whether I would be a more suitable heir. Or if I had given the photos to the board of directors, those old conservatives wouldn’t have liked the idea either. They would have had to consider whether to choose you or me.”

He chuckled as he spoke. “I didn’t even have to do it myself. I could anonymously send them to your dear step mother. She would have been delighted to make a big fuss about it.”

Cen Zhisen tossed the photos back to the floor, showing little concern. “Then why didn’t you bring them out in the end?”

If Ning Zhiyuan had exposed these photos at that time, whether to their father or the board of directors, he would indeed have caused some trouble. However, Ning Zhiyuan didn’t, and now, these photos were returned to him in the envelope tonight.

Ning Zhiyuan also asked himself the same question. Taking photos of Cen Zhisen was just a whim. He hadn’t expected to capture these images.

When he first got the photos, he had considered giving them directly to Cen Zhisen. Knowing that a few pictures couldn’t threaten this man, he was more interested in seeing the surprise on his face and finding out if he could maintain his usual calm composure.

But it was just a passing thought.

“I thought about it,” Ning Zhiyuan said, “but I have some standards. It’s more interesting to compete with you openly and honestly. Using such despicable means is boring.”

Cen Zhisen nodded, having already guessed it. Ning Zhiyuan was like that – troublesome but not a big problem.

Ning Zhiyuan lowered his eyes to the photos in his hand. In one, Cen Zhisen leaned against the car door, a cigarette in his hand, and the young man was close, lighting a cigarette for him. Cen Zhisen looked lazy and even a bit roguish, quite different from the image of the meticulous and serious Cen Zhisen in his memory.

Actually, tonight at the nightclub, the way Cen Zhisen looked at him while drinking, the question he smiled and asked, “Do you want to know?” and the ice-cold fingers on the back of his neck when he touched him all seemed somewhat similar to the person in these photos.

Ning Zhiyuan realized vaguely that tonight, he might have truly glimpsed a facet of Cen Zhisen’s true nature or perhaps only a corner of the iceberg.

“Do you like men? These obedient and docile young men?” Ning Zhiyuan’s gaze returned to Cen Zhisen, asking with a tone that carried a hint of intriguing laughter.

Cen Zhisen calmly met his gaze and didn’t immediately respond.

He did indeed like men, and his sexual orientation had always been towards men. In his private life, he couldn’t be considered ascetic, but he was still restrained. Over the years, he had intermittently kept two or three of these young men, but the relationships never lasted long. Once his interest waned, he would send them away with money.

Ning Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow, as if insisting on an answer.

“Do you want to know?” Cen Zhisen spoke, surprisingly using the same phrase.

Before Ning Zhiyuan could reply, Cen Zhisen continued, “I do like men. Choosing obedient and docile young men is probably because my younger brother is already enough of a headache for me. If I have a few more who are as difficult as him, I’m afraid I won’t be able to handle it.”

It sounded like a half-joking sentence, and a slight curve appeared at the corner of his lips.

Ning Zhiyuan teased without embarrassment, or maybe because he was still a bit intoxicated, and his mind couldn’t think too much: “Then I must have caused you trouble. Sorry about that.”

“You know, that’s enough,” Cen Zhisen lightly chuckled. “Let it go.”

Perhaps Ning Zhiyuan himself didn’t realize that his last insincere apology was the only one in these many years in front of Cen Zhisen.

Cen Zhisen didn’t want to expose it.

“When you asked me about Lijing Tiandu earlier, I don’t like bringing people home, but I do have a suite there,” Cen Zhisen explained.

Ning Zhiyuan nodded and casually added, “I don’t like bringing people home either.”

“Yeah,” Cen Zhisen said, “That suite is currently vacant.”

For the past half year, he had been alone. In a way, it was related to Ning Zhiyuan. Before, Ning Zhiyuan had been constantly pressuring him at the company, causing him to allocate most of his energy to deal with him. However, in the last month, with Ning Zhiyuan absent, no one contradicted him anymore. Although work efficiency didn’t improve much without Ning Zhiyuan, others lacked the courage to make decisions like him. Many things still needed him to oversee, which was troublesome.

Even most of the decisions that Ning Zhiyuan made without consulting him, he agreed with them. In a sense, he and Ning Zhiyuan had a certain tacit understanding.

Ning Zhiyuan sensed some inexplicable meaning in Cen Zhisen’s slightly smiling tone and paused briefly. Cen Zhisen’s smile, however, had already disappeared as he said, “Are you returning the photos to me?”

Ning Zhiyuan picked up the last photo, put it back into the envelope, and handed it to him. “Dispose of them as you wish. I’ve already deleted the negatives, so rest assured.”

Cen Zhisen took it casually, nodding. “Thanks.”

He stood up first, and Ning Zhiyuan remained crouched on the floor, looking up at him, seeming a bit dazed.

Cen Zhisen lowered his eyes, and from this angle, the usually drunk Ning Zhiyuan appeared surprisingly gentle.

His gaze lingered on Ning Zhiyuan’s face for a moment, and suddenly, he remembered when they were both very young. Ning Zhiyuan used to listen to him with a confused expression, looking up at him. At that time, Ning Zhiyuan hadn’t developed the sharp thorns that he later grew, and they were each other’s closest confidants.

It was indeed a pity, both back then and now.

Ning Zhiyuan, belatedly realizing it, stood up after crouching for too long, feeling a bit numb in his legs. Since he wasn’t particularly sober, his body swayed a bit, nearly causing him to fall.

Cen Zhisen reached out and supported him, holding his small arm. “Be careful.”

Ning Zhiyuan frowned, finding Cen Zhisen’s voice unusually gentle, almost not like something this person would say, at least not to him.

Was he like this with those young men of his?

Ning Zhiyuan thought about it and asked, “Is this how you date those people?”

“The relationship I have with them isn’t appropriately defined as dating,” Cen Zhisen corrected him. “Or do you think I’m currently in a relationship with someone like this?”

Cen Zhisen’s tone wasn’t frivolous, and his expression was more serious than before. While saying this, he stared directly into Ning Zhiyuan’s eyes.

Ning Zhiyuan straightened up, lightly scoffing.

Cen Zhisen let go of him. “Rest early. I’m leaving.”

Ning Zhiyuan escorted him to the door, and as Cen Zhisen left, he said, “Cen Zhisen, thanks for tonight.”

Cen Zhisen, in a carefree manner, replied, “Until next time.”

Listening to the sound of the descending elevator, Ning Zhiyuan remained in a daze for a moment before turning back.

When he turned off the lights in the study, he noticed a photo lying in the corner under the bookshelf. He walked over, picked it up, and as he flipped it to the front, his gaze froze.

This was the only photo among those pictures that was of Cen Zhisen alone. Leaning against the car door, smoking a cigarette, his hair was slightly disheveled, the top button of his deep gray shirt was undone, and the smoke made his face slightly blurry. His deep eyes were half-narrowed, and the black pupils seemed to be staring directly at the camera, displaying both indifference and emotion.

After looking at it for a moment, Ning Zhiyuan walked to the desk, opened the first drawer at hand, and threw the photo inside.

Since it had fallen, he decided not to return it.