Sweet Temptation: After Rebirth, The Campus Heartthrob Can’t Hide His Feelings Anymore - Chapter 24

The cold wind made Xu Zhizhi squint, her head spinning. She leaned against the railing with both hands, gazing up at the darkening sky.

“In the past, I thought love meant unconditional submission, humbling yourself to the bone,” Xu Zhizhi said with a faint, weary smile. “I believed the person I loved was like the sun in the sky, and I should chase after them with all my might.”

Zhou Xuci turned his head slightly, his soft gaze lingering on Xu Zhizhi’s flushed cheeks, tinted from the slight intoxication.

Her delicate features were breathtaking.

One glance was enough to fall.

“And now?” Zhou Xuci asked quietly.

“Now?” Xu Zhizhi’s smile bloomed like a flower, her eyes glazed with a hazy warmth. “I think… the one you love should be a star. I want to become one of the countless dazzling stars, so I can stand beside them as an equal.”

“Then…” Zhou Xuci paused, his gaze deepening as it fixed on her. “Have you found that star yet?”

Xu Zhizhi turned to stare at Zhou Xuci, studying his handsome face before suddenly flashing him a sweet smile, the faint dimple at the corner of her lips appearing.

“I-”

Before she could finish, her vision darkened, and she lost her balance, tipping forward into Zhou Xuci’s arms.

Reacting swiftly, Zhou Xuci caught her, pulling her close.

She was smaller than he’d imagined.

Even bundled in thick winter clothes, she felt too light in his arms.

Dazed, Xu Zhizhi nuzzled her head against Zhou Xuci’s shoulder and neck, letting out a few soft, kittenish whimpers, as if drunk and seeking comfort.

Zhou Xuci stiffened slightly, utterly charmed. Slowly, he raised a hand and gently stroked the back of her head, as if smoothing a kitten’s fur.

“Zhizhi,” he murmured, savoring her name.

“The love I believe in,” Zhou Xuci whispered, holding her close as he lowered his head to her ear, “is you.”

“It’s you, the only one in this world I’d willingly surrender to.”

Xu Zhizhi’s thoughts were too muddled to understand. Feeling cold, she instinctively sought warmth, slipping her hands beneath his coat and wrapping her arms around his waist.

She was too thin, as if malnourished.

Perhaps it was because her stomach had been damaged from hunger, leaving her with chronic stomach issues that kept her from gaining weight.

She looked fragile, as if a strong wind could break her.

Zhou Xuci cradled her gently, his fingers threading through her hair as he massaged her scalp, his eyes filled with unshakable tenderness.

Suddenly, Xu Zhizhi let out a quiet sob.

The weight of reality had become too much for her, and in her dazed state, it all spilled over.

Tears welled at the corners of her eyes as she murmured, “Dad… I want to go home… Please… don’t leave me behind… take me home…”

But her home had long been gone.

Her father had died a hero.

The person he’d saved was Shen Yaoxin.

Xu Zhizhi had been born into a modest but happy family, not wealthy, but full of love. She had grown up cherished.

Yet fate was cruel, and misfortune struck. Her parents left her, one after another.

At six, her mother died in a horrific car accident.

At seven, her father shielded Shen Yaoxin from an attack, taking a slash to the artery. He bled out before help could arrive.

The last thing he left Xu Zhizhi was a red banner, commemorating his bravery.

She clutched the red flag, sobbing uncontrollably until, utterly helpless, she was sent into the dark and dismal orphanage.

Xu Zhizhi would always remember those towering fences that enclosed her, that patch of frozen blue sky. She was a trapped beast in a cage, enduring the most brutal abuse at the most powerless age.

The south was known for its warm winters, but there were also bone-chilling cold spells.

On the coldest days, Xu Zhizhi, wearing tattered pants, was punished by kneeling in freezing water.

Her knees were ruined, frostbitten from prolonged kneeling.

The reason for her punishment? The director had groped her buttocks, and she, “ungrateful,” had bitten off half his earlobe.

She had done evil; she must be punished.

All the caretakers said that a bad child like her would surely grow up to be a criminal.

Some even mocked her, saying that her father, a heroic man who acted bravely for justice had somehow fathered a born troublemaker.

Xu Zhizhi was stubborn, her bones etched with defiance. She never learned to please, so she was always punished.

Sometimes, she went without food for three days straight.

The hunger gnawed at her until she developed a severe stomach condition, the pain wrenching her body every time it flared.

She was beaten often, too. The worst was when she stumbled upon the vice-director and a caretaker in the laundry room, entangled in an affair…

She didn’t understand.

She had done nothing wrong, yet punishment found her again and again.

And so, Xu Zhizhi spent a year in that soul-crushing orphanage, each second stretching like an eternity.

Later, Shen Yaoxin found Xu Zhizhi and brought her back to the Shen family.

To Shen Yaoxin, Xu Zhizhi was the daughter of his savior, and so he treated her with genuine kindness.

But the rest of the Shens despised her.

Yet Xu Zhizhi was too young then, too broken by the orphanage. She clung to Shen Yaoxin like a lifeline, refusing to let go.

From then on, Xu Zhizhi began a decade-long life of foster care.

Growing up, the Shens always thought Xu Zhizhi was frail and overly dramatic, never realizing she had been tortured into this state.

No one in this world truly understands another’s pain, because no one knows how many times you’ve wanted to choke yourself in the dark, to end your own life.

“…I have no home,” Xu Zhizhi’s voice trembled, and she repeated, “I have nowhere to go back to.”

Zhou Xuci’s hand gently cradled the back of her head, his heart carved by a sharp knife, aching unbearably.

“Zhizhi, you will. One day, you will…”

He soothed her, word by word.

Perhaps the weight of suppression had grown too heavy, because Xu Zhizhi’s emotions erupted. She clung to Zhou Xuci, crying uncontrollably.

“Zhizhi…”

Zhou Xuci’s eyes reddened as he slowly lowered his head, pressing a feather-light kiss into her hair.

It carried endless tenderness.

He restrained himself too much, even his kiss dared only to graze her hair.

After the tears, Xu Zhizhi began to shiver, murmuring, “…Cold. So cold.”

Zhou Xuci held her tighter. “Where are you cold?”

Tear tracks dried faintly on her face. “Everywhere.”

Zhou Xuci stroked her hair, then wrapped his scarf around her neck to warm her.

“I’ll take you back,” he said.

He let her lean against his chest, supporting her as he guided her forward.

Xu Zhizhi stood motionless, unsure if she was fully awake. Her eyes opened, brimming with tears as she gazed at Zhou Xuci, her lips trembling slightly. “My knees hurt,” she murmured.

Her knees had been frostbitten before.

Whenever bitter cold waves struck, the pain would flare up again.

Before heading out, Cheng Xiaoxin had made sure to stick plenty of warming patches on Xu Zhizhi, yet she still felt chilled to the bone.

Seeing her helpless and pitiful state, Zhou Xuci reached out, gently wiping the tears from the corner of her eye with his fingertips, his voice tender as he sought her consent.

“Zhizhi, let me carry you back, okay?”

As if coaxing a child.

Xu Zhizhi, slightly intoxicated, felt her head swimming. After a brief hesitation, she stretched out her arms toward Zhou Xuci and mumbled, “I’m very light, you know.”

Zhou Xuci couldn’t help but chuckle at her dazed expression. Bending slightly, he lifted her steadily into his arms.

She was far lighter than he had imagined.

…