Chapter 1

The company arranged a business trip, and the destination was Chunshui Town.

It’s a remote southern island, surrounded by the endless sea.

Originally, the economy wasn’t very developed, but a film crew shot a movie here a couple of years ago. With the movie’s popularity, Chunshui Town has recently become a hot tourist spot.

Our boss, Hu Qianjun, sensed a business opportunity and brought Zhou Ming and me here to negotiate a deal.

The client we were meeting was named Chen Ye, the largest seafood supplier in the area.

It’s said he’s extremely difficult to deal with-neither soft nor hard tactics work. Many peers have hit a wall with him.

Zhou Ming was quite dismissive: “Chen Ye was just a fisherman with a stall at the market. The lower someone’s background, the more they put on airs. Honestly, it’s just insecurity.”

Zhou Ming is a graduate of a prestigious university, a PhD who studied abroad. Deep down, he has a sense of superiority and looks down on people like Chen Ye, who didn’t even finish high school.

Hu Qianjun also studied abroad and is Zhou Ming’s senior, but he doesn’t care for this arrogant junior. So he said, “Maybe he’s not good at studying, but he’s great at business. If you don’t want to go, just stay at the hotel and sleep.”

“Brother-in-law, I have a task.”

Zhou Ming’s task was to keep an eye on Hu Qianjun for his sister, making sure he didn’t use the business trip as an excuse to meet other women.

Hu Qianjun sighed, at a loss with this brother-in-law.

By evening, the boat docked, and Old Yang, our contact, was already waiting at the pier.

On the way, we chatted about Chen Ye. Old Yang laughed, “Actually, Boss Chen isn’t that scary. He’s just too casual and speaks bluntly. You’ll get used to him after a few meetings.”

Zhou Ming said, “Come on, business is all about profit. Who has time to get to know him?”

Hu Qianjun shot him a cold glance, then looked at me and immediately broke into a smile: “We have Ye Ran with us-there’s no male client she can’t handle!”

I smiled faintly without replying, but I was a bit nervous inside.

If things went wrong, the praise Hu Qianjun was giving me now would turn into blame later.

We arrived at the private room, ordered food, and waited a long time. It was nearly seven when Chen Ye finally arrived.

The moment I saw him, I could almost feel Zhou Ming’s anger boiling over. Even the usually composed Hu Qianjun was getting restless.

Chen Ye wore a white tank top, baggy shorts, and flip-flops, his hair a mess-he looked utterly sloppy.

If it weren’t for his rather attractive face, I would have wanted to leave right away.

Chen Ye smiled, his tone perfunctory: “Sorry, I had a lot to do and just finished up. Sorry I’m late.”

We had waited for him for a full hour.

And Chen Ye’s eyes looked a bit tired, with a few marks from a bamboo mat on his right cheek-clearly, he’d just woken up.

Hu Qianjun was the first to recover, quickly calling the waiter to serve the dishes and handing the menu to Chen Ye, hoping he’d take a look. But Chen Ye didn’t even reach for it and refused directly: “You guys decide. I’m not hungry.”

Hu Qianjun’s hand, holding the menu, froze awkwardly in midair.

I felt a bit frustrated-this guy was even harder to deal with than I’d imagined.

Once all the dishes were served, I poured a glass of red wine. Just as I picked it up and was about to speak, Chen Ye cut in: “Thanks, but I don’t care for all this fake drinking culture, and I’m not used to red wine.”

He really didn’t give us any leeway.

I forced down my irritation, smiled, and set the glass down: “Actually, I don’t like it either, but there’s no choice when you need to make a living.”

Chen Ye looked up at me, curious: “Boss Hu always praises your drinking skills. It must have taken a lot to get this good?”

“Yeah, it was pretty rough at first. Either I’d end up covered in vomit or couldn’t get up off the floor, running to the hospital every other day.” I thought for a moment, then added, “But you have to pay a price to get a reward, so I guess it’s worth it.”

“Worth it?” Chen Ye snorted and shook his head. “You’re ruining your health now-you’ll regret it later.”

“Well, if I cry, at least it’ll be in a nice apartment, not laughing foolishly in a rented room. I have no parents, so I can only work hard while I’m young.”

A beautiful woman showing vulnerability at the table is more effective than telling dirty jokes.

Men all have a protective instinct and a savior complex. Lowering your guard can yield unexpected results.

Sure enough, after listening, Chen Ye pondered for a while, then said, “To be honest, I’m also an orphan. We’re in the same boat.”

He told the waiter to clear away all the unopened wine and replace it with orange juice. He then tilted his head back and gulped down a whole bottle, grinning at me: “This bottle of juice is my apology. My tone was a bit harsh earlier-please forgive me if I offended you.”

This move made Hu Qianjun’s eyes light up, as if he saw a turning point.

Unfortunately, after that, Chen Ye didn’t say another word to me. The men chatted about politics and fishing rods-topics I neither cared about nor understood.
Hu Qianjun tried several times to steer the conversation back to me, but Chen Ye deftly shifted it away each time. Unwilling to give up, Hu Qianjun brought up the topic of cooperation again, but Chen Ye was clearly uninterested and simply stopped responding.

Hu Qianjun was feeling uncertain, shooting me meaningful glances to urge me to take the initiative, but I ignored him and just kept my head down, focused on eating.

Hu Qianjun’s heart sank completely.

Unexpectedly, after the meal, Chen Ye suddenly extended an olive branch: “Miss Ye, after eating so much tonight, would you like me to take you for a walk to help digest? We could enjoy the night view of Chunshui Town.”

Having navigated society for years, I knew exactly what Chen Ye meant. It wasn’t the first time I’d received such an invitation.

Hu Qianjun looked at me, both excited and nervous, afraid I’d refuse as I had in the past.

Zhou Ming remained silent.

I hesitated for a moment, then, almost involuntarily, nodded in agreement: “Sure.”

Outside, the night was deep, and in the distance I could faintly hear the sound of waves crashing, like whispers in a dream.

The atmosphere on the road was quiet. Chen Ye didn’t speak, nor did I. We walked silently through several narrow alleys and arrived at an old part of town.

Here, the buildings were close together, messy power lines stretched between signboards, and occasionally a stray cat would pass along the wall, its deep, shining eyes staring at us before disappearing into the darkness.

I stopped, hardly able to believe it, and couldn’t help but ask, “You live here?”

Chen Ye turned his head to look at me. “Yes, what’s wrong?”

“…Nothing.”

He let out a soft laugh.

The stairwell was dim, and I could smell the mustiness unique to old houses. As we passed one home, a dog inside suddenly started barking wildly.

I jumped in surprise. Chen Ye, walking ahead, stopped and turned to look at me for a few seconds, then reached out his hand.

After a moment of confusion, I placed my hand in his.

His palm was damp and soft, holding mine steadily and silently. His tall, broad figure led the way. I looked up at him, and a surge of indescribable emotion welled up inside me.

Chen Ye unlocked the door, and I followed him inside.

The living room was small and old, the leather sofa cracked and worn, the mosaic floor garish, and a green ceiling fan hung overhead-a style I hadn’t seen in years.

Without a word, Chen Ye went straight to the bathroom to take a shower.

I sat on the sofa, my thoughts a mess and my heart beating fast. Absentmindedly, I glanced at the pack of cigarettes on the coffee table. After a moment’s hesitation, I picked one up and lit it. I took a cautious drag-the taste was bitter and harsh, and I couldn’t understand why anyone would get addicted to this.

Just as I was about to try a second puff, the cigarette was taken from my fingers.

Chen Ye held the cigarette between his lips, looking down at me.

He had just showered, his upper body bare, muscular and toned, his lines sharp and taut. In the cold moonlight, a few droplets of water still clung to his chest.

Suddenly, my throat felt a little dry.

Chen Ye stubbed out the cigarette and sat down next to me, closing the distance. The fresh scent of mint lingered in the air.

After a moment of silence, he asked, “Do you often go home with men?”

In the faint light, I saw a hint of contempt in Chen Ye’s eyes. A nameless anger flared up inside me, and I decided to be mischievous, curling my lips flirtatiously: “No.”

After a brief pause, I added, “Most of the time, they take me to hotels.”

Chen Ye’s expression stiffened. He raised his hand and gripped my chin hard, his tone harsh: “Ye Ran, seven years apart and you’re still as heartless as ever.”

I narrowed my eyes, my smile deepening: “My heart was eaten by a dog long ago. Did you forget? You dog.”

I bit down hard on the last three words.

Our gazes collided-one holding back, the other stubborn-like a silent argument.

Seven years apart, separated by more than 3,600 kilometers, over 2,500 days and nights without crossing paths. We had to admit that both of us had changed.

Chen Ye was darker, more haggard, and faint wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes when he expressed emotion.

He was thirty-three now, no longer the naive young man I remembered. Yet, for some reason, time had taken away his youth but hadn’t led him toward the future.

He still lived in this old house, with my graduation photo on the bookshelf, my merit certificate on the wall, and even the slippers I once wore still by the door… Everything here was so familiar, and yet so repulsive to me.

I didn’t know why Chen Ye kept these painful memories. I didn’t dare ask, nor did I want to explore the reasons behind it.

All I knew was that I hated him.

Hated him so, so much.