Zhou Zuizui suddenly blinked hard, feeling the warm touch on her lips.
Her heart jumped into her throat. She stared wide-eyed, carefully watching Shen Nan’s expression…
Their noses were almost touching, breaths mixing together. The lips that kissed her just stayed pressed there, without doing anything else. After quite a while, Zhou Zuizui finally shifted her body and took two small steps back.
Good.
Shen Nan didn’t make any next move. He just stayed sitting on the carpet in exactly the same position.
She took a deep breath, reached up and gently pressed her lips that still carried his warm breath, then glanced at the phone still recording on the side. She quickly saved the file and turned it off.
She didn’t dare tease him anymore. Zhou Zuizui swallowed, waved her hand in front of Shen Nan’s face and asked in a small voice:
“Wanna… go sleep?”
“Yes.”
The drunk Shen Nan was obedient to an almost unbelievable degree.
Looking at him, Zhou Zuizui couldn’t help but start laughing.
Right now… she was genuinely a little happy.
She tried to hold back her overly obvious laughter, reached out to help Shen Nan up, supported him into the bedroom, got him lying down, and was about to leave.
But her wrist got grabbed by Shen Nan.
“What’s wrong?”
At this moment, she didn’t sound like her usual self either.
Shen Nan opened his eyes and looked at her. Confused, yet very firmly said:
“Sleep.”
He meant — sleep together.
Zhou Zuizui froze for a second, then finally reacted:
“Sleep together?”
“Mm.”
Zhou Zuizui burst out laughing, but very straightforwardly agreed.
“Okay sure.”
The moment she said yes, Shen Nan immediately scooted to the side, leaving the spot he had just been lying in for her.
“…”
Zhou Zuizui lay down without any fuss.
Anyway, she knew drunk Shen Nan wouldn’t do anything. He would just be extremely, extremely obedient.
This explosive little secret had actually been leaked by Lu Jia Xiu when he sold Shen Nan out.
He said that a very long time ago Shen Nan got drunk once, and that night… completely overturned the tall, mighty image everyone had of him. The whole person became obedient like a little milk dog. He was still conscious, but super super well-behaved — you tell him to do anything and he would do it.
Super fun.
Tonight Zhou Zuizui… had actually just wanted to give it a try.
She never expected he would really be this obedient.
Thinking of this, Zhou Zuizui lay inside the blanket, turned her head to look at the man beside her, and laughed again.
The next morning when Shen Nan woke up, Zhou Zuizui was already gone from the room.
On the bedside table though, she had left a note.
“Captain Shen, I have something to do and am heading out. Borrowing your car keys for a bit. — Zhou”
Shen Nan stared at the wild, flamboyant handwriting on the paper, reached up and rubbed between his eyebrows.
The aftermath of the hangover was a splitting headache — the kind that’s hard to describe.
He lowered his eyes, looked at the note for a very long time, but never sent Zhou Zuizui a message asking where she went.
The place she would go out so early for…
there was only one possibility.
……
The spring chill was sharp and biting.
The early morning temperature was so low it was almost unbearable. Zhou Zuizui wore a black down jacket, her face bare of makeup, and appeared at the cemetery.
A thin mist wrapped around the whole cemetery, making it feel like it was hidden deep in the mountains.
At this hour, the place was so quiet you could only hear the soft rustling of leaves and branches in the wind. Zhou Zuizui looked up for a moment, then got out of the car, picked up the flowers from the side, and walked deeper into the cemetery.
She walked slowly with her head down, a faint sadness lingering between her brows and eyes, hard for anyone to read clearly.
Only when she reached a certain tombstone did she stop. She stared at the photo on it, gently placed the flowers in front, bowed respectfully, and then said softly:
“I’m here.”
She stood there with her head slightly lowered, eyes fixed and burning on the photo of the kind, gentle smiling person. She blinked, then asked in a hoarse voice:
“Two years since I last came to see you… Did you miss me?”
No one answered her.
Only the wind blowing past her ears.
Zhou Zuizui gave a small, soft smile. She reached out and touched the photo, letting her fingers rest there, quietly looking back at the eyes in the picture. New chapters come out on novelping(.)com first.
“Grandma, I missed you.”
I don’t know if you missed me, but I really missed you. Even though I was unfilial and didn’t dare come back to see you for two whole years… I couldn’t hold back anymore.
I just wanted to come back and see you. Even if it’s just standing here looking at you, it already feels enough.
Her eyes curved into gentle smiles. She patted her own cheeks and asked playfully:
“Grandma, hasn’t your little blow-dry girl gotten a lot younger?”
She laughed. “These past two years I’ve been living really well in the ancient town. I’ve been running the little tavern you left me better and better. All the neighbors say I’m even more amazing than you were!”
The ancient town Zhou Zuizui lives in now is the one she took over from her grandma.
In some ways, Zhou Zuizui and her grandma were extremely, extremely alike. Their personalities were almost the same.
Since she was little, Zhou Zuizui had always admired and longed for her grandma’s way of life, everything about it…
But sadly… most people didn’t allow that kind of life.
Back then, she could only go to the ancient town as a rare reward, staying for a day or two, spending time together with Grandma.
……
She stood in front of the tombstone, quietly telling Grandma everything that had happened to her in the past two years. She even wanted to spill every single big and small messy thing. Only when it felt like there was nothing important left to say, and her hands and feet were freezing numb, did Zhou Zuizui finally stop.
She stood there quietly, looking at the photo for a long while, then said softly:
“I’m going back now. I’ll come see you again next time. You have to remember to miss me.”
She gave a gentle smile, reluctantly looked a few more times, then turned and left.
When Zhou Zuizui got back home, the place was surprisingly empty.
She paused, looked around the room, and called out:
“Shen Nan?”
No one answered.
She blinked, almost in disbelief. Wait… did this guy disappear again??
Wasn’t he supposed to be on vacation??
Just as she was thinking that, the sound of the keypad lock came from outside the door. Zhou Zuizui’s ears twitched as she listened. She turned her head and saw Shen Nan coming in. When he noticed her back, he just raised an eyebrow slightly, tone flat and calm:
“You’re back.”
“Mm.”
Zhou Zuizui stared straight at Shen Nan with bright, burning eyes:
“I thought you went off on another mission again.”
Shen Nan paused, glanced at her:
“Not for now.”
He still had a full week of leave left. Only three days had passed.
Shen Nan had gone to the supermarket and come back with vegetables and fruit. He tossed the keys to the side, carried the bags into the kitchen. Zhou Zuizui watched him, smiled, and followed him in.
She leaned against the doorway, watching Shen Nan put things away, then suddenly asked:
“Captain Shen, did you know you got drunk last night?”
Shen Nan: “…Mm.”
Hearing that, Zhou Zuizui’s eyes sparkled. She kept going:
“Do you remember what you did?”
Shen Nan turned his head to look at her, sounding casual:
“What did I do?”
Hearing his tone, Zhou Zuizui instantly got interested! Could it be… Shen Nan blacks out when he’s drunk?? Doesn’t remember what he did??
Her eyes lit up. She hooked her lips into a sly smile:
“Last night… you took advantage of me.”
Shen Nan’s hand paused while holding a can of cola, then he calmly continued stuffing it into the fridge, face completely unchanged:
“You think I’ll believe that?”
Zhou Zuizui raised her eyebrows, waved her phone proudly:
“Believe it or not, I kept the evidence anyway.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Shen Nan suddenly turned around and walked straight toward her. He stopped right in front of her, lowered his gaze, and looked down at her with deep, heavy eyes.
That look… carried a real sense of pressure. It made Zhou Zuizui feel just a tiny bit nervous.
She tilted her head up and met Shen Nan’s eyes, cleared her throat and asked:
“What are you doing?”
Shen Nan raised one eyebrow slightly, staring at her with deep, intense eyes:
“Demonstrate it.”
“Demonstrate what?” Zhou Zuizui looked at him in total shock.
“Demonstrate how I took advantage of you last night.”
He rarely got drunk, and even when he did, there was no way he would take advantage of anyone. Shen Nan had that much confidence in himself. Actually, his alcohol tolerance was pretty good. Last night was really just an accident. He could handle his liquor well, though he didn’t drink often — he couldn’t compare to a female booze-lover like Zhou Zuizui, but he was still decent.
At least, that’s what Shen Nan thought.
Zhou Zuizui stared at the man in front of her, stunned. If it weren’t for how serious and sincere his face looked, she would’ve almost thought Shen Nan was teasing her again.
Demonstrate it?
How the hell was she supposed to demonstrate?
Kiss him again?
She wasn’t crazy!
Shen Nan watched her eyes darting around like crazy. He curved his lips, about to say something, when the phone in his pocket suddenly rang.
Shen Nan paused. It was the special ringtone set just for the team. He quickly answered.
The next second, Zhou Zuizui watched the man who had been acting kind of casual suddenly turn completely serious. He said “yes” a few times, then hung up and looked at her:
“Emergency mission. I’m leaving.”
And just like that, he disappeared right in front of Zhou Zuizui.
She stared dumbfounded at the closed door, then let out a helpless laugh.
This mission for Shen Nan came suddenly and was way more serious than expected. That’s why they even called him while he was still on leave.
He drove straight downstairs to the team base.
By the time he arrived, everyone was already lined up neatly and powerfully on the field. Shen Nan changed into uniform in just a few dozen seconds, then joined the ranks!
This mission was urgent and top secret.
In moments, everyone handed over their regular phones. Then they set off on the task.
…
For the next half month, Zhou Zuizui didn’t contact Shen Nan at all.
She knew what it meant to be the family of a soldier — what you had to do, what you had to endure.
Even after he came back, she didn’t plan to return to the ancient town right away. Instead, she called Qiuqiu every day to check on everything at the tavern. Things there were going just fine.
Zhou Zuizui herself was doing okay too. With Shen Nan gone, she spent her days hanging out with Xia Wen. Sometimes Ai Zeyang would join them, drinking and stuff. But anything too risky? Zhou Zuizui wouldn’t do it. Not suitable.
That day, Zhou Zuizui was out shopping with Xia Wen, having a great time, when suddenly someone called her name.
She froze, turned around, and locked eyes with the woman who had called her. She paused, stared at the woman in front of her, pressed her lips together for a long moment before finally saying:
“Mom.”
The elegant woman standing there was Shen Nan’s mother.
Shen’s mom looked at Zhou Zuizui, completely shocked:
“Zuizui? You didn’t go back to the ancient town?”
Zhou Zuizui let out a small “ah,” then nodded:
“No.”
She and Shen Nan had originally planned to go back and visit them, but that night Shen Nan suddenly got the mission and left, so the plan got put on hold. Zhou Zuizui wasn’t about to go to the Shen family house alone.
Shen’s mom frowned, and her expression instantly changed.
“You didn’t go back to the ancient town? Then why didn’t you go see A-Nan?”
Zhou Zuizui looked at Shen’s mom in confusion, not understanding:
“See Shen Nan?” She opened her mouth to explain: “He’s not… he went—”
Halfway through her sentence, Zhou Zuizui suddenly stopped.
The meaning behind Shen’s mom’s words was way too obvious.
“He’s back?” Zhou Zuizui’s voice got louder. She stared straight at Shen’s mom:
“Mom, did something happen to him?”
……
This mission for Shen Nan was pretty complicated. While carrying it out, in order to protect one of his teammates, he got stabbed in the waist.
But the mission was successfully completed. Right after coming back, Shen Nan was ordered to stay in the hospital for a full-body check-up.
The knife wound on his waist was a bit serious, and he lost quite a lot of blood, so his whole body was extremely weak.
Since he was admitted to the military district hospital, Shen’s mom and dad found out about it right away. They came to visit him and even brought him meals for two days.
In the evening, there was a knock on the door. Shen Nan naturally thought it was his mom.
He called out casually:
“The door’s not locked.”
He kept his head down, scrolling on his phone.
He hadn’t dared tell Zhou Zuizui about the injury, afraid she would overthink it. When it came to him getting hurt, Zhou Zuizui was more cautious and careful than anyone else.
Without even lifting his head, Shen Nan said:
“Mom, I already told you not to come bring me food. It’s just a small injury…”
Before he could finish, someone cut him off.
“Who’s your mom.”