Only the Beginning

At eight in the morning, Ye Zhiqiu set down his utensils and turned his head slightly to look out the window.

It was a rainy day.

The wind was strong, and the sky was a murky grey, with dark clouds pressing in from the distance.

It reminded him of when he was a child, how he especially loved curling up in his room on days with bad weather.

Because staying in a room or under the covers on such days always gave one an inexplicable sense of safety and warmth.

Ye Zhiqiu loved that feeling.

But that was a childhood thing.
Now, he was grown up.
No matter how much he loved that feeling, when it was time to walk into the wind and rain, he still had to walk into the wind and rain.

“Today,” Ye Zhiqiu withdrew his gaze from the window and smiled at Qin Jianhe, “I need to go back to the Ye household.”

He said “the Ye household,” not “home.”
As if he wasn’t really a member of the Ye family.

Hearing this, Qin Jianhe’s eating movement paused.
“Mm,” he said. “Remember to take an umbrella when you go out.”

“Okay.” Ye Zhiqiu agreed with a smile.

“As for your suitcase,” he said, “I’m moving in a couple of days, so I won’t take it back for now.”

“Mm.” Qin Jianhe looked up at him. “Which day are you planning to move? I’ll send someone to help.”

Ye Zhiqiu didn’t answer, just looked at him with an ambiguous smile.

“Okay, got it.” Meeting his gaze, Qin Jianhe couldn’t help but laugh.

Ye Zhiqiu’s eyes also crinkled with amusement.

“The day after tomorrow,” he said. “The day after tomorrow is the weekend.”

Qin Jianhe stood up and ruffled Ye Zhiqiu’s soft hair. “All grown up, independent.”

“Proud of me?” Ye Zhiqiu looked up, teasing him with a smile. “Dad?”

That one word flipped some kind of switch. Qin Jianhe’s eyes instantly darkened.

Ye Zhiqiu laughed and leaned back to dodge, reminding him, “Morning meeting.”

At the table earlier, Zhou Tongxin had called Qin Jianhe to report his schedule. Ye Zhiqiu had heard clearly that Qin Jianhe had a morning meeting today.

Hearing this, Qin Jianhe’s lips pressed into a thin line, even the line of his jaw becoming sharply defined, radiating an indescribable sense of restraint.

After a moment, he still grabbed Ye Zhiqiu’s wrist, pulled him into his arms, and messed around for a good while before letting go.

Before leaving, Qin Jianhe touched Ye Zhiqiu’s head again.

“If you need anything,” he said, “come to me.”

Ye Zhiqiu didn’t ask which aspect of “need” he meant, just nodded obediently.

After Qin Jianhe left, Ye Zhiqiu reopened his suitcase, took out the gifts for Jin Baobao, Li Shaojun, and Tang Le, and put them into his backpack.

Then he looked down at the limited edition sneakers Qin Jianhe had given him, still in the suitcase.

He took out the shoebox and opened it, gazing at them for a long while before putting them away again.

It was still early. He went to Qin Jianhe’s study first.

He found paper and a pen and sat down at the desk.

During his time abroad, away from the people and situations at home, Ye Zhiqiu had lived more comfortably than at any time since his rebirth.

But at the same time, he hadn’t done any serious strategy session in a long time.

Now that he was back, he instinctively picked up the habit again.

Compared to when he first returned, the situation was actually quite stable now.

This had been achieved through his constant scheming. Although the goal was still far off, for the time being, it was a relatively ideal state.

Ye Zhiqiu didn’t want to ruin everything with a momentary lapse or oversight.

As he thought, he slowly wrote on the paper as usual.

In fact, the past few days at Qin Jianhe’s had given him a rare sense of ease and enjoyment.
To put it plainly, this was probably what people called happiness.

It surprised him.
Because he had always believed that he had perhaps long lost the ability to feel such happiness.

Ye Zhiqiu paused, his pen hovering. He stopped deliberately reminiscing about this long-lost feeling and continued writing.

When the paper was almost full, he carefully reviewed it from top to bottom.

After confirming there were no issues, he set down his pen, turned, and fed the paper into the shredder behind him.

The paper filled with writing was quickly swallowed by the shredder, turning into confetti.

Almost simultaneously, a light tapping sound came from the windowpane. Raindrops the size of soybeans began to fall.

His phone on the desk lit up and dimmed repeatedly. Ye Zhiqiu picked it up just as a message from Qin Jianhe came in.

[QIN: It’s raining.]
[QIN: Have you left yet?]

Ye Zhiqiu replied.
[One Leaf Knows Autumn: Soon.]

[QIN: The umbrella is on the dining table. Remember to take it.]

Ye Zhiqiu typed two words, but after a moment’s pause, he deleted them one by one.
Instead of replying to Qin Jianhe, he opened the four-person group chat.

Since after nine, Jin Baobao had been active, with Tang Le occasionally chiming in. Li Shaojun, who had class today, hadn’t spoken.

Ye Zhiqiu went downstairs and immediately spotted the black umbrella on the corner of the dining table.
It was a compact, foldable one.
He took the umbrella, also picked up his keys and backpack, then opened the door and walked out.

The door closed behind him, like a temporary haven shutting once more. Ye Zhiqiu stepped back into the wind and rain.

At the entrance, the car he had called was just pulling up.
Ye Zhiqiu folded the umbrella, got in, and gave the driver the restaurant’s address.

By now, the group chat was getting lively. Jin Baobao had arrived first, already at the restaurant. Li Shaojun and Tang Le were also on their way.

Ye Zhiqiu replied to the group, telling them his location.

As soon as he spoke, Jin Baobao and Li Shaojun immediately started demanding their gifts.
Ye Zhiqiu laughed at their antics but didn’t reply further.

In the capital, any rain meant traffic jams. The car stopped and started, finally pulling up to the restaurant.
Ye Zhiqiu checked his watch. It was nearly eleven o’clock.

A drive that usually took twenty-plus minutes had taken almost an hour.

He went upstairs to the private room. The other three were already there.

Seeing Ye Zhiqiu, Jin Baobao immediately rushed over and hugged him tightly. Li Shaojun also came over and put his arms around both of them.

“Gift,” he said.

“And mine,” Jin Baobao said.

Compared to their warm exuberance, Tang Le was more reserved.
He seemed a bit uncomfortable, just sitting in his seat and smiling at them.

“You’ve all got gifts, babies,” Ye Zhiqiu laughed, his eyes curving into crescents as the two teased him. “But you have to let go of me first so I can get them.”

If they didn’t count his past life, considering just these years growing up together, Ye Zhiqiu, Jin Baobao, and Li Shaojun had really never been apart this long.
Even if one of them occasionally went on a trip with their family, they were back within a week at most.

They sat down. Ye Zhiqiu opened his backpack and started pulling out gifts.

“What were you guys talking about just now?” he asked. “I could hear you from way down the hall.”

“Haven’t you seen it yet?” Jin Baobao said. “Gao Wenye just released a statement announcing his new company.”

“And signed a few young actors,” Li Shaojun added.

“Oh?” Ye Zhiqiu’s movement paused. He looked up with a smile.

“Is Ye Zhixia…” Jin Baobao started gossiping.

Ye Zhiqiu shook his head. “We haven’t really spoken since the last time he hit me.”

He smiled. “I doubt he’d tell me anything even if something did happen.”

While talking, he took out the gifts.

First, Jin Baobao’s.
Besides some very popular little accessories from the various international shows, there was also an electric leg massager.
Jin Baobao, being a dancer, often complained about leg pain.

Then Li Shaojun’s.

“A game console wasn’t convenient. I’ll get you something fun from domestic next time,” Ye Zhiqiu said with a smile. “I remember you couldn’t get this perfume last time. I happened to see a bottle at a counter in London.”

Li Shaojun hadn’t really wanted a game console that badly.
With all the online and mobile games available now, they were much more convenient than a console.
He had asked for one just to play along with Jin Baobao’s enthusiasm.

Seeing the perfume now was a real, unexpected delight.
Li Shaojun carefully took the bottle into his hands, a look of genuine happiness finally appearing on his handsome face.

Ye Zhiqiu knew he had chosen the right gift. Nothing made him happier than seeing Li Shaojun and Jin Baobao happy. The smile in his eyes deepened instantly.

He looked down, reached back into his backpack, and took out Tang Le’s gift.

It was also a bottle of perfume.
Compared to the slightly cool scent of Li Shaojun’s, this one was much warmer.

“It suits you,” Ye Zhiqiu said with a smile, handing it to Tang Le. “Lele, you’re usually too reserved. This perfume is very expansive, just right for balancing you out.”

Tang Le: “…”

He hated being lectured more than anything, but for some reason, Ye Zhiqiu seemed particularly fond of lecturing him lately.

Already in a bad mood, he felt even more repulsed.

“Thank you, Xiaoqiu,” he said, keeping his expression neutral and accepting the gift with a smile.

“I also brought a set of professional fashion design tools for Senior Lin Xuehua,” Ye Zhiqiu said, putting his backpack down and smiling. “But it’s in a metal case, quite heavy. I’ll bring it to school next week. I’m sure he’ll love it.”

Tang Le pressed his lips together, unconsciously tightening his grip on the perfume bottle.

He had been doing very poorly lately, hardly sleeping well, with obvious dark circles under his eyes.

And because the news of him ruining Lin Xuehua’s graduation project had spread far and wide, people avoided him like the plague. Even some classmates he had been on decent terms with had grown much colder.

This feeling of being isolated from the world, of not being understood by anyone, was truly too agonizing.

He knew that Lin Xuehua was definitely behind this.

The set of tools Ye Zhiqiu mentioned was very famous in the fashion design world. Because the field was relatively niche and there were many affordable alternatives, no domestic platform had ever imported them.

Some students at school used them, but they all bought them through proxy buyers. The original price was over two thousand euros, but with heavy shipping costs and customs duties, the final price nearly doubled.

To be honest, things had gone too far. He didn’t want to give Lin Xuehua anything anymore.

But at the same time, he knew he couldn’t say that.

Although, because it was “an accident,” Ye Zhiqiu, Li Shaojun, and Jin Baobao hadn’t blamed him, that didn’t mean they didn’t sympathize with Lin Xuehua.

So, no matter how unwilling he was, he still nodded under Ye Zhiqiu’s smiling gaze.

The food arrived quickly. Although Ye Zhiqiu hadn’t ordered, the table was filled with his favorite dishes.

Probably taking into account the bland, monotonous food abroad, Li Shaojun had specially chosen a Sichuan restaurant. The dishes were spicy, fragrant, and wonderfully appetizing.

As soon as the food was served, Jin Baobao and Li Shaojun heaped Ye Zhiqiu’s plate full.

He had been planning to take a moment to check the news about Gao Wenye’s company announcement, but seeing this, he put down his phone and immediately picked up his chopsticks.

“I’m telling you,” he said, his lips glistening with oil, his eyes curved, “I already had steamed fish head with chopped chili this morning. If you keep feeding me like this, I’m going to get heat rash.”

“You should have said something,” Li Shaojun said, still putting a large piece of tripe on his plate.

“We’ll deal with the consequences after this meal,” Jin Baobao said, adding frog legs to his pile.

Ye Zhiqiu ate what was on his plate, then looked up as if remembering something. “Didn’t Lele say he wanted us to look at apartments? What have you seen?”

Hearing this, Tang Le looked up from his bowl.

“I’ll show you after we eat,” he said.

He looked listless, lacking energy.

Ye Zhiqiu met his eyes and smiled slightly.

Tang Le had only experienced this much.

He was merely paying the price for his own mistakes and malice, which was only right.

But in his past life, what mistake had he made to be used as a stepping stool and kicked into the abyss?

Tang Le now felt the world’s hostility, even felt it was dark.
But what about him?
Because of Tang Le and the others, what kind of desperate, hopelessly long life had he lived in his past life?

By comparison, Tang Le’s current predicament was nothing.

Instinctively, Ye Zhiqiu checked his watch again.

It was nearly one o’clock. Zhao Keqi and his father should be landing soon.

Unlike his own unexpected early return, the Zhao father and son’s return time wasn’t a secret.

Besides, Zhao Yunzhuang had gone abroad not only to see his show in person but also to discuss an animation copyright cooperation.

Zhao Keqi’s rumor was hot right now, a perfect opportunity for free publicity. Ye Zhiqiu didn’t think Zhao Yunzhuang would avoid it.

As they ate, Jin Baobao chattered non-stop, asking about the shows and constantly showing Ye Zhiqiu screenshots of netizens praising him.

Ye Zhiqiu looked up at him with a smile. Jin Baobao’s big eyes sparkled as if he were a million times happier than if he had received the honor himself.

When Jin Baobao finally tired of chattering, Li Shaojun took a set of keys from his backpack and handed them to Ye Zhiqiu.

“All the keys for the rental,” he said. “Also, add the landlord on WeChat. That way you can contact him if anything comes up, and it’ll be easier to pay rent next time.”

“Send me his contact,” Ye Zhiqiu said, drinking hot and sour soup from a bowl.

A moment later, his phone buzzed, and a WeChat contact card was sent over.

“Which day are you moving?” Li Shaojun asked. “I’ll help.”

“No need,” Ye Zhiqiu said. “My stuff seems like a lot, but I don’t actually use that much day-to-day. I’ll pack up in the next couple of days and drive it over myself on the weekend. That should be fine.”

“The place has all the pots, pans, and utensils,” Li Shaojun said. “I looked; they seem brand new. If you mind, I’ll go buy you a new set today.”

“Not for now,” Ye Zhiqiu said casually. “There are plenty of places to eat nearby. Whether I cook or not is a different matter.”

“Alright,” Li Shaojun said, always a worrier. “That just leaves the tools for your studio. I don’t know anything about that. You’ll have to handle that yourself.”

“Okay.” Ye Zhiqiu nodded and sent a friend request to the landlord.

They chatted and ate, the atmosphere lively and warm. Even Tang Le managed to keep a smile on his face.
But only he knew the bitterness in his heart.

Ye Zhiqiu was so brilliant.

While he was shining on the international stage, beloved by everyone, Tang Le was being crushed by everyone on campus.

Ye Zhiqiu could rent a beautiful, large apartment in a high-end central business district complex, while Tang Le could only afford to share a place in a fringe area.

When Ye Zhiqiu’s plate was piled high with food, Tang Le was just a laughingstock, a clown sitting beside him.

The gap between them had always been vast.
But because Ye Zhiqiu never cared about wealth or background, Tang Le hadn’t always felt it so acutely.

But now…
Tang Le was just too tired.

So when this crude, direct comparison came crashing down, he felt he could barely endure it.

But he still had to smile, his facial muscles aching.

“Lele, you’ve been quiet today,” Ye Zhiqiu said, as if completely unaware of his discomfort. He smiled and looked over, putting him on the spot. “Are you worried about the apartment?”

“Yeah,” Tang Le had to nod.

“Senior Lin Xuehua is actually very reasonable,” Ye Zhiqiu said with an innocent smile. “I’ve already helped him organize his thoughts. Once I give him those tools, I’m sure he’ll forgive you. Then you won’t have to move, right?”

This was like another knife in Tang Le’s heart.
Because now, for Tang Le, it was no longer just about Lin Xuehua.

Even if Lin Xuehua explicitly forgave him, the news of him ruining his roommate’s graduation project had already spread far and wide.

Leaving his birth family and entering university had been Tang Le’s dream for many years.
But now, this dream he had finally achieved had suddenly turned cruel on him.

Did he regret it? Yes.
Looking back now, Tang Le truly regretted it.

Ye Zhiqiu had been right about one thing.
Lin Xuehua was indeed a very reasonable person.
That was why Tang Le had made this decision after assessment.

Given Lin Xuehua’s personality, he would certainly be angry, maybe even turn hostile.
But once Tang Le showed sincerity, and since the damage was already done, Lin Xuehua would have no choice but to try to salvage.

Having the matter posted on the forum was something Tang Le had never anticipated.

He still couldn’t understand why Lin Xuehua had acted so out of character.
He had already apologized, but Lin Xuehua still had the matter posted publicly, completely burning bridges.

He had suspected Ye Zhiqiu, too.

But after observation, he had concluded that Ye Zhiqiu, as always, knew nothing, and his attitude towards him hadn’t changed.
The fact that the perfume he gave him was comparable in value to Li Shaojun’s proved it.

“They think I deliberately damaged the senior’s project,” Tang Le said, deciding to tell the truth.

“Did you?” Ye Zhiqiu asked, his eyes fixed on him with an unreadable expression.

An inexplicable guilt rose in Tang Le’s heart. He was momentarily speechless.

“If you didn’t,” Ye Zhiqiu smiled, “then why do you care what they say?”

“You don’t understand,” Tang Le said, looking at him, murmuring.

How could someone like Ye Zhiqiu, born with a silver spoon, ever understand unless he himself had fallen into the mud and been trampled until he couldn’t lift his head?

Tang Le couldn’t help thinking, unable to control the malice in his heart.

Before Ye Zhiqiu could respond, Jin Baobao suddenly said, “Holy crap.”
“Xiaoqiu, your rumored love interest is back in the country too.”

“What rumored love interest?” Ye Zhiqiu’s smile showed he didn’t care. “You mean Zhao Keqi?”

“How many rumored love interests do you have?” Li Shaojun asked. “I forgot to ask you before, how do you know Zhao Yunzhuang’s son?”

“We met at the gym,” Ye Zhiqiu said. “I only trained for a few days before I got busy. What a coincidence that his father is Old Zhao.”

“Your luck is really something,” Jin Baobao muttered, scrolling through his phone. Then he said again, “Holy crap!”

“Did Zhao Yunzhuang specially come to see you?” Jin Baobao said, clicking on a video just posted by reporters.

In the video, Zhao Yunzhuang and Zhao Keqi were striding out of the airport, answering reporters’ questions cooperatively.

“Don’t listen to their nonsense,” Zhao Yunzhuang said with a laugh. “Zhao Keqi and I had two main purposes for this trip. One was indeed to see Xiao Ye. For the styling of this upcoming ‘Building Eight’ project, the team’s opinion is quite unanimous, and they favor him. So they sent me as a representative to check things out. Of course…”

He paused, getting to the point. “I also had another purpose, which was to discuss the domestic rights to a manga.”

Reporters’ cameras clicked rapidly.

“Has ‘Building Eight’ officially confirmed Meng Qingyan and Bai You as the leads?”

“As a young designer, is Ye Zhiqiu really qualified to handle the styling for this production?”

“Has the start date for ‘Building Eight’ been set?”

“Which manga is it? Which platform will it be on? Paid or free?”

“…”

“Really?” Jin Baobao looked up, delighted. “Are you really going to be the stylist for this movie? Then I can visit not only my Youyou and Yanyan, but you too.”

“Nothing’s final yet,” Ye Zhiqiu said. “We haven’t even discussed the details.”
“And even if it works out,” he smiled, “Teacher Li will be in charge and I’ll assist. Teacher Li’s assistant will be on set. I won’t necessarily be there all the time.”

“Won’t that put you at a disadvantage?” Li Shaojun immediately asked.

“There’s no disadvantage,” Ye Zhiqiu said, his eyes bright and warm. “A big production for my first project, and a chance to learn from Teacher Li—it’s something many people would beg for.”

“That’s good, then.” Li Shaojun nodded.

Tang Le hadn’t said a word, and their attention was all on the screen, captivated by the interview.

When the interview finally played its last frame, Ye Zhiqiu looked up with a smile.

Across from him, Tang Le was gripping his spoon as if frozen, his face pale.

“Lele?” Ye Zhiqiu called his name gently.

“Ah? Huh?” Tang Le looked up, flustered.

“Lele, are you okay?” Ye Zhiqiu’s smile slowly faded, his eyes showing a hint of concern. “You don’t look well.”

Tang Le’s mind was buzzing. He knew his expression must be terrible.
No matter how hard he tried to adjust, it was useless.

So, all those previous blows, the injustices, the unwillingness to compare, the feelings of being unable to go on…
Had meant nothing.

The real blow was waiting for him here.

He didn’t understand why Heaven favored Ye Zhiqiu so much.

He was already so much luckier than Tang Le.
He already had such a bright future in fashion.
Why did he have to steal the path of film styling from him too?

They had entered the international fashion competition together. Tang Le hadn’t even made the finals; Ye Zhiqiu had won the championship.
Tang Le had endured that.

He had wanted to go to Q.L., had even quietly contacted Yu Renzhi. But even for a design assistant position, Q.L. had given him no chance.
And soon after, Ye Zhiqiu had joined Q.L. as a designer.

He had wanted to enter the entertainment industry as a stylist, using Ye Zhixia and Gao Wenye as a shortcut.
And now Ye Zhiqiu was beating him to it, in such a high-profile way.

He didn’t understand. Ye Zhiqiu was always so good to him, yet every step he took seemed to block Tang Le’s path, leaving him nowhere to go.

He could no longer stay in the dorms.
His career hadn’t even begun, and he was already being crushed.

Like a lost dog, Tang Le suddenly wondered what the point of all his previous struggles had been.
If only he had never met Ye Zhiqiu.
Maybe he could have been considered outstanding in others’ eyes.

But now, with Ye Zhiqiu as a shining jewel before him, Tang Le wasn’t even fit to be mud.

For over a week, Tang Le hadn’t slept well. His body was at its limit.
And with the exclusion he faced at school, the mental pressure was immense.
At this moment, the string inside him, under intense jealousy, hatred, and relentless blows, finally snapped.

Ye Zhiqiu watched calmly and coldly as the spoon slowly slipped from Tang Le’s hand, clattered onto the table, then bounced off and shattered on the floor.

He suddenly felt like laughing.

In his past life, he had endured such an abyss for so many years.
And Tang Le, who had pushed him into that abyss, couldn’t even bear such a small blow.

“Tang Le,” he said, standing up along with Jin Baobao and Li Shaojun. “What’s wrong?”
“Be strong.”

Yes, be strong, Tang Le.
After all, this was only the beginning.