Night Rose

Zhou Zheng pulled her into his arms, rested his chin on the top of her head, and smelled the fragrance of her hair, feeling at ease.

These stories sound like sob stories, and others might just listen for the spectacle, but to Su Jin, it's like cutting open her own heart and showing her the bloody, raw parts inside.

After watching, you still need to observe other people's reactions.

Will they be scared away? Or will they feel like they're a nuisance?

But Zhou Zheng didn't want to guess any of these things. Only the person in his arms could catch him steadily, putting his mind at ease.

"My family situation is complicated. When I was one year old, my father had an affair and had an illegitimate child with my mother. When the illegitimate child grew up, the mistress brought him back to force her to remarry. My mother was so angry with them that she fell ill and lost her will to live. No one could keep her."

My maternal grandfather took me back to Nanyuan and raised me. I thought I had nothing to do with the Zhou family anymore, but then the Zhou family ran into trouble. Zhou Chengzhuo lost his fertility, and the shareholders were eyeing the group covetously. Zhou Ruian had no choice but to come back to me.

"I don't care if you come to me, but Zhou Chengzhuo keeps harassing the people around me..."

"During the last competition, you were worried that something might happen to your grandfather. Was it him who did it?!" Su Jin held his hand, looked up at him, and felt a pang of heartache.

Zhou Zheng let out a soft breath and said in a deep voice, "Yes, it wasn't just my maternal grandfather; he also approached Tu Ying, and he was the one who instigated He Zhangxing's affair."

"This is outrageous! This is a crime!" Su Jin said angrily.

When Zhou Zheng recounted the past, he appeared calm and collected, but Su Jin then realized what Zhou Zheng had been facing during that time: the pressure of racing and the constant tension caused by Zhou Chengzhuo's threats. He had never let his guard down for a moment.

Su Jin couldn't bear to listen any longer. She knew Zhou Zheng must have suffered a lot, but he had never mentioned it to her, afraid of implicating her.

Zhou Zheng gently kneaded her finger bones, saying, "It's alright, it's all over now."

The person in his arms didn't make a sound. When Zhou Zheng looked down, Su Jin was still motionless.

"What's wrong?"

Zhou Zheng lifted her face and noticed that her eyes were red and wet at the corners, and she had lost all her fighting spirit when she glared at him.

"Since I made you cry, I have to take responsibility for comforting you," Zhou Zheng said in a low voice.

He kissed the corner of Su Jin's eye, his tongue swirling her tears as he swallowed them. Su Jin couldn't help but let out a soft moan, pushing his head away slightly. "Are you a dog? Why are you licking me?"

"Replenish fluids," Zhou Zheng said matter-of-factly.

Su Jin was about to retort when he covered her mouth, "Shh, keep your voice down, your family is asleep."

Su Jin blinked, her eyes silently accusing him: You've already said everything, and now you want me to keep my voice down? This is simply bullying!

Zhou Zheng smiled, a smile tinged with slyness, but unfortunately, he was too handsome to be easily angered.

A light, fleeting kiss landed on her brow, gently soothing her.

Su Jin was sleepy, so she pressed her back against Zhou Zheng's chest and snuggled into his arms to sleep.

"Goodnight," Zhou Zheng said softly.

He closed his eyes, and just as he was about to fall asleep, Su Jin, who was half asleep, mumbled something.

"Good night."

Zhou Zheng stayed at the Su family for three days, met all the elders of the Su family, and thus gained their approval.

To avoid trouble, Su Jin didn't tell them that Zhou Zheng was still the group's president; otherwise, who knows what kind of storm he would have stirred up.

Su Jin drove him to the high-speed rail station in her car. The two were about to part ways again, but at this moment, their hearts felt even closer.

"After the New Year, I'll be going to school. I'll be changing majors at this new school, so I'll be a transfer student." Zhou Zheng pressed his forehead against hers and gently rubbed it.

Su Jin nodded and said softly, "Okay, you focus on your studies, and I'll take care of leading the racing team to conquer the world! After you graduate, will President Zhou accompany me to race cars again?"

"Okay, not just the national competition, but also the world championship," Zhou Zheng replied.

Once he agreed, a secretary surnamed Wu would be running around like crazy.

During the Spring Festival, every family was bustling with activity. Grandpa and Zhou Zheng were celebrating the New Year at home when Su Jin made a video call to wish Grandpa a Happy New Year. Grandpa then gave each of the two children a large red envelope.

Su Jin was too embarrassed to accept it until Zhou Zheng told her that he had given a portion of the company's dividends to her grandfather, at which point she smiled and accepted it.

The Su family is large, and it's very lively to celebrate the New Year together. Grandma Su is in charge of cooking as always. This time, she uses ingredients that Zhou Zheng bought directly to her home, and there's a constant stream of New Year's goods being sent to her. The relatives are all envious. This is just her boyfriend, and he's already so attentive to his family. What will it be like after they get married?

Grandma Su said that Xiao Zhou had spent too much money, but she was actually very happy and had long forgotten about Xiao Lu.

Nanyuan was a place where fireworks could be set off. Tu Ying called Zhou Zheng and Wang Tianle, and the three of them found an open space and set up the fireworks they had bought. At midnight, fireworks burst into bloom, illuminating a large area of ​​darkness.

Zhou Zheng held up his phone and filmed the fireworks in the sky for about twenty minutes, showing them to Su Jin.

Su Jin rested her chin on her hand, watching the fireworks intently, while Zhou Zheng zoomed in on her screen and zoomed out on the fireworks screen, focusing only on her.

After setting off the fireworks, the three went home. Zhou Zheng, finally back in his warm bed, chatted with Su Jin under the covers. The two didn't have any fixed topics every day, talking about all sorts of things, and didn't even know when they fell asleep.

As soon as the New Year arrived, the two were busy visiting relatives. The short holiday was exceptionally busy. In their spare time, they would secretly call each other, their affection for each other so intense that they seemed to be forever in the honeymoon phase.

After visiting relatives, more than half of the New Year has passed.

Su Jin couldn't stand staying at home any longer and messaged Zhou Zheng to ask him to come pick her up.

After Zhou Zheng visited the Su family with gifts, the two drove back to Nanyuan. Su Jin brought some local specialties for her maternal grandfather and also shared some with Tu Ying and Wang Tianle.

The group met again and arranged to have dinner at Zhao Xin's barbecue restaurant.

Business is always busy after the New Year. Zhao Xin took over the storefront next door and used it as a private room. When he led them to the private room, Tu Ying was quite proud and put her arm around Zhao Xin's shoulder.

"How's business? Boss Zhao, if I hadn't recommended you to sponsor our 'I Want to Come' car team, would business be so booming? I heard you opened another branch elsewhere, and lots of people are going to check it out."

"Thank you, Boss Tu. This meal is on me." Zhao Xin smiled and pushed the hand hanging on his shoulder down.

Tu Ying didn't mind at all and kept Zhao Xin to drink with them. When the fragrant barbecue was served, Su Jin was only focused on eating. Zhou Zheng saved her favorite skewers and wiped her mouth for her.

Seeing the two exchanging glances, Tu Ying couldn't help but scold, "You two are so sickeningly sweet from your lovey-dovey relationship! No way, I'm not sitting with you two, I'm going to sit somewhere else."