The two of them chatted casually, discussing everything from current relationships and marriage issues to social problems. Before they knew it, more than an hour had passed.

When they finished the pot of tea and had eaten most of the snacks and fruits, they realized just how much time had flown by.

Zhou Qianru laughed and said, "I didn't expect that just casually chatting with you would last this long."

Chen Feng also laughed and nodded, "Yeah, it's been over an hour already. Time flies."

Chen Feng hadn't expected the conversation with her to be so engaging, but once they started, it was hard to stop because they both enjoyed it so much.

It could only be said that their personalities were quite compatible. Otherwise, with someone else, they might have lost interest after a few minutes, unlike them, who got more and more absorbed in the conversation, even feeling a bit like there was still more to say.

"Well, let's leave it here for today. We can have tea and chat again next time when there's a chance."

After the chat and interaction just now, Zhou Qianru's impression of Chen Feng improved.

After all, Chen Feng was her first man. If she hadn't felt anything for him back then, she wouldn't have gone to the hotel with him again and again.

She wasn't the kind of woman who was frivolous and casual.

Even if the first mistake was largely due to her being drunk, in the subsequent times she was completely sober. If she didn't like Chen Feng, didn't approve of him, didn't trust him, it wouldn't have been possible. And after Chen Feng, she met her current husband, fell in love, got married, and never did anything wrong by her husband. She never would, not in the past and not in the future.

This was the most basic commitment she had as a woman and a wife.

So, even if she now restored the fondness she had for Chen Feng from years ago, it was just between friends, nothing more.

"Sure, let's have tea and chat again when there's a chance."

Chen Feng also felt it was about time, as he didn't have any intention of rekindling the past relationship either.

Thus, they mutually ended this meeting and left the room together.

Zhou Qianru had already paid for the room on her phone, so Chen Feng didn't need to pick up the tab.

"Let's leave it here, see you next time when there's a chance."

When they reached the lobby of the teahouse, Zhou Qianru stopped and formally said goodbye to Chen Feng.

Chen Feng understood her intention, which was to avoid any appearance of impropriety. Even though a teahouse wasn't a private place, the fact that they were arriving and leaving together did seem somewhat inappropriate. It was better to avoid misunderstandings. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Okay, you go ahead."

Chen Feng nodded to her and went to sit on a wooden bench in the lounge area of the lobby.

When he looked up to search for Zhou Qianru's figure again, she was already gone.

Chen Feng felt a touch of emptiness because, after all, he had been her first man. Like many men, he placed some importance on his first partner.

Even though she was a few years older, back then he even considered starting a formal relationship with her. But unfortunately, before he began to implement those plans, she disappeared.

Years later, as she said, upon meeting again, everything had changed and there was no way to go back to the past.

Chen Feng sat on the bench next to the floor-to-ceiling window, reflecting on the fate between them and the changes brought by time and life.

"Chen Feng?"

Suddenly someone called his name. It was a short, chubby man with glasses, standing just two or three meters in front of him, eyeing him with a somewhat uncertain look.

Chen Feng found him somewhat familiar but couldn't immediately recall who he was. However, since the other person could call his name, they must know each other, which felt a bit awkward.

"Who are you?" Chen Feng could only return the uncertain look to him.

The short, chubby man didn't mind that Chen Feng failed to recognize him. He cheerfully walked over and spoke in the Lu City dialect, "You truly are Chen Feng. I've heard that you've been staying in Xiu Zhou, and I didn't expect to run into you here. I'm Chen Guoxiang, remember? Your elementary school classmate."

The genuine Lin Nan-accented Lu City dialect couldn't be faked, making Chen Feng feel warmly nostalgic. After silently repeating Chen Guoxiang's name a few times, he finally matched this short, chubby man in front of him with the distant memory of a skinny classmate.

Chen Feng replied with a smile in Lu City dialect, "Chen Guoxiang, you've changed so much. I remember you used to be really skinny."

Back then, Chen Guoxiang was very thin and short, often with a runny nose, so many people in the class gave him the nickname Snotty.

If it weren't for the fact that the name Chen Guoxiang was quite memorable, sharing the same surname as Chen Feng, and the deep impression of the nickname Snotty, Chen Feng wouldn't have remembered him.

However, so many years had passed. In his memory, Chen Guoxiang had stopped attending Qingpu Town middle school. Since then, they hadn't crossed paths. Now, he actually recognized Chen Feng, his elementary school classmate, which was quite interesting.

"Well, you did mention it was back then, and almost twenty years have passed, so of course, there's been a lot of change. You're the same; if I hadn't recently seen your recent photos, I definitely wouldn't have recognized you."

Chen Guoxiang's words cleared up Chen Feng's doubts, leading him to curiously ask, "Where did you see my photos?"

Chen Guoxiang, with a smile, explained, "A buddy of mine, Yang Jiayu, your high school classmate, remember? I saw them from him."

Chen Feng nodded, "Yang Jiayu, of course, I remember. He was our class's sports committee member."

Hearing this, Chen Guoxiang laughed heartily, "You better not mention the sports committee anymore. He's now ballooned to nearly two hundred pounds."

Chen Feng was taken aback, astonished, "How is that possible? Back in high school, he was always lifting weights and doing pull-ups to stay fit. Could he have gained that much weight?"

Chen Guoxiang shook his head with a laugh, "This kid didn't go to college; he went straight into business. Later, he got a construction crew and became a contractor. Always drinking and socializing, with young models at clubs, he slowly grew portly. By the time he realized it and tried to lose weight, it was too late. His health was already poor, and the more he tried to lose, the more weight he gained. Just a few days ago, when I contacted him, he was still drinking herbal medicine daily to nourish his body. He said he wanted to get healthy first before seriously trying to lose weight. Haha."

Thinking of the sporty high school sports committee member transforming into a two-hundred-pound heavyweight, Chen Feng couldn't help but laugh as well.

In high school, Yang Jiayu and Chen Feng were just casual acquaintances, but he was quite close friends with Qin Zhen, since they were middle school classmates. He probably saw the photo of Chen Feng through Qin Zhen.

"His change is even more drastic than yours. By the way, what are you doing now?"

Chen Feng asked casually.

"I now run a hardware store in the city area of Lu City. How about you? I heard you became a big boss?"

"I wouldn't say I'm a big boss, just running a small company."

"You're too modest. I heard that in our hometown Qingpu Town, everyone knows you struck it rich in Xiu Zhou, and even your brother opened several car wash shops and made a fortune."

Both of them were from the same hometown, Qingpu Town. In such a small town, stories of someone's success would quickly spread throughout the area.

Chen Feng smiled, not denying it, but changing the subject by asking, "Are you visiting Xiu Zhou for tourism?"