Night Rose

Zhou Zheng gritted his teeth. Not a day went by that he didn't think about Su Jin. It was his first time in a relationship and he had no experience. He wondered if other couples were as clingy as they were.

If it weren't for important business, Zhou Zheng would have loved to tie himself to Su Jin's keychain so she could carry him around with her.

Su Jin waited a long time for Zhou Zheng's reply. She pursed her lips, thinking he wouldn't answer, when he hugged her tightly.

"I miss you so much," Zhou Zheng's deep voice whispered in her ear.

Su Jin smiled and hugged him back, then glanced cautiously at the elevator entrance, afraid that Tu Ying and the others might come down at any moment.

She broke free from Zhou Zheng's embrace, her eyes shining. "Come on, I'll show you some good stuff!"

Zhou Zheng followed her lead, their hands clasped tightly together, unwilling to part.

Su Jin led him back to the tavern. Before entering the backyard, she searched for a long time for fabric, but couldn't find anything to cover his eyes, so she simply covered Zhou Zheng's eyes with her hands.

"Do exactly as I say."

Zhou Zheng was too tall, so Su Jin had to stand on tiptoe and tilt his head back a little. The two of them walked forward in an extremely awkward posture. After finally finding the location of the garage, Su Jin looked at the cars parked in the garage with a face full of pride.

"Are you ready?" she asked excitedly.

Zhou Zheng blinked, his eyelashes scratching at her palm. "Okay, okay."

"Something good is here!"

Su Jin let go of his hand, and after a brief moment of blinding light, an indigo blue race car entered his field of vision. Its massive body was covered with carbon fiber components, and its extremely bright color immediately caught Zhou Zheng's eye.

Su Jin opened the car door, revealing a brand-new roll cage inside. On the brand-new seat was a new helmet with a pink bow on the black helmet, clearly Su Jin's handiwork.

"A race car that's entirely ours!"

"Lamborghini, 4.0-liter flat-six engine, stable high-revving output. Six-speed sequential gearbox, shifting in just fifty milliseconds. Magnesium alloy wheels, slick tires with extremely strong grip after slicking, four-wheel independent adjustment, and the latest electronic system perfectly controlling all data. Honey, this race car is expensive and practical, do you like it?!"

Zhou Zheng was completely captivated by the race car. He walked over and touched its cold surface. Every inch of steel seemed to shimmer and breathe under his fingertips, resonating with his soul.

The sleeping steel beast lies there, exuding immense power and making it hard to imagine what a magnificent sight it would be in operation.

"How long did it take you?" Zhou Zheng turned to look at her.

Su Jin stood in the light, which gave her hair a halo of gentle light.

She crossed her arms and tilted her head to look at him. "It wasn't long ago. I only finished it two days before you came back. I put a lot of effort into it."

"It's obviously gorgeous." Zhou Zheng's hand traced the roof of the car, his eyes following his hand until it landed on the helmet. "Why did you buy another one?"

He looked towards the passenger seat, where there was another helmet of the same model.

"A new car deserves a new helmet, and since you're coming with me to the Schalke Rally, I have to do something in return! Besides, I'm practically half the boss of the team..." Su Jin's words were interrupted by a big hug.

"you……"

"It's not that we're going with you, it's that we're going to the rally together. It's not like you're forcing us. If it's not voluntary, who would go?" Zhou Zheng said in a deep voice.

"Yes, yes, let's go to the race together!" Su Jin hugged him, looking up at him happily. "I've wanted to show you the car for a long time, ever since the production car was delivered. But I still want to give you a surprise."

"It's a pleasant surprise. I really want to drive it onto the track and run a couple of laps right now," Zhou Zheng said.

"It's late at night, you can't run away! Let's wait until tomorrow, no, no, you and Wang Tianle should rest for two days first, and then go for the test drive the day after tomorrow. You've been training hard for a month, so you need to make sure you get some rest." Su Jin cupped his face and looked him over, sighing with heartache, "You've really lost weight."

"Have you lost weight?"

"Yes, her face has gotten noticeably smaller."

"Maybe it's because I miss you too much."

Zhou Zheng's sweet words came out of nowhere, and Su Jin fell for it, hugging him tightly. "It's okay, you're back now."

It was too late, so Zhou Zheng decided not to go back to his grandfather's place and disturb his sleep. Instead, he went back to Su Jin's rented apartment.

Zhou Zheng's clothes were neatly stored in Su Jin's wardrobe, his shoes were covered with dust covers, and his daily necessities were all in their original places. It felt as if they had been living together for a long time, as warm and cozy as home.

The concept of buying a house never seemed to be in Zhou Zheng's mind. Before he had a girlfriend, he didn't think that people necessarily needed to own their own house. Now he really wanted to be able to buy a house so that Su Jin could move in with him and it would become their cozy home.

After washing up, the two lay down on the bed, both quite tired.

The two lay face to face, Su Jin's hand covering Zhou Zheng's. He gently held her hand, occasionally squeezing it hard without hurting her.

They talked about what had happened during the time they had been apart from each other. Zhou Zheng's story was rather dull: day after day of training, competing against other trainees, he had touched several different cars, and had gained a new understanding of racing.

After he finished sharing, he kissed Su Jin's eyelids, "Your turn."

Su Jin had a lot to say. Not only did she modify the race car, but she also visited her grandfather, ate and took walks with him, and later simply stayed at her grandfather's house to eat and drink for free, becoming a "habitual offender".

"Won't Grandpa have a bad impression of me? When you were home, you were the one who cooked. Now that you're gone, I'm actually going to your house to freeload Grandpa's meals." Su Jin felt embarrassed at this moment and buried half of her face in the quilt.

Zhou Zheng pulled her out and chuckled, "Isn't it too late to reflect now? You've already eaten several meals already."

"Not just a few times, but over half a month," Su Jin said.

Zhou Zheng pulled her into his arms, his chin pressed against the top of her head.

"What are you worried about? Grandpa is lonely all by himself. Isn't it good for someone to eat with him? He won't blame you at all; in fact, he'll really appreciate you keeping him company. I also want to thank you for taking care of Grandpa while I was busy."

Su Jin naturally placed her hand on his waist and pressed her leg on his thigh, treating him like a human-shaped pillow.

She pressed, "Really? Grandpa really said that?"

"Yes, Grandpa told me that you, this little glutton, come to our house for meals every day. He asked me what you like to eat and said he'd buy you extra groceries and put them in the fridge in case you crave something delicious one day," Zhou Zheng said.

Su Jin giggled foolishly in his arms, feeling so good to be pampered. "Zhou Zheng, will you always be good to me?"

"Otherwise what? What are you thinking about now?"

Having received a satisfactory answer, Su Jin closed her eyes contentedly, preparing to drift off to sleep.

The noise subsided, and only the moonlight remained, lying quietly on the floor in the room.

Zhou Zheng kissed her forehead, then fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

"Zhou Zheng?"

Su Jin looked up at him and saw that Zhou Zheng was indeed asleep. His brows were relaxed, and his eyebrows were slightly furrowed, softening his otherwise strong features.

Su Jin reached out and pressed her hand against his nose, then yawned. Before falling asleep, she was still thinking about the test drive the day after tomorrow.

This time, she needs to get Boss Tu to book the venue first; she doesn't want to run into that annoying guy again!