“Back then, abandoning you was because I couldn’t distinguish priorities. I’m sorry.” Zhou Jingze looked up at her, his tone slow and deliberate. “I made us both heartbroken.”

“From now on, you’ll always be first in my heart.”

Xu Sui lowered her head. She didn’t know why she was so prone to crying in front of Zhou Jingze. She reached up to hastily wipe away her tears, no longer saying a word.

Zhou Jingze was always helpless when faced with his girl crying. He could only pull out tissues and gently wipe her tears with tender movements, tucking the disheveled hair from her forehead behind her ears.

He seemed to remember something, staring at her waist and abdomen as he asked, his voice slightly hoarse:

“Does it hurt?”

Xu Sui was stunned for a second, noticing something off about his gaze before she realized what he meant.

He wasn’t asking if her waist injury hurt, but whether it hurt when she got the tattoo.

“It hurt,” Xu Sui nodded, murmuring softly, “Later I thought it through—if I married someone else, I’d get the tattoo removed.”

Zhou Jingze’s hand wiping her tears paused. His finger lifted her chin as he narrowed his eyes:

“Who else were you planning to marry?”

“I—” Xu Sui wanted to defend herself. Of course she had thought about it. Back then, the shock from their breakup was too great; who wouldn’t want to look forward?

Zhou Jingze suddenly interrupted her, saying softly: “I’ve only ever thought about marrying you.”

When young, he didn’t understand how to love someone, nor did he know how to love, until he met Xu Sui.

After he said this, the surroundings fell into complete silence.

After Zhou Jingze spoke these words, perhaps feeling they were a bit sentimental, he changed the topic. Xu Sui noticed that his expression remained composed as always, but his ears had quietly turned red.

Cold wind surged in through the gaps in the window. Xu Sui’s toes curled, turning white from the cold.

When Zhou Jingze had pressed her against him for kisses right after entering, then pushed her entire body against the table, her shoes had been lost in the entryway during their embrace.

Zhou Jingze also noticed this. His palm grasped her pale, delicate feet, warmth transferring over as he spoke:

“I’ll go get your shoes.”

Xu Sui stopped him. Looking at his reddened ears, she smiled with relief, opening her arms wide, her cheeks slightly flushed:

“I want a hug.”

Zhou Jingze was stunned for a second, the smile at the corner of his lips slowly rising as he responded:

“Alright.”

The man bent down, his strong arms threading through her elbows. One hand encircled her slender waist, directly lifting her up in a vertical embrace.

Her lotus-white arms climbed up around his neck. The man’s large palm supported her hips, bouncing her up slightly as he carried her walking around the living room.

After putting on her shoes, Xu Sui still hung on him, unwilling to come down.

“Why are you suddenly so clingy?” Zhou Jingze laughed.

“This time it really feels like a dream come true.”

Xu Sui looked up at him, her fingers caressing his brow bone as she suddenly spoke.

Zhou Jingze looked at her, feeling both heartache and an indescribable emotion.

A young girl’s secret love is a very deep and complex feeling.

He also couldn’t imagine how a person could spend ten years consistently following a figure with their gaze.

After speaking, Xu Sui’s stomach untimely began to growl.

Zhou Jingze set Xu Sui down and opened her refrigerator door. There were no ingredients inside, only a few eggs and a package of dumplings.

Late at night, Zhou Jingze cooked a serving of dumplings for her. The dining table’s light cast warm tones, throwing shadows through the tablecloth’s fine checkered pattern.

They sat facing each other eating dumplings. The room was quiet except for the sound of spoons touching porcelain bowls.

Their gazes occasionally collided mid-air, sticking together, then separating, creating lasting fluttering sensations.

After finishing the dumplings, Zhou Jingze lowered his head, holding his phone and scrolling through something.

Xu Sui asked curiously: “What are you doing?”

“Ordering disposable toothbrushes, towels,” Zhou Jingze raised his brow bone, deliberately pausing when mentioning a particular word, “underwear.”

Xu Sui’s face immediately flushed red. Zhou Jingze’s naked hint was clear to anyone who heard it.

He not only intended to stay here but also wanted to make love with her.

“No way, you can’t stay here tonight,” Xu Sui glanced at the wall clock and said, “It’s time for you to leave.”

Zhou Jingze lifted his eyelids, his tone slow: “Why?”

She had been clinging to him just moments ago.

Xu Sui grabbed the keys, cigarettes, and lighter from the coffee table, stuffing them into his pockets as she pushed him toward the door:

“I’m just occasionally passionate. The most important thing is maintaining freshness.”

As soon as she finished speaking, “Bang!”—the door closed. Zhou Jingze was pushed out completely, the door nearly catching his nose.

Zhou Jingze stood there looking at the tightly shut door. His tongue pressed against his left cheek as he chuckled lowly: “Little girl.”

He leaned against the door smoking two cigarettes. After exhaling clouds of smoke, he crushed the sparks under his shoe tip before leaving.

After driving Zhou Jingze away, Xu Sui took a bath and washed her hair. While soaking in the tub, her mood became much more relaxed.

When she came out, tilting her head and using a white towel to dry the water from her hair, the doorbell soon rang. Xu Sui ran to open the door.

The delivery person handed her a paper bag and gave her a receipt, saying: “The note says Mr. Zhou, right? Please confirm the items.”

“Oh, okay.” Xu Sui accepted it.

After closing the door, Xu Sui sat on the sofa and opened the bag to look inside: disposable toothbrushes, towels, two pairs of disposable underwear, and he had even bought… condoms.

Water droplets from her wet hair dripped down her neck. Though clearly ice-cold, her body felt a surge of heat.

Xu Sui hurriedly took a photo and sent it over, saying:

【Take your things away.】

Soon, her phone screen lit up. Zhou Jingze replied with meaningful undertones:

【Keep them for next time.】

Xu Sui felt her palms burning just holding the phone. She typed words in the chat box, then deleted them.

Forget it. When it came to dirty talk and action, she couldn’t match Zhou Jingze in either regard.

Better to avoid provoking him.

Xu Sui began slowly accepting Zhou Jingze, and before long, they were officially together.

It’s just that Xu Sui was too busy and rarely let Zhou Jingze stay overnight, so he basically couldn’t see her more than a few times a week.

Saturday morning at nine o’clock, Zhou Jingze timed Xu Sui’s wake-up perfectly, leisurely carrying breakfast to her home.

Zhou Jingze arrived at Xu Sui’s door, curling his fingers to knock, making “thock thock” sounds.

The door was suddenly opened. Just as he was about to enter, he happened to encounter Xu Sui pulling a suitcase, looking hurried as she was about to leave.

Zhou Jingze’s expression darkened, his eyes filled with heavy melancholy. He reached out to grab her suitcase handle, asking:

“Where are you going again?”

“Will I get an out-of-service number again this time?”

Zhou Jingze remembered their breakup period—in just one week, Xu Sui had completely withdrawn from his life, disappearing without a trace.

Only leaving behind a used hair tie, unfinished milk in the refrigerator, and succulents that hadn’t been watered yet.

He couldn’t forget the feeling of calling her number only to hear it was out of service.

Like someone hurriedly leaving a mark in your life—though not heavy in color, it was unforgettable.

Then everything vanished in an instant.

That’s why he had deliberately crashed into her car when they reunited, just to get a phone number.

Xu Sui’s eyes looked confused. Her tone paused as she explained: “I’m going to Shanghai on business, just for three days.”

Not leaving permanently.

Zhou Jingze breathed a sigh of relief, his hand still gripping her suitcase, his voice deep: “I’ll drive you there.”

“My colleague is waiting downstairs,” Xu Sui glanced up at his expression, carefully saying, “I’ll send you the flight number in a bit, and I’ll tell you immediately after landing.”

Zhou Jingze slid out his phone with his palm, looking at her: “Now.”

Xu Sui had no choice but to struggle to take out her phone from her bag, screenshot the boarding flight number, and send it to him.

Only then was Zhou Jingze willing to let her go.

He carried her luggage with one hand and held Xu Sui’s hand with the other, personally escorting her to the car.

Today’s weather had once again dropped to extremely low temperatures. After getting in the car, the windows isolated the frozen, withered branches outside.

The car’s heating warmed people’s skin. A male colleague beside her handed her a cup of coffee.

Xu Sui accepted it with a smile, saying: “Thank you.”

The male colleague continued complaining: “I’m really fed up. In such cold weather, and Shanghai seems even colder. What the hell kind of seminar on the weekend.”

Han Mei chimed in: “Exactly. I was planning to help my kid with homework at home this weekend, then binge Korean dramas.”

“Ah, I just want a good night’s sleep.” Xu Sui leaned against the car window, exhaustion evident in her eyes.

The three of them took a chartered car to the airport, checked their luggage, and boarded smoothly.

Once on the plane, Xu Sui asked the flight attendant for a blanket, put on an eye mask, and sat in her seat catching up on sleep.

Who knew that when the plane was about to reach Shanghai, they suddenly encountered a storm.

The flight attendant gently comforted passengers over the intercom, saying the plane had encountered strong convective rainfall and would make an emergency landing in a nearby city around Shanghai—Ning City.

Passengers were expected to stay at Ning City airport for 6 hours before transferring and continuing to Shanghai.

The cabin became restless with constant complaints. No one had expected to suddenly encounter thunderstorms, thus delaying their trip.

The plane slowly descended to Ning City airport with mild shaking.

The three of them waited in the airport lounge while Han Mei quickly posted a social media update complaining about the damn weather.

Xu Sui gazed toward the distant window.

Harsh white torrential rain whipped wildly swaying tree shadows on distant mountains, all in misty fog.

“Ning City isn’t far from Shanghai either. I see it’s getting late now. Why don’t we stay here another night and drive there tomorrow? Transfer flights are more troublesome,” the male colleague said.

Han Mei sighed: “Sigh, that’s all we can do. Who made us three the unlucky ones?”

“I’ll talk to the pickup staff,” Xu Sui said.

After staying at the airport for an hour, they began feeling restless and irritated.

Xu Sui held her phone, receiving Zhou Jingze’s message asking if she had arrived.

Xu Sui replied with three words: Sort of arrived.

After that, she didn’t reply much, feeling somewhat agitated.

Because they couldn’t get a taxi—the platform showed at least a hundred-order queue, and surrounding hotels were fully booked.

Her colleague managed to book two rooms on his phone with great difficulty, but they were extremely far from the airport.

“Should we stay?” the male colleague asked.

Xu Sui decisively gave one word: “Stay.”

If they didn’t stay, they’d be sleeping on the streets.

Xu Sui and the others walked out of the terminal, carpooled with a driver for triple the price before he reluctantly agreed to let them in the car.

Ning City’s torrential rain was heavy. Traffic jams occurred all along the route, with the taxi stopping and starting. Rain slapped in through window gaps, hitting faces with bone-chilling cold.

Finally reaching their destination, it was a small inn. Upon entering, they smelled a musty odor.

The colleague handed over IDs for registration and got room cards.

The male colleague had one room; Xu Sui and Han Mei shared another. After entering the room and putting away luggage, Han Mei took a cold shower to warm up.

Xu Sui rested on the bed, but she had barely closed her eyes for five minutes when, due to the room’s poor soundproofing and water seeping through walls, piercing sounds of a couple’s lovemaking came through the wall.

She couldn’t sleep at all.

Xu Sui had a slight headache. She just wanted to rest properly.

Her phone beside the pillow vibrated. In the dark purple night, Xu Sui reached for her phone without even looking at the caller ID, pressing answer with a low voice:

“Hello.”

“Why aren’t you replying to messages?” A low, stern voice came through the phone.

Xu Sui rubbed her brow, saying: “I was rushing on the road and forgot.”

Unsteady airflow sounds came through the phone, followed by the “click” sound of a lighter igniting. The man suddenly asked:

“Do you miss me?”

His sudden question made Xu Sui turn over, her voice muffled: “A little.”

Especially since she had worked overtime the previous night, then rushed on business the next day, encountering terrible weather, traveling arduously all the way, finally wanting to rest but staying in such poor conditions.

Actually, in the past, Xu Sui would have thought this was nothing.

But when Zhou Jingze’s call came, she instinctively acted coquettishly and began missing him.

“Then come out.” With a snap, the flame extinguished. The man took a drag of his cigarette, his voice deep with a grainy texture.