On a certain day in July 2022, a financial journalist who knew Jing Hong reached out to him and his father. He mentioned that he wanted to write a book—a biography—about the 25-year history of Fanhai Group’s development. His plan was to spend several years writing a series titled The Rise and Fall of Chinese Internet Companies, with Fanhai as the first volume, covering its history from 1997 to 2022. He added that if both he and Fanhai were still around in 2047, he would write about the next 25 years.

The journalist also assured them that the book would not be a piece of flattering puffery, as that would contradict his original intent. He promised to fully reconstruct and evaluate the major events surrounding Fanhai, including its past failures, struggles, controversies, and negative criticisms. Through this series and the growth of these corporations, he hoped readers would gain a deeper understanding of China’s internet industry—its products, its demands, its rivalries, and its friction. Amid the smoke of battle and the intricate alliances among major players, a compelling narrative would unfold, capturing a quarter-century of an industry that operates under a unique, spotlighted landscape unlike any other in the world.

Jing Hong didn’t particularly mind either way, leaving the final decision to Jing Haiping and Jiang Mei.

Perhaps because he had been seriously ill once, Jing Haiping’s mindset had undergone a shift. This time, he showed immense interest in the idea of summarizing Fanhai’s history. The journalist possessed a refined writing style and mature insights, and Jing Haiping seemed keen to see Fanhai’s 25 years—which were also his own 25 years—compiled into a book. After all, Fanhai and he had long been inextricably interwoven into each other’s very blood and bones.

And so, Jing Hong agreed.

“President Jing,” the financial journalist said, “regarding the last five years, from 2017 to 2022, I still have many questions I must interview you about. Let me draft an interview outline, and we can schedule a time later. How does that sound?”

“Sounds good,” Jing Hong replied.

As for the preceding twenty years, the interviewee would naturally be his parents.

The journalist added, “Also, if I need to interview other senior executives at Fanhai—such as the person in charge of a specific product or the one who proposed it—I hope President Jing can facilitate that as well.”

“Sure,” Jing Hong replied again.

For the sake of his father’s expectations, he was naturally willing to ensure everything was done impeccably.

Two weeks later, the journalist sent over the interview outline. It was exceptionally long and detailed. Jing Hong sat at the dining table, line by line, sliding his fingers across the laptop touchscreen, his knuckles elegantly defined.

Zhou Chang walked over with a cup in hand and asked, “The outline for that biography?”

“Yeah.” Jing Hong asked, “He seems to be writing about Qinghui too, right? Volume two?”

“Yes,” Zhou Chang said.

Without turning around, Jing Hong continued, “Did the elder President Zhou agree?”

Zhou Chang let out a chuckle. “With his personality, would he ever say no?”

“True.” Jing Hong smiled as well. “But the elder President Jing takes things quite seriously. When the time comes, he’ll likely check every single word and make edits word by word. It’s hard to say which book will actually hit the market first.”

Zhou Chang didn’t answer immediately. He set his cup aside and placed both hands on the table on either side of Jing Hong, leaning down slightly as if wrapping Jing Hong in his embrace. Jing Hong felt the light above his head dim slightly, blocked by Zhou Chang’s towering stature.

Gazing at Jing Hong’s screen, Zhou Chang read aloud from the interview outline: “The reaction when targeted by short-sellers… The communication process and details regarding the ‘interconnection’ with Qinghui… Feelings when ‘Tianping Supermarket’ was spun off… The story behind Fanhai’s Q1 financial report release… Thoughts when threatened with removal by executive order… Whether any preparations for ‘delisting’ were made during the U.S.-China negotiations on audit working papers for listed companies…”

“Step aside,” Jing Hong said with a faint Beijing cadence, omitting a syllable in his relaxed white bathrobe. “Don’t copy mine.”

“What choice do I have?” Zhou Chang sighed teasingly. “When I see someone else with the answer sheet, I can’t help wanting to copy.”

“Is that so?” Jing Hong chimed in casually, completely capable of multitasking. “Don’t tell me our Little President Zhou spent his school days constantly copying off others?”

“Well, not quite,” Zhou Chang admitted with surprising candor. “I did copy my way through all six years of elementary school. But once I got to middle and high school, I couldn’t even be bothered to copy—I just stopped doing homework altogether. The teachers were helpless and could only call my parents. My dad backed me up, so I had nothing to fear. Of course, even if he hadn’t, there wasn’t much they could do anyway—it’s not like they could throw me away, right?”

Jing Hong: “…”

He calculated the timeline—back then, Qinghui Group hadn’t been founded yet, or had only just been established, and Zhou Buqun was already supporting his son in skipping homework.

What a piece of work.

“Though that only lasted through high school,” Zhou Chang added. “Once I got to university, I applied myself a bit, otherwise I wouldn’t have graduated. Later at the company, I got even more serious, or I’d never have been promoted.”

“That was only because you wanted to,” Jing Hong remarked with a sigh. “The truth is, since the day you were born, no one has ever been able to manage you.”

“That’s not true.” Zhou Chang lowered his lashes, looking down at Jing Hong. “Aren’t you able to hold the upper hand over me?”

“I don’t think I truly hold the upper hand over you,” Jing Hong replied, his gaze remaining on the screen. “It still depends on whether you’re willing. And the prerequisite for you being ‘willing’ is simply—”

Jing Hong paused mid-sentence. Zhou Chang asked in a low, deep voice, “Is what?”

“…” Jing Hong tilted his head back, resting it against the chair as he looked up into Zhou Chang’s eyes above him. “That you love me?”

The corners of Zhou Chang’s lips curled into a smirk. His fingertips stroked over Jing Hong’s Adam’s apple before gently tipping Jing Hong’s chin up. Leaning down, he pressed a kiss onto his lips. “I deeply love you.”

After the kiss, Zhou Chang gently pushed Jing Hong’s shoulders to help him sit upright again. “Alright, alright, I won’t copy yours.”

“That’s more like it.” Jing Hong agreed with Zhou Chang’s sentiment. “Answer your own questions. You answer yours, I’ll answer mine, and neither of us looks at the other’s.”

Zhou Chang found it amusing. “Mm.”

The financial journalist writing the biography also requested some special photographs.

Jing Hong selected a few after careful consideration and sent them over.

The renowned financial journalist unexpectedly finished writing the book very quickly.

However, just as Jing Hong had anticipated, because Jing Haiping was meticulous, the final publication date for Fanhai Group’s biography was delayed. Ultimately, it came out only two months ahead of Qinghui Group’s biography.

The biography for Fanhai was titled Fanhai: 25 Years. The entire book was divided into four volumes.

Volume I was Foundations, Volume II was Departure, Volume III was Rivalries, and Volume IV was A New Era. Each volume was further split into several chapters; for instance, Departure included chapters like “The Agonizing Struggle” and “An Unexpected Savior”… Jing Hong flipped through the book carefully and found that the journalist’s writing was overall objective and fair. Furthermore, just as the author had emphasized before, the controversies and criticisms surrounding Fanhai were fully included, such as its mutual blocking with Qinghui, presented from an explicitly critical standpoint.

Moreover, it was quite evident that the author wasn’t particularly fond of Jing Haiping, considering him somewhat hypocritical, while he held high praise for Jing Haiping’s wife, Jiang Mei. This distaste for Jing Haiping was especially vivid and sharp in the chapter on gaming, where he noted that despite claiming to be a “Confucian merchant,” Jing Haiping chose a highly addictive online game as Fanhai’s savior during its time of crisis.

The final volume, A New Era, focused entirely on the “Jing Hong Era.”

In this volume, the journalist dedicated significant space to writing about how “Jing Hong and Zhou Chang took over their respective helm almost simultaneously.”

In the prologue to this volume, the journalist also revealed some “unknown past details.”

He wrote:

When speaking of Jing Hong, one cannot leave out Zhou Chang. Jing Hong and Zhou Chang are strikingly similar: both graduated from prestigious universities with stellar resumes, majored in computer science all the way through their doctorates, and even attended rival institutions—one at Stanford in the Bay Area, the other at UC Berkeley. Born in the same year, everything seemed to portend that they were destined to be lifelong nemeses. In fact, their tactical styles are remarkably alike, both possessing an intense ‘gunslinger mindset’—when facing opponents, especially each other, they become exceptionally energized, executing brilliant maneuvers. Conversely, when they find no worthy competitors in a given field, they tend to grow somewhat indifferent.

In fact, Jing Hong revealed that his first clash with Zhou Chang was not at Fanhai or Qinghui, but during a business competition when they were 22 years old.

The competition theme was ‘Time-Limited Cupcake Sales.’ Jing Hong led his university team, and Zhou Chang did the same for his. The official organizers offered two different strategies: selling low-end cupcakes or high-end cupcakes. The low-end required a four-hour sales period with mandatory team rotation, while the high-end required only two hours with no rotation needed—effectively granting a team one extra person’s worth of labor. Yet both Jing Hong and Zhou Chang devised the exact same strategy: feigning interest in the high-end option to force the other into a bidding war, then strategically ‘losing’ the bid and withdrawing, leaving the opponent burdened while they relied on pure execution. Because both were operating on the exact same wavelength, the organizers ultimately had to settle the tie by drawing lots. Jing Hong won that match because Zhou Chang received a counterfeit bill. Yet perhaps even then, Jing Hong’s ‘unsatisfying’ victory and Zhou Chang’s ‘unreconciled’ defeat set the underlying tone for their entire lives. Over the next decade, both were likely anticipating and waiting for another showdown.

Looking at the five years from 2017 to 2022, because the two were so evenly matched, their battles saw alternating victories and defeats. Perhaps the ultimate ‘winner and loser’ between them will only be settled by outsiders when one of them steps down from his company.

In the following chapters, the journalist systematically reviewed Fanhai Group’s performance over those five years:

Jing Hong launched new features for several foundational products one after another, uncovering fresh growth avenues; the financial division promoted “lending” services, taking Fanhai’s revenue to new heights; the gaming division expanded overseas, with the hostile takeover of Saint Games serving as a textbook classic case; his investment vision proved exceptional, with “Feichi Motors” standing out as a flagship venture… On the technological front, AI yielded bountiful results—securing Mind Medicine’s core technology, collaborating with pharmaceutical firms, developing drugs, and winning several major awards, with the acquisition of Mind Medicine itself serving as another classic business case… Cloud computing also expanded rapidly, with cloud education and cloud office going head-to-head with Qinghui for market dominance…

Naturally, there were numerous behind-the-scenes details revealed as well:

On the day of the negotiations for Mind Medicine, Zhou Chang brewed a cup of coffee. It was the first time Zhou Chang had ever brewed coffee for anyone after just learning how to use the machine. After the negotiation, he forced Jing Hong to drink it—leaving the bitterness of the coffee to Jing Hong, and keeping the bitterness of defeat for himself.

During the acquisition of Saint Games…

Zhang Li, formerly Senior Vice President of Consulting Services at Qinghui Group, joined Fanhai in 2018 to head its entertainment division. She subsequently launched multiple hit web dramas and blockbuster variety shows, including the web series ‘xx’ and ‘xxx’, as well as the variety show ‘xxxx’.

The process of Zhang Li joining Fanhai Group was quite intriguing. Wanting to personally recruit Zhang Li without making a big scene, Jing Hong attended a forum and arranged to meet her. Upon entering the coffee shop for the meeting, Jing Hong ran into Zhou Chang, who had no idea of Jing Hong’s true purpose and greeted him warmly. It wasn’t until Zhang Li resigned that Zhou Chang realized what had happened and sent Jing Hong a deeply displeased message: “Stop poaching, President Jing.”

The journalist also provided a detailed breakdown of the crises Jing Hong faced, shedding light on even more nuances:

Regarding the ‘interconnection’ policy, Jing Hong and Zhou Chang possessed a true ‘telepathic connection.’ According to the interview with Jing Hong, two days before the interconnection initiative, Jing Hong and Zhou Chang sent messages to each other at the exact same moment. Just as one message went out, the other arrived, and their contents were virtually identical. Jing Hong wrote to Zhou Chang, ‘There’s something I’ve actually been thinking about for a long time,’ while Zhou Chang wrote to Jing Hong, ‘There’s something I’ve been mulling over for quite a while.’ Thus, they arranged to negotiate with their respective teams the following evening at 8:00 PM.

The negotiations actually proceeded very quickly. From 8:00 PM to midnight, over four hours, the preliminary framework was drafted. Neither side wanted to strip the audience of their fundamental rights by leveraging platform monopolies. Of course, opening up the ecosystem at that juncture meant Qinghui gave Fanhai a crucial hand.

Following the executive order threatening removal from app stores, Jing Hong and Zhou Chang discussed the matter. Amid such a crisis, the two were seemingly no longer fierce competitors, but trusted industry partners.

During the U.S.-China negotiations regarding audit issues for listed Chinese firms, Jing Hong and Zhou Chang similarly discussed the situation. At this point, it becomes evident that the relationship between Jing Hong and Zhou Chang is extraordinarily complex in reality. They are both fierce rivals and relying companions, forming a striking highlight in China’s internet industry throughout the five years from 2017 to 2022.

Jing Hong provided several photographs for the book.

The first was the “group photo at the main table” during the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen. Jing Hong and Zhou Chang occupied the central positions, surrounded by Li Zhiyong, CEOs of several American giants, executives from prominent Chinese firms, and founders of star startups.

The financial journalist captioned it:

Group photo at the dinner following Jing Hong’s first attendance at the World Internet Conference in 2018.

Jing Hong and Zhou Chang sat side by side at the center of the frame. Because it was a welcome banquet, a vase of vibrant flowers stood on the table in the foreground, with several red roses positioned precisely between the two of them in the photo.

Jing Hong had his arms crossed, a subtle smile on his face, while Zhou Chang rested an arm on the table, holding a small glass of baijiu in his well-defined right hand, looking handsome and composed.

The second photo was titled “Backs in the Desert.”

The journalist captioned it:

Photograph of Jing Hong and Zhou Chang during the ‘Gobi Desert Trek’ organized by the Internet Association. Following the conclusion of the trek, the U.S. official executive orders and the Foreign Company Accountability Act arrived in swift succession. This photo seems to symbolize that the two would face the external elements and storms side by side.

After its release, the book sold exceptionally well. Major distribution channels gave it aggressive promotion, and bookstores placed it in their most prominent displays.

On social networks, as well as book and film review platforms, alongside standard literary reviews, Jing Hong discovered a flood of peculiar comments:

[If My Fund Isn’t Green, I Am]: The final volume of this book… Ahhhh, it’s practically a BL novel!!! Ahhhh!!! Author, are you a fanfic guy or what? How can you write it so ambiguously?! I feel like I just finished a 1-million-word Jinjiang web novel.

[Slacking Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow]: This is killing me… Who understands this… What a sense of destiny, what a classic enemies-to-lovers dynamic…

[Jinjiang Anti-Porn Squad Leader]: “They are both fierce rivals and relying companions, forming a striking highlight in China’s internet industry throughout the five years from 2017 to 2022.” How is this author so good at writing this stuff?!

[Why Did My Ice Cream Scoop Fall]: He really writes like a top-tier BL author…

When Jing Hong received the book, he prioritized reading the final volume. But because he was so busy, he only managed one chapter a day.

Every night before going to bed, Jing Hong would sit at the dining table with a pen, underlining every mention of “Zhou Chang” and folding down the corner of the page.

A few days later, Jing Hong discovered that Zhou Chang was doing the exact same thing. The only difference was that Jing Hong read downstairs, while Zhou Chang leaned against the headboard upstairs to read.

When caught, Zhou Chang knowingly asked, “Why are you marking these?”

Jing Hong gave a direct answer: “Because there’s nothing much to revisit in the other parts. But these sections… these parts about you… are worth reading over and over again.”

Every night after finishing a chapter, Jing Hong would place his book on his bedside table, and Zhou Chang would place his on the other side. They would then look at each other silently for a while.

Revisiting those five years once more.

It turned out that at every crucial juncture—whether as competitors or partners—the other had always been by their side, never once absent.

So much so that in every chapter, in every year, the other’s name appeared repeatedly.

Afterward, whether Jing Hong lay atop Zhou Chang or Zhou Chang leaned over Jing Hong, the corners of Jing Hong’s lips would curl up as he recited a few lines from the book describing them: “Everything seemed to portend that they were destined to be lifelong nemeses.” “When facing opponents, especially each other, they become exceptionally energized, executing brilliant maneuvers.” “Perhaps the ultimate ‘winner and loser’ between them will only be settled by outsiders when one of them steps down from his company.” “After the negotiation, he forced Jing Hong to drink it—leaving the bitterness of the coffee to Jing Hong, and keeping the bitterness of defeat for himself.” “They are both fierce rivals and relying companions…”

With every sentence he recited, they shared a kiss. And whenever he finished an entire chapter, the two would embrace simultaneously, kissing passionately.

Afterward, sometimes they took it all the way, and other times they used other ways.

Jing Hong and Zhou Chang kept their reading progress synchronized, tackling one chapter each night. On the final day, after finishing the entire volume, Jing Hong returned to the bedroom only to find Zhou Chang casting a screen display.

Projected onto the wall opposite the king-sized bed was a webpage showcasing the book’s reader ratings and reviews on various platforms.

“Strange…” Zhou Chang remarked as he pointed a red laser pointer at several comments, “Look at these.”

As he spoke, Zhou Chang swiped the touchscreen while highlighting specific reviews.

These reviews were interspersed among the regular comments.

Zhou Chang held the laser pointer, highlighting points as if delivering a briefing on a major corporate project.

Jing Hong focused his gaze and found comments like:

[Cilantro Is Truly Delicious]: The final volume! Evenly matched rivals-to-lovers is absolute peak chemistry!

[King of Sweet Innocence]: After finishing the last volume: You two need to sleep together. Go sleep together right now.

[B-King Alpha Sheep of Sheep Village]: After flipping through Fanhai: 25 Years, all I want to say is: Jing Hong, Zhou Chang, please go have wild sex…

[Do Not Assault Clients]: Finished reading Fanhai: 25 Years, and I’m boldly declaring: Zhou Chang, do him!! Do him hard!!!

Jing Hong let out a low chuckle and said, “It seems everyone believes that with our former state, it would be against the laws of nature if we didn’t end up together.”

It turned out they were just ordinary people after all. Faced with that level of tacit understanding, that degree of matching, those clashes, those collisions, that attraction, and that temptation, it was impossible for them not to be moved, impossible not to fall completely spellbound. In the end, all restraint and all hesitation collapsed into pieces.

People like the two of them couldn’t even hold out for a single year.

Zhou Chang then turned off the overhead light, leaving the room illuminated solely by the glow of the wall projection.

As the review page flickered with light, Jing Hong and Zhou Chang were already kissing.

Eventually, Jing Hong sank deep into the bedsheets. Zhou Chang’s eyes were dark and intense, heavy with profound desire and love. In the dim light of the screen, both could see the obsession and feverish passion in each other’s eyes.

The Alaskan King Size mattress sank rhythmically step by step, the room’s sole light source originating from the projected webpage—filled entirely with adorable comments wishing for them to make wild love.

Yet those readers leaving casual comments had no idea that the love they adored and yearned for—the kind they didn’t even believe truly existed in reality—was happening right now.

No one actually imagined that the two of them were truly together. Yet at this very moment, on the large bed, their tongues swept together with soft, wet sounds echoing from deep in their throats, moving from one touch to the next…

By the end, the entire room was filled with a unique, intimate scent.

Two months after the publication of Fanhai: 25 Years, Qinghui: 25 Years was also published.

It was likewise divided into several volumes, with Zhou Chang occupying the final volume.

In this book, Zhou Chang shared even more intimate details of his interactions with Jing Hong.

The journalist wrote:

Zhou Chang, imposing and suave, is perhaps the most handsome CEO in all of China. Possessing extraordinary IQ and outstanding capability, he happened to meet his match in Jing Hong.

According to Zhou Chang’s recollection, their first true post-takeover confrontation was actually over a game of Snooker. They were attending a forum in Boston together, marking the first time either heard the other give a live presentation. After the first day’s sessions, heavy snow fell over Boston, trapping the three Chinese representatives inside the hotel. The third executive organized a casual game of billiards, leading Zhou Chang and Jing Hong to face off in a frame of Snooker. During that frame, both played with extreme caution. Even when Zhou Chang was ahead beyond the point of mathematical comeback by 7 points, Jing Hong persisted in laying snookers to force fouls. Ultimately, a sudden burst of noise from outside caused Jing Hong’s stroke to slip. However, owing to the ‘counterfeit bill incident’ (see ‘Fanhai: 25 Years’), Zhou Chang chose to waive the victory and declared it a draw.

Amid fierce competition, in order to study his opponent’s products, Zhou Chang personally attended several of Fanhai’s launches, such as the ‘AI Developer Conference.’ He also recalled an amusing incident: during a break, feeling that Jing Hong looked somewhat pale, Fanhai’s PR department applied lip balm to him. Feeling uncomfortable, Jing Hong wanted to wipe it off but had no tissues on hand, and the session was about to resume. Zhou Chang happened to pass by, and in the end, Jing Hong used Zhou Chang’s tie to wipe it clean.

Zhou Chang stated that while he and Jing Hong were rivals, they were also friends. Business is business; life is life. They once crossed paths quite by chance while on vacation by the seaside in the Maldives. At that moment, both temporarily set aside their adversarial identities to share lunch, attend a beach bonfire party, drink local wine, and coincidentally witness a classic Western wedding. Yet upon returning, the sparks between Fanhai and Qinghui flared up once more. Jing Hong blocked Qinghui Group’s ‘Cloud Office’ and ‘Cloud Education,’ and Zhou Chang immediately retaliated in kind.

The ‘Cloud Computing Network Security Case’ was a crisis for Qinghui. Now, through accounts from those involved and published case files, we can reconstruct the full story of the frame-up. The former director of Beijing’s Network Supervision Division, Zheng XX, accepted a bribe of 6 million yuan to smear Qinghui. To cover his tracks later, he organized an ‘Expert Demonstration Conference’ including a large cohort of Qinghui’s competitors. Fanhai Group was the first to resist, stating that ‘data leakage cannot be attributed to Qinghui’s products.’ This stance garnered widespread support, and the attempt to frame Qinghui ultimately fizzled out.

To repay this favor, when Jing Tianping, the founder of Tianping Supermarket, later appealed to Qinghui for help in paying off his debts, Zhou Chang flatly refused him.

For this book, Zhou Chang also provided the journalist with several photos, though some were rejected once because they “overlapped with Jing Hong’s,” forcing Zhou Chang to select a few others.

In fact, the journalist felt that even Zhou Chang’s interview content contained too many overlaps with Jing Hong’s.

Once this book hit the shelves, odd comments proliferated even further. Though making up a small fraction of overall reviews, they were unmistakably prominent:

[Number One at Kindergarten Lunchtime]: Reading this book alongside Fanhai: 25 Years makes the sweet moments even better… I can’t believe I’m hunting for romantic crumbs in a serious business biography. I’m hopeless, I’ve gone crazy, but it’s just so good [crying cat.jpg].

[Omega and Juliet]: These two books should be titled The Romance of Jing Hong and Zhou Chang (Part 1) and The Romance of Jing Hong and Zhou Chang (Part 2).

[Jinjiang Top Alpha]: Zhou Chang, you love him so much! You really, truly love him!!!

[Quietness Personified Hehehehehehehehe]: Get married. You MUST get married.

By the time he finished reading this volume, Jing Hong’s heart felt thoroughly softened.

He and Zhou Chang had once again, by tacit agreement, chosen to use this book to express subtle details of their time together.

This volume covered their journey from 2017 to 2022. The financial journalist mentioned that his next book would document everything from 2022 to 2047.

It served as two thick love letters.

They didn’t have the time to carefully weigh every word to document their lives—they were far too busy. But now, and in the years to come, when they grew old, with graying hair and fading memories, they could still sit together and recall the past, remembering each other.

That night, Zhou Chang projected the odd reader comments onto the wall again. The two watched for a while, finding them quite amusing.

They even stumbled across a long thread where hundreds of replies consisted entirely of similar remarks.

And then, desire flared between them once more.

This time it wasn’t in the bedroom, but upstairs by the patio next to the tree.

They started once on the rug, after which Zhou Chang lifted Jing Hong up toward the wall, pressing him against it as he leaned in to kiss him.

In an instant, the beam of light from the projector illuminated Jing Hong’s cheek, causing his eyes to narrow slightly.

Zhou Chang adjusted their standing positions, moving into the exact center of the projection, using his broad physique to block the projector light.

With this adjustment, the words mapped across Zhou Chang’s bare, muscular back, as well as the inner thighs and calves of Jing Hong suspended in the air.

Illuminated by the projection, his legs appeared strikingly pale with a faint blue sheen. Black characters were cast over his legs—from his thighs to the inside of his knees, down his calves, over his ankles, the arches of his feet, and all the way to the tips of his toes.

The words were naturally scattered fragments: “love,” “so damn sweet,” “wreck,” “do”…

Later on, the two legs covered in projected text began to quiver gently.

They gazed into each other’s eyes, love brimming amid the ambient electronic glow. At times, as they nuzzled intimately facing the machine, Jing Hong had to lightly close his eyelids, the words even casting onto his cheeks.

Eventually, Zhou Chang tilted his head back as Jing Hong nestled into his collarbone. The back of Jing Hong’s hand rested against Zhou Chang’s solid back, the text on his skin spilling over onto the back of Jing Hong’s hand in an instant. His fingertips unconsciously tensed with subtle veins, while the backs of both hands bore scattered phrases like “wrecked,” among others.

Forever madly in love, forever soft-hearted.

After satisfying their desires that day, the two lay in bed, chatting casually.

In truth, the topics between them were endless and would never run dry.

About themselves, their families, their peers, their companies, the industry, society, and so on.

The two of them were simply too alike.

“I ran into Peng Zheng yesterday,” Jing Hong said lazily, lightly stroking Zhou Chang’s abs. “We chatted for a bit. Turns out his childhood dream was to become a mathematician.”

Zhou Chang let out a soft laugh. “In Peng Zheng’s generation, a lot of people dreamed of becoming mathematicians.”

“True,” Jing Hong agreed.

“Speaking of which,” Zhou Chang added, “when the elder President Zhou’s partner—Qinghui’s CTO—applied to U.S. universities back in the day, the ‘dream’ written on his Personal Statement was actually ‘to found a Chinese tech company with international influence.’ That was back in 1991.”

Jing Hong murmured, “…Yeah.”

“Little President Jing,” Zhou Chang asked, “have you ever thought about ‘other professions’ in your life?”

“Never,” Jing Hong replied. “Even before the elder President Jing founded Fanhai, I had already decided on computer science. I loved it as a kid; I was fascinated by it. I thought it was miraculous and intriguing—that it could do so much, bring convenience to so many people. Back then, it was still DOS systems, on 386 computers, then 486, using 3.5-inch floppy disks.”

At that, Jing Hong let out a low laugh. “I saw a post the other day asking why the system drive on a computer is the C drive. Surprisingly, no one in the replies knew that the A and B drives were for floppy disks, and that Windows and hard drives came later. It suddenly made me feel old. Young people today haven’t even seen floppy disks, let alone CDs—everything is on the cloud now. This industry moves so fast.”

“Though,” shifting back to the topic of “childhood dreams,” Jing Hong continued, “sometimes, I do want to experience a different kind of life.”

Zhou Chang looked at him.

“For instance…” Jing Hong said, “there are so many beautiful places in this world that I’ve never been to. Business trips are always to major metropolises with zero time for vacation. Those American CEOs who drop everything to go on vacation are quite impressive; I can’t do that. So I think, well, when I retire, I’ll travel the world with Little President Zhou as a pair of explorers—though who knows how far off that is. Still, those American entrepreneurs step down in their fifties or at most sixties. Granted, some successors perform well while others don’t. So I’ll set my target at sixty.”

Zhou Chang caught Jing Hong’s hand resting on his abs, the corners of his lips curving upward slightly. “I didn’t realize that my own retirement age had been decided by Little President Jing without me knowing—sixty years old.”

“What,” Jing Hong raised an eyelid, “unwilling?”

“Of course I’m willing,” Zhou Chang said.

“Mm,” Jing Hong continued his daydreaming, “when the time comes, the two of us will travel the world, visiting every beautiful place to look around and explore. Then, whenever we fall in love with a spot, we’ll settle down and stay for a few months. Once we’re familiar with everything around us, we’ll set off again. In a single lifetime, one ought to properly take in all the beauty this world has to offer, right? Oh, besides traveling the world, I’d also like to do some philanthropic work.”

“Sounds good,” Zhou Chang said.

After a few seconds, he asked, “When did you decide this?”

“After the car accident, about half a year after we got together,” Jing Hong said. “Before that, I had never envisioned a life away from Fanhai. My life contained only Fanhai and nothing else. I never imagined… what I would do or want to do after leaving Fanhai. I originally planned to work until I couldn’t anymore, until I was too old to move, and then retire. After that, I suppose I would’ve just idled away the days. I never envisioned ‘traveling the world,’ or rather, I never envisioned anything at all. Everything I wanted to learn, I had learned; everything I wanted to try, I had tried. I didn’t think anything could be more interesting than ‘governing Fanhai,’ nor did I think anything could sustain me over so many years. But in truth, that was only because… in those assumptions, I was always alone.”

Zhou Chang’s gaze softened immensely.

“Though I also know,” Jing Hong continued, “the business world and the battlefield are both like a stage. A person can’t stay on stage forever. After being up there for long enough, one eventually has to return to an ordinary, quiet life. I can’t fight forever, I can’t conquer forever, and I can’t stay tense forever, fighting someone to the death. But in the past, I didn’t know what that ‘ordinary, quiet life’ actually referred to.”

Zhou Chang asked, “And now you know?”

“Mm.” Jing Hong traced the contours of Zhou Chang’s face with his fingers—from his eyelids to the bridge of his nose, down to his lips. He said, “It’s being with you, reading books, drinking tea, tending to flowers, taking walks on warm afternoons, and counting stars on clear nights.”