Night Rose

Tu Ying waved his hand, speaking righteously and unconditionally on the side of his brother.

"It's definitely those show-offs' fault! Why didn't they finish their story? Just how rich are they? Heh, they look down on me for running a tavern. They'll be crying when Zhou Zheng wipes them out!"

"Aren't you worried at all about the other side resorting to dirty tricks? Rally racing is an extreme sport; even spectators could be taken away randomly, let alone unexpected accidents during the race. If they deliberately target Zhou Zheng, can you defend against it?" Su Jin said speechlessly.

Tu Ying panicked, "They dare?! That's illegal!"

"Alright! Stop causing trouble. You've seen the difference between yourselves and others today, haven't you? There's still a month left. You all have to listen to me during training, or you'll lose miserably and be ridiculed by others. I can't afford to lose face like that." Su Jin took a few deep breaths.

Tu Ying kept talking to her, but Su Jin didn't listen at all. She sat to the side studying the data on the computer.

She lowered her eyelashes, her gaze fixed on the data, but her mind was filled with the scene of Zhou Zheng protecting her just now.

She clearly didn't mean to say that, but the words changed as they reached her lips.

Her original intention was merely to provoke Zhou Zheng for his momentary verbal sparring and insistence on competing with He Zhangxing and Huang Mao, but once she said it, she completely erased all the good things Zhou Zheng had done for her.

Zhou Zheng and Wang Tianle went to the changing room to change clothes. After changing into his own clothes, Zhou Zheng did not leave but sat there waiting for Wang Tianle.

Wang Tianle's clothes were too tight, and it took him a while to change before he hurriedly came out.

He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Zhou Zheng. "Brother Zhou, I thought you were gone."

"I'm not that childish. Who wants to argue with her?" Zhou Zheng took out a box of chewing gum from his pocket, put a corner of the gum in his mouth, and chewed it vigorously as he did so.

Wang Tianle knew that he liked to chew gum when he was irritable, but he still couldn't help but laugh at the big chewing motions.

"I didn't help you just now, Brother Zhou, you won't be mad at me, will you?"

"Why are you angry? Grandpa told you a long time ago not to help me. Just pull me aside if anything happens, don't take matters into your own hands," Zhou Zheng said lazily.

"I remember everything Grandpa Fang said. You weren't planning to fight them just now, so why did you suddenly lash out? Was it because of Sister Su?" Wang Tianle asked, leaning forward.

Zhou Zheng couldn't stand the way he was looking at him, as if he wanted to see right through him, so he slapped his head away.

"Nonsense, I offered to help her, and she said she didn't need it. Ha, if she didn't need it, she should have said so earlier, then my help would have been pointless."

Wang Tianle disagreed, saying, "Sister Su is afraid that your conflict will escalate further. If she comes over, I think you and that guy surnamed He will end up fighting."

"How could we possibly fight? I don't want to go back to jail. Once is enough," Zhou Zheng scoffed.

Wang Tianle, fearing he might offend him, didn't pursue the matter further, but merely offered a reminder.

"Sister Su definitely didn't mean to stop you from helping; she shares the same concerns as me."

"You keep calling me 'Sister Su,' I think you're about to betray us."

"No way, I'm definitely on your side, Brother Zhou," Wang Tianle said with a smile.

Zhou Zheng chewed the gum until it lost its sweetness, then spat it into the trash can. "Let's go, I can't be bothered arguing with her."

When the two of them went out, Su Jin and Tu Ying had already left, leaving only the two of them standing on the site, while the staff were also packing up to go home.

Zhou Zheng was a little annoyed that he didn't see anyone.

This woman actually threw a tantrum and left first?

Suddenly, his cell phone rang.

A phone call came in from an unknown number. But Zhou Zheng remembered it was Su Jin's phone number.

The tightness in his chest inexplicably dissipated a little, and he answered the phone, deliberately asking, "Who is it?"

Su Jin hesitated for a few seconds on the other end of the phone before giving up.

"Mr. Tu and I are on our way to buy groceries. What are you two having for dinner tonight?"

This can be considered as Su Jin giving in.

Zhou Zheng smirked, casually putting his arm around Wang Tianle's shoulder as they walked out. "I'll eat anything, just not heartless dogs!"

Zhou Zheng could imagine Su Jin glaring at him from across the room. Although it never really had any power, Zhou Zheng still obeyed her every time she glanced at him.

"Eat it or don't, it's up to you!"

"Eat it or don't, it's up to you."

The two spoke at the same time. Zhou Zheng suppressed a laugh and asked, "How was it? Was my prediction accurate?"

Su Jin lost her temper, jabbed the phone hard with her finger, and hung up.

"How's it going? What did the chef say we're having for tonight?" Tu Ying asked as she drove, completely unaware of what was happening on the other end of the phone.

"He said whatever," Su Jin said through gritted teeth.

Tu Ying didn't understand the sarcasm and was still smug.

"See, see, I told you Zhou Zheng has a sharp tongue but a soft heart. You can call him, he'll definitely answer!"

"Can you make a dish even if you don't know how?" Su Jin asked.

Tu Ying laughed and said, "I've bought groceries for several days in the fridge. Let him pick them himself. Anyway, everything he cooks tastes good."

Su Jin rested her chin on her hand and remained silent. She couldn't refute Zhou Zheng's cooking skills. No wonder he said his main job was as a family chef. She had only recently learned that Zhou Zheng actually made money by cooking for others.

Zhou Zheng would cook for them whenever he had free time at home.

Over time, Su Jin's palate became picky, and she no longer wanted to eat takeout, as it was nothing like the food Zhou Zheng cooked.

On the way back, Su Jin saw that her modified race car had overtaken Volkswagen and arrived at the tavern first.

Seeing Su Jin about to get out of the car, Tu Ying quickly asked, "Hey, Engineer Su, you still haven't told me how we're going to win? There's only one month left, is it even possible?"

"I don't know, let's see how much time he can dedicate to training." Su Jin unbuckled her seatbelt, lost in thought. "Maybe you should stop him from driving unlicensed taxis. He's always sleep-deprived at night, and he's too tired to drive during the day, which is dangerous."

Tu Ying's eyes darted around, and she pinched her fingers together as if counting the days.

"Okay, I'll go ask. Don't leave, stay and have dinner."

Su Jin readily agreed. Even if she was angry with Zhou Zheng, she couldn't let the food he cooked go wrong.

She absolutely had to get a free meal at this restaurant.

When Tu Ying entered the kitchen, she saw Zhou Zheng tossing the wok with one hand in his pocket. His handsome back view could be used as a cover photo.

"Chef Zhou is busy."

"Spit it out," Zhou Zheng said without turning his head.

He knew Tu Ying too well; the moment Tu Ying's tone changed, he knew Tu Ying had something to say.

"Oh, I just wanted to ask you, has Grandpa Fang been discharged from the hospital? He was supposed to have surgery, is it done now? How is his recovery?" Tu Ying asked cautiously.

Zhou Zheng never reports bad news. Wang Tianle only found out about Grandpa Fang's surgery from his father; otherwise, neither of them would have known.

Zhou Zheng didn't borrow money from them. The hospital required a deposit of 100,000 yuan for the surgery. If he was admitted to the ICU after the surgery, the daily cost would start at 10,000 yuan. His available savings were not enough after the deposit, so he worked odd jobs everywhere to earn money.

He worked tirelessly for jobs that paid quickly. After finishing his work, he would go to the hospital to take care of his grandfather, so he was too exhausted to rest.

Even though Wang Tianle and Tu Ying both said they could scrape together tens of thousands of yuan for him to use, Zhou Zheng never accepted it.

"The recovery is going well. My condition wasn't good after the surgery, and I stayed in the ICU for a few days before being transferred to a regular ward a few days ago," Zhou Zheng said calmly.

Tu Ying breathed a sigh of relief for him. "Do you have enough money? Do you still need to take those tiring jobs? Or, why don't you take a break?"