In this world, there are always some people who, after going in circles, still manage to meet again. Whether things can ever go back to the way they were is anyone’s guess.
Shen Li thought his reunion with Ji Zhouye was merely a coincidence.
An old friend had returned to the country, and Shen Li had a dinner engagement that evening. Around 3:00 PM, he sent Ji Zhouye a message to let him know, but by the time it was almost close of work, there was still no reply.
Just as Shen Li was thinking about calling him, Ji Zhouye replied with two words: “As you wish.”
Seeing this message, a feeling of discomfort settled in his chest; he could feel the sudden coldness coming from the other person right through the phone screen.
Clearly, everything had been fine just this morning.
Ling Feng’s analysis was completely wrong. Ji Zhouye liking him was already a thing of the past; the current Ji Zhouye didn’t like him at all anymore.
If Ji Zhouye had told him he was going out for dinner with a friend, he would have desperately wanted to know what friend he was going with and when he would be back.
Ji Zhouye hadn’t asked anything at all, which meant he didn’t want to know, and was even less interested in knowing anything about him.
Shen Li gripped his phone tightly. Truly, one should never discuss matters of the heart with someone who had never been in a relationship.
After getting off work, Shen Li arrived as promised.
His old friend had arrived before him.
Just as he stepped into the restaurant, someone called out to him.
“Shen Li, over here.”
Hearing the voice, Shen Li looked over and saw a man wearing a roguishly charming smile, waving at him.
Tang Qinian. They had met abroad, majoring in the same field. During a period when Shen Li was deeply depressed, Tang Qinian had been his very first friend abroad.
Shen Li smiled faintly at Tang Qinian, walked over, and sat down opposite him.
He had been very busy since returning to the country and hadn’t kept in touch much with Tang Qinian, though Tang Qinian would occasionally send him messages to check in.
“When did you return to the country?”
“I have been back for two days. As soon as I got my affairs sorted out, I asked you out for dinner, didn’t I?”
Tang Qinian was wearing a green floral print shirt, smiling with that roguish air. After a year apart, he was just as he had always been. “Where is your girlfriend? Did she come back with you?”
Tang Qinian swirled the wine glass at his elbow, looking pensive. “We broke up. She was too obedient.”
Shen Li let out a tsk. “Just make sure you do not regret it later.”
“Do not talk about me; talk about you. You have been back for so long, have you seen your first love?” Tang Qinian raised an eyebrow slightly.
Not only had he seen him, but he had also slept with him.
Shen Li pressed his thin lips together. “I have seen him.”
Tang Qinian indulged a bit in his gossipy side. “Is there any possibility of getting back together?”
Shen Li’s eyes suddenly darkened. “I do not know. Highly unlikely.”
“In other words, there is a situation.” Tang Qinian hit the nail on the head.
Shen Li didn’t deny it either.
After having a simple meal, Shen Li had to drive, so he didn’t drink. Tang Qinian said they would have a proper drinking session next time.
He and Tang Qinian had lived in the same villa complex abroad, which was how they got acquainted. This time, his family wanted him to take over the company, but he had to hide his identity first and start from the very bottom.
Tang Qinian had never had any interest in corporate affairs to begin with; starting from the bottom was harder for him than being killed, and he spent a good long while venting his frustrations to Shen Li.
When Shen Li got home, he didn’t see Ji Zhouye. Aunt Zhao said he hadn’t returned yet.
Back in his bedroom, he sent Ji Zhouye a message.
[Where are you? Do you need me to come pick you up?]
Time ticked by second by second, and half an hour later, he finally received Ji Zhouye’s reply.
Ji Zhouye: [No need.]
Inside JH’s office.
Li Ming was somewhat speechless. “What on earth is going on between the two of you right now? Testing each other? Sulking and making a fuss behind each other’s backs, how childish can you two be?”
“If I had not used Jiang Qing to threaten him, would he still have stayed obediently by my side?”
The knuckles of the hand holding the wine glass turned white, and Ji Zhouye’s pupils deepened slightly.
“You will have to ask him that.”
Li Ming: “Anyway, if it were me, I would not repeat the same mistake. I would not show mercy or leniency to someone who has hurt me.”
Everyone knew that Ji Zhouye was ruthless, yet when it came to Shen Li, he remained stubbornly persistent and soft-hearted.
Suffering a lesson from someone once was enough; there was no need to take it twice. But Ji Zhouye wouldn’t listen.
Ji Zhouye put down his wine glass and stood up. “Send me back.”
Li Ming: “What?”
“No, Ji Zhouye, you are using me to piss off Shen Li? It is not like you do not know he used to misunderstand our relationship.”
Ji Zhouye: “Are you driving me or not?”
Li Ming: “Fine.”
If he had known better than to drink that bit of alcohol earlier, he wouldn’t have waded into this muddy water.
“Fine, fine, fine, I will drive you.” Besides, he couldn’t stand Shen Li anyway.
Ji Zhouye was his friend. Back when Shen Li was dating him, the three of them used to hang out together. The moment Shen Li pulled that kind of stunt, they ceased to be friends.
Without Ji Zhouye, he wouldn’t have known anyone named Shen Li to begin with.
His loyalties lay with Ji Zhouye.
Furthermore, the things Shen Li had done were simply unforgivable. Only a fool like Ji Zhouye would go out of his way to help him.
“Do you even know what this behavior of yours is called?”
Ji Zhouye looked at him, knowing he wouldn’t say anything nice.
And sure enough.
“This behavior of yours is called being a simp.”
Ji Zhouye: “Silence.”
“Do you need me to help refresh your memory about all those simping things you have done?” Ji Zhouye’s gaze landed squarely on him.
Li Ming: “Never mind.”
Seeing that Ji Zhouye was about to recount his past deeds one by one, he wisely shut his mouth. After all, he didn’t want to recall a single second of that dark history.
And it was precisely because of that dark history that Li Ming loathed scumbags so much.
In his eyes, Shen Li was the ultimate scumbag.
Outside the estate, Shen Li stood at the entrance letting his mind wander. Not knowing whether Ji Zhouye would come back tonight, he just wanted to wait here for him.
He was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt and grey casual trousers as he stood there, the evening breeze making his loose short-sleeved shirt billow slightly.
Yet the evening breeze couldn’t blow away the restlessness in his heart.
A car he didn’t recognize pulled up in front of him. He was certain this car didn’t belong to Ji Zhouye, but through the windshield, Shen Li saw both Ji Zhouye and Li Ming.
The moment he saw Li Ming, his heart gave a violent jolt.
Ji Zhouye’s gaze landed on Shen Li, while Li Ming swept a glance over him. They hadn’t seen each other in years, and Shen Li had changed a lot; it was obvious he had lost a lot of weight.
Li Ming was somewhat curious to know what he had been through over the past few years.
He looked at Ji Zhouye. “I am driving you home, aren’t you going to invite me inside for a sit-down and a cup of tea?”
Remembering Tang Qinian, and recalling how that person had constantly accompanied Shen Li abroad, Ji Zhouye’s expression darkened further. “Get out of the car.”
Li Ming got out, his gaze lingering on Shen Li for a few seconds before he reached out to hook his arm around Ji Zhouye’s neck, forming the standard, brotherly arm-around-the-shoulder posture.
Ji Zhouye glared at Li Ming with a dark expression, prompting Li Ming to awkwardly withdraw his arm.
Every single move was caught by Shen Li’s eyes.
Without looking at him, Ji Zhouye brushed past him alongside Li Ming, his fingertips twitching slightly.
Watching the retreating backs of the two men, an indescribable bitterness welled up inside him.
Shen Li stood rooted to the spot for a long time. Recovering his senses, he went back inside. Ji Zhouye was sitting on the living room sofa with someone else, and Li Ming’s face was plastered with a wide smile.
Without saying a word, Shen Li headed straight upstairs. Li Ming called out to him, “Shen Li, long time no see.”
Shen Li twitched the corner of his lips. “Long time no see.”
As for Li Ming, he had nothing to say to him.
Back when he had first started dating Ji Zhouye, he had deeply misunderstood the relationship between Ji Zhouye and Li Ming.
From the moment Shen Li stepped into the living room, Ji Zhouye’s gaze never left him.