CH 25

Chapter 25: If I don’t want you to leave, can you leave?

Since the last time she accidentally ran into Zhou Jingze outside of campus, Xu Sui had reduced the number of encounters.

But the more you run away from someone, the more you see them.

In mid-April, the university and the First Affiliated Hospital of Beijing North Medical University hosted a collaboration through volunteer activity. Freshmen were recruited as medical social workers to provide services and assistance to the patients in the hospital once a week.

Xu Sui checked the registration terms and signed up. On the first day, she was almost late; she got dressed, took a loaf of bread, and hurried out.

Xu Sui took the bus to the city hospital, and when she got off the bus, she saw a turbulent crowd not far away rushing past her, panting: “I’m sorry, I’m late.”

In the middle of the crowd stood someone wearing a white shirt with an upright posture. He was holding a folder with his back turned towards Xu Sui. She thought this person looked familiar, and when the other party turned around, she was dumbfounded.

Shi Yuejie lightly tapped her with the blue folder, and said with a smile: “Hurry and stand in the line.”

When he finished counting the number of people, Shi Yuejie stood in front of her. The sunlight was a little dazzling, and he squinted to look at the team in front of him. Xu Sui was standing on the side, wearing an apple-green sweater and light blue jeans. Her black hair was tied up and was a little messy. She kept fanning the wind with her hands; her white cheeks bulged up like little goldfish.

After calling the names, Shi Yuejie sent them a group list. Everyone headed to the place they were assigned to serve. Some people were assigned to the hospital, while others were designated to the senior care unit. Xu Sui was assigned to the orphanage, giving psychological counseling for orphans.

She spent a day in the orphanage and learned that a child with congenital heart disease was suffering from depression due to the growing environment. The child drew a castle closed without a door on the ground.

“Why does this castle have no doors?” Xu Sui touched her head and asked gently.

The little girl replied: “Because the bad guy locked the door.”

Xu Sui took out the tree branch and drew a door in the castle, her lips curled up: “Look, there is a door now.”

“If the bad guy locked the door, we will create a door ourselves.” Xu Sui was stunned after saying this as if thinking of something, lost in her thoughts.

After one day of medical social worker service, Xu Sui took the bus back to campus. Unexpectedly, when she stepped off the bus, she ran into Shi Yuejie, who also finished his volunteer activities.

The two greeted each other.

Shi Yuejie walked over and handed her a carton of milk. Xu Sui accepted it and inserted the straw: “Thank you.”

They walked side by side in the university hallway. Shi Yuejie was a bit concerned and asked: “How do you feel today? A bit tired?”

“Pretty good,” Xu Sui nodded and thought for a while, “Just a little tired.”

“That’s good then.”

Shi Yuejie then recounted his service experience to her, including the difficulties and other interesting things. Xu Sui listened intently and smiled from time to time.

She gently bit on the milk straw, her clear eyes full of questions: “I didn’t expect you to be in charge of this event. Aren’t juniors busy, or is it that the higher the position, the more responsibility you have?”

“I am busy. At first, I wanted to refuse,” Shi Yuejie looked at her and slowly spoke, “But I saw your name on the list, so I decided to come.”

Xu Sui froze. She was drinking milk and received a shock of surprise that she coughed violently, her eyes getting watery.

Shi Yuejie subconsciously raised his hand; his palm stopped in midair for a second when he was two centimeters away from her. In the end, he gently patted her on the back and smiled warmly: “Did I scare you? You don’t have to be responsible for this matter.”

Zhou Jingze, who just finished training and was rushing back to campus, ran into this scene. It was April, and the school’s magnolia flowers were blooming all around. The two of them stood under the tree with a sense of intimacy. The moist wind blew, carrying a sweet fragrance to him.

He narrowed his eyes and sneered.

They look like a pretty good pair.

Xu Sui finally recovered from the shock and felt a scorching gaze on her. When she raised her eyes, she saw Zhou Jingze not far away.

He was wearing a gray-green military uniform and smoking a cigarette with one hand. The curve of his lower jaw is sharp, and he was looking straight at her, his eyes full of emotions.

Direct, indifferent, and full of desire.

Xu Sui’s heart jumped, and when their eyes met, she hurriedly shifted her gaze away, not daring to look at him again.

Obviously, Shi Yuejie also saw Zhou Jingze. It was no accident that he confessed his intentions to Xu Sui today. Ever since Xu Sui was framed for cheating, he helped her investigate and returned her innocence.

It seemed that he won, but who knew what methods Zhou Jingze used to get the girl to directly apologize to Xu Sui.

Shi Yuejie knew that he had lost. He was no match for Zhou Jingze.

This was just Zhou Jingze’s style of doing things. Compared with the pursuit of justice, he prefers to use his own methods to tell Shi Yuejie that he’s better.

But nowadays, Shi Yuejie saw that Xu Sui was not around Zhou Jingze, and she didn’t go out often. He intended to seize this opportunity and be honest with himself. After all, liking someone isn’t something dirty and shameful.

Shi Yuejie took the initiative and walked in front of Zhou Jingze, in a gentle tone: “Jingze, what can I do for you?”

Zhou Jingze took the cigarette out from his mouth and scoffed, with a cold voice: “Who said I came to find you?”

They looked straight at each other, a raging current between them. Xu Sui stood behind Shi Yuejie and forced herself not to look at that person because she felt sad whenever she saw him.

When the tension between the two couldn’t be pacified, Xu Sui gripped the milk carton and lowered her head, hurriedly past Zhou Jingze. The evening breeze was blowing, and a strand of her hair inadvertently touched the tip of Zhou Jingze’s nose– the faint scent of camellia passing by.

Zhou Jingze turned his head and stared at her back. She was running faster than a rabbit. He narrowed his eyes and called out: “Xu Sui.”

Xu Sui paused and then left without looking back.

Only then did Zhou Jingze realize that when this girl gets angry, it was way more serious than he thought.

——

When Xu Sui went to tutor Sheng Yanjia this semester, she changed the time to Friday, partially to avoid running into Zhou Jingze.

On a Friday afternoon, Sheng Yanjia mysteriously sent Xu Sui a text message asking her to arrive early. Xu Sui was not suspicious of him and came to his house. She taught Sheng Yanjia two periods of math classes, and after assigning homework, she rubbed the little kid’s head as usual:

“Teacher is leaving.”

“Hey, teacher Xiao Xu, have dinner at my house tonight,” Sheng Yanjia pulled her back.

“It’s okay, this teacher is trying to lose weight recently,” Xu Sui told a lie to cover herself.

Little Curly immediately lay on the table and said with a sad expression, “But today is my birthday.”

“Your birthday— why didn’t you tell me earlier! I didn’t prepare anything,” Xu Sui was surprised.

The next second, Mother Sheng pushed open the door and entered. She dressed up for today’s occasion, wearing a cheongsam and earrings. The two emerald green earrings flattered her skin, and she appeared generous and charming.

Mother Sheng was enthusiastic, and she hurriedly said, “Teacher Xiao Xu, just stay and eat; you don’t need to prepare anything. If you don’t stay, the kid will hold a grudge against me.”

The offer was too difficult to refuse, and against the kid’s big puppy eyes, Xu Sui nodded. Sheng Yanjia immediately jumped up from the stool and invited her:

“Teacher, come downstairs and play. I invited a lot of classmates, including my brother, Jingze, and the others.”

When she heard a certain name, Xu Sui’s eyebrows fluttered: “You go downstairs and play first. This teacher wants to rest for a moment. Can I play your game console for a while?”

“Of course, you can! I’ll go down first then,” Sheng Yanjia said.

After they went downstairs, Xu Sui sat on the soft carpet in the room. Not long after, she heard noisy voices from downstairs.

One of them was a metallic voice mixed with a laidback tone, and she recognized it at once.

Xu Sui restrained her heart and held the switch handle, deciding to focus on the game. She hadn’t played games for a long time, so when she came across a competitive survival game, there was a faint sense of excitement in her bones. She passed each round and did the tasks smoothly.

When Hu Xixi opened the door and entered, she saw this scene: Xu Sui had a well-behaved temperament and killed soldiers without blinking, but instead with a calm expression on her face.

“F***, baby, this is too fierce. I suspect that everyone is deceived by your looks thinking you’re well-behaved,” Hu Xixi patted her on the head, “But baby, it’s time to go downstairs and eat.”

Xu Sui sat on the ground cross-legged; her black eyes stared at the big screen without moving, very focused. Her voice was careless: “You go first. I need to finish this fight.”

It’s been a long time since she played, so she was a little addicted.

After Hu Xixi went downstairs, Xu Sui played this game for a long time. When she collected the last drop of the enemy’s blood, she inadvertently looked up at the clock and was shocked, immediately hurrying downstairs.

When Xu Sui came down, almost everyone was seated, and there was only one open. Coincidentally, it was the vacant seat next to that person.

He had his back to her, wearing black short sleeves, leaning back lazily. He was unwrapping a candy, and the back of the neck appeared cold and attractive.

Sheng Yanjia was surrounded by a few other kids and laughed happily. He saw Xu Sui, and fearing that she wouldn’t hear him, he shouted: “Teach Xiao Xu, come here quickly.”

Xu Sui had to bite the bullet and walked over, sitting next to Zhou Jingze. After she was seated, Xu Sui followed everyone, applauding and smiling, trying hard not to look at the person next to her.

Zhou Jingze sat there lazily with a relaxed face, laughing unscrupulously and teasing Sheng Yanjia, who almost cried.

The two were close together that occasionally their elbows touched. The joints of his wrist were clear and somewhat stiff. It was only a glance, but her feeling was obvious.

Xu Sui’s heart trembled, but she hurriedly let it go.

She sat next to him, and the smell of mint wafted from his body, slowly drifting to her senses. It was inescapable that she decided to focus on the food.

People from Beijing like to eat sweeter food, and Xu Sui likes spicy food. Out of the table of dishes, only a plate of mapo tofu was more suitable for her taste. The children present were even more picky eaters, spinning the dishes on the turntable around and around. Often when she wanted to try a dish, it would fly past her in the next second.

The dish was rotating towards Xu Sui again, but the next second, the turntable plate moved. She sighed in her heart and retracted the chopsticks.

Zhou Jingze was sitting on the side, casually chatting with others. As if he had eyes on the back of his head, he raised his right arm, his biceps toned and smooth, and placed his palm directly on the glass surface. Sheng Yanjia couldn’t move it at all.

Sheng Yanjia had a feeling that Zhou Jingze always liked to oppose him and felt very aggrieved: “Brother, what are you doing?”

Zhou Jing glanced at him with his thin eyelids and asked slowly: “Can’t I try a dish?”

Sheng Yanjia was afraid to death when his brother looked at people like this. Zhou Jingze’s eyes were calm, but it made Sheng Yanjia feel intimidated. Little Curly let go of his hand decisively and said compliantly: “It’s okay, you try the food. I won’t play around and turn it again.”

Zhou Jingze casually reached for a dish next to Mapo Tofu, and Xu Sui also got what she wanted.

Halfway through the meal, Xu Sui almost choked. When she was about to look for water, she saw a slender hand handing her a glass of water. The light blue blood vessels on the back of the hand were apparent, and the black mole appeared in her vision. A glass of water was placed beside her.

So what he did before was for her?

Xu Sui didn’t dare to look up into his eyes and said softly, “Thank you.”

She heard a laidback and deep chuckle above her head and felt her neck becoming itchy and warm.

After the meal, it was time to cut the cake and make a birthday wish. Sheng Yanjia successfully blew out 11 candles with everyone’s lively blessings.

Zhou Jingze was generous and gifted him a set of limited edition Marvel figures. Everyone gave their gifts, and Xu Sui felt a little embarrassed: “This teacher will make it up next time you. Happy birthday, Sheng Yanjia..”

“Then you can’t forget.”

“Of course.”

…

When Sheng Yanjia’s birthday celebration was almost over, Xu Sui glanced at the time. It was almost ten o’clock, and Hu Xixi came to look for her: “Shouldn’t we go back now. It’ll be close to the dorm curfew when we get back.”

“En; wait one second. My things are still upstairs,” Xu Sui nodded.

After speaking, Xu Sui hurried to Sheng Yanjia’s room to pack her things, including pens and a mirror.

Xu Sui was in a daze as she packed her things that when she turned around with the book in her arms, she bumped into her hard chest. She raised her head and met a pair of black, bottomless eyes.

His eyes were domineering and full of inexplicable emotions, like a beast that could swallow her up at any time.

Xu Sui’s heart tightened, and she gripped onto her books, planning to walk on the other side. Zhou Jingze was carrying a red and white coat with a playful smile on his face. He raised his feet lazily, blocking her and not letting her go.

Xu Sui pursed her lips, and she turned to the left. Zhou Jingze followed her to the left, and when she turned to the right again, he followed her.

His expression was always casual, with a smile on his face and a cat-like attitude.

Zhou Jingze blocked Xu Sui on his side, and he locked his eyes tightly on her:

“Let’s discuss.”

Xu Sui didn’t want to recall the matter and face Zhou Jingze’s coldness and impatience towards her at that time. She just wanted to escape: “I have something to do.”

After she finished speaking, she took the chance when he was not paying attention and tried to slip away. Zhou Jingze responded quickly and took two steps back, blocking the door directly. Xu Sui was about to leave, but Zhou Jingze raised his hand and grabbed her wrist tightly; he looked down at her dissatisfied and narrowed his eyes:

“Where to hide?”

When Xu Sui wanted to leave, he clamped tightly, unconsciously exerting a little force.

Zhou Jingze leaned on the door frame. He leaned over slowly, lowering his head and neck, and the two were very close. With an eased tone, but a domineering and strong voice:

“If I don’t want you to leave, can you leave?”

Xu Sui’s face was turned away, and she didn’t speak. Just as Zhou Jingze thought she would compromise, and they were going to talk it out, a sparkling and hot tear fell on the back of his hand.

Indescribably, it scalded his heart.

Zhou Jingze looked down and found that he was gripping too hard, and Xu Sui’s fair wrist had a red mark. He immediately let go and found that her eyes were red– a panic-like emotion spread in his heart.

After Xu Sui was free, she hurried forward with the book in her arms. Zhou Jingze suddenly spoke in a low and serious voice:

“I’m sorry.”

T/N: So sorry for missing last week’s chapter!