Reborn in 2006, I met Mr. Zhou from the past.

Sun Zile tightened his grip on the wine glass slightly, his gaze falling once again on the slender figure not far away.

He never imagined that the girl with the calm yet slightly rebellious voice on the phone, and the girl Zhao Jun described as vigilant, clear-headed, and not vain, whom he had unhesitatingly donated a huge sum of money to build a Hope Primary School, was actually the still somewhat immature senior high school girl in front of him.

When he first invested that money, he only felt that he was doing something meaningful, but he never imagined that there was such a profound act of kindness behind it. And now, the owner of that kindness is sitting less than ten meters away from him, listening to Zhang Xinrui speak, her profile appearing particularly soft under the light.

"A senior high school student..." Sun Zile silently repeated this identity to himself, his smile deepening.

It seems that this trip to build the city was much more interesting than he had expected.

As the meal drew to a close, the most important part arrived: cutting the cake. Zhang Xinrui was surrounded by her classmates, who clapped and sang "Happy Birthday" together, while the adults watched with smiles on their faces as they looked at the group of energetic children.

At this moment, Zhang Xinrui was like a little princess surrounded by love. She clasped her hands together and made a silent wish in the flickering candlelight: that one day she could spread her wings and fly high.

As the candles were blown out in one breath, thunderous applause erupted. Zhang Xinrui picked up a knife and fork to cut the cake for everyone, and when it was Su Fengnan's turn, she deliberately picked out the largest piece and handed it to her.

Looking at the special slice of cake in front of her, Su Fengnan didn't know whether to accept it or not. She could only laugh and joke, "Are you trying to make me the center of attention, so everyone will envy me for getting the biggest piece?"

Everyone burst into laughter, and several of Zhang Xinrui's classmates joined in the teasing: "Xinrui, so your favorite is the classmate next to you, Su!" Zhang Xinrui had specifically introduced Su Fengnan to everyone during the meal earlier, so everyone was naturally teasing her about being biased.

Just then, a calm, smiling voice interrupted: "What's the big deal? Su deserves the biggest piece."

Everyone turned to look in the direction of the voice and saw Sun Zile smiling at them. Zhang Xinrui turned around and saw a handsome man with an extraordinary air about him. She was stunned for a moment, not quite recognizing him: "You are...?"

Seeing this, Zhang Wenhao quickly stepped forward to defuse the situation and introduced, "Rui Rui, this is my good friend Sun Zile, whom you met in Kyoto before. We specially came back to celebrate your birthday."

"Oh! It's Brother Sun!" Zhang Xinrui exclaimed in surprise, then greeted him warmly, "Welcome!"

After Zhang Xinrui greeted everyone warmly, Sun Zile's gaze did not linger on her, but instead swept across the crowd and fixed firmly on Su Fengnan, who looked slightly awkward beside him.

His gaze lingered on her face for a moment, a fleeting, complex emotion flashing deep in his eyes—the relief of finally finding someone after so many trials. But he quickly suppressed this emotion, maintaining his gentle, polite smile, and extended his hand to Su Fengnan: "Hello, Su Fengnan, I'm Sun Zile. You probably still remember the donation to the Hope Primary School, right?"

Upon hearing those words, Su Fengnan's heart skipped a beat. She hadn't expected that this suddenly appearing handsome man would be... the person she had saved before, and she certainly hadn't expected him to take the initiative to speak to her. Deep down, she had long forgotten about that incident, and at the time, she wasn't even sure if the other person would actually donate that money.

Now, under everyone's watchful eyes, she instinctively resisted and didn't want to bring it up again. But since this was someone else's birthday party, she had to suppress her emotions, quickly put down the cake plate in her hand, extended her hand to shake it lightly, and then responded politely but distantly, "Hello Mr. Sun, I am Su Fengnan... Thank you for keeping your promise."

Having said that, Su Fengnan fell silent. Everyone was still waiting for her to continue the pleasantries, and an awkward silence fell over the room.

Sun Zile clearly noticed her avoidance, but he wasn't embarrassed. Instead, he laughed heartily and took the initiative to defuse the awkwardness: "Call me Zile or Brother Sun, no need to be so polite."

Then, he casually pointed to the largest piece of cake in Su Fengnan's hand, his tone carrying a hint of meaningful teasing, and turned to the birthday girl: "Sister Xinrui, I've come all this way today, can I share in her glory and get a piece of the big cake too?"

His words instantly broke the awkward silence. Su Fengnan couldn't help but laugh, her tension easing considerably. She glanced at Zhang Xinrui, who was laughing happily beside her, and generously continued, "Xinrui, I'll give him mine. Why are we being so calculating? Let's share and let them be envious!"

"Hahaha...Okay."

After a brief interlude, Zhang Xinrui pulled Su Fengnan to the courtyard outside. The two sat on a swing and gently rocked back and forth. Zhang Xinrui leaned close to her ear and whispered, "What's the situation between you and Sun Zile? How did you two meet?"

Su Fengnan gently swayed on the swing, thought for a moment, and then slowly said, "Actually, it's nothing. When I was playing in Ruicheng during the summer vacation, I happened to run into Sun Zile, who had been in a car accident. The situation was quite urgent, so I helped him call for help. Later, when I saw that he was rescued, I was indeed a little scared, so I left before the police arrived."

She paused, then smiled somewhat helplessly: "Later, his friend contacted me, insisting on giving me 300,000 yuan as a reward. I refused and told him that if he really wanted to thank me, he should donate the money to build a Hope Primary School in the mountains. I didn't expect... he would actually keep his promise."

"That's it?" Zhang Xinrui's eyes widened, seemingly unable to believe that things were so simple.

"What else can we do?" Su Fengnan shrugged, got off the swing, and looked completely at ease.

"Fengnan, you're so amazing!" Zhang Xinrui jumped off the swing excitedly and hugged Su Fengnan tightly, her voice filled with heartache and pride. "You saved him, and now you've saved me! How can you be so good to me!"

Sun Zile overheard the two girls' cheerful laughter in the courtyard. He silently retreated back into the house, his eyes filled with emotions even deeper than the night. He hadn't expected that the benefactor he had gone through so much trouble to find would not only save him but also Zhang Xinrui. In his eyes, Su Fengnan was simply a person blessed with good fortune.

Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside Zhang's study was so heavy it was suffocating.

"Wenhao, you'd better explain the whole story clearly." Mr. Zhang sat behind his large mahogany desk, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the surface, each tap sounding like a blow to Zhang Wenhao's heart.

Zhang Wenhao dared not hide anything, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and tell the whole story of how Su Fengnan saved Zhang Xinrui in the critical moment and how he was injured.