Chapter 61: Still Young, But Already So Ruthless

Xu Zhiqiao was dragged to the corner and scolded by Ji Huailuo for a full ten minutes.

He ranted about how he, a proper Young Master, used to be an only child. It was already bad enough to suddenly have a Little Bao for a sister, but now he couldn’t even keep a dog? And this sister of his seemed hellbent on making trouble for him—she knew perfectly well he couldn’t keep pets, yet insisted on playing with one.

He accused her of harboring ill intentions, deliberately using this method to get rid of Er De.

Xu Zhiqiao bore it silently, patiently waiting for him to finish.

Only when he finally went back inside did she raise her eyes, looking at the man standing across from her with arms folded, clearly enjoying the show.

Zhou Cong strolled over at an unhurried pace, speaking idly, “So, did I wrong you or not?”

The midday sun was warm, softening the winter chill. The dark green leaves in the Courtyard gleamed under the light.

Xu Zhiqiao was wearing that cherry-pink down jacket. Her hair fell in soft waves, and she looked at him with a mix of stubbornness and irritation.

Zhou Cong’s gaze softened. He bent down slightly to meet her eyes. “You’re not replying to my messages?”

One line after another.

“Don’t care about Xu Bie Zhen anymore?”

“Want to cut ties with me completely?”

When she heard that, Xu Zhiqiao retorted, “We were never that close to begin with.”

“Alright then,” Zhou Cong let out a low laugh. “Still young, but already so ruthless.”

“…”

Zhou Cong straightened up, and with his height advantage, cast a shadow over her. “Take the afternoon off. I’ll take you out.”

Xu Zhiqiao: “No.”

“Be good,” Zhou Cong’s expression was unreadable, but his voice was gentle. “I don’t want to force you.”

The threat and warning laced in his tone made that lingering unease flare up again—the unease he’d caused her not long ago.

Xu Zhiqiao’s eyes were misty. “Why are you always like this?”

Zhou Cong’s fingertips trembled slightly. “Then tell me. What should I be like?”

What else could he do?

It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried. Whether it was stepping back or trying to move on—he’d tried both.

Now that he finally saw a sliver of hope, she wanted to cut him off completely. He couldn’t accept that.

This man was overbearing and shameless. Xu Zhiqiao shook off his hand and stormed away, not wanting to waste another word.

Words wouldn’t get through to him anyway.

Seeing her come inside expressionless, Ji Huailuo scratched his eyelid and reflexively wondered if he’d gone too far in scolding her.

But when he saw her heading straight upstairs, his nerves tightened. “Crap! She’s not going to mess with my figurines again, is she?”

Hua Qingyang and Zhen Chuang didn’t even bother responding.

“Xu Zhiqiao!” Ji Huailuo shouted upstairs. “If you dare break one more, I’m changing the locks! Don’t even think about coming in again!”

Xu Zhiqiao stomped into his room.

Ji Huailuo: “…”

He really needed to change the lock.

Before he could head up, Xu Zhiqiao came out hugging her laptop, then stomped back into her own bedroom.

Seeing that his figurines were intact, Ji Huailuo let out a sigh of relief. “Completely forgot. Last night she got stuck in some stupid game, hung around my room forever asking me to give her the right attack stones.”

That’s why her laptop was still in his room.

As he spoke, he looked up at the man who had just walked in. “That girl is not only forgetful but petty too. I scold her and she holds a grudge. You tattled—she’ll definitely hold a grudge against you too.”

“Mm,” Zhou Cong responded lazily, “That’s fine.”

Ji Huailuo looked at him, inexplicably envious. “Only children really do have it good.”

But Hua Qingyang didn’t agree.

“If you don’t want yours, give her to someone else,” Hua Qingyang said. “Your sister’s already one of the most well-behaved ones out there.”

Ji Huailuo grumbled, “I’m just jealous of only children. Who said I didn’t want a sister?”

Hua Qingyang: “Then what you said makes no sense.”

“Fine, fine,” Ji Huailuo surrendered. “Is Hua Niuniu starting to make sense again?”

“…” Hua Qingyang nearly lunged at him. “She could talk when she was one year old!!! Are we even still Brothers or not!!!!”

Zhen Chuang watched the chaos from the sidelines, thoroughly entertained.

After a while, Sister Li came to call them for lunch.

Ji Huailuo clicked his tongue. “Why’s that girl still not coming down?”

Too lazy to go upstairs, he yelled, “Xu Zhiqiao! Food’s ready!!!”

Hua Qingyang spat out a mouthful of water. “With an attitude like that, no wonder she regrets losing her status as an only child!”

They waited a bit. The second floor remained dead silent.

Impatient, Ji Huailuo stood up. “I’ll go get—”

Before he could finish, Zhou Cong was already on his feet. “I’ll go.”

“…”

As Zhou Cong walked, he casually tossed back, “You just scolded her. If she sees you, she might actually go on a hunger strike.”

Ji Huailuo: “…”

Zhen Chuang and Hua Qingyang burst out laughing.

Zhou Cong’s footsteps were light and steady on the wooden stairs. In just a few steps, he reached the second floor.

Standing in front of the girl’s bedroom, he lowered his gaze. His lashes cast small shadows on his skin.

He paused for a few seconds, lips tightening, already preparing himself to be met with rejection. Then he raised his hand and knocked.

The door didn’t open immediately, but there were faint rustling sounds inside. It was unclear what she was doing.

After a moment, Zhou Cong called softly, “Xu Zhiqiao.”

When the door opened, the girl’s eyes were filled with clear panic. But when she saw it was him, she subtly let out a breath of relief. “You’re here for lunch? I’ll be right down.”

“…”

The light from inside and outside mingled. Zhou Cong narrowed his eyes, his gaze quickly slipping past her shoulder to the mess on her desk.

“What are you looking at?” Xu Zhiqiao instinctively tried to close the door. “I—I’m coming out right now.”

Zhou Cong slipped in sideways and shut the door behind him. “You’re taking medicine?”

Xu Zhiqiao panicked. “Get out…”

“Xu Zhiqiao!” Zhou Cong bent down, cupping her face gently. “Don’t panic. I won’t tell your Big Brother. Just relax. Relax, alright?”

Her cheeks were flushed—unnaturally so. Zhou Cong could feel the heat radiating from her skin. “Is it asthma or…?”

Xu Zhiqiao’s lips parted slightly, her breath hot. “No. Just a fever.”

Relieved, Zhou Cong asked, “What did you take?”

“Fever meds,” Xu Zhiqiao’s voice was dry. “Maybe I caught a chill yesterday… I don’t want my Big Brother to know.”

If Ji Huailuo found out, the whole Ji Family would be in an uproar. Xu Shu and Ji Shou would definitely come rushing back.

It would blow up too much.

Zhou Cong pressed his palm to her forehead to check her temperature, then walked over to her medicine pile and began checking each one.

“Why do you have allergy meds too?”

“I—I was afraid the fever might trigger allergies,” Xu Zhiqiao stammered. “So I took them just in case.”

Zhou Cong frowned. “We’re going to the hospital.”

“…”

“I’ll take you,” Zhou Cong said. “He won’t find out.”

Xu Zhiqiao resisted. “The meds will work. I’ll be fine.”

Zhou Cong packed the medicine into the first-aid box. His usually charming face was unusually serious. “If you’ll listen, fine. If not, I’ll tell your Big Brother.”

“…”

Silence.

After a long pause, Xu Zhiqiao hesitated. “My Big Brother said he’d drop me off at the milk tea shop…” Hard to hide it from him.

“Trust me,” Zhou Cong pressed his cool palm against her forehead again. “He won’t find out a thing.”

Xu Zhiqiao had no doubt about his ability to keep things under wraps.

Sometimes, this man was so calculating it felt like he could control everything from behind the scenes.