The tall guy was a little unhappy about Cheng Huanzhen’s appearance.

Where did this “senior” pop out from? Could he be after the same thing, deliberately coming to disturb him?

The tall guy was extremely wary. He tried to circle back to the new junior’s side, but no matter how he moved left or right, the person in the middle also moved left or right with him—the other person didn’t even turn his head back!

The tall guy was slightly displeased. “Junior, this classmate is…”

The impolite stranger’s voice was steady and serious. “Sorry, Shuyun, there’s something I want to talk to you about. If you have time now, can you take a walk with me?”

The tall guy: “…Shouldn’t you introduce me…”

The handsome, gentle junior’s eyes curved. “Of course, no problem, Senior Huanzhen.”

The gentle junior looked back at him apologetically. “I’m sorry, senior, I have something to attend to, so I need to leave first. Let’s chat again when we have the chance.”

With that, the gentle junior gave him a polite nod, turned his head, and left with the other person.

The tall guy became anxious. “Hey, junior… wait, junior! Let’s add each other on WeChat first! Junior!”

The tall guy’s attempts to keep him were futile.

Li Shuyun and Cheng Huanzhen quickly left the area around the teaching building.

They came to the school’s main road and walked down the avenue.

The evening sun cast a glittering gold light over the entire avenue, but Cheng Huanzhen was in no mood to appreciate it.

He walked side by side with Li Shuyun, his hands clenched into fists at his sides, his palms unknowingly covered in a thin layer of sweat.

After a moment of silence.

Cheng Huanzhen was the first to break the silence. “You’re very popular.”

Li Shuyun smiled faintly. “Don’t tease me, Senior Huanzhen. Why did you suddenly come looking for me? What did you want to talk about?”

Cheng Huanzhen lowered his eyes, countless thoughts surfacing in his mind.

For example, he wanted to probe further; for example, he wanted to chase down the details and get to the bottom of it; for example, he wanted to directly lay out the matters concerning Little Uncle and the Qi and Fang families and ask…

But, was that really a good idea?

If all of this was just an extreme coincidence.

Then Shuyun, who was completely unguarded against him, would he be hurt by him?

If all of this was not a coincidence, and there was indeed some extremely close connection in identity between Little Uncle and them.

Even to say…

They were all Little Uncle.

Then at this very moment.

Little Uncle, who had actively chosen to leave him, yet was willing to approach him with a new identity and treat him gently.

Would he consider his actions an extreme offense, and even despise him for it, avoid him, and refuse to acknowledge him anymore?

Countless chaotic thoughts battled in his mind, making Cheng Huanzhen’s entire head buzz with pain.

But when the dust settled, and everything returned to reality.

Looking at the time, only a second or half a second had passed.

A fallen leaf drifted down, spinning, towards the ground.

The moment the leaf touched the ground, Cheng Huanzhen spoke.

His voice was low, hoarse, and slow. “Today, just now, after we parted, something happened.”

He said hesitantly, “I think… I found a little shadow of my uncle.”

Li Shuyun was surprised. “You saw him? At A University? That’s great news! Weren’t you always looking for him, senior? Why do you look unhappy now?”

They happened to be walking under the shade of a tree.

The setting sun cast sparse silhouettes of the leaves on the ground, burning a patch of gold, dyeing the entire land in a brilliant hue.

Cheng Huanzhen stared at the ground beneath his feet, uncontrollably recalling the times he had spent with his Little Uncle.

How many times had he and Little Uncle walked through alleyways and streets covered in a confetti of leaf shadows at the same sunset hour?

And how many times had he seen the setting sun embrace Little Uncle?

Cheng Huanzhen couldn’t count.

So much so that at this special moment.

When he saw the sunset, when he saw the leaf shadows, his mind was completely filled with thoughts of Little Uncle.

This made him not dare to look up at Li Shuyun.

He was afraid of not seeing Little Uncle’s shadow in Shuyun, and also afraid of truly seeing Little Uncle’s shadow in Shuyun.

After a moment of silence, he honestly said in a soft voice, “But I’m a little scared. I don’t dare to touch him, afraid that all of this is an illusion, that all hope will turn out to be nothing. I’m also afraid that this shadow is really him, but a him who is unwilling to acknowledge me…”

He was quiet for two seconds, waiting for the shadows to cast the broken leaf patterns behind them, before he finally dared to turn his head and look at the brown-haired young man beside him.

He asked him, “If it were you, what would you do?”

Li Shuyun imagined this situation with a troubled expression.

“It could be an illusion, or he might be unwilling to acknowledge me?”

Li Shuyun thought seriously for a long while before answering hesitantly, “I… would probably give up.”

He said gently, “If he’s still alive and well, then I can not disturb his life, and thus prevent him from disturbing mine. If it’s not actually him, then I can always hold on to the best fantasy and continue living.”

“Unless… he’s a very, very important person to me.”

“So important that even if he doesn’t acknowledge me, even if there’s no way to go back to our previous way of getting along, I still can’t accept him disappearing from my life. Then, and only then, would I choose to touch this shadow.”

Cheng Huanzhen stared at the young man in a daze, murmuring in a low voice, “Unless he’s a very important person… huh…”

Li Shuyun smiled. “But this is just my own shallow opinion. You can just take it as a reference, senior.”

Just then, a tinkling ringtone suddenly sounded.

Li Shuyun took out his phone, looked at it, and let out a low gasp. “Oh no! I forgot I told my family to pick me up at six!”

He quickly apologized to Cheng Huanzhen and stepped to the side.

His face was a shade redder than usual due to his apology. He answered the phone, responding softly, “Uncle Zhao, I’m sorry, I forgot the time… Yes, the class meeting ended a while ago. I was just chatting with a new classmate… Okay, I’ll come out now.”

Li Shuyun hung up the phone and said apologetically to Cheng Huanzhen, “Sorry, Senior Huanzhen, my family is here to pick me up. I can’t keep them waiting too long.”

Cheng Huanzhen’s attention was also pulled back.

He said seriously, “It’s okay. I was the one who took up your time after class. Which gate are they waiting at? I’ll walk you over.”

Li Shuyun’s eyes curved. “Then thank you, Senior Huanzhen.”

A short while later, the two arrived near the school gate.

At a turn before the gate, Li Shuyun stopped and said to Cheng Huanzhen, “Senior Huanzhen, you can just walk me here. My family is just up ahead. I can go by myself.”

Cheng Huanzhen stopped.

Cheng Huanzhen said, “Okay, go ahead. Today… thank you for your answer.”

Li Shuyun smiled faintly. “I should be the one saying thank you. You came back to school today just to show me around the campus.”

After a few more simple words, Li Shuyun looked at the time and said goodbye to Cheng Huanzhen. “I really have to go, Senior Huanzhen. You’re welcome to be a guest at my house again when you have the chance!”

Li Shuyun smiled and waved at Cheng Huanzhen, then turned and trotted away towards the school gate.

Cheng Huanzhen took two more steps forward at the turn.

He watched Li Shuyun’s retreating figure, his gaze not moving for a long time.

He watched Li Shuyun run back to his brother’s side, like a fledgling returning to its nest, being sheltered under the wings of the big bird as soon as he appeared.

It was unclear whether it was intentional or not, but as soon as the eldest young master of the Li family picked up Shuyun, he used his body to block the line of sight between Shuyun and him, shielding Shuyun completely. He even, after putting Shuyun in the car, suddenly turned his head and glanced in his direction.

Cheng Huanzhen subconsciously took a step to the side, melting his entire body into the shadows.

It wasn’t until he estimated that the Li family’s car had driven away that Cheng Huanzhen slowly walked out of the shadows.

…So strange. He wasn’t being a thief, what was he hiding from just now?

The question popped into Cheng Huanzhen’s mind.

But the confusion didn’t last long.

Because at this moment, he had something more important to do—

He took out his phone and, among the many industries of the Cheng family, found a very inconspicuous small company. He found the contact information of the person in charge and dialed the number.

The call was picked up quickly.

The other party recognized him and was very shocked by his call. “Young Master Cheng?! Hello, hello! What brings you to think of us?”

Cheng Huanzhen didn’t beat around the bush at all. He went straight to the point and said, “I want you to produce a proposal for a new interview program as soon as possible. The interview subjects will be the new elites in various industries in the capital over the last five years, for example, in the cultural relics and music circles. We will gain in-depth understanding of the information and intelligence of the person or people who have had the most profound influence on them. I want to participate in the interviews, and I will take care of the program’s funding…”