CH 38

Chapter 38: Can I touch it?

Xu Sui doesn’t know how Zhou Jingze treats others, but he has always been warm to her and was polite and distant, but… she didn’t expect that he would have this side to him, domineering and strong like a violent fire. The tip of his tongue stirred inside; Xu Sui’s limbs were numb, and she couldn’t catch her breath.

They had a three-minute kiss on the ice and snow.

When Zhou Jingze released her, Xu Sui felt that her entire body was a little weak.

After the skiing ended, the group went back to pack some things and headed to the North Mountain for a barbecue and camping overnight to watch the sunrise the next day.

On the way back, Xu Sui’s heart hadn’t calmed down, and the scenes just now flashed in her mind from time to time. Zhou Jingze pressed the back of her head, kissing her until she was about to lack oxygen. Her lips were slowly pried open, and the sharp smell of mint poured into her mouth. Every corner was his breath.

Xu Sui felt her entire body under control. She was in a daze by the kiss, but her senses were infinitely magnified. She felt his slender fingers moving forward, a rough feeling as he gently rubbed his thumb on the back of her ear. This caused a shudder in the bottom of her heart.

It turns out… this is how it feels to kiss someone you like.

——

The group took a cable car to reach the top of the mountain. They divided the work and cheerily started the barbecue. Because the weather was so cold, as soon as the charcoal burned, most people quickly placed small benches and surrounded the fire to warm themselves up.

Eldest miss Hu was sitting there, warming herself with the fire while complaining about the smell of charcoal. Sheng Nanzhou got up suddenly and frowned. He pointed to his seat:

“I’ll switch with you, there’s wind here.”

“Okay,” Hu Qianxi got up and patted his shoulder with a look of relief, “Indeed the most filial son in Beijing.”

“…” Sheng Nanzhou.

Xu Sui came late, and Hu Qianxi immediately saw her baby Xu at a glance and waved to her: “Sui Sui, there’s still a spot here.”

A gust of cold wind blew, Xu Sui quickly pulled the zipper and consciously quickened her pace. Hu Qianxi saved Xu Sui a seat next to her. Her coat was zipped all the way up, revealing only a pair of dark round eyes.

With her hands in her pockets, a tall, thin shadow moved over and sat down beside Xu Sui. Without looking up, she guessed that it was Zhou Jingze because she smelled the familiar smell of smoke.

Xu Sui deliberately didn’t look at him. When she thought about what they secretly did just now, she would easily blush. She stretched out her hand to warm herself, and a pair of broad and distinct palms covered the back of her hands. In front of everyone’s gaze, the hands clasped together, and the warmth slowly increased little by little.

She quickly glanced at Zhou Jingze. He was holding her with one hand, chewing gum, and occasionally raising the corners of his lips, listening to other people bluffing.

Xu Sui had always been prone to cold hands and feet, and she was afraid that it would make him cold, so she secretly struggled to break free, but instead, Zhou Jingze pinched her knuckles with little effort. She was unable to move at all.

Hu Qianxi noticed the small movements between the two and raised her eyebrows, accompanied by “ooh~~” with high eyebrows.

“Xixi.” Xu Sui called out to her subconsciously in a long voice.

Seeing the pleading in her sister’s eyes, Hu Qianxi naturally stopped joking. The charcoal fire increased the temperature of her body a little bit, and Xu Sui felt a little breathless. She pulled down the zipper covering her chin and took a breath of fresh air.

“Sui Sui, what happened to your lips? Why is there a wound!” Hu Qianxi cried out in surprise as if she had discovered a new continent.

Hu Qianxi’s call attracted the attention of many people, and Xu Sui’s ears began to turn red, she didn’t know how to explain it. Even Zhou Jingze turned his head as if he didn’t remember what he did and looked at her at ease.

“Bumped… bumped into something.” Xu Sui said unnaturally.

Zhou Jingze raised his eyebrows after hearing this. He raised his hand and turned Xu Sui’s head, caressing the wound on her lips with his thumb, with obvious playfulness in his eyes:

“Really? Coincidentally you bumped into your lips.”

“Come with me, there’s lipstick in my bag that you can apply.” Hu Qianxi got up and went to get something.

“Okay,” Xu Sui shooed away Zhou Jingze’s hand and said in a long voice, “It’s all your fault.”

After Xu Sui came back from applying the lipstick, she could smell the barbecue aroma. Cooked or raw ingredients, as long as they’re handed to Da Liu, nothing matters.

Da Liu held a handful of lamb skewers in his left hand and a spice bottle in his right hand. Yellow flames shot up, and a handful of cumin and sesame oil was sprinkled down. The charcoal grilling of the meat skewers made a sizzling sound, the aroma overflowing.

“You have one vote, I have one vote, and Xinjiang Meat Skewers Xiao Liu will debut tomorrow.” Sheng Nanzhou praised with a thumbs up.

After Da Liu heard him, he scolded: “Get lost, you can eat bamboo sticks later.”

Barbecuing outside by themselves took a while. Xu Sui saw that they were distributing washed snow lotus fruits, and since she was a little hungry, she reached out to grab one, but it was taken away by Zhou Jingze.

Xu Sui watched helplessly as Zhou Jingze gave her snow lotus fruit to Sheng Nanzhou and looked at him: “Didn’t you want to say you wanted to eat it?”

“Hey hey, my brother still loves me.” Sheng Nanzhou immediately grabbed it and took a bite.

The sound of Sheng Nanzhou nibbling on the snow lotus fruit was too clear and loud. Xu Sui felt extremely greedy, and she was so hungry that she was actually a little angry.

Seeing that there was one last fruit left in the basket in front of her, she was about to reach for it, but another hand was faster. Zhou Jingze picked up the last snow lotus fruit and nibbled on it slowly.

Xu Sui was a little angry at this moment. Zhou Jingze gave others what she wanted to eat, and now his girlfriend was hungry and he couldn’t see it. The more she thought about it, the more she felt wronged. She buried her face in her knees and refused to look at him.

Super bad guy.

Zhou Jingze finished eating the fruit and was now rinsing his hands with water. He pulled a tissue and got up. At the same time, a piece of ash fell on the soil, and the fire was weakened.

Xu Sui hugged her knees and sniffed, her eyes were a little red from hunger. A few moments later, a plate of baked buns appeared in front of her eyes, cooked until golden brown, and was covered with a layer of transparent honey, full of milky fragrance.

“You baked it?” Xu Sui sniffed.

“En,” Zhou Jingze raised his chin at her and smiled, “Apologies for my baby.”

For the sake of wanting to eat, Xu Sui reluctantly forgave Zhou Jingze. She sat on the small bench and ate the buns with a serious expression. Zhou Jingze didn’t do anything, but interestingly watch her eat with a puffy face like raising a small goldfish.

Seeing a honey stain on the corner of her mouth, he raised his hand to hold her chin and gently wiped it from the corner of her mouth with his thumb. Sheng Nanzhou saw the small plate of buns on Xu Sui’s knees and was about to reach for it.

Zhou Jingze seemed to have eyes on the back of his head. He freed up a hand and slapped Sheng Nanzhou’s hand and said slowly, “Bake it yourself, still stealing food from little children.”

“…” Sheng Nanzhou was slapped and didn’t say anything but ate a mouthful of dog food. He looked at Xu Sui, who was eating the steamed buns seriously and came to a sudden realization.

Alright, let him eat when it comes to the snow lotus fruit that makes the stomach cold. Heh, this dude did fucking well.

The setting sun was slowly sinking, spreading towards them in a fiery red. Surrounded by snowy mountains, a group of people gathered around for a barbecue, playing cards and chatting. Laughter came from time to time that they didn’t feel cold.

In the middle, Zhou Jingze answered a phone call, the expression on his face was not too good. His eyes were full of coldness, and he mechanically twitched the corners of his mouth: “You already decided for yourself, why are you still asking me?”

After he finished speaking, he hung up the phone. Xu Sui sat next to Zhou Jingze, her hand happened to be inside the pocket of his jacket to keep warm. She clasped his hand gently, and her voice was soft: “What happened?”

Zhou Jingze felt extremely irritated in his heart, but suddenly meeting a pair of clean and quiet eyes, he unconsciously loosened his hand that had just touched the cigarette case in his pocket and smiled: “Nothing.”

At night, the warm fire was burning, and everyone cooperated and divided up the work of putting up a tent. Hu Quanxi and Xu Sui would sleep together, and Sheng Nanzhou and Zhou Jingze were responsible for setting up the tent for them.

Eldest miss Hu commanded the two eldest young masters very easily: “Hey, uncle, you have to set it up well. What if a corner suddenly collapses when we’re sleeping in the middle of the night?”

“It doesn’t matter if it falls on me, but can you bear it to fall on Sui Sui??”

Zhou Jingze held a cigarette in his mouth and leaned slightly, picking up the horizontal bar on the ground. He hung the bright yellow tarp diagonally along the line, frowning:

“I can’t bear it.”

“That’s good.” Hu Qianxi rolled her eyes and looked at Sheng Nanzhou, her brows wrinkling subconsciously, “Student Sheng, it seems that your craftsmanship is not very good. In the future when you step into society and don’t have a single skill, what are you going to rely on?”

“Rely on collecting rent.” Sheng Nanzhou answered.

“…” Hu Qianxi.

Okay, pretend she didn‘t say anything.

Xu Sui was organizing things and when she turned around, she saw a dozen wishing lanterns floating in the dark blue sky; very beautiful, she exclaimed in surprise: “Xixi, look.”

“Wow, so beautiful, I’m going to take a picture and send it to Lu Wenbai. I have to share this beautiful scenery with him.” Hu Qianxi took out her phone and said to herself.

This not-too-loud or quiet voice fell into Sheng Nanzhou’s ears. He almost poked his hand with a pole, and his tone seemed to be as if he was joking: “You’re still hung up over that kid?”

“Yes, I won’t give up until I reach the Yellow River.” Hu Qianxi said with a smile.

Xu Sui shook her head and said, “She’s also been losing weight recently for Lu Wenbai.”

Sheng Nanzhou frowned and wanted to say something, but he paused. In the end, he just said: “You have to pay attention to your body.”

Hu Qianxi was startled, and then she showed a bright smile, covering up the emotions in her eyes: “Of course, I’m not dumb.”

The group played until eleven o’clock, and finally, everyone felt physically exhausted and yawned. Xu Sui lay down in the sleeping bag, and after tidying things up, her eyelids couldn’t hold it any longer, and she fell asleep in a daze.

But she didn’t sleep comfortably. Xu Sui was always a light sleeper and because it was an unfamiliar bed, she woke up after sleeping three hours. Hu Qianxi’s even and long breaths sounded next to her.

Xu Sui reached for her phone beside the pillow in a habit and touched the screen, lighting up. She saw a message from Zhou Jingze that was sent half an hour ago:

ZJZ: 【Yi Yi, are you asleep?】

Xu Sui turned her body, and typed with her fingers: 【I fell asleep and then woke up again, not used to a strange bed.】

ZJZ:【Then come out and see the stars.】

【Okay.】

After Xu Sui replied, she tiptoed to get up and put on a coat, running out of the tent. She looked up and saw that the sky above her head was dark blue. The clouds were thin, and there was not a single star.

Zhou Jingze was clearly lying to get her to come out.

Xu Sui ran in the direction of the blue tent where Zhou Jingze slept. Looking at it from a distance, he was wearing a black down jacket, sitting on the edge of the tent with one leg idly stepping on the rocks. He held a cigarette in his mouth and was bowing his head, covering the fire with his palms, the flames scarlet red.

On a whim, Xu Sui wanted to scare him, but one staggered, and she fell forward. Zhou Jingze caught her with one hand, while the other hand quietly extinguished the cigarette.

Her chin coincidentally bumped into his thigh, and she was lying on the man in a strange position. Zhou Jingze looked down at her with a loose smile:

“You don’t have to be this proactive when you see your boyfriend.”

Xu Sui struggled to get off of his body and muttered softly, “No, I’m not.”

At two o’clock in the middle of the night, the two leaned side by side, and a cold wind blew. Xu Sui immediately hid within Zhou Jingze’s embrace, her cheeks pressed against his broad chest, and the warm and powerful heartbeat fell in her ears.

Zhou Jingze hugged her, and his hands with distinct joints ran through her hair. His eyes looked into the distance, and he didn’t speak.

Xu Sui noticed that he was in a bad mood and always wanted to do something to divert his attention. She suddenly withdrew from her embrace and said, “Let’s play the game. Whoever loses can ask the other person a question, and if you don’t want to answer, then a head flick.”

“Okay.”

Zhou Jingze got up and went into the tent. When he came out, he had a small folding table and a box of things in his hands, with a smile, “It happened that Sheng Nanzhou stuffed it in my bag.”

It turned out to be Jenga, a high and dangerous tower. The two took turns pulling out a wooden block. If the tower is still stable, it’s a win, but if a piece falls out or if it collapses, it’s considered a loss.

At the beginning of the game, Xu Sui carefully pulled out a block from the center of the tower. After pulling it out, it didn’t move, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Compared with Xu Sui’s cautiousness, Zhou Jingze seemed to be more casual. He took a piece, and it didn’t move.

The two continued to play and eventually at the end, Zhou Jingze took out a piece and the other blocks fell. Xu Sui’s eyes lit up: “You lost!”

“You ask.” Zhou Jingze held the wooden blocks in his hands, his tone calm.

Xu Sui thought for a while and asked a question she had been curious about for a long time: “Why did you give up studying music in high school to become a pilot?”

Afraid that he would see through her thoughts, Xu Sui added: “Everyone’s been curious about it.”

Zhou Jingze was startled. He didn’t expect her to ask this question and smiled: “Might have to disappoint you, but I chose aviation just because a backbone grew in my head.”

He narrowed his eyes, recalling: “I don’t really remember what happened in high school, but at that time, I was deadlocked in an argument with my dad. He was born with airsickness, and no matter what business dealings, he only took the high-speed train or drove to get there, never on anything related to the plane. I wanted to disgust him and changed my major. At that time, everyone around me, including the teacher, was very against it. They thought that I was gambling on my future and living too recklessly. Except for my grandfather, planes were his lifelong passion.”

It turned out to be like this. The two continued playing the game and with a “bada”, the block fell to the ground. This time it was Xu Sui who lost. She looked a little annoyed: “I lost.”

“What do you hate others do to you the most?” Zhou Jingze asked.

Xu Sui thought for a while: “I don’t like when others lie to me.”

Zhou Jingze was stunned for a moment, the soot on his fingertips piled up into pieces, burning his fingers. For some reason, he felt a little panic in his heart.

“It’s my turn,” Xu Sui waved her five fingers in front of him, trying to get him back to his senses, “What’s one thing you think is a pity?”

“Washing off the tattoo on the back of my hand.” Zhou Jingze said in a casual tone.

Xu Sui remembered that in high school, every time Zhou Jingze played the cello or basketball on the basketball court, a string of English letters surrounded by a capital letter Z was tattooed on the back of his hand.

She silently noted down Zhou Jingze’s words. The two continued to play the game. As soon as Xu Sui lost, she let Zhou Jingze flick her forehead. When he lost, he was asked questions.

Xu Sui swallowed nervously and hesitated for a long time before summoning up the courage to ask, “Why did you change girlfriends one after another in high school?”

After asking, she quickly lowered her head, unconsciously grabbing the corner of her clothes with her fingers. The mountain wind was still at this moment, and the top of the mountain on the opposite side was white. There was a kind of silence all around.

Zhou Jingze spoke up in silence, his tone was lazy, and he looked at her with a half smile: “We played for quite a while, and it was to trick me ah, sister.”

“Then… forget about it.” Xu Sui wanted to say, but Zhou Jingze’s voice was a little hoarse: “There isn’t a huge reason. After my father had an affair, my mother committed suicide by burning charcoal.”

“At first, I opposed my father, but then later thought that it did feel pretty good to have someone’s company.”

That’s why he likes noise and is always surrounded by lively and sensual places.

Xu Sui didn’t know that she accidentally touched Zhou Jingze’s painful spots. When she was thinking about what to say, she inadvertently raised her head and was surprised:

“Look, there are stars!”

Xu Sui and Zhou Jingze sat facing each other across a small table. Zhou Jingze turned his head to look at the sky when he heard the words. A small but very bright star appeared in the dark and bleak sky. Then, one, two, three… seven, or eight more stars appeared, instantly lighting up the sky.

“My mother said—”

Zhou Jingze remembered that in his dreams, his mother was as elegant and beautiful as ever, and when she finally left, her voice was gentle:

“When stars appear in the sky, it means mother is visiting you. ”

Xu Sui often thinks that there are many sides to Zhou Jingze, frivolous, smart, proud, and more mature than his peers, but at the tip of this iceberg, sinking, sharp, flamboyant, and sometimes lonely.

Not sure why, but Xu Sui was glad they were together tonight because she got a sense of authenticity. He isn’t the Zhou Jingze who stands at the very top, doesn’t care about anything, and shows an aloof smile. He also has a lonely side.

When Xu Sui heard this sentence, her eyes became sore subconsciously. She was not good at comforting people and stammered: “I… will always be with you.”

The mountain wind blew again, a loud wail. Zhou Jingze’s back was turned to her, and Xu Sui thought that he didn’t hear it. She was looking for a topic to switch the conversation to.

Zhou Jingze suddenly turned his head and leaned over. Xu Sui raised her eyes ignorantly and bumped into a pair of dark deep eyes. He didn’t give the little girl a second to react and leaned over to kiss her.

At this moment, the tower standing on the table collapsed suddenly.

Unsure if he ate a mint just now, but the powder spread from the tip of his tongue. Xu Sui licked it subconsciously, it was cool and sweet. The remaining was hooked back by him again, and he swallowed slowly, his Adam’s apple rolling steadily, unable to tell whose taste it was.

Being kissed, Xu Sui couldn’t breathe smoothly. Zhou Jingze’s eyes overflowed with an intolerable itch, his lips moved down, and he sucked the tender and soft flesh on her neck.

“Baby, your body is so soft.”

“You… don’t say it.” Xu Sui’s face was blushing bright red, and she reached out to cover her ears.

The more affectionate, the more heartbroken. Zhou Jingze had never been a good person. His voice was hoarse and eager:

“Can I touch it?”

Although Xu Sui was afraid and nervous, she wanted Zhou Jingze to be happy, so she laid her entire body on his broad shoulders and nodded lightly.

Zhou Jingze sucked at her neck, and with his well-articulated hands, he lifted her sweater and peeked in. Xu Sui was breathing heavily, and she felt something hard, similar to silver, scratching against her skin, causing a light tickle.

It was only after she saw it clearly that Xu Sui opened her eyes in disbelief, and her voice was forced to be choppy: “This… isn’t this… the ring I was planning to give to Sheng Nanzhou?”

How come it was in his hand? That day, she asked Zhou Jingze if he had seen her ring, so he lied and said no.

A mountain wind blew by, and Zhou Jingze’s entire body pressed over. He licked her ear and sprinkled hot air, his voice was domineering:

“It’s mine now.”