Chapter 34

When he turned around, she also turned to look at him. As he lowered his head, he could even see his own reflection in her eyes.

The moonlight was gentle, and the person in front of him was even gentler.

Her fair, delicate face was just beneath his chin—so close that he could feel the air moving between them as they breathed.

For a moment, he had the strong urge to speak his feelings out loud, but he held himself back.

Tonight was definitely not the right time.

“Old He recognized you and told my dad,” he said. “Last night, my dad even scolded me, saying that when we sold that car to your family, how could I have charged you so much?”

Zhou Zhou quickly waved her hand. “It was already really cheap, really! It couldn’t be any cheaper.”

“Of course it was. Our Director Zhou is upright, determined, with a bright and shining future. You can’t let something this small affect your record. I’m counting on you to look after me one day,” he joked.

“You really are…” Zhou Zhou was speechless for a moment, then finally said, “You’ve really changed.”

“Haha, but you haven’t changed, Zhou the top student.” He gave her a new nickname. “Still just as amazing and strong.”

So amazing that she stayed in his mind, even waking him up in the middle of the night. The younger her, the current her—every smile, every word, every little gesture was enough to stir his heart.

Zhou Zhou wasn’t used to him calling her the same way he did back in school. She paused for a second, then said with a trace of disappointment, “I’m not like what you said. I was just an ordinary person before, and I still am now.”

Cheng Yanran immediately replied, “Zhou Zhou, I’m ordinary, Chen Jing is ordinary too—but you’ve never been ordinary.”

“How come? What makes me any different from you guys?” she asked, not convinced.

“There’s a big difference. All those years in school, I never once got first place in the grade, never got a perfect score in any subject. Right now, in the whole city of H, I’m just a regular businessman. But you’re different. You were the top liberal arts student at No. 9 High for two straight years, twenty-six exams in total. You got a perfect score in English nineteen times. You were ranked fifth in the entire city on the college entrance exam. You started working abroad when you were just twenty-three. When Chen Jing and I were still struggling to find office space and start our companies, you were already traveling with ambassadors on international visits.

Even though you had to come back because of family reasons, you still shine. You stand out in any crowd. Zhou Zhou, don’t you know? Even if you’re surrounded by people, the first person anyone notices is you. How can you call yourself ordinary?”

He said all this fast and with emotion, and every word landed in her heart. She didn’t miss a single one.

Waves of emotion stirred inside her, her eyes filled with tears, and her chest ached from how moved she felt.

She didn’t even know how many times she had ranked first or scored full marks in English after she switched to liberal arts in high school—but Cheng Yanran remembered.

She didn’t want to think about why he remembered so clearly, and she didn’t dare to face the deep feelings behind those words.

Cheng Yanran didn’t press her to respond. He continued sincerely, “Zhou Zhou, my dad asked me last night, ‘How could someone so outstanding be your classmate?’ He thought I was lying to him. He even asked if you were married, and told me to try hard and go after you.”

Zhou Zhou didn’t expect him to speak so openly about his feelings. She didn’t know what to say, and kept her head down, staring at the lake in front of them.

“My dad is like you—he has no idea how much weight the name ‘Zhou Zhou’ carried for all the boys in our year. I told him, ‘Do you know how many boys at No. 9 High wanted to date Zhou Zhou back then? Enough to line up from the school’s south gate to the north gate!’ I said, ‘Your son isn’t handsome and doesn’t have money—how could it ever be my turn? A top student like her being friends with me was just thanks to fate making us classmates for one year.’”

“It’s not like that…” She couldn’t stand to hear him belittle himself like that and quickly tried to explain.

“Zhou Zhou, anyone can put themselves down—but you can’t. Because you really are excellent. You’re amazing.”

“I’m not…” she whispered. She wasn’t that great, not even her height was perfect.

He gently placed his hands on her shoulders—their first moment of physical closeness since reuniting—and she had no choice but to look up at him.

The sincerity in his words and the love in his eyes made it impossible for her to ignore.

At this moment, Cheng Yanran was once again the same boy from No. 9 High.

And in this moment, she became that confident, fearless Zhou Zhou once more.

Yes, she was still Zhou Zhou.

Just like Cheng Yanran said, she was still that Zhou Zhou who always stayed at the top of her class. She was the Zhou Zhou who went straight to work overseas after finishing her master’s degree. The Zhou Zhou who did everything better than anyone else.

She was truly strong. She was the definition of excellence.

She could feel sad, disappointed, or frustrated—but she could not give up, feel small, or fall apart.

She could live a simple life, but she must not live a mediocre one.

She had made it through many sleepless nights and overcome many hardships—not so she could use them as excuses, but to make herself shine even brighter.

“The mountains are high, the road is long, but I’ll follow where my heart goes.”

“For the rest of my life, the mountains may be high, and the road far, but I’ll follow only where your heart leads.”

They both said the same thing at the same time. Then, they both laughed.

It was a real laugh—from the heart. Like clouds had cleared and the sky was bright again.

“All right, Zhou Zhou is back now,” Cheng Yanran let go of her and said with a light smile.

“Thank you, Cheng Yanran,” she said sincerely.

She never had many friends. And even fewer she could really talk to. She was lucky—someone she had met back in school was still here today, still caring for her with a kind heart.

All the bad feelings that had started last night during her argument with Tao Cai were now completely gone.

She was truly thankful to him—no matter what his reason was—for staying by her side so patiently.

“You know,” he said, changing the subject, “I’ve always wondered—can’t you just call me by my name? Why always ‘President Cheng’? It makes me nervous.”

They both avoided bringing up the moment when he said he wanted to pursue her—even though they both knew what had been said.

“Don’t you call me ‘Director Zhou’ too?” she shot back with a glare.

“Fine, from now on I’ll just call you Zhou Zhou, all right?” His voice was calm, but those three simple words carried a soft, affectionate tone—like a lover teasing gently.

“Whatever,” she said, ignoring him and walking ahead faster and faster.

He chased after her, calling, “Wait for me! Your flowers are still in the car!”

When he came back holding not just the bouquet, but also a box of oranges, a box of bird’s nest fruit, and another box of tea, she looked at him in surprise. “Are you trying to bribe me?”

“Uh…” For the first time, Cheng Yanran was at a loss for words. But then he remembered how she hadn’t gotten angry when he said he wanted to pursue her. They had even walked all the way to the car together. That gave him a burst of confidence. “The fruit—we just bought too much at home. The tea is dark tea, a friend gave it to me. Help me finish it, okay?”

Then he looked down at all the boxes in his hands. Before Zhou Zhou could say anything, he muttered to himself, “Forget it, it’s too much. You can’t carry all this. Get in the car, I’ll drive you home.”

With that, he tossed the boxes into the car, took a deep breath, grabbed Zhou Zhou’s hand, opened the door, and gently guided her inside.