Chapter 30 Zhou Shilin, you're so strong! ...

Zhou Shilin's voice was very soft, but it was like a small stone thrown into a calm lake, creating ripples that even made Chen Ci's heartbeat lose its rhythm.

She stared at him blankly for a moment, then her little face crumpled and she started sobbing again: "Zhou Shilin, you're so kind. No one in this world has ever shown me any favoritism."

Zhou Shilin originally wanted to comfort her, but she cried even harder because of his words.

He now believes she really can cry.

He took a pack of tissues from the car, pulled out a few, and wiped her tears: "Isn't your dad good to you?"

“That’s different. He still prefers my mom.” Chen Ci took the tissue from Zhou Shilin’s hand and wiped her face haphazardly. “If my mom and I fell into the water at the same time, he would definitely save my mom first.”

"……Um."

"So, who would you save first?"

"...I'll save you first, because your mother has already been saved by your father."

"Waaah, I knew you were a good person."

"...Thank you for your affirmation."

When Zhou Shilin's car stopped outside Shen Ci's residential area, Shen Ci was still drunk. Zhou Shilin opened the car door, got out first, and then bent down to help Shen Ci inside the car: "Can you walk?"

"I can, I can walk!" Chen Ci's hand rested on the car door, but her steps were very unsteady. She looked at the familiar neighborhood in front of her and was about to walk towards the entrance when her body swayed uncontrollably and she fell to the side.

"Be careful." Zhou Shilin lowered his hand slightly from her lower back, lifted her up with one hand, and closed the door with his other hand. "I'll take you home."

The moment her feet left the ground, Chen Ci instinctively reached out and wrapped her arms around Zhou Shilin's neck. Her eyes widened slightly as she looked in surprise at the person who had lifted her up with one hand: "Zhou Shilin, you're so strong..."

She could clearly feel the strength in Zhou Shilin's arms, and could even imagine the taut muscle lines in his arms at that moment.

She unconsciously lowered one hand and stopped at Zhou Shilin's chest, then grabbed it twice through his suit: "Mr. Zhou always talks about working out, it seems he really does, these pectoral muscles are really nice."

Zhou Shilin: "…………"

At this moment, he seriously considered whether Chen Ci was truly drunk or just trying to take advantage of the alcohol to do something improper.

"Keep your hands to yourself." Zhou Shilin looked up at her, his tone full of warning.

"Oh," Chen Ci responded, reluctantly withdrawing her hand from his chest and wrapping it around his neck again.

Zhou Shilin then carried her into the residential area. When the children playing outside saw the two of them walking over like this, they immediately started to cheer in their direction.

At this moment, Chen Ci's sense of shame miraculously awakened. She patted Zhou Shilin's shoulder and whispered to him, "You should put me down. I can walk by myself."

Zhou Shilin tilted his head slightly, his cheek almost touching her chin: "Are you sure you can walk?"

"Yes, this is not a good thing for us."

Zhou Shilin: "..."

Why didn't I realize it was inappropriate when I grabbed his chest just now?

He bent down and put Chen Ci down, but still gently supported her waist from behind, his palms on her lower back. The warm touch came through the thin T-shirt, making Chen Ci's head feel even hotter.

"Do you remember which building you live in?" Zhou Shilin's voice drifted into her ears on the night breeze, bringing Chen Ci back to her senses. She coughed lightly to cover up her reverie and pointed to a brightly lit apartment building in front of her: "That's it, I live in 901."

Zhou Shilin nodded and helped her walk towards the building. Entering the elevator, Zhou Shilin pressed the button for the 9th floor.

There were only the two of them in the elevator, the small space filled with the coolness of mints and the aroma of cedar. The mints were from the barbecue restaurant earlier; Chen Ci ate one to sober herself up. As for the aroma of cedar… Chen Ci glanced at Zhou Shilin beside her; it must be emanating from this handsome man.

Noticing her gaze, Zhou Shilin looked down at her. Zhou Shilin had been supporting Chen Ci's waist with light but steady pressure. As soon as he lowered his head, Chen Ci felt his breath on her neck; the mint she had just eaten was completely wasted.

"We're here." Zhou Shilin's voice pulled Chen Ci back to reality as the elevator doors opened. Chen Ci feigned composure and rummaged through her bag for her keys. Zhou Shilin watched her for a couple of seconds before asking, "Are you sure this is your home?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"This is a fingerprint lock."

Chen Ci: "..."

She coughed lightly, raised her hand to brush a stray hair from the side of her face, and unlocked the fingerprint lock with her thumb.

When the fingerprint lock beeped to unlock, Chen Ci looked up at Zhou Shilin triumphantly: "See? I told you this is my house. I wouldn't be mistaken."

Zhou Shilin didn't say anything, but bent down to pick up the slippers she had placed at the door and put them next to her feet: "Change your shoes."

"Okay." Chen Ci obediently changed into slippers, and then took out a new pair of slippers from the shoe cabinet. "You change too."

Zhou Shilin: "..."

He stood at the door without moving. Chen Ci rubbed her forehead and swayed slightly. "I feel so dizzy. Can you help me to the sofa?"

"..." Zhou Shilin subconsciously helped her up and put on the slippers she had given him.

The slippers were women's and a little small for Zhou Shilin, but it wouldn't make much of a difference if he just helped Chen Ci onto the sofa.

The apartment where Chen Ci lived was a two-bedroom, one-living room apartment. The living room lights were off, with only a faint light coming in from the outside, outlining the furniture.

Zhou Shilin helped Chen Ci into the living room and was about to help her sit on the sofa when Chen Ci's legs suddenly gave way, and she fell forward uncontrollably. Zhou Shilin instinctively reached out to pull her up, but because of the ill-fitting slippers, he was already unsteady on his feet. With Chen Ci's pull, he lost his balance along with her, and the two of them fell heavily onto the sofa.

The sofa sank in, and Chen Ci was pressed down onto it by Zhou Shilin, her cheek against his suit jacket, able to clearly feel the powerful rise and fall of his chest. Zhou Shilin's nose was right next to the tip of her hair, the faint scent of shampoo mixed with the smell of alcohol, surprisingly intoxicating.

Zhou Shilin propped himself up on his arms, trying to get up from the sofa, but Chen Ci subconsciously reached out and grabbed his clothes.

Because both she and Zhou Shilin were very strong, the suit button that Chen Ci was holding popped open and fell off.

Chen Ci: "..."

Zhou Shilin: "..."

This unexpected turn of events caught them both off guard. They were both silent for a moment before Chen Ci spoke up: "Since it's broken, let's just take it off."

Zhou Shilin: "..."

He increasingly felt that his drunkenness tonight was something Shen Ci had planned for a long time.

He tried to get up again, but this time Shen Ci simply reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck. Zhou Shilin paused, bracing himself against Shen Ci's side, and looked at her intently: "Shen Ci, what exactly do you want to do?"

"I just think you're good-looking and want to look at you more." Shen Ci's voice was still a little drunk, but her eyes were bright as she looked at him. She tightened her arms around Zhou Shilin's neck, as if she really wanted to see him more clearly.

Zhou Shilin leaned down a little more, chuckled almost inaudibly, and looked at Chen Ci, saying, "You've already taken enough advantage today, haven't you? I advise you to know when to stop."

Chen Ci blinked, as if she didn't understand him: "Who's taking advantage of whom? Aren't you taking advantage of me now?"

"..." You know perfectly well who got the better deal.

The porcelain ring around the back of his neck, whether intentionally or unintentionally, lightly brushed against the skin of his neck with its fingertips. The delicate touch made Zhou Shilin's eyes narrow slightly, and his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily: "I told you, keep your hands to yourself."

Chen Ci retorted, "What if I can't manage it well?"

Just as Zhou Shilin was about to speak, Chen Ci raised her head slightly and pressed it against his chest: "Zhou Shilin, your heart is beating so fast."

Zhou Shilin's heart was indeed beating faster than usual. He could clearly feel Chen Ci's soft body pressed against his, and the faint touch of her fingertips, each time as if deliberately teasing his nerves.

He propped himself up slightly, and gently stroked Shen Ci's rosy lips with the pad of his right thumb: "If you keep making a scene, you'll regret it."

This seemingly small gesture made Chen Ci feel Zhou Shilin's intense aggression. She admitted that she was indeed intimidated by Zhou Shilin at that moment.

She finally withdrew her hand and let go of Zhou Shilin. Zhou Shilin had just stood up when Chen Ci reached out again and grabbed the hem of his shirt, her eyes looking somewhat aggrieved: "Are you leaving? Heartless man."

Zhou Shilin: "..."

He sighed and straightened his clothes: "I'll go get you a glass of warm water."

"Oh." Chen Ci immediately cheered up again and thoughtfully pointed to the water dispenser for Zhou Shilin, "It's over there."

"Hmm." Zhou Shilin picked up a cup from the table and asked her, "Is this your drinking cup?"

Yes, yes.

Zhou Shilin first went to the kitchen to rinse the cup, and then came out to get Chen Ci a cup of warm water and placed it on the coffee table in front of the sofa: "Drink some water, maybe it will make you feel better."

"Okay." Chen Ci sat up, took a sip from her cup, and then looked up at Zhou Shilin. "Zhou Shilin, what did you add to my water?"

"..." Zhou Shilin rarely curled his lips into a smile, giving her a cold smile. "I only filled the hot water. Add whatever you want to drink."

Chen Ci pouted, took another sip of water from her cup, and muttered softly, "President Zhou is online too."

Zhou Shilin didn't want to argue with a drunkard any longer. He glanced at Chen Ci, who was sitting there drinking water, and said to her, "I'm going back first. You should get some rest."

“Okay…” Chen Ci responded, looking up at him, “Thank you for bringing me back.”

“You really should thank me.” Zhou Shilin glanced at his slightly open suit jacket, then walked towards the door in his ill-fitting slippers. “Let’s talk about it tomorrow.”

As he closed the door and left the residential area, he received a message from Chen Ci: "Let me know you're home safely."

"..." Being able to successfully leave her house is already a sign of safety.

The next day, to the incessant ringing of the alarm clock, Chen Ci struggled to sit up in bed. She rubbed her heavy head, and memories of yesterday slowly surfaced in her mind.

Images of her groping Zhou Shilin kept flashing before her eyes.

Chen Ci, who had been rubbing her head, slowly stopped. Wait, what exactly did she do to President Zhou yesterday?!

A storm raged within Shen Ci; she couldn't believe it was real.

"It's a dream, yes, it must be a dream." She had been lusting after Zhou Shilin's body for a long time. As the saying goes, what you think about during the day, you dream about at night. It's not surprising that she would have such a dream, right? She calmed herself down and turned her head, only to see two buttons on the bedside table.

These buttons clearly aren't hers; she doesn't have any clothes that match these kinds of buttons. But Zhou Shilin... his suit seems to have these kinds of buttons.

"..." Chen Ci silently picked up the button from the bedside table, placed it in her palm, and examined it carefully. She remembered that in her dream last night, she had also torn Zhou Shilin's button.

"Hahaha, so it wasn't a dream after all." Chen Ci sat on the bed and laughed, but as she laughed, tears almost welled up in her eyes.

She picked up her phone, intending to message Zhou Shilin, but found a message he had sent her the night before, containing only two words: "Safe."

Chen Ci paused for a moment, then quickly typed: "Mr. Zhou, hello. If I may be so bold as to ask, how much did your suit jacket cost? [Smiling happily.jpg]"

Soon, she received a reply from Zhou Shilin: "Sober now?"

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Author's Note: Chen Ci: [Clown]