A Love Confession - Chapter 6

Chapter 6 - Green Peppermint Candy

"Thank you." Xu Sui picked up the water beside her, quickly tilting her head back to drink in order to avoid Zhou Jingze's gaze. After gulping down a few mouthfuls of water, her throat felt slightly better.

"Are you heartbroken?" Hu Xixi asked.

"Him?" Sheng Nanzhou let out a cold laugh, turned around to get close to Zhou Jingze, and began roaming his hands all over his chest with an affected tone, "Shuhuan, you have no heart!"

Unfazed by the provocation, Zhou Jingze bent down to his ear and spoke in a doting tone using a breathy voice: "Be a good boy, come back tonight and I'll let you touch."

As if struck by electricity, Sheng Nanzhou yanked himself away from him, keeping his distance while cursing, "Stop fucking seducing me, I'm straight!"

"Your Master Zhou doesn't care about the breakup; losing 'Feed' hurts him a lot more," Sheng Nanzhou said.

"No way. You picked it up and only raised it for less than a month, even taking it to the hospital for shots and treatments, and it left just like that?" Hu Xixi said.

"Yeah," Zhou Jingze replied indifferently, lowering his voice to add, "An ungrateful cat."

After the group finished eating, Zhou Jingze went to the restroom behind the cafeteria to wash his hands. Coming out while pulling a paper towel from the dispenser to dry his hands, he said, "I'm heading out."

"Bye-bye, chubby girl, bye-bye, Little Sister Xu," Sheng Nanzhou waved at them with a cheeky grin.

Xu Sui nodded, while Hu Xixi immediately clenched her fist and scolded, "Bye-bye to your big fat head, who wants to see you."

After they left, Xu Sui and Hu Xixi walked side by side back to the dorm. Although they knew about the breakup between Bai Yuyue and Zhou Jingze, they decided to pretend they didn't know anything.

Because this heartbreak seemed to genuinely hit Bai Yuyue extremely hard.

A new week arrived. It had rained just the night before, and stepping out the door, the air was suffused with the scent of fresh grass mixed with the earthy tang of rain soaking into the soil.

Not long after Xu Sui boarded the bus, the weather shifted unpredictably. Moments later, the sun broke through, and glaring sunlight pierced straight through the bus windows, looking somewhat dazzling. Subconsciously, Xu Sui raised a hand to shield her eyes.

Her scheduled tutoring interview was set for four o'clock in the afternoon. Having transferred across three different buses in a row, the sweat soaking her clothes caused them to cling tightly to her back. Sitting on the bus, she was jostled so severely by the ride that she felt close to vomiting, her face pale.

Finally, Xu Sui stepped off the bus just before four o'clock. Walking into Amber Lane, she followed the address provided by the senior to search house by house for Number 79 Amber Lane.

Not long after stepping off the bus, the nausea churning inside Xu Sui's body remained severe. Walking very slowly, she suddenly spotted a convenience store not far away bearing the 711 sign, marked by a bright red number 7 right in the middle of the storefront panel, surrounded by a green border.

Xu Sui walked over, and the automatic sliding doors slowly opened with a "ding" sound.

"Welcome," a lazy, devoid-of-emotion voice rang out.

Xu Sui looked over and was surprised to find it was Zhou Jingze. The male was slumped casually in a chair behind the cash register, his dark eyelashes drooped downwards, wearing a languid, half-asleep expression.

With a cigarette clenched sideways between his teeth and his elbows bent, displaying tightly toned muscle lines, he was looking down at a mobile game. Viewed from the side, the spinous processes at the back of his neck were distinct, looking cold and alluring.

Perhaps remaining in the same posture for too long, Zhou Jingze raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. Looking up, he caught sight of Xu Sui and arched an eyebrow slightly: "How is it you?"

"I'm here for something," Xu Sui said with a slightly nervous tone.

With casual indifference, Zhou Jingze nodded and lowered his head to resume playing his game. Turning around, Xu Sui stood before a row of refrigerated display cases to pick and choose, while the sound of a "KO" from the game constantly echoed behind her. Although Zhou Jingze clearly wasn't looking at her, Xu Sui was so nervous she could barely breathe because the two of them were sharing a space alone.

For a moment, Xu Sui grew dazed, forgetting what she had even entered the convenience store to buy in the first place. The chilling air rushing out from the refrigerator swept over her, causing her to shiver with cold before she finally panicked and grabbed a carton of white peach-flavored milk.

At checkout, Zhou Jingze tossed his phone aside and stood up to scan the items. As Xu Sui paid, Zhou Jingze noticed her unusual condition; her face was exceptionally pale, making her two eyes look particularly dark and frail.

"What's wrong with you? Your complexion doesn't look too good," Zhou Jingze said in a low voice, staring straight at her.

"I get a bit carsick," Xu Sui answered.

Zhou Jingze pressed the tip of his tongue against his left cheek and chuckled, tossing out a single phrase: "Wait here."

Turning around, he fetched a zippered jacket and shook it up and down forcefully, causing a small box of compressed lozenges to drop into his palm. Popping open the lid, Zhou Jingze randomly picked out a piece, unwrapped it, and tossed it into his mouth. Rolling the candy around with the tip of his tongue, he crunched down on the peppermint lozenge with a crisp cracking sound, his words coming out slurred: "Hold out your hand."

Xu Sui's slender eyelashes trembled as she extended her palm. Suddenly, out of thin air, a handful of green peppermint candies tumbled down, clattering and scattering like a bestowal of grace upon her. Daring not to lift her head for fear of meeting his gaze, she stared blankly at his hand; the fingers were distinct at the joints, marked by a black mole right in the web of his thumb that swayed right before her eyes.

"I eat these candies a lot. They seem to help a bit with motion sickness," Zhou Jingze said, a cigarette dangling from his lips as he spoke indistinctly.

Five minutes later, Xu Sui walked out of the convenience store. Standing under the blinding sun, she tightly clutched the candies in her palm, her hands slick with sweat. That day, the searing sun felt hot enough to melt her away, yet she felt extraordinarily happy.

Xu Sui unwrapped a piece of candy, tucking the wrapper into her pocket. Even though the peppermint was thoroughly chilling, she tasted pure sweetness in it.

Who could have known that a series of coincidences orchestrated by fate would happen all on the same day? Having taken a wrong turn and wandered around for half an hour before finally locating Number 79 Amber Lane, she discovered that the property was situated right behind the 711 convenience store.

Standing at the doorway, Xu Sui politely pressed the doorbell. With an "Ah" from the other side, someone hurried over to open the door. It was opened by a middle-aged woman.

Guiding Xu Sui inside, the housekeeper led her to meet the true female homeowner. The woman appeared to be around forty years old, exquisitely beautiful, wearing a hip-hugging skirt and radiating a rich, mature charm.

"Little Xu, right? Your senior already told me. Just call me Aunt Sheng. Come on, eat some fruit—I just sliced them," the woman greeted warmly.

"Thank you," Xu Sui said, looking at her to ask, "Who is the one needing tutoring?"

"Look at my memory, I forgot to mention it. It's my younger son—I'll call him down," Aunt Sheng shouted toward the stairwell, "Sheng Jiajia, get down here right now! The new teacher is here, stop bugging your older brother to play video games."

No response.

Aunt Sheng smiled awkwardly: "Little Xu, why don't you come upstairs with me? I'd actually like to observe your trial lesson."

"Alright," Xu Sui nodded.

Following the woman upstairs, the two of them walked to the third room on the left. Standing at the doorway, Xu Sui took one glance and immediately spotted the two individuals currently playing a video game.

"Sheng Jiajia, still clinging to Brother Jingze to play games? I'll give you three seconds to roll your ass out here," Aunt Sheng said in a calm tone. "Old man Li who collects scrap metal downstairs has been wanting to take your gaming console away for a long time."

The gaming sounds abruptly cut off—

Hearing the familiar name made Xu Sui's heart skip a beat. Zhou Jingze set down his Nintendo Switch controller, turned his head around, and paused for a second before laughing. What a fucking coincidence.

"Class time," Zhou Jingze stood up and patted the kid's head.

Clinging to Zhou Jingze's trouser leg, Sheng Jiajia pleaded pitifully: "Brother, I'm begging you, carry me through just one more match."

"Not playing, you're too trash," Zhou Jingze squatted down, peeling the child's fingers away one by one as he chuckled lazily, "Go have your proper lesson."

Walking out of the room, Zhou Jingze arched an eyebrow when he saw Xu Sui. Stopping right in front of her to meet the confusion swimming in her eyes, he offered a brief explanation: "He's Sheng Nanzhou's younger brother. My family also lives near here, and the convenience store belongs to them. I'm just watching him for a bit because Aunt Sheng went out to play mahjong."

Having her shortcomings exposed by a younger generation made Aunt Sheng lose face. Shoving Zhou Jingze right out of the way, she took the initiative: "Stop blocking Teacher Little Xu from teaching!"

"Fine."

The trial lesson was relatively short; after Xu Sui taught for roughly thirty minutes, Aunt Sheng immediately declared herself satisfied, even instructing her younger son to welcome the new teacher.

Sporting a head of messy little curls, Sheng Jiajia wore an expression of intense reluctance plastered all over his chubby face, yet his mouth could only comply against his will: "Teacher Little Xu, welcome."

Xu Sui smiled. As Aunt Sheng walked her out, she took hold of Xu Sui's hand and scolded playfully: "I told you to stay for a meal."

Smiling, Xu Sui shook her head: "I still have some things to do, I need to head to the library shortly."

"Little Xu, I was thoroughly satisfied with your trial lesson just now. Sheng Jiajia has half a year left until his junior high entrance exams next year, and this kid's grades—well, raising a pig would yield better results than him. I hope you can help him out. Of course, I understand your concerns about the travel distance; getting out here really is a bit of a hassle. Why don't you think about it tonight, and you can contact your senior when you've decided?"

"Alright," Xu Sui nodded.

That evening, upon returning to the dormitory, Xu Sui found a clean glass jar and placed every single one of the peppermint candies Zhou Jingze had given her inside it. She couldn't bring herself to eat even a single one.

By ten o'clock, she was still the only one in the dorm. Resting her chin in her hands, Xu Sui stared blankly at the glass jar. Suddenly, Hu Xixi pushed the door open and walked in, asking, "Suisui, did you miss me?"

"I did," Xu Sui smiled sweetly.

"I heard from Liang Shuang today that you went for a tutoring interview. How did it go?" Hu Xixi sat down.

Pouring her a cup of water, Xu Sui thought for a moment before answering: "It went great. The funny coincidence is that the place I interviewed at happened to be Sheng Nanzhou's home, and the student I'm tutoring is his younger brother."

"Amber Lane?! Holy crap, who lured you out that far? The school is quite a distance from there, you must be exhausted, Suisui," Hu Xixi said with a look of distress. "Though Sheng Nanzhou's younger brother did seem to be looking for a tutor."

"Mm," Xu Sui replied. Remembering something, she asked Hu Xixi with a hesitation born from fear of appearing overly concerned, "Xixi, I heard Aunt Sheng mention that Zhou Jingze lives alone?"

Hu Xixi let out a sigh: "Well, their family dynamic is a bit complicated. They used to live together as a family in Amber Lane, but when he was in the third year of middle school, his mother passed away. His dad planned to move away, but Zhou Jingze refused. To this day, he still lives in that villa all by himself. Luckily, he's raised a German Shepherd since he was little, so it keeps him company."

"Is that so," Xu Sui murmured in response. She suddenly recalled how Zhou Jingze had sat on the sofa that afternoon, carrying a faint, rising smile in the depths of his eyes when Aunt Sheng urged him to stay for dinner.

Before long, the senior sent a message asking if she had considered the tutoring position. Recalling those pitch-black, silent eyes, Xu Sui edited her reply in the chat box:

I've thought about it. I want to go.