Night Rose

In that instant, countless thoughts flashed through my mind.

She should have pretended not to see it and pushed the drawer back; there were obviously no photo albums inside, and she shouldn't have touched other people's things without permission.

But she became curious about the plane ticket. Whose ticket was it? And where was it going?

Zhou Zheng was cooking in the kitchen, and her grandfather was looking for photo albums in the cabinet next to the sofa. No one noticed her standing there in a daze.

Su Jin stared at the plane ticket, her actions faster than her brain, and reached out to pull it out.

She clutched the worn-out plane ticket in her hand, and Su Jin's fingers trembled.

The passenger's name was Zhou Zheng, and he flew from Nanyuan to New York!

Su Jin glanced at the time without much hope; it was just two days before she met that scoundrel.

Is all of this a coincidence, or... is it really him?

"Xiao Su, I found it, come and see!" Grandpa called to her.

Su Jin's hand trembled as she held the plane ticket. She hurriedly stuffed the ticket into the drawer and fled in a panic.

She sat next to her grandfather, her eyes looking at the photo album, but she couldn't hear anything; she kept thinking about the plane tickets.

Grandpa opened the photo album and introduced it to her, "Xiao Zheng came to live in Nanyuan with me when he was ten years old. The photos here are only from before he was ten."

"Why ten years old?" Su Jin asked casually.

Grandpa smiled helplessly, "Because his father doesn't care about him. How can such a young child be left unattended? So I brought him back."

Su Jin didn't ask about his mother. According to his maternal grandfather, his mother either remarried or left.

The fact that the child was raised by his maternal grandfather suggests that his mother likely passed away when he was young.

Su Jin felt a pang of heartache. Her thoughts stopped dwelling on what had just happened and she focused on looking at the photo album, listening to her grandfather tell her about Zhou Zheng's childhood.

Zhou Zheng's childhood was not tragic because of his parents' situation; he was well taken care of by his maternal grandfather.

Zhou Zheng, a primary school student, is a cool guy. He holds a gun in his hand and looks at the camera with a cold expression. Next to the camera, there is another gun of the same model but a different color, which is held by a hand that looks like a white lotus root.

"Is this Little Fatty?" Su Jin asked, pointing to the severed arm in confusion.

Grandpa nodded and replied with a smile, "Yes, you know Little Fatty too?"

"Um……"

Su Jin thought to herself, "Today's events are also related to Little Fatty."

"It seems you and Xiao Zheng have a really good relationship. He has never brought any friends home," Grandpa said.

As expected, I was misunderstood.

Su Jin quickly explained, "He and I are really just colleagues."

Grandpa was skeptical, but glanced at the kitchen. "A colleague? A colleague will do."

Su Jin was both amused and exasperated. She continued looking at the other photos, but before the two could finish reviewing Zhou Zheng's childhood, Zhou Zheng himself came out with the dishes, interrupting them.

"Stop looking at my embarrassing past, wash your hands and eat."

"Hey, Zhou Zheng, look at this picture. You were already this fierce when you were little, it's so funny." Su Jin pointed to a photo in the album and showed it to him.

Zhou Zheng glanced at it out of the corner of his eye. It was during his rebellious middle school years. Back then, he had a buzz cut, and his youthful face with a buzz cut made him look like a street thug.

"..."

Zhou Zheng snatched the photo album and placed it on top of the highest cabinet, silently announcing that only he could touch it from now on.

Grandpa chased after Zhou Zheng and scolded him, but Zhou Zheng ignored him and handed his grandfather a bowl of bone broth.

"If you don't finish your drink, you can forget about going for a walk today."

He shut up his grandfather's words and angrily returned to the dining table.

After finishing their meal, each with their own thoughts, Zhou Zheng put down his bowl and gestured for Su Jin to speak.

Su Jin suddenly opened her eyes wide and pointed at herself.

me?

Zhou Zheng nodded without hesitation.

Ok.

Su Jin twitched her lips, took a deep breath, and turned to her grandfather with a smile, "Grandpa, I have something to tell you."

"You're too kind. What's the matter?" Grandpa asked kindly.

Su Jin advised Zhou Zheng to tell his grandfather about this. She had already prepared a draft on the way here, fearing that Zhou Zheng might back out at the last minute.

"As you know, Zhou Zheng and I are colleagues, but he has never told you what he does, so let me introduce him to you."

Zhou Zheng and I are currently working for a racing team. There's a rally race in a few days, and he'll be participating as a driver. I think the family needs to know about this, since there are risks involved.

Now that you know, do you agree to let him go?

"Grandpa, I..." Zhou Zheng wanted to add.

Grandpa chuckled, interrupting him, "I thought it was something serious! You don't think I don't know, do you?"

This time, it was their turn to be stunned.

Grandpa already knew? When did that happen?

Su Jin glared at him, her eyes condemning Zhou Zheng.

Grandpa already knew, are you kidding me? Are you deliberately trying to embarrass me?

Zhou Zheng frowned. "Grandpa, how did you know? Who told you?"

"Does that even need to be said? It was on TV, and I saw there was a team called 'I Miss You,' a really cheesy and corny name, the same as Tu Ying's tavern. Then I looked closer at the team name, and it was you!" Grandpa shrugged.

"Besides, Nanyuan is such a small place. Everyone already knows about Tu Ying's caravan project; it's been circulating everywhere. You think you can hide it from me?"

Zhou Zheng hadn't expected this. He glanced back at the TV, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

He always thought it was a secret that he was going to participate in the rally race, but it turned out that the old man already knew.

"You don't object?"

"What am I against? You played go-karting for years when you were a kid and won championships every time. Do I need to worry about that?" Grandpa laughed.

The process of confessing went much more smoothly than the two of them had imagined.

Su Jin also heard the key point.

How many years have you been playing go-karting? This guy still isn't telling the truth.

Even if Zhou Zheng had told her back then, she might not have believed it.

Go-karting is not an activity that an ordinary family can sustain for several years. He only started playing with his maternal grandfather when he was ten years old. So what was his role before he was ten?

What was his identity on that plane ticket to New York?

Could the person I'm meeting really be Zhou Zheng?

After dinner, Zhou Zheng first took Su Jin back. The stairwell was already dark, and it was hard to see the path underfoot.

"I'll go ahead. The light on the second floor is broken, and they haven't had time to fix it yet," Zhou Zheng said.

He extended his hand, gesturing for Su Jin to place her hand on his.

In the darkness, Su Jin quietly put her phone back into her bag and grasped Zhou Zheng's wrist.

His body temperature was very high, and his wrists were strong, making me feel very safe holding them.

After walking up and down a few flights of stairs, Su Jin reached a corner and suddenly sensed that the person in front of her had stopped.

"you……"

Zhou Zheng turned around, and in the dim moonlight outside the window, his eyes shone brightly, penetrating to the heart.

Su Jin's throat tightened, and she couldn't say anything.

"Why were you nervous when you saw that plane ticket?" Zhou Zheng took a step forward, compressing Su Jin's space until her back was almost touching the wall.

Su Jin tensed her back, unwilling to touch the wall, but fortunately Zhou Zheng did not continue to press her forward.

"You saw it?!"

"Yes, I saw it," Zhou Zheng said softly.

Su Jin didn't dare look into his eyes. Her gaze lingered on his Adam's apple, then she turned her head and swept it across his jaw.

Why are you asking that? Is it important?

In the darkness, being stared at like that, the gaze sweeping across his face as if it were tangible.

Zhou Zheng took a deep breath, gently grasped her chin with his palm, and forced her to look at him.

"Was it you?"

"?!"