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The commotion lasted for a long time, even catching the attention of Zhen Chuang, who was across the street.
Zhou Cong’s head was pounding. It took some effort before he could finally shake off Ji Huailuo.
As he was heading back to his room, he had to pass by the wooden stairs leading up to the second floor. His eyes narrowed when he saw the girl huddled in the corner, hidden in the shadows.
“…” Zhou Cong almost burst out laughing from the frustration. “Why are you hiding here?”
Xu Zhiqiao trembled, “My brother sent me a message asking me to come. I heard you two fighting… I was too scared to come in.”
“…”
Silence.
After a while, Zhou Cong waved his hand at her, “Come to my room.”
Xu Zhiqiao took a step back, “What is it?”
Zhou Cong was blunt, “That message was from me.”
“…”
“You blocked me, remember?” Zhou Cong said patiently. “I had no choice but to use your brother’s phone to send it. Then he found out, and because of the nonsense you said, he misunderstood.”
“…”
Was this her fault?
Couldn’t he just ask to borrow the phone openly?
It was late at night, and he sneaked into someone’s room without any notice.
Even a ghost would misunderstand.
Xu Zhiqiao asked hesitantly, “Is it something I can talk about here?”
Zhou Cong licked his lips in anger, “No.”
“…”
“The door’s open,” Zhou Cong sighed, “If you need anything, just shout and have your brother come beat me up. Deal?”
Xu Zhiqiao glanced at him and reluctantly agreed.
However, as soon as she entered the room, Zhou Cong quickly locked the door behind her.
Xu Zhiqiao: “…”
“Scared?” The man asked knowingly, his expression arrogant and teasing, “If you’re scared and still not learning, then you deserve to be bullied.”
Xu Zhiqiao took two steps back, nearly bumping into the window. “What exactly do you want to do?”
Zhou Cong sneered, “I want you to be cautious! To have some self-control!”
“…” Xu Zhiqiao’s brain went blank. “If you don’t tell me, I’ll really shout.”
Zhou Cong hummed in his throat, pointing toward the coffee table with his chin, “Drink it.”
There was a white porcelain cup on the coffee table, steam rising from the top.
Xu Zhiqiao asked, “What is this?”
Zhou Cong replied, “Sugar water.”
Xu Zhiqiao hummed and walked over to pick up the porcelain cup, cupping it in her hands and sipping from it.
The brown sugar water was sweet, and the porcelain cup was warm, making her slightly cold body feel comforted.
Zhou Cong crossed his arms, leaning against the wall, “There’s medicine in it.”
“…”
Xu Zhiqiao froze, the water still in her mouth.
Zhou Cong sneered, “What, is Ji Huailuo the one in your head?”
She was such a fool, acting like a bigger fool.
Even though she knew she was tricked into drinking the water he prepared, she still went ahead and drank it.
The last time might have been an accident, but now… she was asking for trouble.
Xu Zhiqiao didn’t react much. Her once small courage had now turned into a kind of recklessness. No matter how clever or careful she was, she couldn’t outsmart him.
She simply sat on the couch, holding the porcelain cup, sipping the sugar water little by little.
If he had the guts to kill her, then so be it.
“…” Zhou Cong was so angry he started laughing, walking two steps to squat down in front of her. “Did Ye Shuanglu bully you?”
Xu Zhiqiao paused for a moment, “When did this happen?”
“You’re asking me?” Zhou Cong said sarcastically, “Who was that green tea calling out? She didn’t give you sanitary pads, huh?”
“…”
Zhou Cong continued, “You’re just going to let that slide? You didn’t come to me to settle this?”
“Brother,” Xu Zhiqiao said slowly, “Those sanitary pads were hers. She didn’t give them to me, so there’s nothing wrong with her. How are you so sure that the ‘green tea’ was talking about me?”
“…”
Zhou Cong was stunned into silence.
Xu Zhiqiao continued, “When my brother complained to you today, he said, ‘She didn’t say anything, yet she got angry,’ that sounds more like green tea behavior, doesn’t it? Maybe she was scolding my brother, especially considering how close you two are. It’s pretty ambiguous.”
“…” Zhou Cong’s eyelids twitched. “You dared to say that to your brother?”
Xu Zhiqiao nodded.
Zhou Cong was speechless.
Right.
What couldn’t she say?
She even dared to set them both up, so why should she be afraid of a single sentence?
But when had this girl become so bold?
When she first arrived at the Ji family, she had been enduring in silence. But now, just three months later, she had become so daring.
“Xu Zhiqiao,” he called out coldly.
The girl’s soft lips were moist, looking young and tender.
Zhou Cong couldn’t help but think of Wei Long’s words.
“My father is pretty good,” he suddenly blurted out.
Xu Zhiqiao: “… What?”
“My father,” Zhou Cong felt like he had lost his mind. “He’s pretty good.”
“… Then you should cherish him.”
“…” Zhou Cong swallowed, his throat tightening. “Don’t you want him?”
Xu Zhiqiao’s pupils shrank, “Are you selling your father?”
Zhou Cong: “…”
What kind of crazy talk was he saying?
Zhou Cong laughed at himself, realizing how absurd it all was.
“I have to go,” Xu Zhiqiao placed the porcelain cup back on the coffee table, “Xu Biezheng is waiting for me to put him to bed.”
“…”
Xu Zhiqiao calmly opened the door and walked out.
The bedroom returned to silence, the faint scent of milk lingering in the air.
Zhou Cong once again felt like he had lost his mind.
In the middle of the night, he had stirred up so much, yet it seemed like he had accomplished nothing.
The sugar water in the porcelain cup was still half full. Zhou Cong casually wrapped his hand around it, staring at the ripples as it swayed.
He didn’t know when his phone rang.
It was from Old Master Zhou.
Zhou Cong leaned back on the couch, holding the porcelain cup in one hand, and leisurely sipped it.
Too sweet.
“You’re still not asleep at this hour?” He drawled lazily, “Did you call to find my grandmother?”
Old Master Zhou was furious about Ye Shuanglu’s incident and yelled into the phone.
Zhou Cong took another sip of sugar water, still calm, “The person looks like you, I refused, you’re responsible for this.”
The phone erupted with another round of angry scolding.
Zhou Cong chuckled, “I’m only 22, and you’re already urging me to give you a great-grandson. You can’t even get one.”
“If you push me too hard, I’ll go for men.”
“Your taste this time isn’t great.”
“Wait, I’ll hurry up and tell your son and daughter-in-law to have the second one.”
After going in circles, the conversation ended with Old Master Zhou slamming the phone down in a fit of rage.
Zhou Cong wasn’t one to let things go. He called Zhou Hezheng instead. “Busy?”
Zhou Hezheng: “What’s your problem?”
“Are you okay?” Zhou Cong asked in a lazy tone, “It’s a good night, but you still have time to answer my calls?”
“…”
Zhou Cong continued, “Hurry up, I’m hoping for good news from my mom, Madam Wu.”
Zhou Hezheng groaned, “Stop messing around. Your mom’s in a bad mood these days. Don’t provoke her.”
Zhou Cong snorted lightly, “What’s wrong with Madam Wu?”
“They called from the nursing home. Your aunt’s condition isn’t too good,” Zhou Hezheng said. “Your mom plans to go see her.”
When it came to serious matters, Zhou Cong’s expression changed. “I’ll go with her.”
“Good,” Zhou Hezheng said. “It’s time for you to accompany her. When you were little, after that car accident, if it wasn’t for your aunt shielding you, you would have been disfigured.”