Chapter 76: Confession: A Kiss?

His rough thumb pressed against the corner of her lips. Xu Sui felt that the skin there was numb. Coming to her senses from his coaxing tone, Xu Sui pushed away his arm and said, “Instinctively, I want to stay away from you.”

Seeing her about to leave, Zhou Jingze gently grabbed her ponytail, squinted, and casually asked, “Where is your unit’s disciplinary committee?”

“?” Xu Sui was puzzled.

Zhou Jingze’s fingertip hooked a strand of her black hair, his fingers moving around it, and he chuckled, “Saying you’re irresponsible, causing an incident, and fleeing.”

Seeing Zhou Jingze’s attitude, it was clear he was determined to get an explanation from Xu Sui.

“One month,” Xu Sui seriously considered, deliberately avoiding Zhou Jingze’s gaze, and nervously shrank her neck. “If it doesn’t work out by then, I can still change my mind.”

Zhou Jingze’s face immediately darkened. He stared at Xu Sui as she lowered her head, revealing a slender white neck, and clenched his teeth. Finally, his expression softened, as if he had figured something out.

“Alright, within the probation period, I’ll try to make it permanent.”

After dropping Xu Sui off at work, Zhou Jingze drove off towards the base. As he drove, the weather outside was not very good, somewhat dark, like thick ink staining white cloth. The trees were adorned with ice crystals hanging from yellowed leaves, looking like amber on the verge of falling.

The originally gloomy weather unexpectedly seemed pleasing to him.

Just then, Sheng Nanzhou called. Zhou Jingze answered and put AirPods in his ears from the center console, and Sheng Nanzhou’s pleasant voice came through.

“What’s up?”

“Hey, Zhou, look at you saying that. Can’t I call you without a reason?” Sheng Nanzhou immediately retorted.

Zhou Jingze chuckled, took out a cigarette from the pack, and bit it as he lowered his head.

“There’s a clue behind your matter. Guess who’s behind it?” Sheng Nanzhou deliberately teased.

Zhou Jingze wasn’t taking the bait. With a snap, he opened the lighter, and an orange flame ignited.

“It’s Gao Yang.”

“Guessed it.” Zhou Jingze exhaled a white-gray smoke, his tone nonchalant.

“Forget about that,” Zhou Jingze seemed to have something to ask him, hesitated for a moment, and then said, “Do you know how to quickly win someone back?”

Sheng Nanzhou paused for a moment, realizing there was progress between him and Xu Sui, and he said with a smirk, “There are plenty of tricks for picking up girls. Just call me for advice, bro.”

Zhou Jingze chuckled. Coincidentally, there was a traffic jam ahead, so he stopped the car, his voice deep, “Alright, bro, share some tips.”

“What? Do I have a chance to take advantage of you in this lifetime?” Sheng Nanzhou was not happy, sighed in resignation, and said, “Girls love what? Romance, flowers, candlelight dinners, movies…”

“I’ve done the last two with her,” Zhou Jingze raised an eyebrow, then reconsidered, “But I haven’t given her flowers yet.”

“Thanks.” After saying that, Zhou Jingze promptly hung up the phone.

“Hey… Aren’t you allergic to pollen?” Sheng Nanzhou only managed to shout half a sentence before hearing a cold “beep” from the other end.

Feeling completely shut out, Sheng Nanzhou felt like he was instantly banished.

After Zhou Jingze arrived at the base, he took out the key leisurely, got out of the car, and closed the door. With his fingers hooked around the key, he glanced around at the trainees in their blue training suits who were doing speed tests.

“Tsk, your speed, are you going to the market to buy vegetables?” Zhou Jingze suddenly stood behind them and teased.

The trainees jumped in surprise, then simultaneously shouted with vigor, “Good afternoon, Instructor Zhou!”

Zhou Jingze nodded, pointing to the distant testing rods, “Five more sets of hurdle jumps.”

“Ah?!”

“Really? Instructor, you just glanced casually earlier and didn’t see our true strength.”

“Oh my, not again. My body can’t take this.”

A chorus of complaints arose, lamenting their bad luck. How could they encounter such devilish tests??

Just as everyone was lamenting, Wu Fan ran over panting, wiping sweat off his forehead.

“Boss, it took me forever to find you. There’s someone waiting for you in your office for half a day, insisting on seeing you today.”

“Okay, got it.” Zhou Jingze responded.

With that, Zhou Jingze turned around to face the group of trainees in blue training suits. He playfully licked the corner of his left cheek with his tongue and casually said, “You bunch of rookies, train well.”

After that, Zhou Jingze took long strides and slowly headed towards his office.

“Got it, Instructor!”

“Yes, sir!”

The group of trainees breathed a sigh of relief and cheered, completely different from their demeanor moments ago when they faced a formidable enemy.

Zhou Jingze thought an old friend was visiting. With both hands in his pockets, he had a faint smile on his lips as he walked towards the office. However, when he pushed open the office door and saw who was sitting on the sofa, his smile vanished completely.

The person sitting on the sofa immediately stood up nervously upon seeing Zhou Jingze. It was his longtime comrade-in-arms, Li Haoning, who also happened to be the copilot who identified him as the one responsible for the incident.

“Long time no see,” Zhou Jingze said calmly.

Li Haoning paused for a second. He thought Zhou Jingze would at least rush over to beat him up, but he didn’t expect Zhou Jingze to calmly greet him.

“Boss, I’ve come today to apologize to you… I’m sorry.” Li Haoning choked up, rubbing his reddened eyes. “You can hit me or scold me if you want.”

Zhou Jingze remained silent. He accepted Li Haoning’s apology, but that didn’t mean he forgave him.

The office had no heating, only an old standing air conditioner emitting a buzzing sound, surrounded by a heavy silence.

Li Haoning struggled to breathe in the dead silence and said, “Boss, I… I really have no other choice. My mom has been in the ICU twice.”

After so long, Li Haoning had been too afraid to meet him, feeling restless every day and unable to sleep at night. He felt he had wronged Zhou Jingze. Whether it was one mistake or countless, it was all his fault. He wanted to apologize and give himself some peace of mind.

Zhou Jingze opened the fridge, took out a bottle of ice water, twisted off the cap with his index finger, and it dropped into the trash can with a “thud”. Tilting his head back, he slowly swallowed a mouthful of ice water, along with some ice fragments, making his throat feel like it had chilly mint cubes in it.

“I’m not flying anymore, take care of your mom,” Zhou Jingze patted Li Haoning’s shoulder slowly.

He didn’t blame or resent Li Haoning in the end, but reminded him to take care of his family, ending the conversation there.

Li Haoning stared at his departing figure, feeling a thousand pounds heavier in heart.

When working at the hospital, Zhou Jingze messaged Xu Sui to ask what time she would finish. She replied after 6 pm.

Zhou Jingze responded: “[Little liar.]”

Xu Sui’s cheeks warmed, remembering she had lied that morning about having to work overtime.

After six, Xu Sui finished work and left with several colleagues. From afar, she spotted Zhou Jingze, who was quite conspicuous, parking directly at the hospital entrance.

The winter evening was darkening quickly, only half the dusk remained. He had broad shoulders, thick eyebrows, thin lips, and behind him, a blend of dark blue and warm red.

It seemed like he had been waiting for a long time.

Casually leaning against his car, Zhou Jingze stretched out his hand to light a cigarette. His skin was pale and cold, with sharp brow bones, followed by wisps of white mist rising between his fingers.

Today, he wore a black hooded windbreaker, adding a hint of youthfulness.

Seeing Xu Sui come out, he immediately put out his cigarette and walked over.

Colleagues standing nearby had noticed the outstanding man not far away, but his eyes were fixed on Xu Sui from start to finish.

One colleague nudged her arm with gossip, asking, “Dr. Xu, is he here to pick you up? He’s so handsome, very manly.”

“What should I do? I’m almost thirty and still into this tough and handsome type,” another colleague sighed.

Xu Sui felt a bit embarrassed by the questions and casually said, “He’s my taxi driver.”

“Who would believe that? A taxi with big ‘G’ or a license plate with consecutive numbers. How could I not find one!” the colleague countered.

Unable to withstand her colleagues’ burning curiosity, Xu Sui grabbed his sleeve as he approached and quickly changed the direction they were walking, smiling back and saying, “I have something to attend to, so I’ll go first.”

Zhou Jingze glanced down at Xu Sui’s hand grabbing his sleeve. In the thick dark fabric, her fingers looked pale and conspicuous.

As Xu Sui focused ahead, she suddenly felt a warmth approaching. Large fingers touched her palm, warmth mingling, calloused fingertips threading through her fingers, then intertwining with hers. Her heart trembled.

Even though it wasn’t their first time holding hands, why did she feel this long-lost excitement?

Her heart was beating so fast it almost burst out of her chest. Xu Sui didn’t look at him, appearing unnatural as she gazed ahead, while Zhou Jingze seemed composed, not looking at her.

Zhou Jingze held her hand throughout the ride, never letting go.

After getting into the car, Zhou Jingze tapped the navigation, entered the address, and occasionally turned to chat with her, asking about her day.

The car moved forward slowly, with Xu Sui sitting in the passenger seat, talking about the patients she had seen today and the food she had eaten in the cafeteria.

A mundane conversation, but Zhou Jingze listened attentively.

As Xu Sui recounted how an optimistic patient told jokes in the ward today, a fresh yellow-green color suddenly appeared in front of her.

“Bought this on the way.” Zhou Jingze was driving, looking straight ahead, suddenly handing her a bouquet of flowers.

After receiving them, Xu Sui was shocked. This seemed like the first time he had given her flowers.

She remembered that when they were together before, the boyfriend would bring flowers to the restaurant, which seemed romantic, but Zhou Jingze would comment, “Ostentatious.”

Now, in an effort to please her, he started learning to give flowers.

It was a bouquet of chrysanthemums, three green and two yellow, resembling snowballs. Xu Sui accepted them, lowered her head, and touched her nose to them.

She really liked green.

“Thank you.”

Receiving flowers always made a girl happy, regardless of who sent them, because flowers have a magical power to please people instinctively.

After eating, Zhou Jingze drove her towards Shilu Mountain.

“Where are we going?” Xu Sui asked.

“To see the stars. I made a reservation,” Zhou Jingze said, placing his hand on the steering wheel.

As they drove halfway up the mountain, when Xu Sui got out of the car, mountain winds blew in, and Zhou Jingze strode over, holding a blanket. He spread it out around her like wrapping up a small animal, not very skillfully, against her chest.

A faint tobacco scent emanated from him, and his fingers occasionally touched her neck, causing a slight shiver. When she glanced up, Zhou Jingze was looking down at her.

It felt like an electric current surged through.

Xu Sui turned away first, averting her gaze.

Zhou Jingze chuckled, holding her hand and leading her forward.

As they were about ten minutes away from the observatory, thunder suddenly roared in the sky, followed by a downpour, sending pedestrians running back.

Zhou Jingze was about to take off his coat when Xu Sui stopped him, saying, “I have a small blanket.”

Once the conversation ended, the rain fell even more heavily, hitting their bodies with a cold, icy sensation. Zhou Jingze immediately pulled Xu Sui into the car upon seeing this.

As they drove, the rain grew stronger, causing the partially wet clothes to become heavy like sponges soaked in water. By the time they returned to the car, both of them were somewhat damp, with Zhou Jingze’s entire coat wet from holding her close.

He took off his coat, turned the car’s heater to the maximum, and leaned over to grab a clean towel from the backseat to hand to Xu Sui. Xu Sui’s shoulders and hair were wet, with a strand of hair dripping water onto her chest.

The rain intensified, and for a while, they couldn’t leave. They decided to sit and wait for the rain to stop. Zhou Jingze wiped his face with a tissue, shook off the water from his hair, and glanced over to see Xu Sui still holding the bouquet of ping pong chrysanthemums, her lips unconsciously curling upwards.

Due to the closed windows and circulating heater, the scent of pollen gradually reached Zhou Jingze’s nose, causing him to sneeze and his eyes to moisten slightly.

Xu Sui was happily looking at her flowers when a bony hand reached out, taking the bouquet from her. Zhou Jingze took the dry towel from her hand and earnestly began to dry Xu Sui’s hair.

As the rain grew heavier, the wind battered against the windows, and raindrops rolled down like broken beads.

They were close together, and Zhou Jingze caught a faint milky fragrance from her. A water droplet from Xu Sui’s hair dripped onto his wrist, flowing down his arm and into his chest, causing a sudden chilling sensation.

Xu Sui looked up and noticed that Zhou Jingze still had water on his eyebrows and cheeks. She couldn’t help but reach up and wipe the raindrops off his face with a soft touch.

Zhou Jingze paused while drying his hair, then suddenly grasped her arm tightly. Xu Sui passively looked at him.

There was a restrained emotion in his eyes, and his voice, amidst the downpour, was clear as he asked, “Shall we kiss?”