Zhou Jingze answered neither question. He looked down at the video on his phone and deleted it without expression. Zhou Jingze tossed his phone into Qin Jing’s arms, turned around without looking back, and dropped a sentence:
“Let’s go.”
“Hey—” Qin Jing frantically caught his phone, his tone anxious: “You haven’t finished what you were saying. Why don’t you just introduce me…”
Zhou Jingze walked unhurriedly to the backstage with his hands in his pockets to meet up with them. They had won the prize and earned their trip to Beishan Ski Resort—Sheng Nanzhou was beaming with joy.
The moment he saw Zhou Jingze, Sheng Nanzhou shouted “Jing Jing!” Hearing this intimate address while he was lighting a cigarette, Zhou Jingze felt nauseous and directly broke the cigarette.
Sheng Nanzhou rushed over excitedly. Zhou Jingze pointed at him with his finger, his tone cold as he directly threatened:
“Try it.”
But Sheng Nanzhou was simply too happy. He charged over regardless, hugging Zhou Jingze and trying to kiss him. Just as his face was about to make contact, Zhou Jingze grabbed his wrist and twisted it backward, a half-cigarette dangling from his lips as he used his other hand to bind both of Sheng Nanzhou’s hands, forcefully bending them back.
The sound of joints cracking echoed. Sheng Nanzhou was forced to bend over, pleading repeatedly: “Ah—ah—I was wrong, Zhou-ye, it hurts, hurts, hurts—”
Hu Qianxi walked over with a smile, rarely interceding for Sheng Nanzhou: “Let him off, Uncle. If his hands are ruined, who’ll pay the bill?”
Zhou Jingze smiled and released his hands: “How rare.”
After being freed from restraint, Sheng Nanzhou straightened up, adjusted his clothes, and said: “Of course. First dinner, then singing. I’ve booked Red Crane Club.”
“We’re heading over first, Uncle.” Hu Qianxi grabbed Sheng Nanzhou’s arm and waved goodbye.
Zhou Jingze nodded and asked: “Where’s Xu Sui?”
“Oh, she said she needed to return something to someone and would be late. Uncle, why don’t you bring her along?” Hu Qianxi said.
“Mm.”
Not long after they left, Xu Sui had just come out of the rest room when she encountered Zhou Jingze smoking in the corridor. He leaned against the wall with his neck straight, exhaled a puff of smoke, his Adam’s apple bobbing. White smoke swirled around his slender fingertips, the fire glowing crimson red. She didn’t know what he was thinking about.
Seeing Zhou Jingze, Xu Sui felt as awkward as always, not knowing what to say. After thinking for a long time, she hesitantly asked: “Are you… waiting for me?”
“Mm.” Zhou Jingze stubbed out his cigarette and tossed it into a nearby trash can, slowly walking toward Xu Sui.
Xu Sui carried a bag, still wearing that white halter dress, lustrous as jade, revealing delicate collarbones like two crescents. She had just removed her makeup, free of powder and rouge, her pupils clear and transparent, looking well-behaved and pure.
Zhou Jingze looked at her exposed fair shoulders and frowned:
“Aren’t you going to change out of those clothes?”
The moment his gaze fell on Xu Sui, she inexplicably became nervous and flustered, her speech becoming incoherent: “My… original clothes got dirty. I’ll go back to the dorm to change. Wait here for me for a moment.”
Moreover, she felt quite embarrassed and uncomfortable wearing this type of clothing in front of Zhou Jingze. After explaining, Xu Sui wanted to run. Just as she was about to bolt like a rabbit, Zhou Jingze stood behind her and easily caught her ponytail with one hand. He made a soft snorting sound and spoke in a very light breath:
“What are you running from?”
Xu Sui’s entire body stiffened, not daring to move. Zhou Jingze released his grip, walked in front of her, took off his jacket and handed it to her, his brows and eyes showing casual indifference:
“Put this on before you run.”
Xu Sui instinctively shook her head in refusal, but meeting Zhou Jingze’s non-negotiable gaze, she helplessly explained: “But if I wear it, you’ll be very cold too.”
Zhou Jingze laughed, his tone roguish: “When Lord Zhou tells you to put it on, you put it on. Why so many words?”
Xu Sui could only put it on in the end, but like a child who had stolen adult clothes, she hurriedly said “thank you” and ran off. As Xu Sui ran out of the hall, wind whooshed past her. She instinctively buried her face in the collar, then caught the faint scent of smoke at the neckline.
Zhou Jingze’s jacket still carried his body heat. Wearing it, Xu Sui felt her entire body electrified, burning hot, heat traveling from her waist and abdomen all the way up to her neck.
Running in the wind, Xu Sui didn’t feel cold at all. She quickened her pace running back to the dorm, subconsciously not wanting to keep Zhou Jingze waiting too long.
Xu Sui ran back to the dorm breathlessly. When she pushed open the door, she braced her hands on her knees, gasping for air, a fine layer of sweat on her porcelain-white face.
“Sui Sui, you’re back? You looked so beautiful on stage just now—who knows how many boys in the audience were getting ideas.” Liang Shuang sat in her chair and turned around upon hearing the sound.
After catching her breath, Xu Sui straightened up, showing a light smile: “Really?”
She didn’t care much about that. Xu Sui continued: “I came back to change clothes.”
After changing, Xu Sui found a kraft paper bag, carefully folded the dress and put it inside, then hurried out. As the door opened, Liang Shuang’s concerned voice was swept into the wind:
“Are you running a fever? Your face is so red.”
Xu Sui hurried out again, spotting Zhou Jingze from far away. He had changed jackets and stood under a streetlight, head down playing with his phone.
Xu Sui jogged up to Zhou Jingze, handed him the bag containing the dress, and said again: “Thank you.”
Zhou Jingze had just put his phone back in his pocket. He turned his head, biting his zipper, and looked up at her upon hearing this, his tone ambiguous:
“Xu Sui.”
“Mm?”
“Must you be so polite with me?” Zhou Jingze looked at her with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.
“I’m not—” Xu Sui thought for a moment but didn’t know how to organize her words. She clearly wasn’t tongue-tied and spoke logically, so why couldn’t she say anything when faced with him?
Zhou Jingze pulled his jacket zipper all the way to the top, barely covering his cold, sharp jaw, and said: “Let’s walk ahead to catch a cab.”
“Okay,” Xu Sui replied.
They stood outside the school’s side gate, planning to take a shortcut through a small alley on the southeast side. The southeast belonged to the old campus area, where streetlights had been in disrepair for years, a yellow bulb covered with a layer of cobwebs.
The cold wind rustled the dark green holly leaves. Zhou Jingze walked in front when sounds of an argument came from the right side. He glanced toward the alley entrance and noticed something wrong, turning to speak to Xu Sui:
“Stay there and don’t move.”
Xu Sui stopped, and though she didn’t understand why, she obediently nodded: “Oh.”
Normally, Zhou Jingze wasn’t one to meddle in others’ affairs, but hearing familiar voices, he looked again. After seeing who it was, he had to stop.
Xu Sui also saw this scene and couldn’t help worrying about Bai Yuyue, tugging at Zhou Jingze’s sleeve.
“Let me go.” Bai Yuyue was surrounded by several boys, her tone clearly impatient.
Those boys were from the vocational school across the way, often drinking and fighting with no proper behavior. The blonde leader stepped forward, his tone amused: “Yo, still got attitude?”
“Miss, just be friends with us,” someone said in a changed tone.
Bai Yuyue’s eye-roll nearly reached the sky. Her tone was arrogant and dramatic: “You lot, are you even worthy?”
The contempt and superior attitude in Miss Bai’s words clearly angered them. The other party’s expression changed, and just as a hand was raised to teach her a lesson, a cold, textured voice came:
“Bai Yuyue.”
Everyone looked over. Zhou Jingze walked toward them with his hands in his pockets, a cigarette between his lips, his pace unhurried. When the blonde leader saw who it was, he unconsciously lowered his hand.
“Zhou Jingze?” The blonde touched his nose and asked: “You two together?”
“Mm,” Zhou Jingze’s tone was neither cold nor warm.
Bai Yuyue’s eyes sparkled with delight. She immediately moved closer to link arms with Zhou Jingze, her tone intimate: “Yes, we’re together. He’s my boyfriend.”
Zhou Jingze’s hand in his pocket moved to push Bai Yuyue away, but she gripped even tighter.
Seeing it was Zhou Jingze, the blonde backed down: “Alright, Zhou Jingze, you were pretty famous in high school. Let’s play pool sometime.”
“Mm.” Zhou Jingze removed the cigarette from his mouth and exhaled smoke.
Xu Sui stood not far away and witnessed this scene—Bai Yuyue intimately linked arms with Zhou Jingze. Even after the men left, she still didn’t let go, standing on tiptoe with a charming smile, saying something unknown to him.
The fire at Zhou Jingze’s fingertips flickered on and off. To accommodate the girl’s height, he bent down slightly to listen to her, making the vertebrae at the back of his neck prominent—cold yet alluring.
Xu Sui’s hands were in her jacket pockets, her thumbnail digging into the flesh of her index finger. Pain came, and on the ground, the shadows of the two overlapped. She looked down at that shadow, staring until her eyes became sore and swollen, not daring to blink.
After the group of thugs left, Zhou Jingze’s gaze fell on Bai Yuyue’s arm tightly linked with his, raising an eyebrow:
“Still not letting go?”
Bai Yuyue had to release him, but seeing Zhou Jingze come to help her still made her happy. Zhou Jingze watched the direction where those boys had gone and asked:
“How did you get mixed up with those hooligans?”
“Isn’t it because I’m too beautiful,” Bai Yuyue’s tone was proud and self-satisfied as she joked, “Blame you for not treasuring me, missing out on me.”
“Right,” Zhou Jingze smiled wryly. He casually stubbed out his cigarette: “I have things to do. I’m leaving.”
Seeing Zhou Jingze about to leave, Bai Yuyue quickly called out “Hey—” just wanting to talk with him more. Zhou Jingze had no choice but to stop.
“Congratulations on getting first place. Feels good, right?”
“It’s okay.”
“I was cheering for you from the audience. Did you see me?”
“No.”
At first, Zhou Jingze could patiently answer her questions, but later, as Bai Yuyue kept chattering about this and that, not wanting to let him leave, he became somewhat irritated.
Moreover, Xu Sui was still waiting for him.
“I have to go. Someone’s waiting for me.” Zhou Jingze’s voice was cold.
Xu Sui had initially been afraid of feeling uncomfortable, so she kept staring at their shadows. Later, she simply turned around and started hopscotch on the square tiles under the streetlight to distract herself.
Later, Xu Sui became so absorbed in hopping that she didn’t notice someone walking toward her. She accidentally collided with them. The other person caught her, and Xu Sui apologized repeatedly.
A teasing voice sounded above her head:
“Classmate, you don’t need to bow so deeply to me, do you?”
Xu Sui looked up to meet an unfamiliar face. When Qin Jing saw who it was, his heart leaped with joy. He calmly introduced himself on the surface: “I’m from Beihang, called Qin Jing. I saw your performance at tonight’s show—very impressive.”
“Thank you. Xu Sui.” Xu Sui returned his smile.
“Classmate, what a coincidence we are. Except for the other girl in your temporarily formed band whom I don’t know, all the others are my classmates.” Qin Jing actively drew closer to her.
The corners of Xu Sui’s mouth curved up, dimples appearing on her cheeks. Qin Jing felt his heart being tickled. Like a big bad wolf, he continued: “Since you’re their friend, you’re my friend too. Junior, why don’t you give me your contact information? If you need help with anything in the future, you can find me.”
Xu Sui found it somewhat amusing. Weren’t they the same grade? When did she become his junior? Just as she was about to speak, a cold voice came, and Xu Sui looked over.
Zhou Jingze stood not far away with his hands in his pockets, squinting his eyes, his voice low and deep:
“Xu Sui, come here.”