At the start, I tricked the school beauty, and ended up with twins?

Countless images surged from the deepest recesses of his memory, playing rapidly like a series of short films in his mind.

It was twenty-one years ago, when he, at forty, was working in the IT industry and had been laid off due to his age, though he had saved enough money for his retirement. Yet, his future was shrouded in uncertainty.

He believed that one should strive to realize one's life's value in their lifetime.

Strive to be someone who contributes to society!

Thus, at forty and unemployed, he embarked on the long road to entrepreneurship. Having spent too long in the company and not interacting much with people outside, he hit a wall at every turn in the early stages.

He almost spent all the savings he had accumulated over the years!

At that time, his spouse was also diagnosed with late-stage cancer, and under immense pressure, his life hit rock bottom.

Just when he thought he could go no further in life, a benefactor appeared.

This benefactor was only a few years his senior but was already a leading figure in Huaxia's IT industry. Behind him stood one of Huaxia's top IT enterprises at that time—Nianxiang!

Meeting the benefactor, their first encounter was a delightful conversation.

After just one cup of coffee, the benefactor generously invested ten million Hong Kong dollars in him!

You must know, that was twenty years ago, ten million! And in Hong Kong dollars!

This was undoubtedly a shot of adrenaline for him.

With this capital injection, combined with his many years of experience in IT, he finally founded Shengda Network Development Co., Ltd. in Modu!

And the benefactor did not just provide financial support. In the early days of Shengda's establishment, he also offered substantial technical assistance!

Following this powerful driving force, Shengda rapidly rose to become the biggest internet company in Modu at that time.

Within a year of its establishment, "Legend of Blood" went online, attracting tens of millions of players!

After four years, it was valued at over a billion dollars and successfully listed in the United States!

Looking at it now, it was a bona fide unicorn company!

All of this could be traced back to the benefactor's help!

And that benefactor's name was Liu Chuanzhi!

Chen Tian had thought he would have a lifelong connection with this benefactor.

But on the tenth anniversary of Shengda's founding, Liu Chuanzhi disappeared completely, cutting off all contact with him.

Overnight, this mentor and close-friend-turned-benefactor vanished without a trace.

Even Nianxiang had no knowledge of Liu Chuanzhi's whereabouts, only aware that he had taken care of all the company's affairs and arrangements before leaving.

That year was also Nianxiang's most turbulent one.

No matter how Chen Tian tried to find him, spending a great deal of money and manpower, he could not uncover any trace of Liu Chuanzhi!

He had come to believe that perhaps his benefactor had either taken his own life or suffered harm from others.

Time passed, another ten years went by without any news from Liu Chuanzhi, and he had come to accept the notion that the benefactor was deceased.

He even prepared a special Buddhist altar in his home for memorial prayers to the benefactor.

But as if fate were playing a theatrical trick, he met Liu Chuanzhi again today.

The scenario was almost identical to their chance meeting in a coffee shop twenty years ago.

The only difference was that back then, he was the one making coffee, and now, the other party was the one making noodles.

"Liu... it's really Liu! It's really him!"

As he watched the other man's aged face slowly merge with the one in his memory.

Chen Tian's emotions were so intense that his entire body trembled as he spoke.

Two streams of old tears could not be stopped as they flowed down.

He took his steps forward, stumbling toward the stall.

Gu Yu who was sitting beside him noticed that something was off with Mr. Chen Tian and quickly got up to steady him.

Chen Tian approached the stall step by step, feeling his heart, which had been silent for many years, now fiercely pounding.

The old friend was still alive, and just within reach!

How could he not be thrilled!?

"Old Mr. Chen... what's the matter with you?"

Gu Yu looked at Chen Tian with a worried expression as he became unexpectedly excited, his face red and his neck thick.

Mr. Chen's attention was entirely on Mr. Liu making noodles; he didn't even hear his words.

Although Gu Yu guessed that Mr. Chen's excitement might have something to do with Mr. Liu, he did not press further and simply helped Mr. Chen steadily.

Chen Tian stood at the window, looking at Liu Chuanzhi, mouth agape, at a loss for words on how to greet him.

He just stared at Liu Chuanzhi blankly.

At such a close distance, the other's sweaty face and wrinkles were clearly visible.

Being naturally three to four years older than himself, plus years of daily labor, he appeared to be more than ten years older than him!

The dough in Liu's hands was kneaded into strips; then, with a dusting of flour, it was flung up and down skillfully, a deftness that was clearly not achieved overnight.

"Old man, come, wipe your sweat."

Mrs. Bai dropped the noodles into the pot and freed her hands to wipe Mr. Liu's sweat with a towel.

She just happened to see "Yu's leader" standing at the window.

She hastily called out, "Hey! Old leader, why did you come over here? If you want to eat something, just call out from your seat, there's no need to come to the window!"

While speaking, Mrs. Bai threw Gu Yu an "ignorant" roll of her eyes.

Gu Yu looked helpless; he had no idea why Old Mr. Chen wanted to come over at all!

Mr. Liu was pulling noodles with his head down, hearing his wife say this, he chimed in:

"Yes! Leader, whether you want thick or thin noodles, just call out! My noodle shop is just a small place, we don't have all the fuss of those fancy restaurants."

As he was talking, Mr. Liu raised his head with a chuckle.

His gaze met directly with the "leader's" face.

"Eh... you look quite familiar. Have we met before?"

Mr. Liu's smile froze, and he let out a startled "eh," furrowing his brows.

But Mrs. Bai gave him a look: "You, running a noodle shop, see so many people every day; naturally, you think everyone looks familiar!"

"Leader Yu here is a big boss; how could we common folks know such an important person? Get on with the noodles!"

Urged by his wife, Mr. Liu came back to his senses and let out an embarrassed chuckle.

"That's right, how could a noodle-puller like me know any big bosses!"

Although Mr. Liu said this, his eyes still occasionally glanced outside the window at Chen Tian.

Instinct told him that he definitely knew this "leader" from the past!

Perhaps someone he had met in the marketplace?

But those were days of the past; now, he just wanted to live out his years peacefully and simply.

He thought about it for a moment and then promptly put the notion out of his mind.

Whether he knew the person or not.

It was all water under the bridge now.

He turned his attention back to his noodles, focusing solely on cooking them.

At this moment, Chen Tian, seeing the indifferent expression on the face of an old acquaintance, could no longer contain himself.

His voice quivered as he cried out:

"Liu! Don't you remember me? I'm Chen Tian!"

Chen Tian leaned over the windowsill, sticking his head into the kitchen, looking at Liu Chuanzhi cooking noodles, his voice cracking with emotion.

The hand that Liu Chuanzhi was using to scoop noodles trembled suddenly, and the noodles he had just lifted slid back into the boiling pot.

"Chen Tian? Chen?"

He turned his head sharply, disbelievingly staring at the head poking through the window.

"Liu, it's me!"

"After so many years! I've finally found you!"

Chen Tian laughed and cried simultaneously, the two emotions alternating within him.

Gu Yu stood to the side, dumbfounded.

A family reunion?

Shocking!

The noodle shop owner Liu and Shengda Group's Chairman Chen Tian are brothers?

This world... is really too small, isn't it!?

——————

Note: All character relationships are entirely fictional; please do not project them onto reality! (I plead for mercy with a doge face)