concern
Zhou Jingxing stepped past Wang Qian, grabbed his ex-husband's hand holding the knife, pulled him down, bent his knee, and struck him hard in the stomach. His ex-husband cried out in pain, dropped the knife, and Zhou Jingxing kicked it away, simultaneously throwing him aside.
The ex-husband, leaning against the wall, stood up, ready to spar with Zhou Jingxing again, when two security guards ran over from the elevator entrance, shouting, "Who goes there? No trouble here!"
Knowing his defeat was inevitable and his weapons had been confiscated, the ex-husband tried to flee. Zhou Jingxing strode over and blocked his path. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked angrily. "You hurt someone and you think you can just run away?"
The situation was brought under control, and the police arrived quickly. While they questioned Zhou Jingxing, Wang Qian accompanied Shen Zhou to the hotel's medical room to bandage his arm wound. Just as Shen Zhou had said, because the clothes were thick enough, the wound was not deep and was only a superficial injury.
Wang Qian felt guilty. "I'm sorry, it's all because of me that you got hurt."
Shen Zhou comforted her, saying, "Senior Sister Wang, please don't think like that. It wasn't you who scratched me, and you're also a victim."
Wang Qian frowned. "It's all because I didn't handle my marriage well that this happened tonight, and it implicated you and Junior Brother Zhou." She said with lingering fear, "If you hadn't blocked it, Junior Brother Zhou's hand would probably have been stabbed by that scumbag."
"How can this be considered a burden? It's not common for a hero to save a damsel in distress. It was Senior Sister who gave us this opportunity."
Wang Qian was amused by his words, and Shen Zhou comforted her with a few more words, which gradually eased her heavy mood.
When she was in a good mood, her attention naturally wandered. She was naturally an outgoing and cheerful person who said whatever came to mind, so she went straight to the point and asked Chen Zhou, "Are you and Jing Xing together?"
Chen Zhou chuckled and said, "Is it that obvious?" He looked down at his wound. "Actually, we're not officially together yet."
Wang Qian smiled knowingly, "I understand, the ambiguous period, right?" As she spoke, she even sang a line, "Ambiguity makes people suffer so much~"
They both laughed. After laughing, Chen Zhou said, "I do think Jing Xing is quite wronged in this ambiguous relationship."
"Oh? How so?"
Shen Zhou could sense Wang Qian's goodwill, so he told her frankly, "Actually, I recently ended a very unsuccessful relationship, which was my first love. I was originally a believer in being single. When my ex was pursuing me, I was really moved by him, but after we started dating, I realized that it wasn't like that at all. I don't know if you can understand."
Wang Qian nodded. "I know. My ex-husband and I met through a blind date. He was very good to me back then, and I thought he was the right person to entrust my life to. But everything changed after we got married! He was a different person, and our relationship was completely different. I couldn't find that feeling from when we were dating." She glanced at Chen Zhou. "Excuse me, did I interrupt you? Please continue."
Shen Zhou smiled and said it was nothing, then continued, "Later, when I got to know Jing Xing, he helped me a lot. His selfless dedication made me feel his sincerity, and I was genuinely moved. But now I'm afraid that things will change after we enter a stable relationship, just like before."
"Zhou Jingxing is a very, very good person. I don't want us to become a miserable couple one day, unable to even be friends."
Wang Qian thought for a moment and said, "You like each other, but you're not together yet because you have these concerns, right? Does Jingxing know what you're thinking?"
Shen Zhou shook his head. "He doesn't know. So I feel really sorry for him. He's such a good person, but I have such a stubborn personality. He would be much more at ease if he liked someone else."
Wang Qian smiled, "Love is always about feeling indebted. It seems you really like him."
She looked at Chen Zhou earnestly and said, "What I can tell you is that Zhou Jingxing must like you very much too. Do you know what Zhou Jingxing was like before?"
She laughed and said, "You widow. Everyone in our group knows he's the kind of person who would never fall in love, but he completely changed after he showed up with you tonight. We could all see his attention and care for you. Don't laugh at me, but as soon as dinner was over, we created a small group chat to discuss it, and everyone agreed that you two are in love."
"If you doubt Jingxing's love for you, you can rest assured that he absolutely adores you."
Chen Zhou was somewhat embarrassed. "I know, I believe him." He paused, "But I don't believe myself."
"I'm not sure if I have the capacity to love, nor am I sure if I have the determination to build long-term relationships with people."
Wang Qian sighed, "You're overthinking it. Why worry so much? Life is about experiencing things. If you like someone, be together; if you don't, break up. Even if the things you're worried about happen, so what? The outcome can't be worse than your last relationship, right?"
Shen Zhou was taken aback. He argued, "But we are adults, and we should be responsible for our actions."
Wang Qian laughed, "You two men won't have a child, so what responsibility do you need to take? Just be responsible for yourselves." She stopped laughing and said, "Sometimes it's better not to think too much. My biggest regret now is breaking up with my first love after graduation, following my parents' arrangements to go on blind dates, and finally marrying my ex-husband."
"Actually, I had a campus romance that lasted for many years. But his family was too poor, from the countryside, and his parents had underlying health conditions, so my parents were firmly against it. Before graduation, my parents even demanded a dowry of 100,000 yuan to break us up. To raise the money, he worked day and night on Professor Li's project, and he was always in the lab."
Chen Zhou nodded and said, "Jing Xing told me about this senior brother. What happened next? I remember Jing Xing said that Teacher Li paid him a lot of fees, but he still couldn't raise 100,000 yuan?"
Lost in memories, Wang Qian said sadly, "That's enough. My classmates also helped out a bit, and he managed to raise 100,000 yuan. In the end, it was me who backed down. Around graduation time, I started to worry about the future, and I began to doubt whether he was capable of supporting our little family. I wondered if he was worth me insisting on marrying him despite my parents' objections?"
Wang Qian shrugged, "You've seen the final result."
Shen Zhou hadn't expected the two of them to have such a frank and in-depth conversation tonight. He sympathized with and understood Wang Qian's experience and choices, and he comforted her, "Fortunately, it's all in the past. Life is long. You've corrected your wrong choice, and you're free now."
“Yes, but the price to pay is a bit high.” Wang Qian looked at Chen Zhou seriously and said, “So just follow your heart and don’t be afraid of those concerns.”
Inside the room, Zhou Jingxing held up Chen Zhou's hand, repeatedly examining the wound that had already been bandaged.
"I told you it was just a superficial injury, but you wouldn't believe me."
Zhou Jingxing finally let go of his hand and said, "You got hurt because of me, how can I be at ease if you don't come to check on me?" He couldn't help but mutter, "You said you would protect me, how could I let that scumbag hurt me?"
Shen Zhou looked at him seriously, "But your hands are for repairing cultural relics, what will happen if you get injured?"
A sweet feeling welled up in Zhou Jingxing's heart, and he pressed his advantage, saying, "You cherish my hand so much, then you can kiss it." He then jokingly offered his hand to Chen Zhou.
To his surprise, Shen Zhou actually took his hand and kissed his fingers.
Zhou Jingxing's heart pounded. He dared not move, fearing that this was a momentary impulse from Shen Zhou, who was still drunk.
After a long while, Chenzhou asked him, "Are you stupid? Why aren't you saying anything?"
Zhou Jingxing honestly replied, "I'm afraid you'll kick me out when you sober up."
Shen Zhou gave him a reproachful look. "Am I that heartless?"
Yes! Last time after you kissed me, you even called me "little one".
Chen Zhou grabbed Zhou Jingxing by the collar and pulled him close to his face. He traced Zhou Jingxing's eyebrows with his finger and said, "Have I ever told you that I'm actually quite attracted to your looks?"
Zhou Jingxing dared not move, thinking that Chen Zhou might still be drunk.
Shen Zhou's gaze continued downwards, finally landing on his lips. "Your lips are very sexy. May I kiss you?" He kissed Zhou Jingxing without waiting for a reply.
Shen Zhou's enthusiasm almost made Zhou Jingxing lose control. In the brief moment when his rationality returned, he pressed down on Shen Zhou's unruly hand and brought it to an abrupt halt. "Wait! I just came to check if your wound is alright." He got up from the bed, not daring to look at Shen Zhou anymore. "You've had too much to drink, you don't even know what you're doing. I can't take advantage of you."
Zhou Jingxing heard Shen Zhou chuckle softly, and then Shen Zhou hugged his waist. "Turn around."
Shen Zhou's voice was soft and gentle, like a bewitching fox spirit from a myth. Zhou Jingxing unconsciously did as he was told. He obediently turned around and saw that Shen Zhou's face seemed to be smiling, but it also seemed not to. Shen Zhou leaned closer to him and whispered, "I'm not drunk. I know what I'm doing."
Zhou Jingxing froze. The moment their bodies pressed together, he felt it. Did Chen Zhou also want to...?
Shen Zhou hugged Zhou Jingxing tightly, resting her head on his shoulder as if she were being affectionate, "It's normal to act like this with someone you like, right?"
Zhou Jingxing's throat tightened. "You...you mean you like me?"
Chen Zhou sighed in his ear, straightened up with his arms around his neck, looked at him and said, "I don't believe you don't know how I feel about you."
The thread of reason in Zhou Jingxing's mind snapped.
He grabbed Chen Zhou's waist, pulling him close to him. Zhou Jingxing lowered his head and eagerly kissed his soft lips.
The sudden, storm-like kiss startled Shen Zhou for a moment. He hugged Zhou Jingxing tightly, tilting his head back to reciprocate. Zhou Jingxing's kiss grew even more passionate, as if a fire had ignited between them. Zhou Jingxing's hands gently caressed Shen Zhou, and soon Shen Zhou began to make sweet, tender sounds.
...
When Zhou Jingxing came out after washing his hands, he saw that Shen Zhou's eyes were half-closed, clearly indicating that he was extremely sleepy.
"Just go to sleep if you're sleepy, your eyes are all blinked out."
Shen Zhou closed his eyes. "I'll wait for you. Otherwise, I'll seem like a scumbag who does whatever he wants and then goes to sleep without taking responsibility."
Zhou Jingxing thought to himself, "Whoever did this has turned against us."
Shen Zhou raised his hand to cover his face and moved his body to the side. "It's quite late. Don't leave. Just sleep here."
Zhou Jingxing was overjoyed; tonight was as wonderful as a dream!
He quickly lay down, carefully hooked Chen Zhou's hand, and only tightened his grip on Chen Zhou's hand when he saw that Chen Zhou did not refuse. He then fell asleep contentedly.
Zhou Jingxing was woken up by the aroma of fried egg pancakes. Seeing him sit up, Chen Zhou put down his coffee cup and calmly asked, "Awake?"
It took Zhou Jingxing a moment to recall everything that had happened last night, and he felt a strange sense of embarrassment afterward.
Shen Zhou walked over and sat on the edge of the bed. "Although you're pursuing me, you've never asked me that question before."
Zhou Jingxing didn't understand what he meant. "What problem?"
Chen Zhou looked at him and said, "Would you like to be my boyfriend?"
Zhou Jingxing suspected he was still half asleep and hallucinating, so he didn't dare to speak.
"Fine, if you won't ask me, then ask Zhou Jingxing again, 'Zhou Jingxing, do you want to date me?'"
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