Chapter 4: A Heartflutter After the First Thunderclap of Spring
The sound of running water filled the bathroom.
The misty glass reflected the long lines of a man’s body. Water flowed along his muscles, the lines smooth, his abs clearly defined, his whole body exuding a vibrant, wild, and alluring aura.
The water stopped.
Zhou Yili, wrapped in a loose bathrobe, walked out with a white towel on his head.
His phone on the bedside table dinged.
「’S’ has transferred you 10,000 yuan.」
Zhou Yili wiped his wet hair with one hand, his eyebrows slightly raised. He slowly typed a line in the chatbox—
‘Did you buy coffee or a person?’
He didn’t send it, frowning for two seconds, thinking he shouldn’t let Shen Jixing get the upper hand.
This guy’s gaze at him wasn’t innocent.
So he deleted it and sent a question mark.
【z】:?
【S】: Rent. I need to stay at your place for a while, the date is uncertain, I’ll pay you more later if needed.
【z】:?
Shen Jixing frowned.
Does this guy only know how to use question marks?
【z】: Understood.
Zhou Yili looked like he had seen through everything, holding his phone with one hand and typing with a cold smile.
【z】: So it’s that hard to find a place outside, huh? You can only stay at my house every day.
【z】: Understood, stay then.
「10,000 yuan transfer has been returned.」
It was as if the young master knew what you were thinking, and was too lazy to expose you for now, and that he didn’t care about this little money…
Shen Jixing looked at the chatbox, feeling absurd and amused.
He didn’t like to explain things.
【S】: Think what you want.
He casually put down his phone and started unbuttoning his shirt. His fingertips touched the silver necklace, the pendant a silver-black hexagram.
His thoughts wandered to some unknown nerve, and he came back to his senses, gently pressing on his stomach.
Then his phone rang again.
【z】: I was going to give you some face, but you should take a look at your WeChat nickname.
Shen Jixing: “?”
Their WeChat nicknames were S and z.
Many people used letters as their WeChat nicknames these days, Shen Jixing didn’t think anything of it.
【z】: Wasn’t your previous WeChat nickname different?
【z】: On purpose?
It wasn’t entirely Zhou Yili overthinking it. They hadn’t been in contact for almost four years, especially since their last encounter was so tense.
Shen Jixing had come to him with nowhere else to go, and deliberately said some ambiguous things.
‘I have nowhere to go.’
‘Can you take me in?’
‘Can you get me a coffee?’
‘Can I stay at your house as long as I want?’
It was very ambiguous.
The WeChat nickname was just a small piece of evidence.
Shen Jixing was probably speechless for a moment, and felt that he couldn’t let him act so recklessly.
【S】: Same? Take another look.
【z】:?
Zhou Yili sat on the bed with his legs crossed, thinking to himself that no matter how he looked at it, they were English letters.
The next second, a message came.
【S】: I’m older than you.
“…”
“……”
In the quiet apartment at night, a curse burst out from Young Master Zhou’s defeat.
“Damn it.”
You better get out of my room right now.
Zhou Yili stared coldly at the screen, but ultimately swallowed the words.
Too childish.
He coldly slid his long fingers across the screen, changing his WeChat nickname to a string of ‘ZZZZZZZ’, and then tossed the phone onto the pillow, satisfied.
Perhaps because his quiet life had been disrupted, in a daze, he recalled the first time he met Shen Jixing.
“What tutor?”
A black-haired boy wearing a size 24 blue and white jersey, with a blue headband on his forehead, exuding a flamboyant and unrestrained youthful energy, lightly chuckled while dribbling a basketball.
“No need, let him go back where he came from.”
“You brat!”
The middle-aged man slammed the table, his expression stern. “Look at your own grades! You got 666 and still say you don’t need a tutor?!”
The butler quickly and softly persuaded, “666 isn’t low…”
The man sneered, “That’s 6 points in each subject – Chinese, math, and English.”
The old butler, “Ah…this…”
These scores were indeed not something just anyone could achieve.
To be precise, the young master was currently rebellious and was completely playing around.
The black-haired boy stood in the light, hugging the basketball, carefree and unconcerned.
His unrepentant look made Zhou Hengyang even angrier, “With your attitude, do you think you’ll even get into high school?”
There was a brief silence in the air.
The old butler didn’t even speak, his eyes wide.
Zhou Hengyang furrowed his brow, thinking perhaps his words were too harsh?
Suddenly, the sound of a basketball hitting the ground rang out, bouncing once before returning to the boy’s hand.
He said, “Dad.”
His tone was neither amusing nor sarcastic. “I’m in my second year of high school.”
“…”
“You don’t have to worry about me, and I don’t care about your affairs outside.”
The boy tucked the basketball under his arm, raised his eyes, and shrugged indifferently. “Isn’t this fine?”
Zhou Hengyang’s face was grim, and he didn’t speak.
Finally, the old butler stepped in to soften things. “Young master, sir is also concerned about your grades. The college entrance exam is approaching, and these grades… if Madam were still here, she would definitely want you to go to a good university.”
The old butler started to cry as he spoke.
Zhou Yili’s expression softened slightly.
The old butler seized the opportunity, “Sir specially found a genius student from the world’s top music academy to teach you. Young master, didn’t you love playing the piano when you were younger?”
“Everyone praised you as a genius back then.”
Zhou Hengyang seized the opportunity to speak, “Hmph, you only inherited half of your mother’s musical talent. From today on…”
“Bang!”
An orange basketball suddenly slammed heavily on the ground, making a loud noise, and rolled away.
Everyone was startled.
Zhou Hengyang glared, “What’s wrong with you? You scared the hell out of me.”
The boy stared at him with bloodshot eyes, like a ferocious little lion.
“Dare you mention my mother again?”
Zhou Hengyang: “What did you say?”
“Don’t let me hear you mention her name again, and send your world-class genius back where he came from.”
Zhou Yili turned to leave with a cold face, “I’m not going to learn the piano…”
He paused, almost bumping into someone.
A refreshing fragrance filled his nose, a light sandalwood scent with a faint, subtle sweetness.
The young man in front of him was dressed in a white shirt and black pants, his features as clear as ink painting, his eyes slightly glancing behind him.
“Are you fighting?”
A light breath ruffled the boy’s hair at the nape of his neck.
Zhou Yili froze.
The other person had already pulled away from the overly close distance, calmly and politely saying, “Continue, I’ll come back later.”
“…”
That was indeed very polite.
Zhou Yili stared at him. In the twilight of the sunset, the person was clean and translucent, like a piece of jade.
His drooping eyelashes were long and straight.
Suddenly, he lightly raised his eyes, and the moment their gazes met, it was like a light rain after a spring thunderclap, his heart inexplicably skipped a beat.
Zhou Yili was the first to look away, lowering his head as he brushed past him—
“Are you the student from Venus Royal Music Academy?”
Zhou Hengyang’s inquiry came from behind.
Obviously, his son’s resistance didn’t matter, Zhou Hengyang only ever stuck to his own ideas.
“Mm.”
A clear, magnetic voice sounded faintly, “Shen Jixing, twenty years old.”
Zhou Yili didn’t stop, walking through the luxuriant summer garden.
Twenty years old?
A hint of sarcasm appeared on the boy’s flamboyant and unrestrained face, “Heh, what a liar.”
——
Little Zhou’s words: Heh, what a liar.
Little Zhou’s thoughts: Damn it, I met an angel!