Chapter 50 Old Love Letters: "Standing Up for My Girlfriend"

He smelled strongly of roses, and the familiar scent made Zhou Yu feel safer than ever before. She raised her arms and hugged him, and for the first time, she was so honest with him: "I missed you too."

The words "I miss you" were not enough to express the overflowing love in Zhou Yu's heart; the words she could say were far less intense than her true feelings.

Chen Jingchi looked up at her, his eyes filled with a smile like twinkling stars: "This time, your nose won't grow any longer."

He was still teasing about their previous conversation. Zhou Yu stared at him intently, the longing she felt for him after not seeing him for over a month was indescribable. She couldn't bear to look away, wishing she could fall into this bottomless midsummer night with him.

"Get in the car," Chen Jingchi said. "Stay with me for a while."

Zhou Yucai snapped out of her daze. Just as she was about to follow him, she noticed the slippers she was wearing and quickly tugged at his hand, saying, "Wait for me, I'll go change my shoes."

Tell Liu Xianya as well.

Chen Jingchi nodded.

Zhou Yu turned and rushed to the elevator, luckily it was still on the first floor when she got off. She got home as fast as she could, and Liu Xianya, seeing her putting on her shoes, asked, "Are you going out?"

"Yes." Zhou Yu squatted down to change her shoes, her tone urgent, "Mom, Chen Jingchi is here to see me!"

"Huh? Didn't you say the Qixi Festival gala was being broadcast live?" Liu Xianya had never seen her so flustered, completely losing her usual calm and collected demeanor, and guessed the reason. Seeing her turn to leave, she quickly asked, "Hey, are you coming back tonight?"

Zhou Yu froze for a moment, thought for only a second, and answered her before closing the door: "I don't know!"

Upon arriving on the first floor, Chen Jingchi was still standing there waiting for her. Zhou Yu couldn't stop herself and rushed forward, bumping into his arms. The bouquet in his arms shook from the impact, and a few pink petals fluttered down onto her.

Chen Jingchi hugged her tightly, never having felt her passion before, and his heart was also burned with warmth.

"So happy?" he asked with a smile.

“Hmm.” Zhou Yu looked up at him, her dark eyes filled with emotion. “I thought you were still in Jiangbei.”

"Today is a special day, and I wanted to come see you no matter how late it was." Chen Jingchi opened the passenger door for her. "Get in."

As soon as the car door opened, she was greeted by a rich, refreshing floral scent. Sitting in the passenger seat, surrounded by fresh roses, she looked around and asked, somewhat oblivious to her surroundings, "Did you have your assistant do this?"

Chen Jingchi leaned over to fasten her seatbelt and nodded upon hearing this: "I originally wanted to decorate the outside of the car as well, but he said that making it look like a wedding car would be too eye-catching. After thinking about it, I decided not to add any extra workload to the company's public relations department on a day like tonight."

As they drew closer, Zhou Yu's gaze fell upon his face, so close to hers that she couldn't even hear what he was saying. A sudden urge to kiss him arose in her mind. Within seconds or two, this impulse had spread uncontrollably, and before he could pull away, she quickly kissed him on the lips.

They parted as soon as they touched; it was another of her deliberate seductive tricks.

Chen Jingchi had intended to hold back until he left her house, but her unexpected action caused his self-control to waver. Without a second's hesitation, he forcefully sealed her lips with his, and the moment their lips touched, his tongue pried open her teeth and probed inside.

It was as if the fuse had burned out, and the fireworks exploded.

Zhou Yu heard a click as the seatbelt buckle she had just fastened was released. As Chen Jingchi kissed her, he put his hands on her waist and lifted her up from the passenger seat with such force.

Zhou Yu was startled and gasped. She hurriedly opened her eyes and cooperated with his movements, sitting on his lap.

The driver's seat, which was originally more than enough, became cramped. Zhou Yu straddled his lap, and Chen Jingchi gripped the back of her head tightly, passionately and impatiently invading her lips and tongue, wishing he could devour her whole.

The intertwining and friction of their tongues created a swirling sound, and their heavy breathing filled their ears. Zhou Yu couldn't swallow the saliva that was being passed to him, and he felt so comfortable that his whole body went limp. Even though he was panting heavily, he didn't want to separate.

Zhou Yu felt as if all her strength had been drained during the kiss. She gradually lost her ability to reciprocate, letting him take whatever he wanted in her arms. The air conditioning couldn't cool her down; the temperature inside the car rose, making the intoxicating floral scent even stronger, almost making Zhou Yu lose consciousness. Chen Jingchi felt her breathing was labored, withdrew his tongue, and gently bit her lower lip, his voice low and husky: "Do you want to come back tonight?"

Zhou Yu's lips were slightly numb from his sucking. When she opened her eyes, she saw the frighteningly intense desire in his eyes. Her cheeks burned, but she didn't flinch or avoid him. Her voice trembled as she said, "I want to stay with you."

Chen Jingchi ran his fingers through her smooth, black hair, then pulled away from her lips. He tilted his head back, trying to regain some composure, but Zhou Yu pressed her wet, hot lips against his Adam's apple, making his reaction even stronger.

"Don't kiss me randomly." Chen Jingchi pinched her chin to turn her head away. "Let me calm down."

He had no intention of doing anything to her tonight. The timing was good, but she wasn't ready. He had work tomorrow, and with such a tight schedule, he had to catch a flight back before dawn.

Drinking poison to quench thirst will only make him thirstier.

After a moment of silence, Zhou Yu gradually cleared her mind from the turmoil of passion, and her disordered breathing returned to normal. She finally realized that things had just spiraled out of control, and it was Chen Jingchi who pulled her back. Now, sensing his restraint, Zhou Yu tried to get up from him, but the slightest movement caused him to groan.

Zhou Yu immediately dared not move, lowered her head and leaned against his chest, feeling almost completely smitten.

"Now you know how to be shy?" Chen Jingchi chuckled at her in a hoarse voice.

Zhou Yu remained silent until he adjusted the seat back, giving her the space to support herself and climb back into the passenger seat.

Zhou Yu turned his head slightly to peek at him, only to be caught red-handed. His mind went blank, and he blurted out whatever came to mind: "I'm only like this because I haven't seen you in so long."

Chen Jingchi didn't expose him, and just said "hmm".

Zhou Yu turned his head, resting his forehead against the car window, and heard a soft laugh behind him: "I like you no matter what."

The car, which had been parked downstairs for a long time, finally started moving. Zhou Yu was still deeply moved by his words. Chen Jingchi was much bolder in matters of the heart, uninhibited, outspoken, and never secretive.

Clearly, her feelings for him were longer and deeper, but she had long been accustomed to hiding them deep within, not daring to show them to anyone, only daring to open a small opening to reveal just the tip of the iceberg.

This was already the bravest thing she had ever done.

“I reserved these roses in advance at the rose garden, and they were picked and delivered tonight,” Chen Jingchi said. “I originally wanted to take you to see the rose garden, but the staff said it wasn’t very clear at night and there wasn’t much of an atmosphere, so we decided against it.”

Zhou Yu whispered, "So beautiful."

“At first I thought you didn’t like pink,” Chen Jingchi laughed. “The stylist told me that you took off the outfit I was wearing as the first thing I saw.”

"No," Zhou Yu defended herself. "It's just that the color is different in the picture. It looks great on you."

Chen Jingchi glanced at her and asked, "Do you like it?"

Zhou Yu nodded, and then, afraid that he hadn't seen it, said, "I like them all."

I love everything about her: clothes, flowers, and people.

Before he could reply, Zhou Yu immediately asked, "Did someone pick you up at the airport?"

"Yes, a lot." Chen Jingchi seemed used to it, his voice calm. "They all know I spend Valentine's Day with a girlfriend, but they still come."

Celebrity schedules are almost always public and transparent; you can check their flight details with just their ID card. Seeing so many people waiting for him as soon as he got off the plane, Chen Jingchi couldn't do anything about it.

Adding to the fact that today is the release of the physical album "Migratory Birds," it's not a good thing to be in the news for being in a relationship.

Upon arriving at his home, as soon as Chen Jingchi opened the door, the living room lights automatically turned on, revealing a room full of fresh flowers to Zhou Yu. She slowly walked in, and Chen Jingchi embraced her from behind, placing a silver necklace around her neck.

She looked down and saw a ring hanging from the necklace. It was a ring, but much smaller than a standard ring, with a diameter of only about one centimeter.

“Knowing you don’t like wearing jewelry, I specially made yours smaller so you can wear it as a pendant on your necklace.” Chen Jingchi took out another ring of the same style and said, “I wanted to tell everyone that I have a partner, and a ring is the most direct way to do that.”

Zhou Yu looked down at the ring he was wearing on his middle finger and asked, "Isn't it too flashy?"

She realized her mistake as soon as she said it, but it was too late to take it back.

"Zhou Yu, are you insecure about dating me?" Chen Jingchi chuckled in her ear. "Am I not presentable enough for you?"

She shook her head vigorously: "No."

To make up for her mistake, she turned around and hugged him, feeling guilty, "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize to me anymore." Chen Jingchi lowered his head and kissed her forehead. "It would make me feel like I'm a very unfit boyfriend."

Zhou Yu stared at him blankly, a sweet feeling slowly spreading through her heart.

Chen Jingchi's flight is at six o'clock tomorrow, so he has to get up at four o'clock. Zhou Yu was worried that he wouldn't get enough sleep, so she made him rest early. She had never stayed overnight at a boy's house before, and she couldn't find any clothes that fit her at his house. Chen Jingchi handed her the smallest size white shirt, saying that he had worn it once when he took his graduation photos in high school.

Two years ago, Chen Jingchi had already grown to 187 cm tall, and the shirt was too long and too big on her. She felt uncomfortable, but Chen Jingchi couldn't resist looking at her.

Seeing that he was about to sleep on the sofa with his blanket, Zhou Yu stopped him: "Sleep on the bed, sleeping on the sofa is bad for your back."

Having already been injured, she was particularly concerned about this aspect.

Lying in the same bed, they couldn't kiss, and even hugging could easily lead to trouble. Chen Jingchi was at a loss, regretting bringing her home, but also feeling that coming all this way just to see her was too extravagant, and either way was unbearable.

In the end, a compromise was chosen: he had her turn her back to him and hold her in his arms.

Too busy with work and exhausted from his journey, he fell asleep quickly, his breathing heavy, but Zhou Yu couldn't fall asleep for a long time. His hand was on her waist, and her palm covered the back of his hand, touching the ring on the end of his finger. He didn't even take it off when he slept, as if he was determined to use it as a symbol of their relationship.

The quieter the night, the easier it is to overthink when your mind is blank.

Thinking about the ups and downs of his career, about their gradual and natural relationship, I aimlessly think about the present and the future.

She didn't know what the future held, only that every day was better than the past, and that every day to come was something to look forward to.

That's enough.

*

When Zhou woke up the next day, she found herself alone. After lying on the bed for several minutes, she got up, turned off the air conditioner in the bedroom, and walked barefoot to the living room.

The flowers in the living room were still the same as when they arrived last night. Zhou Yu glanced around and saw all the items related to him, and he couldn't help but feel a sense of loss, as if he had lost something very important.

Before leaving, Chen Jingchi charged her phone. She picked it up and saw that it was a little past eight o'clock, not too late.

The screen still displayed a message he sent two hours earlier: "Tell me when you wake up, and I'll have someone bring you breakfast."

Zhou Yu squatted by the sofa. When he looked down, he could see the necklace he had put on his neck, which was warmed by her body heat. It felt warm to the touch when he held it.

After removing the necklace from her neck, she finally had a chance to examine the pendant closely. It was a very simple design, adorned with a few small diamonds, and the inner band of the ring was engraved with their initials.

Z&C

Zhou wanted to put the necklace back on.

Realizing her emotions were getting out of control, she dared not stay any longer, changed her clothes, and left. Only after leaving his house did she feel a little better and able to breathe again.

She ate breakfast at a nearby breakfast shop and replied to Chen Jingchi's message, but he didn't reply immediately. She casually opened Weibo and saw an entry about him.

#Chen Jingchi is the real migratory bird#

Some parts were incomprehensible to Zhou, so he clicked into the topic to find out the reason.

[He flew to Xianhai to see his sister-in-law immediately after the live stream ended, and flew back in the early hours of the morning. What a great love story! Chen Jingchi is the real migratory bird! [crying] He's working so hard to promote the album himself, little goldfish fans, hurry up and boost sales!]

The entire post was sarcastic and even included a photo of him at the airport last night. Zhou Yu didn't dare to imagine how people would interpret the ring on his hand when he showed up today.

Many people are speaking up for Chen Jingchi under this Weibo post, and the two groups are arguing again. Zhou Yu has now developed the ability to immediately back off as soon as he sees the situation going wrong, and he is more sensitive than a radar.

Liu Xianya was resting at home on Sunday. Seeing that she didn't ask anything when she came back, Zhou Yu felt even more uncomfortable and took the initiative to confess: "He gave me a necklace."

When I showed it to her, Liu Xianya smiled and nodded: "It's good, it's platinum."

After saying that, he stopped there and said nothing more. Zhou Yu was still awkward: "I didn't do it."

"I didn't ask," Liu Xianya said curiously, "yet you're blushing."

“You seem to have misunderstood,” Zhou Yu explained. “He was catching a flight at four or five o’clock.”

"Feeling sorry for you?" Liu Xianya teased. "You moved me so much last night, I've never seen you so anxious."

Zhou Yu lowered his head and remained silent.

"It seems my worries were unnecessary," Liu Xianya said as she tidied the room. "Young girls get more deeply involved in love than anyone else."

Zhou Yu frowned almost imperceptibly, thinking about the negative emotions she felt when she woke up this morning because he wasn't by her side, and couldn't find any words to refute him.

Chen Jingchi replied to her message: [I was busy just now, are you back yet?]

Zhou Yu: [I'm home]

Chen: [See you at school]

Zhou hesitated for a moment, then asked: "What should I do with the flowers at home and in the car?"

Chen: [They have already made a difference]

*

Zhou Yu arrived last during the first week of school. When she got to the dormitory, Fan Xin and An Kejia had already finished cleaning it. When they saw her return, they looked at each other but didn't say anything first.

Zhou Yu knew she was in the wrong. Throughout her freshman year, she had acted as if she had no interest in Chen Jingchi in front of them, and even posted comments unrelated to him on the confession wall. Now that their relationship was public, it was normal for them to be unable to accept it.

"I'm sorry I haven't told you about Chen Jingchi and me." Zhou Yu looked at them and apologized. "When I said I was meeting with friends before, it was always with him. I didn't think we would be together at that time, so I didn't want you to misunderstand and I never made it clear."

Upon hearing this, An Kejia quickly stepped forward to explain, "It's okay, Zhouzhou. Although I was quite surprised when I found out, it seems quite normal after thinking about it carefully. After all, you're the girl who's closest to Chen Jingchi."

Fan Xin walked over and chimed in, "Yeah, we didn't ask you in the group because you don't usually talk to us about him. We thought it might be too nosy to ask you about these things."

"No," Zhou Yu shook his head. "You can ask me anything you want."

Both of them breathed a sigh of relief. Fan Xin smiled and said, "Actually, Jiajia and I talked about it privately. Chen Jingchi dared to confess to you at the concert, so it seems like he really likes you. What girl wouldn't be moved by such a scene?"

"Exactly!" An Kejia said curiously, "What did it feel like when you were sitting in the audience listening?"

Zhou Yu admitted, "I'm very tempted."

"I imagined what it would be like if someone did that to me; I would faint on the spot." Fan Xin took a deep breath. "Chen Jingchi is still Chen Jingchi."

Zhou Yu hesitated for a few seconds, then asked, "Can you...accept this?"

“Why can’t I accept it?” An Kejia retorted. “The most popular star in our school is dating my best friend. I’m so happy for you.”

“Yeah, we’re not Chen Jingchi’s girlfriend fans, so we’re definitely more inclined to support you,” Fan Xin said. “Those people who criticize you online aren’t normal. You should read less of their posts and not let them influence you.”

Zhou Yu felt an indescribable sense of gratitude; the weight that had been hanging over him finally lifted, and he smiled sincerely: "Thank you."

*

On Monday morning, during the first period, as the three of them entered the classroom, the students sitting in the front row all turned to look at her. A boy smiled and said, "Hey, isn't this Zhou Yu, who has no relation to Chen Jingchi?"

The girls around them all laughed, and one of them asked, "Zhou Yu, how did you manage to win him over? You've got Chen Jingchi all smitten."

"I never knew he was so good at showing off his love, did I? Did you bewitch him?"

"He must have made a fortune from his second album's huge success. Is it true that when guys have money, they start wanting to be in relationships?"

The online attacks against her were far more offensive than those few words, but those were ultimately from netizens separated by a screen; as long as she didn't read their comments, they wouldn't have any impact. However, when classmates in her class said these things to her face, even if she wanted to refute them, she couldn't find the right words.

An Kejia couldn't stand these people's behavior and retorted on her behalf: "Your boyfriends don't have money, but you still date them? Mind your own business, it's none of your business how other people date."

The girl who was right rolled her eyes and scoffed.

“And you,” An Kejia said to the boy, “it serves you right that you haven’t found a girlfriend in a year.”

As a girl, she knows exactly what to say to make a guy break down. If he's single, she'll say he's not attractive; if he's in a relationship, she'll say he's not sexually capable; if she's really out of ideas, she'll relentlessly mock his height. There's bound to be one thing that hits the nail on the head.

The three of them walked to the back row and sat down. Fan Xin gave An Kejia a thumbs-up: "Jiajia, you did a good job!"

"I hate people like them the most. They're just full of envy, jealousy, and hatred," An Kejia said.

Zhou Yu was never used to arguing with people. She could imagine that if they weren't around, she might have chosen to swallow her anger. She thanked them again: "Thank you for speaking up for me."

"You're too kind," An Kejia said softly. "They're just bullies who prey on the weak and think you're easy to bully."

As she said, after An Kejia said a few words on her behalf, at least on the surface, no one talked about her anymore.

On Friday afternoon, during the last period, with five or six minutes left before the end of get out of class, the class monitor posted the application and approval form for the previous academic year's national scholarship in the group chat, asking the students with the highest GPAs to fill it out and return it to him.

In the summary of the review list, Zhou Yu can be seen to be ranked first in the average GPA ranking of freshmen.

Fan Xin opened the form and saw it. She held the phone close to her and whispered, "Zhou Zhou, you're amazing. You're number one in your major!"

Before Zhou Yu could reply, a message suddenly popped up in the class group chat.

Li Weiting: [First is our sister-in-law!]

Zhou Yu saw the words and heard Fan Xin angrily say from the side, "Will they ever stop?"

She clicked on the input box and saw that another new message had popped up.

[That's why people say my sister-in-law is incredibly capable; she got first place in both her major and her reputation across the entire school! [doge]]

Seriously, sister-in-law, please open a class and teach us! [pity] @ZhouYu

She frowned, about to type, when someone suddenly sat down in the empty seat next to her. Zhou Yu looked up and her heart skipped a beat.

At mealtimes, the three of them would sit in the seats closest to the back door so they could easily leave after class. Today was no different; there was an empty seat next to Zhou Yu because opening the door would bump her arm.

At that moment, while the teacher on the podium turned her back to write on the blackboard, Chen Jingchi went straight in through the back door and sat down next to her.

Zhou Yu heard Fan Xin to his left gasp: "Holy crap!"

Chen Jingchi wore a hat to cover his eyebrows and eyes. He looked down at her phone screen, which displayed the chat history in the class group.

Upon noticing the word "sister-in-law," he frowned and asked in a low voice, "Who is Li Weiting?"

Calling someone "sister-in-law" among friends is just teasing and joking, but for a casual classmate to say it in a group chat is malicious.

Zhou turned his phone upside down and placed it face down on the table, then asked in a low voice, "Why are you here?"

"I'll pick you up for dinner." Chen Jingchi raised his left hand and placed it on the back of her head to straighten her. "Don't look at me, listen carefully to the lesson."

Knowing full well that his presence would distract her, Zhou Yu deliberately said those things, but Zhou Yu wouldn't listen. When she looked up, she saw that some people in the front row had heard the noise and turned around to look. When they realized it was Chen Jingchi himself, it immediately sparked a quiet discussion.

Chen Jingchi looked to his left and asked, "Are they your roommates?"

An Kejia immediately pulled up an old electronic signature from her memo and showed it to him: "I need your signature too."

"I remember." Chen Jingchi chuckled and asked her, "Where is Li Weiting sitting?"

An Kejia immediately pointed to her and said, "The girl with yellow hair in the three rows in front of us."

It was the troublemaker she had cursed that morning.

Fan Xin seized the opportunity to add fuel to the fire: "Two people in the group who were just following her lead are sitting with her."

Zhou Yu pressed his hand down under the table and asked in a low voice, "What are you going to do?"

Instead, he grabbed her hand, their fingers intertwined, and the smile in Chen Jingchi's eyes vanished: "Stand up for your girlfriend."

When the bell rang and the teacher left, the classroom became noisy. The news that Chen Jingchi was in the back row of the classroom spread like wildfire, and everyone turned around to look at him.

Chen Jingchi rarely comes to the School of Humanities, and the students in the classroom have never seen him in person. Out of curiosity, many people stop to watch. Zhou Yu even saw a few bold girls in the first row secretly taking pictures with their phones.

Chen Jingchi released her hand, stood up and walked forward. Zhou Yu watched his back and unconsciously gripped her phone tighter.

He stopped in front of the blonde girl. The three of them were still tidying up their notebooks on the table when Chen Jingchi's sudden appearance stunned them.

He bent down and asked in a cold voice, "Do I know you?"

His cold expression, coupled with his sharp features, exuded an innate sense of oppression, filling the girls with dread. They exchanged glances, too afraid to utter a sound, and shook their heads in disbelief.

Even the people around were so frightened that they fell silent.

Zhou Yu saw the expression on Chen Jingchi's face. It was very familiar. When he first met Chen Jingchi, he almost always had the same expressionless face. It took a lot of courage to look him in the eye.

If even she felt this way, one can only imagine how people who were meeting him for the first time would feel.

"What kind of 'getting close' is that?" Chen Jingchi questioned in a deep voice, "You call her 'sister-in-law'?"

"How about I start a class to teach you how to respect others?"

The blonde girl quickly lowered her head, her voice trembling, "I'm sorry, I won't say it again."

The other two quickly followed suit, their voices so soft that Zhou Yu couldn't hear them.

He finally walked away, and when he looked at Zhou Yu, all the impatience in his eyes had vanished, as if nothing had happened. He took her bag and held out his hand: "Let's go."

Zhou Yu took his hand, turned to Fan Xin and An Kejia and said, "I'm going out to eat."

The two nodded quickly and waved to her.

As they walked downstairs hand in hand, Zhou Yu's heart raced, her chest felt hot from the impact, and she inexplicably recalled some things from the past.

Only after climbing all the stairs and reaching the first floor did Zhou Yu finally snap out of his wild imaginings and realize how absurd it all seemed.

She actually thought that if she had started dating him earlier, perhaps her first few years wouldn't have been so difficult.

He will protect her very well.

-----------------------

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the nutrient solution, everyone!!! [Pink Heart]

Reader "541888" irrigated with nutrient solution +10

Reader "彤彤266" added 1 unit of nutrient solution to the water.