A Love Confession - Chapter 9

Chapter 9 - How Can Someone Be So Bad

The male student stood chatting with Xu Sui, his back turned to the green bus stop sign. As Xu Sui inadvertently glanced past his shoulder, her body lurched forward, and she only regained her balance when Shi Yuejie grabbed her by the elbow.

Murmuring a low word of thanks, Xu Sui withdrew her arm. With a flustered look in her eyes, Shi Yuejie followed her gaze and turned his head to look.

With his hands shoved deep in his pockets, Zhou Jingze was walking toward them leisurely. Beneath a black duckbill cap was a devil-may-care face, and as he chewed on a piece of peppermint candy, a lazy smile hung on his lips.

The smile on Shi Yuejie's face receded slightly the moment he caught sight of Zhou Jingze, returning to normal only when Zhou Jingze reached them.

"Why did you come here?" Xu Sui looked up to ask him.

"Looking for someone." Zhou Jingze lowered his head to look at her.

Sensing that the atmosphere felt somewhat off and wanting to break the awkwardness by introducing the two of them, Shi Yuejie took the initiative with a warm smile: "Jingze, long time no see."

Xu Sui widened her eyes slightly, confusion shining in her clean pupils: "You guys... know each other?"

Shi Yuejie nodded and was about to describe their relationship when Zhou Jingze pressed the tip of his tongue against the peppermint candy, crunching down on it with a crisp sound as the powdery fragments dissolved between his teeth and lips. He let out a soft scoff, his tone nonchalant:

"It's more than just knowing each other. What kind of relationship do you think we have?"

Zhou Jingze stared straight at Shi Yuejie like a concealed sword. Left stranded in the spotlight, Shi Yuejie hesitated for a long time before finally squeezing out two words: "Friends."

Hearing this, the corners of Zhou Jingze's mouth ticked upward into a mocking arc, though he ultimately said nothing more.

With Zhou Jingze forcefully inserting himself into the dynamic, his formidable presence hung heavy between the two of them, leaving Shi Yuejie at a loss for words. Turning to Xu Sui, he said, "You can rest easy about that matter; your exam score has been entered normally as well."

Xu Sui nodded. When Shi Yuejie hesitated for a moment before leaving, he still gave her shoulder a light pat, smiled, and said "I'm heading out." Zhou Jingze let out an extremely faint scoff, saying nothing at all.

After Shi Yuejie left, Zhou Jingze leaned against the bus stop sign, fished out a box of compressed lozenges, and shook out a peppermint candy. Lowering his head to peel off the packaging paper, the sharp, rugged line of his jaw remained completely rigid as he kept silent.

Afraid that he might misunderstand, Xu Sui stammered out an explanation: "That just now was my proctoring senior. Because... an accident happened during the exam..." Driven by a certain impulse, Xu Sui did not tell Zhou Jingze who the person framing her actually was.

"A senior, huh," Zhou Jingze chewed leisurely on the three words before shifting the topic a moment later, "Is the matter resolved?"

"I suppose so." Mentioning this immediately sapped Xu Sui's energy.

Once the exam concluded, Shi Yuejie had applied to enter the surveillance room. Reviewing the examination hall video playback back and forth for over two hours, he identified the real cheater before contacting the Academic Affairs Office and the parties involved.

The matter was successfully resolved in the end, though that student preferred to accept a disciplinary record rather than offer an apology. Having suffered framed accusations for no reason, Xu Sui felt the whole ordeal was somewhat stifling.

Still, Xu Sui felt grateful to Shi Yuejie. Unaccustomed to owing favors to others, she had told him he could name any request he wanted. Shi Yuejie couldn't decline gracefully and simply asked her to treat him to milk tea, which led directly to the scene Zhou Jingze had just run into.

Just as Xu Sui wanted to say something, a teacher messaged her telling her to come to the office to pick up some copied test papers. Catching sight of her hesitant look, Zhou Jingze flicked her forehead: "Go on and hurry up, I have things to do myself anyway."

After Xu Sui left, Zhou Jingze lit a cigarette while standing at the bus stop. Dragging out his phone, he made a call, hung up, logged into WeChat, and located Bai Yuyue's avatar.

The chat history between the two of them still lingered on last Sunday, with the message Bai Yuyue had sent:

--I saw you drop Xu Sui back at school.

Zhou Jingze had never replied. As slanting threads of rain drifted across, he wiped away the moisture on the screen with his thumb, staring thoughtfully at the words above.

After helping the teacher sort out the test papers in the office, Xu Sui returned to the dormitory. The moment she pushed the door open, 1017 trotted over and began meowing at her.

Bai Yuyue was brushing her hair when she suddenly slammed her wooden comb onto the desk with a sharp "thwack," her tone distinctly unpleasant: "So noisy."

Ignoring her entirely, Xu Sui unwrapped cat food, poured it into the bowl to feed the cat, and completely shut Bai Yuyue out of her awareness. Having her irritation bounce back like a damp squib left Bai Yuyue fuming all over as she opened her mouth to speak.

With a "ding," the phone screen resting on the desk lit up. Picking it up and opening WeChat, Bai Yuyue saw a message sent by Zhou Jingze: [Come out for a bit.]

Upon catching sight of this message, Bai Yuyue's eyes lit up instantly. She hurriedly cleared off her desk and began touching up her makeup, her brows and eyes unable to conceal a bubbling, irrepressible joy.

Quickly pulling herself together, Bai Yuyue even changed into a fleece half-length skirt that accentuated her curves, looking gorgeous and sultry. As she headed out the door, she ran right into Liang Shuang, who was just returning.

"Where are you off to, dressed up looking so pretty?" Liang Shuang asked.

"Naturally, I'm going on a date called by someone important," Bai Yuyue said, shooting a sideways glance back at Xu Sui as she spoke.

Just as the orange cat finished eating, Xu Sui was in the midst of unboxing goat's milk to pour into the dish, and at those words, her hand shook slightly. Fresh milk splashed onto the floor, prompting the kitten to immediately lower its head and lick it clean.

Ever since she and Zhou Jingze broke up, Bai Yuyue had remained single. The only person capable of effortlessly manipulating Bai Yuyue's moods like this was probably Zhou Jingze.

So the person Zhou Jingze mentioned looking for this morning turned out to be Bai Yuyue. Her heart suddenly twisted into a tight knot, and her eyes began to smart as she zoned out, staring fixedly at a single spot.

After sitting in a daze for ten minutes, unwilling to let herself wallow in such a listless state, Xu Sui rose to tidy up a few books, deciding that heading to the library to occupy herself with something else was far better than letting her imagination run wild.

Clutching a stack of books, Xu Sui headed downstairs, where a chilling gust of wind assaulted her, causing her shoulders to shiver involuntarily. The rain had already stopped, leaving the ground damp and slick. Xu Sui walked along a tree-lined path, descended a flight of steps, and continued straight to the left.

The library sat at quite a distance from the female dormitories. After traversing the pathway, one still had to cross a garden. With the temperature drop, the garden held very few people; clusters of roses bloomed within, flanked by two rows of brown wooden benches facing each other with handrails stained by red rust.

Barely had Xu Sui taken a few steps when she caught the sound of an argument. Involuntarily halting her stride, she peered through a thicket of wild roses and spotted two figures locked in a dispute.

Dropping her pitch-black eyelashes, Xu Sui thought that the heavens truly loved to toy with her—just how many times was she destined to bump into Zhou Jingze with other girls?

To be precise, it was Bai Yuyue carrying out a one-sided accusation.

Standing before Zhou Jingze without a shred of her usual arrogant demeanor, Bai Yuyue let tears stream down her face unchecked as she lowered her head: "I was wrong... can we make up and be together again?"

Zhou Jingze remained silent. Amidst his silence, Bai Yuyue's emotions spiraled out of control once more: "Didn't I apologize to you! Weren't you ever sincere toward me when we were together?"

"You... still like me, don't you?" A hollow resonance choked Bai Yuyue's voice. Clinging to him like a drowning person grabbing a straw, she violently yanked open the front of her knit blouse, revealing a pale expanse of skin stretching from her collarbone down to her chest in a stark, arresting visual.

Trembling hands reached out to grab Zhou Jingze's hands, forcing them against her chest without a shred of self-respect as she wept: "Didn't you say that you... liked touching me the most?"

Watching her in silence without uttering a single word, Zhou Jingze ultimately only raised his hands to straighten her clothes, his distinct-jointed fingers pulling the zipper back up into place. Xu Sui caught sight of the black mole on the web of his thumb lingering against the girl's shoulder.

The sky hung gray overhead. Clad in a flight jacket whose shoulders had already darkened from moisture, Zhou Jingze listened to the whole tirade from start to finish, accepting every accusation—good or bad—without protest. He offered only a single sentence, spoken very slowly:

"Bai Yuyue, don't do things that cheapen yourself."

Finally shattering completely, Bai Yuyue shook uncontrollably from her shoulders down, sobbing so hard she could no longer speak. She finally accepted her defeat, knowing full well there was no longer any hope for her with Zhou Jingze.

Taking a step forward, Bai Yuyue walked over a dozen paces away. Zhou Jingze stood rooted to the spot and called out to her: "Think over what I just said."

The departing figure stiffened for a fraction of a second before finally walking away without once turning back.

Clad in black trousers and short boots, Zhou Jingze stood there looking tall and striking. Tapping the tip of his shoe lightly against the ground, he let out a scoff: "Stop hiding and come out."

Her heart jolted. Clutching her books tighter, Xu Sui shuffled outward a couple of steps and offered an explanation: "I didn't mean to overhear."

Turning around, Zhou Jingze said lazily: "What can we do about that? We've already broken up, and on top of that, you caught us—makes it sting even more."

"I'm sorry." Xu Sui searched for words.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Zhou Jingze stepped toward her one pace at a time, his gaze locked straight onto Xu Sui. Stopping right in front of her, the distance between them closed so much that their foreheads felt on the verge of colliding.

The scent of cigarette smoke radiating from him washed over her, and that crisp, biting aura sent Xu Sui's heart into a panic. She instinctively stepped backward, prompting Zhou Jingze to close the distance by advancing a step further.

Leaning down to look at her with dark, stone-like eyes, Zhou Jingze wore a look tinged with slight flippancy and nonchalance: "How about you step in and take her place?"

Warm breath brushed against her ear, leaving Xu Sui's earlobes itching fiercely. Under Zhou Jingze's intense scrutiny, her face flushed visibly red right before his eyes—resembling a drop of crimson pigment splashing onto transparent oiled paper, spreading rapidly from her cheeks all the way to the back of her ears with an almost luscious, tempting vibrancy.

Seeing Xu Sui stay mute, Zhou Jingze pressed closer still, lifting his brow bone slightly as he prompted: "Hm?"

"I... I..." Overwhelmed by both nervousness and acute shyness, Xu Sui took several stumbling steps backward, inadvertently rustling the rose bushes until a flurry of petals dropped and rustled around them. The dim light shrouded the space, making the air feel as though something was crackling and burning away.

Standing right in front of her as he leaned in closer, Zhou Jingze presented a clear view of his high-bridged nose and thin lips pressing downward inch by inch, close enough for her to count his pitch-black eyelashes.

Her heart leaped straight to her throat, filled with a mixture of terror and a faint, hidden anticipation.

Instead, Zhou Jingze leaned down further, extending his thumb and index finger to pluck a rose petal resting against her shoulder, and unexpectedly popped it straight into his mouth. With the red petal pinned against his lips, he slowly chewed and ground it down, amusement flickering deep within his dark eyes.

It felt both eccentric and laced with a streak of pure malice.

Letting out a heavy breath of relief, Xu Sui panted softly. At the same time, the stack of books clutched tightly in her arms slipped with a rustle, scattering onto the ground as more petals drifted down softly onto both their shoulders.

"Just teasing you." The teasing glint in Zhou Jingze's eyes was unmistakable.

"We're going out for dinner tonight, Xixi knows." Plucking another petal off, he lightly rolled it between his fingertips.

Xu Sui nodded. After Zhou Jingze walked away, she propped her hands against her knees and continued catching her breath in small gasps. Watching his casual, departing figure, she couldn't help thinking: How could someone be so bad?

He was like poison—a single casual word could get a person hooked, dragging them into a dream world before plunging them straight into hell the very next second, forcing them wide awake.