In the northern suburbs of Zhonghai, along the riverbank, lay a row of old, neatly arranged buildings. These houses, surrounded by lush greenery, exuded a serene and elegant atmosphere.
This area used to be Zhonghai's educational center, but with population growth, many schools relocated. However, so of Zhonghai's oldest schools remained, loyal to the land, without constructing new buildings.
One such school was "Yulei High School." Its entrance was adorned with climbing ivy on the walls, and cent pathways led to several four or five-story yellowed teaching buildings. In this quiet neighborhood, the school did not attract much attention.
As the evening sun set, Yang Chen walked through a cobblestone path, under a grape arbor, slowly heading towards the school gate.
The elderly security guard at the gate, his hair graying, squinted and smiled, asking, "Young man, did you find the teacher you're looking for?"
Yang Chen smiled and nodded, stepping forward to offer the old guard a cigarette. The guard accepted without hesitation.
Lighting a cigarette for the old guard and then one for himself, Yang Chen said, "Teacher Tong just finished her class. I found her in the office you ntioned, grading papers."
"Good, glad you found her. No point in coming all this way for nothing," the guard said cheerfully, happy to have company and soone who offered him a smoke.
"Thank you for your help. Otherwise, I'd have to ask a lot of people and might not find her right away," Yang Chen said gratefully.
The old guard, looking pleased, said, "I've been at this school for almost thirty years. There's nothing I don't know about this place. Ask anything from ten years ago, and I'll have no problem."
Yang Chen chatted with the guard about the school's history and so interesting past events. The old guard spoke animatedly, and Yang Chen listened attentively. This was, after all, the high school Lin Ruoxi attended.
Yang Chen had learned from Aunt Wang which schools Lin Ruoxi attended in the past. Unfortunately, the primary and middle schools had since rged with larger institutions, and he couldn't find her forr teachers.
Luckily, "Yulei High School," funded by Yulei International, still stood. Though not very famous, its teaching quality was always good. However, it remained old and unnoticed.
With the old guard's help, Yang Chen found Lin Ruoxi's forr horoom teacher, a woman nad Teacher Tong.
Teacher Tong, now older, no longer taught senior classes and had retired to teaching freshn. When Yang Chen approached her, she was extrely surprised, especially upon learning he was Lin Ruoxi's husband. She looked at him with a mix of shock and skepticism.
Sensing her doubt, Yang Chen had prepared for this. He showed her their marriage certificate. Though she couldn't verify its authenticity, ntioning so background details and Aunt Wang's recomndation made her believe him.
With ti before the end of the school day, Yang Chen walked around the campus with Teacher Tong, listening to stories of the past.
For the first ti, Yang Chen spent hours learning about soone's past, piecing together a different side of Lin Ruoxi he never knew. Through Teacher Tong's stories, he saw a different Lin Ruoxi, or perhaps, a Lin Ruoxi he never understood.
Although he didn't want to part, Teacher Tong had other commitnts, and they said their goodbyes.
As he left, Yang Chen asked, "Teacher, hasn't Ruoxi co back to visit all these years? Do you feel sad about that?"
Teacher Tong smiled warmly, "I've taught thousands of students. If they all ca to see , I'd be busy eting people all day. Knowing that Ruoxi is the president of Yulei is enough for . Compared to many students who never stay in touch, I'm content. Her personality is such that if she did co back, I'd be more surprised."
Yang Chen felt a pang of nostalgia and regret for not having experienced school days. The teacher, once strict, now spoke of her past students with motherly love.
Carrying these sentintal thoughts, Yang Chen chatted with the old guard for a while longer. As the school bell rang, signaling the end of the day, he bid farewell to the guard and left the school grounds.
The old security guard even enthusiastically shook hands with Yang Chen, looking forward to his next visit. Yang Chen forced a bitter smile, thinking how bored the old man must be.
As he walked to his parked car and took out his keys, about to head ho, he caught a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye.
He saw a pretty figure in a white dress and light-colored tight-fitting jeans, riding a ladies' bicycle with a basket, slowly passing by on the sidewalk. Her black hair flowed gracefully, and from the side, she wore a faint, joyful smile. Was it Zhao Hongyan, whom he hadn't seen in a long ti?!
"Hongyan?" Yang Chen called out, feeling a bit surprised, like eting an old friend after many years, unable to hide his joy.
Zhao Hongyan, riding her bicycle, heard the voice, hurriedly braked, and turned to look. First, she opened her mouth in astonishnt, then smiled and said, "Yang Chen, what brings you here?"
Yang Chen walked over, and Zhao Hongyan got off the bike. They had known each other for about a year, having had a good relationship at work. Besides the seemingly ambiguous close encounters, helping Zhao Hongyan get away from her perverted in-laws had also brought them closer.
Because of those experiences, eting again brought a mix of unclear feelings for both of them.
Yang Chen glanced at the basket on Zhao Hongyan's bike, filled with vegetables and at, and asked, "Grocery shopping?"
"Yes," Zhao Hongyan nodded with a smile, "You probably don't know, but I live nearby. What about you? Why are you coming out of Yulei High School?"
Suddenly, Zhao Hongyan rembered sothing and said, "Oh, right, the other day in President Lin's office, we talked about my family. Did you co to accompany President Lin to her alma mater?"
That day, Lin Ruoxi had called Zhao Hongyan into her office to help pay her father's dical bills, on the condition that she worked for the company for ten years, offsetting half her salary. This hadn't been long ago, and Yang Chen rembered it well.
When Zhao Hongyan ntioned it, Yang Chen recalled his earlier question, "I had so business here. But you, didn't you sign a ten-year contract with the company? Why are you suddenly back ho? Did sothing happen with your father's condition?"
Zhao Hongyan shook her head, "No, my father received a kidney transplant, and with President Lin lending us the dical expenses, he's almost recovered and can now move around normally. However, his health isn't what it used to be, and he needs care. Plus, our family's atball shop can operate normally with my father around. I ca ho to help and make more money than working at the company, which makes it easier to repay the company's debts. I discussed this with Sister Mingyu and President Lin, and they agreed."
Hearing this, Yang Chen felt relieved. Although the dical expenses were in the hundreds of thousands, money could always be earned back. As long as people were fine, that was all that mattered.
But then, he didn't know what to say to Zhao Hongyan. After not seeing each other for so long, suddenly eting alone like this made it a bit awkward after talking about their relationship.
After a mont of silence, Zhao Hongyan smiled and said, "Well, since you're here, how about I take you to our family's atball shop? Our glutinous rice atballs are made from a family recipe, and they taste amazing."
Yang Chen laughed. How could he forget Lin Ruoxi's love for glutinous rice atballs? She had ntioned that she loved Zhao Hongyan's family's atballs. If he brought so back, it would surely have an effect!
So, Yang Chen didn't hesitate and let Zhao Hongyan lead the way. He drove slowly, following her to her family's atball shop.
Zhao Hongyan's atball shop was decorated quite traditionally, with the sign reading "Zhao's Glutinous Rice atballs." There were texts next to it describing the history of this old shop. Amid the modern-looking food stores, it wasn't very eye-catching, but a long queue of custors outside indicated its surprisingly good business!
"Queueing for glutinous rice atballs?" It was Yang Chen's first ti seeing such a scene. He had never seen this when he bought atballs for Lin Ruoxi before.
Zhao Hongyan proudly said, "Now the kids aren't out of school yet. Once they are, the line goes all the way across the street. We often run out of ingredients by the end of the day."
Yang Chen was secretly amazed. No wonder Lin Ruoxi kept thinking about them; these really must be top-notch.
With so many people outside, Zhao Hongyan directly led Yang Chen into the shop, greeting her busy father and brother, saying she had brought a friend who needed so hospitality. The older man and the younger one smiled politely at Yang Chen but couldn't spare much attention due to the bustling business. They invited Yang Chen to have so tea in the back.
Yang Chen followed Zhao Hongyan to the living room of the two-story house behind the shop. After brewing a pot of tea, Zhao Hongyan brought out a small plate of exquisitely made atballs from the front.
"Try these. These are our family's classic atballs. If you like them, take so back with you, especially for President Lin," Zhao Hongyan said warmly, clearly in a good mood.
Yang Chen looked at the white, yellow, and green glutinous rice atballs. Before even tasting them, he could sll the natural fragrance. He imdiately took big bites.
As he ate, the aroma of the glutinous rice spread, but it didn't stick to his teeth. The fillings of red bean paste and soybeans were sweet but not overwhelming.
Yang Chen confird once again that Lin Ruoxi was definitely a "foodie"! These glutinous rice atballs were sothing he instantly fell in love with.
"So, how are they?" Zhao Hongyan asked expectantly.
Yang Chen finished all the atballs, chewing and giving a thumbs up. "They're really good. I believe your business outside is genuinely thriving, not just because you hired temporary actors."
"You're so full of it! Is that how you complint soone?" Zhao Hongyan retorted with a laugh. "Since you like them, take more with you. Though we might run low on ingredients, we always save so for friends."
Yang Chen licked his lips, showing a flattering smile. "Hongyan, I have a favor to ask."
"Go ahead."
"Can your atballs be customized?"
"What do you an?" Zhao Hongyan asked, puzzled.
Yang Chen scratched the back of his head. "I want your father and brother to make so glutinous rice atballs with special anings. Nothing too complicated, just so small modifications. I need them for sothing."
Zhao Hongyan was confused but nodded. "That's not difficult. Just so decorative atballs. My father's skills are up to the task. But why do you need customized atballs?"
Yang Chen sighed and decided not to hide it. Zhao Hongyan wasn't his woman but could be considered a close confidant. "I want to use the atballs to apologize to my wife, so they have to be special."
"Your wife?" Zhao Hongyan frowned. She knew Yang Chen had a wife but nothing more. Thinking for a mont, she seed shocked and hesitantly asked, "You don't an..."
"You didn't know?" Yang Chen realized that Zhao Hongyan indeed didn't know about his marriage to Lin Ruoxi. Only Mo Qianni and Liu Mingyu knew in the company. "You're right. I married Ruoxi a while ago, but we didn't make it public."
Zhao Hongyan was stunned for a while, then looked at Yang Chen with a strange expression. Many things she hadn't understood before now made sense.
"Good thing I didn't wrong President Lin," Zhao Hongyan muttered unconsciously.
Yang Chen heard this clearly and asked with a teasing smile, "What do you an by 'good thing'? How could you have wronged her?"
Zhao Hongyan's face turned red as she bit her lip and glared at Yang Chen. Back then, she and Yang Chen had had so ambiguous feelings. Now thinking about it, if sothing had indeed happened between them, wouldn't it have been ungrateful to Lin Ruoxi, her great benefactor?
"Since you married such a good woman as President Lin, you should be content. At the company, you were always mingling with us won. It was infuriating!" Zhao Hongyan said angrily, though with a tinge of sourness in her heart.
She had always known this man was unusual and had been curious about what kind of woman he would marry. If she had known it was Lin Ruoxi, she wouldn't have harbored even a sliver of hope.
Yang Chen was trying to ease the awkwardness between them. Initially, his marriage to Lin Ruoxi was a contract, so he found pleasure in getting close to beautiful won.
He had indeed touched Zhao Hongyan, kissed her even. By rights, sothing should have happened between them. But after moving to Yulei Entertainnt and Zhao Hongyan leaving the company, things had ended up like this.
Yang Chen didn't dare say he had no feelings for Zhao Hongyan, but it hadn't reached the point of love. Considering his already tangled emotional life, keeping a safe distance was best.
Because it was a busy ti in the shop, Yang Chen had to wait until the peak period passed to have the custom atballs made.
Thus, it wouldn't be until dinner ti at the earliest. Zhao Hongyan invited Yang Chen to stay for dinner, and he readily agreed, calling ho to inform Wang Ma that he was visiting an old friend and wouldn't be ho for dinner.
After more than an hour, when the student rush had subsided, Zhao Hongyan's father, Zhao Lao, finally had ti to make so special atballs for Yang Chen.
When Yang Chen explained his request, Zhao Lao seed montarily stunned, thinking he had misheard.
Zhao Hongyan, however, laughed uncontrollably, finding Yang Chen's idea amusingly odd.
Yang Chen, looking earnest, held Zhao Lao's dry, wrinkled hands and sincerely said, "Uncle Zhao, please save this junior's life. My future happiness depends on your atballs!"
Though it sounded strange, Zhao Lao agreed.
As Zhao Lao went to make the atballs, Yang Chen's phone started vibrating. It was a call from Rose. Rembering he had asked Rose to look into Zhenxiu and investigate Jiao Yanyan's background, he quickly answered the call.
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