"Yeah."
Back in middle school, Zhao Luzheng had ranked first in their grade in almost every exam.
At the time, having the top student in their class meant the whole class took pride in it.
"You achieved your dream."
Zhou Yao smiled.
"That's great."
He wasn't surprised at all.
In his memory, Zhao Luzheng had always been an outstanding student.
And just like him, Zhao Luzheng had set his goal early on.
Now, Zhao Luzheng had achieved his goal.
But he had fallen halfway along the road.
Battered and bruised.
He no longer had the courage to keep going.
In the end, he had taken a different path.
Zhao Luzheng opened his mouth.
But he didn't know what to say.
Sometimes, he really envied Zhuge Yun.
He wished he were as eloquent as Zhuge Yun.
"Such a coincidence."
Zhou Yao's expression returned to normal, and a faint smile appeared on his face.
"I never thought we'd run into each other in Yanjing."
"We haven't seen each other since we graduated from middle school..."
"Yeah."
Zhao Luzheng smiled too. "Luckily, you haven't changed much. I recognized you at a glance."
"Really?"
Zhou Yao touched his face. "They say women change a lot as they grow up. Maybe guys don't change much."
"I recognized you right away, too, when I saw you."
"I still remember you well: our class monitor, the top student in the grade."
"I just didn't expect you to remember me, too, Monitor."
"Just what I'd expect from our class monitor."
He must have remembered every single person in the class.
"I remember your paintings—"
Zhao Luzheng's voice cut off abruptly.
At first, he had really wanted to know what had happened to Zhou Yao after middle school that made him give up painting.