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Chapter 31: I’m sorry, you’re too well-behaved.
“I just wanted it for the memory.” Xu Sui flinched and explained hastily.
Under everyone’s gaze, Hu Xixi saw Xu Sui’s appearance and knew that she had changed her mind. To not make it awkward for her, she rushed in front of Sheng Nanzhou and said, “Yeah, is there anything wrong with our medical students who have not seen the world? Sheng Nanzhou, if I wanted your badge, you’d better win it for me.”
Either being suddenly cued or asked for a badge by Hu Xixi, Sheng Nanzhou looked a little unnatural and coughed: “Of course I can win.”
It was just a badge that Zhou Jingze didn’t take it to heart. He looked down at his phone without raising his head: “Today eight o’clock at Flamingo.”
A boy snapped his fingers, and the others echoed: “Boss Zhou is bright!”
“Okay, stop talking nonsense and get lost now.” Zhou Jingze sneered.
After the group disbanded, Hu Xixi and Xu Sui walked back to school arm in arm. The eldest lady looked puzzled: “Sui ah, just now was a good time to confess, why’d you become cowardly?”
“Not ready. “Xu Sui shook her head.
There were so many onlookers just now, and Zhou Jingze was so close. As soon as she met his gaze, Xu Sui’s legs became weak, and her mind went blank. Besides, she was really not ready.
“Then when are you going to—” Hu Xixi asked tentatively.
Xu Sui breathed a sigh of relief, and her black eyes were filled with determination: “Tonight.”
“Yes! Good luck with the confession!” Hu Xixi snapped her fingers.
Xu Sui didn’t reply but smiled and clenched the little golden badge in her palm.
Having a crush was to choose to accept the loss before getting it.
At six o’clock in the evening, the midsummer sunset was brilliant and short. Xu Sui picked out a white dress and curled the end of her hair, appearing graceful.
Hu Xixi applied light makeup on her. After finishing, her eyes widened, and she couldn’t help but marvel: “Wow, Sui Sui, you’re so beautiful.”
In the mirror, Xu Sui had fair skin and black eyes. The lipstick she wore gave off a hint of glamor, appearing pure and attractive.
When Hu Xixi went out to get water, Xu Sui lay on the table and hesitated for a long time before finally taking out a letter and putting it in his pocket.
A letter that has been written intermittently for so many years— it’s about time to be sent.
——
Zhou Jingze went back to the house on Amber Lane first to take a shower. When he came out, his wet hair was dripping onto the floor. He flicked the water droplets and picked up his phone in the lower cabinet to send a message to his grandfather.
Zhou Jingze had a white towel wrapped around his neck. He took a can of iced Coke from the fridge and sat on the sofa, holding the can in his knuckled hand and pulling the tab apart. He took a sip, and his throat finally felt more comfortable. Master Kratos was lying beside his feet, biting his trouser from time to time.
Zhou Jingze felt inflamed recently, his throat hoarse from the smoke.
He leaned back on the sofa, wiped the water mist on the phone screen with his thumb, and sent the sunrise photo he took on the plane this morning to his grandpa.
Grandpa quickly replied: 【How was the result of the flight test? 】
Just as Zhou Jingze was typing the three words “not too bad” and was about to send it out, his phone suddenly rang an urgent ringtone, and the caller ID was Shi Yuejie.
Zhou Jingze frowned subconsciously but still picked up. His voice was cold: “What’s the matter?”
Shi Yuejie’s line was noisy, and he seemed to have called from another place and asked: “Jingze, where are you now?
Zhou Jingze leaned over and took out a cigarette from the cigarette case on the coffee table and bit on it, then sneered: “Where am I? It doesn’t seem to concern you, older brother.”
Zhou Jingze’s words were full of thorns, but Shi Yuejie wasn’t angry. His tone was still gentle, but there was a bit of anxiety: “If you have time, come to the house. Father seems to be… moving aunt’s memorial tablet away.”
“I’ll come right away.” Zhou Jingze stood up suddenly, his voice cold.
Zhou Jingze didn’t even blow dry his hair but picked up his phone and cigarette on the table and ran out. He got on the motorcycle and slammed on the brakes. The man and the motorcycle rushed towards the distance like an arrow shooting forward, leaving Master Kratos standing at the door, anxiously barking at the disappearing figure.
The wind on the road was so strong, blowing and whirling the trees on both sides, quickly retreating like a button. On the way to that house, Zhou Jingze thought about a lot of things.
For example, his mother was a well-known and talented cellist. Even after choosing to get married, she was still elegant and kind, giving Zhou Jingize a lot of love and warmth.
But after his mother died, not even a week, Zhou Zhengyan led Zhu Ling into the house and pulled Zhou Jingze’s hair to call a stranger who wasn’t blood-related as a brother.
The night wind passed by, cold and swift, and it was a bit painful when it blew against Zhou Jingze’s eyes. He accelerated his speed and rushed into the courtyard of the villa with a cold face, ignoring the security guard’s obstruction.
Zhou Jingze got off the motorcycle and went straight in. As soon as he walked into the main hall, a large group of people was standing there, and Zhu Lingwei was instructing them to move the memorial tablet.
When Zhu Ling heard the sound, she turned her head and looked over. She was stunned when she saw the person coming, and then quickly showed a gentle smile: “Jingze, when did you come back? Did you have dinner?”
After asking, Zhu Ling turned back to the staff and said, in a gentle tone, “Ai, all of you can move away the plate of fruits in front of the tablet. I’ll move it, I’m afraid you all can’t do it well.”
Zhou Jingze’s eyebrows jumped, and he said word by word, “Don’t touch her.”
When Zhou Jingze spoke slowly and in short words, it meant he was angry. Zhu Ling’s hands froze in mid-air, and with an embarrassed look on her face, she thought that Zhou Jingze took offense because it was her moving it, so she said, “Then you all can move it, be careful.”
The two men in black on the left and right walked forward, about to move the tablet away. Zhou Jingze stood there, his dark eyes scanning around, and saw a baseball bat in the corner. He moved his hand at the seam of his trousers and strode over, picking up the baseball bat and looking at the antique vase on the side before forcefully smashing it.
With a “bang” the vase shattered and fell to the ground. Zhu Ling screamed in fright on the spot. Zhou Jingze held the baseball bat and stared at them sharply. His voice was cold: “Try to touch it again.”
The scene was too noisy, and the movement wasn’t small. Zhou Zhengyan rushed down from upstairs and saw the scene in front of him. His whole body was shaking with anger. He didn’t understand; he was just upstairs answering the phone. How did it turn out like this?
Shi Yuejie also followed the noise and saw Zhu Ling who was pale with fright. He walked over and hugged her shoulders, asking, “Mom, are you alright?”
“I’m fine.” Zhu Ling’s voice was weak.
To maintain his dignity, Zhou Zhengyan pointed at him: “Why are you here going insane again, look at how you frightened your aunt.”
Hearing this, Zhou Jingze lowered his head and smiled slowly with a cynical expression. In a loose tone: “If it wasn’t for you tearing down mom’s memorial tablet, I wouldn’t even come to your house.”
Zhou Zhengyan was at a loss for words. He didn’t mean what he said, and when he was about to explain, Zhou Jingze suddenly interrupted him. His eyes were cold and decisive:
“You can’t even stand her like this? In the future, you can just think you don’t have a son like me.”
After the sentences fell, the air was still, and Zhou Zhengyan was furious. He rushed over in two or three steps and slapped Zhou Jingze fiercely.
Zhou Jingze stumbled, his face turning sideway from the slap. He felt a buzzing sound around him. Zhou Zhengyan was still angry, and his voice was loud: “What kind of foolish remarks are you talking about? When do you see I can’t stand your mother anymore? It was Master Feng Shui who came over and asked me to move the tablet to another room. You suddenly running over and making a fuss, what kind of behavior is this?”
Zhou Jingze instantly understood that he had been played.
“Who told you that I was going to remove your mother’s tablet, ah?!” Zhou Zhengyan’s chest heaved.
Zhou Jingze didn’t speak but looked at Shi Yuejie. The latter stepped out and took on his big brother role, beginning to explain warmly: “I’m sorry, Dad, I told Jingze about the situation before I even figured it out. I thought… I was afraid he would be worried.”
“Look at you! You’re always so impulsive, coming to the house not distinguishing black from white to cause trouble. Then, look at your brother, always thinking of you and taking care of me. What about you? I raised you for so many years in vain!”
The half of Zhou Jingze’s face that was slapped still hurts. He spat bloody saliva into the trash can and looked at everyone present, smiling relievedly: “In that case, I won’t disturb your family reunion. ”
“If one day you don’t want my mother’s memorial tablet, just let me know, and I’ll take her away.”
The colors on Zhou Zhengyan’s face that was slowly recovering suddenly turned pale, and his breathing became rough: “This… this unfilial son!”
Shi Yuejie saw that Zhou Zhengyan was so angry that he was about to have a relapse. He patted him on the back to help smooth the airway: “Dad, I’ll help you back to your room to take medicine first, don’t hurt your body.”
After speaking, Shi Yuejie helped Zhou Zhengyan out, and Zhu Ling followed. The backs of the family of three looked extremely harmonious. Zhou Zhengyan held his head and sighed: “The biological son isn’t as dear as the son on the side.”
Zhou Zhengyan’s sighing voice passed through, and Zhou Jingze listened expressionlessly. The hands hanging at the seam of his trousers slowly clenched into a fist.
When Zhou Jingze walked out of the house, the phone in his pocket made a buzzing sound. He took it out and saw that it was Sheng Nanzhou, answering the phone.
“Hello.” As soon as he opened his mouth, Zhou Jingze realized that his voice was extremely hoarse.
Sheng Nanzhou was in the room, and the song was very loud. He asked with a smile, “Dude, where are you? We’ve been waiting for you for a long time. You know that guy Da Liu, he was drunk like Sun Tzu.”
Zhou Jingze chuckled, “Coming.”
After hanging up, Zhou Jingze stood on the side of the road and smoked three cigarettes in silence. When he finally calmed down, he rode his motorcycle towards the location of the Flamingo Club.
Xu Sui felt a bit cramped sitting in the crowded room. Every time someone entered, she would subconsciously look at the door, but it wasn’t Zhou Jingze.
The disappointment was written all over her face.
Xu Sui glanced at the time, eight forty-five– nearly an hour had passed. Was he not coming?
She leaned over and took a sip of the juice on the table, and in the next second, someone pushed open the door. Sheng Nanzhou shouted from the side, “You ah, how come it took you this long to come?”
Xu Sui raised her eyes, and the light came over the shadow. Zhou Jingze walked into the room wearing a black T-shirt with a blood-red wound on the corner of his lips. His skin was cold and white, and the expression on his face was dark and unclear, giving off an unruly and unrestrained aura.
“Got caught up in something.” Zhou Jingze chuckled.
He glanced at the crowd and nodded nonchalantly when he met Xu Sui’s eyes before walking over and sitting down.
The person in the middle of the sofa immediately moved over to give him space. Da Liu was sitting next to him and was drunk. When he saw the wound on Zhou Jingze’s face, he was stunned and asked without thinking: “Dude, what happened to the wound on your face?”
Everyone was silent. Zhou Jingze threw the lighter and cigarette on the table. He leaned over to find a fork and took a piece of watermelon, putting it in his mouth. In a lazy tone: “What else besides getting hit by a bike on the road.”
“Hahahaha, even you have today.” Da Liu patted his shoulder and laughed.
There are a lot of people in the club today. Zhou Jingze has many friends, and they brought along other people, playing games and karaoke. It was very lively.
Anyone familiar with Zhou Jingze knows that he isn’t in a good mood today, so Sheng Nanzhou consciously didn’t bother him. This gave a girl from the Department of Business English a chance.
Xu Sui had a bit of an impression of her. Her appearance was very luring, and she had a good figure. Her name was Liu Sijin. She was at the party last time when the band won the competition.
Zhou Jingze was extremely unhappy today. He lay on the sofa expressionless, opened a bottle of XO, and was about to drink it all.
Liu Sijin, who was sitting beside him, stretched out her hand to stop him. Zhou Jingze glared at her with his thin eyelids. The girl didn’t panic and said with a smile, “Do you want to drink to your death here? Use a wine glass.”
Zhou Jingze let go of his hand and leaned over for the wine glass, pouring the wine into it. He drank glass after glass, his profile silent and cold.
Xu Sui sat in the corner and watched the charming girl sitting next to Zhou Jingze. He was drinking, and occasionally Liu Sijin would hook her fingers at him.
Zhou Jingze leaned over to listen. His lips were lazy, and the girl’s long curly hair swept over his arms, but he didn’t push it away or take the initiative.
Uncontrolled and intimate.
Xu Sui clenched her palm secretly. The pain from her nails sinking into her palm made her numb, and her eyes became warmer. She retracted her gaze, not wanting to watch the scene and torture herself.
She got up, walked to the jukebox, and ordered a song. It was “A Letter From Keanu Reeves” by Xue Kaiqi.
Turning her back against them and being unable to see the scene was fine.
The red neon lights flashed. Xu Sui was about to sing while holding the microphone when someone pulled the corner of her clothes.
Xu Sui turned around and saw Hu Xixi grabbing her hand and whispering something into her ear: “Sui Sui, come out for a second.”
Xu Sui put the microphone back down and jumped off the high chair. The two walked out hand in hand.
In the corridor, Hu Xixi asked her, “Sui ah, didn’t you say you want to confess? Why isn’t there any movement?”
Xu Sui lowered her eyelashes and sighed: “He… is sitting next to someone else.”
Hu Xixi instantly understood and patted her on the shoulder: “Hai, it’s not like you don’t know my uncle. If he really likes that girl, he would’ve acted in the morning, and if he’s in a bad mood, he’ll be like a dead person that anyone can strike up a word or two with him. If you push his button in the next second, it won’t be so easy to talk to him.”
“But Liu Sijin has been sticking to my uncle. If you don’t go up, that girl will climb onto him like a spider spirit.” Hu Xixi said angrily.
“Don’t be afraid, Sui Sui. If you don’t try it, you’ll never know the answer. What if?” Hu Xixi encouraged her.
Xu Sui was silent for a while and finally nodded: “Okay.”
The two went back in. Xu Sui sat back in the corner, her hands resting on her knees, still a little nervous. Wine makes one strong and cowardly, and, in the loud room, she drank three glasses of wine in one breath.
It was her first time drinking.
People on the internet said alcohol tastes good and is addictive, but Xu Sui didn’t understand it at all. When the first sip of wine entered her throat, she felt a burn that tears almost came out.
Sheng Nanzhou happened to be sitting on the side and noticed her strange behavior, asking with concern: “Sister Xu, are you alright?”
Xu Sui shook her head and reached out to wipe the beer foam from the corner of her lips. She stood up and put her hand in her pocket, holding tightly onto the corner of the letter, before walking towards Zhou Jingze under the ambiguous floating light.
Zhou Jingze was bending over to pour wine with a casual smile on his face. He held a cigarette in his other hand with the wine glass. A slender figure shrouded him, blocking his vision.
“What’s the matter?” Zhou Jingze raised his head and the corner of his lips.
Xu Sui looked at him. Her voice was a little nervous: “Can you come out for a bit?”
Zhou Jingze was stunned for a second, then released the wine glass, raising his hand to extinguish the cigarette. As he was about to get up, Liu Sijin grabbed onto his arm. Her voice was as charming as always, but there was a hint of anxiety:
“Is there anything you can’t say here?”
Liu Sijin had noticed the girl in front of her for a while now. She was clean, gentle, and well-behaved, different from the others, and didn’t seem to belong, but it made her feel a sense of uneasiness.
She purposely asked loudly, and someone happened to select a song. The prelude was a long silence with only a little lingering sound. Everyone’s attention was turned towards them, and the whole room fell silent unconsciously.
The smile on Zhou Jingze’s face faded. Even though he was in a bad mood and was too lazy to talk, it didn’t mean Liu Sijin could pretend to be his girlfriend. He respected girls, but it didn’t mean she could do things like this.
He raised his eyelids and glanced at Liu Sijin with a half-smile and warning in his eyes. Liu Sijin felt a chill in her heart and let go of her hand subconsciously.
Zhou Jingze got up and planned to follow Xu Sui out, but Xu Sui made up her mind and didn’t want to leave a way back out for herself. She suddenly stood in front of him and blocked his way.
Witnessed by more than a dozen people, Xu Sui stood in the dim room. Zhou Jingze was a head taller than her, so she needed to raise her head to meet his gaze.
The people around noticed that the atmosphere was a bit unusual, and they all calmed down consciously as a nimble boy shouted. Xu Sui’s heart was beating without rhythm. She was so nervous that she couldn’t say a word.
The song that Xu Sui selected happened to start playing. No one sang it, and only Xue Kaiqi’s voice echoed in the room. Her voice was firm and carried a tint of astringent:
I write daily, up to six hundred lines of “I love you”
I’ve written for ten years, but I’ve never found it tiring or dull
It’s useless to continue passively
I’d rather be unafraid of blushing, of embarrassment
And tenaciously, stubbornly attacking, fighting for your recognition
Like the immortal heroes of generations gone by
Even knowing full well we’re worlds apart
I still pour my love into the letters every day
Xu Sui put her right hand into her pocket. The letter inside was crumbled by her grip, and the corners were rotten. Even though she didn’t dare to look at him, she forced herself to look directly at him. Her dark eyelashes trembled, and her voice shook a little:
“Zhou Jingze, I… like you.”
When she finally said it, a burst of screams erupted from the crowd, shouting, “Get together! Get together!” After Xu Sui finished speaking, she quickly looked away, not daring to look at him again. She put her hand back into her pocket, looking for the letter indiscriminately.
Zhou Jingze was stunned for a moment and then casually raised the corners of his lips. His voice was as pleasant as ever:
“I’m sorry, you’re too well-behaved.”
He said it very quietly, probably not to hurt Xu Sui’s self-esteem as a girl, that the surrounding people who were still joking didn’t hear Zhou Jingze’s words.
Zhou Jingze put one hand in his trouser pocket, raised his thin eyelids, and glanced at the coaxing people. The surroundings consciously fell silent.
The unanticipated answer. Xu Sui loosened her hand that was tightly holding onto the letter. She lowered her gaze, and her eyes felt a little sore. Luckily she didn’t take out the letter.
Yes, she will never be Zhou Jingze’s preference.
Xu Sui wore a white slip dress, revealing her fair shoulders. Even with little makeup, she was still plain and pure. Even if it was drinking, she’s the kind who would drink to the point of tears rolling out.
She is well-behaved, quiet, and often drowned in the crowd. Like a blank piece of paper, proper but eager to take risks. The most daring thing that Xu Sui did was to play games and learn the drums behind her parents’ backs.
Her greatest wish was simply that her family is healthy and safe and that she can live a good life too.
Zhou Jingze– dissolute, rebellious, and free, often doing adventurous and dangerous things like bungee jumping, racing cars, and skydiving in the Grand Canyon. Hoping that before he dies one day, he’ll be able to see Sunset Boulevard.
Like people from two different worlds.
Zhou Jingze looked down at Xu Sui’s red eyes, trying to hold back her tears. Rejecting people was a common thing, but in front of her, he felt an indescribable emotion.
His slender fingertips dangling from the seam of his trousers moved, wanting to reach out to wipe her tears.
Suddenly, Zhou Jingze glanced outside inadvertently and caught a glimpse of a figure outside the door. Hatred surged in an instant, and he smiled with the tip of his tongue lowered, shifting grounds:
“But we can try.”