Shi Niannian let out an “Ah.” Back then, she had just returned and didn’t know how to face Jiang Wang.

Chen Qing was naturally cold in temperament and was just casually asking. Seeing Shi Niannian’s stunned reaction, he probably understood the entanglement between them. He quickly waved his hand and pushed the wheelchair away.

Jiang Wang raised his hand and pinched her face, his tone a bit heavy, “When did this happen, hmm?”

“Just… when you went to Professor Chen for an examination earlier, I had just returned to China that day and also went to the hospital to find him.”

Jiang Wang raised his eyebrows, “So that person wearing the doctor’s coat was you?”

“Yes.”

When Jiang Wang went in, he had seen a figure from behind and was momentarily dazed, but quickly realized that Shi Niannian couldn’t possibly appear here, so he calmly shifted his gaze away.

Over the years, he had seen some similar figures, but each time ended in disappointment. Eventually, he no longer dared to go forward and look.

Yet unexpectedly, that was the first glimpse he had of Shi Niannian upon seeing her again.

He let out a light breath, “Little heartless one, you didn’t even come find me.”

“When I came back, I was planning to find you. Suddenly seeing you in the hospital caught me unprepared. I didn’t know how to talk to you, and I didn’t know…”

She didn’t know if he still liked her or not.

Shi Niannian frowned slightly and didn’t continue with this topic. “Besides, the newspapers were talking about you and Sheng Xiangwan at that time. That day, I also heard your assistant mention her to you, so I… didn’t dare to speak up.”

Jiang Wang recalled what happened that day. He had never had anything with Sheng Xiangwan and hadn’t imagined that Shi Niannian would hesitate because of Sheng Xiangwan.

He asked, “You don’t trust me?”

“It’s not that,” she answered slowly. “It had been so long since we’d seen each other, so I was a bit anxious.”

Jiang Wang laughed, “I’ve been waiting for you to the point of madness.”

Days passed one by one, and soon it was the National Day holiday. Shi Niannian also asked Huang Yao where a good place to go would be. Huang Yao had previously gone to Pattaya with three roommates for her graduation trip and said it was quite relaxed and suitable for unwinding. Since she and Jiang Wang couldn’t decide where to go, they simply chose to go there too. Besides, it wasn’t far, and one week was just right.

As soon as they exited the airport, they were met with a hot wind carrying the scent of the sea.

Shi Niannian was dressed clean and simple in a white short-sleeved shirt and jeans, with her hair in a ponytail. Her neck was fair and slender, and there were a few faint, almost invisible red marks at the edge of her collar.

She had taken a nap on the plane but hadn’t slept deeply before they arrived. Now she was still a bit dazed, squinting and rubbing her eyes.

Jiang Wang had one arm around her shoulder, keeping her in his embrace. He rubbed her hair and said in a low, gentle voice, “Let’s go to the hotel and sleep a bit first?”

Right before the National Day holiday, she had an exam. That course was different from what she had studied in her undergraduate years, with many knowledge points to memorize and learn. For several days before, she had been studying until the early morning. Now, suddenly relaxed, she was even more prone to fatigue and drowsiness.

She nodded hazily, making an “mm” sound.

When she woke up again, she was in the hotel bedroom. She rubbed her eyes and sat up but couldn’t find Jiang Wang, so she got out of bed and put on slippers to look for him outside the bedroom.

Their hotel had a large terrace outside, which was an open-air swimming pool. Looking out, one could see the sea. The weather was beautiful, with a blue sky and azure sea, and tourists could be seen strolling on the beach.

Shi Niannian found Jiang Wang by the open-air pool. He must have just taken a shower, his black hair still wet. He had loosely draped a robe over himself, the tie not properly secured, revealing a large expanse of wet chest and collarbone that gleamed under the glaring sun. Between his fingers was a cigarette, his wrist lowered, hanging loosely by the armrest.

Shi Niannian pushed open the door and walked out.

Jiang Wang turned to see her, straightened up, and extinguished the cigarette in the ashtray, saying lazily, “You’re awake.”

“Mm,” she walked over.

Jiang Wang put his arm around her waist and directly sat her on his knee. One hand rested on her thigh, gently caressing, as he leaned back and asked lazily, “Your studies are so heavy, aren’t you tired?”

“It’s alright, just a bit busy before exams.” She obediently leaned into his arms, her face still bearing the marks of having just woken up.

“Have you had enough sleep now?”

She nodded, “Yes.”

After getting ready, they went to the beach. It was evening, and the sea breeze was mild and comfortable. There were many pretty ladies with blonde hair and blue eyes wearing bikinis.

Shi Niannian shielded her forehead with her hand, squinting in the setting sun’s glow. Her whole being was visibly excited, her steps as light as if bouncing.

The two sat down on the beach. The sand was soft and hot. Shi Niannian grabbed a handful, which contained shiny little pebbles and shells. The corners of her lips gradually curved upward.

Looking at the waves of the tide in the distance, she smiled and said, “When I was studying, I wanted to come to the seaside, but I had too many classes and never made it in the end.”

Jiang Wang turned his head to look at her, “Now you’re here.”

“Yes.”

Jiang Wang asked, “Did you live well there by yourself?”

“Quite well,” she answered. The sunshine fell on her fair face, looking as if she had never experienced any gloom.

“Jiang Chen died during my junior year,” Jiang Wang suddenly said.

Shi Niannian paused and turned to look at him. The man mentioned this without any emotion or extra expression, his eyes narrowed at the corners, with black lashes lowered.

“I started taking over the company from that time. Later, when my position was secure, I also specifically had people check on your news. He turned his head to smile at Shi Niannian, leaning back on his hands, slightly raising his chin. “I had no news of you during the first few years. Later, I could know what you were doing—going to other cities for research, interning at hospitals, attending classes, and eating with your roommates. I knew quite a lot.”

Shi Niannian was stunned; even her breathing involuntarily softened.

Later, I became busy with work. Sometimes, when a business trip ended early, I would go over and walk in places where I usually passed by. Sometimes I felt that this also counted as an encounter. The people at your school all hurried back and forth with books, all rushing to study. At that time, I thought…”

He laughed softly, his eyes tinged with a gentle color.

“My little girl is amazing, so excellent, no matter where she goes.”

Shi Niannian didn’t speak but reached out and squeezed his palm.

She was the same way. News about Jiang Wang wasn’t hard to find. Right after she left, Jiang Ling would often chat with her and mention Jiang Wang. As time continued to pass, she could see him in business magazines or newspapers, shining brightly, radiantly, completely emerged from the gloom of the past.

Work hard together, meet at the next mountain peak, and prove that I am worthy of you.

“I didn’t have a good time during my first year. I couldn’t explain it clearly, even less so in English. My brother couldn’t adapt to the new environment and threw tantrums at home every day. My father and mother were also constantly arguing, and I…” she paused, smiled, and said frankly, “I was also always thinking of you.”

“I only had one picture of you on my phone, the one from the physics competition award ceremony. It was a photo Jiang Ling took of the announcement board, and I could barely see your face clearly, but I always looked at it.”

When she first arrived at her new home, she was overwhelmed with various trivial matters. Until one evening, with her brother’s screams outside, Shi Niannian moved the newly arrived luggage packages into her room. When she stood up, her knee hit the foot of the bed, causing a piercing pain.

She crouched on the ground, temporarily unable to get up, and accidentally opened the photo that was quietly lying in her album.

They were standing on the podium, holding red certificates with both hands. The corner of the photo also captured the department head.

The young man had rolled up his school uniform sleeves to the middle of his forearms, squinting in the sunlight, looking a bit impatiently cold, yet also appearing arrogant and unrestrained.

At that time, Shi Niannian tightly gripped her phone, all the grievances rushing forth. Her knee was still hurting. She completely broke down, crying messily and pitifully, tears falling in large drops, splattering onto the floor.

The unrestrained youth reflected in her pupils became blurred. Shi Niannian reached out her fingertips, trembling with tears, gently touching his brows and eyes. In the end, she was crying so hard that only wheezing sounds remained, her mouth repeating Jiang Wang’s name.

Now, recalling these past events seemed to bring a sense of calm, probably because after the bitterness came sweetness, giving all the suffering meaning.

“And that medal of yours—whenever I felt like I couldn’t go on, I would look at it, and I would feel that you were so excellent, and I couldn’t give up either.”

“At the beginning, I often had insomnia and couldn’t sleep. During the day, I couldn’t concentrate in class. Later, as I gradually got used to it, things improved. I also met many friends, gradually started speaking more, and would smile rather than cry when thinking of you.”

Jiang Wang’s throat tightened. The more casually she spoke, the more his heart ached for her.

In the past, Shi Niannian hadn’t cried when surrounded and bullied, nor when pushed into the water. She hadn’t cried in the face of that direct malice, yet she cried looking at his photo and medal.

He suddenly felt that if he had tried harder to find her, to meet and hug her, it would have been better.

Jiang Wang remained silent for two seconds, then leaned forward to hug Shi Niannian, “I’ll be good to you from now on.”

The evening sea water had already cooled, so they didn’t go to play in the water. They found a restaurant for dinner, and by the time they finished, the sky had darkened.

When Shi Niannian went to 7-Eleven to buy water, she ran into two former university classmates, two British girls, who teasingly smiled at her and Jiang Wang.

Jiang Wang helped her open the bottle cap and then went to wait at the door.

Her classmates teased her in English about not dating during university, but she quickly found a boyfriend after returning to China and even traveled together. Shi Niannian could only smile and say that the two of them had known each other since high school.

The two were planning to go to the red-light district near the pedestrian street to see the excitement and asked if Shi Niannian and her boyfriend wanted to join. She smiled and declined.

Carrying the water, she pushed open the door and went out. Jiang Wang was standing by the roadside, with a scantily clad woman standing next to him. Shi Niannian was taken aback, then realized this was the red-light district her classmates had mentioned.

They were already not far from there. She realized what this woman did for a living, watching her saying something to Jiang Wang.

The man had no expression but still answered a sentence in English.

Sensing movement behind him, he turned his head to look back and calmly raised an eyebrow at Shi Niannian, who was standing there with a water bottle, not moving.

Only then did she press her lips together and call his name, “Jiang Wang.”

He smiled, walked over to her, and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his embrace, asking with a half-smile, “Watching from behind to see how I would react?”

Shi Niannian couldn’t help but look back again at the woman from earlier. She had already cheerfully given up on Jiang Wang as a target and was asking another man.

She turned her head back and leaned close to his ear to ask, “What was she saying to you just now?”

He had one arm around her shoulder, his wrist coming around, his fingertip circling her lips, saying mischievously, “She was asking if I wanted to do business with her.”

She didn’t need to ask what kind of business, and softly argued, “But you were chatting with her.”

He poked her face, “Not bad, you’ve learned to be jealous again.”

He glanced at Shi Niannian and explained, “We weren’t chatting. I just told her—”

“What?”

He paused slightly, then hooked his lips in a light smile and said frankly, “She is my wife.”

Shi Niannian was caught off guard, her heart suddenly beating rapidly a couple of times.

They hadn’t told anyone about getting their marriage certificate. When they needed to introduce her to others, they only said “girlfriend.” This was the first time he used the word “wife,” which felt completely different.

It was quite wonderful.

Shi Niannian couldn’t help but press her lips into a smile. The young girl slightly lowered her head, her black hair sliding down her shoulders, and another gust of wind brought a sweet fragrance, making her smile gently and compromising.

They went to the night market to eat some more food. There were wandering singers with guitars on the street, swaying their heads and humming tunes. The wind carried the sweet and sour smell of pineapple.

They rarely had the chance to sit by the roadside like this, together with a group of tourists dressed comfortably and loosely, eating at a barbecue stall.

Shi Niannian’s studies were so heavy that she rarely had time to play with friends like this, and Jiang Wang wouldn’t appear in such an environment nowadays. It seemed the last time was several years ago.

He bought a lot of barbecue and several bottles of beer.

After opening the bottle cap on the edge of the table, he asked Shi Niannian, “Can you drink?”

“A little bit.”

This was unexpected. He raised his eyebrows, poured himself a glass, but didn’t pour for her, “Did you drink in college?”

“Yes,” Shi Niannian got up and took the bottle from beside him, looking at him. Jiang Wang didn’t stop her. She also poured a bit for herself, not much, just half a glass. “With my roommates.”

“How much did you drink?”

She held up one finger, “One bottle.”

“Did you get drunk?”

“No, just a bit dizzy.”

Jiang Wang laughed indistinctly, “You can’t hold your liquor.”

Shi Niannian understood her alcohol tolerance. After drinking that half glass, she didn’t drink anymore but went to buy a glass of juice. Jiang Wang finished the remaining two bottles. The alcohol content wasn’t high, and his tolerance was naturally good, so he showed no signs of being drunk.

This relaxed feeling was nice. Shi Niannian’s mood was soaring high. On the way back to the hotel, she swung Jiang Wang’s hand back and forth, her whole being jubilant.

With emotions flying high, she no longer felt sleepy. After taking a shower, she came out to find Jiang Wang on the terrace, having already raised the temperature of the swimming pool.

She suddenly remembered how Jiang Wang looked when she first saw him compete.

Shi Niannian went over, her beautiful toes kicking the water, and turned her head to ask, “Have you gone swimming since then?”

His gaze was on her straightened toes, a bit distracted. His nasal voice was quite heavy, “Hmm?”

“Swimming.”

“Occasionally, as exercise.”

She nodded, relieved.

Jiang Wang glanced at her expression and laughed softly, “Afraid I’d have trauma?”

“Yes.”

“I’m fine. I don’t have any regrets. I’ve already won a gold medal, which is enough,” he held Shi Niannian’s hand and squeezed it. “Now that you’ve come back, everything is good.”

The water in the pool had heated up nicely. Jiang Wang quite casually untied the rope, took off his robe, and entered the water.

His muscles were proportionate with smooth lines. In recent years, busy with work, he only occasionally exercised, so his muscles weren’t particularly developed, but just the right degree.

Though they had been living together since getting their marriage certificate for some time, Shi Niannian hadn’t seen Jiang Wang like this much. She stared for a while. The man stood at the edge of the pool, his face wet from the water splashed earlier. A drop clung to his black lashes, and there were more on his nose bridge.

He reached out his hand, “Coming down?”

Shi Niannian hesitated for a moment, sat on the edge, and put her lower legs in, “I haven’t swum since middle school. I don’t know if I still can.”

Jiang Wang’s eyes darkened, “The water is shallow. I’ll hold you.”

She rarely had a playful heart. As Jiang Wang approached her, she suddenly lifted her legs slightly, splashing water all over him.

Shi Niannian supported herself with her hands behind her, squinting with laughter that wouldn’t stop, her laughter drifting into the night.

Jiang Wang raised his hand to wipe his face, then grabbed her ankle, about to drag her into the water. Shi Niannian laughed and screamed, having no choice but to hold onto his neck, hearing the man whisper intimately in her ear, “Little girl, your courage is getting bigger and bigger.”

“Don’t, don’t, my feet haven’t touched the bottom yet,” Shi Niannian pleaded.

She was still wearing her robe, now wet and clinging to her body, not very comfortable. The hair at the bottom was also completely wet. The wide sleeves had shrunk to her elbows, and her wet forearms were around his neck.

She smelled the faint scent of alcohol that emanated from the man’s body after being moistened by the water, as gentle as a warm spring breeze, wrapping around her tenderly, giving her rosy cheeks as if slightly intoxicated.

Gradually, the atmosphere changed, with an ambiguous, enchanting quality rising in the air.

She didn’t dare look at him and shifted her eyes away. “What are you doing?”

The man leaned in, his breath carrying a slight scent of alcohol, speaking hoarsely in her ear, saying two words.