CH 42

Chapter 42: You sleep with me.

Zhou Jingze had a fever. His conditions were neither good nor bad, and it lasted for a day and a night. Everything he didn’t dare to recall these years all became a dream.

In the dream, just when he could no longer resist, Yan Ning rushed back. In front of his wife, Zhou Zhengyan played the role of a refined and gentle husband. As soon as he saw her coming back, he immediately went to pick up the big and small bags in her hand.

Yan Ning sat down and drank two sips of tea, pointed to the gift on the soft sofa, and said warmly: “Zhengyan, I saw a beautiful Windsor knot when I was shopping in France. The style is very special, so I bought it for you.”

“Thank you, wife.” Zhou Zhengyan smiled and peeled a grape and fed it to Yan Ning.

“The one in the blue bag next to it is for Jingze. He wants a pen.” Yan Ning bit the grape and pointed to the bag next to him, “Hey, where is he? Let him come over and see if he likes it.”

Zhou Zhengyan’s expression flashed for a moment of panic, and his tone was trying to dodge the situation: “He went to class.”

“Okay, then I’ll go to rest from the jet lag.” Yan Ning put down the cup in her hand.

Zhou Zhengyan also stood up, put his arms around Yan Ning’s waist, and kissed her on the cheek. In a doting tone, “Honey, then I’m going to work. When you wake up and want something to eat, give me a call, and I’ll buy it back for you after work.”

“Okay.” Yan Ning stretched her back.

After Zhou Zhengyan left, she went up the steps, and before taking two steps, she felt a throbbing pain in her heart. Yan Ning felt something bad happened and walked up the stairs slowly.

After Yan Ning returned to the room, she removed her make-up and combed her hair in front of the mirror. For some reason, her eyelids twitched, and her heart panicked.

Perhaps a bond between mother and child, Yan Ning felt something was off, and she subconsciously worried about her son. Suddenly, she glanced down inadvertently, and there was a string of torn Buddhist beads lying on the ground.

Yan Ning’s eyes froze. She picked it up, immediately called Zhou Zhengyan, and cut directly to the topic: “Where’s my son?”

“Honey, didn’t I say he went to school.” Zhou Zhengyan smiled apologetically over the phone.

“You’re lying! He left the Buddha bead bracelet he always wears at home.” Yan Ning tried her best to calm down her emotions but finally couldn’t help it and said sharply, “Zhou Zhengyan! If anything happens to my son, I won’t give you an easy time! ”

After she finished speaking, Yan Ning threw the phone and shattered it to pieces. Aunt Tao asked for leave and went back to her hometown. She called the nanny in; after all, she was well-known and supported by someone in the family. The nanny was trembling all over the place:

“The basement… cellar, sir locked him up there.”

Before the nanny finished her words, Yan Ning rushed down, and when she found Zhou Jingze, she was crying so much that she was wiping her tears while carrying him out.

In a daze, he heard his mother constantly apologizing to him, and then he heard the emergency siren; a group of people surrounded him. The doctor said that if Yan Ning was one step late, his ears would be deaf due to high fever.

Later, after Zhou Jingze recovered from his illness, he was afraid of the dark for a long time and could not stay alone or speak. It was his grandpa who took him back and taught him to play chess and airplane models every day. It took him a long time to slowly get better.

Fortunately, his grandpa taught him very well.

Because Yan Ning was too soft-hearted and still had feelings for Zhou Zhengyan, she reluctantly forgave him after he knelt down and admitted his mistake desperately.

Zhou Jingze has been living at his grandpa’s house, and Yan Ning often came to persuade him to go home; until the third year when his grandma became seriously ill, and his grandfather didn’t have the energy to take care of him. It was Zhou Jingze who offered to go back to that house.

He was no longer afraid of Zhou Zhengyan. In the past three years, Zhou Jingze learned Taekwondo and practiced fencing.

Weeds eventually grow wildly into big trees, not falling when encountering strong winds and not scattering when encountering wind and sand. They live tenaciously, sharply, and arrogantly.

…

During the period when Zhou Jingze had a fever, it stopped but then worsened. Xu Sui took two days of absence and took care of him. After feeding him medicine, she repeatedly tried to cool his temperature.

Five or six o’clock in the afternoon, at dusk and sunset, was the most beautiful time of the day. Xu Sui touched Zhou Jingze’s forehead and seeing that the temperature had almost subsided, she got up and went to the kitchen, intending to make some porridge for him.

As soon as Xu Sui opened the door of the refrigerator, Xu Sui was startled. There were three shelves but no ingredients. The top shelf was the white peach milk she often drank; the second layer was the carbonated drink he often drank, and the third layer was ice water.

Not to mention the freezer was cleaner than the young master’s face.

Xu Sui closed the refrigerator door, took out her phone, and ordered some ingredients and seasonings online. Half an hour later, the express delivery was delivered to the door.

Xu Sui walked into Zhou Jingze’s kitchen, biting a milk straw and a large bag of ingredients in her other hand. After a quick glance, she found that, except for the kettle, all other household appliances were new, and the labels weren’t even removed.

Xu Sui turned her head and turned on the gas stove. The blue flame jumped up, and she put the washed millet into the pot. After a while, there was a bubbling sound from the pot.

Xu Sui washed her hands, took out a rubber band from her pocket, and tied up the hair behind her back. Her original shoulder-length hair had reached her waist because she hadn’t cut it for a long time, so it took a while for her to tie it up.

After the porridge was cooked to a certain degree, Xu Sui poured the washed ingredients— cubes of spareribs, diced carrots, ginger, and yam all into the pot.

Xu Sui looked at the porridge in the pot while drinking milk. The profile of her face was quiet and beautiful. There were fine hairs behind her ear that fell in front of her cheeks and itched a little. She was about to reach out and hook them behind her ear, but a tall shadow fell, and one hand was quicker and hooked the loose hair behind her ear.

“You’re awake?” Xu Sui’s eyes were filled with surprise.

“Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

Zhou Jingze casually put on a gray sweater; the neckline was loose, revealing two collarbones, his messy hair hung on his forehead, and his lips were a little pale. He smiled lazily:

“I’m a little thirsty.”

“Ah,” Xu Sui let go of the straw she was biting on and paused, “Then I’ll get you some water.”

Inside the house, Xu Sui was wearing a white Dumbo sweater, holding a milk carton in her right hand. There was a little milk stained on her most red lips, and her thick and long eyelashes hung down, looking obedient.

Zhou Jingze’s eyes were concealed, suppressing the turbulent emotions. When Xu Sui passed by him to get water, he reached out his hand and grabbed her waist.

Xu Sui was forced to bump into his chest, and when she raised her eyes, the tip of their noses was about to touch. Zhou Jingze held her chin with his hand, tilted his head, and kissed her, licking off the milk on the corner of her lips bit by bit. Warm breath brushed against her neck, and his voice was hoarse:

“Isn’t it already made?”

The evening sun was setting, and the last warm light was broken into small grids by the window next to the kitchen, falling on the two of them. Their shadows intertwined, and Xu Sui felt a little hot. Her waist was bumped against the sink, but blocked by a wide palm; all the milk between her lips was sucked away, and a drop unconsciously dripped on her collarbone.

Zhou Jingze bit it, and Xu Sui immediately felt the pain. Her thick black eyelashes fluttered for a moment, and there was a tingling numbness in her collarbone.

Until the pot with the porridge made a rapid sound, Xu Sui pushed him away and turned her face away. Her voice was intermittent but carried a bit of anger in a coquettish manner:

“Zhou Jingze! Porridge… porridge.”

“After a few words, Zhou Jingze let go of her. Xu Sui straightened her clothes and turned off the fire hastily. She took out a porridge and winter melon lotus seed lily soup.

At the dining table, Xu Sui sat next to him and moved the porridge and soup to the side, and said, “You drink.”

Coincidentally, Xu Sui’s phone on the side made a “ding dong” sound. She clicked on it, and it was a message from Xiangfeng asking about Zhou Jingze’s later reaction and symptoms.

Xu Sui replied seriously, naturally forgetting about the person next to her.

Zhou Jingze pulled out the chair and found that the girl’s attention wasn’t on him for even a second, from sitting down to picking up the spoon. The eldest young master stirred the porridge with a spoon and said without emotion:

“Xu Sui.”

“En?” Xu Sui retracted her gaze from the phone.

“This porridge doesn’t seem to have any salt.” Zhou Jingze raised his eyebrows, his voice still a little hoarse.

“Really? Let me see.” Xu Sui immediately put down her phone and took a bite of the porridge from the spoon in his hand. She asked in confusion, “I think it has flavor.”

“Really?” Zhou Jingze answered without changing the expression on his face. Then he took the spoon and continued to drink the porridge.

Zhou Jingze had very good table manners and ate leisurely with his cheeks moving slowly as if he was tasting some delicious food. He gave Xu Sui a lot of face and drank most of the porridge.

Xu Sui looked at the phone and raised her head: “How do you feel now?”

“It felt like I had a very long dream. After it was over, I didn’t feel afraid when I woke up.” Zhou Jingze said slowly.

“You can get used to closed and dark spaces now. If you sleep, you should cooperate with some medications later.” Xu Sui said.

The nightmare was over, and Zhou Jingze returned to his previous carefree and undisciplined appearance. The corners of his lips were raised, and his tone was serious but with a frank viciousness:

“Okay, you sleep with me.”

Xu Sui’s cheeks became heated quickly, and she pretended to look at the time on the wall. Her tone flustered for a moment: ” It seems to be very late, and since you’re okay now, I’ll go back to school first.”

Xu Sui packed her bag in a panic, threw books, notes, hand cream, etc. into the bag, and put on a white down jacket, heading out.

“Xu Sui.” Zhou Jingze called out to her.

“Yeah.” Xu Sui looked back at him, holding the bag.

Zhou Jing sat there, his deep and dark eyes pinned her in place, and said in a faint voice,

“You will be willing.”

In the end, Xu Sui fled in despair. When she walked out of the main entrance of Zhou Jingze’s house, a gust of cold wind blew. Her heart was still beating very fast, and her phone screen lighted up:

ZJZ: 【I called for a car at the alley; when you arrive, send me a text.】

After Xu Sui returned to school, she plunged into an ocean of knowledge, desperately trying to make up the notes from the past two days, commuting to and from the classroom or library all day long.

As for Zhou Jingze, he finally returned to school after disappearing for a whole week. He explained his situation to the class advisor. Although the teacher valued Zhou Jingze, he still had to follow the rules and gave a zero for his general psychology exam and gave disciplinary action.

The teacher asked him to adjust as soon as possible within a winter vacation’s worth of time.

“Be sure to fix it, otherwise even if you pass our test, you’ll still face difficulties in pilot recruitment after graduation.”

Zhou Jingze accepted the punishment given by the school without any dissatisfaction and nodded: “Thank you.”

Xu Sui felt that her and Zhou Jingze’s relationship had changed. If the time at the ski resort was a mutual test of affection, this time, she felt that Zhou Jingze really liked her.

When they first got together, Zhou Jingze was looser towards her; even if he cared about her, it was a casual gesture. Now, Zhou Jingze called and texted her more frequently, and even more quietly controlled her schedule.

On Friday, Xu Sui memorized books in the library all afternoon, and the students around her left one after another. Some people held meal cards while quietly discussing the roasted spare ribs in the canteen, and she realized it was already evening.

Xu Sui glanced at the time, realizing that it was six o’clock. She made a plan with Zhou Jingze; he said that he would take her to a new restaurant today. She hurriedly packed her books and ran downstairs.

Unexpectedly, she ran into Shi Yuejie downstairs. Xu Sui was surprised. She hadn’t seen Shi Yuejie for two months but heard that he became a postgraduate. Some time ago, he went to Xi’an with his teacher to work on a project.

“What a coincidence, senior brother.” Xu Sui greeted him friendly.

Shi Yuejie shook his head: “No, I came here specifically to find you.”

“Find me?” Xu Sui said in surprise.

“En,” Shi Yuejie glanced at the students coming and going, with a gentle voice, “Can we find another place? I have something to tell you.”

Xu Sui glanced at the time and said in an apologetic tone: “I’m afraid I can’t. I made plans to have dinner with my boyfriend.”

Hearing the word boyfriend, Shi Yuejie’s expression froze a little. Xu Sui thought that Shi Yuejie had something important to say and pointed to a tree not far away: “Why don’t we go there then.”

The two went to the tree, and unlike before where Shi Yuejie was indirect with his words, he cut directly to the point: “I heard that you and Jingze are together.”

“Yes.” Xu Sui was stunned for a moment, not expecting him to talk about this.

“To be honest, it’s a bit abrupt for me to tell you these words, but I’m sincere about it. Jingze is not as good as you see on the surface. He… actually has an unknown side, and he probably promised to be with you on a whim, just for fun, because—”

Hanging on the words, Shi Yuejie seemed to be having trouble speaking out and then changed the subject: “I suggest you—”

To be honest, Xu Sui thought she was a good-tempered person and would never take the initiative to cut off someone in the middle of the sentence, but this time, she interrupted Shi Yuejie’s speech:

“Thank you, brother, for your concern. I understand what kind of person he is. We are very happy now.” Xu Sui’s tone was not very good, and she smiled, “I always like to listen to myself, and I don’t like others to give me advice.”

Xu Sui turned around and left with the book in her arms. She seemed to think of something and stopped, turning her head around: “Also, I don’t want to hear anyone say that he isn’t good again. If it’s his friend, won’t say something like this behind his back.”

Xu Sui walked out of the campus all the way, took a glance at her phone, and found that Zhou Jingze sent her a message saying he arrived. The sky was a bit dark and bleak. Although she defended Zhou Jingze firmly in front of Shi Yuejie just now, on the way, his words still lingered in her mind from time to time.

What is it on Zhou Jingze’s side? Could it be that he really got together with her on a whim with the attitude of casually dating anyone?

After all, he will never be short of love.

After Xu Sui walked for about ten minutes, she opened the door and walked into the restaurant they had agreed upon. As soon as she entered, from a far distance, she saw Zhou Jingze with his back facing her. He was wearing a black sweater with white cuffs. The coat was draped over the back of the chair, and his elbows were resting on the table. He was studying the menu in a loose state.

Wherever Zhou Jingze’s face is, it was a curse of its own. Not long after, a girl sitting at a nearby table came up and asked for a number. She was lively and cute, not embarrassed at all.

Xu Sui tightened her hand on the doorknob and stopped for some reason. That strange self-esteem came out again, and she stood behind to see if Zhou Jingze would refuse.

The girl stood there happily in front of him and explained her reason for coming. Zhou Jingze moved his face halfway from the menu and glanced at her.

Based on Zhou Jingze, when asked for his number, he usually gave it depending on his mood or just completely ignored it.

Zhou Jingze grabbed his phone from the side and glanced at it. He raised his hand to signal he had something to say to the girl. The girl bent down; the expression on her face was first happy, then depressed, and finally, she smiled heartily. She said something to him and left.

After hearing this, Zhou Jingze relaxed his eyebrows and smiled very lightly.

Standing not far away, Xu Sui only felt tightness in her chest, the kind that was difficult to breathe. Shi Yuejie was right, perhaps Zhou Jingze was with her on a whim for some other reason, maybe because of a fresh feeling or curiosity, but whatever it was, it couldn’t be serious.

She was in a daze, and the very busy waiter who passed by accidentally bumped into Xu Sui, and a few drops of warm water splashed on her hair.

The waiter handed over the tissue and apologized repeatedly, Xu Sui took it and wiped casually, shaking her head: “It’s okay.”

Zhou Jingze turned around when he heard the sound and got up about to come over. Xu Sui hurried over; she sat opposite Zhou Jingze, put down her bag, and said, “Sorry, I’m late.”

“Didn’t we agree last time, you have the right to be late,” Zhou Jingze poured a cup of buckwheat tea for her; the tone was slow.

Xu Sui received it and took a sip of tea without speaking; she reluctantly raised the corners of her lips.

Xu Sui likes to eat hot pot in the winter, and everything is spicy. Zhou Jingze prefers a mild taste, so she ordered a double-flavor hot pot.

The atmosphere during the meal was very good. Zhou Jingze was taking good care of her; he didn’t move his chopsticks much during the entire time but rinsed something, and then quietly put it into her bowl.

“What are you thinking?” Zhou Jingze’s voice was low.

Xu Sui was staring at the meatballs bubbling in the butter-fat pot in a daze. Hearing this, she came back to her senses. She lowered her head and took a bite of the lettuce, hiding a smile:

“I’m thinking about the teacher’s question this morning. It’s a bit difficult.”

“Difficult? ”

“En, too difficult, I can’t solve it.”

After eating, at eight o’clock, the two walked back together. Zhou Jingze accompanied her all the way downstairs to the girls’ dormitory. Xu Sui said “goodbye” to him and turned to go in.

The winter wind became swift and sharp for no reason. Zhou Jingze stood on the spot and lit a cigarette in the cold wind. The smoke exhaled from his thin lips. He squinted at her back and suddenly said:

“Xu Sui.”

Xu Sui stopped, thinking that it was something important. She walked up to him again, raising her eyes to look at him: “What’s the matter?”

The scarlet on Zhou Jingze’s fingertips was extinguished, and his tone was loose: “You haven’t said good night to me yet.”

“Ah? Then… good night.”

“Good night.”

The next day, after Xu Sui finished her class, she went to the canteen with Hu Qianxi and Liang Shuang. After they got the food, the three of them found a table and sat down. In the middle of their meal, Hu Qianxi felt something was wrong and said puzzledly:

“Hey, our cafeteria goddess didn’t get asked for her number today. It’s a bit strange.”

Just after Hu Qianxi finished speaking, the two guys holding their plates behind her were whispering amongst them. The slightly chubbier guy pushed the friend wearing glasses next to him:

“Don’t look, even if you keep staring, she already has a boyfriend.”

“Besides, can you beat Zhou Jingze?”

Hu Qianxi lowered her head and whispered to her sisters: “Baby, what’s the situation ah, when did you guys become so high-profile? ”

I don’t know.” Xu Sui stuffed a bean into her mouth.

Since they got together, she and Zhou Jingze have always kept a low profile. Moreover, Zhou Jingze is not the kind of person who likes to share; he’s lazy, seems to be careless about everything, and doesn’t care for anything.

Zhou Jingze had never posted her in his Moments, so when did people know they were together?

“Hey, let me, who has been in Beihang’s gossip forums all year round, search for answers for everyone.” Liang Shuang excitedly took out her phone.

Liang Shuang took out her phone and browsed through the webpage, scrolling through, and suddenly there was no sound. After a while, she showed Hu Qianxi something.

Hu Qianxi glanced at her phone, and a small piece of broccoli she was biting suddenly dropped. The atmosphere was surprisingly weird; Hu Qianxi looked at Xu Sui and said:

“Sui Sui, Zhou Jingze is for real now.”

“What?” Xu Sui felt a little strange.

Hu Qianxi handed over the phone to her. Xu Sui took it and scrolled down on the screen with her thumb. The amount of information was so dense that she was a little confused.

On Beihang’s forum, there was a thread about Zhou Jingze that contains confessions and discussion posts of various girls to him. Just casually scrolling down, comments will appear:

Strawberry Flavored Me: I ran into Zhou Jingze in the Feiyuan playground today, and his handsome side profile killed me.

Want to Travel Around the World: Hey, I’ve been outside in the training ground pretending to meet him, but I haven’t seen him once.

My Husband Zhou Jingze: Sizheng sports ground, I saw him playing basketball. He had a nice jacket, and I wanted the same style as him. I checked and found that it was a limited edition, the type that I couldn’t buy.

……

This thread has been posted since Zhou Jingze’s first day of school, and now half a year later, more than 2,000 posts have accumulated.

Zhou Jingze never went to take a look at it and didn’t care. He always had the attitude of living in the moment and idling his time away by comparison. He cares more about what to eat the next day.

That’s the kind of person who suddenly registered an account, and in that post of more than 2,000 posts, he replied briefly but forcefully:

【I have someone already. Xu Sui.】

This one reply stirred up a thousand layers of waves. The girls in the school and the school next door who liked Zhou Jingze couldn’t accept this reply.

A blatant and bold announcement, announcing his preference to the world; it was really not his style.

Someone replied:【It’s fake unless you certify your name. 】

Others said: 【I just want to sleep with him, it seems that I can’t now?】

Most people scattered their comments: 【I don’t really believe it. He didn’t have a fixed girlfriend before, doesn’t his girlfriend’s shelf date not exceed three months? Now one emerges out of thin air.】

Xu Sui kept scrolling down the post, feeling a little pain in her forefinger joint a little. She stopped when she saw a reply to these doubts:

A Can of 7-Up: Although I don’t want to believe it, I have to tell my sisters that it’s true. Yesterday, I was having dinner with my roommate at a newly opened hot pot restaurant. I thought it was only him, so I jumped up and eagerly went over to ask for his WeChat, but he spoke in a very serious tone with an unbending voice: “Sorry, no. Standing behind you, the girl at seven o’clock—”

Xu Sui’s heart palpitated intensely when she saw the second half of the sentence- as if her heart was poured into a knocked sparkling water, slightly sour and then sweet from all directions:

“That’s my wife.”