Sweet Temptation: After Rebirth, The Campus Heartthrob Can’t Hide His Feelings Anymore - Chapter 25

The sky began to snow again.

Flurries of snowflakes drifted down from above as Zhou Xuci carried the drunken Xu Zhizhi through the romantic blizzard.

Xu Zhizhi, who hated the cold, clung to Zhou Xuci like a giant heating pad, obediently burying her face in the crook of his neck.

It was Christmas Eve, and despite the freezing weather, the streets were still bustling with crowds, lively and vibrant.

As they passed through the food street near the south gate, Zhou Xuci often featured on the university’s official website was recognized.

A group of girls eating skewers nearby nearly jumped up and down in excitement,

“Look, look! It’s Zhou Xuci! Zhou Xuci! Zhou Xuci!”

“Oh my god! Is Zhou Xuci dating someone? Who’s the girl in his arms? I can’t see her face!!!”

“Secretary, I give you three minutes, I want to know everything about that woman, now!!!”

Ignoring the noisy chatter around him, Zhou Xuci quickened his pace, holding Xu Zhizhi tightly.

The commotion eventually roused Xu Zhizhi, bringing her back to partial consciousness.

The cold had seeped into her knees, making them ache painfully.

Her brows furrowed slightly from the discomfort as she drowsily lifted her head, her bleary eyes fixing on Zhou Xuci’s flawless profile.

The long school pathway was lined with neat streetlights, and the bare trees on either side offered no shade, leaving the light unobstructed and bright.

The glow illuminated Zhou Xuci’s face as snowflakes fluttered down, shifting the light and shadows. Xu Zhizhi’s gaze lost focus, growing increasingly hazy.

Yet she still recognized him.

Softly, she murmured, “…Senior.”

Zhou Xuci stopped walking, concerned that she might be uncomfortable, and glanced down at her. “What’s wrong?”

Chilled by the wind, Xu Zhizhi buried her face back into the crook of his neck, breathing in the faint scent of cedar, his scent.

Like a little raccoon, she wrapped her arms around Zhou Xuci’s neck, clinging to the warmth of the moment.

Zhou Xuci’s eyes held an unshakable tenderness as he lowered his head slightly, resting his chin affectionately against the top of hers.

Just like her, he cherished this embrace.

But it was just a brief touch.

Zhou Xuci restrained himself and was about to pull away when he heard Xu Zhizhi whisper, “Senior, you smell so nice~”

So fragrant.

Fresh and clean.

“…” Teased, Zhou Xuci’s gentle expression seemed to melt the wintry storm around them. The corners of his lips curled as he playfully asked, “…Do you like it?”

Xu Zhizhi tightened her hold around him but didn’t answer, drifting back into sleep.

Perhaps she was too exhausted.

Too tired to say she liked it.

Zhou Xuci chuckled softly at the lack of response and continued walking.

He carried her for over twenty minutes.

He didn’t want to walk too fast, he wished he could freeze this intimate moment between them.

But he didn’t dare walk too slowly either, she was terrified of the cold, and when it was at its worst, her knees would throb with pain.

Zhou Xuci knew Xu Zhizhi had chosen the bitterly cold north because of Shen Yu.

Though Shen Yu’s academic performance was mediocre, he was an exceptionally talented athlete and had been admitted to Jing University on a sports scholarship.

Xu Zhizhi, who hated the cold, had chosen Jing University without hesitation, all for Shen Yu.

When she loved someone, she loved fiercely, holding nothing back.

But her love was never met with the same fervor in return.

Zhou Xuci gazed at the snowflakes falling like delicate spirits from the sky, then lowered his head and murmured softly, “Zhizhi, on this Silent Night, may you find peace every night.”

When they reached the dormitory building, Cheng Xiaoxin and Ling Shuang came to pick up Xu Zhizhi.

Zhou Xuci had contacted Gu Sen.

Ling Shuang’s boyfriend, Gu Sen, happened to be Zhou Xuci’s roommate.

Xu Zhizhi had been held warmly in Zhou Xuci’s embrace the entire way, and when it was time to leave his arms, she clung to him reluctantly, unwilling to let go.

She just wanted Zhou Xuci to hold her.

Fueled by the alcohol, Xu Zhizhi could act spoiled without restraint, wrapping herself around Zhou Xuci like an affectionate kitten.

Ling Shuang had to pry Xu Zhizhi out of Zhou Xuci’s arms as if digging out a stubborn carrot.

“Senior, sorry about this,” Ling Shuang said, supporting Xu Zhizhi while offering an apology for her excessive behavior.

Zhou Xuci’s expression remained gentle. “It’s alright. She’s drunk.”

After thanking him, Ling Shuang gave Zhou Xuci an awkward yet polite smile before helping Xu Zhizhi into the dormitory building.

Cheng Xiaoxin, standing nearby, nodded at Zhou Xuci. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly called out to him.

He stopped in his tracks.

“Senior, thank you for bringing Zhizhi back,” Cheng Xiaoxin said.

“She mentioned her knees hurt,” Zhou Xuci replied, his concern evident in his eyes, his tone almost pleading. “If it’s not too much trouble, could you help apply some ointment for her?”

Cheng Xiaoxin smiled faintly. “I understand.”

Zhou Xuci returned a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

With that, he turned and left.

Cheng Xiaoxin stood still for a moment, slightly dazed, her gaze toward Zhou Xuci growing complex.

A cold wind blew past, snapping her out of her thoughts, and she hurried back into the dormitory.

Pushing open the dorm room door, she found Ling Shuang helping Xu Zhizhi out of her coat.

The warmth inside melted the snow clinging to the coat instantly, leaving behind a biting chill.

“Zhizhi, stand still. Let me help you take off your coat.”

“…Okay,” Xu Zhizhi obediently stood still.

Even when drunk.

She remained well-behaved.

Cheng Xiaoxin fetched hot water, wiped Xu Zhizhi down, then found some ointment to apply to her knees before finally putting knee pads on her.

“Did she injure her knees before?” Ling Shuang asked, looking at the drowsy Xu Zhizhi before turning to Cheng Xiaoxin.

Cheng Xiaoxin bent down to tuck Xu Zhizhi in, her eyes filled with heartache. “She knelt in icy water during winter and got frostbite.”

Those were Xu Zhizhi’s exact words.

Said so lightly, as if it were nothing.

Yet no one could imagine how she had once struggled to survive in the depths of darkness.

The reason Xu Zhizhi’s art style was so dark was precisely because she had been trapped in that darkness, fighting for so long.

Hearing this, Ling Shuang pressed her lips together, her eyes slightly reddening.

Xu Zhizhi slept soundly through the entire night, deeply and heavily.

She was usually a light sleeper, easily startled by the slightest noise.

A lingering effect from her time at the orphanage.

The orphanage director had been a pedophile who liked to take little girls away in the middle of the night.

The girls would let out horrifying, piercing screams in the dead of night.

Those eerie, ghostly cries became the nightmares that haunted Xu Zhizhi, trapping her in the shadows of her childhood. The fear kept her awake night after night.

To the point where she was diagnosed with severe neurasthenia.

When she woke up, Xu Zhizhi felt dizzy, her head throbbing with pain, her entire body as if cast in cement, heavy and groggy.

Cheng Xiaoxin had prepared a hangover remedy and brought it to Xu Zhizhi, urging her to drink it.

After drinking the hangover soup, Xu Zhizhi sat on the bed in a daze for a full ten minutes before finally snapping out of it. “What happened to me?”

Cheng Xiaoxin touched Xu Zhizhi’s forehead. “You got drunk.”

Xu Zhizhi flopped back onto the bed, ready to sleep again, but Ling Shuang and Song Jia immediately pulled her up.

“Zhizhi!”

“Xu Zhizhi!”

“The sky! Is! Falling!”

“No! Sleeping! Allowed!”

Ling Shuang and Song Jia bombarded her excitedly, “When did you and Zhou Xuci get together?!”

Xu Zhizhi’s eyes flew open in an instant, she was wide awake now. “Huh???”

There was no getting together!

…