Chen Yushen had started his internship. Because he was more inclined to find a job closer to home, he’d been staying in the vicinity this past while.

He was incredibly surprised when he received Qin Youyou’s call. Qin Youyou said he wanted to treat him to a meal. Chen Yushen was stunned but he readily agreed.

Actually, the two of them had not been in contact since they had eaten together the last time. He really wanted to ask Qin Youyou about recent developments, but after considering it carefully, he stopped himself from prying.

Learning to be respectful with was something he had learned from Qin Youyou over this time—since the first time he’d met him again after so many years. There were too many aspects to Qin Youyou that he’d never noticed before. After they got back in contact with each other, those aspects of him had been magnified before his eyes, which made him feel even more ashamed and unworthy. The more he realised how precious that person was, the more he began to understand exactly just what he’d lost.

He truly wished to be able to see Qin Youyou more, even though he knew there would be no point in it.

Qin Youyou booked a restaurant that he himself would never have been willing to eat at, but with Chen Yushen’s extravagant style, it would be one he wouldn’t even give a second glance to. Qin Youyou was incredibly calm, showing nothing but his usual nature.

Chen Yushen rushed in to the restaurant and looked around. Qin Youyou was sitting by the window and waved at him.

“Youyou,” Chen Yushen smiled as he walked over. “My apologies, something held me up a bit. Were you waiting long for me?”

“No,” Qin Youyou said. “I know you’re busy, so I already ordered some food.”

“We didn’t have to eat at such an expensive place,” Chen Yushen took off his jacket and hung it over the back of the chair before pulling it out to sit down. “I’d be happy even to have a bowl of noodles with you.”

Qin Youyou smiled and took a glass to pour him some lemon water.

Chen Yushen really had been busy—he’d pushed some matters to the afternoon and had quickly rushed over to the restaurant. He lifted the glass to take a sip. “How have you and your partner doing recently?”

“Very well,” Qin Youyou’s eyes curved. “He recovered quite quickly, and can already move around freely without crutches. I actually didn’t want him to be in such a hurry, but he’s very stubborn and didn’t listen to me.”

Chen Yushen chuckled. He wiped down his hands with the wet wipes.

When he finished, while he still held the wipes in his hand, Chen Yushen deliberated for a while before looking up. “In the future, if there is anything you need help with, tell me. I’ll say it again; if I can help you, Youyou, no matter what, I will do my best to give it to you. This is what I owe you.”

Qin Youyou didn’t say anything. A faint smiled flitted across his face, and when he pursed his lips, a pair of dimples were revealed on his cheeks.

Chen Yushen stared at him.

Qin Youyou took out a card from the backpack that was next to him, and placed it on the table. He gently pushed it over, his eyes filled with sincerity that needed no further explanation.

Chen Yushen frowned. “What’s this?”

“I want to thank you, Chen Yushen,” Qin Youyou said. “The designs I’m doing at home can now sustain my day-to-day necessities. Occasionally my friends will chip in a little. In addition, the claims settlement with the construction site is progressing well and a settlement will be reached soon. Therefore, I am returning this money to you. This is what Wei Dong and I both wish.”

“…”

Chen Yushen stared blankly, then reached out to the card and pushed it back. “Keep this, Youyou. I do not deserve your thanks, I only… Just take it, as a gesture of my goodwill.”

Qin Youyou smiled lightly. “It doesn’t matter what you do, Chen Yushen. I have thanked you. But now that I’ve overcome this hurdle, I’m going to continue moving forward. I want to live with Wei Dong, and build a good life together with him.

“You should do the same—in the future you should live your own life well too.”

Chen Yushen stared at Qin Youyou, his eyes gradually turning red.

After a while he took a deep breath. “Youyou, do you know that during those two years I was looking for you, I thought that if I could meet you again, I would definitely pursue you, earnestly and with no tricks. I want to use everything I have to make up for it, and I’ve waited so long for this opportunity. Those years have eaten away at my heart, so when I saw you again, I lost a bit of control…”

Qin Youyou’s fingers gripped his glass. He lowered his head and took a sip.

“But then I see how happy you are with him. How you give him so much, how you care about him so much… And then I think, it must be because he deserves it, and I do not.”

Chen Yushen’s gaze was flushed red.

“So that time when you broke down in front of me and said those things… I realised, nothing was more important that you being okay. So long as you are happy, even if the person next to you is no longer me…”

Qin Youyou lowered his eyes to look at a spot on the table. After a while he spoke. “I’m truly very happy.”

He pushed the card forward again and then withdrew his hand. “Therefore, I want to thank you, Chen Yushen. No matter what, this eighty thousand yuan gave me breath when I needed it, and the confidence for me to keep holding on. I thank you.”

“Don’t give it back to me…” Chen Yushen’s eyes were bloodshot. “This amount of money is basically worthless to what I actually owe you. Youyou, it can’t even take away a fraction of the guilt I feel towards you…”

“It can’t take away anything, but it’s also not worthless either,” Qin Youyou smiled. “Your intentions mean well, so it has value. But now the role this card has played has been completed, and I have to return it to you. Chen Yushen, I really—truly and deeply—no longer wish to have any interactions with you.”

Chen Yushen picked up his glass and took a sip of the water, his eyes looking around. After a few seconds he looked back.

“Do you still hate me, Youyou?”

“I do not hate you. But I also can’t forget the past.” Qin Youyou lowered his head and was silent. “Because it wasn’t only me who paid the price. I have forgiven you, but because of what happened to my parents, I can’t forgive you on their behalf.”

Instantly, a jolt of pain went through Chen Yushen’s chest. He frowned but remained silent.

“As for myself, I really don’t think I can hate you, or can I think of the price you would have to pay to resolve any hatred. I just can’t imagine the point in hating you. Chen Yushen, what Wei Dong said to me was right—he said people should look forward. If they are always looking back at the past, then this life will effectively come to an end. I don’t hate you. I cherish and value the life I have with my family and loved ones. If you haven’t experienced it, you wouldn’t be able to understand the significance.”

“I’m sorry…” Chen Yushen said awkwardly.

“There’s no need for your apologies anymore,” Qin Youyou smiled. “I don’t hate you because I’m magnanimous, but because there’s no point in it. I still have a lifetime ahead of me, and I want to live it with love.

“You don’t need to beg for my forgiveness, Chen Yushen. Because I really don’t care.”

The food had already gone cold, and Chen Yushen remained silent for a long, long time.

Finally, he smiled. “Youyou, I can’t think of anybody would who not be happy together with you. You are like sunshine. Your partner is incredibly lucky.”

Qin Youyou thought for a bit then laughed. “I’m also incredibly lucky.”

Just like the first time they met…

An image suddenly flashed through Qin Youyou’s mind. He was wearing shorts, holding on to a boxed meal, and sitting in a tiny rented apartment in that run down district. His eyes sparkled as he said to Wei Dong, “Ge, I’m incredibly lucky to have met you.”