"Ouyang... Han?"
The old man repeated the other man's name.
That was a rare compound surname...
High school classmates?
High school...
It felt like something from a past life.
"It's all right if you can't remember."
The Elegant old man was as gentle as his first impression had suggested, and he remained warm and mild-mannered.
"After all, it's been a long time."
"We also—"
"Huh?!"
The old man's eyes lit up.
"Ouyang Han?!"
"You're Ouyang Han?"
"Yes."
The Elegant old man was momentarily taken aback.
Then he smiled and nodded.
"I'm Ouyang Han."
"Do you remember now?"
"It's you..."
The old man's face showed both surprise and delight.
"I remember now!"
"Thanks to your unusual name..."
The old man said with a laugh.
He'd lived for most of his life, but he'd hardly ever met anyone with a compound surname.
And this man's rare surname made him the first classmate with a compound surname he'd ever met.
Back then, everyone in their class had found his surname fascinating.
It had caused quite a stir for a while.
Eventually, they got used to it and stopped teasing him about it every time.
The Elegant old man's eyes crinkled.
From childhood until now, everyone who learned his name for the first time had instinctively taken a second look at him.
He'd grown used to people's reactions to his name.
In fact, when he occasionally met someone who didn't react to it at all, he felt as if something were missing. It seemed strange.
"Hey."
The old man was surprised.
"How did you recognize me?"
They hadn't seen each other in so many years.
"Decades..."
The last time they'd met, they'd both still been young.
They looked nothing like the wrinkled old men they were now.
They'd changed