Chapter 1
“Chen Ju, over here!” A boisterous voice rang out at the lively banquet, drawing everyone’s attention.
A plainly dressed man stood at the entrance. He wore a white shirt and gray trousers and carried a bulging black backpack over one shoulder. The wear on its straps showed that it was at least two years old.
Chen Ju nervously clutched the straps of his backpack, his head bowed and his eyes fixed on his toes. His sneakers were as old as the bag, with several holes worn into the toes.
Fortunately, those gazes lingered only for a moment before moving on. Li Qi, dressed in a suit and leather shoes, came over and clapped Chen Ju on the shoulder with a hearty laugh. “Long time no see! How did you change so much? I remember you used to dye your hair blond and wear earrings. You looked so damn cool!”
That was back in high school, when Chen Ju was going through his rebellious phase. His parents were busy with their business and didn’t have time to keep an eye on him, so he did whatever he wanted. He always had a whole crowd of underlings trailing after him—he’d been the very picture of swagger.
“I-is that so? I don’t remember.” Chen Ju nervously pushed up his black-rimmed glasses. More than once, he’d wanted to leave. It had been years since he’d seen so many people at once.
If Li Qi hadn’t mentioned that name on the phone, Chen Ju would have just given him a noncommittal answer and then forgotten all about it.
Li Qi’s eyes suddenly lit up as he looked toward the entrance. Smiling broadly, he walked past Chen Ju to greet someone.
“Brother Zhou! I thought you wouldn’t have time to come today! I heard you’re taking over your dad’s company. When you make it big, don’t forget your old friends!”
Just hearing one syllable, without even knowing if it was him, made Chen Ju’s heart pound. He hurriedly clenched his fist against his chest and walked quickly away from the entrance.
It wasn’t until he reached a corner that Chen Ju felt regret. He’d come here specifically to see Jiang Zhou, so why had he lost his nerve? He should’ve just turned around and greeted him as if nothing were wrong.
Looking toward the entrance, he saw a crowd of people gathered there, all greeting Jiang Zhou. They surrounded him in layer upon layer, leaving Chen Ju unable to see him at all.
Chen Ju rose onto his toes and craned his neck to look into the crowd. After trying every angle, he finally caught sight of Jiang Zhou.
The instant he saw Jiang Zhou, Chen Ju’s nose began to sting for no apparent reason, and his eyes grew hot.
Jiang Zhou was still as handsome as ever. He wore a suit, his hair neatly combed, and the boyish awkwardness of youth had given way to a mature charm.
It was as if the boy who used to fall asleep with his head on his desk no longer existed.
His damp eyelashes tickled his eyes. Chen Ju wiped them with his sleeve, and when he opened his eyes again, he suddenly met Jiang Zhou’s gaze.
The man’s eyes were dark and deep, like a calm sea hiding surging emotions beneath its surface.
This Jiang Zhou felt like a stranger, almost like a beast lurking in the darkness.
Startled, Chen Ju tried to step back, only to bump into a stack of wineglasses behind him. They crashed to the floor, shattering everywhere. Red liquid splashed across Chen Ju’s white shirt, and he stood there helplessly, panic written all over his face.
Everyone turned to look, Jiang Zhou among them. Chen Ju’s face flushed red, and he wished he could leave immediately.
“Sir, are you hurt?” the server hurried over to ask.
Chen Ju lowered his head and clutched the hem of his shirt, overcome with shame. He stammered, “S-sorry. H-how much will these... these cost? I, I...”
The more nervous he got, the more he stuttered. He couldn’t even manage to say a complete sentence.
Chen Ju hadn’t been born with a stutter. It was after that incident that he became like this. Only in the past year had he begun to improve, managing to slowly say a few short sentences.
He didn’t dare raise his head or meet Jiang Zhou’s eyes again. He felt like a clown standing in the middle of a stage, there for everyone to laugh at—pathetic and humiliating.
If he’d known things would turn out like this, he wouldn’t have stepped through the door. Never seeing Jiang Zhou again would’ve been ten thousand times better than letting him see him in such a sorry state.
“Why are you talking about money at a time like this?” Li Qi came over and clapped Chen Ju on the shoulder, then said to the server, “Bring over a clean set of clothes!”
The server hurriedly replied, “Of course. Please come with me to the lounge. There’s a bathroom there.”
Chen Ju couldn’t get a complete sentence out, so he nodded vaguely, desperate to leave this place.
Following the server out of the banquet hall, Chen Ju kept his head lowered the entire way, not daring to glance to either side. Behind him, he heard people whispering.
“Is that Chen Ju, Director Chen’s son? That little tyrant, Chen Ju?”
“No way. How did he end up like this?”
“Shh. I heard Director Chen was arrested for breaking the law a few years ago, and then his mom immediately remarried.”
“That’s so tragic...”
Those words stabbed into Chen Ju’s heart like knives. His face paled and his lips pressed together as he quickened his pace, fleeing the place like a man running for his life.
“Sir, I’m terribly sorry. Please take a shower first. Someone will bring you clean clothes shortly,” the server said respectfully.
Chen Ju had never been treated so courteously before. Nervously gripping his backpack, he nodded and said stiffly, “Thank you.”
Only after the door closed and Chen Ju was alone in the room did he breathe a sigh of relief. His taut nerves finally began to relax.
Thank goodness Li Qi had been there. Otherwise, he really wouldn’t have known what to do in that situation.
He looked around, then carefully set his backpack on a chair. As he bent over, his stomach growled. He’d eaten only a packet of instant noodles that cost fifty cents since morning. He’d thought he could eat plenty at the banquet that evening, but then this had happened.
“If I don’t think about it, I won’t feel hungry. Once I’ve showered and changed, I can go out and get something to eat.” Chen Ju rubbed his stomach, then took a deep breath, as though that would really make the hunger go away.
Chen Ju took off his clothes, folded them, and held them in his arms as he quietly walked into the bathroom. Even the bathroom in this lounge was bigger than the room Chen Ju slept in.
He’d only been cut off from the outside world for six years, yet technology had advanced so much. The shower had so many more switches now; it took Chen Ju ages to get it running.
After enjoying a hot shower, Chen Ju washed his dirty clothes too. He turned off the tap and turned around, only to see someone standing outside the door. It startled him.
A figure showed through the frosted glass. Judging by its build, it was probably an adult man. It must be the server bringing his clothes.
With a stranger there, Chen Ju’s stutter returned. Clutching his clothes tightly, he said, “Th-thank you. Y-you can leave the clothes outside. I’ll come out and get them myself.”
The person said nothing. After a few seconds, the figure disappeared from behind the frosted glass. Chen Ju let out a quiet breath, folded his clean clothes, and put them in the plastic bag he’d brought in with him. He’d take them home that night and hang them up to dry.
Holding the plastic bag, Chen Ju pushed open the frosted glass door and walked out naked.
There were no clothes on either side of the door. Had they been left in the lounge?
Chen Ju didn’t think much of it and went straight into the lounge. As soon as he stepped in, he saw someone sitting in a chair. His backpack was beside him, its zipper open, its contents scattered messily across the chair. A yellowed umbrella had rolled to a stop by the man’s feet.
Chen Ju jumped. The plastic bag in his hand dropped to the floor with a slap.
Hearing the noise, Jiang Zhou lifted his eyes slightly and looked over with a dark, heavy gaze.
Chen Ju’s face instantly turned red. He crouched down and grabbed the plastic bag from the floor, holding it in front of himself.
How had Jiang Zhou ended up here? Hadn’t he been chatting with their classmates? Why was he here?
The sudden turn of events made Chen Ju’s mind go blank, as if a wisp of smoke were rising from his head.
How embarrassing. He wanted to find a crack in the floor and crawl into it, where no one could ever find him.
Knock, knock, knock. A rhythmic tapping sounded at the door, followed by the server’s polite voice.
“Your clothes are here. Is it convenient for you to take them now?”
Ashamed, Chen Ju buried his head between his knees, unable to say a word. Steady footsteps approached. The door clicked open, and Jiang Zhou’s distinctive, resonant voice sounded.
“Thank you.”
After the door closed, Jiang Zhou walked toward him. Chen Ju held his breath and tried to convince himself that this was only a dream, and that when he woke up, he’d be in his own bed.
“Put your clothes on.” Jiang Zhou’s deep voice came from above him. Then Chen Ju’s view went dark as clothes were draped over his head.
After putting on the clothes the hotel had provided, Chen Ju stood nervously in front of Jiang Zhou, like an elementary school student facing his teacher, not knowing what to do with his hands and feet.
“Jiang Zhou, long time no see,” Chen Ju said quietly, trying to contain his excitement. He did his best to slow down his speech so he’d sound like everyone else.
“It really has been a long time,” Jiang Zhou said, turning a key threaded with a red cord over in his hand.
Seeing the key made Chen Ju’s heart leap into his throat. It was the key to Jiang Zhou’s house.
He’d gotten it through a little trick back in high school. Jiang Zhou had never wanted to invite him over, so Chen Ju had sent one of his underlings to sneak it out of Jiang Zhou’s desk while he was in PE class.
Jiang Zhou had never known about it. Chen Ju silently prayed that, after all this time, Jiang Zhou had forgotten it was his key. But reality was cruel.
“Why do you have my house key?” Jiang Zhou asked.
Chen Ju’s heart stopped. He hurried forward to take the key, but Jiang Zhou easily dodged him.
“Y-you’ve got it wrong. That’s the key to the place where I, I live...” Chen Ju stammered, forgetting to hide his stutter.
“Is that so?” Jiang Zhou asked, his dark eyes unfathomably deep.
Chen Ju nodded like a chick pecking at grain and said, “Y-yes. Keys all, all look pretty similar.”
After saying that, he watched Jiang Zhou nervously, hoping to catch even the slightest flicker of emotion in the man’s expression. But there was none. All these years, Jiang Zhou had been like an iceberg that had never melted in a thousand years. Nothing seemed capable of thawing him.
Jiang Zhou tossed the key back into the backpack, glanced at his phone, and stood up. “The banquet’s started. Li Qi’s calling us over.”
Chen Ju paused, then replied eagerly, “Okay.”
Could he be so presumptuous as to think Jiang Zhou had come specifically to invite him to the banquet?
But on second thought, there was no way. Li Qi had probably asked Jiang Zhou to come get him. After all the stupid things Chen Ju had done back then, Jiang Zhou must hate him.