In the banquet hall, where people were toasting, everything was filled with the smell of decadence.

In a remote rest corner, two people were talking in a low voice -

"Mr. Zhao, could you please reconsider? We were not interested in cooperation a while ago..."

The middle-aged man called Mr. Zhao glanced at Li Yu'an's cheap suit, trying to hide the contempt in his eyes, "Mr. Li, do we have to have a special occasion to talk about work? You know better than me what the situation is with your Dawn Game. I'm sorry I can't do anything."

As he said that, he raised his glass to indicate, "I won't waste time here, please do as you please."

"..."

Li Yu'an slightly exerted force on his fingertips holding the glass, and watched the other party leave lightly.

Even though President Zhao said nothing, he could still see a hint of arrogance and contempt in the other party's eyes. The project investment funds that he had been lobbying for for a long time were finally cut off by the other party's attitude of going back on their word.

Today's high-profile banquet was hosted by the Bo family. The other party was a well-known wealthy family in the capital. The scale and the invited guests were all well-known figures.

For the sake of his company that was on the verge of bankruptcy, Li Yu'an took a lot of effort to get an invitation letter, hoping to find a chance for cooperation from it.

But from the time he entered the venue until now, he and all the guests seemed to be in two different worlds and were incompatible.

Li Yu'an adjusted the hem of his suit without leaving a trace, straightened his body, and walked quickly to the emergency passage in the corridor on the side.

Creak.

The tightly closed door cuts off the flashy world outside.

Li Yu'an fumbled for his cigarettes and lighter from his pocket. The faint flame illuminated his eyebrows. His stubbornness finally broke a little bit of fragility under the warmth of this small space.

Surrounded by smoke.

Li Yu'an heard his own sigh, his tense nerves relaxed, and his expression gradually became numb.

If it were five or six years ago, "Dawn Games" owned by the Li family would definitely be a well-known company in the Imperial Capital circle. Unfortunately, the game market is changing in real time.

"Dawn Games", which was considered a strong brand in the early years, failed to keep up with the pace of the public and gradually went downhill. Li Yu'an's father died suddenly due to illness, leaving behind a bunch of shabby stalls.

In order not to disappoint his heartbroken mother, Li Yu'an, who was still a sophomore at the time, had to shoulder the sudden burden and was forced to change his major to games.

Many years have passed.

Today, the Li family and "Dawn Games" no longer have any reputation or influence to speak of. Li Yu'an struggled to maintain it, but he could not stop the company from declining.

Although he had only graduated for less than two years, Li Yu'an entered this complex and simple society earlier than his peers -

the human heart is complex, but many things can be simply determined by wealth and status.

Suddenly, there was a noise outside the door, as if someone was deliberately making things difficult for him. "Don't worry, Master Pei. We finally met and we just wanted to chat with you."

Li Yu'an's thoughts broke away from his memories and he looked out through the small glass window on the door.

A clean-looking and well-behaved boy was being blocked at the door of the toilet by two young masters from wealthy families. The former lowered his head timidly and didn't say a word. He looked like he was going to be bullied.

Li Yu'an frowned slightly and held the cigarette butt tightly in his mouth unconsciously.

So stupid.

Why not just run to the banquet hall?

Even if the young master from a wealthy family made a mistake again, he would not dare to do anything in public.

Seeing the "bullying" outside the door getting more and more intense, Li Yu'an took the cigarette back in his hand and deliberately kicked the door open with a lot of noise.

——Bang!

This deliberately created loud noise indeed temporarily stopped the bullying outside the door.

Li Yu'an blew the last puff of smoke out of the safe door, and his eyebrows and eyes once again regained the cold and arrogant attitude towards the outside world, "I didn't expect this door to be so difficult to open. I was almost locked in while smoking a cigarette."

This was naturally an excuse, deliberately said to the three people outside the door.

Li Yu'an knew that his identity was incompatible with this banquet. He didn't want to cause too much trouble. He just hoped that the "bullied" Pei Xiaoshao could be smarter and run away during this gap.

In this way, he can also protect himself and reduce unnecessary troubles.

It's a pity that the other party didn't understand his hint.

Li Yu'an met the gazes of the two fat and thin young masters of the rich families, and then looked at the young master Pei who was caught in the middle and dared not move. He could hardly hold back his expression -

is this young master Pei Yi of the Pei family really the little fool that the outside world said he was?

Why didn't he run away? A

trace of helplessness overflowed from the depths of Li Yu'an's pupils, but if he didn't continue to take care of things at this point, he was afraid that the other party would be bullied even more miserably.

"I say, it's inappropriate for the two of you to gang up on Young Master Pei, isn't it? The Bo and Pei families just announced their marriage at the banquet, and you..."

"Li Yu'an, stop meddling in other people's business here!"

Both the fat and thin man recognized Li Yu'an, and their initial vigilance turned into ridicule, "Look at the suit you're wearing, some shabby brand from a street stall? How dare you sneak into this banquet?" "

..."

The undisguised sarcasm came straight to his face, like a knife stabbing Li Yu'an's heart.

If it were in the past, Li Yu'an's family background would have been much better than theirs, but now, it seems that any peer from a wealthy family can show contempt for him.

Li Yu'an silently crushed the unfinished cigarette into the trash can, and his aroused self-esteem made him no longer endure it.

He walked straight up, pushed aside the fat and thin men on both sides, and pulled the "silly" Pei Yi to his side, clearly intending to intervene in this farce that had nothing to do with him.

"Li Yu'an, I warn you again, this has nothing to do with you! You..."

"Why waste so much time talking to him? Just beat him up too!"

Li Yu'an heard the malicious threats from the two, and the arrogance and stubbornness hidden in his bones burst out instantly!

He pushed the people around him away from the danger with his backhand, "Fool, what are you still doing? Run out and call for help, I'll take care of these two idiots for you first!"

Everything was going wrong today, and he was just holding back a lot of anger. He hadn't fought for 800 years, so he might as well take the opportunity to vent!

It doesn't matter if you're injured or bruised.

Anyway, with his current status, even if he threw himself into a fight and fainted on the ground, it would probably not attract the attention and concern of others.

--But

the facts still exceeded Li Yu'an's expectations.

Just like he didn't expect that Pei Yi, the young master of the Pei family who was considered a "fool", would suddenly use a fire extinguisher to fight back, and he didn't expect that Pei Yi's marriage partner "Second Young Master Bo" would rush to defend him, and he didn't expect that

he would meet his secret crush at first sight during college, Yan Cen, here.

A farce started suddenly and ended quickly.

The guests who were attracted also returned to the banquet hall, and only four people were left in the long and narrow corridor.

Li Yu'an looked at Yan Cen who suddenly appeared diagonally, and he was a little slow to react for a while.

The two were considered to be brothers in the same university, but they had very little interaction. Yan Cen had a good family background and good abilities, and he had always been the focus of the school.

The year Yan Cen graduated, the Li family happened to suffer a heavy blow.

From beginning to end, Li Yu'an never expressed his so-called affection and feelings to him. Even the only relationship of brothers in the same department disappeared after Li Yu'an was forced to change his major.

Hearing that Yan Cen had been staying in overseas business ventures after graduation, Li Yu'an would occasionally learn about the other party's recent situation from his graduates.

They said he was excellent, powerful, and as eye-catching as he was back then.

Nearly six years have passed.

Li Yu'an saw the object of his secret love in his memory again. The other party had not changed much, and the gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose still made him look elegant and outstanding.

The moment the other party's eyes were looking at him, Li Yu'an quickly lowered his head and dodged.

His eyes dropped.

Li Yu'an saw that his already cheap suit was stained with a lot of white dry powder -

just now Pei Yi held a fire extinguisher to block the vision of the other two. Although Li Yu'an was not injured in the eyes during the melee, his clothes were obviously damaged.

Li Yu'an stared at his unpresentable suit and suddenly remembered the white shirt on Yan Cen. The exclusive logo on the collar showed its high price.

There is a world of difference.

"..."

Li Yu'an's breathing was slightly condensed. The self-esteem in his bones was playing tricks at this moment. The indescribable shame made him want to leave immediately.

"If there's nothing else, I'll leave first."

Li Yu'an was prepared to be ignored. He was about to evacuate from the emergency passage when Yan Cen, who was sitting diagonally opposite him, stopped him. "Sir, your hand seems to be injured."

Li Yu'an paused and looked in the direction indicated.

There was a line of blood on his right index finger. When he raised his hand to take a closer look, he didn't know when it was cut. The wound was a bit deep, but it was "close" so it was difficult to detect for a while.

"Shall we go back to the rest area and sit for a while? At least take care of the wound..." Yan Cen's voice was very pleasant, with a hint of gentle consideration, "Do you need to change into a suit?"

"..."

When Li Yu'an heard the word "suit", he somehow recalled the ridicule of the two men just now.

He hid his injured fingertips and never dared to look at Yan Cen. "No need, the suit is not expensive, and there is no need to treat this small injury."

He didn't want to step into the banquet hall again, and didn't want to enter the world that no longer belonged to him.

Pei Yi, who had been staying beside Bo Yueming, came up and grabbed Li Yu'an tightly, as if to repay him for his help just now, and said he would help him stop the bleeding.

Li Yu'an felt a little relieved and silently accepted this warmth -

although this young master Pei was always called stupid, he could still distinguish between good and bad.

Bo Yueming, who was standing still, asked, "What's your name, sir?"

Li Yu'an was being held tightly by Pei Yi, so he couldn't just leave. He had to give his name, "Li Yu'an."

When he answered, he glanced at Yan Cen unconsciously, briefly and quickly.

The other party maintained the gentle attitude just now, and did not show any different reaction to his name.

Just a stranger, always.

Li Yu'an felt a sense of disappointment that he himself did not even notice, and then he heard Bo Yueming say, "Mr. Li, come with us to treat the wound. We are so grateful for your help just now."

He added, "Yan Cen, please help Mr. Li to treat it. Pei Yi can't handle it well."

As a good friend, Yan Cen agreed readily, "Okay."

The refusal on his lips was easily dispelled by the word "Okay", and Li Yu'an took a breath without leaving a trace.

He couldn't tell what was going on in his mind, so he pretended to be calm and patted the dry powder on his clothes, "Okay, then I'm in trouble."

...

Banquet hall, rest area.

Yan Cen took the medical kit from the waiter and walked to Li Yu'an's side.

Li Yu'an looked up at his figure and stood up unconsciously, "Or... I'll take care of it myself."

Yan Cen pushed the medical kit in his hand back without leaving a trace, and smiled, "Sit down, I see your wound is still bleeding, it may not be convenient to handle it with one hand."

Li Yu'an calmed his face and couldn't help but recall -

when he was in college, he was always gentle and polite to the outside world, and he would try his best to help with anything he could, as if he had never heard of him getting angry or angry.

The next second, Yan Cen sat beside him and opened the medical kit directly, "Mr. Li, stretch out your hand."

"Ah?"

Li Yu'an quickly broke away from his memories, and for a moment he was at a loss, and when he stretched out his hand, he was inexplicably panicked and unable to move forward or backward.

Suddenly, Yan Cen smiled and grabbed her fingertips, and warmth came instantly, "Mr. Li, are you afraid of pain?"

Li Yu'an used all his strength to not run away in panic, "No, thank you."

Yan Cen chuckled and didn't expose her.

These eyes looked cold, but there was always a hint of tension and restraint in them. It was quite contrasting if you looked closely, but... there was also a hint of familiarity that was hard to describe.

Yan Cen took out a medical cotton swab to clean the blood stain, and reminded, "It will definitely be a little stinging, just bear with it for a while."

Li Yu'an nodded slightly, his eyes seemed to be fixed on the wound, but his residual light was actually on Yan Cen.

So close.

Li Yu'an watched Yan Cen clean the blood stain, apply medicine, and put on a Band-Aid for him. Somehow, he had a sense of unreality as if he was in a dream.

Until the strength of his fingertips loosened, announcing the end of this short bandage.

Li Yu'an came back to his senses half a beat slowly, "Thank you, thank you."

"You're welcome."

Yan Cen raised his eyes and praised sincerely, "Your hands look very nice. Fortunately, this little wound will not leave a scar."

"..."

Hands, look very nice?

Li Yu'an lowered his eyes to look at his hands. When his eyes touched the band-aid on his fingertips, a faint smile appeared on his usually reserved and cold eyebrows.

Before the smile spread, a bright voice with a smile sounded, "Senior, long time no see."

Li Yu'an moved his eyes away and saw another familiar face -

the man's name was Pei Huan, who also graduated from Imperial University. Of course, he didn't call him "senior".

After a brief eye contact, Yan Cen next to him was the first to react, "Pei Huan?"

"Yeah! I didn't expect that senior still remembered me. It was inconvenient in the corridor just now, so I came over to say hello now." Pei Huan responded quickly, with a tone of intimacy and enthusiasm that others could hardly match.

Originally seniors and juniors in the same department, and considered excellent students in the eyes of the instructor, Yan Cen and Pei Huan were obviously more familiar to him than himself who changed his major midway.

Thinking of this, Li Yu'an's eyes dimmed.

The corners of his mouth fell before they could even open, and he silently listened to the cordial conversation between the two who had reunited after a long separation.

Yan Cen was quick to notice the silence of the people around him, and brought up the topic, "By the way, how do you know Mr. Li?"

Pei Huan took the initiative to answer, "Senior, Yu An and I are in the same class, and he is also your junior, right?"

"..."

Li Yu An didn't expect that the conversation between the two would bring up himself again, so he had to pull the corners of his mouth, "I took a leave of absence in my sophomore year and delayed my graduation for a year. It's normal that Mr. Yan doesn't know me."

After all, there are so many people in the same major in a university, and not all seniors and juniors can make close friends. Most are ignored, and only a few can be remembered.

Look, as a "junior", the only person who can be remembered by Yan Cen is Pei Huan, not Li Yu An, who even has to introduce his name again.

Li Yu An's heart was filled with a bitterness that was hard to ignore, and the feeling of being out of place and uncomfortable came back.

In order not to show his true colors in front of Yan Cen and the others, he had no choice but to pick up the wine glass in front of him and shake it randomly.

Yan Cen stared at the wine in Li Yu'an's hand, and a trace of inquiry flashed across his brows.

In such a banquet, conversation is the main theme.

Li Yu'an's silence did not affect Pei Huan's good mood. He still had a heated exchange with Yan Cen, and even moved Bo Yueming and the silly Pei Yi beside him.

Bo Yueming asked casually, "Yan Cen, you and Young Master Pei Huan were very familiar with each other in college?"

"Do you remember I told you about the online investment competition organized by the school when I was about to graduate?" There was no lack of admiration in Yan Cen's tone, "I said there was a strong anonymous opponent--" "It

was not until the end of the competition that the school arranged for the top three to meet publicly, and then I knew that Pei Huan was one of them."

Pei Huan continued, "I was also very surprised at the time. I didn't expect that the first place would be a senior. No wonder I couldn't beat you."

"..."

Online investment competition?

Li Yu'an's tense heartstrings broke completely with this word, and he put the wine glass back on the tea table. "I have something to do, so I'll leave first and don't disturb your reminiscing."

After saying that, he quickly walked around Yan Cen and left the banquet hall without looking back.

Yan Cen, who was standing in the same place, took a step forward, wanting to say something but stopping himself, "Mr. Li..."

Pei Huan followed inconspicuously, blocking his line of sight, "Senior, what's wrong?"

Yan Cen turned his eyes and shook his head slightly, "Nothing."

He just felt that Li Yu'an was very familiar from the beginning, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him. However, with the blessing of the identity of "junior", he probably passed by him in the academy before.

...

The car door slammed shut.

Li Yu'an remembered that he had just left with an unreasonable "hard temper", and he leaned his head against the steering wheel in bitterness and annoyance -

everyone was chatting happily, but he had to be the only one to spoil the fun? He

was not dressed to attend this high-end banquet in the first place, and now, he was afraid that the "first impression" he left on Yan Cen would be even worse.

Li Yu'an thought about it and rubbed his fingertips unconsciously, and a stinging sensation came instantly.

"Hiss."

He looked down at the fingertips of his right hand.

The wound that had been bandaged not long ago had opened again at some point, and the blood that had overflowed had stained most of the waterproof Band-Aid, so it was obviously unusable.

Li Yu'an was reluctant to lift the Band-Aid and throw it away, and just stared at it in a daze.

Before his family fell into poverty, Li Yu'an was a rich young man who was the center of attention. He had never lacked for food and drink since he was a child.

Although he was not a rich kid, he was still arrogant. In the eyes of his former friends, he was a bit arrogant and venomous.

When he first entered the hospital as a freshman, he heard about the glory and excellence of Yan Cen, a senior in the same department. However, he was young and frivolous and believed that he was better than the other person. He habitually looked at him with a "comparative" mentality.

However, Li Yu'an did not deliberately provoke Yan Cen, but he fell in love with Yan Cen through the descriptions of his roommates and classmates day after day.

Until he saw Yan Cen leading the team to a competition and winning awards, and then returned to school to be recognized, Li Yu'an, who was sitting in the audience, fell into it without warning and could not stop.

Li Yu'an confirmed his sexual orientation when he was young and ignorant. Although same-sex marriage is legal these days, and same-sex relationships are not uncommon——

But when this affection and secret love finally fell on Yan Cen, Li Yu'an did not dare to act rashly.

It was pride, self-esteem, and respect. Li Yu'an never created unnecessary encounters, but thought about appearing in front of Yan Cen at the right time.

When the anonymous online investment competition jointly organized by Teikyo University and other universities started, Li Yu'an felt that his chance had come.

Unfortunately, man proposes, God disposes.

Just when he thought he could appear in front of Yan Cen with his strength, the Li family suddenly fell. Li Yu'an, who had lived in a wealthy environment since childhood, faced the burden of life for the first time. During

that time, he collapsed, confused, helpless, and finally chose to fight hard.

When all the dust settled, Yan Cen, who had already graduated, flew overseas, and this feeling that had never been expressed was not buried in the years, but buried deep in Li Yu'an's heart.

Until that moment not long ago, the emotions deep in his heart surged out, making it impossible for him to disguise his emotions.

Li Yu'an broke free from his memories, but was not in a hurry to leave.

He sat silently in the car, his eyes fixed on the hotel door not far away.

Earlier than he expected, in less than ten minutes, Yan Cen appeared at the door of the hotel and walked straight towards the parking lot in the same direction.

"..."

Li Yu'an was startled.

As if he was afraid of being discovered by the other party, he quickly and completely lowered his body, and only dared to show a little bit of his sight through the car window to observe.

Yan Cen, who was outside the car, did not notice this, and quickly got into his car and drove away.

Another one-sided encounter with no intersection.

Li Yu'an looked at the black car disappearing around the corner, and slowly took out his mobile phone, and opened WeChat thoughtfully.

The top of WeChat was a small orange cat avatar, so simple that there was no note, only the original YC WeChat nickname.

This is Yan Cen's WeChat. It

was obtained by Li Yu'an by accident when he changed his major and repeated his sophomore year. It was a WeChat number that was circulated in a small circle by the instructor who had taught Yan Cen in order to provide work channels for his students.

From getting the WeChat number to adding friends, he hesitated for a month, simulating all the possibilities and imagined conversations, of course including the rejection of the application.

Later, the application was approved, but that was all.

Yan Cen on the other side of the screen never asked a question, and Li Yu'an on this side of the screen had rehearsed many times, but he didn't have the courage to speak.

"..."

Li Yu'an opened the WeChat chat box, and only four one-sided chats remained on the screen of his mobile phone -

every New Year's Day morning, Li Yu'an dared to take advantage of the gap between thousands of blessings and send a "Happy New Year" on time.

There was no response.

Li Yu'an's fingers stopped on the mobile phone keyboard again, and he hesitated for a long time before typing a line of words -

"Senior, welcome back to China, thank you for bandaging my wound."

His fingertips stayed on the send key, and he was hesitant to press it.

Li Yu'an thought that this would expose his identity too much, and estimated that Yan Cen would also find it strange, so he deleted the second half, leaving only half a sentence -

"Senior, welcome back to China."

He stared at the greeting of only six words, and suddenly the conversation between Yan Cen and Pei Huan in the banquet hall emerged in his mind. The courage that had long been extinguished was finally not born.

He pressed on the delete key, each time harder and harder, and sighed, "Forget it."

Forget it, they are no longer people from the same world.

Why should he do these meaningless things? It will only make him look embarrassed and ashamed.