Night Rose

Zhou Zheng ruffled his hair, nodded, and said, "Okay, let's go."

"Going?" Su Jin looked at Zhou Zheng standing up in a daze, her tongue almost tied in knots. "You're going too?"

"Ah, to prevent the engineer from running back to New York with her ex-boyfriend, I have to keep an eye on her." Zhou Zheng made a "I'm watching you" gesture, bent two fingers and pointed to his eyes, then nodded at Su Jin.

Su Jin smiled, but hesitated for a few seconds before deciding that it would be safer to bring someone along.

Zhou Zheng washed his face, shaking off his drowsiness, and drove his Volkswagen back to the airport with Su Jin.

As they drove onto the elevated highway, the two of them spontaneously thought of the scene when they first met at the airport.

"Hey, why did you yell at that driver? It's the first time I've heard you speak like that, I was really afraid you were a gangster," Su Jin asked.

Zhou Zheng scoffed, "He's a repeat offender. He always harasses female customers when he picks them up at the airport, which led to the airport not allowing us to wait for customers here for a while. Everyone hates people who break industry rules."

"Oh, I see. You were so fierce back then, I almost didn't dare get in your car." Su Jin smiled, her eyes crinkling. "I never expected to pick up a race car driver after getting in the car."

"How does it feel? Don't you feel incredibly lucky?"

"Yes, I'm very lucky. If this racer wins, I'll be even luckier," Su Jin said. What she didn't say was that she wanted to take Zhou Zheng to continue participating in the race, but she didn't know if Zhou Zheng would be willing.

"Don't treat me like a wishing well," Zhou Zheng replied calmly. The atmosphere between the two had become much more harmonious than when they first met.

After chatting for a while, the airport exit was right in front of them. There were few cars at night, and Su Jin spotted the slender man at a glance.

Su Jin couldn't help but compare him to Zhou Zheng beside her. In comparison, Lu Mingzhou was far behind Zhou Zheng in terms of physique. She didn't know what she had been obsessed with for those years.

"Stop the car," Su Jin pointed to the side of the road.

Zhou Zheng followed her finger and looked over. The bespectacled man stood politely by the roadside, looking frail and unapproachable. He seemed quite mismatched with Su Jin, an engineer. He really didn't know how Su Jin could like this kind of man.

He smoothly pulled the car to the side of the road and unconsciously tapped the steering wheel a few times.

"Don't be nervous, he's just my ex-boyfriend," Su Jin breathed a sigh of relief.

"You should be less nervous. Why would I be nervous?" Zhou Zheng asked, amused.

Su Jin smiled and tilted her head to look at him, deliberately exaggerating her gaze, "I thought you were nervous. Look at the veins on your arms, they're bulging."

Zhou Zheng looked down. "Huh? There's nothing there."

Su Jin chuckled, opened the car door, and stepped out gracefully.

Lu Mingzhou saw the car approaching and took a step back.

His eyes lit up when he saw the car door open and a familiar person get out.

Having not seen Su Jin for a long time, I was still amazed by her beauty when we met again.

"Su Su." Lu Mingzhou called her softly, his voice slightly hoarse, unable to suppress his emotions.

Even after so much time has passed, he still feels a flutter in his heart for Su Jin, and his emotions are stirred by her every smile and frown.

Su Jin nodded at him, her tone indifferent, "Didn't I tell you not to come? Why did you still come?"

Lu Mingzhou's heart suddenly calmed down a lot. He was used to Su Jin's coquettish way of acting cute towards him, so he could immediately sense that something was wrong when Su Jin became cold.

He remembered the man who answered Su Jin's call, and his gaze drifted towards the driver's seat.

Zhou Zheng, in the driver's seat, did not disappoint. He got out of the car nimbly, leaned on the door, and waved to Lu Mingzhou.

Lu Mingzhou clenched his teeth instantly. As a fellow man, he immediately sensed the hostility and competitive aura emanating from the other party.

The person opposite was only dressed in a simple short-sleeved shirt and trousers, but was extremely handsome.

Lu Mingzhou originally thought that Su Jin wouldn't meet any favorites in such a small place, but when he saw Zhou Zheng, he understood why Su Jin had someone by her side, and so quickly.

"Su Su, who is he?"

These words were almost an interrogation; he had no confidence or status to ask questions, and his jealousy was taken to the extreme.

Zhou Zheng didn't speak, but instead raised an eyebrow at Su Jin.

Su Jin stood in front of Zhou Zheng, grabbed Lu Mingzhou's arm, and pushed him back a step.

"Although you have no right to ask me, in order to prevent you from finding any reason to make things up, I'll tell you the truth. He and I are just friends, so don't overthink it."

"Friend? Your friend brought you to the airport late at night? Were you together before?" Lu Mingzhou asked incredulously.

What kind of pure friendship is this? The two of them showed up together at night, and the guy even drove her there. It just doesn't seem normal.

"Would you believe me if I said we watched TV together before?" Su Jin sighed, feeling like she was being interrogated like a scumbag.

"Do you believe me, Su Jin?" Lu Mingzhou asked in return.

"I believe you," Zhou Zheng interjected at the opportune moment, raising his hand with a smile.

"Shut up!" Lu Mingzhou replied without any politeness.

Su Jin looked at him in surprise, slightly annoyed, "Where has all your self-control gone? Why are you being so harsh to him?"

"I..." Lu Mingzhou wanted to argue, but he felt a tightness in his chest. He could only glare at Zhou Zheng angrily before softening his voice, "Su Su, I just care about you too much."

He knew that Su Jin responded better to gentle persuasion than force, and that being too harsh on her would only lead to worse results.

As expected, Su Jin did not ask any further questions.

Lu Mingzhou immediately changed the subject to himself, "Su Su, I have a lot to tell you, can you give me one night?"

That's too ambiguous. As former boyfriend and girlfriend, who knows what might happen if they spend the night together?

Zhou Zheng had to admire how cunning he was.

Su Jin didn't want to argue with anyone in front of Zhou Zheng. The matter between her and Lu Mingzhou couldn't be explained in a few words while they were standing at the airport.

She pinched the bridge of her nose. "Get in the car."

Zhou Zheng's gaze deepened, and when his eyes met Lu Mingzhou's, Lu Mingzhou's lips curled into a provocative smile, before he began to fawn over Su Jin.

Lu Mingzhou opened the back door and said gently, "Su Su, sit in the back with me. I have something I want to tell you now."

"We'll talk about it when we get back."

Su Jin opened the passenger door and got in.

Zhou Zheng mockingly gave the middle finger to the back seat, out of Su Jin's sight.

As the car started moving, Su Jin rolled down the window to get some fresh air, not wanting to pay any attention to Lu Mingzhou.

"Susu, are you used to riding in this car?" Lu Mingzhou pushed up his glasses.

Su Jin was upset and didn't want to deal with his questions.

Zhou Zheng laughed twice without any emotion. "Why don't you get out of the car and walk by yourself? I'll take Su Jin back first."

"You can pull over, I'll take Su Jin to hail a taxi," Lu Mingzhou immediately replied.

Su Jin rubbed her temples. Why take a taxi? It was her first time in Nanyuan. If she hadn't met Zhou Zheng, who knows how she would have gotten to the city safely back then.

"If you want to go, go by yourself. Why are you dragging Su Jin along? She has a car, why doesn't she take it? Is she stupid? Or is your butt more precious?" Zhou Zheng retorted.

Lu Mingzhou composed himself, leaned forward slightly, and moved closer to the front seat.

"Susu, come get off the bus with me, okay?"