Age of Legends

Chapter 294 Good-looking
This is the old story: Zhang Chen finds the lost Shen Nuoyi, and their relationship heats up, eventually becoming lovers. During this winter break after the first semester of their senior year, on the eve of a major divergence in their destinies, they go their separate ways, maintaining the warmth of their relationship and experiencing the small joy of meeting the right person at the best time of their lives.

Zhang Chen had no experience in how to live his life after being reborn. Logically, he should seize the moment, make the most of every minute, and ride the wave of the times to make waves.

But if they can accompany each other in this moment of their youth, Zhang Chen feels that wasting a little time is not a bad thing.

So the two of them stood there, wasting quite a bit of time.

This is an activity area in an old park, with a basketball hoop placed there. People play basketball here. Shen Nuo is beautiful and elegant, and her beauty is enhanced by the setting sun. Standing by the court, she makes the players play even harder, jumping shots and steals. After someone scores a goal, they even glance at her.

Zhang Chen watched Shen Nuoyi from the sidelines and noticed that she was watching the game, but her face didn't show any emotion.

However, he did feel a slight unease due to his growing possessiveness.

Someone over there has already moved and shifted, probably using a powerful move, feinting and breaking through to get in, making various moves.

Looking at the movements he couldn't replicate, Zhang Chen turned to Shen Nuo and asked, "Aren't you rushing to catch your train?"

Shen Nuo snapped out of her daze, glanced at him, and nodded, "Oh right."

She took a step forward, and Zhang Chen followed. The two walked through the gradually bustling crowd in the twilight and headed towards the bus stop at the other end of the street.

After walking a few steps, Zhang Chen casually remarked, "Looks like girls all like watching basketball games?"

"Hmm." Shen Nuoyi casually replied, "If you play with a method and tactical cooperation, the offense and defense will be quite entertaining."

Zhang Chen recalled that during evening self-study at Yude High School, boys liked to gather to play basketball. Sometimes when Shen Nuoyi and Zheng Xue passed by, people on the court would suddenly start talking about them, and a bunch of guys would suddenly start shouting and cheering, and some would even whistle boldly. Shen Nuoyi would walk past without looking at them, like a blast of cold air, which would suddenly lower the temperature of the lively atmosphere. Thus, the rumor arose that Shen Nuoyi didn't like basketball.

I wonder what kind of expression those people would have if they knew that she had answered Zhang Chen calmly with "It looks good" at that moment.

"I should have let you watch a little longer," Zhang Chen said, pursing his lips.

Shen Nuo turned to look at him, blinked her eyes, and revealed a sly glint in them: "The basketball over there is beautiful... but none of it is as beautiful as your reaction just now."

Her anxious state, the slanting rays of the sunset on the platform, and Zhang Chen's slight surprise upon hearing her words—all these moments, captured in front of the bus whose tires rattled across the asphalt, became an exceptionally quiet instant in the city's twilight.

A ray of sunlight peeked through the gaps between the buildings, illuminating half of her face and revealing the corners of her mouth, which she couldn't suppress in her smile.

After a brief moment of distraction, Zhang Chen said, "You're quite something, Shen Nuoyi. You're starting to turn bad."

Shen Nuoyi revealed a hint of a canine tooth in the crimson light, "Then you'd better be careful, I might get even worse in the future."

She tilted her head, as if watching to see how Zhang Chen would respond.

Zhang Chen narrowed his eyes, which looked like those of a nine-thousand-year-old man. "Then I have no choice but to aid and abet the evildoer."

Shen Nuoyi was shocked by his shamelessness and couldn't help but raise her hand to gently tap his arm, but she also found Zhang Chen's declaration of "going along with the crowd" hilarious.

"So," she said, her voice laced with laughter and a deliberately drawn-out teasing tone, "you've changed your name to Zhang Daji..."

The roar of the engine and the screech of brakes approached from afar, carrying the unique hustle and bustle of the city's evening rush hour, before coming to a stop in front of them. The tall bus body blocked most of the sunset's rays, and the doors slid open with a "whoosh."

The car has arrived.

The previously intimate atmosphere between the two was now replaced by an inexplicable, reluctant silence.

This was just an ordinary day for them to meet, but each time there was a slight sense of loss when they parted.

Suddenly remembering something, Ruifeng's eyes widened, and she looked up at Zhang Chen, saying, "Remember to finish the physics test you didn't complete today when you get back... Focus on that electromagnetic induction question that you didn't understand. We'll check it tomorrow."

Then, while Zhang Chen was in a state of grief, she quickly and deeply glanced at him.

"She's gone... Zhang Daji!"

With a playful remark, she turned around, her hair tracing a clean arc in the air, and stepped onto the bus next to the last person.

The train door slammed shut behind her, shutting out the slightly crowded scene inside the train and Zhang Chen standing alone outside the station.

Zhang Chen saw her insert coins through the car window, then come to the window and deliberately make a "tsk" sound while staring at him.

Zhang Chen waved and shouted, "Goodbye! King Zhou of Shen!"

The train window was half-open, and the sound carried into the carriage, almost causing Shen Nuoyi to stumble. Everyone turned to look at her, slightly surprised by the nickname. Shen Nuoyi, clearly caught off guard by Zhang Chen's retaliation, blushed instantly. The train started moving, and in the last sharp, hateful glimpse of Shen Nuoyi's eyes, she saw Zhang Chen grinning smugly on the platform. However, he quickly recovered from the shock.

Those two are so boring, they can even make a joke out of a cheesy nickname.

but……

Zhang Chen felt something was wrong again.

Doesn't that imply that she's a femme fatale?!
……

……

Shen Nuo got on the bus and left, while Zhang Chen headed to another bus stop to wait for another bus home.

At that moment, at an intersection, Shen Mingbo, who had just driven back from the south of the city, saw the entire situation of the two people from his car parked by the roadside.

He actually knew that Shen Nuoyi was at the Xinhua Bookstore here. He had just finished work at the factory early, so he came back and said he would call Shen Nuoyi. If she was still at the bookstore, he would pick her up and take her home. However, he did not expect that when his daughter came out of the bookstore, she was accompanied by a boy.

Shen Mingbo held the phone and remained calm, watching the two pass by the stadium and wait for their car, ultimately not disturbing them.

Only after seeing Zhang Chen see Shen Nuoyi into the car did he drive home.

Not long after Shen Nuo got home, Shen Mingbo opened the door and came home.

"Dad!" Shen Nuo called out to Shen Mingbo as he saw him taking off his shoes at the door.

Shen Mingbo hummed in agreement. "Is your mother not coming back today?"

“She was working overtime and texted me. She told us we could just heat up the food and eat,” Shen Nuo said. “I’ll go heat up the food.”

Seeing his daughter head to the kitchen, Shen Mingbo waved and patted the spot next to his sofa. "No rush, come sit with me for a bit."

Shen Nuoyi sat down next to him, puzzled. Seeing her father's somewhat solemn expression, she realized something, recalling that they had returned home one after the other. But she looked at her father with a calm and clear gaze.

Shen Mingbo then continued, "I was just about to pick you up from the bookstore."

I understood it immediately.

Shen Nuo straightened her posture, her lips unconsciously tightening slightly, and hummed in agreement.

Shen Mingbo asked, "Have you been going to the bookstore to study with Zhang Chen lately?"

Shen Mingbo definitely knows Zhang Chen. He didn't have a very good impression of him before, but recently he's heard a lot about him and his family. There's no way around it; it's business, so it's easy to find out. Huang Huifen is too controversial, and Zhang Zhonghua's Nanguang Company is within the scope of the Three Departments and Four Institutes, so any little thing can spread quickly.

But what Shen Mingbo didn't expect was that all the precautions he had taken against Pei Yan would end up being taken over by Zhang Chen.

Shen Mingbo knows his daughter well. Even if she has a good relationship with Pei Yan, she wouldn't have done what she did to Zhang Chen today. Therefore, it's highly likely that feelings have developed between the two.

“Yes. We’ll study together at the bookstore,” Shen Nuoyi said frankly.

Shen Mingbo was well aware of his daughter's cunning. She appeared calm on the surface, but if you pressed her for details, you would never get any information. In fact, Shen Mingbo had already vaguely learned from people around him, relatives, and friends in related circles that something seemed to have happened between his daughter and Pei Yan, and that there were some problems.

He didn't inquire further. Pei Yan was dazzling and came from a prominent family. He and Shen Nuoyi were a perfect match, and they were already among the best of the next generation in their social circles. Naturally, they would be the focus of many eyes.

These eyes held a mix of envy, disdain born of jealousy, cold scrutiny, calculating worldly assessment, admiration veiled in sarcasm, probing probing in secret competition, and those who couldn't wait to see what all the fuss was about to happen.

Another point Shen Mingbo was even less willing to face was his current cooperation with Pei Yan's Taixun Group. His factory used Taixun Group's export quota, but in reality, the two sides initially based their cooperation on equality. There was no question of dependence or non-dependence; Taixun Group also needed OEM manufacturers, and they needed export quotas. The two sides quickly reached an agreement, which led to Pei Yan and Shen Nuoyi's acquaintance.

However, all relationships are dynamic and constantly changing. Taixun Group was later handed over to Pei Yan's mother, Liu Yan, for complete management, and the group gradually grew stronger over the years. A single OEM business was just that—a business. But now, the deep ties with Taixun Group have made it difficult for Shen Mingbo to extricate himself. This creates a form of inequality.

At the same time, he also sensed that the discord between Pei Yan and his daughter seemed to be influencing Liu Yan's decision-making. Communication between the two sides was no longer as smooth as before, and things had begun to stagnate.

Now, faced with this scene today, he doesn't know what to say.

But he vaguely sensed an undercurrent that seemed poised to change their fate, stirring beneath the calm surface.

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(End of this chapter)