Chapter 73 Old Love Letters: He Reaps What He Sows.

Chen Jingchi always finds a way to make her, a person who loves to sleep, lose sleep.

He fell asleep quickly after drinking too much, but Zhou Yu couldn't fall asleep no matter what he did, his mind kept going back to his last words.

He missed her, and she, too, suffered the torment of longing.

Having remained in a side-lying position for too long, Zhou Yu's shoulders were a little sore. He tried to move, and his arm, which was wrapped around his waist, unconsciously tightened. He mumbled in his sleep, "Don't go..."

Even though he held her in his arms, he still didn't feel safe in his dreams.

She abandoned the idea of ​​turning away, wondering if it was a wise decision to let him stay at her house and sleep in the same bed with her tonight.

She hadn't slept for more than a few hours when the alarm clock woke her up. She felt unbearably hot; Chen Jingchi's embrace was too warm. Zhou Yu reached for her phone and turned off the alarm, hearing him cough a few times behind her.

She propped herself up in bed and stared at him: "You have a cold?"

Chen Jingchi didn't drink to the point of blacking out last night. He still remembered her angry words after he forcibly kissed her: "You brought this on yourself," blaming it on something else: "You drank too much."

In the silent standoff, Chen Jingchi gave in. A few seconds later, Zhou Yu stepped over him, his voice devoid of emotion: "Give it up."

She took the clothes she wanted to change into the bathroom, closing the door a little loudly. Chen Jingchi got up and waited at the door, proactively informing her of her schedule: "I don't have any work for the next week, it's fine."

In fact, after the eighth anniversary concert, Chen Jingchi only had the fifth album as an important project in the second half of the year. The company did not set a time limit and gave him a long vacation. The few important announcements were also spaced out.

He wasn't lying when he said he'd been very free lately.

There was no response from inside, so Chen Jingchi had no choice but to agree to her previous promise: "I will quit drinking starting today."

Zhou Yu changed his clothes and pushed open the door. He blocked the doorway with his long arm and pulled her into his arms in time. He gently touched the scabbed wound on her lower lip with his thumb and said with a smile, "If you make it more obvious, it will make me feel that you care about me."

"You can still laugh." Zhou Yu glanced at him, pushed him away, and said, "Go home when you're sober."

"Wearing your brother's clothes?" Chen Jingchi gently pressed his hand against her furrowed brow and explained, "The assistant is on his way."

As Liu Cheng emerged from the bedroom, he was packing his luggage. He glanced at the newcomer, then at the man following behind her. After recognizing his face, he was now truly certain that the person who had spent the night in his sister's room was a top star in the music industry.

He learned his lesson and stopped calling him "brother-in-law," instead obediently calling him "brother."

"I don't have class this morning," Liu Cheng asked Zhou Yu. "Will you give me the keys when I leave?"

Zhou Yu gave him a spare key, which he hadn't used much during his stay. Hearing this, Chen Jingchi replied, "Okay."

After the two finished their conversation, Zhou Yu turned to him and asked, "When will your assistant arrive?"

"It's hard to say," Chen Jingchi said calmly. "He's coming from the company, and there might be traffic during rush hour."

"I'll be back around noon." Zhou Yu didn't intend to hand him the keys. "You wait here."

Chen Jingchi chuckled: "Okay."

After washing up, Zhou grabbed his bag and went out. As soon as the door closed, Liu Cheng, who had been waiting with his phone and camera ready for a while, said excitedly, "Brother, it's our first time meeting, can we take a picture together?"

Chen Jingchi cooperated by taking photos and signing autographs, then handed him a pen and kindly said, "Which university are you at? I'll give you a ride later."

Liu Cheng was just wondering how to take the kitten with him on his bicycle when he heard this and was overjoyed: "Jiangbei University isn't far from here, thank you, brother!"

Seeing him standing there watching her pack, Liu Cheng seized the opportunity to gossip: "Brother, did you and my sister date before?"

"Yes." Chen Jingchi looked down at him and admitted, "I'm pursuing her."

Upon hearing the words "pursuing," Liu Cheng's eyes widened. He thought to himself that he was inexperienced in dating and it took him a while to regain his composure before replying, "I wish you success."

Chen Jingchi was amused by his startled expression and casually asked, "Has she ever dated abroad?"

Liu Cheng fell into deep thought, and after a moment shook his head: "Probably not. Last time I heard my aunt say that quite a few people had pursued my sister, but she doesn't like foreigners."

Fearing he might ask if there were any Chinese people in the family, Liu Cheng thoughtfully added, "She works as a Chinese teacher at a HSK (Chinese Proficiency Test) organization in the UK."

The implication is that he only interacted with foreigners.

Chen Jingchi nodded, paused for a moment, and then asked, "Is her going abroad related to her father?"

He recalled the news article Xu Yue had sent him some time ago. Because the news article did not disclose the names of the people involved, it did not generate much buzz online, and was mostly discussed within a small circle of local residents in Quanshan.

Several months have passed, and Chen Jingchi has not seen any follow-up on the case. Judging from Zhou's intention to return to China, Zhou Jinglong should have already received compensation.

He knew how much that corruption case had affected Zhou Yu back then, and guessed that her family's move abroad was probably due to that factor.

Hearing his question, Liu Cheng sat up straight: "When did you two start dating? Didn't my sister tell you?"

“Seven years ago,” Chen Jingchi said, “we talked for two years.”

Liu Cheng calculated the time and exclaimed in surprise, "That was before my sister broke up with me before she went abroad?"

"almost."

Liu Cheng's understanding of Zhou Jinglong's case came from his parents, and he wasn't very clear on the specific details. He told them as much as he knew: "After my uncle was released from prison, it seems that he was retaliated against, which may be related to his previous case. Later, my aunt and sister went abroad, and my uncle stayed in China alone."

Chen Jingchi frowned. After Zhou Yu left, he went to the hospital for a follow-up examination. Dr. Zhao, who examined him, said that her whole family had gone abroad and might even immigrate. He had no doubt that if Zhou Jinglong hadn't cleared his name, Zhou Yu and her mother would still be in England at this time.

That's why, when they parted ways, she blurted out, "What if I never come back?"

He tried to search his memories from years ago for any related events, and suddenly a few images flashed through his mind. He asked in a low voice, "When was her father released from prison?"

"I remember it was during the winter break when I was in the second year of junior high school," Liu Cheng recalled, "about six months before my sister went abroad."

Before the Spring Festival during his junior year of college, Zhou Yu's family seemed to have encountered some trouble. He asked her about it, but she was unwilling to talk about it. During the Spring Festival, he mentioned visiting her home, but she politely declined. It wasn't until after the holiday that she called him and said that her mother was hospitalized and she couldn't go to Seattle with him to see the concert.

At that time, Chen Jingchi was completely unaware of what was happening behind the scenes. He was busy with the World Tour and wanted to finish his work as soon as possible, so he had very little time for her.

A deep sense of powerlessness welled up inside me.

If he had known some of the inside story at the time, he might have been able to help her to some extent. At the very least, when she was overwhelmed with these matters, he could have shared some of her worries.

But Zhou Yu didn't say a word to him.

An absurd idea popped into his head.

When she broke up with him, were these things also a factor, and not just because she had run out of patience with him?

Is Zhou Yu really as heartless as she appears?

A ringing phone interrupted his reverie. Chen Jingchi went into the bedroom, picked up his phone, and answered. His assistant said he was already downstairs.

He opened the door, and his assistant and driver each carried two suitcases in, leaving Liu Cheng stunned.

"Not here." Chen Jingchi walked out the door. "Next door."

"Oh, oh." The assistant then realized that this was Zhou Yu's house. "I knew it looked like 502."

Chen Jingchi himself did not appear; the rental matters were handled by his assistant with the landlord. The assistant took out the key, opened the door, put the luggage inside, and said, "I'll call a cleaning service to clean it up."

Liu Cheng followed him out, glanced at the apartment across the hall, and instantly understood: "Brother, you rented the place next door?"

Chen Jingchi nodded slightly: "Don't tell her yet."

Liu Cheng smiled and said, "I know, I know."

He had finished packing his things. Chen Jingchi changed into his own clothes and, keeping his promise, took him to school. On the way, Liu Cheng sent a voice message to Zhou Yu in front of him: "Sis, I'm out of your house. I gave the key to my brother."

She was probably not in class, because she quickly replied with an "okay".

Then Chen Jingchi's phone rang.

Zhou Yu: [Go see a doctor]

I was worried about what he said, not that I was cursing him.

Chen Jingchi felt a little sore throat when he woke up in the morning, but he didn't think it was too serious. After dropping Liu Cheng off at school, he came back and held an online meeting to discuss the concept design of the five-year vocational college with several teachers from the company.

*

After arriving at school and checking in, Zhou Yu began preparing her lesson plan in her notebook. She hadn't slept much the night before and was so tired that she could barely read the letters correctly. Afraid of not being able to concentrate in class, she ordered an iced Americano from a food delivery app.

Half an hour later, the coffee arrived. She had just taken two sips after inserting the straw when her phone screen lit up. Tan Bei had sent her a message: "Ahhhhh."

When Zhou Yu clicked on it, she saw a screenshot of the Weibo trending topics list. When she saw the top topic, her heart tightened.

#Chen Jingchi's kiss in the rain#

She immediately opened Weibo and clicked on this topic. The popular post was a GIF posted by a paparazzi marketing account. Because she was far away, the image quality was very blurry, and she couldn't see the face clearly. She could only vaguely see the outline of Chen Jingchi hugging and kissing her under the eaves.

Zhou Yu couldn't remember how long they had been kissing last night, but judging from the fact that none of the nine GIFs were the same, it must have lasted a long time. The darkness and rain concealed their kiss, but the way he turned his head showed how intense it was.

When Chen Jingchi gets drunk and acts crazy, most people really can't handle it.

She thought netizens would be outraged, but the comment section was surprisingly peaceful.

[My brother, it's been so tough for you. How many five-year periods does a person have in a lifetime? [crying]]

I've been pursuing him for almost eight years, and I've had four or five boyfriends already, but Chen Jingchi still likes his first love. Help!

[It's my sister-in-law! [crying] Thank goodness, we're saved!]

How did you know who this was?

Chen Jingchi's fanbase has already been purified; new fans are still asking who his wife is, while veteran fans are already crying their eyes out.

[I've unfollowed several times, but somehow I'm still the same person I always was!]

[It's amazing that no one is criticizing a celebrity's relationship when it's trending.]

Those who mocked him before for his humiliation should come forward and face the consequences!

Zhou Yu's feelings became more and more complicated as he looked at the photos, as if everyone assumed that they had gotten back together.

She still remembers the harsh and hurtful comments from fans when she announced her relationship. Not only did they send her private messages cursing her alone, but many also cursed her entire family.

Fans who have followed him for many years have witnessed how helpless and heartbroken Chen Jingchi was during his breakup. Now, their words are less harsh, and they are all filled with emotion at the two's "reconciliation".

While she was lost in thought, a message from Chen Jingchi suddenly popped up at the top of the screen, startling her. She accidentally knocked over her coffee cup, spilling it all over her laptop.

Zhou Yu suddenly stood up, steadied the coffee cup, and tried to salvage the situation. She grabbed a few tissues to wipe the water stains off the keyboard, but it was too late; the keys were no longer responding.

Fortunately, her document was automatically saved. Zhou wanted to close the file and shut down the computer. He picked up his phone and saw his message.

[Let's have lunch together]

Before she could reply, she quickly searched on her phone for what to do if her computer got wet.

She did everything she could: cut off the power, invert the container, and dry it. Whether it could be saved was up to fate. Zhou Yu hadn't originally planned to ask him about it, but in her bad mood, she opened their chat window and forwarded the screenshot Tan Bei had sent her.

Zhou Yu: [Is the PR department on holiday today?]

Chen: [We couldn't agree on a price last night, but we're already working on it.]

Zhou Yu remembered that when he entered the room yesterday, he was on the phone with someone, and he guessed that they were talking about this matter.

He sent another message: "I've spoken to the security guards at the community center; they won't let these people in anymore."

Looking at this line of text, Zhou Yu felt something was off, but couldn't quite put his finger on it, so he gave up and resigned himself to his bad luck.

After the last class of the morning, Zhou Yu chatted with the students in the classroom for a while before leaving. On her way, she checked Weibo's trending topics and was relieved to see that Chen Jingchi's topic had already dropped to the bottom.

She walked to her apartment building and waited for the elevator. As soon as the door opened, a familiar face stood inside. The assistant paused for a second upon seeing Zhou Yu, then smiled and greeted her warmly, "Long time no see."

Her assistant, who was always by Chen Jingchi's side, knew everything about her affair. When Zhou Yu saw him, she looked a little awkward and nodded in greeting.

She inserted the key and smelled the aroma of food as soon as she entered the door. She looked towards the kitchen but didn't see the housekeeper. Chen Jingchi had changed his clothes and was standing with his back to the door.

The range hood was loud, and he didn't hear her come in through the glass door. Three dishes and a soup were laid out on the table, and rice was already served. She went over and opened the door, seeing him stir-frying the last vegetable.

Hearing the sound, Chen Jingchi turned around, turned off the stove, and said, "You never cook at home."

The kitchen didn't even have basic soy sauce, vinegar, oil, or salt; he had to ask his assistant to buy them at the supermarket. He could have called the housekeeper over to cook for them, but he felt that wouldn't be sincere enough, so he had to do it himself.

Zhou asked curiously, "When did you learn to cook?"

The pot calling the kettle black; Chen Jingchi used to never cook, and Du Heng would often pack food for him and bring it to the table before he would eat it.

"I learned it when I had nothing else to do." Chen Jingchi didn't say much, and handed her the chopsticks, "Try it."

Zhou Yu watched him carry the dishes to the dining table, then remembered something and asked, "Have you seen a doctor?"

After seeing Liu Cheng off, we had a two-hour meeting, cooked, and the morning was over.

He paused, then asked, "What would you like to drink?"

Deliberately changing the subject, it was clear he hadn't gone. Zhou Yu was furious: "Chen Jingchi!"

"I'll go this afternoon," he said helplessly. "You said you'd be back at noon, but I'm busy cooking."

She recalled bumping into her assistant in the elevator as they were leaving and asking, "Are you really going?"

"I'm really going." Chen Jingchi laughed. "Have I ever lied to you?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yu fell silent.

Chen Jingchi sat opposite her and casually brought up the topic: "Speaking of medical treatment, there's something I've always wanted to tell you. I've been getting my vocal cords treated by a doctor in Xianhai since my senior year of high school."

Zhou Yu was eating with his head down when he heard this and unconsciously slowed down.

“During my junior year summer vacation, I went for a follow-up examination, and her colleague told me that this doctor and her daughter had gone abroad.” Chen Jingchi looked at her. “Her name is Liu Xianya.”

Zhou Yu stopped what he was doing, and in that instant, he suddenly lost the courage to look up.

"Dr. Zhao said that her daughter has the same name as my girlfriend, Zhou Yu."

After he finished speaking, he quickly added, "She was already his ex-girlfriend at the time."

Zhou Yu gripped the chopsticks tightly in her hand, as if she had guessed what he was going to say in advance, and her mind was in turmoil.

Chen Jingchi didn't miss any of her subtle movements and asked, "Zhou Yu, your mother knows me and knows that you and I are dating. I've met her so many times, why has she never mentioned you in front of me?"

Zhou Yu couldn't say a word and could only let him keep talking.

"After thinking about it for a long time, I could only think of one possibility."

Either he didn't want to bring it up, or he felt there was no need to. Chen Jingchi leaned towards the latter. Liu Xianya didn't show any curiosity, which could only mean that she already knew the two were high school classmates.

After all that buildup, he finally asked the question he most wanted to ask: "Did you know I was seeing your mother for medical treatment back in high school?"

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

Yvonne :) threw a landmine

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Reader "58795275" added 1 unit of nutrient solution to the irrigation solution.