Sweet Temptation: After Rebirth, The Campus Heartthrob Can’t Hide His Feelings Anymore - Chapter 61

The dinner was sumptuous.

Just as Zhou Xuci had said, Lu Huainan was well-practiced, and his cooking skills were top-notch.

Lu Huainan appeared stern on the outside, often wearing a cold expression, but he was endlessly accommodating to Zhou Xin, constantly adding more dishes to her plate.

Zhou Xin enthusiastically served Xu Zhizhi soup, repeatedly remarking that she was too thin and needed more nourishment.

Between the lines, it was filled with care.

Xu Zhizhi’s heart was brimming with warmth at that moment, once again deeply feeling the comfort of family.

Zhou Xuci’s features resembled Zhou Xin’s, exuding a natural gentleness, with expressive eyes that were deep and spirited.

Noticing Xu Zhizhi’s slight daze, Zhou Xuci placed a peeled shrimp into her bowl and asked, “Is the food not to your taste?”

“It is,” Xu Zhizhi replied with a sweet smile, revealing her adorable dimples. “It’s super delicious.”

Lu Huainan chimed in, “Eat more.”

His tone was gentle.

Perhaps he truly wasn’t the type to smile often, which made him seem rather intimidating.

But he was a good person, an exceptionally good one.

Lu Huainan tilted his chin slightly toward Zhou Xuci and said, “If there’s any dish you particularly like, let this kid learn how to make it in the future.”

Xu Zhizhi tightened her grip on her chopsticks and replied nervously, “I can cook myself.”

“However,” Lu Huainan said with a serious expression, “our family rule is that the men do the cooking.”

Xu Zhizhi: “…”

What an impressive family rule!

She glanced curiously at Zhou Xuci, seeking confirmation.

Zhou Xuci placed a piece of chicken in Xu Zhizhi’s bowl and explained,

“It’s a newly established family rule. I just found out about it myself.”

Xu Zhizhi couldn’t help but laugh.

After dinner, Zhou Xin pulled Xu Zhizhi aside to unpack her luggage.

Zhou Xin was quite the spendthrift, an extreme one.

From one trip, she had gone on a shopping spree and brought back ten suitcases.

She was responsible for the buying, while Lu Huainan was responsible for carrying everything without a single complaint.

Honestly, a man like Lu Huainan was truly one in a million.

The suitcases were spread all over the floor, all opened, revealing countless large gift boxes of all kinds.

Extremely luxurious.

Zhou Xin opened one of the gift boxes and, as if performing magic, pulled out a beautiful dress.

It was in a pastel color palette.

Leaning toward a youthful style.

Adorned with sparkling gemstones, it shimmered brilliantly under the light.

Absolutely stunning.

But it was clearly very expensive.

Zhou Xin held the dress up against Xu Zhizhi, squinting with satisfaction. “I knew it, this dress would definitely suit you.”

Xu Zhizhi looked bewildered. “Huh?”

“My dear Zhizhi,” Zhou Xin said, stuffing the dress into Xu Zhizhi’s arms and urging her, “Come on, try it on quickly. Let me see.”

Flustered, Xu Zhizhi protested, “Auntie, this isn’t appropriate…”

Zhou Xin nudged Xu Zhizhi toward the room. “It’s perfectly appropriate. The moment I saw this dress, I thought, if you wore it, you’d look absolutely stunning.”

“Auntie, we’re actually-”

With a soft “click,” the door was already closed.

Xu Zhizhi blinked at the shut door and murmured under her breath, “What I meant to say was, we’ve actually just met.”

Why did Auntie act as if they were already so familiar?

Without overthinking it, Xu Zhizhi obediently changed into the dress. The fit was perfect, as if the dress had been tailor-made just for her.

Carefully, she opened the door.

Zhou Xin eagerly approached, her eyes lighting up with admiration and delight. “I told you, you look absolutely gorgeous.”

Before Xu Zhizhi could say a word, Zhou Xin handed her another set, this one a gauzy dress adorned with a starry night sky design, entirely different in style.

But just as expensive.

“Try this one on too.”

“…”

“And this one.”

“…”

“This one, this one!”

After trying on seven high-end custom dresses in a row, Xu Zhizhi noticed Zhou Xin was still rummaging through the luggage.

Zhou Xin pulled out a pile of boxes filled with delicacies and pastries from around the world, everything one could imagine.

Xu Zhizhi looked at the gifts spread across the floor. Out of ten suitcases, seven were filled with presents for her.

The last gift was particularly special, a complete set of premium paintbrushes that Zhou Xin had carefully selected after a long search.

Food.

Clothing.

Art supplies.

Zhou Xin had demonstrated thoughtfulness and meticulousness to the fullest.

Standing amidst the mountain of gifts, Xu Zhizhi felt the weight on her shoulders grow heavy, as if she couldn’t bear this sudden outpouring of kindness.

“Auntie, these are all too extravagant,” Xu Zhizhi lowered her head, feeling undeserving.

“Not at all, not at all,” Zhou Xin waved her hand dismissively, speaking with conviction. “My husband earns money for me to spend, no need to feel sorry for him. Besides, the only value of money is to be spent.”

Zhou Xin had a very carefree outlook. “If I don’t spend it, and some other woman ends up spending it one day, I’d be so mad I’d wake up in the middle of the night and slap myself.”

Xu Zhizhi quickly reassured her, speaking sincerely, “That won’t happen. I think Uncle loves you very much.”

“I know, I was just imagining a scenario,” Zhou Xin said proudly, raising an eyebrow with a touch of arrogance. “In this whole world, he only loves me.”

This was the confidence and pride of someone deeply cherished.

“Let me tell you a secret,” Zhou Xin leaned in and whispered into Xu Zhizhi’s ear, “I have my own little treasure trove too. I’ve made quite a bit from investments.”

I’m seriously super rich.

Hehe.

Xu Zhizhi smiled gently, maintaining a respectful and measured tone. “Auntie, I know you’re very capable, but I feel that since A-Ci and I haven’t been together for long, no one can say for sure what the future holds. I-”

“Zhizhi, wait a moment.”

Zhou Xin interrupted, turning to search through another unopened suitcase.

After a bit of effort, she pulled out a thick photo album and led Xu Zhizhi to sit on the sofa.

Zhou Xin began flipping through the album, showing Xu Zhizhi photos of Zhou Xuci from his childhood.

She was a dedicated mother, meticulously documenting every step of Zhou Xuci’s growth, preserving each memory with great care.

Pointing at a baby photo, Zhou Xin said, “This was right after A-Ci was born. He was so ugly, all wrinkled up. I even wondered if the hospital had made a mistake.”

“This was when he was three. His older brother shaved off half of his eyebrow, and A-Ci cried so loudly it shook the heavens. I tried to comfort him for ages, but he just wouldn’t stop, such a crybaby.”

“At six, he was smarter than other kids his age and got selected for the Olympiad math class. I worried so much about him I couldn’t sleep for nights. He was so different from his peers, I actually wished he could be more ordinary, growing up happily like the other young masters.”

“When he was twelve, he participated in an international piano competition and won first prize, but he wasn’t happy because the makeup artist had made his face too red. He said he looked like a monkey’s bottom.”

Xu Zhizhi gazed at one yellowed photo after another, a soft smile spreading in her eyes.

Listening to Zhou Xin’s description, I gradually stepped into Zhou Xuci’s world, as if encountering countless versions of him across time and space.

“In high school, he wasn’t rebellious at all, always a top student, his portrait filling the honor roll at school.”

“Or perhaps,” Zhou Xin continued flipping through, pausing her voice as she looked at Xu Zhizhi, “he did rebel once. He had an early romance, falling for a very beautiful girl.”

…