Sweet Temptation: After Rebirth, The Campus Heartthrob Can’t Hide His Feelings Anymore - Chapter 39

The New Year had arrived, and the Shen household was adorned with festive decorations.

Xu Zhizhi kept her promise and returned to accompany Uncle Shen for the reunion dinner.

“Zhizhi, why have you lost weight?” Shen Yaoxin added more dishes to her plate, his voice full of concern. “Is your part-time job too exhausting? Maybe you should quit?”

Xu Zhizhi offered him a faint smile but was interrupted before she could respond.

Sun Xiuya placed a piece of chicken in Shen Yaoxin’s bowl, her expression gentle and refined. “Girls should be raised delicately, of course, but they also need some real-world experience.”

Then, with a warm smile, she picked up a large chicken drumstick and placed it in Xu Zhizhi’s bowl. “I think gaining some life experience will help inspire Zhizhi’s creativity.”

“Many artists immersed themselves in the lives of ordinary people to observe and create timeless masterpieces,” Sun Xiuya said, her eyes curved into crescents. “Zhizhi must just want to broaden her horizons, right?”

“Yes, Auntie Sun is right,” Xu Zhizhi replied obediently.

Sun Xiuya’s lips curled slightly, but her smile froze for just a moment.

Xu Zhizhi calmly picked up the drumstick Sun Xiuya had placed in her bowl and set it aside on the bone dish.

Sun Xiuya’s expression darkened instantly. Her grip on her chopsticks tightened, veins bulging on the back of her hand.

She was used to a submissive Xu Zhizhi.

But if this girl dared to grow rebellious, she would pluck away every defiant scale, one by one.

Xu Zhizhi wore a faint smile and casually offered an excuse. “My stomach isn’t feeling well, it’s hard to digest.”

Sun Xiuya returned a tender smile and considerately added some fish to Xu Zhizhi’s bowl, her voice soft. “Have some fish then. It’s easier on the stomach.”

Xu Zhizhi lowered her gaze to the fish in her bowl, still riddled with bones, her eyes glinting with a cold, dark edge.

She despised Sun Xiuya’s hypocritical facade.

One day, she would personally tear off that ugly mask.

Suddenly, a faint rustling sound came from the entrance.

“You brat, you finally decided to come home?” Shen Yaoxin’s face darkened the moment he saw Shen Yu. “I called you countless times for tonight’s reunion dinner, and you ignored every one of them. You’re absolutely-”

“I’m here now, aren’t I?” Shen Yu retorted impatiently.

He turned his gaze toward the dining table, pausing when he saw Xu Zhizhi. His lips curled into a smirk, laced with provocation.

“Useless wastrel!” Shen Yaoxin’s face flushed with anger. “Never home, never doing anything productive, just wasting your time drinking and fooling around. Who even are the people you associate with?”

Shen Yu was used to the scolding. He strode over, pulled out a chair with ease, and casually took a seat right beside Xu Zhizhi.

“Youth doesn’t come twice. Might as well live it up while you’re young and reckless, that’s how you make sure you have no regrets,” Shen Yu declared shamelessly.

“You, you-!” Shen Yaoxin was so furious he could barely speak. “Why can’t you learn from Zhizhi? She never causes trouble, always knows her limits, and is well-behaved and sensible!”

Shen Yu tilted his head, eyeing Xu Zhizhi as she quietly sipped her soup, and raised a brow. “Oh, what a coincidence, Miss Perfect.”

His tone was teasing.

Too flirtatious.

Xu Zhizhi glanced at him, her gaze icy and indifferent, clearly unwilling to engage.

They were sitting close enough that she could distinctly smell a woman’s perfume on him, who knew which girl it had come from.

He really couldn’t stay idle for even a second.

While frantically adding Xu Zhizhi’s WeChat, he indulged in lingering in the tender embrace.

Mingled with the scent of tobacco on Shen Yu, Xu Zhizhi found it unpleasant, so much so that her stomach began to feel a bit queasy.

Shen Yaoxin was still seething with anger, but Sun Xiuya stopped him. “Yaoxin, it’s the New Year, and we’re having a reunion dinner. The most important thing is for the family to be together.”

“You always spoil him. Look at what he’s become,” Shen Yaoxin lamented, feeling helpless.

Sun Xiuya quickly turned to Xu Zhizhi, speaking softly to seek agreement. “Zhizhi, don’t you think so? The most important thing for a family is to stay united, right?”

Xu Zhizhi looked up and offered a faint smile, reverting to the obedient girl everyone remembered. “Whatever you say.”

Shen Yaoxin could no longer vent his anger, only grumbling at Sun Xiuya, “A doting mother ruins the son.”

Shen Yu’s presence made the atmosphere at the dining table even more oppressive.

Xu Zhizhi simply stopped eating, claiming her stomach was upset, and stood up to leave.

Sun Xiuya glared gloomily at Xu Zhizhi’s bowl, where the fish remained untouched.

She had grown bold, no longer willing to accept handouts.

Feeling stifled indoors, Xu Zhizhi stepped into the courtyard to enjoy the evening breeze.

The Shen family was wealthy, with a vast estate. The imposing high walls had confined Xu Zhizhi for ten long years.

The cool night wind tousled her hair as she lifted her head, quietly gazing at the stars piercing through the darkness, scattered yet radiant.

After dinner, Shen Yaoxin pulled Xu Zhizhi aside for small talk, chatting for a full two hours, still reluctant to let her go.

Time slipped away bit by bit. By ten o’clock at night, Xu Zhizhi was ready to leave.

“Zhizhi, are you unhappy staying with the Shen family?” Shen Yaoxin asked worriedly. “Or have I treated you poorly, making you reluctant to come home?”

Overwhelmed by his sincerity, Xu Zhizhi shook her head. “Uncle Shen, you’ve been very kind to me. I’ve always been grateful and will never forget your kindness.”

“But…” Her eyes glistened. “Uncle Shen, I’ve troubled you for ten years. You don’t owe my father anything, and even if you did, it’s time to consider the debt repaid.”

An act of bravery.

It bound us tightly for a decade.

Now that I’ve grown up, I can fly to farther places.

Shen Yaoxin, recalling the past, was filled with remorse. “Zhizhi, you know I’ve always treated you as family, the closest family.”

“I know,” Xu Zhizhi replied, her eyes slightly reddened. “Uncle Shen, I truly want to learn to stand on my own.”

No one’s wings can shelter me forever. I need to grow my own.

Shen Yaoxin patted her shoulder. “Zhizhi, promise me, if you ever face difficulties, you must tell me.”

Xu Zhizhi flashed a bright smile. “Okay.”

As she left, Shen Yaoxin specially gave her a New Year’s red envelope.

Quietly, Xu Zhizhi placed it back in his study.

The envelope was too thick, she couldn’t accept it.

Her heart no longer felt heavy, as if a massive weight had been lifted. With brisk steps, she walked out of the Shen residence.

Just as she reached the intersection, before she could hail a taxi,

Suddenly, a dark figure lunged at her, followed by the overpowering stench of alcohol.

Before Xu Zhizhi could react, an arm wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her into a firm embrace.

“Xu Zhizhi, where are you going? I won’t let you leave!”

Shen Yu’s drunken ramblings echoed in her ears, sending a shiver down Xu Zhizhi’s spine. Her eyes instantly darkened, glinting with a cold light.

…