Ning Zhiyuan didn’t follow the recommended route on the tourist map. He rode the tram, shuttling through the city. Whenever he felt like it, he would disembark and wander around, casually taking a few photos with his phone.

Satisfied with the photos, he sent them to Cen Zhisen, almost as if dropping hints for that person, waiting for him to come find him.

The air was filled with the aroma of coffee and toasted bread. Unidentified melodies and tunes occasionally floated into his ears. Medieval carriages paraded the streets, and people blowing bubbles could be seen everywhere, refracting sunlight into vibrant colors.

Crimson maple leaves spread recklessly, a more dazzling red, contrasting with the golden leaves swirling in the wind. They adorned the buildings, each with its unique style and quirky names, along the way.

He walked and photographed, using his lens to capture the scenes before him.

On the bank of the Vltava River, a girl sat on the embankment, focused on painting the Charles Bridge, the swans on the water, and the white pigeons in the air. Behind her, a young man used the gentlest strokes to paint her.

Ning Zhiyuan stopped and watched them for a moment, moved by the sight. He took a photo of their backs and sent it to Cen Zhisen.

“Isn’t it quite romantic?”

Cen Zhisen replied, “What did you figure out?”

Ning Zhiyuan: “Love?”

Cen Zhisen: “Is it love?”

Ning Zhiyuan: “Isn’t it?”

Cen Zhisen: “Yes.”

After replying, Cen Zhisen looked around but still didn’t see Ning Zhiyuan.

Following Ning Zhiyuan’s footsteps all the way, he walked the paths he walked, saw the scenes he saw, and captured the images he photographed. Unfortunately, he was always a step behind, either because Ning Zhiyuan had already left or they passed each other in the crowded streets.

—Finding Ning Zhiyuan truly was never easy.

With Cen Zhisen’s affirmative answer, Ning Zhiyuan slowly raised his lips. It seemed he could finally see something like “love,” and it wasn’t just his imagination.

He continued walking and reached the famous Charles Bridge.

Standing on the bridge, he watched the morning light reflect in the river, the shadows dancing on the water’s surface. Then, amid those floating lights and shadows, he saw a familiar figure.

Cen Zhisen had arrived at the place where he had taken photos just now. He stopped and observed the young man and the girl, still engrossed in their painting. Cen Zhisen used his more professional camera to capture the scene.

At the same moment, Ning Zhiyuan raised his phone to record the scene before him— the visual focus was Cen Zhisen.

Afterward, without waiting for the other person, Ning Zhiyuan continued walking.

Crossing the bridge and walking a bit further, he arrived at a square.

There was no wishing pool as described in the famous lyrics here. Supposedly, there used to be a wishing wall on the pedestal of the statue in the center of the square, but it had been cleared and was no longer allowed.

Earlier on the Charles Bridge, Ning Zhiyuan had seen tourists earnestly touching the reliefs on the bridge, seeking good luck. It seemed like another legendary story belonging to this city.

He didn’t have the mindset of those young girls, but humans always attempted to find psychological comfort through legends and beliefs. That’s why in every famous city, there were existences like wishing pools and wishing walls, passing down stories of good luck and fulfilled wishes.

Similar to what he and Cen Zhisen had seen in Hawaii, the real bronze reliefs had long been moved to the local museum, and what remained were replicas for future replacements. Yet, there were still people who believed in those legendary stories, tirelessly trying.

And that wasn’t a bad thing.

Scornful people simply didn’t believe. Ning Zhiyuan didn’t believe before, but now he began to believe in fate, or rather, believe in the word “destiny.”

Destiny had fulfilled him and Cen Zhisen, both in the past and now.

Since it wasn’t something he could choose, he would go along with this destiny. After all, his luck wasn’t bad, even better than most people, and what destiny gave him was exactly what he had always wanted.

Ning Zhiyuan raised his phone, took a photo of the statue in front of him, and sent it to Cen Zhisen once again.

When he was about to leave, among the crowd sitting on the steps in front of the statue, he saw a figure that was unfamiliar yet somewhat familiar. The other person also seemed to sense something, their gaze swept over, staring at him for a moment, then stood up and took the initiative to greet him.

“Hello, do you remember me? I’m Cen Zhisen’s classmate. We’ve met before.”

A few minutes later, they sat down at a nearby street-side restaurant. The person ordered a lunch set, asked if Ning Zhiyuan wanted one, saying he would treat him.

Ning Zhiyuan only ordered a cup of coffee, “No need, I’m not hungry. Thanks.”

The other person smiled and introduced himself first. He and Cen Zhisen were college classmates who had stayed in Europe for work after graduation and hadn’t returned to China.

“In our college, there weren’t many Chinese students, and we didn’t have many people in total. Relationships were pretty good overall. However, my relationship with Cen Zhisen wasn’t the closest. His best friend was Ye Hangzhou, whom you should know. Maybe because their family backgrounds were similar, and their temperaments matched, so they got along well. Both of them are now CEOs of big companies. I haven’t contacted them for a long time. It seems a bit pale in comparison.”

The person sighed, and Ning Zhiyuan listened calmly while sipping his coffee, not entirely believing.

In the photos he had someone take years ago, Cen Zhisen and this man seemed very close. It was the first time he learned that Cen Zhisen liked men, so it left a deep impression. He was somewhat bothered, wondering if there were others who held a special place in Cen Zhisen’s heart.

However, Cen Zhisen had claimed not to have been in a relationship.

“You and my brother probably weren’t just ordinary classmates, right?” Since he wanted to know, Ning Zhiyuan decided to ask directly.

The person seemed slightly surprised, “He told you about this too?”

“No,” Ning Zhiyuan put down his coffee cup. “He didn’t say anything; I just know.”

As for why he knew, he didn’t plan to share it with others.

The person smiled again, “I told you, there seems to be nothing special to say about him and me. It’s just a coincidence that we share the same sexual orientation. He is the type I like, so I actively pursued him. He didn’t reject me, and we tried dating. But we can’t be considered to have had a proper relationship; after all, there was no love involved. It ended quickly, and he wasn’t interested in me at all, far less than in his brother.”

Ning Zhiyuan said indifferently, “Is that so?”

That should be the time when Cen Zhisen and he had the most distant relationship. After driving Cen Zhisen away, they hadn’t met or contacted each other for two years. He couldn’t imagine how Cen Zhisen could be “interested” in him after treating him that way.

“You might not believe it,” the person said, “but he used to talk to me about you, saying how troublesome and difficult you were, making him helpless. He seemed distressed, not knowing how to get along with you. Many times, he picked up the phone wanting to call you but hesitated. Later, I got tired of it and asked him why he told me all this. He actually said he felt that he might not understand your thoughts, so he took a shot in the dark.

“I almost rolled my eyes at that. I told him if he wanted to understand his brother’s thoughts, it would be better to ask directly. He said you would never tell him the truth and that asking was futile. He learned about your daily life through the caretaker taking care of you but never directly contacted you. I thought it was because you didn’t like him. Later, when I saw you at the graduation ceremony, I realized I might have been wrong. It’s the first time I’ve seen such an awkward pair of brothers.”

Ning Zhiyuan squinted his eyes, seemingly looking beyond the person in front of him, lost in thought.

After a while, he spoke again, “What does the phrase ‘it’s regrettable you’re his brother’ mean?”

The person didn’t answer immediately. He scrutinized Ning Zhiyuan carefully, his gaze somewhat complex. After a long time, he said, “Tomorrow is the wedding of a classmate of ours. I saw the news that Cen Zhisen is here with the official delegation. Will he also attend? What about you? Are you here with him? What’s your relationship now?”

Ning Zhiyuan asked, “Is that why you stopped me just now?”

“You can say I’m curious,” the person said. “I’ve heard about your family situation. Since you and he aren’t real brothers, is there another possibility between you two?”

“Why would you think that?” Ning Zhiyuan asked.

“Intuition, especially when you asked me about our relationship just now. You seemed very concerned about his affairs. My intuition shouldn’t be wrong. Back then, that phrase meant, ‘it’s regrettable you’re his brother; you can only be his brother.'”

Ning Zhiyuan frowned.

The person explained, “I don’t mean anything else. I didn’t mean he had any thoughts about you back then, or that you had any thoughts about him. I just felt that if you two weren’t brothers, there might be other possibilities. I said that out of jealousy, probably because I really liked him at the time. So, I’ve been unwilling to accept it. Later, at the graduation ceremony, I deliberately mentioned those things to you, never expecting that you and he really aren’t real brothers. Seeing you here just now confirmed my intuition.”

“A person like Cen Zhisen, although he appears very gentlemanly on the surface, is actually colder and harder to truly get close to than others. It seems that only when the object is you, does it appear reasonable and natural.”

Ning Zhiyuan neither confirmed nor denied. He had already obtained the answers he wanted and had no further interest in chatting with the person.

His gaze returned to the coffee in front of him. After a pause, he said, “You’re mistaken.”

“Mistaken about what?”

“It’s not regrettable.” He said only this sentence and didn’t intend to explain anything else.

Of course, it wasn’t regrettable. Without the past twenty-seven years, he and Cen Zhisen wouldn’t be where they are now.

He did take advantage of Cen Zhisen, snatching away Cen Zhisen as a brother, becoming the only one in Cen Zhisen’s heart.

That unique position, he would never return it to Cen Zhe.

Seeing that Ning Zhiyuan didn’t continue chatting with him, the person gave up as well. After finishing his lunch and paying the bill, he said, “I’ll go now. See you at the wedding tomorrow.”

He seemed to have assumed that Ning Zhiyuan would follow Cen Zhisen. Ning Zhiyuan raised an eyebrow, not saying more.

After the person left, he glanced at his phone. Cen Zhisen had sent a message half an hour ago: “Come to the square.”

Ning Zhiyuan looked at those words, a smile playing on his lips. He replied, “Ge, cheating won’t work.”

When he left the square earlier, he told Cen Zhisen that he planned to have lunch nearby. However, this area had numerous restaurants and bars. If Cen Zhisen had to search one by one, perhaps he wouldn’t find him even after he finished eating and left.

Cen Zhisen didn’t reply. Ning Zhiyuan stood up, preparing to move to the next location.

However, as he turned, his steps unconsciously paused, and he headed in another direction.

The square was even more crowded than before, with a street band performing. The lively music attracted onlookers to stop and watch.

Cen Zhisen was among them, joining the band at some point. Holding an accordion, he casually played light and pleasant melodies.

With black hair, black eyes, and a handsome stature, he was the most unique and eye-catching figure in the band. Just standing there was enough to capture the attention of the surrounding audience.

Once again, Ning Zhiyuan thought of those mythical stories about the incarnations of beauty.

Dangerous yet fascinating; falling in love with him was a calamity that couldn’t be avoided.

As the song ended, Cen Zhisen suddenly looked up, glancing in his direction.

Ning Zhiyuan wasn’t sure if Cen Zhisen had seen him. He stood in a position behind the crowd, at quite a distance, amidst the multitude of people.

But that one look made him feel that Cen Zhisen had actually noticed him but restrained himself, waiting for him to take the bait.

Cen Zhisen turned back, exchanging a few words with the other band members.

In the next song, as the melody emerged, Ning Zhiyuan could already tell it was Canon.

So Cen Zhisen had brought him here to personally play this song for him.

First, there was a solo on the accordion.

One note chased another, weaving an epic musical chapter and a net of memories.

Those enchanting scenes repeatedly surfaced in this net—dusk outside the office window with drifting clouds and lights, the petals showering like rain at a summer wedding, and the person in front of him lifting his gaze again, with warmth and affection hidden in the deep, dark pupils.

Bubbles were raised in the square, and colorful bubbles scattered in the wind.

The band began to play together, like a grand musical tribute, praising all beautiful things and celebrating love.

People in front of him came and went, and the space in front of Ning Zhiyuan gradually emptied. He didn’t leave or hide again, willingly stepping forward until he stood in front of Cen Zhisen.

The question he had asked many people finally had its ultimate answer in this moment.

Tart yet sweet, lingering in the heart and mind,

It wasn’t just about making that person happy; it was also about his own feelings,

An attachment and possession towards that person,

Established in the early days of life, unlike anyone else,

A genuine smile emerged from the heart when thinking about that person,

Wishing for that person to love him, and wanting to love that person,

It wouldn’t disappear,

Love.

All the answers pieced together, pointing to one outcome—Cen Zhisen.

Only Cen Zhisen.