Chapter 8
Zhou Si didn’t start the car right away. He told me to sit tight while he went to “deal with that boy.” I didn’t quite register who he meant by “that boy” at first, but it hit me soon enough—he was talking about Chen Zhicheng, still lying on the ground.
So in Zhou Si’s eyes, Chen Zhicheng was just a “boy.” That’s the difference that comes with age, I guess. After all, Zhou Si is eight years older than me. He’s a polished professional, a top-tier guy in society, while Chen Zhicheng is just some backgroundless, inexperienced rookie in the workplace.
I glanced at the rearview mirror—Chen Zhicheng, who had been sprawled on the ground, was now struggling to get up. He looked like he was really hurt. I couldn’t help but ask Zhou Si, “What are you going to do with him?”
Zhou Si said, “Whatever needs to be done.”
Which, honestly, was such a useless answer—and then he pushed open the car door and stepped out. I looked at his back as he walked away—broad and solid.
I sat in the car for a while, but I couldn’t hold myself back and eventually got out to see what was happening.
Zhou Si had finished roughing up Chen Zhicheng and was now calling for an ambulance.
As I approached, I heard Zhou Si speaking in a serious tone:
“…the surveillance at the entrance of the complex caught everything you just did to Xie Li. If I report this to the police, you’re not getting out of it without a record…”
Chen Zhicheng must’ve realized how serious it was now. He stared at Zhou Si without blinking and said, “If you’re gonna call the cops, do it! I’m not scared!”
“Not scared, huh?” Zhou Si said, cool as ever. “Your parents raised you in the countryside with everything they had, worked their fingers to the bone. Now you’ve finally got a decent job. If I so much as decide to trip you up, honestly, it’s like stepping on an ant.”
Chen Zhicheng went quiet.
Zhou Si had his hands in his pockets, acting all nonchalant. “The ambulance’ll be here soon. I’m not sticking around.”
As he turned around, he didn’t expect to see me standing right there. He paused.
I gave him an awkward little smile.
Hearing everything he just said really drove home the meaning of the gap between people. Zhou Si could lay out the whole situation calmly and logically, pressuring Chen Zhicheng to let go without even raising a hand again. He had the power, the means, and the attitude of someone who doesn’t stop until he gets what he wants.
One of the reasons I had always been a little resistant toward Zhou Si was because my dad constantly brought up his name. After a couple of drinks, my dad loved to ramble:
“Zhou Si is no ordinary guy. Young, but he’s deep. I don’t know how Old Zhou managed to raise a son like that. Seems like the Zhou family gets all the luck.”
I never liked hearing my dad’s sour, half-jealous comments about the Zhous—especially since Zhou Wan is my best friend. But Dad always said,
“You’re so close with Zhou Wan, why don’t you learn a thing or two from her brother? You used to say when you were little that you’d marry Zhou Si one day, remember that?”
My dad’s ridiculous. That was so long ago. I was like three. Of course I don’t remember that.
Still, I had to admit—Zhou Si had a kind of mature charm that came with his age.
Zhou Si strode over to me and without giving me a chance to speak, grabbed my wrist. “You never learn, do you?”
I didn’t struggle and just obediently followed by his side.
When I didn’t say anything, he raised an eyebrow. “What? Besides your knee, are you hurt anywhere else?”
I glanced at my scraped-up knee and shook my head. “Still hurts.”
Coming back to Zhou Si’s villa again gave me a strange sense of déjà vu. Not long ago, this was the place where we… had some deep interaction.
After parking, Zhou Si walked around to the passenger side and carried me out of the car.
Once we were inside, he immediately fetched a first aid kit and told me to sit on the sofa. He crouched down to check my injured knees.
It was just some surface wounds, but they looked pretty nasty. Both knees were scraped up, red with fresh blood and dust sticking to them. It was kind of a gory mess.
Zhou Si told me it would sting a little, and to bear with it. But I wasn’t expecting it to hurt that much! I had no idea what he poured on the wound, but I winced so hard my face twisted up.
Zhou Si actually chuckled, lips curved up like he was enjoying my pain. “Serves you right. Maybe next time you’ll remember.”
Tears welled up in my eyes. “It hurts! It hurts!”
His hands were gentle, though. “Just remember—next time something like this happens, don’t try to act tough. Especially at night. You’re a girl, do you know how dangerous that is?”
I stayed silent.
He continued, “You’ve broken up already, don’t look back. A guy who cheats once will do it again.”
Without thinking, I muttered, “Why do you sound like my dad?”
Zhou Si replied, “Then call me Dad.”
I gave him a deadpan look. “You’re messed up.”
“Remember this—men aren’t worth a damn.”
“So what about you? You not a man?”
He smoothly deflected, “You’ll have to judge for yourself.”
“How am I supposed to judge?”
“However you want to.”
And later that night—I judged.
I didn’t sleep at all, and by the time dawn broke, I had definitely formed a thorough opinion of Zhou Si.
When the sky was just beginning to lighten, I bit down on his shoulder to vent some frustration. He didn’t even get mad, just panted slightly and leaned in close to my temple.
“Done already?” he asked.
I hadn’t shed a tear from my scraped knees, but now my eyes were all watery and I was begging for mercy.
When it finally ended, I was so exhausted I couldn’t even keep my eyes open. I collapsed on the bed, muttering, “Zhou Si, you’re not a dog—you’re a wolf.”
Zhou Si laughed loudly, lying on his side, propping up his head with one hand as he looked at me. “Is that so? Looks like we’re pretty similar, then.”
He said that while shaking his hand—the one with my teeth marks on it.
I rolled my eyes at him, too tired to bother arguing. I turned over and faced away from him. Zhou Si took the opportunity to slide his hand around my waist and pull me into his arms.
I could faintly feel him kissing my hair as he whispered, “Good morning.”
After a whole night of chaos, the sun was already up. Honestly, I didn’t hate it. I was just tired. Strangely, though, I hadn’t done much of anything but still felt completely drained.
It was Sunday, so I didn’t have to go to work. As soon as I closed my eyes, I fell fast asleep.
That nap lasted from morning till evening. The blackout curtains kept the room so dim I couldn’t even tell what time it was.
When I finally woke up, it took me several seconds to realize where I was. I looked over at the empty space beside me—Zhou Si was nowhere to be found.
Maybe it was the excessive activity from last night, but my whole body felt like it’d fallen apart. Every movement ached.
My phone was on the nightstand. It looked like Zhou Si had even charged it for me. The screen was filled with notifications, a bunch from Zhou Wan.
I couldn’t be bothered to read them. I really didn’t want to see any messages from Zhou Wan right now.
But where was Zhou Si?
I instinctively called out his name. No response.
He wouldn’t just leave without saying anything… right?
I was still wearing his clothes, didn’t think too much of it, and headed downstairs. But the moment I turned the corner at the stairs—I ran straight into Zhou Wan.
And just like that, we stared at each other for a solid ten seconds. No one said a word.
Zhou Wan looked completely stunned. One hand pointed at me, the other covering her mouth.
I pulled up the corners of my lips in a half-smile.
“Surprised?”
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