Night Rose

Su Jin rolled down the car window and peeked out. "Give him a call. He was so worried when I was in New York. He's gone now that I'm back. That's so strange."

Zhou Zheng took out his phone and called him. After the phone rang for a while, he slowly answered.

"Boss Tu, didn't I tell you to wait at the tavern? Why did you just leave without a word?"

No one spoke. After a long silence, Zhou Zheng sensed something was wrong. He frowned and asked in a low voice, "Who are you? Where's Tu Ying? What did you do to him?"

"Relax, he's just drunk, listen." A familiar voice came from the other end of the phone. Although it was a little distorted, Zhou Zheng immediately recognized it as Wu Ting's voice.

The phone was placed near Tu Ying's mouth. He was drunk and slumped on the table, muttering, "Drink, keep drinking!"

"You heard that? He's safe." Wu Ting chuckled, swirling his wine glass, then changed the subject, "But if you still don't listen to my advice, then who knows what might happen to him."

"Where are you?!" Zhou Zheng asked through gritted teeth, his hands clenched into fists, wishing he could punch Wu Ting over the phone.

He knew Wu Ting wouldn't give up easily, but he never expected that he would actually dare to harm the people around him.

"Don't get excited. I just told Boss Tu that I wanted to discuss a car team collaboration, and he came running over like a puppy. I didn't force him," Wu Ting said.

Zhou Zheng had his back to Su Jin, not wanting her to see his impending outburst of emotions. He was tense all over, trying his best to control his emotions.

"Come at me if you dare!"

"I don't have the ability to persuade the young master to come, so I had to ask Boss Tu to come and talk about serious business. Even if the business doesn't work out, we can still be on good terms."

"In the end, it's just about getting me to go back to the Zhou family home for that meal."

"Yes, what's your decision now? If you agree, I'll send someone to properly send Boss Tu back first thing tomorrow morning."

Zhou Zheng took a deep breath and then exhaled heavily, "When?"

"I'll pick you up tomorrow night. Don't bring your girlfriend; Mr. Zhou won't be satisfied."

To hell with it, does Zhou Zheng's girlfriend need Zhou Ruian's approval?

Zhou Zheng hung up the phone. Before getting back into his car, he took several deep breaths to suppress his resentment before opening the car door and getting in.

"What's wrong? You don't look well. What did Boss Tu say?" Su Jin touched his face.

Zhou Zheng shook his head. "It's nothing. Tu Ying went drinking with some people again. Someone else answered the phone and said he was drunk and won't be coming back today."

"It's alright, we can discuss it another day. There's no rush, so don't get worked up," Su Jin said gently.

Zhou Zheng gave a perfunctory reply and drove Su Jin home.

"You go up first. Grandpa is at home. I can't stay at your house all the time without going home myself."

Seeing that his complexion hadn't improved, Su Jin took his hand. "Let's go upstairs and get some water. You still look terrible. What happened?"

Zhou Zheng shook his head again. He didn't know how to explain his complicated family situation to Su Jin, and he didn't want to involve her.

If Su Jin were the one being held captive by Wu Ting today, he would truly go insane.

He didn't want to talk about it, and Su Jin didn't press him, leading him upstairs.

The house is regularly cleaned, so there's not much dust.

There was fresh boiled water in the kettle. She made Zhou Zheng a cup of honey water. When she took the cup out, she saw that Zhou Zheng was sitting there very tensely, his back arched as if in an attack posture.

Zhou Zheng felt terrible, and even the tip of his tongue tasted bitter.

He finally understood why Su Jin had kept her identity a secret from him. There are too many things in this world that are beyond our control, and telling others would only add to their worries.

As soon as the honey water entered his mouth, he tasted its sweetness, which immediately masked the bitterness on his tongue.

He looked up at Su Jin, who was worried about him, took a deep breath, and said, "Su Jin, didn't you want to go home to see your mother and grandmother? Why don't you go home first? There's no rush with Boss Tu. He's been very busy lately and doesn't have time to see us."

Su Jin's intuition told her that something was wrong with Zhou Zheng; he had been acting strangely ever since he returned from the tavern.

Advising her to go home at this time would seem like deliberately trying to get her away.

"Zhou Zheng, tell me if anything's wrong, and I'll face it with you. I've been honest with you about my situation, but when are you going to tell me about yours? Or are you going to keep it from me forever?" Su Jin said softly.

Zhou Zheng's eyes were bloodshot, and his sharp lips were tightly pursed, indicating that he had no intention of revealing his secrets to her.

Su Jin sighed, stepped forward and hugged his head. His head rested against her softest part of her abdomen, giving her a strange warmth.

Su Jin gently stroked his stubble. "Okay, I won't pressure you, but I'll wait for you to tell me on your own, okay? I'm going home now. If you don't want to tell me something, then you'll have to handle it yourself. Can you handle it well?"

Zhou Zheng didn't speak, he just nodded stiffly.

"Good, very good." Su Jin rubbed his ears and laughed crisply.

"I'm not a dog," Zhou Zheng said in a muffled voice.

"Why didn't you say you weren't a dog when you bit me? Your bite hurts so much," Su Jin retorted.

He looked at Su Jin with a resentful expression, "Does it really hurt?"

Su Jin laughed until her cheeks were puffed out, and answered seriously, "Yes, it hurts a lot."

"Then I'll use less force next time," Zhou Zheng said.

Su Jin was both amused and exasperated, suspecting that Zhou Zheng was actually a puppy who liked to chew on people's bones. He wouldn't draw blood, but he would leave his mark, otherwise he wouldn't give up.

Su Jin reached for her phone, but after only a few steps, Zhou Zheng pulled her back and made her sit on his lap.

Zhou Zheng hugged her waist like a koala, resting his big head on her shoulder.

Su Jin gave the big dog a good tug, wrapped her arms around its neck, and swiped her train ticket home.

Nanyuan is only two hours away from home by high-speed rail, with many trains available. She chose a time that suited her and booked a ticket.

"Then I'll go home tomorrow, I happen to have a train ticket. Are you leaving today? It might be another week before I see you again." Su Jin pressed her cheek against his.

Zhou Zheng hesitated for only one second between going home and not going home, then said, "I'm not going back."

"Can Grandpa manage by himself?" Su Jin asked.

"Okay, Grandpa is in good health. He goes out every day to stroll around and play chess with his friends. If I didn't urge him at home, he would be even less home than me."

"Your personality is quite like your grandfather's. He goes out to play chess every day, and you go out to find me every day." Su Jin breathed into his ear.

Zhou Zheng reacted immediately. Su Jin was straddling his lap, and since they were already very close, they would sense any slight movement from her.

Besides, Zhou Zheng was at the age of youthful vigor, and every breath she took seemed to be teasing him.

Su Jin sensed his change, punched his shoulder, and said with a laugh, "Little brother, are you getting too hot-tempered?"

"It's because my sister is too charming." Zhou Zheng picked her up and carried her to the room.

Su Jin closed the door behind her, reminding Zhou Zheng before he lost control.

"Zhou Zheng, I'll be home tomorrow. If you leave any marks, my mom will definitely punish me!"

"Know."

……