Ten minutes later, Ning Zhiyuan went downstairs and walked out of the residential area.

He expected to see Cen Zhisen’s car but found him standing alone under a streetlamp, one hand in his pocket, the other fidgeting with his phone, waiting for him.

Hearing footsteps, Cen Zhisen turned around, gesturing for him to come over. “Come here.”

Ning Zhiyuan walked up. “Where’s your driver?”

“It’s too late. I let him off work and go back. He took the car with him,” Cen Zhisen said.

“So, you mentioned having late-night snacks and driving me back. What’s the point now?” Ning Zhiyuan stopped, as if ready to turn back. “Don’t expect me to give you a ride, and don’t expect me to accommodate you here. This is my parents’ house.”

Cen Zhisen smiled, asking, “Who was the one just saying he missed me?”

“Oh,” Ning Zhiyuan pretended to be innocent.

“Alright, I won’t expect anything from you,” Cen Zhisen pulled him along. “Come on, no need to drive. When I came over, I saw a lively night market on this street. Let’s go there.”

Ning Zhiyuan chuckled. “Visit the night market? Are you sure?”

“You coming or not?” Cen Zhisen asked.

“Okay, lead the way.”

Walking the streets late at night to a night market for snacks was a novel experience for the two of them. They never had the time or interest before, and finding the right companion was even harder. Tonight was the first time.

It was the end of September, and the weather was still hot. Cen Zhisen took off his suit jacket and draped it over his arm, intentionally slowing down their pace.

Ning Zhiyuan walked beside him and suddenly burst into laughter.

He remembered seeing more back then, specifically how Cen Zhisen casually draped his school uniform over his arm or tied it around his waist. At that time, Cen Zhisen had just entered junior high school, and he played basketball on the playground every day after school. Many girls went to watch him, volunteered to carry his uniform or look after his school bag. Cen Zhisen didn’t want to trouble them, so he called his little brother from the elementary school section (Ning Zhiyuan) to be his shield.

It was during the last one or two years before they went abroad. Their relationship had already deteriorated significantly. Every day, after school, Ning Zhiyuan couldn’t go home because he had to wait for his brother to finish half an hour of basketball. This made him resentful, but Cen Zhisen said that if he behaved well and listened to him, he would share his pocket money.

Cen Zhisen had additional pocket money from his grandparents, so he had much more money than Ning Zhiyuan. Seeing the money, Ning Zhiyuan agreed to sit patiently next to the playground every day, doing his homework while waiting for his brother.

“Why are you laughing?” Cen Zhisen asked, turning his head.

Ning Zhiyuan brought up the matter, saying, “Cen Zhisen, you looked so annoying when you said you would share your pocket money with me back then. It made me feel like you were deliberately flaunting it.”

“Zhiyuan,” Cen Zhisen said helplessly, “you always refuse to think positively about me. Our grandparents didn’t treat you well, but after all, they are our elders. I can’t blame them, so I wanted to be fair on my own. However, your pride is too strong, so I just found an excuse.”

Ning Zhiyuan was slightly surprised. “So, back then, you deliberately asked me to wait for you just to share half of your pocket money with me?”

“Yes,” Cen Zhisen admitted, smiling at himself. “It seems like I used the wrong method. I should have explained it to you directly.”

He really didn’t know about Ning Zhiyuan’s concerns. If he had known, he would have interacted with Ning Zhiyuan differently, and they wouldn’t have been so awkward for so many years.

“But you were unhappy every day, making me feel like I was wasting my efforts,” Cen Zhisen said.

“Ge,” Ning Zhiyuan confessed, “I was unhappy because I hated those teammates and classmates who were close to you. I also hated those girls who kept calling your name. I thought you didn’t want to come home and spend time alone with me, so you stayed at school playing basketball every day.”

Cen Zhisen laughed again. “So that’s it. Forget it, it’s all a misunderstanding. Let’s not talk about the past.”

Ning Zhiyuan also didn’t want to talk about it anymore. He had already seen the end of this street, and the other side of the corner revealed signs of the night market, separating tranquility and noise.

The small snack street wasn’t big but quite lively. Seats from the restaurants along both sides spilled into the middle of the street, with lights weaving through them.

They chose an empty noodle shop and sat down, ordering two plates of fried noodles.

“This place is empty, so the taste must not be good,” Ning Zhiyuan said, showing some disdain.

“It was you who just said it’s less crowded and quiet here,” Cen Zhisen reminded him. “Don’t change your mind so quickly.”

But this noodle shop was indeed very small, with only one staff member in the entire place. After helping them with the order, the staff member went to the kitchen.

Ning Zhiyuan had no intention of changing places, it was just a passing remark.

The two plates of fried noodles were served quickly, and indeed, the taste was mediocre. Cen Zhisen ate quickly, clearly not having eaten much during the business engagement.

Ning Zhiyuan only tasted a couple of bites, staring at the person across from him, recalling the last meal in Hongcheng, also in such a small restaurant. After that, they bid farewell, and he flew back.

Then he remembered that photo and the poem behind it.

“Don’t want to eat? Why are you staring at me?” Cen Zhisen asked, looking up.

“It’s not that tasty,” Ning Zhiyuan said. “You go ahead; I ate enough at night.”

Cen Zhisen asked, “What were you thinking just now?”

“Thinking about something,” Ning Zhiyuan didn’t continue. “I’ll tell you later.”

Cen Zhisen saw a hint of meaning in his gaze but didn’t pursue it further.

After finishing their late-night snack, they took a stroll back along a different route, reaching the lakeside in the middle of the city.

Ning Zhiyuan picked up a small pebble from the grass and casually flicked it towards the water. The pebble skipped across the surface seven or eight times before sinking.

Feeling proud, Ning Zhiyuan gave Cen Zhisen a challenging look. Cen Zhisen understood the gesture and picked up a similar pebble, effortlessly throwing it. His pebble bounced on the water nine times before finally sinking.

Ning Zhiyuan teased, “Tsk, I told someone I’m better than you now. Turns out, I was just bragging.”

Cen Zhisen bent down, picked a more suitable pebble, and threw it towards the water. Suddenly, he said, “This lake looks familiar. I think the first time I taught you to play this game was here.”

Ning Zhiyuan looked around, struggling to recall the distant memory. The changes in the surroundings were too significant, and he had little impression. However, their childhood home seemed to be nearby.

“The first time we ran away from home together,” Cen Zhisen said, “we played here the whole night.”

Ning Zhiyuan did have some recollection of that. It happened when their father was away on a business trip. Perhaps someone at home said something unpleasant that he overheard, or maybe it was said intentionally for him to hear. He sneaked out of the house in the middle of the night, and Cen Zhisen followed him. They came to this lakeside and played this skipping pebble game all night.

However, after that night, Cen Zhisen caught a severe cold, leading to a high fever and a hospital visit. At that time, their grandmother stood outside the hospital room, poking his forehead, scolding him for being an “omen,” questioning if he wanted to harm his own brother, and wondering why trouble always seemed to find him. He couldn’t refute any of it.

Cen Zhisen turned back and saw that Ning Zhiyuan seemed lost in thought. “Zhiyuan?”

Ning Zhiyuan looked at him and nonchalantly said, “Just now, my ring accidentally got thrown into the water.”

Cen Zhisen looked back at him. “Really?”

Ning Zhiyuan nodded. “Yes.”

“Do you want me to go in and retrieve it?”

“Would you be willing to go in?”

They silently stared at each other. After a moment, Cen Zhisen threw his suit jacket over. “Hold this for me.”

Ning Zhiyuan instinctively caught it. “I was joking…”

Before he could finish the sentence, Cen Zhisen had already taken off his shoes. After a brief glance, he calmly jumped into the water.

“Cen Zhisen!”

Ning Zhiyuan, now fully alert, widened his eyes and shouted, “Come back! I was lying!”

Ignoring the calls, Cen Zhisen swam towards the center of the lake.

Ning Zhiyuan’s heart pounded in his throat. Cen Zhisen clearly knew he was lying— he wasn’t even wearing that ring. How could he deliberately jump into the water, going along with what he said?

This person was insane. Cen Zhisen was insane!

“Cen Zhisen! Come back!”

He continuously shouted, a mix of urgency and worry. Cen Zhisen never responded, swimming until he reached the spot where the pebble he threw had sunk. He plunged into the water and disappeared.

Ning Zhiyuan watched in shock. Ten seconds, twenty seconds, half a minute passed, and still, there was no sign of Cen Zhisen resurfacing. His mind went blank; there was no time to think. He threw Cen Zhisen’s suit and his own jacket to the ground, kicked off his shoes, and also jumped into the water.

As he swam towards the middle of the lake and submerged himself, someone underwater embraced him tightly. Lips and tongues intertwined, followed by a struggle to break the surface.

Ning Zhiyuan wiped his face haphazardly and clenched his fists, itching to send them towards Cen Zhisen’s face. Cen Zhisen stared back at him with anger and reddened eyes, saying nothing. After a standoff, Ning Zhiyuan lowered his hands, ignoring Cen Zhisen, and turned to swim back to the shore.

Upon reaching the shore, Cen Zhisen took a step forward, gripping Ning Zhiyuan’s arm. “Zhiyuan.”

Unable to contain himself, Ning Zhiyuan threw a punch, landing it on Cen Zhisen’s shoulder. They wrestled and tumbled into the bushes by the lake.

In the end, they both fell into the grass. Ning Zhiyuan ended up straddling Cen Zhisen, looking down on him from a higher vantage point.

“Bastard.”

He cursed, almost grinding his teeth.

Cen Zhisen looked up at him. “Zhiyuan, you can do the same thing I can, can’t you? Moreover, you lied first.”

“Do you have to do it this way? Do you know how dangerous it is?” Ning Zhiyuan was genuinely angry, visibly upset.

Cen Zhisen’s gaze swept over his fiercely angry eyes, and he suddenly asked, “Feel better after venting?”

Ning Zhiyuan was taken aback.

Then he heard Cen Zhisen say, “I apologize for causing you to be scolded.”

— Cen Zhisen was apologizing to him, apologizing for something that happened more than a decade ago.

“You knew?” Ning Zhiyuan was incredulous.

“I didn’t know originally,” Cen Zhisen explained. “I found out when I visited Aunt Li recently, and she mentioned it while we were talking about you.”

He was referring to the nanny who took care of them since childhood. Cen Zhisen had been unaware of why Ning Zhiyuan had insisted on going to the United States until recently, when he heard the reason from someone else.

Ning Zhiyuan lowered his head, his damp hair partially covering his eyes. The night was too dark, and Cen Zhisen could no longer see the emotions in his eyes clearly.

“Zhiyuan.”

Ning Zhiyuan made a sound, “Huh, I almost forgot if you hadn’t mentioned it.”

Over the years, he had selectively forgotten the reasons for adamantly refusing to go to England with Cen Zhisen. He only remembered his anger, grievances, and powerlessness at the time. It wasn’t him being willful; as a ten-year-old child, the choices he made were just instinctive self-preservation.

“Cen Zhisen, you called me out in the middle of the night, brought me here, specifically brought up the past just to apologize to me?” Ning Zhiyuan lifted his eyes. “Why are you apologizing? As you said, neither of us was wrong. So why are you apologizing?”

Cen Zhisen grasped one of his hands, holding his slightly cold palm. “Regardless of who was wrong, if the reason you were upset back then was because of me, I should apologize to you. I’m sorry, Zhiyuan. I won’t let you bear these things alone in the future.”

After a moment of stiffness, Ning Zhiyuan released the grip on Cen Zhisen’s collar, feeling deflated. “Forget it. I’m not a child anymore. I have a mouth; if someone scolds me, I can scold back, right?”

Cen Zhisen said, “Well, if someone scolds you again, I’ll help you scold back.”

Ning Zhiyuan lost interest in continuing the conversation. When he tried to get up from Cen Zhisen, he was unexpectedly pulled down by the latter.

Cen Zhisen pushed himself up, his hand covering Ning Zhiyuan’s nape, pressing him towards himself, resuming the kiss that hadn’t ended underwater.

Ning Zhiyuan quickly responded, sitting on Cen Zhisen, kissing him recklessly, ignoring everything else.

After entwining in a kiss for a long time, Ning Zhiyuan finally bit Cen Zhisen’s lower lip forcefully, separating their lips.

However, Cen Zhisen didn’t let him go. He continued to nibble on Ning Zhiyuan’s lips, one after another. Unable to resist, Ning Zhiyuan eventually laughed, “What’s wrong with you? Are you addicted to kissing? If someone passes by and sees us like this, they’ll definitely think we’re crazy.”

He always thought he was a madman, but it turned out Cen Zhisen wasn’t far behind, jumping into the lake in the middle of the night. Only this idiot could come up with such an idea.

Cen Zhisen somewhat regretfully let him go. “Let’s go back.”

Ning Zhiyuan stood up first, looking down at the person still sitting on the ground and gazing up at him.

It wasn’t Cen Zhisen’s fault, but he had apologized. Ning Zhiyuan had nothing more to dwell on.

After a moment, he reached out to the person in front of him.

Cen Zhisen’s raised hand met his, and after exchanging a smile, Ning Zhiyuan pulled him up with force.

Cen Zhisen dropped him off at the entrance of the residential area. “Go upstairs. Take a shower and get some sleep.”

“I’ll go up and get the car keys to drive you back,” Ning Zhiyuan reminded him. “Wait here for a moment.”

“No need,” Cen Zhisen refused. “I just called for a car. The driver will be here shortly.”

Ning Zhiyuan laughed, “It’s not too late now. Did you specially make someone run an errand for this?”

“He gets overtime pay; you don’t have to worry about it,” Cen Zhisen said.

Ning Zhiyuan didn’t immediately go inside, choosing to stay and wait with him.

“What about your clothes?” Cen Zhisen asked. “Did you bring spare clothes here? How will you explain to your parents tomorrow morning?”

“Do you have the nerve to ask?” Ning Zhiyuan was still a bit annoyed but spoke with a smile. “Could you have thought of all this earlier when you dragged me into this?!”

“Yeah,” Cen Zhisen admitted. “It’s my fault.”

They chatted idly, seeming to let off some steam after the previous turmoil. The emotions of both seemed to be uplifted yet restrained.

After waiting for almost forty minutes, Cen Zhisen’s car finally arrived.

The driver went out of his way to Cen Zhisen’s house to pick up a set of clothes that Ning Zhiyuan had left there. The driver followed Cen Zhisen’s request and brought a set similar in style and color to what Ning Zhiyuan was currently wearing.

Ning Zhiyuan breathed a sigh of relief; otherwise, he would have to wash and dry clothes in the middle of the night, and he wouldn’t get any sleep until dawn.

“You go upstairs first.”

“You go in the car first.”

After a brief contest, Ning Zhiyuan won. Cen Zhisen got into the car first, settled into the back seat, and closed the car door. He gestured towards the person outside the window, “Go back; it’s quite late.”

Ning Zhiyuan bent down, looking at Cen Zhisen inside the car. Although they both looked disheveled, at this moment, he felt the intense rhythm of his heartbeat.

“Cen Zhisen.”

“Yeah?”

“How about we have a proper date another day?” Ning Zhiyuan suggested.

Cen Zhisen smiled, “Don’t the previous ones count?”

“This time, I’m inviting you,” Ning Zhiyuan insisted, “to go on a date with me.”

Cen Zhisen understood his meaning, nodded in response to his hopeful gaze, and gently said, “Sure.”