Tao Xin closed the car door and looked at Zhou Tingzhi. Like most successful executives, he was formally and professionally dressed. However, the ordinary shirt and trousers looked quite dashing on him, giving off a domineering CEO vibe reminiscent of a shoujo manga. He wasn’t stiff at all, but rather, quite cold and imposing. 

Although she regretted that her time with the younger Zhou Tingzhi was so short, this mature version wasn’t bad either. The more Tao Xin looked at him, the more handsome she found him. Her affection even extended to his son, prompting her to suggest, “Should we invite your son to dinner?” 

Zhou Tingzhi asked, “Are you planning a Hongmen Banquet?” 

“What are you talking about? I’m doing this for your sake, okay? Your son has run away from home, and as his father, you should at least show some concern.” 

“I already have.” 

Zhou Tingzhi handed her his phone, displaying his chat log with Zhou Nian. 

[Zhou Tingzhi: Don’t you plan on coming home?] 

[Zhou Nian: I absolutely will not live under the same roof as that woman!] 

[Zhou Tingzhi: Haven’t you always wanted to go skiing in Switzerland? She has a Level 1 JSBA certificate. I can take you both at the end of the year.] 

[Zhou Nian: Go yourselves! I’m not going!] 

[Zhou Tingzhi: No matter what, you are my only family in this world, and the most important person. Since you really don’t want to accept her, I will break up with her.] 

[Zhou Nian: It’s not that I want you to break up with her…] 

Seeing this, Tao Xin laughed, “What’s this? A conciliatory policy? A strategy of retreat to advance? Or do you really plan to break up with her, and it just happened to work out?” 

Zhou Tingzhi also laughed, “Why are you always like this?” 

Tao Xin snorted softly, not denying it. She enjoyed seeing Zhou Tingzhi flustered. She would tease him whenever she got the chance, finding his anxious explanations, slightly flushed face, and beads of sweat on his forehead incredibly endearing. 

Ah, times had changed. The 38-year-old Zhou Tingzhi wasn’t as easy to bully as before. 

But Tao Xin wasn’t quite ready to give up. She deliberately tucked Zhou Tingzhi’s phone closer to herself, saying in a teasing tone, “Sister Qin told me today that you only brought home one female companion. Do you not have any female friends, or do you just not bring them home?” 

Zhou Tingzhi remained calm. “Feel free to check my phone.” He even took out a second phone from the storage compartment on his left. 

“Damn it, you think you’re so aboveboard that I won’t check? Today, you’ll learn what it means to be outsmarted.” Tao Xin swiped up, directly accessing the home screen. 

Zhou Tingzhi’s phone had surprisingly few apps, mostly communication functions. He had many WeChat contacts, all listed with their full names and titles in parentheses, such as Wang Youcai (Chairman of xx Group), Gao Zhendong (Director of xx Office), Lin Xiaohua (Vice Principal of xx School), until she scrolled to the bottom (#), where a few special notes appeared. 

Tao Xin paused, cautiously clicking on the one with a red heart emoji labeled “Dad.” 

“Xiao Zhou, the TCM doctor you recommended last time was really good. My aunt’s sleep has improved a lot after taking a few doses of medicine. Sometimes, she dreams of Xinxin, and they’re not nightmares. Uncle wants to thank you for her.” 

“Xiao Zhou, we received the snow crabs you sent. They were delicious. Thank you for thinking of us.” 

“Xiao Zhou, Happy New Year to you too. Aunt is doing well, don’t worry.” 

“Xiao Zhou, is there any news recently?” 

“Xiao Zhou, tell Uncle the truth. Can I… can I still see Xinxin…?” 

“Xiao Zhou, please come over sometime. There are some things Uncle wants to talk to you about in person.” 

There were a few voice messages in the chat log. After listening for three or five minutes, they ended. The familiar voice abruptly stopped. When Tao Xin came to her senses, she was already in tears. 

Zhou Tingzhi parked the car by the roadside, silent for a moment before saying, “Last night you asked why I wasn’t surprised to see you after eighteen years. Actually, I had expected this day…” 

Tears silently streamed down Tao Xin’s face. She stared blankly at Zhou Tingzhi. 

“The day it happened, I was holding your hand,” Zhou Tingzhi’s gaze fell on her, then quickly looked away. “Then you suddenly disappeared.” 

For Zhou Tingzhi, “that day” was a deeply ingrained memory from eighteen years ago, but for Tao Xin, it was a recent event. Therefore, when he said this, Tao Xin recalled that it was indeed the case; he had gripped her hand tightly, almost crushing her wrist. 

Then, in the blink of an eye, she appeared at the foot of a peaceful mountain eighteen years later. 

“Then…” Tao Xin looked at Zhou Tingzhi, her mind inexplicably blank, unsure what she wanted to ask, even forgetting her sadness. 

Zhou Tingzhi calmly recounted the past: “I remember it clearly, I can’t be wrong. But the doctor thought I had post-traumatic stress disorder, an instinctive desire to avoid that experience, so I had hallucinations… However, Uncle and Aunt were willing to believe me.” 

“At first, they thought you had traveled to another world, and they prayed everywhere, hoping you were doing well. Later, we heard rumors about the Time Rift Management Bureau, and Uncle and Aunt suddenly had hope, thinking that they would hear from you soon. The couple exercised and took care of their health every day, wanting to be healthy and wait for you to come home.” 

“Although Uncle passed away suddenly, he arranged everything before he died, including the trust fund, real estate, jewelry, and antiques left for you. His lawyer and I each have a copy of all the account information. I asked Director Chen, once you pass the Management Bureau’s assessment and have full civil capacity, you can inherit the inheritance left by your parents.” 

“So, Tao Xin, my only advantage over you doesn’t exist.” Zhou Tingzhi finally looked at her. “The one who should be uneasy is me.” 

Zhou Tingzhi possessed a woman’s keen intuition. Even if Tao Xin’s unease was like fireflies flickering in the summer night, he could gently gather them in his palm, allowing that unease to merge with the moonlight, achieving lasting peace. 

Tao Xin loved him, of course, and regretted the long eighteen years she had missed. Selfishly, she hoped that during those eighteen years, another significant woman didn’t exist in Zhou Tingzhi’s life, but she also feared that Zhou Tingzhi, like his parents, would fall into hopeless waiting, wasting the most vibrant years of his life. 

As if knowing what Tao Xin was thinking, Zhou Tingzhi smiled, “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not a fool. If I met someone I liked, I would definitely get married and have children.” He didn’t want a relationship filled with guilt and compensation. 

“Really? You haven’t met anyone?” 

“My standards are very high, you know.” 

As the saying goes, flattery will get you everywhere. Tao Xin was clearly quite upset, but his words made her puff up with pride. “That’s right, there aren’t many as intelligent and beautiful as me.” 

Zhou Tingzhi looked at her tear-filled, bright eyes, smiling as he handed her a tissue. “Feeling a little better now?” 

“A little.” Tao Xin said, “Tell me more about my parents, and about you. I want to know.” 

“Aren’t you hungry? We can talk while we eat.” 

“I’m starving.” 

Tao Xin opened her father’s Moments and saw a long string of nine-grid travel photos, finally bursting into laughter. “Wow, my parents even went to Antarctica! Wow, this photo is really nice. I’m going to get it printed and put it on my bedside table.” 

Just when Zhou Tingzhi thought Tao Xin’s attention was fully on her phone, she suddenly turned her head and said sincerely and earnestly, “Although I am one of the few intelligent and beautiful people in the world, you’re not bad either. Whether you’re twenty or thirty-eight, you’re good enough for me. Even if you pursued me again now, I would agree to be your girlfriend.” 

“Thank you for such high praise.” Zhou Tingzhi held the steering wheel, pondering for a few seconds. “But I seem to remember that you were the one who pursued me.” 

“Do you remember it clearly or do I?” Tao Xin swore, “It was clearly you who asked me out for dinner and a movie. We ate barbecue, then watched Monsters, Inc., the 7:32 golden showtime, sitting in seats 7-3 and 7-2. Am I right?” 

Zhou Tingzhi’s lips curved slightly. “Yes, you remember clearly.” 

Tao Xin wasn’t lying; Zhou Tingzhi did ask her out for dinner and a movie, but Monsters, Inc. was released in early November, more than two months after she and Zhou Tingzhi first met in Linhu Park. 

Tao Xin omitted the numerous coincidental encounters she had with Zhou Tingzhi during that period, considering her scheming to be fate. 

But then again, was she the only one scheming to create these coincidences? 

Tao Xin seemed to casually ask Zhou Tingzhi, “Are you still in touch with Xu Wentao?” 

It was still rush hour, and Zhou Tingzhi’s attention was mostly on the road. Without thinking, he casually replied, “Xu Wentao? We haven’t been in touch for many years.” 

Tao Xin: “Weren’t you guys very close? You always told him everything you were doing.” 

Zhou Tingzhi: “…” 

Xu Wentao was Zhou Tingzhi’s college roommate and also the strongest undercover agent Tao Xin bought with sugar-coated bullets. Every Friday night, Xu Wentao would report Zhou Tingzhi’s weekend itinerary to Tao Xin. Whether Zhou Tingzhi went to the library, the internet cafe, the basketball court, or the park, Xu Wentao could always pinpoint Zhou Tingzhi’s arrival time to the minute, without a single mistake. 

Tao Xin remembered one time when Xu Wentao said Zhou Tingzhi would be at the library at 10 a.m. She arrived at the library entrance five minutes early, as usual, waiting for him. It was late September, and the autumn heat was intense. She only waited a short while before feeling uncomfortable from the heat. Just as she was about to find a place to cool off, she looked up and saw Zhou Tingzhi running towards her, drenched in sweat. The time was exactly 10:00 a.m.