Qin Qu’s expression darkened. He glanced at Zhou Chengze, then at Lin Chu, a flicker of displeasure in his eyes. Still, he managed a smile. “I’m her supervisor. I came to discuss the surgery with her.”
Without saying anything more, he set the bouquet on Lin Chu’s desk and turned to leave. As he passed Zhou Chengze, he made a point of looking him over.
Standing behind him, Lin Chu couldn’t resist glaring at Qin Qu’s retreating back. Then she looked up and met Zhou Chengze’s searching gaze. She gave him an embarrassed smile and murmured her thanks. “Thank you…”
Realizing how close they were standing, she quietly took a few steps back to put some distance between them.
Zhou Chengze noticed her movement and fixed his gaze on her. “Does that man do this often?”
Lin Chu was about to nod, but seemed to think better of it. She lowered her eyes and gently shook her head. “Not really.”
As she spoke, she went back to her desk and brought him the report. “It’s all here. All the results are normal, so you can relax.”
Seeing how eager she was to distance herself from the situation, Zhou Chengze didn’t reach for the report. His voice gave nothing away as he suddenly asked, “Are you like this with everyone?”
Lin Chu froze, still holding the report up. She blinked at him in confusion. “Like what?”
Looking at her dazed, bewildered expression, Zhou Chengze suddenly thought she was rather cute.
It wasn’t a deliberate kind of cuteness; it came naturally, like a little bunny someone had just lifted out of its burrow. She hadn’t even figured out what was going on, but her ears were already standing up, and her round eyes were full of confusion.
Zhou Chengze raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly. He took the report from her, teasing her in a mild tone. “You use someone as a shield, then keep him at arm’s length.”
At his blunt words, Lin Chu’s face turned scarlet in an instant, the flush spreading from her neck to the tips of her ears. She parted her lips, about to protest, but couldn’t think of what to say.
Because he was right. She had used him just now, and after he’d helped her, she had hurried to draw a clear line between them.
“I didn’t…” was all she managed to say in the end, her voice so quiet it was barely a whisper. Even she couldn’t convince herself.
Zhou Chengze looked at her crimson ears, at the tiny mole swallowed up by the flush. One eyebrow lifted slightly, but he didn’t press her. He simply turned and headed out, his voice calm. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”
Lin Chu hurriedly shook her head. “No, it’s okay. I can get home by myself.”
Zhou Chengze didn’t stop walking. He only glanced back at her, his tone even but leaving no room for argument. “Come on. If I don’t take you home, Jiang Nai will get mad at me again when she finds out.”
He said it casually, but hearing it, Lin Chu felt something lightly prick at her heart.
So it was because of Jiang Nai.
Lin Chu lowered her head, hiding her feelings, and didn’t refuse again. She nodded. “All right. Wait for me while I change.”
Zhou Chengze stood in the corridor and watched her take off her white coat, put on her own jacket, then pick up her bag and check that she hadn’t forgotten anything.
The meticulous way she did it reminded him of the cat Lin Yueqing had kept when he was a child. Before going out, it always tidied its nest until everything was in perfect order—not a single hair out of place.
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. By the time she came out, his usual composure had returned.
They left the hospital building, one after the other. The night wind carried the chill of early autumn, and Lin Chu couldn’t help zipping her jacket all the way up.
Zhou Chengze’s car was parked in the lot across the street from the hospital. As they crossed the road, he walked ahead at an unhurried pace.
Lin Chu followed about two steps behind him. She watched his broad back and the shadow the streetlights stretched out behind him, unable to make sense of what she was feeling.
His shadow fell beneath her feet. With every step, it was as if she were stepping on it.
The feeling was subtle—like some silent approach, yet also some unspoken distance.
When they got to the car, Lin Chu habitually opened the rear door.
Zhou Chengze glanced at her in the rearview mirror but said nothing. Once she was seated, he started the car.
The cabin was quiet. Lin Chu sat in the back, watching the streets race past outside. Neon lights swept across her face, brightening and dimming it by turns, making her expression seem to shift between near and far.
Zhou Chengze drove with his eyes on the road, his fingers resting on the steering wheel, his posture relaxed.
After a long while, he finally broke the silence. “Have you eaten?”
Lin Chu turned from the window and paused, then gently shook her head. “Not yet.”
She had gone into surgery a little after four that afternoon and stood in the operating room until after six. Then Qin Qu had held her up for a while, so she hadn’t had a chance to eat.
Zhou Chengze glanced at her in the rearview mirror. His gaze lingered on her face for a moment, but he said nothing.
The cabin fell quiet again, so quiet that Lin Chu could hear herself breathing.
She stole a glance at him in the front seat. She could only see his profile: sharply defined features, a clean-cut jaw, and a slightly prominent Adam’s apple. He was very sexy.
Her heart gave a few flustered beats. Realizing what she was doing, Lin Chu quickly looked away and turned her attention back to the window.
They soon reached her apartment building. Zhou Chengze parked, turned off the engine, and unfastened his seat belt.
Thinking he was about to leave, Lin Chu got out first. She was just about to thank him and say goodbye when she saw him get out too and lock the car, as if he meant to come upstairs.
She froze, looking at him, unsure what to say.
Noticing her gaze, Zhou Chengze raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”
Lin Chu hesitated, but couldn’t help asking, “Are you going upstairs to wait for Nainai?”
Zhou Chengze nodded casually. “Yeah. She asked me to wait for her. She said she’d be back tonight after flying her last flight.”
He saw the hesitant look on Lin Chu’s face and suddenly asked, “Am I bothering you by being here?”
“No, not at all.” Lin Chu shook her head quickly. Then, realizing she’d denied it too fast and sounded a little guilty, she added politely, “I was just going to make dinner. Would you like to stay and eat with me?”
(End)