Extra Chapter 2: Prologue
4
Although tomorrow wasn't the
official anniversary celebration, A University already had the atmosphere of
one.
At least the traffic jam outside
the North Gate had already started.
Xiao Chu peered out the car
window for a long time, but there was still no sign of traffic moving forward.
"Looks like there was a
minor car accident. Luckily we left early," he reported to Zhuang Xu,
closing the window.
Zhuang Xu nodded, glanced at his
watch, and instructed, "You and the driver go to the school first. I'll
walk there myself later." Xiao Chu was taken aback. Their vehicle was
registered and allowed direct access to the school. The school was huge;
walking to the restaurant wouldn't be a short distance.
But before he could say anything,
Zhuang Xu had already gotten out of the car.
Xiao Chu's gaze involuntarily
followed him, watching his tall, slender figure walk through the traffic, then
a short distance further, finally stopping in front of—a beef noodle shop?
Xiao Chu rubbed his eyes. What
was going on? So, the boss was hungry and wanted to eat noodles?
That made sense; there were still
over three hours until the banquet, and they had only managed to grab a
sandwich for lunch.
But how could the boss eat alone?
He was hungry too! Why didn't the boss take him?
Xiao Chu was annoyed.
Zhuang Xu stood at the door for
several minutes before finally pushing open the noodle shop door. A familiar
aroma of food immediately wafted out.
The noodle shop looked unchanged.
The tables and chairs were still the same wooden ones, and the walls had been
lightly renovated—almost identical to before. The waiters were vaguely the same
people as before, only a little plumper, but still as nimble as ever.
The only difference was that
payment was now made first. The cashier recognized him. "I know you.
You're back for the school anniversary celebration, right?"
"Yes."
"I remember handsome guys.
You seem to be doing well. Came alone? Still no girlfriend?" The cashier
was a little gossipy.
Zhuang Xu wasn't bothered by the
cashier's curiosity. He smiled and replied, "Not yet."
"Then you'll have to work
harder."
"I will." "He said
earnestly.
After paying at the counter, he
looked for a seat with his receipt.
Many alumni seemed to be there
for nostalgia; although it was past lunchtime, the noodle shop was still quite
busy, with only a few seats empty.
Zhuang Xu's gaze fell on one of
the empty seats.
Time seemed to suddenly rewind.
He remembered the time he and Ye
Rong left school and passed by this place, when he was suddenly pulled into
this noodle shop. At that time, his mind was in turmoil; on one hand, he seemed
relieved that he could finally let go, but on the other hand, he couldn't help
but think about how to persuade Ye Rong not to publicize this at school.
It wasn't until she stood up that
he realized she was there too. That was the last time he visited this noodle
shop during his university years.
Back then, he had almost used all
his strength to resist that feeling that went against his will, yet he would do
many inexplicable things.
When repaying money, he would
overpay, secretly hoping she would ask why, so he could conveniently tell her
it was a windfall from his trip to the stock market.
The financial market never offers
guaranteed profits. His initial capital was only a little over 30,000; if he
had lost, it would have taken him much longer to repay. Fortunately, he made a
profit. The excitement and sense of accomplishment at that moment, even though
he later manipulated hundreds of millions of funds to amass enormous wealth in
the secondary market... Nothing could compare. Back then, he had clearly
resolved to stay away, yet he desperately craved her look of surprise and
adoration, like the way she looked at him when he brought out a plate of fried
rice from the kitchen at Jiang Rui's house.
How clumsy and self-centered,
Zhuang Xu, he said to his former self.
The past had replayed itself
repeatedly for a period of time, but many things only gained clarity and
insight after achieving success.
He had finally gone from needing
to clench his fists to endure such self-punishment, to shaking his head with a
smile when he thought of it, to now almost completely ignoring it.
His gaze lingered on that empty
seat for a long time, and finally he sat down. Elsewhere.
The noodles were served.
This time, the beef noodles
weren't as tasteless as last time. The freshly made bone broth was rich and
flavorful, the noodles were chewy and springy. He calmly finished his meal,
even drinking half the broth, before getting up to leave.
The street had reopened to
traffic, with vehicles and pedestrians bustling about. He glanced through the
glass door, then opened it. A woman was on the phone outside, her back to him,
wearing a long skirt, long hair, and a beige sweater—a very gentle color.
He was about to walk past her as
usual, like any other passerby, when he heard her voice.
"Where did you park?"
Zhuang Xu abruptly stopped.
"So far? Then I'll wait for
you at the entrance… I won't go in yet. The shop sign isn't very noticeable; I
was afraid you'd spend ages looking for it. I'll just give you this as a
landmark… Huh? Is that an insult?" She laughed. He couldn't see her face,
but he knew the smile was lively, joyful, and light.
"Okay, okay, I'll go inside
and wait for you. If you're not there in ten minutes, you have to admit you're
old and have poor eyesight and can't find your way around."
She said, laughing as she turned
to walk inside. She probably didn't expect someone to be standing behind her,
and bumped into him unexpectedly.
"Ah," she exclaimed
softly.
Zhuang Xu instinctively reached
out to help her, but then withdrew his hand with extreme restraint.
"It's nothing, it's nothing,
I bumped into someone." "I'm sorry..." she explained into the
phone, looking up as if to apologize, but falling silent the moment she saw
him.
Through countless mountains and
rivers, through starry nights, the moment he looked into her eyes, he knew that
he had finally reached his destination when it came to her.
It's so good, he thought. She
came here without any reservations, she didn't care at all.
He hadn't left any mark on her
happy life.
He felt as if a hidden corner of
his heart had been completely opened. He smiled, looked at her, and said,
"I'm sorry."
She was startled, seemingly
surprised, yet also understanding, before finally smiling and saying,
"It's okay." "
——End of Prologue
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