Later, all of Jiang Wang’s work schedules were handled by his assistant, so his phone was filled with records from when he went to find Shi Niannian.

They had tacitly observed their agreement not to contact or meet each other before she could return—it was to keep their feelings preserved in a relatively safe place. But Jiang Wang really couldn’t bear it anymore.

The first time he went was shortly after receiving his first gold medal. Jiang Wang sent the gold medal to her, and his heart trembled as if it had also been placed in that small paper box. After two days in a daze, he couldn’t resist and bought a ticket to the city where Shi Niannian was living for the first time.

Even though he knew perfectly well that in that environment, even if they met, it would only be self-torment.

Shi Niannian asked, “Did you see me then?”

Jiang Wang looked up and hooked his lips into a smile, “No.”

At that time, she was living in an apartment complex. Jiang Wang waited there all night. There were many Asians, and he carefully looked at every person with black hair who came out, but he didn’t see Shi Niannian.

On the plane, he had thought about what he would do after seeing Shi Niannian, what he should say, and whether he could kiss or hug her. In the end, he decided it would be enough to just look at her from a distance, to see if she was doing well.

He had a rare good sleep on the plane and dreamed of that night long ago when the little girl smiled at him, her eyes clear and bright, softly squeezing into his arms, her forehead bumping against his chest as she shyly said, “I want a hug.”

But he didn’t see her at all.

He stayed for two more days, wandering around, riding the subway there, going to the convenience store across the street, imprinting the streets in his mind. All this was so that when he thought of Shi Niannian in the future, he could more clearly imagine what her days there were like.

Shi Niannian’s eyes were red. She raised her hand to rub his hair, hooked her arm around his neck, and bent down to hug him, “I didn’t know.”

She didn’t know he had gone to find her, and she also didn’t know that she had been in his thoughts all along.

He made an “mm” sound and stopped talking about it. “Have you chosen where to go for fun?”

Shi Niannian shook her head, still not having recovered from the emotions of just now, and couldn’t think of where to go.

The National Day holiday was still a while away, so this matter was temporarily set aside. Jiang Wang was afraid she would cry again, so he coaxed her to take a bath and go to sleep.

Shi Niannian moved over in bed to wrap her arms around his waist, her head brushing against Jiang Wang’s chin, and she said seriously, “I won’t do this again in the future.”

Jiang Wang held her, laughing indistinctly, his chest vibrating, “If you do this again now, I’ll catch you and bring you back, tie you up at home.”

Both of them were quite busy. Jiang Wang had endless work and meetings every day. Shi Niannian had classes all morning, and in the afternoon, her advisor called her to the affiliated hospital to help with consultations. After finishing, she decided to go with Jiang Wang to find Xu Ningqing.

She had been back for so long but hadn’t seen Xu Ningqing yet. She had visited her uncle’s house several times but hadn’t run into him, and the matter had been postponed because of school.

After she went abroad, Xu Ningqing did come to see her a few times, just for a meal.

Xu Ningqing’s temperament was even more relaxed than Jiang Wang’s. Jiang Wang was very serious, only appearing casual and bad-boy when he relaxed, while Xu Ningqing was like a useless prince from a period drama who listened to music all day.

When he came to find Shi Niannian, there was none of the sad small talk like when her aunt came. He simply came to see her, brought her some food, took her to a three-star restaurant for a meal, and then played around for a few days like he was touring before returning to China.

Xu Ningqing opened the door to see the two of them and raised his eyebrows, “You finally remembered me.”

Shi Niannian smiled and walked in.

He was casually wearing a white t-shirt with lounge pants, with loose hair falling over his forehead. He led the two into the house, sat down in a chair, lit a cigarette, tossed the cigarette box back onto the coffee table, and sat lazily yet with an air of clear skies after rain.

He flicked the ash and teased in a light voice, “You come back once and don’t even come find your brother, but instead you go to find your boyfriend.”

Xu Ningqing had previously heard from Fan Mengming’s chatter about seeing Shi Niannian at Jiang Wang’s house.

Jiang Wang snorted, “Why would she find you?”

“Brother-in-law,” he smiled and looked over, “Watch your attitude in front of your brother-in-law.”

Shi Niannian couldn’t help but laugh.

Over these years, Xu Ningqing had also managed many company affairs, but his nature was lazy, and he still enjoyed plenty of entertainment, carrying an air of idle extravagance.

“How’s your brother doing?” Xu Ningqing rarely asked about her family situation.

Shi Niannian said, “Much better than before, but his illness probably won’t completely heal. He’s still quite withdrawn, but he doesn’t scream randomly anymore.”

Xu Ningqing made an “mm” sound, exhaled smoke, and then straightened up to toss the cigarette box in front of Jiang Wang.

He gestured to Shi Niannian with his chin, “I don’t smoke.”

“That’s good,” Xu Ningqing gave Shi Niannian a thumbs up, “He quit smoking for you.”

“Not really. His ears aren’t very good,” Shi Niannian said. “It’s better for his diet to be milder.”

Xu Ningqing smiled, “When are you planning to get married?”

They had already registered their marriage, but Jiang Wang automatically interpreted “getting married” as having a wedding ceremony. He played with Shi Niannian’s fingers and said, “She thinks it’s too early now, maybe after graduation.”

Just as he finished speaking, the door opened from outside, and a girl carrying a drawing board came in. Her clothes were dirty with various colors of paint. She lowered her head to change her shoes familiarly, but when she raised her eyes and discovered there were other people in the room, she was momentarily stunned.

“What a coincidence, sister,” she smiled and greeted Shi Niannian.

Xu Ningqing hadn’t attended the party yesterday and didn’t know how the two had met. He raised his eyebrows in surprise, but before he could ask anything, Chang Li rushed over like the wind.

“You, you, you’re smoking again!!” Chang Li threw herself into Xu Ningqing’s arms.

Young Master Xu very coldly and heartlessly peeled the girl clinging to him away, “Kid, you’re dirty all over. Don’t you know I have a cleanliness obsession?”

Chang Li glared at him but continued to lean against his side, raising her hand to wave again at Shi Niannian sitting across from them, smiling sweetly.

They didn’t stay long. Shi Niannian and Jiang Wang got up to leave. Since everyone was familiar with each other, Xu Ningqing was too lazy to see them out. As they walked out the door, they heard Chang Li asking Xu Ningqing, “You know that sister too?”

Xu Ningqing flicked his cigarette ash and looked at her playfully, “What’s with the ‘you’? You don’t even call me uncle anymore. Do you have any manners?”

The two of them drove out to eat.

The sky had already darkened, and cars were flowing endlessly on the road. Jiang Wang parked the car, and he and Shi Niannian got out.

The night breeze was cool and felt comfortable on their skin, carrying the humid moisture of late summer. Cicadas were singing in the trees. This was just like when Shi Niannian first met Jiang Wang.

After finishing dinner and coming out, Shi Niannian received a phone call, a transoceanic call from her mother.

“Wait a moment,” Shi Niannian handed the things she was carrying to Jiang Wang and took out her phone to answer.

During the conversation, she didn’t say much, just a few “mm” sounds and “okay.” Jiang Wang stood beside her and couldn’t make out what she was talking about. She hung up quickly.

He looked down at her, but she didn’t seem upset.

Later, he also became clear about Shi Niannian’s family situation and found it hard to understand why anyone would dislike someone with Shi Niannian’s personality.

“What did she say?” he asked quite casually.

Shi Niannian also answered casually, “Nothing much, just telling me that she sent all my books over too. You know, our major has so many books.”

“Sent to your home?”

“No,” Shi Niannian hesitated when Xu Shu asked for her address. “I gave the school address.”

“When they arrive, don’t go get them yourself. Have someone help you.”

Shi Niannian smiled and made an “mm” sound.

The two walked hand in hand along the road. Up ahead was a pedestrian street. Shi Niannian remembered that there used to be many accessory shops here. Now many of the old stores were gone, replaced by new ones, but it was still just as bustling.

The pedestrian street area had the most students. Sometimes she used to come here with Jiang Ling. On the road, there were many students wearing uniforms from different schools. Shi Niannian even saw quite a few from Yi Zhong High School.

“The school uniforms have been redesigned. I remember that ours used to be blue and white, but now they’ve changed to red and white.”

“Mm,” he responded casually, relaxed, rubbing her palm rhythmically.

Shi Niannian said, “They look quite nice.”

He hooked his lips, “You look good in anything.”

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a burst of suppressed cheers and screams from behind. Shi Niannian turned her head to see several high school girls with flushed cheeks whispering to each other, occasionally glancing in their direction.

Shi Niannian: “…”

This scene was quite familiar. In the past, when she and Jiang Wang were out together, they would also encounter such situations. She didn’t expect to still encounter it today.

She turned her head to observe the man beside her.

Today he wasn’t wearing a suit, just a simple white T-shirt. The surrounding lights poured down, outlining the broad shoulders and narrow waist hidden under his clothes. His face had distinct features, with deep-set eyes. Chiseled by time and experience, he was even more heart-stirring than before.

“If you keep looking at me like that, I’ll think you have ulterior motives,” Jiang Wang said with a smile.

Shi Niannian laughed and turned to look the other way, her voice light in the wind, “What would I want from you?”

“My good looks,” he said without blushing or his heart racing.

She laughed, then after two seconds of silence, “Jiang Wang.”

“Hmm?”

“Then what do you want from me?”

This question, asked more simply and understandably, would be ‘why do you like me?’.

Shi Niannian had always been quite curious about this question. Back when Jiang Wang first started being nice to her, she found it quite strange. He always said frivolous things to her, making their relationship awkward yet ambiguous.

She wasn’t a very confident girl, probably because of her family situation. From childhood to adulthood, she hadn’t received much attention, and with her stuttering problem, she had been bullied and mocked quite a bit. So when someone like Jiang Wang liked her, she found it incredible.

Not just her—everyone at school back then must have been quite surprised.

The school forum had one post after another about the two of them. Even now, if you looked back, you could still find them.

“If I said it was love at first sight, would you believe me?” Jiang Wang said quite calmly.

“Huh?” She was stunned, then laughed again. “Not really.”

“It wasn’t exactly that. I just thought you were quite intriguing at first glance,” Jiang Wang put his arm around her shoulder and said with a faint smile. “I rarely find a girl intriguing, and then I also found you very cute.”

As if recalling Shi Niannian from back then, he laughed again. “Too cute.”

“…” Shi Niannian’s face burned from his words, and she said slowly, “I’m not that great.”

“I think you are.”

So great that one look made him feel hope and expectation in his otherwise gloomy life, so great that it supported him step by step until now without giving up or falling, so great that when he recalled his entire youth, only her colors remained.

Shi Niannian stopped in her tracks. He looked down, raised his hand to rub the top of her head, straightened her hair that had been messed up by the wind, and said slowly:

“I hesitated when I first started pursuing you.” The man’s voice was deep and hoarse, radiating magnetic currents in the darkness. “You were pure and clean, while I had attempted murder and been jailed for half a year. I always felt guilty about approaching you.”

His eyes were gentle, and at this point, he hooked his lips helplessly, “But I couldn’t help it. I just thought that no matter what, I had to get you first, and then figure things out.”

Shi Niannian looked up at him, her heart fluttering, and suddenly stepped forward, opening her arms to hug him.

Jiang Wang paused, then bent down to hold her, leaning to her ear to say softly, “At that time, I thought, I don’t care if you’ll be tainted by evil, you still have to be mine.”

“There’s no evil,” she said softly, buried in his embrace. “There’s no evil, Jiang Wang. You’re especially good. You’re the most determined and kindest person I’ve ever met. You’ve always been so good that sometimes I feel… at a loss for being liked by you.”

There is much evil in this world, but most true evil is deeply hidden inside and not revealed. There’s a portion of people who haven’t directly faced true evil, so they can continue to develop in the right direction.

Then some people have seen evil and step by step sink into the mire, eventually becoming evil themselves.

But Jiang Wang was different. He had the gentlest determination in this world. He had seen and experienced more evil and suffering, but he never let himself fall. He remained so excellent that no one could look away.

He was the youth standing on the podium with a gold medal, shining brightly. He was also the science champion on the honor roll with high scores. And he was that extremely admired CEO Jiang.

He had always been this good.

Jiang Wang laughed hoarsely and, in their current hugging posture, turned his head to kiss her neck.

When he had just been released from prison, he had heard many discussions. Everyone was very eager to talk about his incident from that year.

They said he was a lunatic who stabbed people with a knife. Photos of him with bloodshot eyes and hands covered in blood circulated online for a long time. People were frightened and fearful, but also found it thrilling and exciting.

Only Shi Niannian looked at him straightforwardly and purely, without curiosity or scrutiny, handing him a Relaxed Bear band-aid.

It was also she who hugged him in the stands of the sports field and softly asked, “What about you, are you scared?”

It was she who earnestly told him without stuttering, “I’ll be good to you in the future.”

Around them was the bustling pedestrian street filled with people coming and going. The shop lights were bright all around. Jiang Wang cupped her face, leaned down, and kissed her lips.

His Niannian, who had appeared in his life for just a moment, was enough to become his obsession, making him never forget for a lifetime.

“—CEO Jiang?” An older male voice suddenly sounded from beside them.

He released Shi Niannian and turned his head to look, seeing Chen Qing standing to the side. This professor, who was criticized by many students for his peculiar temper, was now pushing a wheelchair. Sitting in it was his wife, with graying hair, but even with age, she couldn’t hide the scholarly air about her.

Jiang Wang said in a deep voice, “Professor Chen.”

Shi Niannian was stunned, completely not expecting to encounter her graduate advisor here. Chen Qing had also noticed her beside Jiang Wang and looked over with considerable surprise.

Shi Niannian sighed inwardly and bent slightly at the waist, “Hello, advisor.”

Jiang Wang paused.

“You two know each other,” Chen Qing said. “Quite a coincidence.”

Jiang Wang smiled and explained graciously, “She’s my girlfriend. Didn’t expect she’s your student.”

Chen Qing nodded, leaned down to introduce the two to his wife, and then suddenly frowned as if remembering something, and asked Shi Niannian, “Didn’t you meet the first time you came to the hospital to find me? Why didn’t you mention it then?”