What Zhou Jingze meant by that statement wasn’t for Xu Sui to introduce this person as “so-and-so.” He was asking her to come clean. Bai Yushi was different from ordinary men – he was the first man to make Zhou Jingze feel a sense of crisis.

Despite having a whole day filled with chaos and suppressing his bad mood, when he saw Liang Shuang’s social media post, he still dropped everything he was handling and rushed over.

Xu Sui lowered her eyes. She actually didn’t know how to introduce Bai Yushi. To Xu Sui, he was like a small lamp during a confusing period of her life.

Meeting Bai Yushi was actually a coincidence.

When she was an exchange student in Hong Kong, Xu Sui’s major had nothing to do with Italian – she hadn’t taken this course as an elective and knew nothing about Italian.

At that time, when Xu Sui lived in Sai Ying Pun, besides her classmate roommate Carrie, there was another girl from the foreign languages department named Shi Ning who had chosen Italian as her second language.

Xu Sui had forgotten why Shi Ning asked her to help with class attendance. She only remembered that Shi Ning was in an emergency situation and couldn’t make it to school in time, so she asked Xu Sui to help attend class.

Xu Sui had just come out of the lab when she heard Shi Ning on the phone, almost crying with anxiety, so she agreed to help.

It took Xu Sui over ten minutes to find the classroom, and she finally entered just as class was starting.

She rarely did things like this and was afraid of being caught, so she sat in the second-to-last row.

This was her first time in an Italian class.

The movie playing in class happened to be “Back Street Girls.”

Xu Sui didn’t understand Italian films, and their language sounded rather harsh to her ears, so she never intended to watch it from the beginning.

Hong Kong summers were too hot – even the wind from the sea was stuffy and scorching. Combined with a movie in the classroom that she couldn’t understand, Xu Sui felt drowsy and eventually fell asleep on her desk. Bai Yushi sharp-eyed spotted her and called on her in front of everyone. Xu Sui was sleeping soundly and was finally woken up by a girl at the next table.

She couldn’t answer the question.

Xu Sui was assigned to write a five-thousand-word film review as punishment and had to deliver it to him personally.

Later, her cover for attending class instead of Shi Ning was blown, but Bai Yushi seemed to have it out for her and still required her to submit that film review.

With no choice, Xu Sui had to use her spare time to seriously watch this movie. Initially, she treated it as just a task, but when she really focused on it, Xu Sui discovered that Italian summers were beautiful – boundless blue waves, tall green trees, and every neighborhood had an old bookstore.

Some people kissed in fountain squares, others sunbathed and read by the sea, tanning themselves to a healthy wheat color.

Of course, the movie was even better. The story was about a poor child who survived and quickly matured in the cracks of a broken family.

She stepped out of the swamp step by step, fought her way through challenges, became the queen of her own career achievements, and also encountered her own love – though it wasn’t entirely satisfying.

After watching, Xu Sui seriously wrote the film review. When she handed it to Bai Yushi, he glanced at it, caught the key words, and perceptively asked: “Do you think Clarissa’s view of love is about exclusivity, or is it your view of love that’s about exclusivity?”

Xu Sui avoided this question.

Later, she didn’t know how she came to know Bai Yushi. Xu Sui really liked this film and wanted to find more Italian movies to watch. When Bai Yushi learned this, he often lent her Blu-ray collector’s edition films and recommended many original novels.

Through these exchanges, they actually became friends. For Xu Sui, Bai Yushi was not only a friend but also somewhat like a life mentor. For a period, Xu Sui was very confused about her future studies and her emotions.

Bai Yushi said that when confused, read more books and watch more movies.

Xu Sui said: “I don’t know how to describe that feeling. I still think about him, but in this relationship, I might be too serious. He was actually very good to me, no faults to pick, but I wanted exclusive love, and he couldn’t do that.”

Bai Yushi just smiled: “You young girls do like to be serious.”

Xu Sui sensitively caught the words “you girls.” Actually, during this time, the school was full of gossip saying that a girl ten years younger than Professor Bai had traveled far to find him, but cold-hearted as Bai Yushi was, he refused to even see her.

Supposedly he was engaged – the kind where both families were close friends.

It was said that Bai Yushi was originally from Guangdong, half Hong Kong native, grew up in Hong Kong with a wealthy background, backed by the deeply rooted Bai Group conglomerate.

Men like Bai Yushi – excellent, powerful, charismatic – inevitably attracted other women.

The rumors were intense at school, but Bai Yushi himself remained unperturbed, teaching as usual, completely unaffected.

“Professor Bai, then what’s your view of love?” Xu Sui asked.

Xu Sui still remembered how he smiled gracefully, his eyes lowering: “I don’t have any view of love. It’s all capital accumulation.”

Xu Sui was lost in thought, wondering how to introduce him, when Bai Yushi’s voice brought her thoughts back. He proactively extended his hand:

“Hello, I’m Xu Sui’s professor from when she studied in Hong Kong, Bai Yushi.”

Hearing the word “Hong Kong,” Zhou Jingze’s rock-black eyes instantly dimmed, becoming parched, leaving only the riverbed.

“Zhou Jingze.” Zhou Jingze’s voice was cold, looking up at him without extending his hand to shake.

Bai Yushi withdrew his hand, put it in his pocket, nodded to both of them, and said: “I’ll take my leave first.”

The sound of the car starting was particularly loud in the quiet night, followed by a black car disappearing into the darkness. Xu Sui took out her keys from her bag and said to Zhou Jingze:

“It’s late. You should go home and rest early too.”

After speaking, Xu Sui went to get her keys from her bag, preparing to brush past Zhou Jingze, but the man stood in front of her and grabbed her arm to prevent her from leaving.

“Are you trying to anger me to death? A professor, huh?” Zhou Jingze bit his back teeth.

Just now, seeing the two of them together, laughing and talking, he had an indescribable emotion – feeling blocked up but unable to vent.

As their eyes met, Xu Sui looked at him quietly.

Zhou Jingze couldn’t stand those dark pupils looking at him and pulled her into his arms, holding her tight. Xu Sui immediately resisted, pushing with her arms, not letting him touch her.

“Let me hold you for a while.” Zhou Jingze’s voice was hoarse.

As soon as he spoke, Xu Sui could sense something was wrong with him. Her originally struggling body stopped and she stood there.

Zhou Jingze held Xu Sui, burying his head in the hollow of her shoulder. The night was dark, wind blew, lifting dead leaves from the ground with rustling sounds.

For that moment, Xu Sui felt Zhou Jingze was motionless.

She felt he was like a silent bow standing there, as if it might snap at any second.

Xu Sui didn’t know what had happened to Zhou Jingze, but she could sense his low pressure and dejection.

When he said hold for a while, he really did release her.

“I’m leaving.” Zhou Jingze pinched her face and his expression returned to its casual, roguish look.

When Zhou Jingze turned to leave, Xu Sui stood in place watching his retreating figure.

The streetlights were dim, all lights on winter nights were cold and lonely. Zhou Jingze’s silhouette looked desolate and bleak, the wind lifting a corner of his coat’s hem before it quickly fell again.

Actually, in these five or six years, their knowledge and involvement with each other had been zero.

Xu Sui looked at Zhou Jingze’s long shadow stretched across the ground and asked:

“Have you eaten?”

“Snap” – bright light flooded the room, warm as spring indoors.

Xu Sui bent down and got him a pair of men’s shoes. Zhou Jingze stood at the door, looking at those shoes without moving.

“They’re new, disposable.” Xu Sui said.

Only then did Zhou Jingze put them on and walk in, his dark eyes surveying the interior.

Xu Sui’s apartment was one bedroom and one living room plus a balcony, with a neat Japanese-style layout. Many cute little ornaments were placed beside the TV cabinet, and a bunch of eucalyptus leaves was arranged in the left corner – very homey.

She used to be like this. When they were together, Xu Sui would often bring small trinkets over on weekends.

He suddenly remembered the little goldfish in the fish tank and the small green succulent she bought to put on his bedroom window.

It felt like just yesterday.

Zhou Jingze lowered his long eyelashes, casting faint shadows under his eyes.

“Sit for a moment.” Xu Sui tidied up the magazines on the sofa and poured a glass of plain water, placing it on the table.

Zhou Jingze sat on the sofa and took a sip of water. After Xu Sui took off her coat, she opened the refrigerator with a slightly embarrassed expression: “I only have noodles. Will you eat them?”

“Yes.” Zhou Jingze dropped the single word.

Xu Sui took out a bundle of noodles, a box of eggs, and tomatoes, walked to the kitchen, and pulled out a hair tie from her pocket to tie up her hair.

Actually, she wasn’t very good at cooking, only able to make some simple vegetarian dishes. With noodles like these, what she made was just barely acceptable.

Zhou Jingze put his glass on the table, seeing through Xu Sui at a glance: “I’ll do it.”

Zhou Jingze’s noodle-making posture was very skilled. Soon, a steaming bowl of noodles was ready.

Since Xu Sui had eaten in the evening, she didn’t eat. Zhou Jingze sat there, lowering his head to eat noodles, the steam making his features somewhat blurry.

“Where did you go today?” Xu Sui asked.

What happened? – she had another half-sentence she didn’t ask.

Zhou Jingze’s hand holding chopsticks paused, answering: “Dongzhao.”

The air returned to silence. After answering, he continued eating noodles with his head down, with only the sound of slurping noodles around them. Dongzhao – wasn’t that the aviation company Zhou Jingze worked for before he stopped flying?

Zhou Jingze usually ate noodles methodically and unhurriedly, but somehow he choked. He lowered his head, his chest trembling as he coughed violently, his eyes slightly red from coughing.

Xu Sui poured him a glass of water and asked: “Do you want to talk about it?”

Zhou Jingze took it and drank two sips, habitually putting on a casual smile, his tone light: “Next time.”

He seemed reluctant to mention it. After finishing, he changed the subject and even had the mood to tell jokes to make Xu Sui happy. After eating noodles, Zhou Jingze checked the time, picked up his keys and lighter from the table:

“Tsk, satisfied.”

Zhou Jingze took his things and headed out. Remembering something, he turned back, his hand on the door handle, squinting with a warning tone: “Lock your door properly.”

“I lock it every night. You should be the one I need to guard against.” Xu Sui said quietly.

Zhou Jingze lazily chuckled, lowering his neck to look directly at her:

“If I wanted you, do you think this door could stop me?”

“Anyway, good night.” Zhou Jingze reached out to pat her head.

After seeing Zhou Jingze off, Xu Sui closed the door. While cleaning up the table, she received a text from Liang Shuang, who asked gossipingly: [Baby, are you home? I think Professor Bai is pretty good, you could consider him.]

[You’re overthinking, babe.] Xu Sui replied helplessly.

Liang Shuang took this message as Xu Sui being shy and chuckled twice. She always felt that someone with Xu Sui’s gentle, soft personality was at a disadvantage dating someone like Zhou Jingze.

There were too many uncertain factors about Zhou Jingze. When he liked you, he was like flames – burning and intense. But sometimes he was like wind – unpredictable and uncatchable.

Rather than earth-shattering love, what she needed more was steady flow and security.

The day before her exhibition date with Bai Yushi, Xu Sui found a highly-rated restaurant on Dianping in advance and specifically asked him: [Professor Bai, do you eat Xinjiang cuisine? It might be a bit spicy.]

Bai Yushi quickly replied: [Sure, I’ve eaten too much Cantonese food. Good to change flavors.]

[Okay.] Xu Sui replied.

The weather was getting colder, with temperatures dropping sharply.

Even wearing a coat wasn’t enough for Xu Sui, so she added a white turtleneck sweater underneath. When she went out, a biting wind hit her like knives scraping across her face. She immediately buried her face in her collar, only exposing her dark, quiet eyes.

Seeing her like this, Bai Yushi found it somewhat amusing: “I have a coat in my car. I’ll have the driver get it.”

“No need,” Xu Sui waved her hand, moving her face out from her collar to breathe some fresh air. “We’re about to go in, and it should be warm inside.”

Bai Yushi nodded and didn’t insist. They walked into the convention center together. Upon entering, it was like stepping onto European streets, with vintage movie posters hanging on the walls.

Xu Sui and Bai Yushi walked one after the other. Occasionally when encountering interesting posters, she would stop to look longer, and Bai Yushi would explain them to her.

At this film poster exhibition, Xu Sui was delighted to see Italian films she had watched – “The Gospel According to St. Matthew,” “The Best of Youth,” and others.

The scene shifted, and Xu Sui saw the poster for “North and South,” with the frame frozen on the male lead confessing to the female lead.

“The one we met downstairs at your place the other day – is he the exclusivity advocate who’s been troubling you?” Bai Yushi asked, noticing her absent-minded state.

Xu Sui hesitated before nodding: “Meeting him again, I discovered he actually never let go of that relationship and is pursuing me, but I—”

“But you don’t dare anymore, afraid of repeating the same mistakes.” Bai Yushi cut straight to the point.

“Yes.” Xu Sui responded.

She lacked the courage to be with him again.

Bai Yushi nodded. This time, unlike when Xu Sui was in Hong Kong and he would say “that’s what you naive young girls want,” he said:

“I understand you a bit now.”

Xu Sui felt surprised and asked with a smile: “Professor, what changed you?”

Someone like Bai Yushi should have his own life value system that others could hardly change. Now it was Bai Yushi’s turn to be stunned. After a long while, he smiled faintly:

“There is such a person.”

“Anyway, if there’s anything you need help with, just ask.”

Xu Sui nodded and continued viewing the exhibition. After finishing, they planned to eat. The driver had left early due to business, so Bai Yushi personally drove her from the ring road, with intermittent traffic jams along the way.

Zhou Jingze had been very busy lately and hadn’t been out much. Just as Da Liu was back on annual leave, their group finally got together again.

In Club 2070’s private room, under dim red lighting, Da Liu sat there howling: “Find a dear beloved person to say goodbye to singleness…”

Zhou Jingze lazily nestled on the sofa mixing drinks. He had mixed a very strong cocktail, picked up a lemon wedge from a white porcelain plate to garnish the glass rim. When he lowered his head, the vertebrae of his neck slowly rolled – abstinent yet alluring.

“Bang” – Sheng Nanzhou pushed through the door, plopped down next to Zhou Jingze, making the sofa sink as he frantically made excuses for being late: “That ring road area was too congested, like cooking dumplings, stop-and-go the whole way. Anyway, being late isn’t my fault.”

Zhou Jingze placed the freshly mixed vodka in front of him, raising his brow bone: “Cut the crap and drink it.”

Sheng Nanzhou glanced at the alcohol content. With his tolerance, if this glass went down, he’d be hugging the toilet bowl and puking. He threw an arm around Zhou Jingze’s neck teasingly:

“Brother, you should be the one drinking this glass. I just saw Xu Sui with a man – that guy looked quite scholarly and charming. Heartbroken yet?”

Zhou Jingze held a cigarette between his fingers, ash falling as his palm felt the burning sensation. He chuckled coldly without speaking.

“Tsk, don’t disbelieve me. I wouldn’t lie to you, brother. They were laughing and talking, looked like they were going on a date. I drove past them, otherwise I would have taken a photo to show you.” Sheng Nanzhou unknowingly twisted the knife deeper into his heart.

Zhou Jingze slowly and forcefully extinguished the cigarette butt, the red glow disappearing, the ashtray burned black. He lowered his eyelashes, hostility thick in his eyes.

Sheng Nanzhou patted his shoulder: “When women get ruthless, they’re absolutely heartless. She was already sitting in his passenger seat. What about you? Since you reunited, has she ever sat in your passenger seat?”

Indeed, after their breakup, except when Zhou Jingze actively approached and she couldn’t avoid it, Xu Sui was always proper at all times, as if they were just strangers with an additional layer of ex-relationship.

After gaining this realization, Zhou Jingze’s dark pupils suddenly contracted. He drank the vodka in one gulp. The moment the alcohol hit his throat, his stomach burned like fire, the spicy sensation shot to the top of his head, his temples throbbed, and his throat was so hoarse he couldn’t speak.

It took a long time to recover.

His tongue pressed against the ice cube, slowly crunching it loudly. “Bang” – the glass was set back in place. Zhou Jingze stood up, lowering his voice and dropping two words:

“Leaving.”

Zhou Jingze grabbed his coat and left his brothers early. Da Liu had just finished singing “Single Love Song,” and when he turned around, the person was gone.

He looked puzzled: “What’s wrong with my buddy?”

“What else could be wrong?” Sheng Nanzhou sat on the sofa gloating. “Someone’s jealousy jar has been overturned.”

Bai Yushi was driving while Xu Sui sat in the car. They were on their way to the restaurant when the phone in her bag suddenly rang.

She took it out and answered: “Hello.”

The sound of a lighter clicking came through the phone, Zhou Jingze’s voice gravelly and low:

“Where are you?”

“On the way to dinner.” Xu Sui answered.

Zhou Jingze suddenly asked: “With whom?”

Xu Sui pressed the car window button: “Do I need to report to you where I go?”

The phone went silent – oppressive silence with only static.

If not for the phone showing an active call, Xu Sui would have thought Zhou Jingze had hung up.

“True, you don’t need to report,” Zhou Jingze’s tone was casual, then his words took a turn. “But you need to give me the student files and emergency rescue test assessments for the base trainees.”

“Simply put, I need you to come work overtime now.” Zhou Jingze was concise.

Xu Sui’s voice was hesitant: “Now? Can it be later? Everything’s saved on the computer. I can send it to you after I get home…”

“Urgent situation, related to their commercial licenses.” Zhou Jingze interrupted her, lying without changing expression.

Xu Sui still wanted to resist: “But…”

Zhou Jingze said nothing on the other end. Through the static, Xu Sui could feel his low pressure. The trainee licensing issue really couldn’t be delayed.

“Okay, I’ll go home now.” Xu Sui said.

After hanging up, Xu Sui looked at Bai Yushi with difficulty. The man smiled – he had vaguely heard the gist of the phone call and realized he might have become Zhou Jingze’s imaginary enemy.

“Sorry, Professor. I have something urgent. I’ll have to treat you to dinner another time.” Xu Sui looked apologetic.

“It’s fine, I’ll drive you home first.” Bai Yushi smiled, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

After speaking, he made a turn, did a U-turn, inputted Xu Sui’s address into the GPS, and drove over. After 40 minutes, they arrived. Xu Sui earnestly thanked him before getting out.

Xu Sui walked home, unexpectedly finding Zhou Jingze at her door. His expression didn’t look too good.

“Don’t you have a car?” Zhou Jingze walked over and asked her.

“What?” Xu Sui couldn’t follow his train of thought.

Zhou Jingze lifted his eyelids to look at the black car slowly driving away behind her, his voice somewhat heavy:

“If not, I’ll give you one.”

So you don’t have to keep riding in other people’s cars.

Xu Sui didn’t know what he was talking about. She took out her keys from her bag: “Come on, I’ll give you the materials.”

The second time at Xu Sui’s place, Zhou Jingze entered with familiarity, sitting down with the air of a young master as if it were his own home.

Xu Sui rummaged in her room for quite a while before coming out with an armful of documents: “Here are the hard copies. I’ll email you the electronic versions later.”

“Okay, you can leave now.” Xu Sui began ushering him out.

Zhou Jingze pulled out a stack of documents, his slender fingers gripping a corner of the papers as he flipped through them slowly.

He looked down at the trainee information, then suddenly said out of nowhere:

“Did you go on a date with Bai Yushi?”

A date? Wasn’t she just seeing an exhibition with a friend? Xu Sui instinctively wanted to explain, but suddenly remembering something, her words changed to:

“Yes, and I found him quite nice after getting to know him.”

She meant for him to back down.

Zhou Jingze was casually flipping through documents when he heard this. His movement paused, and in his distraction, the sharp edge of the paper cut him.

Immediately bright red blood appeared, flowing continuously as pain followed. He ignored it and just looked up at her.