Chapter 81

“At first, leaving you was because I couldn’t prioritize properly, I’m sorry.” Zhou Jingze looked up at her and spoke slowly, “We’ve both been hurt by this.”

“In my heart, you will always be the first.”

Xu Sui lowered her head. She didn’t understand why she always found it easy to cry in front of Zhou Jingze. She reached out, wiping away tears randomly, and said nothing more.

Zhou Jingze felt helpless when his girl cried. He could only gently wipe her tears with a tissue, then gently tucked her messy hair behind her ear.

He seemed to remember something, and staring at her midsection, he asked in a husky voice, “Does it hurt?”

Xu Sui paused for a second, noticing something odd in his gaze before realizing.

He wasn’t asking if her waist hurt; he was asking if the tattoo hurt when she got it.

“It did,” Xu Sui nodded gently, murmuring, “Later, I thought that if I got married to someone else, I would remove the tattoo.”

Zhou Jingze’s hand paused as he wiped her tears. He lifted her chin with his fingers and squinted slightly.

“Who else do you want to marry?”

“I—” Xu Sui wanted to explain. Of course, she had thought about it. The breakup had been devastating, and who wouldn’t look ahead?

Zhou Jingze suddenly interrupted her, saying softly, “I only ever thought of marrying you.”

He didn’t understand love when he was young, nor did he know how to love until he met Xu Sui.

After saying this, there was silence around them.

Perhaps feeling a bit awkward after saying that, Zhou Jingze changed the subject. Xu Sui noticed that he still appeared composed, but his ears had quietly turned red.

A cold draft blew in through the window crack, causing Xu Sui’s toes to curl, turning white from the cold.

As soon as they entered, Zhou Jingze pinned her and kissed her passionately, then pushed her onto the table, with her shoes already discarded by the entryway.

Zhou Jingze noticed this and grasped her delicate feet in his palm, warming them, and said, “Let me get your shoes.”

Xu Sui stopped him, looking at his slightly blushing ears with a smile of understanding, then opened her arms and blushed slightly.

“I want a hug.”

Zhou Jingze paused for a second, then his lips curled up slowly, saying, “Sure.”

He bent down, his strong arms slipping under her elbows, and lifted her up.

Her arms wrapped around his neck like white lotus roots, his large hands holding her hips as he lifted her up and carried her around the living room.

After putting on her shoes, Xu Sui remained hanging onto him, unwilling to let go.

“Why so clingy all of a sudden?” Zhou Jingze chuckled.

“It feels like a dream come true this time.”

Looking up at him, Xu Sui ran her fingers along his eyebrow bone, suddenly speaking.

Zhou Jingze looked at her, feeling a mix of heartache and an indescribable emotion.

A teenage crush is a very deep and complex emotion.

He couldn’t imagine how someone could spend a decade chasing after a silhouette.

After speaking, Xu Sui’s stomach grumbled at an inappropriate moment.

Zhou Jingze put her down, opened her fridge to find only a few eggs and a packet of dumplings.

Late at night, Zhou Jingze cooked dumplings for her. The warm light from the dining table cast a warm shadow through the checkered tablecloth.

They sat facing each other, eating dumplings in silence, the only sound being the clinking of spoons against porcelain.

Occasionally, their eyes would meet in the air, sticking together and then separating, creating a thrilling sensation.

After finishing the dumplings, Zhou Jingze looked down at his phone, swiping through something.

Confused, Xu Sui asked, “What are you doing?”

“Ordering disposable toothbrushes, towels,” Zhou Jingze raised his eyebrow, pausing deliberately when he mentioned a certain item, “underwear.”

Xu Sui’s face immediately turned red. Zhou Jingze’s blatant hint was understood by anyone who heard it.

Not only did he intend to stay, but he also wanted to spend the night with her.

“No, you can’t stay tonight,” Xu Sui glanced at the clock on the wall, saying, “It’s time for you to leave.”

Zhou Jingze raised his eyelids, speaking slowly, “Why?”

Just now, she was sticking to him like glue. Xu Sui grabbed the keys, cigarettes, and lighter from the coffee table, stuffed them into his pockets, and pushed him out:

“I’m just occasionally passionate; what matters most is to maintain a sense of novelty.”

As soon as she finished speaking, “bang,” the door closed, and Zhou Jingze was blasted out, narrowly avoiding getting his nose caught in the door. Zhou Jingze stood there, looking at the closed door, tongue clicking against his cheek, quietly chuckling, “Such a young girl.”

He leaned against the doorway, smoked two cigarettes, exhaled smoke, and only left after grinding out the embers with his shoe.

After driving Zhou Jingze away, Xu Sui bathed and washed her hair, feeling much calmer during her soak.

After she emerged, tilting her head and using a white towel to dry her wet hair, not long after, the doorbell rang, and Xu Sui hurried to answer it.

The delivery person handed over a paper bag and a receipt, saying, “Mr. Zhou, right? Please check the items.”

“Oh, okay.” Xu Sui took the bag.

After closing the door, Xu Sui sat on the couch and opened the bag: a disposable toothbrush, towels, even two pairs of disposable underwear, and even… he had bought condoms.

Water droplets trickled down her wet hair to her neck, although it felt very cold, a dry sensation arose on her skin.

Xu Sui quickly took a photo and sent it over, saying:

“[I’ve taken your things away.]”

Not long after, the phone screen lit up, and Zhou Jingze replied meaningfully:

“[Keep them for next time.]”

Xu Sui felt her palms burning as she typed a response in the chat box and then deleted it.

Forget it. In terms of dirty talk and action, she couldn’t match Zhou Jingze in either.

It’s better to avoid provoking him.

Xu Sui began to slowly accept Zhou Jingze, and not long after, they officially became a couple.

However, Xu Sui was too busy and rarely let Zhou Jingze stay over, so they hardly saw each other all week.

At nine o’clock on Saturday morning, Zhou Jingze pinpointed the time Xu Sui would wake up, leisurely arriving at her house with breakfast.

Zhou Jingze arrived at Xu Sui’s door, knocking with his knuckles, making a “thud thud” sound.

The door suddenly opened, and he was about to enter when he happened to see Xu Sui rushing out with a suitcase.

Zhou Jingze’s expression froze, a deep melancholy in his eyes, reaching out to grab the handle of her suitcase, he asked:

“Where are you going again?”

“Is my call number blocked again this time?”

Zhou Jingze remembered when they broke up; just a week later, Xu Sui had completely disappeared from his life, leaving no trace.

Leaving behind only a used hair tie, unfinished milk in the fridge, and succulents that hadn’t been watered yet.

He still couldn’t forget the feeling of hearing the number was no longer in service.

It was like someone hastily leaving a mark on your life, not with heavy ink, but unforgettable nonetheless.

In the end, everything turned to nothing.

So when they met again, he deliberately crashed his car into hers to get a new number.

Xu Sui looked puzzled, paused, and explained, “I’m going on a business trip to Shanghai, just for three days.”

She wasn’t leaving.

Zhou Jingze breathed a sigh of relief, still holding her suitcase handle, his voice heavy, “I’ll take you there.”

“My colleague is waiting downstairs,” Xu Sui glanced up at his expression, cautiously saying, “I’ll send you the flight number shortly, and I’ll let you know as soon as I land.”

Zhou Jingze slid his phone out of his palm, looking at her, “Now.”

Xu Sui had to awkwardly take out her phone from her bag, screenshot the flight number, and send it to him.

Only then did Zhou Jingze let go.

He held the luggage with one hand and Xu Sui’s hand with the other, personally sending her to the car.

The weather today had dropped to a new low, and after getting into the car, the window shielded the frozen branches outside.

The car’s heating warmed her skin, and a male colleague handed her a cup of coffee.

Taking it, Xu Sui smiled and said, “Thank you.”

The male colleague continued to grumble, “I can’t believe it’s so cold. It seems even colder in Shanghai. We have a hammer seminar on weekends.”

Han Mei chimed in, “Exactly, I was planning to stay home this weekend to help my child with homework and watch Korean dramas.”

“Oh, I just want to get a good sleep,” Xu Sui leaned against the car window, a hint of weariness in her eyes.

Three people hired a car to go to the airport, checked in their luggage, and boarded the plane smoothly. Once on board, Xusui asked the flight attendant for a blanket, put on an eye mask, and settled into the seat for some rest. Little did they know, when the plane was nearing Shanghai, it suddenly encountered a thunderstorm. The flight attendant gently reassured the passengers over the PA system, explaining that the aircraft had encountered severe convective rain weather and would be making an emergency landing in a nearby city, Ningcheng, close to Shanghai. It was expected that passengers would have a 6-hour layover at Ningcheng Airport before transferring to Shanghai.

There was unrest and complaints among the passengers inside the cabin; no one had anticipated the sudden thunderstorm, which disrupted their itinerary. The plane made a slow descent amidst mild turbulence and landed at Ningcheng Airport. The three of them stayed in the airport lounge, while Han Mei quickly posted a complaint about the cursed weather on her social media. Xusui gazed out of a nearby window.

The torrential rain in Ningcheng, combined with the crazy swaying shadows of distant mountains, was engulfed in a vast fog. “Ningcheng isn’t far from Shanghai. Since it’s already late, why don’t we stay here overnight and take a direct car to Shanghai tomorrow? Transferring by plane will be more troublesome,” a male colleague suggested.

Han Mei sighed, “Oh well, that’s all we can do. Just our luck.” “I’ll speak to the airport pickup staff,” Xusui said. After an hour at the airport, they started to feel restless.

Xusui held her phone and received a message from Zhou Jingze. He asked if she had arrived. Xusui replied with three words: “Just got here.” After that, she didn’t reply much, feeling a bit impatient.

Unable to find a taxi and seeing that at least a hundred orders were queued on the platform, with nearby hotels fully booked, a colleague managed to book two rooms, but they were miles away from the airport. “Should we stay?” the male colleague asked. Xusui decisively responded with one word: “Stay.” If they didn’t stay, they’d be sleeping on the streets.

They left the terminal and shared a ride with a driver who charged triple the fare. Ningcheng’s heavy rain caused traffic jams, with taxis moving slowly, rain splashing in through the window cracks, hitting their faces, and chilling them to the bone.

Finally arriving at their destination, a small hotel greeted them with a damp smell upon entry. The colleague registered with their ID and obtained room keys. One room for the male colleague, while Xusui and Han Mei shared another. After settling their luggage in the room, Han Mei took a cold shower due to feeling chilly.

Xusui tried to rest on the bed, but couldn’t sleep for more than five minutes due to poor soundproofing; water seeped through the walls, along with disturbing sounds of intimate encounters from next door. She couldn’t sleep at all.

Xusui had a headache; she just wanted to rest. Her phone vibrated beside her, and in the dim purple night, she grabbed it and answered the call without looking, her voice low, “Hello.”

“Why didn’t you reply to my messages?” came a chilling voice from the phone. Xusui sighed and touched her forehead, “I was in a rush on the road, I forgot.” The phone made an unstable noise, followed by the sound of a lighter clicking on. The man suddenly asked, “Do you miss me?” Xusui turned over and replied in a muffled tone, “A little.”

Especially after working overtime the night before and rushing for a business trip the next day, encountering such terrible weather along the way, she just wanted to rest in such a poor environment. In the past, Xusui didn’t think much of it, but when Zhou Jingze called, she subconsciously acted coquettishly and started to miss him.

“Then come out.” With a snap, the flame extinguished. The man took a drag of his cigarette, his voice low and gritty, “