Chapter 72 Old Love Letters, Day 1972.

His lips were burning hot, and when they pressed against hers, he didn't intend to give her any breathing space. Before Zhou Yu could react, he forcefully pried open her teeth and brutally invaded her lips and tongue.

Zhou Yu's eyes widened, and she subconsciously raised her hand to push him away, but her wrist was grabbed and she was pressed against the wall behind her, unable to move. She was forced to tilt her head back to receive his kiss.

She was trapped in this small space, with nowhere to hide, her whole body enveloped by his presence.

"List……"

Her words were drowned out by his hurried actions. Chen Jingchi hooked her tongue, his rough tongue rubbing against her naked body. The saliva she couldn't swallow was swept away by him. They were inseparable. Zhou Yu tasted a bit of intoxicating alcohol, which instantly pulled her strength away from her body. The last sob she let out was swallowed.

The heavy breathing was amplified in my ears, mixed with the noisy rain, damp and sticky, and my heart was beating fast and heavy.

Her body seemed to be suddenly awakened from a long slumber, and memories of countless kisses with him flooded back, easily causing her to succumb to them. The struggle was brief; she tried to breathe, opening her mouth to cooperate with his actions, accepting his inexplicable desire for control.

Her submissiveness did not elicit any restraint from him; instead, it fueled his possessiveness even more. Her tongue was sucked until it went numb, and her vision gradually blurred. She was tightly imprisoned in his arms, unwilling yet giving him chance after chance.

He kissed her for a long time, until Zhou Yu was panting heavily, before he withdrew his tongue from her mouth, rubbing it against her lips and biting them repeatedly, unwilling to separate them even an inch.

He called her name over and over again, as if it were an antidote he held in his mouth. His hoarse voice, mixed with the pattering rain, disturbed her mind.

I don't recall Chen Jingchi ever getting drunk. He's always been rational and restrained to protect his voice. I don't know what's wrong with him tonight.

She turned her head away from his burning lips and managed to utter, "What's wrong with you?"

A kiss landed on his lips, and Chen Jingchi murmured softly, "Look at me, don't you think?"

Zhou Yu opened his eyes, meeting his reddened gaze, which seemed to be in great pain.

He finally pulled away from her lips, lowered his head to press his forehead against hers, and said in an almost pleading tone, "Don't like anyone else."

Zhou Yu sobered up a bit. She didn't know where these words came from and asked, "Are you that insecure? Do you feel you can't compare to others?"

He laughed self-deprecatingly: "I can't even compare to my past self."

At least he had her before.

Back then, he was a spirited young man with lofty ambitions. Now, however, he feels like he's walking on thin ice when it comes to love, constantly worrying about gains and losses. He realizes that his lover might feel inferior and timid, and even after their reunion, he's afraid of being too impulsive or abrupt in taking the initiative to approach her.

Zhou Yu disliked his tone when he spoke to her. She pulled her hand away from his, stood in front of his chest, and said in a muffled voice, "Chen Jingchi, is this what you meant by winning me back?"

Chen Jingchi froze, raising his head as if he were about to disappear into the inky black rain behind him.

He seemed to have calmed down a bit, and said in a hoarse voice, "I'll wait for you to break up with me."

Zhou Yu paused for a second, not understanding what he meant.

Just then, a figure approached in the rain. After getting closer, the figure closed the umbrella. Zhou Yu turned his head to look at the figure and made eye contact with Liu Cheng for a second.

Liu Cheng's gaze swept back and forth between the two men. Judging from the distance between them, he figured he hadn't mistaken them for each other this time: "This is... my brother-in-law?"

Before Chen Jingchi could even unleash his invisible hostility, hearing this address sobered him up considerably.

Zhou Yu didn't reply, but her expression looked bad. Liu Cheng, quick-witted, said, "I'll go up first," and without even waiting for the elevator, he strode up the stairs.

Zhou looked at him again and asked, "Who did I break up with?"

Chen Jingchi seemed to suddenly lose his temper, staring at her without saying a word.

Judging from his reaction just now, she had guessed it. Liu Cheng had stayed at her house for three days, and Chen Jingchi probably misunderstood their relationship. The cryptic message he sent late last night was probably related to that.

Zhou Yu took a deep breath and asked several questions in succession: "Can you ask me before you get jealous? How much did you drink? Can't you even type?"

He remained silent. Zhou wanted to push him away and go upstairs, but when she raised her hand, she touched a damp piece of cloth. She paused, then reached down and touched his back; it was completely soaked.

The space under the eaves was too narrow, only enough for one person. Chen Jingchi shielded her completely inside, so she didn't get a drop of rain on her. His head and back were soaked by the rain, but he remained unmoved.

She was furious with him.

Zhou Yu forcefully pulled him into the building.

She rarely showed such vivid emotions. He followed behind her and suddenly laughed: "Worried about me?"

Zhou Yu pressed the elevator button, turned her back to him, and said angrily, "I'm still sick with a cold. If you catch it, you'll have to suffer the consequences."

“I can go back,” he said to himself, “without disturbing you.”

Zhou Yu suddenly turned his head: "Will I be on the news tomorrow for drunk driving?"

"How did you get here?" she asked again.

Chen Jingchi didn't respond, but noticed an inconspicuous wound on her lower lip, which seemed to be from when he bit her while he was drunk. Now that he was a little more sober, he felt regretful.

After entering the elevator, he raised his hand to touch that spot, but she avoided him; this time, she wouldn't let him have his way.

Does it hurt?

"Your kissing skills have deteriorated significantly," Zhou Yu commented expressionlessly.

"Isn't that normal?" he laughed. "Nobody practices with me anyway."

He was happy to learn that she wasn't in a relationship, but Zhou Yu felt a tightness in her chest. Standing behind him, she saw that his entire back was soaked with sweat, and the hair at the back of his head was still dripping wet. The temperature had dropped significantly that night, and even if she didn't catch a cold, she was afraid that she would infect him with it and affect his singing.

But he was drunk and didn't care at all.

Once home, Zhou pushed him into the bathroom, adjusted the hot water for him, and told him to take a shower as soon as possible.

He then knocked on Liu Cheng's door and asked if he had any spare clothes to borrow for the night.

Liu Cheng nodded, took a clean set of clothes from the closet, and handed it over, gossiping, "I think my brother-in-law looks familiar, like a celebrity."

"Don't call him that." Zhou Yu didn't mince words with him. "His name is Chen Jingchi."

Liu Cheng suddenly realized: "Even the name is exactly the same as a celebrity's."

The door closed, and a strange, distorted cry came from inside: "Chen Jingchi?!"

Zhou Yu heard the sound of water coming from the bathroom. She only opened the door a crack and placed her clothes on the sink. When she returned to her room, there was only a thick winter quilt in the closet; there wasn't even a blanket.

When Liu Cheng came to stay a few days ago, she told him to bring his own blanket. She lives alone and never thought of buying two blankets.

She couldn't really make him sleep on the sofa; she wasn't that heartless.

Their current situation was awkward; they barely spoke to each other under the same roof, let alone shared a bed. If it weren't for the heavy rain, she would have loved to call Du Heng and ask him to come and pick her up.

Not long after, Chen Jingchi came out of the bathroom. Liu Cheng wasn't as tall as him, and the clothes looked small on him. Zhou Yu tossed him her towel to dry his hair, and he took it, asking, "Where do I sleep?"

Zhou gave him two choices: "Sleep with my brother, or sleep with me."

He's not so outgoing as to sleep in the same bed with someone he's just met.

After he entered the room, Zhou Yu and Liu Cheng went downstairs together to take the kitten home. On the way, he couldn't believe it and said he wanted to see his brother-in-law again: "I haven't seen him in person yet."

When they first met, his gaze was so intimidating that Liu Cheng didn't dare to look at him for long.

Zhou stopped in her tracks: "We broke up before, but we're just friends now."

Liu Cheng looked at the wound on her lower lip and said, "Sister, what you're saying isn't very convincing."

"It's all because of you." Zhou Yu was speechless. "He sees you as a rival in love."

"..." Liu Cheng suddenly remembered the figure he saw late last night and told her truthfully, "Brother, isn't your eyesight a little too good?"

No wonder.

Although he rarely got jealous, his jealousy was intense. Zhou Yu inexplicably recalled the love poem she kindly wrote for Fan Xin when they were in college, a poem that Chen Jingchi had always held a grudge against.

She's so jealous of someone who doesn't even exist, let alone misunderstanding that she's already living with her boyfriend.

Liu Cheng felt increasingly superfluous. He put the kitten at the door and said, "I'll take my things away tomorrow and won't stay here anymore."

Zhou Yu nodded: "Okay."

Liu Cheng had only taken two steps when he suddenly remembered something and turned around abruptly: "Sister, who did you say gave you the key to Yunqi Palace last time?"

Zhou Yu didn't reply, but seeing his facial expressions gradually spiraling out of control, she quickly called out to stop him: "Don't overthink it."

He added, "It's the surrounding area."

Liu Cheng couldn't believe it; would Chen Jingchi really give her a fake souvenir?

He wisely shut his mouth, gave an OK sign, and went into his room.

Pushing open the door, Chen Jingchi was standing at his desk on the phone. Seeing her come in, he grunted in response and hung up. Just a few seconds later, another call came in. He glanced at the name on the caller ID but didn't answer.

He turned his head to look at her, his gaze following her intently. Zhou Yu had no doubt that he had already thoroughly searched her entire room. She met his gaze and asked, "Want me to get you something to sober up?"

"No need." The drunkenness in Chen Jingchi's eyes had mostly dissipated. He asked about the other person staying there, "Is he your brother?"

“Cousin,” Zhou Yu added, recalling the two scenes he and Liang Shuchen had acted in, “my uncle’s son.”

Chen Jingchi nodded and didn't say anything more.

Although the bed in the master bedroom is 1.8 meters wide, the space felt quite cramped after Chen Jingchi got on. Zhou wanted to share half of the blanket with him, but seeing that she was almost falling off the bed, he said helplessly, "I won't touch you, come closer."

She then tentatively moved a little further inside.

After the lights were turned off, the only sound in the room was the white noise of raindrops hitting the window. Zhou Yu had her back to him. She usually got sleepy at ten o'clock, but today she was unusually energetic.

A few minutes later, his voice came from behind: "Zhou Yu, why didn't you go back to Xianhai to look for a job?"

Zhou Yu knew he had sobered up. She stared at a point in the darkness and remained silent for a long time.

Chen Jingchi waited for a long time without receiving a reply. He looked in her direction. They had slept together so many times that he could tell from her breathing that she was not asleep at all.

He persisted in asking, "Do you keep photos of your ex after a breakup?"

They had been dating for two years, but neither of them had a habit of taking photos in private. Later, Chen Jingchi remembered the five-person group that Zhou Yu had left, where all the photos of the friends together were posted. Fortunately, he never had the habit of clearing his phone's memory, so he spent a whole night saving all the photos and videos of Zhou Yu to his album.

“I still like you, so I will,” he asked softly. “And you?”

Zhou Yu lowered her head and buried her face in the blanket.

Tonight, he got drunk and forcibly kissed her. Even though she was unwilling, she tilted her head back and let him kiss her, and didn't utter a sound even when he bit her.

She wasn't indifferent; she still worried about him and was so soft-hearted that she let him stay overnight.

She seemed determined to ignore him, and Chen Jingchi, unable to find an answer, decided to seek confirmation himself.

A hand draped over his waist, and before Zhou Yu could react, he pulled her into his arms.

With her back pressed against his chest, she didn't resist, her voice cold: "You said you wouldn't touch me?"

Chen Jingchi lowered his head and rested it on her hair, inhaling the pleasant fragrance, and said, "You're not that honest either."

He didn't hold her very tightly. Zhou Yu closed her eyes, and his warm breath brushed against her earlobe, whether intentionally or unintentionally, she didn't know.

“Zhou Yu,” he murmured, “this is the 1,972nd day since we broke up.”

Zhou Yu felt a slight soreness in the tip of her nose.

Chen Jingchi sighed, "Every day since we parted, I've missed you terribly."

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Author's note: Thank you all for the landmines and nutrient solutions!

Yvonne :) threw a landmine

Reader "Eight Treasures Vegetable" watered the plant with nutrient solution +10

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Reader "Lily" watered with nutrient solution +1

Reader "...", irrigate with nutrient solution +10

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