As they reached the destination, Zhou Zhou picked up her bag and said to Yong Zhixu in the front seat, “Third Brother, thank you for bringing me here.”
Beyond gratitude, her attitude carried a deep sense of respect, much like a junior would show an elder.
She didn’t know when it had started, but the gentle yet distant aura around Third Brother made her hesitate to be as close as she had been in their childhood.
In truth, Third Brother hadn’t always been like this.
Back then, he was as warm as the boy next door. Whenever they struggled with homework and went to him for help, he would patiently and earnestly explain it to them.
None of the arrogance, willfulness, or other spoiled tendencies common in families like theirs were present in him. He was neither proud nor impatient, embodying humility and self-restraint to the fullest—like a noble young master straight out of the classics, the very definition of “the child from someone else’s family.”
But after that summer vacation years ago, he changed. For a time, he would avoid any interaction with women.
Though that phase passed, an aloofness that kept others at arm’s length became ingrained in him. And as he grew older, it only made him more unapproachable…
Hearing Zhou Zhou’s words of thanks, Yong Zhixu unlocked the car door with his fingerprint and replied indifferently, “You’re welcome.”
His deep, magnetic voice pulled Zhou Zhou out of her reverie. Flustered, she got out of the car and bowed slightly toward the lowered window. “Third Brother, please drive safely on your way back…”
Yong Zhixu gave a faint “Mm” in response. The Pagani’s wheels rolled slowly over the puddles on the road as he drove toward the west gate of the villa area.
Just after exiting the west gate, he received a call from his cousin. His mother, Ms. Lin, planned to visit his company early the next morning to drag him off to a blind date.
“Tch—” Yong Zhixu slammed on the brakes and decisively made a U-turn, driving back the way he came.
It seemed he would have to stay at Chaohua Academy tonight.
He didn’t come back here often, but the hourly cleaners regularly maintained the place, so the room was spotless.
The wabi-sabi decor was minimalist and cool, filled with an artistic ambiance.
Yong Zhixu glanced at his wristwatch—it was already past midnight. He tossed his car keys and phone onto the table and headed into the bathroom to brush his teeth and shower.
His body clock was usually very regular, and he rarely stayed up late. After drying his hair, he went to close the curtains, ready to sleep.
Just as the curtains were about to shut completely, his gaze inadvertently drifted across to the opposite side through the glass.
His slender fingers, tinged with a faint pink, stilled.
There, on the second-floor balcony across the way, sat a woman in a white dress. Her elbows rested on the table, and she seemed to be holding a pen, either writing or sketching something.
The moonlight after the rain was exceptionally bright, casting a silvery glow like thin frost over her. She was a soft blur of white in the night, her simple silhouette forming an elegant and captivating picture.
The distance was too great for Yong Zhixu to make out her features clearly, but he had a vague sense that she seemed… content in that moment.
Noticing his own thought, Yong Zhixu chuckled to himself. Why would he think that? They weren’t even acquaintances.
He drew the silver-gray blackout curtains and lay down on the bed.
In his dreams, a little fairy beneath a rainbow smiled gently and walked toward him. She interlaced her fingers with his, and they strolled together through a sea of colorful flowers…
Tangxi Li sat on her balcony, sketching with a pen.
As if sensing something, she abruptly looked up, her sharp gaze sweeping toward the opposite villa.
But all she saw was the warm yellow light across the way suddenly go out.Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, but she was soon distracted by Zhou Zhou approaching from behind with a bowl of wontons.
“A-Li, do you want some?” Zhou Zhou placed the steaming hot wontons on the European-style round table.
“No.” Tangxi Li never ate late-night snacks.
Zhou Zhou then dug in heartily, even showing her the new domineering CEO novel she was writing.
“A-Li, what do you think of what I wrote this time?”
Tangxi Li set down her pen, took the phone, and first glanced at the table of contents.
Chapter 1: If you can’t cure her, I’ll have all of you buried with her!
Chapter 2: If you can’t save the baby, I’ll have the entire hospital buried with it!
Chapter 3: Try dying and see? I’ll have three generations of your family buried with you!
Chapter 4: You dare marry him? I’ll have his entire clan buried with him!
Chapter 5: You killed her? I’ll have eighteen generations of your family buried with you!
“…”
Looking at this brain-numbing “burial” literature, Tangxi Li handed the phone back to her. “Wishing you success.”
If nothing else, this CEO was definitely legally illiterate.
Seeing her pained expression, Zhou Zhou felt deeply discouraged. She slapped the table and declared, “If this one doesn’t blow up, I’ll go write PO novels.”
“PO novels? What kind of broken novels are those?” Tangxi Li didn’t usually read online novels and didn’t understand the term.
“Well…” Zhou Zhou gave a sly grin and made a clapping motion. “It’s all about the hanky-panky, from the bathroom to the living room to the kitchen, seven times a night, seven days and seven nights…”
She grew more and more excited as she spoke, her eyes rolling mischievously as she swept a suggestive glance over Tangxi Li, inspiration flooding in.
“I’ll write about an aloof beauty being forced into love by a yandere big shot. The big shot takes a fancy to the heroine at first sight, seizes her by force, locks her up, and wildly defiles this white rose, all sorts of plays… she runs, he chases, she can’t escape even with wings… just thinking about it is thrilling…”
No sooner said than done. Zhou Zhou energetically fetched Tangxi Li’s laptop and began writing furiously.
Tangxi Li was already used to her execution ability.
She didn’t disturb her, quietly finished her drawing, and went to sleep.
When she woke up a little after 6 a.m., Tangxi Li removed her eye mask and drew back the curtains, only to find Zhou Zhou still writing.
She casually turned off the main light in the bedroom, poured a glass of warm water, and walked to the balcony, handing the water to Zhou Zhou. “Working so hard, are you trying to kill yourself?”
Zhou Zhou chuckled, took the water, and drank a few sips.
“I rarely get such a burst of inspiration, so I wanted to write a bit more, ha…” She yawned, closed the laptop, and glanced at the orange sun on the eastern horizon. “I’m so sleepy, I need to go to bed. I won’t eat breakfast.”
She stood up, passed through the bedroom, and headed toward the guest room.
Tangxi Li changed into a white tracksuit, brushed her teeth, and went out for a run.
After finishing her run and about to enter her own home, the door of the villa opposite opened, and a handsome man walked out.
Tangxi Li glanced over unexpectedly and slowed her steps. Yong Zhixu?
The man had a well-proportioned and tall build, dressed in a white casual outfit with a pair of white sneakers.
His short hair was fluffy but not messy.
His robust arms were exposed to the humid air, veins visible beneath his cool, pale skin, with tight muscle lines highlighting a sense of healthy strength.
Around his sharp right wrist was wrapped that string of qinan prayer beads engraved with sutras.
Compared to last night’s black shirt and suit pants, he looked less sharp and more casual.
Clean and elegant, like an orchid or a jade tree.
(Good taste in clothes.)Her lashes lifted slightly as she looked toward the villa behind him, a flicker of light in her eyes.
Did he live across from her?