Sweet Temptation: After Rebirth, The Campus Heartthrob Can’t Hide His Feelings Anymore - Chapter 28

Xu Zhizhi’s painting was ruined.

To meet the deadline for the final exhibition, Xu Zhizhi had no choice but to pull all-nighters in the studio.

After three consecutive sleepless nights, she couldn’t take it anymore.

Her stomach started acting up.

She took some medicine but still felt unwell, so she decided to head back to her dorm.

The howling wind sounded like ghosts and demons shrieking, eerie and unsettling.

The snow, which had been falling continuously for three days, showed no signs of stopping tonight.

Xu Zhizhi opened her umbrella and stepped out of the art building, only to run into Zhou Xuci at the corner, who had just emerged from the science and technology center.

1:30 a.m. An uncannily timed encounter.

Xu Zhizhi couldn’t face Zhou Xuci.

Lately, she had been deliberately avoiding him, even bolting whenever she spotted him on the street.

Statistically speaking, the odds of running into a ghost at night were higher than bumping into Zhou Xuci.

Yet here they were.

Their eyes met, and the atmosphere suddenly turned delicate.

Xu Zhizhi stood frozen, glancing left and right, her movements frantic, ten actions in a second, as if she were terribly busy.

In reality, she was just embarrassed.

Ever since her drunken episode, she hadn’t been able to look Zhou Xuci in the eye.

She had already thanked him over WeChat for his help and even sent him dessert as a token of appreciation.

But right now, she still wanted to play ostrich.

Zhou Xuci walked over, watching her pretend to be occupied, and found her utterly adorable.

Xu Zhizhi tightened her grip on the umbrella handle, her head drooping slightly as she obediently greeted him, “Senior, what a coincidence.”

Zhou Xuci smiled gently, his eyes warm. “Mind if I share your umbrella?”

“Huh?” Xu Zhizhi looked up, her eyes bright, momentarily stunned.

“My umbrella got wrecked by the wind this morning,” Zhou Xuci said calmly, glancing at the relentless snowstorm. “If it’s inconvenient, then-”

“No, it’s fine.”

Xu Zhizhi lowered her head, shuffled closer on tiptoe, and raised the umbrella, trying to cover him.

Zhou Xuci was tall, so he obligingly bent slightly to fit under her umbrella.

His sudden proximity startled her, and she instinctively took a tiny step back.

Losing her balance, she swayed backward.

Zhou Xuci reacted swiftly, lightly steadying her with a hand at her waist.

Xu Zhizhi froze. When her gaze met his deep eyes, her heart inexplicably skipped a beat.

The touch lasted only a second before Zhou Xuci withdrew his hand, smiling faintly. “Let me hold the umbrella.”

“Oh, okay.”

Xu Zhizhi handed the umbrella to him and stuffed her hands into her warm pockets.

With her head bowed, she looked like an obedient little kitten, making people want to ruffle her affectionately.

Zhou Xuci broke the silence. “Working this late?”

“The exhibition is due before New Year’s, so I’ve been rushing to finish,” she explained before asking, “Why are you still at the science center so late, Senior?”

“I’ve been collaborating with some seniors from the electronic engineering department on a project. Their lab is there,” Zhou Xuci replied.

Walking side by side, Zhou Xuci naturally tilted the umbrella toward Xu Zhizhi, shielding her from the snow.

Her hands tucked in her pockets, Xu Zhizhi stole glances at him from the corner of her eye.

Watching the cold wind tousle his hair.

Admiring his flawless profile under the flickering streetlights.

Watching the swirling snowflakes gradually accumulate on his shoulders,

Zhou Xuci turned to Xu Zhizhi, who seemed lost in thought, and asked, “Junior, do you have something to say? Hmm?”

Xu Zhizhi lowered her head, her ears turning red with embarrassment. “Last time when I was drunk, I must have caused you a lot of trouble. I’m really sorry, I…”

“You didn’t cause any trouble,” Zhou Xuci replied, a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips.

Xu Zhizhi had completely blacked out and now looked up at him in despair, cautiously asking, “Senior, I didn’t do anything outrageous, did I?”

Amusement glimmered in Zhou Xuci’s eyes as he countered, “Outrageous? Like what?”

Xu Zhizhi’s mind raced. “Well, some people have terrible drinking habits like kissing others wildly when drunk, or dragging people into pole dances in public. That kind of absurd stuff.”

“You didn’t do any of that,” Zhou Xuci said, his tone carrying a hint of regret.

How could he have missed such an opportunity?

Too bad he hadn’t been so lucky!

“Then…” Xu Zhizhi ducked her head even lower, hiding half her face in her scarf, and asked despairingly, “Did I hold a knife to your neck and force you to carry me back to the dorm?”

That might actually have happened!

Zhou Xuci had carried her the entire way!

How could she have dared?!

Zhou Xuci burst into laughter, his eyes crinkling with mirth.

Xu Zhizhi’s heart sank. “I wouldn’t have done that, right?”

Just then, they arrived at the dormitory building. Zhou Xuci stopped and gazed at her with a smile. “Is this why you’ve been avoiding me lately?”

“I haven’t been avoiding you,” Xu Zhizhi denied immediately. “I just… was worried I’d embarrassed myself too much.”

Zhou Xuci seemed to relax slightly. “I thought it might have been because of the discussions on the school forum that bothered you.”

Xu Zhizhi shook her head. “I don’t care what others say.”

Life was her own. Living constantly under others’ judgments would be exhausting.

“When you were drunk, you weren’t noisy or troublesome, just well-behaved. Except…” Zhou Xuci leaned in slightly, his warm breath brushing against her as he murmured in a low, captivating voice, “You were a little clingy.”

A bolt of lightning seemed to strike Xu Zhizhi’s head.

Clingy!

She had actually acted clingy with Zhou Xuci!

Xu Zhizhi stood frozen in shock, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Zhou Xuci’s smile deepened, and unable to resist, he reached out to brush the snow from her hair, whispering, “But it was adorable.”

Three seconds later, Xu Zhizhi’s face burned crimson, and she bolted into the dormitory like her life depended on it.

Zhou Xuci called after her retreating figure, “Goodnight, junior.”

Xu Zhizhi stumbled but still managed to reply, “G-good g-goodnight!”

Zhou Xuci stood there, watching until her figure disappeared completely before finally looking away. He glanced down at the umbrella in his hand.

He was one step closer to her now.

Back in the dorm, her roommates were still awake.

With finals week right after New Year’s, everyone was burning the midnight oil, cramming furiously.

Ling Shuang, dizzy from wrestling with Marxist theory, noticed Xu Zhizhi’s flushed face and asked worriedly, “Zhizhi, your face is so red, are you sick?”

Xu Zhizhi quickly waved her off, taking a sip of hot water from her thermos to calm herself. “I’m fine.”

Cheng Xiaoxin scooted over and pressed the back of her hand to Xu Zhizhi’s forehead. “Hmm, temperature’s normal.”

Song Jia, with a face mask on, leaned in for a closer look and remarked, “Comrade Xu Zhizhi, you look a bit bashful, huh?”

Xu Zhizhi choked on her hot water, coughing even more and turning redder in the face. She stammered nervously, “N-no, I’m not.”

Not giving her roommate a chance to pry further, Xu Zhizhi quickly made an excuse, “My stomach hurts. I’m going to sleep now. Good night, good night, good night!”

That night, Xu Zhizhi tossed and turned, unable to sleep, her mind filled with Zhou Xuci, Zhou Xuci, Zhou Xuci.

It was the first time she had lost sleep over Zhou Xuci.

…