Chapter 227: Leave

**Chapter 227: Departure**

Despite his thoughts, Wen Xian didn’t voice them out loud, only vaguely saying, “Anyway, I’ll come back to see you, and you can visit me too.”

In the Previous Dynasty, starting from university, Jiang Zhiyi had taken over part of Shen Yuechuan’s business. He began from the bottom, gradually making a name for himself. With Shen Yuechuan’s deliberate promotion, he soon rose to a mid-to-high-level position.

Wen Xian still remembered that in the Previous Dynasty, Shen Jixing had died in a car accident, and Ji Mingzhu had lost her mind and been sent to an asylum—also during Jiang Zhiyi’s university years.

By then, when President Jiang had to fly abroad for business, wouldn’t it be easy to drop by and see Wen Xian?

Hearing this, Jiang Zhiyi turned his head, his gaze flickering slightly. “You said it yourself.”

Wen Xian crossed his arms behind his head and raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, I said it.”

The days that followed were dull and uneventful. As the college entrance exams approached, the entire senior year was steeped in an atmosphere of anxiety. The teacher had marked a section on the blackboard for the countdown to the exams. Every morning, the class monitor would erase the old date with a blackboard eraser and write the new one in chalk. The chalk dust floated in the air, each particle feeling like a crushing weight, suffocating everyone.

Outside the window, the plants withered and flourished with the seasons. The metasequoia trees shed their leaves and sprouted new buds, then stretched and grew, once again blocking out the sunlight. The cicadas grew louder, and the weather became increasingly sweltering.

Summer had arrived.

Sixty-six stayed in Wen Xian’s room all day, running the air conditioning constantly, emptying the snack cabinet, and marathon-watching dozens of TV dramas.

Wen Xian, with nothing better to do, occasionally worked on a few practice problems. His grades were neither good nor bad, about the same as in the Previous Dynasty. Most of his time, however, was spent bringing food to his genius friend.

Since returning to the Shen family, Jiang Zhiyi had visibly lost weight.

Shen Jixing hadn’t caused any more trouble, but Jiang Zhiyi seemed burdened by unspoken worries.

So Wen Xian started bringing him food every day, trying to get him to eat more—things like the ribs and soups made by the family’s housekeeper, the chocolates Wen Huarong brought back, and the milk Mrs. Zhang bought. These things were simple, but Shen Yuechuan wouldn’t bother asking about them, and Ji Mingzhu certainly wouldn’t buy them for Jiang Zhiyi. Only Wen Xian could sneak them to him.

One day, as he eyed Jiang Zhiyi’s hair and ruffled it gently, Wen Xian suddenly remarked, “Zhiyi, you’ve grown taller.”

He was already taller than Shen Zhao from the Previous Dynasty.

The late teens were growth spurts. The one from the Previous Dynasty hadn’t had much good food, which had affected his growth. Though he hadn’t been short, this time Wen Xian made up for it, and Jiang Zhiyi had grown even taller and more handsome.

In the Shen household, Jiang Zhiyi also seemed unable to sleep well, his face showing exhaustion. During the break between classes and evening self-study, Wen Xian often found him asleep at his desk.

The neatly combed hair on his head would droop, like stray strands swaying in the wind. His slender frame was draped in the school uniform, the outline of his shoulder blades faintly visible beneath.

After some thought, Wen Xian offered up his own school jacket.

During the break before evening self-study, most students had gone home for dinner, leaving only a handful in the classroom. Wen Xian sat beside Jiang Zhiyi, idly flipping through his notebook of incorrect answers.

The ceiling fan whirred overhead. Jiang Zhiyi shifted in his sleep, gradually moving closer to Wen Xian. As he slept more deeply, he seemed to be dreaming, murmuring softly. Wen Xian leaned in and caught him whispering, “Glad you’re here.”

Wen Xian paused, then smiled quietly and leaned his arm against Jiang Zhiyi’s.

The days passed one by one. The countdown on the blackboard shrank from three digits to two, then to one, and finally to zero.

Wen Xian had also registered for the exams. He didn’t care about his scores, but he decided to go through with it.

Coincidentally, he and Jiang Zhiyi were assigned to the same testing center. Halfway through the test, after answering everything he could, Wen Xian gave up on the remaining questions—no amount of thinking would help—and started twirling his pen, waiting for the bell.

When it rang, everyone set down their pens, and the proctors collected the papers. Wen Xian heard the person beside him exhale softly, as if a weight had lifted.

Shen Jixing was in another testing center halfway across the southern part of the city. The driver had gone to pick up the “Real Young Master,” leaving Jiang Zhiyi to make his own way home. So, on the day of the college entrance exams, he unexpectedly found an unexpected break.

Wen Xian packed up his things and went to meet him. They strolled through the Foreign Language School’s sports field, joining many young couples who walked hand in hand, sharing secrets under the dawn redwoods.

Jiang Zhiyi hesitated for a moment, then reached out and tugged at a corner of Wen Xian’s sleeve.

They began walking around the track, lap after lap.

Strange as it was, despite having lived another life full of unforgettable thrills—diving, sky-diving, skiing on the slopes of the Alps, feeding clownfish in the coral reefs of the Maldives—on this sultry summer evening, all Wen Xian wanted was to walk laps around the track with Jiang Zhiyi.

Jiang Zhiyi asked where he planned to go for university and what major he’d chosen. Wen Xian answered each question carefully. He had spent many years there in his past life and could talk about local customs like an expert. He started describing the area’s bizarre delicacies and infamous Dark Cuisine. When he mentioned a particular restaurant, Wen Xian shuddered and nudged Jiang Zhiyi with his elbow. “Hey, ace, when you come visit me, I’ll take you there. It’s… so bad it’s memorable.”

Jiang Zhiyi laughed.

The gloom completely dissipated from his expression, and he bumped his palm against Wen Xian’s. “Promise!”

After the College Entrance Exams came the long summer break—a stretch of time without tasks or goals, where young people could freely indulge in leisure. Wen Xian’s flight was scheduled for late August. With Shen Yuechuan keeping tabs, Jiang Zhiyi couldn’t see him off at the airport and could only receive updates via phone.

After boarding, Wen Xian took a photo of the airport through the airplane window and sent it: “See you later!”

Jiang Zhiyi replied quickly: “Yeah, okay. See you. Have a smooth journey.”

A simple sentence, yet Wen Xian somehow sensed sadness and displeasure in it.

—His top student didn’t want him to leave.

Wen Xian chuckled and typed: “See you next week.”

This time, Jiang Zhiyi replied even faster: “!”

Wen Xian screenshotted his flight ticket: “Look, already booked. Flying straight to your university’s city. Heard there are some great restaurants there—I’ll take you.”

Jiang Zhiyi: “!!!”

Wen Xian leaned back in his seat, staring at the string of excited exclamation marks, absolutely thrilled.

Jiang Zhiyi ended up attending the same university as in his past life.

He performed steadily in the exams, still ranking first in the foreign languages program, but Wen Xian remembered that his score this time seemed even higher than before.

Wen Xian rubbed his chin, thinking, “The cook’s soups and my mom’s milk must’ve helped a bit.”

On the day the results were released, Jiang Zhiyi received several calls and ultimately made the same choice as before—he would leave Southern City to study in Northern City, where the Shen Group had a branch. In his past life, Jiang Zhiyi had started there too, eventually rising to a position envied by many.

In the final minutes before takeoff, Wen Xian typed: “Oh, one more thing.”

He hesitated for a long time. “Shen Jixing…”

It wasn’t that he had any special affection for his cousin or felt particularly sorry for him. But in the modern world, even the most sophisticated schemes left traces. For instance, though Shen Yuechuan’s misdeeds had occurred over a decade ago, Wen Xian was still investigating. Once evidence surfaced, it would spell Shen Yuechuan’s downfall.

And if Jiang Zhiyi really did what the rumors suggested, then when he took over the Shen Group, standing at the pinnacle, countless eyes would be watching for his mistakes. Shen Jixing wasn’t important—once Ji Mingzhu and Shen Yuechuan fell, he’d be worse off than an ordinary person. Accustomed to a young master lifestyle but stripped of power and connections, his life would become unbearable.

Most importantly, Wen Xian didn’t want Jiang Zhiyi to get his hands dirty for trash and risk his reputation.

Jiang Zhiyi responded with a quiet “Hm?” “Shen Jixing?”

Wen Xian: “…Never mind. Do you hate him?”

He assumed Jiang Zhiyi must despise him—his cousin was hot-headed and domineering, and not exactly the sharpest tool in the shed. Wen Xian barely interacted with him and still sometimes wanted to smack him. Living under the same roof with him, Jiang Zhiyi would have to be crazy not to hate his guts.

Jiang Zhiyi: “Actually, not really.”

Wen Xian: “…?”

Jiang Zhiyi: "That was indeed the real beginning, but every time he gave me trouble, you showed up, didn't you?"

Wen Xian exhaled slightly in relief.

Jiang Zhiyi: "And I've already tested the waters. Ji Mingzhu and Shen Jixing know nothing about what happened back then. The real culprit is Shen Yuechuan. As the legitimate wife and biological child, it's normal for them to dislike an adopted son with questionable origins."

Just then, the cabin announcement for boarding echoed through the plane. He briefly said his goodbye before turning off his phone, ending the conversation.

Enrolling in school, handling paperwork, renting a dormitory—all of this was something Wen Xian had already experienced once. Even the speaking skills and major courses that had been difficult challenges in his past life were no longer issues in this lifetime. Life abroad, without Jiang Zhiyi, had turned out to be even more boring than high school.

Still, he formed a band again, reconnected one by one with his friends from his previous life, and occasionally traveled and drank with them. But at the end of every month, he would decline all invitations.

Because he needed to go to the airport on time to pick up Jiang Zhiyi.

Jiang Zhiyi had joined the Beijing branch of the Shen Corporation and risen to a mid-level position. His performance was outstanding, and due to the distance, Shen Yuechuan could no longer impose restrictions on him. Coincidentally, since the company had business dealings with Beijing, Jiang Zhiyi often used meetings as an excuse to visit Wen Xian.

On this day, Wen Xian took him to a uniquely styled local restaurant, placing before Jiang Zhiyi all the dishes he had ordered in his previous life, a faint playful smile on his face. Jiang Zhiyi hesitated for a moment before reaching out for the chopsticks. Yet before he could even lift them, Wen Xian’s phone rang.

He glanced at the caller ID—it was the detective. Hoping for a chance to avoid Jiang Zhiyi, moments later, Jiang Zhiyi's phone also rang.

Each turned aside to answer their call. As soon as Wen Xian picked up, the detective’s urgent voice came through: “Boss, something has happened at Shen Corporation—Shen Jixing is dead.”

Wen Xian froze, instinctively lifting his gaze toward the person across from him, only to see Jiang Zhiyi also on the phone, frowning tightly, his expression shocked.

A large electronic calendar hung in the center of the restaurant. Wen Xian looked up—it was July 27th.

Exactly the same day Shen Jixing had died in his past life.

He lowered his voice and asked, “What happened?”

“He collided with a truck on the mountain road, broke through the guardrail, and plunged down the cliff—died instantly.” The detective reported.

Wen Xian pressed his temples: “Have they checked the truck driver? Who hired him?”

“Boss, nobody hired him—the driver is clean,” the detective paused, “I have a journalist friend who got hold of some documents, but Shen Yuechuan suppressed them. In fact, Shen Jixing was under the influence of drugs while driving. He did drugs last night and was in an extremely excited state; the forensic identification concluded full responsibility lay with him.”

“…”

Wen Xian remained silent for a moment: “Drug-impaired driving?”

“Yes. There's also an unconfirmed rumor possibly related—would you like to hear it?”

“What is it?”

“Shen Jixing got addicted to drugs at a bar in the eastern district of Nancheng. He was drunk that day, someone persuaded him a bit, and he agreed. And that bar…was where Shen Yuechuan took him.”