deliberately
Once inside the restaurant, Zhou Jingxing deliberately guided them to the window booth where Zhao Xin and his lover had sat last time. Zhao Xin still showed no signs of guilt or unease, and Zhou Jingxing could only curse him inwardly for being shameless.
Zhao Xin squeezed next to Shen Zhou, clinging to him and wanting to look at the menu on the phone together. Shen Zhou stiffened for a moment when Zhao Xin leaned in, then subtly moved aside and quickly placed the order.
Zhou Jingxing looked at the two people sitting side by side opposite him, a bitter feeling rising in his heart. He carefully scrutinized Zhao Xin. What was so special about this man that made him able to win over Chen Zhou?
Zhao Xin looked away from Chen Zhou's phone and saw Zhou Jingxing staring intently at him. After their eyes met, Zhou Jingxing immediately looked away.
Zhao Xin was smug, while Zhou Jingxing was disgusted.
Ugh! What a scumbag!
But Zhao Xin pressed on, asking, "What does Jingxing do for a living? Is he an administrator?"
Are we that close? What's with the "Jingxing" nonsense? Call me Teacher Zhou!
Zhou Jingxing glanced at Chen Zhou, pinched his nose to suppress his annoyance, and replied, "I mainly work in the field of cultural relic restoration."
Zhao Xin exclaimed exaggeratedly, "Wow! That's amazing! Did you guys restore all those artifacts exhibited in the provincial museum? Do you also have to go to construction sites for archaeological work?"
Zhou Jingxing nodded. "Part of it is. I'm not in an archaeological position, so I don't need to go to the construction site."
Zhao Xin smiled, his almond-shaped eyes narrowed, and asked many more questions, seemingly very interested in Zhou Jingxing's work. Zhao Xin would act extremely friendly when he wanted to please someone, so even Zhou Jingxing felt embarrassed to keep a straight face towards him.
As they spoke, Zhao Xin casually took out his phone and handed it over, "Jingxing, let's add each other on WeChat."
Zhou Jingxing glanced at Chen Zhou, whose expression remained unchanged, showing no displeasure.
Zhou Jingxing's eyes darted around, and he took out his phone to scan Zhao Xin's QR code. As he tapped "add" on the screen, he smiled and said to Shen Zhou, "Zhao Xin is amazing. I envy people like him who are so outgoing and can get along with anyone."
He turned to Zhao Xin and said, "With such a good personality, you must have a lot of friends."
Zhao Xin couldn't help but feel smug. "It's alright, but my friends all say I..."
Zhou Jingxing continued to look at Chen Zhou, his pleading eyes reminding him of his friend's dog's wet eyes. Zhou Jingxing slightly pursed his lips, "Unlike me, I'm too clumsy with words, it's hard for me to make any friends." He looked at Chen Zhou with intense gaze, "It's rare to make a friend as compatible as you, I feel very happy every time I'm with you."
Zhou Jingxing's tone was so sincere and his eyes so intense that Chen Zhou's heart skipped a beat, and then he felt his heart start beating uncontrollably.
Zhou Jingxing smiled and glanced at Zhao Xin again, "You're so lucky to have such a good partner."
Zhao Xin felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He gave an awkward laugh and finally shut up.
Shen Zhou's eyes flickered, and he turned his face away from Zhou Jingxing. He stood up, quickly said "I'm going to the restroom," and strode away.
Chen Zhou washed his hands in the bathroom, then checked his pockets and realized he hadn't brought any cigarettes. He frowned, feeling a little flustered.
He understood Zhou Jingxing's feelings for him very well, but at the moment he had no other thoughts about Zhou Jingxing.
What bothered him even more was Zhao Xin. They'd been together for over a year, but he still hadn't felt that spark. Zhao Xin had pursued him relentlessly, more passionately than anyone he'd ever been with before, so he thought maybe he could give it a try. When he agreed to be with Zhao Xin, they both agreed that Chen Zhou could end the relationship at any time.
A while ago, someone told Shenzhou that Zhao Xin had cheated on him. Zhao Xin quickly explained that it was just a misunderstanding. However, Shenzhou still broke up with Zhao Xin because he wasn't very angry when he heard about Zhao Xin's infidelity, let alone jealous, which was abnormal.
He wondered if this meant he didn't love Zhao Xin at all. If he didn't love her, why waste her time? So he broke up with Zhao Xin.
Zhao Xin reacted violently, desperately explaining that he really hadn't cheated, repeatedly expressing his intense love. He even subtly blamed Shen Zhou for being too cold and impossible to warm up. Shen Zhou felt exhausted; he even wondered if there was something wrong with him, why he couldn't be as fully committed as a normal person and have a proper relationship.
Chen Zhou stood there for a while longer, then, estimating that it was about time, returned to his booth. As he approached, he was slightly surprised to see the two people chatting so animatedly.
“My darling is so considerate; he always remembers my preferences when we eat together.” This is Zhao Xin.
Zhou Jingxing chimed in, "Yes, Chen Zhou is very thoughtful. He remembers his friends' preferences. Last time we ate together, I said I didn't like tea, and look, this time he didn't even order tea, he just asked the waiter to bring lemon water."
Chen Zhou paused, thinking, "Lemonade is a standard serving at every table. Isn't Zhou Jingxing overthinking this?"
"Haha, he's just a good person and handsome too."
Zhou Jingxing retorted, "Indeed, Shen Zhou is loved wherever he goes."
Wait, why are you betting on a single item?! Shen Zhou was speechless at the two of them praising him behind his back.
"Oh? By the way, do you guys often go out to eat together?"
Zhou Jingxing smiled slightly, "It wasn't many times. We saw each other quite often during the glass exhibition at the Provincial Museum, so please don't misunderstand."
...
No one misunderstood, and this sounds so strange, like it's saying, "Hurry up and misunderstand!"
Chen Zhou strode over, interrupting their conversation, "Is all the food ready? Let's eat, we all have work to do this afternoon."
Seeing him arrive, Zhou Jingxing stood up and warmly poured a glass of water, intending to place it in front of his seat. "Have some water." Before he could finish speaking, something unexpected happened. Zhou Jingxing probably tripped over the trash can next to him, his body swayed, and his hand trembled, spilling the entire glass of water onto the spot where Shen Zhou was about to sit.
"Oh dear, are you alright? Is the water too hot?" Zhao Xin stood up and tried to hold Zhou Jingxing's hand to check.
Zhou Jingxing quickly withdrew his hand, showing no trace of his clumsiness when delivering the water. "It's alright, the water was lukewarm and didn't scald me." He looked up at Chen Zhou. "It just wet the seat, and this sofa is hard to clean, so it's not very convenient to sit here. I'm sorry, Chen Zhou, why don't you sit next to me?"
Chen Zhou looked at him and almost laughed. What a clumsy little dog!
They tried to steal bones from the dining table, but their methods were so clumsy that everyone saw through them!
Shen Zhou teased him, "Zhao Xin, why don't you sit next to Jing Xing? It's a bit cold over there in the wind, and my shoulder is sore. I'm afraid it will hurt if I sit here for too long in the wind, so I'd better sit here."
ah?
ah!
how so!
Zhou Jingxing was extremely frustrated, and the way he looked at Chen Zhou was like that of a resentful woman.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xin indeed got up and sat down next to Zhou Jingxing, whose face fell even more. Chen Zhou was struggling to suppress his laughter. He didn't look at the two of them, but simply sat in Zhao Xin's original seat, picked up the half-full glass of water that Zhou Jingxing had poured for him, and slowly took a sip to hide the smile on his lips.
Zhou Jingxing wondered to himself if he had been seen through.
So what if he sees through me? He knows I like him anyway. What's shameful about using tricks to win over a wife?
Although Zhou Jingxing quickly calmed himself down, the meal was still a terrible experience. Zhao Xin kept leaning against him, which made him extremely annoyed. Several times he wanted to yell at him, but he held back because of Chen Zhou.
After the meal, Chen Zhou started to urge people to leave, thankfully it was Zhao Xin. "Don't you have a meeting this afternoon? Go back now. I won't take you if it's not on my way."
Zhou Jingxing blinked but didn't say anything. Zhao Xin didn't seem to want to leave, but Shen Zhou's words were too firm for him to keep, so he had to take a taxi and leave alone.
Finally, only the two of them were left! Zhou Jingxing followed him to the parking lot with great joy.
On the way back, Zhou Jingxing finally sat in the passenger seat of Shenzhou. He fastened his seatbelt with satisfaction and watched Shenzhou start the car without blinking.
Shen Zhou started the car but didn't leave immediately. He turned the air conditioning to a gentler setting, then turned around and saw Zhou Jingxing staring at him. He suddenly remembered the resentful look Zhou Jingxing had given him during dinner, and a teasing remark slipped out of his mouth.
"Were you doing that on purpose while we were eating?"
Zhou Jingxing feigned ignorance, "Huh? What do you mean, intentionally?"
Chen Zhou chuckled softly, "You got my seat wet."
Sure enough! He saw right through me!
Zhou Jingxing's gaze turned resentful again. Seeing that Shen Zhou didn't seem to mind, he boldly asked, "You know everything, so why did you let Zhao Xin sit next to me?"
Dealing with Zhao Xin had left Shen Zhou exhausted, and he couldn't help but want to bully the little dog a bit. "Why do I have to do things your way? I don't remember promising you anything." After saying that, Shen Zhou shifted gears, lightly pressed the accelerator, and the car drove towards the exit.
For a long time, no one spoke in the car. When they reached the intersection in front of the Provincial Museum and waited at a red light, Zhou Jingxing said softly, "I'm sorry, did I make things difficult for you? I just... I'll be more careful in the future, please don't hate me, okay?"
Shen Zhou glanced at him in surprise. To be honest, he just wanted to tease him, but he didn't expect him to lower himself like that and say such things.
It makes one feel strangely guilty.
The light turned green, and the car turned left into the provincial museum's underground parking garage. Chen Zhou stopped the car, put it in park, looked up at Zhou Jingxing, and said carefully, "I didn't mean to dislike you, I was just joking with you."
Zhou Jingxing's eyes lit up. He said he didn't dislike me! Does that mean I still have a chance?
He quickly changed his mind and pretended to be aggrieved, saying, "How could you tease me like this? I'm so hurt." He demanded matter-of-factly, "You have to make it up to me!"
Chen Zhou found it amusing and raised an eyebrow, asking him, "Oh? What kind of compensation do you want?"
"I wasn't in a good mood at lunch and didn't eat enough, so let's have dinner together tonight," Zhou Jingxing said with a smile to Chen Zhou. "Okay?"
Shen Zhou should have refused, but seeing the expectation in his eyes, he still said "Okay." He then asked Zhou Jingxing, "What do you want to eat?"
Without a second thought, Zhou Jingxing replied, "I'll eat anything as long as I'm with you."
Shen Zhou's face suddenly flushed red.
It's strange. When Zhao Xin was pursuing him before, he said even more explicit and ambiguous things. At that time, Shen Zhou only felt embarrassed. But now, he felt like his heart was a bottle of soda with the tab just pulled, with bubbles rising and falling.
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