"Xiao He, do you still hate me?"

Seeing that Bo He didn't answer the question, Zhang Chen couldn't help but ask again.

Seeing that he wouldn't stop until he got an answer, Bo He had to pause her meal and cast a reluctant glance at the sweet and sour fish.

The warm fish eyes were also one of the most delicious parts. If they got cold, the gelatin would congeal, and they would develop a fishy smell, making them much less appealing.

"Why would I hate you? Our breakup was a mutual, negotiated agreement. Senior Zhang, don't overthink it. If I hated you, would I still be sitting here eating with you?"

Zhang Chen had the mentality of most ex-boyfriends in this world.

Getting back together was unlikely.

If the ex-girlfriend still held feelings of attachment and love for him, or even couldn't forget him, the man, though he might not say it, would definitely have a part of his vanity satisfied.

But Zhang Chen knew this was wrong.

He struggled between guilt and vanity, ultimately choosing the former.

"Xiao He, I was in the wrong back then. I shouldn't have gone abroad right after we broke up."

"We had already broken up, why couldn't you go abroad?"

Bo He sucked the sweet and sour sauce off her chopsticks, her eyes sparkling, leaving Zhang Chen speechless.

Zhang Chen: "Well, at the very least... I should have comforted you and fully earned your forgiveness. In the end, I was the one who let you down."

Bo He said nonchalantly: "There's nothing to be sorry for. A relationship is a two-person affair, both are responsible. At the time, you couldn't withstand the pressure from your family, and I couldn't withstand their pressure either. This was the only possible outcome."

The more she said this, the guiltier Zhang Chen felt.

"I'm the man, my responsibility was greater. After I went abroad, did my family give you any more trouble?"

Bo He tilted her head and thought for a moment. "I think they came looking for me twice, but I sent them away both times."

Zhang Chen's eyes were filled with pity.

He thought he had long forgotten Bo He.

After the breakup, he had forcibly relegated this shadow to some dark corner of his heart, its presence almost negligible.

Until they met again today.

Their story was the most common kind of campus romance, pure and beautiful.

When Bo He had just started university, Zhang Chen was already in his second year of graduate school.

But their breakup was not very pleasant.

Zhang Chen came from a scholarly family, while Bo He's household registration listed her as an orphan with both parents deceased.

To Zhang Chen's parents and elders, it didn't matter who he dated casually, but once he got serious and wanted a long-term relationship, it couldn't be Bo He.

Zhang Chen was destined for a career in academia, and the Zhang family had many connections with families of equal social standing. In modern society, the woman's own status, position, and family background, if not able to directly help and promote Zhang Chen, would certainly serve to enhance his prospects.

Zhang Chen's usual gentle and refined demeanor did not become firm in the face of such matters.

His family members took turns analyzing the pros and cons for him. His parents had arranged for him to study abroad to burnish his credentials. As long as Bo He was out of the picture, everything would be a smooth path.

Zhang Chen's parents also approached Bo He. They didn't threaten or entice her; instead, they spoke kindly, analyzing the prospects of their relationship. The main point was that the two of them wouldn't last. Even without parental opposition, the huge gaps between their values and perspectives would lead to the same result sooner or later.

The final result was imaginable.

Zhang Chen was the first to have second thoughts.

He left Bo He a text message and booked a flight for the next day.

He would also never know that after Bo He found out his flight information, she spent money she was usually reluctant to spend on a taxi to the airport, only to miss seeing him one last time.

That day, Bo He stayed at the airport for a whole afternoon, gazing out the window at the vast sky and sea as planes flew one after another towards the other side of the ocean.

Wiping her mouth, Bo He met Zhang Chen's gaze and couldn't help but find it amusing.

What were you doing back then, she thought to herself.

But there was no need to say such things out loud.

Years had passed, and she had long since forgotten.

The little girl who had cried her heart out by the airport's floor-to-ceiling windows was now just a hazy memory.

She should thank Zhang Chen.

If not for him, she wouldn't have realized that the only person she could rely on in this world was herself.

From then on, she forged ahead fearlessly, cutting through all obstacles.

Qin Chuan waited for a long time before the first dish finally arrived.

By now, he was famished.

Without even having the time to glance in Bo He's direction, Qin Chuan raised his chopsticks and went for the eggplant with meat sauce.

This was a common home-style dish that basically anyone who could cook knew how to make.

But how it tasted when made was another matter entirely.

In an ordinary restaurant with ordinary skills, either the meat sauce was just meat sauce and the eggplant was just eggplant, or they would overdo it. While the flavors of the meat sauce and eggplant could blend, the whole pot would turn mushy, and the texture would become too soft.

A more meticulous chef would make eggplant with meat sauce that was layered and visually appealing, with the cooking time for both the meat sauce and the eggplant just right.

Qin Chuan had eaten countless delicacies. Like any ordinary diner, he only distinguished between delicious and not delicious, not delving into the inner details of a dish. But he had underestimated the little shop's skill and was now unexpectedly surprised.

The eggplant was neatly arranged in the clay pot, each strip distinct yet thoroughly infused with the flavor of the meat sauce, the two coexisting harmoniously, making Qin Chuan unable to resist eating one piece after another.

When one was hungry, even home-style dishes were delicacies, not to mention the owner's skills were indeed excellent.

The sauce drizzled over white rice made for another delicious, appetite-whetting dish.

Only after Qin Chuan had tasted the second dish did he have the leisure to raise his head and look toward Bo He's table again.

At Bo He's table, there were two more people.

Two young girls.

One sat next to her, and the other sat next to the man across from her.

A four-person table, now completely full.

...

Ouyang was a little excited.

She had originally come out looking for Bo He but hadn't expected to run into Shu Yao.

In the acting profession, the more connections and friends you had, the less you had to worry about not getting roles. There would always be a friend of a friend's friend who could introduce you to a role through some strange channel. For a minor actress like her, who was a step above an extra, even a small role in a low-budget production was a chance worth cherishing. Who knew when she might become famous?

But with a director of Director An's caliber, Ouyang usually had no opportunity for close interaction. Even if she had the chance, Director An would have to be willing to talk to her.

If she could befriend Director An's daughter, it would be an alternative path to the same goal.

From others on the film set, Ouyang had heard bits and pieces about Director An and Shu Yao.

Director An was from that generation where education typically changed one's destiny. She happened to catch the golden age of the domestic film and television industry, her husband's family was also influential, and she had worked her way up to where she was today.

Shu Yao was Director An's only daughter, doted on and adored. Whether she would pursue a career in acting was still up in the air. It was mainly because she was free during the summer vacation and wanted to see what a film set was like, so Director An brought her over for the experience.

Life was just this unfair.