That evening, after showering, Xu Sui sat on her bed and opened Zhou Jingze’s WeChat to message him: [Send me your account number first.]

[I’ll pay you back as soon as I get my salary in two months.] Xu Sui added another message.

Since Xu Sui insisted, Zhou Jingze had no choice but to send over an account number, leisurely adding: “No rush.”

You’re not in a rush, but I am. Xu Sui stared at the chat window and thought to herself. She didn’t want to owe Zhou Jingze anything, nor did she want their relationship to remain unclear.

Over the weekend, Liang Shuang asked Xu Sui to come out for drinks. Thinking about the unfortunate things that had happened to her recently, Xu Sui considered and agreed. Because she was at home looking up case files, she left a bit late. When she pushed open the pub door, Liang Shuang was already sitting there drinking.

Ever since her breakup, Liang Shuang often hung out at bars with Li Yang. In the pub, red lights intermittently hit the bar counter as Liang Shuang waved at her.

“Ugh, life is so boring,” Liang Shuang picked up a peanut from the white porcelain plate and tossed it in her mouth, “I’m suddenly so disappointed in love.”

Xu Sui dropped a piece of lemon into her cocktail and shook it. Afraid she’d be sad, she changed the subject: “Shuang Shuang, Li Yang gave me two tickets to that Italian movie premiere earlier. Do you want to go together?”

Ever since being cheated on last time, although Liang Shuang acted carefree on the surface, pretending nothing happened, Xu Sui could sense this incident had affected her greatly.

She was in a bad mood, and Xu Sui wanted to spend more time with her to help distract her.

Liang Shuang glanced at the ticket: “An Italian film? But I can’t really understand what they’re saying.”

“There are subtitles, and for this Chinese release, I think they invited voice actors too.” Xu Sui took a sip of her cocktail.

“Alright,” Liang Shuang nodded, asking the same question as Li Yang: “But how did you get into Italian films? I can tell you’ve wanted to see this screening for a while.”

Xu Sui propped her head on her elbow. Having drunk a little, a rosy flush climbed her cheeks. She thought for a moment: “When I went to Hong Kong for that exchange year, I accidentally met a professor called Professor Bai who taught Italian at our school. He was a very interesting person, and I was influenced by him to like Italian films.”

“Wow, that’s great – a professor! Why didn’t you work harder to develop it into a student-teacher romance?” Liang Shuang’s eyes lit up with excitement.

Xu Sui rested her chin on her elbow and smiled: “Come on, we haven’t been in touch for a long time.”

“I’m going to the restroom.” Xu Sui drained her glass.

Though cocktails have relatively low alcohol content, perhaps because Xu Sui hadn’t eaten and had two drinks on an empty stomach, she now felt not only uncomfortable in her stomach but also a bit dizzy.

Xu Sui supported herself against the wall as she walked forward, but accidentally bumped into a middle-aged man on her way to the restroom.

She immediately apologized softly. The middle-aged man was drunk and was about to curse her out, but when he opened his eyes and saw a woman with fair skin and watery eyes standing before him, his expression changed from anger to sunny as his hand reached out:

“It’s nothing. Have a couple drinks with me and we’ll call it even.”

Xu Sui instinctively struggled free, maintaining her composure as she bluffed: “Try me. I’m an orthopedic doctor – I don’t just set bones, I can also break them for you.”

Hearing this, the middle-aged man’s face turned livid with rage. He raised his hand to slap her, saying angrily: “You little bitch, how are you going to make up for bumping into me!”

The middle-aged man wasn’t pretending anymore, acting like a rogue as he blocked Xu Sui from leaving. Just as his slap was about to land, someone caught his wrist.

The person wore the bar’s suit uniform with a waiter behind him. He pushed up his glasses: “Customer, hello, I’m the manager here. Please calm down, this is my friend. Please be the bigger person—”

“You think one sentence will get rid of me?” the middle-aged man glared at him.

“Your entire bill tonight is on us, plus we’ll give you a membership card. How does that sound?” the manager said.

Human nature is such – people will back down for a bit of benefit. The middle-aged man relented, muttering quietly: “That’s more like it.”

So Xu Sui was led back to the bar by the waiter while the manager handled the aftermath.

Liang Shuang was sitting there drinking boredly when Xu Sui grabbed a tissue to wipe her hands and told her what had happened.

“The bar owner has his eye on you?” Liang Shuang’s eyes widened. “Otherwise why would he help for no reason?”

“The bar owner has never seen me before.” Xu Sui said.

“Then the floor manager has his eye on you?” Liang Shuang’s mind raced.

Xu Sui: “…”

She patted Liang Shuang’s head and used a toothpick to spear a small piece of watermelon, passing it over: “Eat some watermelon to nourish your brain.”

Liang Shuang laughed in exasperation and pretended to hit her. Xu Sui dodged sideways and nearly fell off the high stool.

As they were chatting, the floor manager personally brought over drinks and food.

“Miss Xu, this is complimentary from the bar today,” the manager placed the drinks and food from the tray in front of her, then turned to smile at Liang Shuang: “Miss Liang, this is your Jägermeister.”

“I get something too?” Liang Shuang’s eyes widened slightly.

“Yes, I wish you both a pleasant evening.” The manager bowed slightly to them.

“Wait, can I ask who sent this?” Xu Sui called out to him.

“It’s from a friend of the owner. That customer asked me to take good care of Miss Xu,” the floor manager wore a formulaic smile, “Sorry, that’s all I can say.”

After saying this, the bar manager politely bowed to them and left.

Liang Shuang looked puzzled – who knew coming to a bar could lead to such good fortune.

Xu Sui was even more confused. Her alcohol had been quietly replaced, and sitting before her was a cup of warm milk with two croissants beside it.

As she was about to move the cup, she noticed a small note on the tray: Line your stomach, go home early.

Liang Shuang leaned over to look, her face full of surprise: “Damn, I’m convinced. This time my brain definitely isn’t waterlogged – who’s chasing you? How is he so thoughtful!”

Amazing – he could actually get milk and bread in a bar. Liang Shuang was thoroughly impressed with this person.

Xu Sui stared at the note in a daze. The handwriting was sharp and bold, flying like dragons and dancing like phoenixes, revealing an arrogant air.

She actually had a vague guess about who it was.

Xu Sui took out her phone and messaged Zhou Jingze: [Are you also at Zero Bar?]

Soon the screen lit up, and Zhou Jingze replied with a brief: [No.]

He was denying it, but the more Zhou Jingze denied it, the more Xu Sui was certain it was him.

Since their reunion, Zhou Jingze had been too abnormal compared to before – quietly approaching her, flirting with her, giving her uncertain signals, actively caring for her, helping her from time to time.

But he never said anything definitive.

Xu Sui didn’t want to be entangled with him in this unclear way. She wanted to ask clearly what his intentions were, so an idea formed in her mind.

She jumped down from the high stool, holding her phone as she went upstairs, specifically walking toward the crowded booth area.

Xu Sui climbed the stairs while messaging: [Really? Today at the bar someone helped me handle a dispute and even sent food over.]

She went straight to the second floor where the lighting was dimmer, red and purple lights alternating. All the ambiguity and flirtation were reflected in the mirror surfaces of raised glasses.

Suddenly, someone hurried past, and “pop” – the person dropped a black wallet but didn’t notice.

Xu Sui squatted down, picked up the wallet, and called out to the person: “You dropped something.”

While waiting for Zhou Jingze to reply, Xu Sui held the wallet and typed with her right hand in the chat box: [Seems like a kind person. I’ve run into him now. Do you think I should give him my contact information?]

After sending the message, Xu Sui turned off her screen, no longer looking at her phone. Her pale fingers gripped the black wallet as she patiently waited for the person to come back for their belongings.

The person was a refined-looking man wearing glasses. He took it back: “Thank you, thank you.”

“You’re welcome, check if anything’s missing.”

Seeing the passerby approach, Xu Sui moved toward the second-floor railing, and he followed.

He opened the wallet – seeing his ID card, several bills, and bank cards were all there, he sighed in relief. Looking up, he saw Xu Sui gazing at him with smiling eyes, quiet and beautiful.

Today Xu Sui wore a white knit sweater and high-waisted jeans, her long hair reaching her waist. Hair kept falling across her forehead, which she brushed behind her ears.

Casual yet captivating.

It was a charm somewhere between pure and alluring.

The man’s breathing became erratic – he was obviously smitten.

“Well, thank you. How about I buy you a drink?” he said with a smile.

She wasn’t unaware of what this signal meant – wanting to be friends and get to know each other better.

Xu Sui’s eyes curved slightly as she was about to agree when a familiar tobacco scent approached. Someone gripped her arm as an oppressive shadow enveloped her.

She didn’t even need to look to know it was Zhou Jingze.

Xu Sui understood Zhou Jingze too well – brooding yet cold, not good at expressing himself, impossible to read his thoughts. But sometimes if you pushed him a little, this person could show you some of his true feelings.

When they were together, she knew Zhou Jingze was domineering and possessive. Xu Sui had guessed he was at the bar but just wouldn’t show himself. But just pretending to flirt with someone else, and he appeared.

Xu Sui did this just to get a clear answer.

The man stood beside her. Xu Sui calmly dug her nails into his arm with force, trying to push him away.

His firm forearm immediately showed several bright red nail marks, but Zhou Jingze acted as if nothing happened, silently enduring it while staying close to her, nodding to the man across from them as his magnetic voice rang out:

“Sorry, she’s drunk.”

The man could only nod, disappointment flashing across his face before he finally left.

After the person left, Zhou Jingze released her. Xu Sui lowered her head to adjust her clothes. Zhou Jingze’s jawline was taut, his dark eyes pinning her in place as he slowly asked:

“Having fun?”

Xu Sui leaned against the railing, looking directly at him, a hint of fatigue showing in her eyes: “I should be asking you that question.”

“Zhou Jingze, you’re really hard to understand. What is this supposed to be now? You wouldn’t be chasing me, would you?”

A strand of hair was caught in the button of Xu Sui’s knit sweater, and no matter how she tried to fix it, she couldn’t get it right, growing frustrated. Zhou Jingze leaned over, freeing his hand. His distinct knuckles pressed against her chest as his slender fingers hooked out the hair, quickly rescuing it.

They were very close together, and the lighting in their area had dimmed. The surroundings were noisy with dice rolling, conversations, and various fragmented sounds drifting over.

Looking at this tall man silently and seriously fixing her hair in front of her, Xu Sui suddenly felt a sense of helplessness: “Forget it.”

“Forget what, hmm?” Zhou Jingze lowered his neck to look at her, restraining his usual improper demeanor, his voice low and deep: “That’s right, I am chasing you.”

Remembering something, he self-mockingly curved his lips: “Actually, I’ve been chasing you all along. I’ll try to be more obvious in the future.”

Zhou Jingze finally said what he wanted to say. After being separated for so many years, he had looked for her in between, only to see her with another man. Loss and embarrassment hit him together, though there was also some relief that at least she was doing well.

Upon their reunion, perhaps even Xu Sui herself didn’t realize that her every movement, every casual glance could make his heart race and arouse his most primitive physical desires.

During sleepless nights, he often had to close his eyes and imagine her appearance to relieve his impulses.

Zhou Jingze had always been unwilling to show his cards when doing anything, only acting when completely confident, and he was proud.

So when he encountered Xu Sui again, his pursuit was unhurried, and he wouldn’t admit to it.

But there’s no winning or losing in matters of the heart.

All these years, he really couldn’t get over this one person.

Xu Sui’s expression froze, her heart momentarily panicking before returning to normal. She said: “But—”

“I’m pursuing my own agenda, I didn’t ask for your opinion,” Zhou Jingze interrupted her, his tone as domineering as always, his eyes holding only her. “Right now I’m the one actively coming to your door and refusing to leave.”