Chapter 62

Chen Xi was frightened to a pale pallor by Zhou Yanzhou, her gaze trembling slightly. She curled up in the narrow space beneath the seat, clutching her canvas bag to her chest, which pressed against the fabric and outlined her curves all the more prominently.

Zhou Yanzhou had only meant to scare her. Seeing her in this state, a sigh caught in his chest, neither sinking nor rising. He took a few harsh drags from his cigarette, shoved the car door open, and stepped out with his long legs.

In the process, he didn't forget to slam the door shut with a heavy force that produced a loud crash, causing Chen Xi's shoulders to involuntarily shiver twice.

Just diagonally across, Xie Nanzhou was walking toward this direction carrying a gift bag while flipping through his phone. He had just gone downstairs to the women's dormitory to look for Chen Xi, but her roommate had told him she was outside doing her internship and hadn't returned yet.

Xie Nanzhou decided to wait for her at the library, which was along the mandatory route back to the dormitories. Realizing it was already past eight o'clock, he planned to make a call and check on her.

Just as the call went through, Xie Nanzhou passed the Porsche with the arrogant license plate, casting an intentional glance at the car body and the man smoking under the ginkgo tree.

Even though he wore only a basic white shirt and suit trousers, it failed to conceal his nine-head-tall proportions, broad shoulders, and narrow hips. Coupled with his aloof, noble temperament, the portrait of a high-society elite was sketched out in a few strokes.

Xie Nanzhou vaguely felt that this man looked somewhat familiar.

Before Xie Nanzhou could connect the present Zhou Yanzhou with the owner of the Cullinan he had encountered at the school gate that day, he heard a faint, familiar ringtone emanate from the Porsche.

Xie Nanzhou paused in his steps, his gaze hesitatingly drifting toward the Porsche.

It was a modified Panamera with matte-gray vehicle wrap, every detail revealing thoughtful design.

The Porsche's windows were covered with privacy film. From Xie Nanzhou's angle, he could only see a layer of grayish-black glass reflecting his own indistinct face.

The phone kept ringing. Xie Nanzhou looked at his own phone screen, then back at the car, and an inexplicable impulse surged into his heart.

Just as Xie Nanzhou prepared to take a couple of steps forward and his hand landed on the door handle, the ringing abruptly cut off.

The quiet pathway returned to silence.

Zhou Yanzhou finished his cigarette down to the butt, turned to cast a suspicious glance at Xie Nanzhou standing a few paces away, and casually opened the car door to retrieve his phone from the center console.

The next second, right in front of Xie Nanzhou, Zhou Yanzhou answered the phone unhurriedly: "Something up?"

"I'm busy right now, no time to come over."

With that, Zhou Yanzhou pressed the phone to his ear, his scrutinizing gaze landing lightly on Xie Nanzhou as if asking: "Aren't you leaving yet?"

Only then did Xie Nanzhou realize that his previous actions were somewhat presumptuous. He made an apologetic gesture, turned around, and walked toward the library without looking back.

Along the way, he couldn't help thinking: How could that man's phone ringtone be identical to Xixi's? Both were Hacken Lee's "My Declaration."

Xie Nanzhou had once sung this song to Chen Xi in a KTV. He still remembered two lines of the lyrics: *Only knowing it's time to hold the flowers and reserve the beloved under the vow.* Did he ask himself if he looked forward to the day when the person he loved would overnight become his bride, standing at the wedding venue to say "I want to be with you forever"?

Of course he looked forward to it, but he thought it was far too early for that, without any definitive commitment yet, nor did he want to settle down so soon.

Yet Xie Nanzhou never expected that he would be given no opportunity whatsoever to ask Chen Xi if she was willing to marry him.

Once the figure vanished at the end of the ginkgo grove, Zhou Yanzhou removed the phone he hadn't actually dialed out on, lowered his gaze to look at the dark screen, and stood outside the car. Pulling the door open just a crack, he looked down condescendingly at Chen Xi, who had been squatting under the seat for so long that her legs must surely be aching: "They're gone. Are you getting out or not?"

Heaven knows how nervous Chen Xi had been the moment the phone inside her canvas bag started ringing.

Especially when she saw Xie Nanzhou less than half a meter away from the passenger door; if he had looked closely, he would have spotted her. Her heart leaped into her throat, and she almost stopped breathing. Subconsciously, she felt that what she and Zhou Yanzhou were doing was wrong, yet she was powerless to control it.

Only when Zhou Yanzhou spoke did Chen Xi snap back to reality.

Supporting her numb legs, she slowly crawled up, then pushed the door open and clumsily wriggled out of the vehicle compartment.

Having squatted for too long, her calves cramped, causing her to grimace in pain. Pressing her back against the car door, she cautiously lifted one leg, resting it against the rearview mirror without daring to move easily.

Zhou Yanzhou watched this scene coldly with one hand in his pocket, then took long, leisurely strides around the front of the car to stand before Chen Xi.

A breeze had picked up by now, causing the ginkgo leaves overhead to quiver gently.

Beneath the tree, the two stood face-to-face—one wincing as she tried to soothe her numb calf, the other standing tall with broad shoulders and an arrogant, commanding gaze looking down at the pale-faced young woman. A handsome man and a beautiful woman, they formed a striking and vibrant landscape.

After an unknown length of time, Zhou Yanzhou finally couldn't bear to watch any longer. He bent down in front of her, wrapped his large hand around her numb calf, and asked in a low voice:

"Does it hurt badly?"

Her dress fell right to her knees, and Zhou Yanzhou's large hand gripped her calf directly. His warm palm touched her bare skin, scalding Chen Xi so that she instinctively wanted to retract her leg, only to be firmly held in place by Zhou Yanzhou without the slightest room to move.

Seeing this, Zhou Yanzhou tugged at his suit trousers, suddenly squatted down asymmetrically on the ground, removed Chen Xi's high heels, and placed her foot on his knee, gently massaging her calf.

Chen Xi felt numb all over instantly, nearly losing her balance.

Had her back not been pressed against the car door, she likely would have collapsed to the ground.

The scene was too impactful; Chen Xi was dumbfounded, her entire face screaming the word "absurd."

Yet Zhou Yanzhou behaved as if he did this routinely, his movements incomparably gentle. If Chen Xi hadn't known that an arrogant young master like Zhou Yanzhou could never put such effort into serving someone, she would have suspected he had taken an advanced training course at some massage parlor.

As it happened, very few people usually walked down this path. First, the foliage of the small forest grew too dense for the sunlight to penetrate, casting a gloomy vibe that inexplicably frightened people; second, taking this route required a huge detour to reach the teaching buildings, so students practically avoided it to save time; third, wild animals were abundant in this season, and snakes frequently appeared.

In short, unless someone had plenty of time and wanted a secluded spot for a date, almost no one came here.

Yet Lin Fan had been scolded by her dance teacher during class today and faced the risk of delayed graduation; wanting to clear her head, she had purposely chosen this path.

She simply hadn't expected to witness this scene.

Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined that the usually submissive and proud roommate would end up with someone like Zhou Yanzhou, and that their interactions would be so intimate.

What shocked her even more was that the man who acted so aloof and arrogant before her would stoop to this level for Chen Xi, his attitude undergoing a complete 180-degree reversal.

Why?

Why did Chen Xi get to run into all the good men?

Fearing discovery, Lin Fan stealthily hid behind a ginkgo tree, pulled out her phone, opened the camera, and snapped over a dozen consecutive photos of the two figures not far away.

After finishing, recalling Zhou Yanzhou's attitude toward her, Lin Fan glared resentfully at Chen Xi and muttered inwardly, "What makes her so special?"

Chen Xi's leg had mostly recovered. Pressing her fingertips firmly against the car body, she closed her eyes and stopped him: "Stop massaging, I'm fine now."

Only then did Zhou Yanzhou halt. He picked up the high heels from the ground, took hold of Chen Xi's foot, and put them back on for her.

Chen Xi's toes shrank back, her eyelashes fluttering uncontrollably.

Once her shoes were on, Chen Xi hastily retreated half a step. Without even saying goodbye, she grabbed her bag and fled in a blind panic.

Zhou Yanzhou stood in place, watching Chen Xi's retreating figure as she fled in disarray, and twitched the corner of his mouth in exasperation.

She's getting bolder.

Can't even manage a thank you.

Chen Xi hurried back to her dorm, which was empty.

Night had fallen, and the dormitory was dim and shadowy, making it hard to discern directions.

Without turning on the lights, Chen Xi groped her way to her desk by memory, tossed her canvas bag onto it, pulled out the chair beside it, and sat down hard.

Perhaps the darkness magnified her other senses now that her vision was sidelined, but the lingering tingling sensation on Chen Xi's lips had yet to dissipate.

She reached up to touch her lips, vaguely feeling that they were swollen.

Thinking of that fierce, passionate kiss inside the car—how she had nestled in Zhou Yanzhou's arms with her hips resting on his sturdy thighs, accompanied by the sound of his rising and falling breathing—

In the quiet car cabin, only the rustling of their clothes remained, occasionally punctuated by one or two ambiguous syllables.

At that moment, everyone was a slave to desire.

In the dark, Chen Xi touched her chest. The large hand that had rested there during her panic earlier still left a lingering illusion of being squeezed into her marrow, gripping her clothes into wrinkles and sending her heartbeat soaring and plunging without a place to land.

The more she thought about it, the more chaotic her heart became. Chen Xi forced herself to stop letting her imagination run wild.

Taking a deep breath, she reached out and switched on the desk lamp.

The dim, weak light abruptly illuminated Chen Xi's corner. Instead of turning on the main lights, she used the desk lamp to calm herself down and began sorting through today's internship materials.

Before leaving work, Amy had added Chen Xi on WeChat. Chen Xi plugged her phone in to charge, and as soon as it booted up, two WeChat notifications popped up.

Tapping on them, Chen Xi discovered she had been added by Amy into the work group for Fanghui Law Firm.

It was presumably an internal staff group without the bosses.

Chen Xi glanced at the group members and found her supervising lawyer was also in it.

Amy had sent her two direct messages.
*Got to school yet? Download Corporate WeChat quickly, I'll pull you into the official group.*

The lingering romantic daydreams in Chen Xi's mind vanished instantly. She navigated to the app store and downloaded Corporate WeChat.

Along the way, she replied to Amy on WeChat: *Just got back, sorry to trouble you, Amy.*

Amy was having dinner with her boyfriend. Hearing her phone chime, she picked it up, glanced at Chen Xi's reply, and burst out laughing.

Across the table, Xu Yi pinched his fork, raised his eyelids slightly, and asked in silence, "Who is it, laughing so happily?"

Amy's Chinese name was Jiang Nan, but she felt it sounded too rustic. Having studied abroad for many years and working at a law firm that frequently collaborated with foreign enterprises, she always went by her English name.

Aside from those closest to her, very few knew her real name.

After replying to Chen Xi, Amy propped her chin in her hand and gazed ardently at the man opposite her.

At twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, he possessed not a single settled bone in his body. Dyed blue hair, a tank top, black cargo pants, a thick gold chain hanging around his neck, and a black diamond stud in his ear—an outfit that reached the absolute pinnacle of rustic styling somehow managed to become a fashion statement on him.

Recalling how this man had trended on several hot searches last month just because of his hair, and this month trended two or three more times alongside the currently popular actress Xu Yin due to an ancient-costume drama, Amy's appetite vanished entirely.

Lifting her pretty double-eyelids to look at the man across from her who still had a healthy appetite, she twitched the corners of her lips and purposely provoked him: "Is it any of your business?"

"Who could I be chatting with? Naturally, the handsome guy at the firm."

Xu Yi's steak-cutting motion stalled. He put down his fork, his gaze locking onto Amy's bright and charming face like a fierce wolf.

Amy acted as though she didn't notice. She had known Xu Yi since childhood and had been entangled with him for so many years; she knew precisely what he was thinking with just a single look.

She simply couldn't stand him. Why was it that he could embrace all sorts of beauties and make headlines day after day, while she had to obediently wait around until he had free time to look for her?

Every time they went on a date, they had to bundle up tightly out of fear that his fans or manager might spot them.

Xu Yi licked the back of his teeth and spat out word by word: "Jiang Nan, don't push me."

Hearing Xu Yi use her full name, Amy arched an eyebrow and said provocatively: "How am I pushing you? Not only am I laughing, I'm even going to send her a goodnight message."

With that, Amy picked up her phone, unlocked it, and opened her chat window with Chen Xi. Pressing her index finger against the voice button, she lowered her head, preparing to send a voice message.

Before she could speak, the phone was snatched away by Xu Yi. Fueled by a surge of anger and without even glancing at the profile picture, his finger slammed onto the voice record button and he roared directly at Chen Xi: *Stop fucking pestering Jiang Nan, stay away from her!*

Having said that, Xu Yi deleted Chen Xi as a contact, turned the phone off, and tossed it onto the table.

Seeing him resort to such extreme measures, Amy almost cursed out loud.

The most innocent person in this entire battle was none other than Chen Xi. Sitting in her chair waiting for Amy to assign her tasks, she instead clicked on the five-second voice message, only to hear the furious roar of a man that left her petrified on the spot.

Hesitantly, she sent a question mark, only for an glaring red exclamation point to appear in her chat window.

Chen Xi ???

Pressing her lips together, she tentatively tried to re-add Amy, typing in the verification note:
*Amy, I'm Chen Xi. Is everything alright with you?*

Amy received no verification message because she was currently pinned beneath Xu Yi on the bed, unable to move.

That night was destined to be turbulent.

Waiting ten minutes without a reply from Amy, Chen Xi took a breath, pushed down the confusion in her chest, put down her phone, dug out her pajamas and bath towel from the wardrobe, and headed into the bathroom.

By the time she emerged, Li Qing had returned to the dormitory.

A hair-drying cap wrapped around her wet hair, a couple of strands escaping while water droplets slid down her cheeks into her collar, dampening the neck of her pajamas.

Li Qing had spent the entire day reviewing in the library, collapsing into her chair in utter exhaustion, unable to move.

Hearing the door open, Li Qing wearily turned her head to look at Chen Xi, who had finished her shower and was radiating a clean fragrance, and couldn't help complaining: "Criminal law is just too damn hard to memorize! My throat was practically smoking from reciting it today."

Chen Xi cast a sympathetic look at Li Qing and sighed: "Hard work."

Li Qing covered her face, let out a howl, and finally remembered to care about Chen Xi: "How was your internship today?"

Chen Xi blinked, placed her bath towel over the back of her chair, and shrugged: "So-so."

"They didn't arrange any work for the first day; it was way too leisurely."

Li Qing widened her eyes, wearing an expression that screamed *you don't know how well off you are*: "Isn't leisurely a good thing?"

Chen Xi shook her head: "I can't learn anything, I don't like it. But my supervising lawyer is away on a business trip and hasn't returned yet. It'll probably get busy next week."

Having never done an internship herself, Li Qing asked curiously: "Then who is mentoring you right now?"

Thinking of that inexplicable voice message from earlier, Chen Xi said with a complex emotion: "Amy, the firm's administrator."

Li Qing waved a hand, telling Chen Xi to take things slowly and not rush.

Chen Xi acknowledged quietly.

Li Qing had recently been binge-watching an ancient-costume immortal-hero drama. The female lead was Xu Yin, and Chen Xi didn't recognize the male lead.

True to routine, Li Qing would watch an episode of the drama an hour before lights-out, then chat with Zhang Bo on the phone for ten minutes.

Chen Xi occasionally glanced at Li Qing's tablet to see what she was watching.

Before she had even flipped two pages, Chen Xi heard an extremely familiar voice emanate from the tablet. She couldn't help turning her head to stare at Li Qing's tablet for a moment.

Why did she feel like this actor's voice sounded identical to the one in the WeChat voice message from earlier?

Thinking Chen Xi had been drawn in by the plot, Li Qing eagerly recommended the show to her.

Chen Xi blinked and, hesitatingly pointing at a frame, asked Li Qing: "Who is this actor?"

Li Qing uttered an "ah," processed it for two seconds, and generously shared her fan knowledge: "My new crush, Xu Yi."

"An actor who just emerged in the past two years, he even won the Best Newcomer Award last year."

"The key is that he's so manly, exuding an aura of untamed, free-spirited charm. He dyed his hair blue a couple of days ago and made several hot searches! Then netizens dug up his pre-debut photos, and he used to be a fashionista!"

"His outfits are top-notch, sexual tension maxed out. And the best part is he's a local Beijinger; his house is only two streets away from mine!"

Chen Xi: "..."

She vaguely felt it unlikely that they were the same person.

Yet she also felt that the owner of that voice message box had displayed an equally arrogant attitude.

Five minutes before lights-out, Lin Fan finally returned to the dorm tardily.

She seemed to be in a bad mood, her expression gloomy, and she held a particular aversion toward Chen Xi.

Having finished her show, Li Qing caught sight of this and, taking advantage of Lin Fan entering the bathroom, leaned over to Chen Xi to vent: "Is she acting up again?"

"Did she glare at you when she walked in just now?"

Chen Xi: "..."

Surely it wasn't that exaggerated.

It was the next morning when Chen Xi realized Lin Fan was deliberately targeting her.

As she was stepping down from her bed, she accidentally trod on Lin Fan's shoes. Upon seeing this, Lin Fan tossed that pair of high heels straight into the trash can right in front of Chen Xi.

Chen Xi froze on the spot, her eyelashes fluttering as she couldn't help saying: "Lin Fan, didn't you just buy those shoes? Why are you throwing them away?"

Lin Fan tugged the corners of her mouth at Chen Xi, smiling without any warmth: "Because someone touched them, and I find them dirty."

Chen Xi's lips twitched slightly. Realizing Lin Fan was targeting her, she remained silent for two seconds and said nothing more.

Lin Fan had no morning classes. After eating breakfast, she climbed back up into her bed to catch up on sleep.

Li Qing had headed to the library at the crack of dawn, long before the sky was even bright.

Lacking time for breakfast, Chen Xi grabbed a piece of bread to line her stomach on the way, making sure not to forget the canvas bag she had promised to give Amy.

Squeezing through the subway commute all the way downstairs to the law firm, it was already 8:50 AM.

Fearing being late, Chen Xi hurriedly squeezed into the elevator amidst a crowd of glossy, well-dressed white-collar workers.

As it turned out, Amy was also in this elevator, though one was wedged at the very back while the other stood by the doors, separated by a dozen people with no way to converse.

Arriving at the 26th floor at last, the elevator doors opened, and Chen Xi dashed out, sighing as she faced away from the doors.

Amy looked as polished and immaculate as ever, though this time her collar was buttoned tightly and wrapped with a silk scarf, leaving not a single patch of skin exposed on her neck.

There were also faint dark circles beneath her eyes, suggesting she had stayed up late.

Spotting Chen Xi, Amy greeted her warmly: "Morning."

Chen Xi turned around and paused to wait for Amy. Amy clicked-clacked over in her high heels, looked Chen Xi's outfit up and down, and a flash of admiration crossed her face: "Not bad, you've got a bit of that urban-beauty vibe going on now."

Chen Xi: "..."

She was literally just wearing a standard-shoulder short-sleeve top and light-blue wide-leg jeans.

Recalling the events of the previous night, Amy gave a light cough and said apologetically: "Ran into some special circumstances last night, let's add each other back later."

Chen Xi blinked, handed the canvas bag to Amy, and generously said: "No worries."

Amy accepted the canvas bag, shot Chen Xi a flirtatious wink, and smiled brightly: "Thanks, little junior sister! I'll treat you to lunch~"

Today marked the beginning of Chen Xi's training in how to effectively organize case files. Amy handed her a stack of files, and Chen Xi battled hard through the entire morning.

She suddenly realized that what was taught in school and what had to be faced during an internship were two entirely different matters. Barely surviving until the lunch break, Amy kept her word, waving for Chen Xi to join her for lunch.

Looking at the work whose clues she had yet to untangle, Chen Xi sighed and followed Amy down to the 13th floor.

The elevators were as crowded as ever; despite staggered break times across several companies in the building, the sheer volume of people made congestion inevitable.

Seeing Chen Xi's grim, downtrodden expression, Amy raised her chin and said: "You'll get used to it."

Chen Xi: "Got it."

Ten minutes passed before they finally managed to board an elevator.

Anxious to finish organizing her documents, Chen Xi planned to eat quickly and rush back to her workstation.

Yet Amy remained unhurried, even telling Chen Xi to stay calm.

Chen Xi: Can't stay calm at all.

The cafeteria featured a large screen that played advertisements or dramas daily.

As luck would have it, what was currently airing happened to be the exact same ancient-costume drama Li Qing had been binge-watching last night.

Biting on her chopsticks, Chen Xi glanced at the giant screen, tentatively cast a glance at Amy opposite her, and smiled as she remarked: "This actor is quite interesting."

Amy looked up at Xu Yi on screen, recalled the intensity of the previous night, and deadpanned three words with a blank expression: "Just like that."

Chen Xi wanted to probe further, but Amy cut her off by tugging on her sleeve and whispering mysteriously: "The men from the 33rd floor are here, look!"

Chen Xi ???

Following the direction indicated by Amy's gaze, she saw two men walk into the cafeteria entrance.

The man walking in front wore a pink suit, looking impossibly flashy.

The man behind him wore a dark suit with one hand tucked into his pocket, walking into the cafeteria with a lazy demeanor that suggested everything was boring to him.

Catching sight of the man, Chen Xi couldn't help gasping in surprise: Zhou Yanzhou? What is he doing here?

Before Chen Xi could formulate an answer, Amy moved her stool closer to Chen Xi and whispered with irrepressible excitement: "Isn't he handsome?"

"Doesn't he give you the urge to conquer him? Sleeping with a man who looks this ascetic must be insanely fun."

"Wanna bet that beneath those clothes is a body with eight-pack abs, broad shoulders, and a narrow waist?"

"You understand contrast, right? A guy like this must be wild in bed."

Chen Xi was dumbfounded, never expecting Amy to be so open. Covering her mouth, she muttered under her breath: "Amy, don't be like this."

Amy grew excited, her speaking volume involuntarily rising by a notch: "Want to sleep with him? Remember to write me a 5,000-word post-coital review after you do."

Zhou Yanzhou, who was walking past with his food tray: ?

Chen Xi:

Five minutes later, Chen Xi received a text message: *Planning to sleep with whom?*