Chapter 110 Zhou Yue smiled and said, "..."

Zhou Yue wasn't like this before, Zheng Xiaotian remembers it very clearly.

He was always indifferent and self-possessed, treating everyone with detachment. He was decisive and left no room for compromise in his words and actions. He had seen Zhou Yue flip over a folder in front of a group of senior executives in the conference room, and he had also seen him sneer at the negotiating table, his eyes filled with an almost cruel calmness.

And then there was that night, after the party ended, Zhou Yue sat alone in a booth by the window, smoking one cigarette after another. The smoke slowly rose and dissipated under the dim light, and his expression was so lonely that it seemed he wanted to melt into that gray mist.

But now, Zhou Yue was squatting in front of the cabinet, carefully measuring the dimensions. After he finished measuring, he was recording something on his phone. Xia Zhiyao was squatting next to him, and the two of them were talking to each other with their heads down.

Looking at that focused, patient, and even gentle demeanor, Zheng Xiaotian suddenly felt a little dazed. He had been navigating the dating scene for so many years and had seen countless people. He understood all kinds of eyes, smiles, and probing.

He knew how to start a relationship, how to be ambiguous, how to please others, and when to gracefully exit. He was like a skilled actor, able to perform well in every relationship, but never truly committed himself to it.

But this scene before him, that calm, focused, and at ease demeanor, that moment as if the whole world could pause just to accompany one person in building a home bit by bit, was something he had never experienced, nor had he ever given to anyone.

It wasn't jealousy or envy. Zheng Xiaotian couldn't quite explain what he was thinking, but he felt a sudden tightness in his chest.

"Xiaotian? Zheng Xiaotian? President Zheng?" Xia Zhiyao's voice pulled him back to reality. She turned her head, a hint of doubt in her eyes: "Look, which is better, white or natural wood color? Haven't you always boasted about your impeccable taste?"

"Huh?" Zheng Xiaotian was taken aback for a moment. "It suits you. It's great." He replied casually. "You two make a perfect pair."

Xia Zhiyao chuckled at his words, but her eyes held a hint of helplessness: "I asked you about the color, not about emotional analysis." As she spoke, she bent down and picked up the wood grain sample. "I still think the natural wood color is gentler."

"The natural wood is gentle, and the white color is clean," Zheng Xiaotian smiled. "It's fine to put it in the living room too."

"Which one do you choose?" she asked, looking up.

Zheng Xiaotian met her eyes, paused for half a second, and his smile faltered. "Me?" He shrugged. "I choose—the one that doesn't get dirty easily."

Xia Zhiyao chuckled and shook her head: "Typical lazy thinking." She turned back to continue discussing the size with Zhou Yue.

Zheng Xiaotian didn't say anything more, just leaned against the display case and looked at them. In that instant, he felt that the noise around him had become blurred, leaving only the quiet and steadfast understanding between the two of them.

The light poured down, falling on her hair and casting a soft golden halo around it. For a moment, she seemed to be glowing.

Zheng Xiaotian leaned against the wall, his hands in his pockets, his gaze drifting. In the distance, a crowd was slowly moving: a young couple pushing a shopping cart, the girl tiptoeing to put things in the cart, the boy reaching out to take them; high school students with backpacks and their parents, walking and discussing what color bed sheets to buy; and young parents, their child clamoring to go to the children's section, being held back by the mother with a smile.

Everyone is busy with some specific, trivial aspects of life. Looking at this, Zheng Xiaotian suddenly had a strange, almost absurd thought: what would it feel like if someone were walking alongside him at this moment?

It's not the kind of ambiguous companionship you meet in a bar, nor is it the kind of relationship that ends at dawn. Rather, it's about having someone who actually pushes a shopping cart with you, stops in front of the shelves, discusses whether to buy this cup or that cushion, argues about the color, and finally compromises with a smile.

Just like having an ordinary, mundane, but real life, he unconsciously took out his phone, opened WeChat, and habitually swiped down, the profile pictures flashing by one by one.

Some people are still lingering in the ambiguity of the past, with "goodnight" messages from months ago still in their chat boxes; some have long since disappeared, leaving only a blank chat history; and some have been set to "do not disturb," so even the red dot no longer pops up.

His finger paused on a certain name. It was a girl he had met recently—pretty, smart, and witty. He hesitated for a few seconds, but ultimately swiped over it.

But when he realized what he was doing, he suddenly stopped. He looked down at the screen, at the avatars and names, and suddenly laughed. The laugh was tinged with irony and an indescribable weariness. He put his phone back in his pocket and pressed it hard, as if he wanted to stuff something in with it.

"That's enough for now, let's move on to the next one." Xia Zhiyao turned around from the front desk, waved to him, and smiled brightly.

"Coming," he replied, a faint smile still lingering on his lips, but the smile faded quickly, disappearing into the air in the blink of an eye.

He followed, walking slowly. As he walked, he thought, perhaps he really was getting old, or perhaps not.

But today, something gently poked that empty space in my heart.

He could feel the emptiness there, just like feeling a heartbeat, it was real.

"What's wrong with you today?" Zhou Yue asked, his voice flat. "You seem distracted." Zhou Yue's tone lacked that undeniable certainty. "Is something wrong at the company?"

Zheng Xiaotian chuckled and shook his head: "It's nothing, I just didn't sleep well last night."

Zhou Yue hummed in response, his tone still indifferent: "You should also take care of your health and not stay up late all the time. You looked a bit tired the other day."

Zheng Xiaotian paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Well, even you're starting to care about people now."

"I always will," Zhou Yue said calmly.

Zheng Xiaotian complained, "Yes, they were all given to Xia Zhiyao, right?"

Zhou Yue shook his head helplessly and reached out to hold the shopping cart in Xia Zhiyao's hand: "Alright," he said gently, "Let's go to the food area to get something to eat before we leave."

Zheng Xiaotian stretched dramatically, his laughter carried on the wind. "Why go to IKEA? We're all here. Let's eat something better. There's a nice Western restaurant next door after we pay the bill. Come with me."

As soon as she reached the checkout area, Xia Zhiyao's phone vibrated in her pocket. She took it out, and the word "Mom" flashed on the screen. Her heart skipped a beat.

"Mom?" She answered the phone, subconsciously taking two steps to the side, her voice softening.

"You're on holiday and you're not even going home? What have you been doing?" A familiar voice came from the other end of the phone, gentle yet with an undeniable intimacy.

Xia Zhiyao said, "I'm at IKEA, buying some things I need for my new house."

"By the way, isn't your new house finished being renovated? I haven't seen it yet. How about I go take a look this afternoon? I can help you tidy up while I'm at it."

Xia Zhiyao paused, feeling her expression freeze for a moment. The checkout area was bustling with people, the sounds of scanning barcodes and shopping cart wheels echoing from the counters. The air was filled with the aroma of coffee and wood.

She looked up and saw Zheng Xiaotian bending down to take things out of the shopping cart. He turned around and waved at her. Zhou Yue was right next to her, meeting her gaze. Seeing her expression, he gestured for Zheng Xiaotian to wait a moment and walked over in a few steps.

"Ah...it might not be convenient today," she said softly, trying to make her tone sound natural and even adding a hint of a smile. "The house is too messy, everything is piled up, there's no place for you to sit if you come."

"It's nothing, I'm just taking a look." Xia Zhiyao's mother's voice was still gentle, but with a soft certainty. "I don't have anything to do either, so I'll help you tidy up."

Xia Zhiyao hummed in agreement. Her gaze drifted, landing on the dappled lamplight on the ground before shifting away, her heart pounding a little wildly.

Zhou Yue didn't speak, but just quietly looked at her. She turned to the side, her shoulders slightly tense, and she looked restrained and uneasy.

Xia Zhiyao seemed to notice, and subconsciously raised her head, her eyes meeting his. Zhou Yue tugged at her hand, slowly and gently raised his chin, and silently moved his lips, as if to say to her, "It's okay, let Auntie do it."

Xia Zhiyao was stunned. She actually felt a sense of relief. She looked at Zhou Yue and at the gentle light in his eyes, the calm and silent certainty. Suddenly, she felt that her panic, hesitation, and confusion were being steadily supported by something.

“Okay,” she said softly into the phone, her tone hesitant yet relieved. “I’ll have dinner with a friend first, and I’ll talk to you when I get back.”

Her mother answered the phone, her voice gentle and everyday, carrying a familiar, lived-in tone. Xia Zhiyao gave a soft "Mmm."

The moment she hung up the phone, she stood there for a few seconds, stunned. The sounds of the cash register beeping, the whispers of the crowd, and the soft rustling of shopping bags filled her ears. The emotions that had been hanging in the air finally settled down little by little.

Zhou Yue laughed and said, "What? Afraid your mom will see me?"

Xia Zhiyao looked up at him. "It's not that," she said. "It's just that I don't know how to tell her."

She paused, then added, "You know my mom, she's very sensitive..." She didn't finish her sentence, but Zhou Yue knew what she was worried about.

He understood all the unspoken words. He was afraid his mother would overthink things, afraid that opening a door would bring a series of tests, concerns, and even misunderstandings, and also afraid that the feeling of being seen through since childhood would come back to haunt him.

"I know," Zhou Yue said softly, his tone even, as if he were finishing what she hadn't said. "We're both here."

Zheng Xiaotian leaned over from the side and asked with a smile, "Your mom is coming?" "The last time I saw your mom was when you were sick and hospitalized. She was such a kind person; she even invited us to her house for dinner."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yue immediately frowned: "Damn, I haven't eaten a single meal at your house since I started college, and Zheng Xiaotian is allowed to go?"

Zheng Xiaotian chuckled: "Oh, so you're jealous? Hey, I'm wondering why. Aren't you two childhood sweethearts? If you want to go, you can just go whenever you want, right?"

Zhou Yue was taken aback and was speechless for a moment. He just frowned and said in a low voice, "What do you know?" His tone was indifferent, but it carried a restrained feeling that he didn't want to explain further.

Zheng Xiaotian clicked his tongue and laughed even harder: "Of course I understand. I was saying that it's not good for you two to keep doing things secretly like this. You'll have to talk to your parents about it sooner or later."

He paused, a mischievous glint in his eyes, and added, "How about I help you two design something? We can make a roadshow plan in advance, simulate the presentation, and help you manage the risks."

Xia Zhiyao was both amused and exasperated by him.

Zheng Xiaotian cleared his throat in a pretentious manner: "Then I need to prepare a PPT first. The first part is the background and necessity of the strategic cooperation, the second part is the future development and win-win situation for both parties, and the third part is risk prevention and control and public opinion management."

Zhou Yue finally couldn't help but laugh out loud, shaking his head and saying, "Alright, let's hurry up and pay the bill and go eat."

"Isn't this just me making arrangements for you guys in advance?" Zheng Xiaotian was still muttering to himself.

"You can arrange it yourself," Zhou Yue said, pushing the shopping cart forward. Xia Zhiyao followed with a smile, her fingertips lightly touching the back of his hand.

The Western restaurant was not far away. "This one is alright." Zheng Xiaotian looked at the menu on his phone and nodded. "Let me tell you, a 4.6 rating is about right. Any higher and it would be suspicious of being manipulated."

The three entered the shop, and the afternoon light streamed in through the glass window, falling on the table. As soon as they sat down, Zheng Xiaotian sighed, "Hey, you two, tell me, how long has it been since we went out for a proper meal?" He paused, raised an eyebrow, and then laughed, "Oh, no, you two have definitely gone out to eat quite a bit, you're just too lazy to take me."

Xia Zhiyao chuckled at his words, picked up her water glass and gently swirled it: "Stop being so sarcastic. Who invited us to dinner last time? Turns out they were working overtime and didn't come."

"Look, I'm working overtime for the company." Zheng Xiaotian put on a serious face. "Now it's finally your turn to make it up to me."

Zhou Yue closed the menu and said casually, "Okay, you can order whatever you want this meal."

"Alright!" Zheng Xiaotian perked up. "Then I won't be polite." He buried his head in the menu, gesturing as he muttered, "Steak, salad... hey, dessert too."

Xia Zhiyao shook her head with a laugh: "You're like someone who's been starving all day."

Zheng Xiaotian was engrossed in looking at the menu when he suddenly looked up, as if he had just thought of something, and said half-jokingly and half-seriously, "If you two get married and have children one day, won't you have even fewer opportunities to come out and have dinner with me?"

"So now we have to seize every opportunity." Zheng Xiaotian said, raising his glass and waving it at them.

Zhou Yue casually added, "Then you should also settle down and find a girl."

The moment the words left his mouth, the atmosphere froze slightly. Zheng Xiaotian's smile lingered on his face, but in that instant, it seemed to be gently blown away by a breeze. He lowered his eyes, "As for finding a girl..." He chuckled softly, his tone still casual, "There's no use rushing it."

Zhou Yue didn't notice anything amiss and gave a faint "hmm." Xia Zhiyao didn't speak; her silent silence held a lot of meaning. She knew what Zheng Xiaotian was hiding with his smile, and she also knew what kind of echo Zhou Yue's unintentional words would leave in his heart.