Chapter Text
Changxi — if there was one word to describe him, it would be prince.
That was what people always said whenever they saw him for the first time.
“Ah, the prince of Class 90.”
Everyone knew him, not only inside the school but outside of it as well. He was the top student in his class, excelled in every sport he played, and somehow remained kind and humble despite being born into wealth. His family owned one of the biggest companies in Shanghai, making the He family a name everyone recognized.
Then there was He Yanchao.
He was the funny, cheerful guy who loved playing football and the violin in his free time. Everyone adored him — especially the older people in the neighborhood. He was the kind of person who would help an elderly granny open her tiny convenience store every morning, then proudly brag about the handmade knitted handkerchief his grandmother had made for him.
Everyone around him knew him as the sweet and warm-hearted guy who could make anyone smile.
Even though they shared the same last name, they were not related at all.
People often asked Yanchao if he knew Changxi, but he would always laugh and say,
“No! Hahaha. If we were from the same family, I wouldn’t be working part-time every weekend.”
Yanchao always joked like that.
They existed in the same world, at the same time, yet somehow their paths never crossed.
At least, that was how it was supposed to be.
Until somehow, they ended up in the same class together.
“So… people always think we’re brothers because we have the same last name,” Yanchao joked while offering his hand.
Changxi didn't take it. He stared at the hovering palm for a cold beat before standing up to leave. "Well, we aren't," he muttered, sweeping past.
Yanchao stood frozen, his hand still suspended in the air. He pulled it back, gripping his fingers into a tight fist as a scoff escaped his lips. "Rude," he whispered to the empty air.
That was their only interaction in an entire year. They were like oil and water, silently agreeing to remain strangers.
They both seemed to understand that their personalities simply did not match, so neither of them bothered trying to get closer.
In the end, they became nothing more than former classmates who were complete strangers to each other.
That was how it was supposed to stay.
Until—
Ten years later.
Yanchao sat in a sleek waiting room, white-knuckling his blazer sleeve. His feet tapped a frantic rhythm against the carpet, his body flinching at every opening door.
"He Yanchao!"
"Yes! That’s me!" He shot up, hand flying into the air as if he were back in school.
The receptionist offered a polite nod, gesturing toward the heavy oak doors.
“Please come inside.”
Yanchao nodded quickly.
“Yes!”
He hurriedly straightened his suit and bounced lightly on his feet, trying to calm his nerves before entering the room.
His movements were stiff, robotic with anxiety. He bypassed the usual pleasantries, heading straight for the lone chair in the center of the room.
"Good afternoon, sir, ma'am. My name is He Yanchao," he blurted out, bowing low.
When he finally straightened up to face the panel of five interviewers.There was someone sitting in the middle of the five interviewers who looked strangely familiar.
Yanchao frowned slightly.
As the man lifted his head from the papers in his hands, realization suddenly hit him.
“He Changxi?!”
Yanchao blurted out loudly while pointing at him.
The other interviewers exchanged confused glances between Yanchao and Changxi, who looked equally surprised to hear his full name being called.
“Yes?”