Lin Zhaoyang pointed outside. “Borrowing someone else’s courtyard to make our escape was one thing. But you’re even borrowing their bedroom?”
It was just the two of them—a lone man and woman. Their breaths were still hot, and Lin Zhaoyang didn’t even dare look directly at Zou Zhengting’s face.
Back when they were dating, the most intimate they had ever gotten was hugging and kissing for a little while.
It wasn’t because she was too reserved to go further.
It was because Zou Zhengting wouldn’t let her.
But today, what she had thought was just a fleeting spring fantasy had nearly…
Anyway, everything she had once wanted to see but never got to, and everything she had wanted to touch but never could…
She had probably seen and touched it all today.
That was why she couldn’t quite bring herself to face Zou Zhengting now.
“What are you afraid of?” Seeing how anxious she was, Zou Zhengting deliberately teased her. “If we get caught, I’ll just say I forced you. If someone has to be shot, let it be only me.”
The moment he finished speaking, he saw her eyes turning red with panic, so he hurriedly explained, “This house is mine. After I found out you bought the house next door, I bought this one.”
Lin Zhaoyang’s eyes widened.
“Are you insane?”
Who was Zou Zhengting?
He had once been Lin Zhaoyang’s boyfriend in college.
They had even reached the point of discussing marriage.
But who was Zou Zhengting now?
He was her cousin Lin Ni’s husband.
With their current relationship, if he wasn’t crazy, why would he buy the house right next to hers?
“What exactly are you and Lin Ni up to?”
Knowing the house belonged to Zou Zhengting eased her nerves a little, but she still remained wary.
“Are you on guard against me?” Zou Zhengting felt a stabbing pain in his chest when he met her cautious gaze.
“Stay away from me.”
She held up a finger and pushed him back when he stood too close.
Tilting her chin up to look at the much taller man, she deliberately called out,
“Brother-in-law.”
Those three words nearly gave Zou Zhengting a heart attack.
It’s fake… it’s not…
The words reached his lips, but seeing that Lin Zhaoyang was already feeling uncomfortable, he clenched his jaw and took another two steps back.
Clearly, now wasn’t the time to explain.
Yet even standing all the way by the door, his presence in the room was still overwhelming.
Fortunately, Zou Zhengting left on his own.
But he returned not long afterward.
This time he was carrying a teapot and several cups.
“Drink some cooled boiled water. It might help.”
He placed the water on the table, then tugged at the collar of his shirt with his long, slender fingers.
His body was still unbearably hot, so he poured himself a cup first and gulped it down.
When Lin Zhaoyang looked over, she watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed.
He drank too quickly. A trickle of water escaped the corner of his mouth, slid over his moving throat, traced the faint reddish marks on his neck, then disappeared beneath his shirt.
Even something as ordinary as drinking water looked irresistibly attractive.
She had been right all along.
She had really missed out back then.
Her cheeks grew warm as she stared.
She licked her lips and quickly forced her gaze downward, embarrassed by how hungry her eyes had become.
She instantly regretted it.
One glance lower, and she noticed the obvious bulge beneath his waist.
As if struck by lightning, she shot to her feet.
Her sudden movement startled Zou Zhengting, who immediately turned toward her.
“Find a loose apron and tie it around your waist. Then go call my parents’ factory, and also call Yang Wen’s factory. Tell them I have something extremely urgent and that they need to come here immediately.”
As she spoke, she glanced at him again.
It’s already been a while. Why hasn’t he calmed down yet?
Could he really go outside looking like that?
Forget it.
She herself didn’t have the strength to go make the calls, nor did she want anyone seeing her in her current state.
If someone had to lose face, it might as well be Zou Zhengting.
Zou Zhengting lowered his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose before quickly turning so he wasn’t facing her.
After she finished speaking, he simply answered, “Okay.”
He went into the kitchen, found an apron, and tied it around his waist.
Looking down, he tugged the hem of his shirt out of his trousers as well.
Only then did everything look properly concealed.
As for the marks on his face…
He figured he’d smear some dirt on himself in the yard later.
If his face looked dirty enough, people wouldn’t notice much else.
Then he went into the larger bedroom next door and retrieved a silk scarf.
He had originally intended to give it to Lin Zhaoyang as a wedding gift all those years ago.
But he had never gotten the chance.
After buying this house, he had moved everything connected to Lin Zhaoyang here.
Returning to her room, he folded the scarf and gently tied it around her neck.
“It’s thin enough that it just looks like an accessory. Your collar is low, so this will cover things a little.”
After saying that, Zou Zhengting wanted nothing more than to hold her again.
But afraid of making her angry, he restrained himself.
Knowing she was waiting for him to make the phone calls, he didn’t linger.
As he crossed the courtyard, he bent down, grabbed a handful of dirt, smeared it across his face, made sure no one was coming out of the neighboring house, and hurried away.
The moment Lin Zhaoyang learned that Lin Ni had a key to her new house, she decided the elders in both families had to be called over.
Next door, Lin Ni had already summoned several relatives from the Lin family, along with longtime neighbors who knew the family well.
She had told everyone that Lin Zhaoyang needed extra hands at the new house.
Those who came included not only younger people but several elders as well.
With Lin Zhaoyang’s wedding to Yang Wen fast approaching, most of the house was already organized.
A small vegetable patch had been planted in one corner of the yard, growing ginger, scallions, and various vegetables, all thriving under the bright morning sun.
Several rose bushes were blooming brilliantly along the wall.
But Lin Ni had no interest in admiring the beautiful courtyard.
She hurried ahead with anxious anticipation.
The moment she entered the yard, she headed straight for the half-open bedroom door.
Reaching it, she shoved the door open and shouted at the top of her lungs before even seeing inside.
“Lin Zhaoyang! Zou Zhengting! How could you two—”
Her voice stopped abruptly.
The room was well lit, and the morning sun streamed through the windows.
Before she could finish her sentence, she saw clearly that…
No one was inside.
This was completely different from what she had expected.
The neighborhood gossip, Aunt Chen, heard Lin Ni’s dramatic shouting and rushed over at once.
Thinking there was finally some excitement to watch, she peeked into the room.
It was empty.
Looking disappointed, Aunt Chen turned to Lin Ni.
“What are you yelling for? Standing at the bedroom door shouting your cousin’s and your husband’s names… I thought they were in there rekindling their old romance behind your back.”
“Where’s Lin Zhaoyang?” Lin Ni asked in disbelief.
She turned to the others behind her.
“Zou Zhengting was here just a moment ago too. How come neither of them is here? Everyone, spread out and look for them.”
She secretly wondered whether the two of them had decided the bed in this room was too small and gone somewhere else to continue being intimate.
After all, Zou Zhengting had spent his entire life longing for Lin Zhaoyang.
He had loved and waited for her for a lifetime.
She had practically delivered Lin Zhaoyang into his hands.
There was no way Zou Zhengting could have resisted.
Besides, the drug she had put into the water had been specially purchased from a friend who worked at the livestock station.
There was no way it wouldn’t have had an effect.
In 1983—two years earlier—Lin Zhaoyang was a senior in college.
The Lin and Zou families had agreed that, since Lin Zhaoyang wasn’t too busy with school and Zou Zhengting happened to be home on leave from the military, it was the perfect time to formally arrange their engagement.
That day, Zou Zhengting arrived at the Lin family home with the betrothal gifts.
At noon, everyone ate, drank, and celebrated together.
Everything had gone smoothly at first.
But after being pressured into drinking far too much alcohol, Zou Zhengting became intoxicated.
He was supposed to rest in Lin Zhaoyang’s younger brother’s room.
Yet somehow, he ended up in her cousin Lin Ni’s bedroom.