When Daisy arrived at the Westin Western Restaurant, Zemo hadn't shown up yet. Considering that they hadn't seen each other for years, she deliberately reserved a small private room. This way, they wouldn't be disrupted by the surroundings while catching up with each other. Zemo left his place and headed for the restaurant at an early time. But because he wasn't familiar with S City, he spent a long time finding his way. Additionally, it was the rush hour. He ended up arriving half an hour late at the restaurant.
"Sorry, I'm late," He immediately apologized as soon as he approached the private room.
It's alright. I haven't been here for a long time. Take a seat, please." Daisy had a beautiful smile, especially for people who rarely saw it. Her smile was extremely bright and captivating, like the most colorful rainbow in the sky. A person could get intoxicated by her smile.
"It seems the military uniform suits you better. Two bars and three stars, a colonel! That's amazing! You're doing quite well in the army." Looking at the handsome military uniform on Daisy, Zemo couldn't help twisting in pain in his heart. Becoming a soldier had been his dream when he was young, but he couldn't achieve it anymore. He could do nothing but wallow in sadness at his failed dream.
"Zemo, are you okay?" Daisy asked softly, seeing Zemo's bright smile suddenly dim made her worry.
"Oh, it's nothing! I was just thinking what a cruel twist of fate. If I hadn't left JC Military Academy that year, could I have attained the same achievements you have?" Zemo held back his sadness. Although many years had passed, his dream of becoming an excellent soldier never changed.
"Of course, you would. You'd definitely do better than me. You always bested me in special training, so your achievements would undoubtedly be greater than mine." Daisy had always been curious why Zemo left the academy all of a sudden. What on earth happened to him? Whatever it was, it must have been quite serious because he didn't even say goodbye. She wanted to know what happened because she was worried about him. "Don't be so modest! You were the most capable female student in the eyes of the instructors. Every one of them wanted to have you in their team. How could I compete with you?"
Everyone in the academy knew that Daisy Ouyang was the most excellent student of their batch. At the beginning, she ranked last when she entered the academy. No one imagined that she would rise up the ranks to the top. But she dedicated herself to her training. All the blood, sweat, and tears she shed was a testament to her great determination. Other people might be oblivious to her efforts, but Zemo knew. After all, he had trained with her the entire time and encouraged her to improve.
"You are as modest as ever. Well, how's everything? You look good. It seems that you're living a happy life." Daisy sat upright as a soldier always did. Perhaps due to habit, she did not feel her muscles stiffen from the position.
"I'm doing fine. I'm managing a family business. But I basically just inherited it, so there is nothing worth showing off." Zemo smiled bitterly. He didn't want to be involved in the family business. But because he was born into it, he had no choice but to yield to reality.
"Most big companies are managed by second generations nowadays. The most important thing is what you will do with your identity. You either enjoy life and squander the money your family had earned, or you improve the business and lead it into a new field. You still have options. And you chose the latter one, didn't you?"
With regards to rich heirs, Daisy could name a lot from the people around her, such as Duke and Belinda, not to mention the childish man in her home. All of them were typical rich heirs, weren't they? She often saw scandals on the news about a rich man bullying others, or some rich woman behaving inappropriately. But her husband and friends stayed away from these scandals. This was the reason why she gained a new understanding on rich heirs.
"I'm still trying, but it's just a small difference. I don't think I can make any impressive progress. After all, I didn't learn this in the past. Sometimes, it's hard for me to operate things smoothly." Zemo took a sip of water. A son usually inherited his father's career, which was what most sons fought for in rich families. But he was not one of them. He had no desire to succeed his father. All he wanted was very simple. He only wished to do things he liked, which included being a soldier. But obviously, he had missed his chance. There was nothing but regret in his heart. He could never get rid of the disappointment he felt. But in that situation, he had to leave and it was his responsibility.
"You're doing great now. If I were in your shoes, I don't think I could do it." She couldn't help feeling overwhelmed at the thought of the countless numbers on Edward's computer when she stood behind him earlier.
"Sometimes, people who are forced to do something can become experts. One would never know his limit or how far he could go if he doesn't do his best. Don't look down upon yourself. You don't know if your achievement would go beyond your imagination if you were in my position."
Zemo smiled as he looked at the woman opposite him. He never imagined that he would become a businessman when he was in the academy. But now that he was, he was doing quite well in the field. People would never know if they could achieve a certain thing or not until they devoted themselves to it.
"Me? Forget about it. I am simple-minded. People like me would only be good at physical work. As for work that requires the brain, I wouldn't be good at it." Daisy waved her hand. She couldn't imagine herself as part of the business circle. The thought was too absurd for her. She had no interest in it at all. And even if she had, there was no way she would be an excellent businesswoman because she was terrible at math. She knew her limits, no one was an expert in every field.
"I don't think that your brain is not clever enough, but that you're not exercising it. If you weren't clever, how could you earn those high scores in the special training courses? Did you cheat?" Zemo teased. His tone was exactly similar to the way Edward spoke to her when he teased her.
"If I cheated, does that mean you did too? Don't forget it, you sat next to me every time back then." So many years had passed. But when they recalled their training days in the JC Military Academy, all the memories were still so fresh. It was as if they all just happened yesterday.
"Don't try to get me involved in this! I was also one of the excellent students in the eyes of the instructors at that time. How could I do that kind of illegal thing with you?" When Zemo had idle moments, he always wondered if he and Daisy would remain close if the accident hadn't occurred that year. But there were no "what ifs" in real life, so he would never know.
"If you brag to others, they might be fooled. But you are talking to me now. Do you think you can fool me? When we were undergoing field training, who was the guy that put honey on the instructor's clothes in secret? Our instructor was covered with ants when he went to sleep that night!"
Reminiscing about the past always brought so much happiness. Although there were also difficult times in the past, they would always be overcome by happiness, so it wasn't so bad. All the difficulties and struggles became irrelevant, leaving unforgettable beautiful memories in their wake.
"Come on! Who was the one that sprinkled pepper in the instructor's water? Our instructor choked afterwards. He had to suddenly run around to ease the pain. Everyone was punished because of you. We had to do 30 laps in the training field. By the time we were done, we were so exhausted that we could hardly eat our meal." Zemo shook his head. Everyone knew that Daisy was a cold and distant girl. No one would expect that such an aloof person also had a mischievous side.
"If I'm not mistaken, that was the most severe punishment we received. You were a true friend, you received the punishment along with me." There was nothing but happiness on Daisy's face. At the thought, she realized that she had made so many good friendships at the academy. But as time passed by, they gradually lost contact with each other.
"Well, I had to. After all, you were the only girl in our class. Of course, we would all protect you." As a matter of fact, there had been other female students in their class. But they couldn't handle the gruelling training, so they transferred to less difficult courses. Daisy was the only girl who endured everything and remained in the class.
"Talking about the old days makes me so nostalgic," Daisy sighed. There were not many students in their class, no more than 20. Because of this, they were all close and got along with each other quite well. Occasional conflicts were inevitable, but they rarely happened. Generally, everyone was on good terms with one another.
"Oh, definitely. Same here. But I'm also curious about the man you were pining over back then. Was he the guy I saw that night?" Zemo was reluctant to accept the fact that the man he saw back then was Daisy's love. But he had to admit that the man was extraordinary both in appearance and temperament.
"Yes, he is. I didn't expect that my dream could come true, but there was an unexpected turn of events. I ended up becoming one of the heroines in those cliche romance novels. Although the journey was complicated, I'm glad to have a happy ending at last." Daisy's smile brightened as she talked about Edward. Looking at her was very gratifying, and one couldn't help getting attracted to Daisy when she displayed such happiness.