This time, she moved her gaze away almost instinctively.
A little too quickly—almost deliberately.
Zhou Chengze’s brows shifted slightly, and he couldn’t help taking another couple of looks at Lin Chu.
He’d met Jiang Nai’s best friend a few times, but she hadn’t left much of an impression on him. He remembered only two things: she worked at Aviation Hospital, and she was soft—soft-looking, soft-spoken, and even softer in temperament. She nodded along to whatever people said and never talked back. Her voice was always gentle and quiet. At a glance, she seemed like someone people could easily bully.
To be honest, he didn’t like people like that.
They were too dull.
But she was Jiang Nai’s best friend, so he had no reason to say more.
Still, she was acting a little strangely today, and Zhou Chengze’s gaze lingered on Lin Chu for a moment longer than usual.
Lin Chu didn’t talk much in general, but whenever she saw him, she would at least say hello. Today, though, from the moment she walked in until now, she hadn’t greeted him—she hadn’t even looked him in the eye.
The way she avoided him was as if he’d done something to her.
Zhou Chengze looked away. As he casually lowered his gaze, he noticed a faint red mark on Jiang Nai’s neck, near her collarbone.
He’d left it there last night.
Without thinking, Zhou Chengze rubbed his fingers over Jiang Nai’s shoulder, drawing her attention away from Lin Chu. His voice was low, audible only to the two of them. “What happened last night?”
Jiang Nai froze for a moment, then looked up at him. “What?”
Zhou Chengze raised an eyebrow, his gaze falling to her neck. “You don’t remember?”
Jiang Nai’s expression stiffened for an instant, then quickly smoothed over. She gave him a gentle push. “What are you saying? We’re in public.”
As she spoke, she glanced at Lin Chu and immediately said, “Chuchu, you can’t hold your liquor, so don’t drink too much tonight. Chengze’s friends don’t know when to stop once they start drinking.”
Lin Chu was trying to refuse the glass of alcohol a man beside her was offering. Hearing Jiang Nai’s words, she immediately felt relieved.
Following Jiang Nai’s gaze, Zhou Chengze looked over and caught sight of Lin Chu with her head lowered. She was wearing a white knit sweater with a somewhat wide neckline, revealing a small stretch of pale collarbone. Her hair was tied up, leaving her rounded earlobes exposed. There was a tiny mole on one of them.
He hadn’t noticed it before. But for some reason, the instant he saw her small, fair ear, his heart gave a little skip.
The feeling vanished as quickly as it came. Zhou Chengze looked away and thought no more of it.
He didn’t notice Jiang Nai’s gaze moving between the two of them.
The birthday boy was a man about Zhou Chengze’s age, and he was clearly drunk tonight. Carrying his glass around, he went from person to person offering toasts. When he reached Lin Chu, his eyes lit up, and he said with a grin, “Jiang Nai, your friend’s a looker. How come I’ve never seen her before?”
Jiang Nai smiled and gently blocked him. “She’s shy. Don’t scare her.”
“Shy is good. I like shy girls.” Akun held his glass out in front of Lin Chu. “Come on, let’s have a drink. It’s our first time meeting.”
Lin Chu looked at the brimming glass of baijiu, at a loss. “I’m not very good at drinking.”
“You can learn,” Akun insisted. “It’s just one glass. Do me a favor.”
Lin Chu looked at Jiang Nai, only to see her signaling with her eyes that Lin Chu should take the drink.
Just as Lin Chu was struggling with what to do, a low male voice suddenly sounded beside her. “That’s enough.”
Zhou Chengze had turned to look at them at some point. His voice was calm, giving nothing away. “You’re the birthday boy. Why are you picking on a girl instead of drinking more yourself?”
The instant he finished speaking, Jiang Nai’s expression changed almost imperceptibly, but she said nothing. She merely lifted her eyes and glanced at Lin Chu, watching her reaction.
Akun paused, then gave an awkward laugh. “If Brother says so, fine, forget it. Miss, I’ll treat you to a drink one-on-one another time.”
Lin Chu said nothing. She instinctively edged away, then looked up at Zhou Chengze.
Zhou Chengze was looking at her too.
The instant their eyes met, Lin Chu lowered her head again.
Zhou Chengze frowned slightly. Was he really that scary-looking?
With his drink refused, Akun turned to find someone else to drink with, and the private room returned to its earlier liveliness.
Someone put on music; others played finger-guessing games. Several friends pulled Jiang Nai into conversation, while Lin Chu sat quietly by herself in a corner, sipping the orange juice in her glass.
Zhou Chengze leaned back on the sofa, chatting now and then with the people beside him, but his peripheral vision kept drifting toward Lin Chu.
Lin Chu kept her head lowered, lost in thought. Her fingers absently picked at the rim of her glass—pick, pause, pick again.
Watching her do it, Zhou Chengze suddenly thought the gesture looked familiar.
Last night, when Jiang Nai had been in his arms, she seemed to have done something similar, clutching his shirt—squeeze, release, squeeze again.
He didn’t remember Jiang Nai having that habit before. His brow furrowed slightly as he thought about it, but his friend’s conversation soon drew his attention elsewhere.
About half an hour later, Lin Chu finally got up to go out for some air. She still wasn’t comfortable in this kind of setting; it always made her feel stifled.
The restroom was at the end of the corridor. She washed her face and looked at herself in the mirror, taking a deep breath as she reassured herself: It’s okay. Just get through tonight.
She dried her hands and pushed the door open. But as soon as she reached the bend in the corridor, she looked up and saw Zhou Chengze leaning against the wall, a cigarette between his fingers as he looked down at his phone.
Hearing footsteps, he looked up.
Their eyes met.
Lin Chu’s heart skipped a beat. She wanted to pretend she hadn’t seen him and walk straight past.
But after two steps, she stopped. She couldn’t go on like this. Sooner or later, they would have to clear things up.
They were both adults. They could just pretend last night had never happened.
She took a deep breath, turned around, and looked at Zhou Chengze. In a quiet voice, she called to him, “Zhou Chengze, I need to talk to you.”
Zhou Chengze looked at her too, his brows lifting slightly as he waited for her to speak.
Lin Chu clenched her hands and gathered her courage. “About last night…”
(End)