OS - 16

Cheng Yuzhou was lost in thought for a few seconds, and the small dish he had been using to mix sauce slipped from his soapy hands, shattering on the floor.

“Be careful,” Zhou Yu tugged at his shirt hem, stopping him briefly before letting go. “Don’t touch it with your hands—I’ll get the broom.”

To avoid injuring the sanitation workers who might handle the trash later, she swept up the shards carefully and disposed of them separately.

Cheng Yuzhou rarely did dishes. Back home, they always had a housekeeper, and even after returning to stay with Grandma Qian, she wouldn’t let him do such chores.

But it wasn’t as if he didn’t know how to wash dishes—he had just been distracted.

Just like now.

She bent over to clean up the mess, her collar slightly open. Without realizing it, he recalled the soft sensation he had felt when she bumped into him the other day.

The film Cheng Yanqing had chosen was relatively artistic, and by the time Cheng Wanyue knocked on the door, it had already reached its most explicit scene. The fact that Cheng Yuzhou had gone to answer the door meant he hadn’t been particularly affected—his breathing hadn’t even quickened. Yet now, a single glance at her had placed him in an awkward situation.

The siblings were still wrestling in the living room, their noises seemingly muffled by the kitchen curtain.

Cheng Yuzhou reassured himself—it was fine. A person couldn’t stay in a state of rapid heartbeat for long. The brain would regulate hormone secretion, gradually bringing such heightened reactions back to normal.

Even though he knew the apron concealed everything and there was nothing to see, Cheng Yuzhou still turned to face the sink a second before Zhou Yu looked up.

Seeing him pour cold water into the basin, Zhou Yu couldn’t help but remind him, “There’s too much oil—hot water works better.”

“Mm,” Cheng Yuzhou acknowledged.

Zhou Yu assumed his silence was due to the broken dish affecting his mood. She wasn’t very good at making conversation either, so she quietly helped him rinse the cleaned dishes in clear water once more.

After taking off the apron, Cheng Yuzhou left without saying a word or even bidding farewell.

The other three didn’t seem to notice. Only Zhou Yu felt a strange unease—had she said something wrong?

“Well, no wonder you all seemed off. So you were watching something behind closed doors!” Cheng Wanyue discovered her USB drive in Cheng Yanqing’s pocket.

“We didn’t watch anything! What kind of film are you talking about?” Cheng Yanqing lied smoothly, his face calm. “I took your USB to copy some study materials for Cheng Yuzhou. Yan Ci’s computer has them.”

Cheng Wanyue didn’t believe him. “Keep lying!”

“If you don’t believe me, ask Yan Ci—he wouldn’t lie to you, right?”

After exchanging a glance with Yan Ci, Cheng Yanqing seized the opportunity to slip away. Cheng Wanyue chased after him, leaving only Zhou Yu behind.

The house suddenly fell silent. The faint smile on Yan Ci’s face faded as he retrieved a can of cold beer from the fridge, popped the tab, and tilted his head back, drinking more than half of it in a few gulps. Some droplets of beer ran down his chin and neck, which he wiped off casually. When he returned to the living room, he found Zhou Yu still there. She was pouring cat food into the bowl, and the orange cat, unafraid of her, obediently went over to eat after she called it twice.

She was innocent enough, but what fault was there in him?

Zhou Yu patted the cat’s head and turned around, only to meet a cold, piercing gaze. Whenever there was no third person around, the intense, painful hatred in Yan Ci’s eyes always gave her the illusion that he might lunge forward and strangle her.

“Are you afraid of me?”

They had known each other longer than anyone else.

Zhou Yu pressed her lips together, but before she could speak, Yan Ci’s lips curled into a mocking smile. “You should be afraid of me. So don’t come to my house anymore, and definitely don’t stay here alone. I’m not mentally ill—I’m fully aware of the legal responsibilities I’ll bear as an adult. But there are times when my mind isn’t clear.”

Zhou Yu lowered her head, watching the cat lap up water.

“Are you going to school when the semester starts?”

“Is that any of your business?”

She replied, “Because if you don’t take the Gaokao, I’ll forever carry the guilt of ‘ruining your life.’ Even if you perform well next year and get into a prestigious university, people in this town will still say you’d have done even better without someone like me. But… Yan Ci, I genuinely hope things go well for you. You’re different from those street thugs—you won’t become one of them.”

Yan Ci suddenly laughed out loud. “What does it mean to become like them? Causing trouble? Or playing around with women?”

There were plenty of aimless loafers in the small town, and Zhou Yu had seen how they bullied others.

“You’re not acting convincing at all.”

“Am I not? Then take off your clothes and come over—I’ll show you whether I’m acting or not.”

As Cheng Yanqing and Cheng Wanyue passed by the front gate, they called out to Grandma twice. Cheng Yuzhou heard their playful voices—it was just the two of them.

It was already dark, yet Yan Ci’s house was still brightly lit.

Checking the time, Cheng Yuzhou decided to knock on the door anyway.

Zhou Yu was near the entrance, taking a moment before opening the door.

Standing outside, Cheng Yuzhou sensed the unusual atmosphere inside. He said naturally, “I left my phone here.”

“One moment.”

Zhou Yu went to look for his phone, searching the sofa, table, balcony, and bathroom.

“Not there? Then it might still be at home—I’ll go back and check.” He asked Zhou Yu, “Aren’t you leaving?”

“Yes,” Zhou Yu picked up her backpack and went to change her shoes.

The property management of the old residential building wasn’t diligent—the hallway lights had been broken for a long time and no one had fixed them.

As they walked side by side out of the building, Zhou Yu caught a faint scent of lemon in the drizzle. Had he already showered?

She sniffed her own clothes—it still smelled strongly of hot pot.

Instinctively, Zhou Yu increased the distance between herself and Cheng Yuzhou. The rainwater from the eaves dripped steadily onto the inner side of the walkway. Seeing her slow down and noticing that the dripping water was about to fall on her, Cheng Yuzhou quickly stepped over and pulled her to a wider spot.

Zhou Yu reflexively pulled her hand away, and the atmosphere immediately became awkward.

His hand lingered stiffly in the air for a moment before retreating. She suddenly regretted her action and wanted to say something to ease the tension, but realized how inadequate her words would sound.

“Are you going to bed?”

“No.”

“You took a bath so early?”

Cheng Yuzhou awkwardly averted his gaze. “Wait here for me a moment.”

He ran into the large red door across the way. Zhou Yu sighed in frustration, waiting for about two minutes. When he came out, he was holding an umbrella.

Zhou Yu hesitated. “The rain is light—it’s unnecessary. My home isn’t far.”

“It’s not good for girls to get wet in the rain,” Cheng Yuzhou opened the umbrella and placed the handle in her hand. “Return it yourself—don’t let Cheng Wanyue do it for you.”

Zhou Yu reluctantly accepted the umbrella. He stood outside its shelter, the lamplight spreading behind him. The drizzle falling on him sparkled under the light, as if dancing.

“Why? Does Wanyue like this umbrella?”

“Yes, it’s the only one I have—I can’t give it to her.”

Cheng Yuzhou doted on Cheng Wanyue, so Zhou Yu assumed the umbrella must be precious.

“Alright, I’ll bring it back tomorrow.”