CH 14

Chapter 14: Pink Snoopy band-aid. 

Zhou Jingze exited the school gate. He called a taxi and gave the driver the address. Zhou Jingze sat in the back seat of the car with his elbows resting on the door panel. He lowered the window, the cold wind pouring in the car. The restlessness and irritability in his heart still remained.

As Zhou Jingze paid the driver three times the actual amount, the driver quickly drove to the given destination——Lishu Xia, an affluent area with clusters of villas and brilliant lights. The people who lived there were all wealthy and well-off.

Standing in front of a brightly lit villa, Zhou Jingze smirked, thinking about the last time he ever visited this place. When he walked in, Aunt Tao, the nanny, heard the footsteps and came out to greet him. When she saw Zhou Jingze, her voice was full of surprise: “Young Master is back. Have you eaten yet? I’ll go cook your favorite dishes…”

Zhou Jingze smiled: “It’s ok. I just finished eating.”

“Really? Don’t lie to me.”

Aunt Tao has been with Zhou Jingze ever since he was a child. She watched him grow up and take care of him when his mother was alive. Later, after he moved to Amber Lane, Aunt Tao still came over every half a month to make Zhou Jingze a meal and tidy up his home.

In Zhou Jingze’s heart, he treated her like a close relative.

Zhou Jingze patted Aunt Tao’s shoulder and walked into the door. Aunt Tao dismissed herself that the ones left in the room were his father and him.

“Where’s Grandpa? How is he?” Zhou Jingze asked straightforwardly.

Zhou Zhengyan coughed lightly. His usual serious expression carried a sense of unusualness: “I called the doctor over who did an examination. He found that there was nothing wrong, so I sent him back.”

Zhou Jingze stared at Zhou Zhengyan for a second with sharp eyes. It turned out that his father deceived him that he didn’t know if he should be angry or laugh. After calming down, he thought about it for a while. How could his grandfather attend his birthday party? It’s already a miracle that Zhou Zhengyan wasn’t beaten to death with a stick.

The living room was magnificent, a chandelier dangling from the ceiling. The corner of the room was filled with two small piles of gifts. Zhou Jingze casually sat on the sofa and raised his eyebrows: “What did you call me here for that you had to trick me? Don’t tell me you want to hear me wishing you good fortune and longevity.”

“I can’t say such things against my will,” Zhou Jingze’s words were a provocation.

Zhou Zhengyan put down the teacup on the table with a “bang” angrily: “You bastard, do you want me to die in anger to be happy?” Zhou Jingze raised his cold eyebrows at him and leaned over to grab an apple from the table, juggling it in the air.

On his birthday, his biological son gave such a blessing that Zhou Zhengyan was pissed off.

Suddenly, a woman walked down the stairs dressed in plain clothes and cotton slippers, giving off a gentle temperament. Then, Zhu Ling came to the living room and smiled friendly at Zhou Jingze: “Jingze, it’s been a long time since I saw you here.”

Zhou Jingze twitched the corner of his mouth at her words.

Zhu Ling walked up to Zhou Zhengyan and said softly: “Zhengyan, Jingze is still young.”

“Come help me in the study room. There’s something I can’t move,” Zhu Ling said, trying to cool off his anger.

Zhou Zhengyan finally got up and went to help her. Zhou Jingze looked at the back of their figures with a blank expression. Zhu Ling did have some tricks up her sleeve that she was about to put down Zhou Zhengyan’s anger with a few words.

Zhou Jingze sat in the empty living room alone and lit a cigarette. After he finished smoking, he felt that it was meaningless to stay any longer, so he got up, preparing to leave.

Suddenly, someone rang the doorbell, and Aunt Tao greeted the new guest. Zhou Jingze lowered his head and slowly laughed at the smell of perfume.

“Hey, long time no see.” Zhao Yan, Zhou Zhengyan’s secretary, greeted him wearing an OL suit.

“It’s been a long time.” Zhou Jingze reached out and wiped the cigarette ashes that had fallen.

Zhao Yan sat across from him and took out a document from her bag. She began to talk business: “Zhou Zhengyan, chairman of Zheng Shi Group, is currently willing to unconditionally donate two properties under his name, as well as some shares of the corporation, to you as long as you sign this contract.”

Zhou Jingze listened for a long time before reacting. Zhou Zhengyan finally decided to compensate his son? He interrupted the secretary quickly: “So I just need to sign it?”

Zhao Yan froze for a moment and nodded. She then handed over the pen and contract to Zhou Jingze. He turned his pen to the left and glanced at the contract. “Secretary Zhao, can you explain this clause?”

Zhao Yan then sat next to him, leaned over, and pointed at the terms to explain. Zhou Jingze sat upright for a while, changed his posture, and touched Zhao Yan’s knee with his knee.

Intentionally or unintentionally, it was a gentle touch light as a feather.

Then he caught a glimpse of Zhao Yan’s expression flashing unnaturally. While she continued to explain, Zhou Jingze suddenly looked at her, as if his eyes only had her, and in a frivolous voice:

“Secretary Zhao, did you change your perfume? Serge Lutens perfume suits you better.”

“How did you know that I changed my perfume?” Zhao Yan was surprised.

“Because the smell last time… makes one’s heart skip a beat.” Zhou Jingze said slowly, deliberately dragging out the last part.

People like Zhou Jingze were the best at understanding how to rouse a woman’s heart. After saying this, he moved a few inches away from her and didn’t speak.

At this moment, Zhao Yan couldn’t help asking: “Really?”

Before Zhou Jingze could answer, a black inkstone box was thrown at him. The corner of the inkstone hit his forehead and then fell to the ground.

“How did I raise a bastard like you? Even with my secretary, how dare you..” Zhou Zhengyan was so angry that he didn’t want to say the following few words.

Zhao Yan snapped back to what was happening. Then, after resuming her self-awareness, she stood up and apologized.

There was bright, red blood on Zhou Jingze’s forehead. He lowered his head, licked his lips, and smiled.

Aunt Tao heard the sound and hurriedly ran into the kitchen to get an ice pack. Zhou Jingze stood up, patted the ashes on his pants, and then replied to what Zhou Zhengyan said, in a daunting tone: “Well, wasn’t it learned from you.”

“You–” Zhou Zhengyan was so angry that he couldn’t continue his words.

Zhou Jingze turned his head to look at the meek woman standing next to Zhou Zhengyan and reminded: “Aunt Zhu, don’t think it’ll just be it by marrying in the family, you’ll also have to be on the lookout.”

Zhu Ling’s face was pale, and she couldn’t say a word.

Finally, Zhou Jingze raised his head and threw the burning cigarette into the teacup. It made a sizzling sound when it came into contact with the water. The fire was then extinguished completely.

He walked down the hallway. Then, remembering something, he looked back at them and said, “Stop starting all these dramas in the future. If you have the time, you can go kowtow more at my mother’s grave.”

“Also, I don’t want any of my father’s money. So you can rest assured.” Zhou Jingze looked directly at Aunt Zhu.

Zhou Jingze grew up in the freedom the trust fund brought to him. The fund was left to him by his mother from the moment he was born. As a result, he wasn’t short of money at all. Even if he became poor to the point of begging for food, he would never ask Zhou Zhengyan, even for a penny.

He walked out of the house through the courtyard alone. When Aunt Tao came out, he was long gone.

Zhou Jingze walked out with one hand in his pocket. The wind was bitterly cold. Unexpectedly, he bumped into Shi Yuejie.

Shi Yuejie was wearing a white sweater and was riding a bicycle. The cold wind brushed Zhou Jingze’s coat. He glanced at Shi Yuejie and sneered, retracting his gaze as he came closer.

A sharp squealing brake sound disrupted the silence. Shi Yuejie got out of his bike, panting. At a glance, he saw the wound on Zhou Jingze’s face and was about to touch him: “What happened?”

Zhou Jingze turned away. His eyes flickered with a sense of annoyance: “Don’t touch me.”

Shi Yuejie was not angry. Instead, he parked his bicycle aside and said with a gentle voice: “Wait for me here.”

After telling him that, Shi Yuejie ran away. Zhou Jingze stood under the tree and casually kicked the stones under his feet. He really admired his patience for listening to what Shi Yuejie said and waiting for him.

He just wanted to see what Shi Yuejie was going to do.

Ten minutes later, Shi Yuejie ran over from the other side of the road and stopped in front of Zhou Jingze, panting. He stuffed a bag into Zhou Jingze’s hands.

Zhou Jingze looked down and found Inadine gauze pads inside the white plastic bag. He lowered his head and raised the corner of his lips. The next second, he threw the bag with medicine into the trash and said,

“You’re trying to please the wrong person.”

——

After Zhou Jingze left, Xu Sui and Da Liu went to eat. When Da Liu left, Xu Sui was about to return to the dorms when she received a call from Hu Xixi.

Hu Xixi’s aggrieved sobs came from the phone. Xu Sui frowned and narrowed her eyebrows with a worried tone: “What happened? Did Sheng Nanzhou bully you?”

“No, I scolded him away. I’m in the dormitory now,” Hu Xixi replied and added, “It’s just that my period came. It’s painful, and I’m starving.”

Xu Sui understood and asked, “What do you want to eat? I’m still outside right now.”

“I want to eat glutinous rice cakes with brown sugar and seaweed porridge,” Hu Xixi sniffed and added, “from Chen Ji’s.”

Xu Sui chuckled. Hu Xixi is indeed an adorable picky eater. Xu Sui nodded and replied: “Okay, I’ll bring it to you.”

“Love you, my Sui Sui!” Hu Xixi immediately declared.

The store that Hu Xixi wanted food from happened to be near the university. The owner was an old man named Chen. His porridge is indeed very delicious, carrying a unique floral fragrance. Not to mention, it was at a very affordable price that there would be a lot of customers who would have to wait for at least forty minutes for a meal.

Perhaps because today is the weekend and the worker in the store asked for a leave, Xu Sui had to wait for an hour. She stood at the door, a bit sleepy, her eyelids drooping.

Suddenly, the old man handed her the packed porridge with an apologetic expression: “I’m sorry for the wait. It’s hectic today.”

Xu Sui took the porridge and shook her head: “It’s ok, don’t worry about it.”

When Xu Sui walked out of Chen Ji, a cold wind rushed towards her. Her body shivered, and she unconsciously glanced ahead, just in time to see Zhou Jingze getting off the taxi.

“Zhou Jingze?” Xu Sui called to him with uncertainty.

When Zhou Jingze heard his name, he walked over. He wore a thin coat, and his dark eyebrows were tense. He seemed to be in a bad mood.

“You didn’t eat yet?” Zhou Jingze asked while glancing at the porridge in her hand.

Xu Sui shook her head and replied: “It’s for Xixi.”

The light of the restaurant signs on the street illuminated Zhou Jingze’s facial features. Xu Sui saw the blood on his forehead: “What happened to you?”

“I bumped into something,” Zhou Jingze replied casually and gave her a lazy smile.

“Wait.”

Xu Sui rummaged through her bag and finally found a pink Snoopy band-aid. She nervously handed it to him.

Zhou Jingze didn’t say anything. He stared at the pink band-aid in her hand for two seconds and then glanced at her. Xu Sui came in contact with his eyes that seemed to say: Do you think I would like this kind of girly stuff? She realized and looked a little embarrassed.

Xu Sui retracted her hand in embarrassment. Zhou Jingze stared at her for two seconds and changed his mind. Finally, he stretched out his hands:

“Give it to me.”