Chapter 27 Pulling

"Is it pretty?" The voice was so close that Zhou Jiu felt his ears itch.

"What?" Zhou Jiu looked up and moved his head back slightly before asking.

Zhou Jiu felt a tickle on her palm and looked at her hand.

"Are your hands pretty?"

Zhou Jiu nodded, looking directly back at him: "It is indeed beautiful."

Chu Zhao's smile overflowed, and his eyes shone with joy, making them even more bright. Zhou Jiu stared at Chu Zhao's eyes; she loved them the most. If they hadn't just confirmed their relationship and she wasn't worried about scaring him away, she would have kissed his eyes—they were so beautiful.

Zhou Jiu observed the distance between them and tentatively approached. Seeing that Chu Zhao did not move away, she probed further, "Shall we go back tonight?"

Chu Zhao ruffled Zhou Jiu's hair, covered her eyes, pulled her into his arms, and laughed, "Of course we're going back. You're a minor, what are you thinking about all day long?"

Zhou Jiu pulled Chu Zhao's hand away and moved it slightly. His hand always touched her sensitive areas, and she was afraid that he would not be able to resist hitting her. She said irritably, "Don't touch my head, I don't like it."

Zhou Jiu saw Chu Zhao's hand hovering in mid-air. After looking at her for a few seconds, she withdrew her hand, pursed her lips, and said, "Sorry."

"Feel sorry."

The two spoke at the same time. Chu Zhao chuckled and took Zhou Jiu's hand: "It's okay. You said before that you didn't like it, so it was my fault for touching your head."

"The atmosphere we were finally getting into has been ruined," Zhou Jiu said helplessly, leaning back against the chair.

"What kind of atmosphere do you want? You're a minor, don't think too much about things in your head."

Zhou Jiu really wanted to roll her eyes, and she did just that. She gradually moved closer to Chu Zhao, staring into his eyes, and teased, "What are you thinking about? You keep reminding me that I'm underage. It's not... something inappropriate for children, is it?"

Chu Zhao moved his hand slightly, glanced at Zhou Jiu's head a few times, then gave up, lowered his head slightly, and moved a little closer to Zhou Jiu's face: "...Guess?"

Zhou Jiu blinked slightly, her gaze remaining fixed on the other side, determined to see who would look away first; she was determined to stay until the very end.

As Chu Zhao drew closer, Zhou Jiu suddenly felt her face burning slightly. Without hesitation, Zhou Jiu opened her eyes and brought her lips close to Chu Zhao's. She watched as Chu Zhao closed his eyes, and she suddenly wanted to laugh. He was soft and the touch was quite nice; the sensation on her lips hadn't faded yet.

Zhou Jiu observed Chu Zhao's expression and felt a sense of satisfaction. It's true that you should enjoy love early. This kid is twenty years old and still so shy. The way he closed his eyes and trembled was really funny and amusing.

Zhou Jiu placed her hand on Chu Zhao's chest, feeling his heart pounding faster and faster. She pulled back a little and saw his eyelids slowly open. When she saw those eyes, Zhou Jiu felt her heart suddenly pound even faster.

"Is this something unsuitable for children, Senior Chu?" Zhou Jiu drawled out, with a hint of teasing.

Chu Zhao's gaze lingered on Zhou Jiu's lips for a moment, his voice slightly hoarse. He coughed lightly after speaking, then said, "...Guess."

"Wow, it's you again, guessing? Trying to trick me into kissing you? Senior, you have too many tricks up your sleeve," Zhou Jiu exclaimed, in a very good mood.

"However, I don't think I'll give you that chance." After saying that, Zhou Jiu opened the door of the autopilot and sped away.

When Zhou Jiu swiped the chip at the entrance gate of Military City, she saw a delivery notification. She walked to the storage room next door and swiped her computer chip. Her package was sent out from the cabinet. Just as she was about to reach for it, Chu Zhao caught up from behind, handed the flowers to Zhou Jiu, and picked up the box with both hands.

Looking at Chu Zhao carrying the box, Zhou Jiu inexplicably felt that Chu Zhao, who had seemed a bit cold at first sight, had become a bit gentler, although after a moment she thought that she might be wearing a boyfriend filter.

"Do you do this habitual action of yours often?" Zhou Jiu walked briskly beside him.

"If you ask me if I have any dating experience, I don't. But if you ask me if I often pick up packages, I do."

"Senior, don't overthink it. Your girlfriend just started her new job, and you're already treating her like she's petty. That will hurt her feelings," Zhou Jiu said.

Chu Zhao's expression remained unchanged: "If you could really control your facial expressions, I might actually believe you."

"Looking back, we've only known each other for a few days and haven't spent much time together, and then you confessed to me. You're not sweet-talking at all, you'll lose me," Zhou Jiu complained, but quickly added with a sigh, "You confessed to me and got together with me because you thought I was interesting, I still think it's outrageous."

"...just a fleeting feeling."

"Kid, I'm an adult now. I understand my own thoughts. I can't wait for your unreliable fortune telling and then suddenly confess to someone else. Some people and some things, once lost, can never be regained. Do you understand?"

As Zhou Jiu listened to Chu Zhao say this, she chuckled inwardly. A man who was only two years older than her kept calling her a child, taking advantage of her. She didn't understand, but he did.

"Haven't you seen studies showing that women mature psychologically earlier than men?" Zhou Jiu hugged her suitcase with one hand, then picked up the flowers. "I'm talking to you, kid."

Chu Zhao laughed as he watched Zhou Jiu walk faster up to the dormitory building.

Zhou Jiu realized how childish she was after returning to her dorm. Was it really that bad? How did she become just like that childish Lin Xiu? Sigh, she should spend less time with that friend of hers in the future, or she'd be assimilated.

After closing the door, Zhou Jiu opened the package. Inside were five energy stones and a small bell-shaped device, which looked similar to the small bell she had given to her friends who were exploring the wilderness. After fiddling with it for a while, she realized that it was a new type of shielding device shaped like a small bell. She wondered who was so talented as to come up with such a thing.

Zhou Jiu took out the energy stone, moved her wrist slightly, and thought, "Well, time to get back to work." Hearing the message notifications, Zhou Jiu replied to several people in turn. Looking at Chu Zhao's message, she also replied: "Something came up. Let's talk at 10 p.m. tonight."

Although 10 o'clock is her sleep time, sending a goodnight message before bed counts as chatting, Zhou Jiu suddenly thought.

Zhou Jiu took out her tools, a rune engraving knife, from the machine case and began to work diligently.

Several hours later, the computer kept ringing with calls. Zhou Jiu stared intently at the energy stone, his gaze fixed on it, as he focused on using his mental energy to carve a rune array with a carving knife.

After completing the stroke, Zhou Jiu glanced at the personal terminal, gave a voice command to hang up, and continued to stare at the energy patterns on the energy stone, examining where the next rune energy would be engraved. The voice from the call came through again.

Zhou Jiu turned on the video call, but instead of looking at the screen in front of him, he stared at the energy stone in front of him and said without any emotion, "I'm busy."