Sweet Temptation: After Rebirth, The Campus Heartthrob Can’t Hide His Feelings Anymore - Chapter 13

Xu Zhizhi found a vase and carefully arranged the delicate roses one by one, tending to them with great care.

Cheng Xiaoxin stood by, watching as Xu Zhizhi busily trimmed the stems and leaves, chatting with her as she worked.

“A men’s scarf, huh?” Cheng Xiaoxin’s sharp eyes caught sight of the navy-blue scarf draped over the chair, a luxury brand’s latest men’s collection.

Not cheap at all.

“Zhizhi, what were you up to tonight?” Cheng Xiaoxin asked.

Xu Zhizhi held a red rose in her hand, lifting her sparkling eyes. “A blind date.”

Cheng Xiaoxin’s expression darkened. “Who arranged it?”

Xu Zhizhi replied indifferently, “Sun Xiuya.”

“Is she insane? Does Uncle Shen know about this?” Cheng Xiaoxin said urgently. “You’re only a freshman, what’s with the blind date? That Sun Xiuya is getting crazier by the day!”

Xu Zhizhi snipped the stem of the rose shorter. “Uncle Shen is busy. I didn’t want to bother him with such a small matter, I’ve already caused him enough trouble.”

“Besides, Sun Xiuya is in such a hurry because she’s afraid I’ll cling to her son.”

Crazy.

No word could describe it better.

That madwoman had tormented Xu Zhizhi for three whole years.

Perhaps because of the deep-seated darkness and fear within her, Xu Zhizhi had long learned to bow and scrape before Sun Xiuya, never daring to defy her.

Cheng Xiaoxin lowered her head, took a deep breath, and felt an inexplicable sadness seeing Xu Zhizhi so compliant.

“Zhizhi,” Cheng Xiaoxin placed a hand on Xu Zhizhi’s shoulder. “You’re too obedient.”

“Am I?” Xu Zhizhi smiled faintly, a hint of resignation in her eyes. “Being a good girl isn’t so bad.”

Since childhood, the Shen family had instilled in her that obedience and docility would ensure she was fed and clothed.

So, she had always been this way, quietly compliant.

“But you’ll keep getting the short end of the stick,” Cheng Xiaoxin took the vase and held the vibrant, blooming roses up to Xu Zhizhi. “I’ve always thought a girl like you should be like these roses, blooming boldly, not hiding away forever.”

Silently swallowing every bitter pill.

Xu Zhizhi finished trimming the last red rose and placed it in the vase, her eyes growing slightly warm as she gazed at Cheng Xiaoxin’s beautiful face.

At this moment, she thought Cheng Xiaoxin shone even brighter than the roses in full bloom.

“Xinxin, I’ll do my best to be as you say.” Xu Zhizhi tightly grasped Cheng Xiaoxin’s hand, her eyes crinkling with a smile. “And in the same way, I’ll hold your hand tightly and ask you to walk forward with me, okay?”

Cheng Xiaoxin ruffled Xu Zhizhi’s hair and teased, “Xu Zhizhi, we’ve walked together for ten years already. There are countless more decades ahead of us.”

Xu Zhizhi’s grip on Cheng Xiaoxin’s hand tightened slightly. As she looked at Cheng Xiaoxin’s radiant smile, her eyes suddenly welled up with tears.

Xinxin.

Shen Yu isn’t worthy of you at all.

Someone as dazzling as you should shine brightly on stage forever, not get covered in mud for his sake.

He doesn’t deserve it.

It took me eight years to realize that.

This time, I’ll hold your hand and never let you lose yourself again.

Suddenly, Ling Shuang burst into the room excitedly,

“Girls! I scored front-row tickets for the New Year’s Eve gala performance! Let’s all go watch Xinxin’s show together!!!”

Ling Shuang beamed like a child who had just been given candy, her face full of pride. “Praise me! Praise me! Quick, praise me!”

Cheng Xiaoxin laughed, radiant and poised, playing along. “Alright, alright! You’re amazing!”

Song Jia peeked in from the doorway. “Xinxin! I’m gonna call up my hometown friends to scream and cheer for you for a full three minutes!”

Ling Shuang excitedly added, “I’ll take gorgeous photos of you, enough to make you debut on the spot!”

Cheng Xiaoxin smiled and turned to Xu Zhizhi. “What about you?”

“I’ll give you flowers!” Xu Zhizhi grinned brightly. “Cheng Xiaoxin, you can only accept flowers from me!”

Cheng Xiaoxin replied, “Deal!”

The New Year’s Eve party became the turning point in Cheng Xiaoxin and Shen Yu’s relationship.

…

Three days later, the deranged Sun Xiuya bombarded her with over a dozen frantic calls.

Xu Zhizhi was painting an oil canvas, a red rose placed on the windowsill.

She answered the phone.

“Xu Zhizhi, you’ve got the nerve to ignore my calls now?” Sun Xiuya sneered coldly through the phone. “What, you think just because you’re in college, I can’t control you anymore?”

Xu Zhizhi’s head throbbed with a dull ache, and she mumbled an excuse. “I was in class earlier, so I couldn’t answer.”

Her instinctive habit of submission and meekness still lingered.

Sun Xiuya couldn’t be bothered to argue and cut straight to the point. “The restaurant manager discreetly inquired about the Lu family’s young master’s thoughts. He said he’s very satisfied with you.”

The so-called “Lu family’s young master” referred to Zhou Xuci.

The manager, having taken Sun Xiuya’s bribe, had indeed probed Zhou Xuci’s impressions after their dinner.

“…What?” Xu Zhizhi’s hand holding the paintbrush paused slightly. She lowered her gaze to the red rose blooming beautifully in the vase despite the winter chill.

Her eyes flickered with inexplicable panic, then confusion, before realization dawned on her moments later.

“Very satisfied.”

That was probably Zhou Xuci’s way of phrasing it. With his impeccable manners, he likely couldn’t bring himself to say anything unpleasant.

Sun Xiuya’s voice dripped with venom. “For the Lu family’s young master to take a blind liking to a nobody like you, an adopted child of unknown origins, you should be laughing yourself silly. I don’t care what methods you use, but you must secure his heart!”

Xu Zhizhi lowered her head, her eyes shadowed with darkness.

No matter how many times she heard such cruel words, they still stung.

“We’ve raised you for nothing all these years. It’s time you repaid us,” Sun Xiuya stated bluntly. “The Shen family has always collaborated with the Lu family on projects. If you truly understand gratitude, you’d better be smart about this.”

Xu Zhizhi’s lashes dipped, her expression indifferent. Suddenly, she recalled Zhou Xuci’s gentle and refined demeanor, and a faint warmth flickered in her heart. “I think the other party is… flawless,” she said.

She didn’t want to engage with Sun Xiuya any longer.

Besides.

Zhou Xuci truly was flawless.

Xu Zhizhi replied calmly but firmly, “I’ve added him on WeChat. I’ll stay in touch and nurture our relationship.”

“At least you know what’s good for you!”

“And one more thing,” Xu Zhizhi took a deep breath. “I have no feelings for Shen Yu. You don’t need to keep lashing out at me.”

With that, she hung up.

“How dare you hang up on me!” Sun Xiuya’s furious roar erupted from the other end.

A loud bang followed as she violently smashed her phone to pieces.

Xu Zhizhi’s brush swiped horizontally across the canvas, staining the cold-toned sky with a streak of bloody red.

The entire painting was ruined.

Her hands trembled, a physiological reaction to the fear Sun Xiuya instilled in her.

Xu Zhizhi’s eyes seemed to be tinted red by the bouquet of roses, her eyelids twitching as she lifted her gaze to the snowstorm outside. The endless flurries painted the world in a vast expanse of white.

She remembered Uncle Shen once saying that Zhizhi should grow up pure and unblemished, just like this.

The white blizzard blurred her vision, but a figure gradually drew closer, shifting from indistinct to clear. Slowly, she recognized who it was.

Shen Yu.

Shen Yu from the Sports Academy had trudged through the snow for forty minutes on this stormy day to reach the art studio of the Fine Arts Academy, searching for Xu Zhizhi.

“Xu Zhizhi! You went on a blind date?!” Shen Yu blocked her path, his eyes locked onto her face. “How old are you, rushing to find a man? Are you that desperate? Throwing yourself at someone, do you even have any self-respect?”

He was losing his mind.

A surge of inexplicable fury shot straight to his head, faint veins bulging at his temples.

Xu Zhizhi’s wrist was gripped tightly, the pain sharp, but she didn’t make a sound.

“Are you mute? Answer me!” Shen Yu roared like a beast.

“Let go first,” Xu Zhizhi said.

Shen Yu didn’t release her. Instead, his grip tightened, his eyes dark and ruthless. “An-swer-me!”

Xu Zhizhi lifted her gaze, meeting his furious stare with icy detachment. She tried to wrench free, but her strength was no match for his.

Before she could react further, a cold, deep voice cut through the air from behind her,

“She told you to let go.”

Chilling, like the sharp winter wind.

Zhou Xuci’s gaze was frost-laden. “Do you not understand human speech?”

…