"Do you still think about her?"

  In the evening, inside a private room of a restaurant, Yan Feng, who was participating in a company team-building event, looked up at the woman in front of him, gave a bitter smile, shook his head, and didn't say much.

  The woman's name was Gu Qing, his college cssmate and now his boss. Coming from a retively wealthy family, she started a company right after graduation with some money she had.

  At that time, he was also looking for a job. Meeting an acquaintance made things easier, and he naturally joined the company. Now in his fourth year, he had gradually gotten used to the company's social interactions as a corporate worker.

  "You're lying. How old are you this year, and you still don't pn to find someone to settle down with?" Gu Qing rolled her eyes at him, took a sip of light wine from her gss, and continued, "You're 26, not young anymore, and you don't even have a girlfriend. Do you really want to be alone forever because of her?"

  Yan Feng pursed his lips and mumbled, "Well, you don't have a partner either, boss."

  This hit Gu Qing's sore spot. She smmed her gss on the table with a bang, her face flushed, and said angrily, "How can you compare me to you? Don't forget I'm only 24! Still very young!"

  The noise disturbed the people around them, but most of them were familiar with the duo's interactions and didn't pay much attention.

  "Yes, yes, you're right, boss. You're the youngest, forever eighteen..." Yan Feng coaxed her, but inwardly, he couldn't help but sigh.

  A gentle figure appeared in his mind, and even with her back to him, Yan Feng knew who it was.

  Bai Xi, a name that was clean and elegant.

  She was his first love and his lifelong regret. Because of their age difference, from the time he met her at eight until she passed away abroad st year, Yan Feng never got the chance to express his feelings to her.

  If a first love is a man's eternal regret, then even more unforgettable is a first love that can only live in memory.

  A slender, jade-like hand handed him a full gss of beer, interrupting his thoughts.

  "Still thinking about her?" Gu Qing asked, her cheeks flushed, possibly from the alcohol. "Have a drink. It's a company event, and I'm paying. Maybe it'll make you feel better."

  Yan Feng shook his head and pushed the gss back.

  "You know I never drink."

  "Of course I know," the woman pursed her lips, sighed lightly, and teased, "Because she didn't like it, so in all these years I've known you, you haven't touched a drop of alcohol or a cigarette. Should I call you stubborn or devoted?"

  "Call me foolish," Yan Feng chuckled and reminded her, "Remember not to be te tomorrow morning. There's a contract to sign, and you need to be there."

  "Can't I skip it?"

  "No."

  "Alright, alright, I know, my old father!" Gu Qing pouted, compining, "Always picking on me, giving work orders after hours. I really don't know who's the boss between us..."

  "Because you're the boss, you need to sign personally," Yan Feng said seriously.

  His pocket vibrated, and he frowned, took out his phone, and answered the call.

  Suddenly, his eyes widened, and he stood up abruptly, asking sharply into the phone, "What did you say!?"

  The bustling crowd instantly quieted down, and everyone turned their gaze to the actual manager of the company.

  But Yan Feng didn't care about that; he just nodded seriously with the phone in hand and said, "I understand. Where is the child now?"

  Saying this, he had already picked up his coat from the side.

  "Hey, hey, hey! You're leaving already? You barely ate!" Gu Qing said anxiously.

  But the man had already put on his coat and hurried away, leaving her with a brief remark:

  "Next time, something urgent came up. Don't be te tomorrow morning."

  As the restaurant door closed, everyone exchanged gnces, leaving only the woman still sitting at the table, her face flushed, gritting her teeth and breathing heavily, watching the man's departing figure and cursing:

  "Stubborn blockhead!"

  ***

  Pulling out the key from his electric scooter, ignoring the neighbors greeting him, Yan Feng hurried into the elevator and pressed the button...

  A moment ter.

  Ding!

  The bell rang, the elevator doors slowly opened, and he saw a young girl sitting on the ground, hugging her knees.

  Dressed in a simple blue and white school uniform, her bck, smooth ponytail hung behind her head. Her slender, fair arms crossed over her knees. Even without looking up, she was a perfect match for the person in Yan Feng's memory.

  So much like her...

  Everywhere, just like her...

  At that moment, the girl heard the elevator and slowly lifted her head, meeting his dazed gaze.

  She was as beautiful as her mother in her youth, stunning Yan Feng at first sight, with a delicate nose, snowy skin, willow-like eyebrows, and red lips. There was even a hint of allure in her eyes that he had never seen in Bai Xi's.

  Unfortunately, in Yan Feng's memory, his sister's eyes were always full of life, unlike the young girl in front of him, whose eyes were devoid of light, filled only with an internal chill and a hint of...

  Confusion?

  The next moment, the elevator doors began to close automatically from ck of use, and Yan Feng quickly reached out to stop them, nearly falling over.

  He swallowed, steadied himself, awkwardly cleared his throat, and asked, "You... you are..."

  "My mom told me to come."

  Before Yan Feng could ask further, she stood up and said directly, "She left a note saying if none of the retives wanted me, I should come to you. For her sake, at least you will feed me."

  Yan Feng was at a loss for words.

  When he was young, his parents were busy and had no time for him, leaving him with some pocket money. But at that age, he didn't know how to buy things, so he often went to Bai Xi's house for meals.

  Young Bai Xi lived alone, used to the solitude, and was happy to take in a little boy who ate only half a bowl of rice. Little Yan Feng didn't eat for free; he would give the money his parents left him to the young girl.

  So, for a few years, they lived together.

  The sweet memories had long become old stories. Now, accustomed to dealing with work, Yan Feng felt a bit at a loss facing the young girl and could only scratch his head and ask: "So... what's your name?"

  "Chen Xi." The girl mentioned her surname with a hint of disdain in her eyes. "My surname is Chen."

  "Oh... I see..." Yan Feng nodded, about to ask more when the girl's stomach growled at an inopportune moment.

  Understanding immediately, but wanting to maintain her dignity, he chose to ignore her embarrassment and smiled, suggesting, "Well... I haven't eaten yet, so how about joining me for some noodles downstairs?"