YJDNY - 61

Xiang Ge cleared her throat, a bit awkwardly switching to French to speak with him. The man naturally responded in French as well, his deep voice carrying the softness characteristic of Westerners. When he laughed, his breathy tones sounded incredibly sexy.

Zhou Xingyan fiddled with a string of sandalwood prayer beads hanging by the rearview mirror, plucking them off and rolling them between his fingers. The clicking sound they made was chilling.

After a while, Xiang Ge ended the conversation, and the man hung up the phone.

Xiang Ge immediately turned her head toward Zhou Xingyan, blinking at him. “My mom’s French boyfriend.”

Zhou Xingyan leaned casually against the car window frame, nodding indifferently. He asked, “When are you coming back?”

Xiang Ge’s tense nerves instantly relaxed, and she hesitated slightly before responding, “Huh? Why aren’t you asking me what I’m going to do when I get back or when I’m leaving?”

Zhou Xingyan tilted his head, looking at her with an expressionless face. “Since you’ve already decided everything on your own and even informed everyone at home, there’s no need to tell me. You don’t have to let me know.”

“…”

Xiang Ge rolled her tongue nervously. “Alright, alright. Are you throwing a tantrum now?”

Zhou Xingyan looked at her with amusement. “Do I look that petty?”

Not only petty but also childish.

Although Xiang Ge found it somewhat odd, she still felt reassured. She gave him a brief rundown of her fashion week plans, then shifted the topic back to what they’d eat for dinner.

Zhou Xingyan listened quietly as she spoke. Afterward, he hung the sandalwood beads back in their place and, in a flat tone, recited the names of the dishes she had previously suggested: “Sweet and sour pork ribs, mapo tofu, and sweet corn—I don’t feel like making any of them tonight. Let’s have porridge.”

Xiang Ge: “… “

Aren’t you the one who said you’re not petty?

True to his word, Zhou Xingyan cooked porridge for dinner that night. Xiang Ge had never experienced such a magical dinner—just having porridge for supper. That evening, she expressed her dissatisfaction with decisive action.

She simply grabbed her pillow and went to sleep in the neighboring bedroom.

But after moving over with her pillow and sitting on the bed lost in thought, she suddenly remembered that she hadn’t taken a shower yet.

And all her makeup remover was in the master bathroom.

Thinking about how there would be no spare ribs or fish that night, just two bowls of eight-treasure porridge, Xiang Ge’s fighting spirit surged. Her pride rivaled that of a general captured on the battlefield. Without hesitation, she ran to Zhou Xingyan’s room, crouched outside the door, and vowed not to knock.

Ten minutes later, Xiang Ge’s legs went numb.

Fifteen minutes later, she staggered to her feet, took a short break, returned to her room to grab her phone, and then continued squatting.

Twenty-five minutes later, Zhou Xingyan opened the door.

Xiang Ge was watching Teletubbies, the strawberry-flavored baby milkshake making her scrunch up her face.

When the door opened, she tilted her head upward.

Zhou Xingyan stood at the doorway in his pajamas, looking down at her from above.

Xiang Ge licked her lips. “I haven’t taken a shower yet.”

Zhou Xingyan raised an eyebrow and stepped aside to let her in.

Xiang Ge remained crouched in place, unmoving. “My legs are numb.”

Zhou Xingyan walked back to the room’s entrance, crouching in front of her. Their eyes were level as he exuded a faint scent of water vapor and clean body wash after his shower. In a soft voice, he asked, “Are you planning to sleep in the next room again with your pillow tonight?”

Xiang Ge shook her head honestly. “I don’t know. If my boyfriend keeps depriving me of food at night and causing physical harm and abuse, I might run away from home.”

Zhou Xingyan fell silent for a moment, then slowly and faintly chuckled.

The laughter sent chills down Xiang Ge’s spine, like a small animal sensing impending danger. Instinctively, she tried to scoot backward.

But before she could move, Zhou Xingyan hoisted her up like a sack of potatoes, cradling her vertically. Startled, Xiang Ge let out a sharp cry and clutched tightly onto his clothes. “What are you doing!”

Before her words faded, she was placed onto the bed. Before her legs could kick twice, the man pressed his entire weight onto her.

Xiang Ge lay flat on the bed as Zhou Xingyan loomed above her. His jet-black hair cascaded slightly, partially veiling the warm light from the bedside lamp, casting faint shadows across his brow and eye sockets.

He lowered his gaze, his body sinking closer as his lips approached her ear, his breath hot against her skin. “Let me show you what truly constitutes physical harm and abuse.”

Xiang Ge: “… “

After being “hurt and abused” in the bedroom several times, Xiang Ge finally struggled to get out of bed. Halfway through climbing up, she was pulled back by her waist. Zhou Xingyan kissed the tip of her ear from behind, his voice hoarse: “Where do you think you’re going?”

The sensation of her sensitive earlobe being licked made her shrink her neck weakly. “I’m going to get my pillow back.”

The man hovered above her, his fingers sliding down her spine one vertebra at a time. They lingered mischievously near the base of her spine before continuing downward. “Forget the pillow. Just use mine.”

Xiang Ge grabbed his hand and turned around to glare at him. “Enough, alright?”

Zhou Xingyan chuckled, licking his lips, and obediently withdrew his hand.

Xiang Ge casually grabbed the edge of the blanket to cover herself, sat back up, and looked at him with a complicated expression. “Alright, alright. Is this how you stay true to your ‘ascetic’ persona as an old-school official?”

Zhou Xingyan reached for his pajamas lying nearby, slipping them on. His pale chest still bare, he pulled her back into his arms and nipped at the tip of her chin. “Who told you men can actually have an ‘ascetic’ attribute?”

Xiang Ge nodded as if she’d just learned something new. “You’re right. Now I know.”

Xiang Ge was used to sleeping on soft beds, practically sinking into five layers of blankets. But Zhou Xingyan’s rigid bed offered no such comfort. After being pressed against the headboard the night before, her back ached, and when she woke up the next morning, her entire body felt sore.

The following day was the National Day holiday, and it happened to be Zhou Xingyan’s first day on duty. So Xiang Ge spent the whole day rearranging things, swapping out the mattress in the master bedroom and adding two extra layers of padding. Satisfied, she flopped onto the plush bed and answered a call from Gong Mo.

There was no concept of a “Golden Week” abroad, and she was flying to Paris the next day.

Coincidentally, Zhou Xingyan had just finished his shift and was now on break.

When Xiang Ge despairingly lay on the bed and informed him of her departure, there was a long silence on the other end. Then he asked her to send him her flight number.

The next day, as she boarded the plane, she spotted Zhou Xingyan sitting beside her. His sunglasses had slipped slightly down his nose. “How did you—”

His eyes still carried faint traces of exhaustion. Leaning back in his seat, he tilted his head to look at her, his voice raspy from lack of sleep. “It was hard to get tickets for the previous night’s flight. Why do you always make things difficult for me?”

Xiang Ge blinked, realizing what he meant. “How did I make things difficult for you?”

Zhou Xingyan rested his head on one hand. “Couldn’t you have told me earlier that you were leaving today?”

Xiang Ge settled into her seat. “Didn’t you say I didn’t need to tell you or let you know?”

Zhou Xingyan narrowed his eyes and fell silent.

Xiang Ge, however, remained unfazed. Her sunglasses perched halfway down her face, revealing half of her dark eyes, brows slightly raised.

The two sat across the aisle from each other, their gazes meeting like sparks ready to ignite.

A flight attendant standing nearby smiled, her gentle voice interrupting. “Would you like a blanket?”

Zhou Xingyan thanked her, his voice heavy with fatigue.

Xiang Ge couldn’t help but glance at him, then quickly averted her gaze, only to glance again.

Zhou Xingyan had already closed his eyes, preparing to catch up on sleep, but as if sensing her gaze, he suddenly murmured, “Behave yourself for a bit.”

Xiang Ge blinked and decided to openly lean to the side, resting her chin on one hand as she gazed at his peaceful profile. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming along?”

As soon as she asked, she realized how foolish her question sounded.

It was the kind of thing smitten girls often asked without much thought, eagerly awaiting predictable answers that would leave them swooning.

She used to think such behavior was ridiculous.

Zhou Xingyan kept his eyes closed, lying quietly in his seat. “I’m just fulfilling a promise I made before.”

Xiang Ge froze. This answer was completely outside her expectations.

For a moment, she couldn’t process it. “What promise?”

“I promised that I’d always be with you, wherever you go, I’ll follow. If you leave, I’ll come find you.” Zhou Xingyan opened his eyes, turning his head to look at her seriously, his words slow and deliberate.

The flight attendant nearby nearly squealed with excitement.

This confession was too much! Even though the recipient was wearing sunglasses and hadn’t taken them off, it was clear she must be stunning. It seemed handsome and beautiful people really did flock together. Was this the rule—that only attractive people could pair up with other attractive people?

The direct flight to Paris took twelve hours, with a seven-hour time difference. They landed at 8 PM local time.

In China, it would be close to midnight. Xiang Ge wasn’t used to sleeping on planes, so she was exhausted and dragged herself off the plane.

Zhou Xingyan had come straight from the hospital to the airport, bringing nothing with him, and accompanied her to retrieve her luggage.

The next day, she was heading to the runway as a backup model. Wearing high heels, she stood nearby, having removed her sunglasses, her eyes lazily drooping. “Alright, I want to sleep.”

Zhou Xingyan had managed to nap during the flight. He didn’t need much sleep anyway, so he was already wide awake. He extended his arm toward her.

Xiang Ge naturally grabbed it, hugging it to her chest, resting her head on his shoulder with her eyes closed. She mumbled, smiling faintly, “You haven’t even showered since coming straight from the hospital. Why should I hold you?”

“Then don’t,” Zhou Xingyan said softly.

Xiang Ge couldn’t help but laugh, tightening her grip on his arm without saying anything.

It wasn’t until they retrieved their luggage that she suddenly remembered something. Mid-yawn, she abruptly stopped, letting out a surprised sound and halting her steps. She looked up at him.

Zhou Xingyan also stopped walking. “What’s wrong?”

Xiang Ge hesitated for a moment. “Well… since my mom’s in Paris, I’ll be heading directly home tonight.”

Zhou Xingyan understood. After a brief pause, he said, “I’ll find a hotel.”

He had booked his ticket last minute and hadn’t had time to reserve a hotel in advance.

Xiang Ge tilted her head, looking at him with a mix of curiosity and anticipation. “Actually… do you want to come to my place?”

Zhou Xingyan froze.

Xiang Ge licked her lips, all traces of sleepiness gone. Her dark eyes sparkled under the bright airport lights. “Just come home with me,” she added nonchalantly, shrugging slightly. “Otherwise, my mom will try to set me up on blind dates again.”

After saying this, she stole a glance at him.

Sure enough, as soon as her words sank in, Zhou Xingyan’s eyelids lifted. Without hesitation, he replied, “Alright, let’s go.”