Night Rose

Su Jin knew exactly what he was asking, and after thinking about it, she decided not to lie to him.

"At that time, I hadn't been in contact with him for a month and a half. I told him it was a lie, but I actually sent him the breakup message on the day I returned to China."

Zhou Zheng rested his chin on his hand, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

"He can still tolerate not contacting you? Why doesn't he contact you?"

"This involves my secret. If you win the championship this time, I'll tell you." Su Jin threw away the cotton swab and sat down next to him.

"You won't say anything unless you win the championship?"

"No, I can tell you. Anyway, don't ask now."

"OK."

"And you, under what circumstances did you end up in New York? Were you with other people...?"

Zhou Zheng could tell from Su Jin's tone that she hadn't finished speaking, and she assumed that she also "played" with others in this casual way.

"I've said it before, I've only had this experience with you."

"Oh~" Su Jin responded with a long sigh, "So you were also preoccupied that day? And you broke up with your boyfriend too?"

"Do I need to emphasize this again?"

"Oh, no need."

He was an innocent man before that day; it's all her fault.

Su Jin couldn't help but cover her forehead.

"I'm going to New York to see my dad. He's busy with work and doesn't want to see me in China, so he asked me to fly over there to see him." Zhou Zheng's tone was indifferent, but you could tell he wasn't happy; in fact, he seemed a little down.

"Grandpa said your dad was very irresponsible. He didn't take good care of you when you were little, and now that you're an adult, he wants to acknowledge you as his son?" Su Jin asked.

I didn't expect him to answer, but Zhou Zheng spoke unexpectedly. Perhaps he also wanted to talk to someone, but there wasn't a suitable person.

"My dad didn't actually want to acknowledge me, but he had no choice. His youngest son had an accident; he was riding a motorcycle with someone and crashed into a tunnel wall, breaking both his testicles on the spot."

Su Jin hissed, a chill running down her spine just from hearing the description. Suddenly remembering that she had almost crippled the other woman's eldest son, she fell into an eerie silence.

"His youngest son is ruined. He's so old and can't produce a third son. He's afraid of having no one to carry on his family line," Zhou Zheng said coldly.

"So he's looking for you because he wants you to go back and carry on the family line? Is there a throne in your family to inherit?" Su Jin asked.

Zhou Zheng laughed, "Maybe the throne really needs to be inherited. I don't want any throne. I'm doing quite well in Nanyuan."

Su Jin knew Zhou Zheng's character well; he would definitely stay with his grandfather instead of going back to his unfaithful father.

If his father hadn't been unable to have children and his younger son hadn't been disabled, how could his father have remembered his eldest son who was abandoned at the age of ten?

"Zhou Zheng, don't do things you don't want to do. No one can force you." Su Jin patted his shoulder.

Zhou Zheng stared at her intently, his eyes almost overflowing with a different kind of emotion, but he managed to hold it back.

The messy sheets, the condoms in the trash can, and the scratches on his bare back—it was impossible to create a warm atmosphere.

"Alright, let's go." Zhou Zheng got up and put on his shirt.

Su Jin suddenly blurted out, "Just leaving? The room fee..."

"Are you planning to stay and enjoy the air conditioning?"

"No, that's not true. The room fee is nothing. You'll be back as soon as you win the match!" Su Jin immediately said.

The two stood side by side in the elevator, but the atmosphere was not harmonious; instead, an awkwardness permeated the air.

Su Jin bit her lip, wondering if she should say something more, but Zhou Zheng spoke first.

"Let's talk about it after the match. You said you were worried about affecting my mood. So, if you have something to say, please wait a bit."

Su Jin breathed a sigh of relief and caught the step.

"OK."

Zhou Zheng's expression was not relaxed; his jaw was clenched, and what he was thinking was: After the competition, will she reject me?

Inside the room, Su Jin's question froze him in place.

"Zhou Zheng, do you like me?"

She brazenly revealed Zhou Zheng's deepest secrets, all while wearing an innocent and indifferent expression, as if other people's sincerity was merely a temporary spice to her.

That's true. A woman as outstanding as Su Jin would have many suitors.

The seemingly frail ex-boyfriend was actually quite handsome. His expensive watch, which he casually revealed, and his well-tailored clothes all indicated that, like Su Jin, he was out of place with Nan Yuan.

Su Jin was just a butterfly that accidentally wandered into Nanyuan. She blended into the scenery, making people mistakenly believe that she originally belonged here.

In fact, she did not belong to herself, nor to Nanyuan.

She'll leave sooner or later.

The two left the hotel, and Zhou Zheng escorted Su Jin back to her place, standing downstairs watching her go upstairs.

This is just a temporary residence for Su Jin. She has rented it for two months and may leave at any time.

If Su Jin returns to New York, it seems they will never be able to see each other again.

But even if Su Jin stays in the country, will they really take a next step?

There was no time to dwell on these wonderful things; there were only five days left until the competition.

Everyone is very busy every day.

After Su Jin finished adjusting the race car, she didn't deliberately avoid Zhou Zheng and communicated with him openly, just like before. It seemed that what had happened between them had truly disappeared from her mind.

Seeing her composed demeanor, Zhou Zheng felt even more resentful and nearly doubled his training, training like a madman.

Wang Tianle was exhausted. He touched his more prominent muscles and remarked that he had really lost a lot of weight, while his brother Zhou was still training.

"Brother Zhou, why are you working so hard? Can't you take a break?"

"We must win the championship," Zhou Zheng replied, panting heavily.

"That's right, there's a lot of prize money for the champion," Wang Tianle replied cheerfully, assuming his brother was after the prize money.

Even when Zhou Zheng was desperate, he didn't know what he was thinking: whether to keep Su Jin or let her go.

Even if Su Jin stayed, there's no certainty that things would turn out well between them.

The only thing holding the two of them together now is their relationship from that night and Nam Won's current rally race.

"Take a break. You've been practicing for so long, aren't you afraid of hurting yourself?" Su Jin came over to remind her.

"Sister Su, Brother Zhou won't listen. I've been trying to persuade him for a long time. Please let him practice a little longer. It'll be time to eat soon, and he'll definitely cook then," Wang Tianle said, wiping his face.

To everyone's surprise, Zhou Zheng stopped abruptly, showing no respect whatsoever.

Su Jin smiled and tossed him a clean towel, which Zhou Zheng took and used to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"Remember to take a shower before cooking, Chef Zhou," Su Jin winked playfully.

This was an action that didn't suit Su Jin's age, but when she did it, it didn't feel out of place at all.

Zhou Zheng resignedly wiped away his sweat and took a sip of water to calm himself down.

No, what kind of race car driver trains and cooks at the same time? If it weren't for her picky eating habits, Zhou Zheng would really be too lazy to cook for them every day, especially with two people freeloading on them.

Wang Tianle leaned closer to him and whispered, "Brother Zhou, why do I feel like Sister Su has been so nice to us lately?"

"Isn't it time for a competition?" Zhou Zheng replied calmly.

"Really? Is it possible that she likes me?" Wang Tianle looked at Zhou Zheng with his big, round eyes.

Zhou Zheng couldn't hold back and gripped the water bottle tightly, squeezing out half a bottle of water and splashing it all over him.

"Swans have wings."

"What do you mean, Brother Zhou?"

"When a toad tries to eat swan meat, the swan will fly away on its own."