Sweet Temptation: After Rebirth, The Campus Heartthrob Can’t Hide His Feelings Anymore - Chapter 73

Xu Zhizhi had booked a private room to celebrate Zhou Xuci’s birthday.

Twenty-one years old.

Their first birthday together.

Just for the two of them.

They would spend countless birthdays together in the future.

Xu Zhizhi said, “Lower your head.”

Zhou Xuci complied. “Okay.”

Smiling, Xu Zhizhi placed a paper birthday crown on Zhou Xuci’s head.

She inserted the candles into the cake.

Lit them.

Holding the cake she had made herself, she walked step by step toward Zhou Xuci, lifted her face, and gazed at him affectionately.

“Brother.”

“Happy birthday~”

Her voice was sweet and soft, incredibly pleasing to the ear.

The warm glow of the orange candlelight illuminated Xu Zhizhi’s face, reflecting the sparkling light in her eyes. Time seemed to freeze like a camera shutter, capturing her sweet smile in an instant.

Zhou Xuci smiled, his eyes crinkling. “Zhizhi, sing me a birthday song.”

She was always eager to please.

Xu Zhizhi sang a birthday song and handed the cake to Zhou Xuci. “Come on, make a wish.”

After a moment of thought, Zhou Xuci spoke seriously, “I wish…”

“Don’t say it out loud,” Xu Zhizhi interrupted, blinking at him. “It won’t come true if you do.”

Zhou Xuci obediently closed his eyes and made a wish.

May my little princess be happy forever.

He blew out the candles, and the ceremony was complete.

Xu Zhizhi and Zhou Xuci sat together on the sofa.

Zhou Xuci wrapped his arm around Xu Zhizhi’s waist, resting his chin on her shoulder like a big dog begging for a treat. “Where’s my birthday gift?”

Xu Zhizhi took a gift bag from her purse and handed it to him. “Here.”

Under her expectant gaze, Zhou Xuci opened the bag and pulled out a scarf.

Navy blue.

Neatly knitted.

It was made by Xu Zhizhi.

“A scarf,” Zhou Xuci said, his eyes filled with tenderness. “Are you trying to keep me wrapped around you forever? Hmm?”

He caressed the scarf as if it were a treasure.

“Not at all,” Xu Zhizhi murmured, lowering her gaze. “It’s not as fancy as your high-end ones, but…”

“Brother,” she turned slightly, cupping his face in her hands, her smile deepening the dimples at the corners of her mouth. “That time in the snow when you wrapped a scarf around me, I was actually super moved.”

She remembered the first time she turned back to look at him, on that snowy blind date night.

Zhou Xuci had wrapped a navy scarf around her.

That scarf had wrapped her up.

It was then that she began to realize Zhou Xuci was taking every step toward her.

“Zhizhi, I really love your gift.”

Overwhelmed with emotion, Zhou Xuci leaned in to kiss her, but Xu Zhizhi covered his mouth.

She refused the kiss and urged him, “The cake is made with whipped cream. We need to eat it quickly before it melts.”

“I made it myself.”

“It took me three hours. I didn’t even have dinner.”

Zhou Xuci patted her head. “Then let’s try it right away.”

He cut a slice of cake and handed it to Xu Zhizhi.

She took it and fed the first bite to Zhou Xuci, watching him expectantly. “How does it taste?”

Zhou Xuci smiled. “Delicious.”

Xu Zhizhi tried a bite herself. “It’s a bit too sweet. I think I added too much sugar.”

“Really? Let me taste again.”

With that, Zhou Xuci gently held her chin and kissed her unexpectedly. The sweet flavor of the cake and cream spread between their lips.

After kissing for a while, Zhou Xuci released Xu Zhizhi, pressing his forehead against hers. His low voice carried a triumphant smile. “It really is sweet.”

Xu Zhizhi lightly punched his shoulder, her ears tinged with red as she mumbled, “Zhou Xuci, you did that on purpose.”

Zhou Xuci cupped her face, his eyes filled with affection. “We’ve kissed so many times, and you still blush?”

She glared at him, her gaze slightly evasive, her breathing growing a bit rapid. Softly, she retorted, “Not as thick-skinned as you.”

His smile deepened as Zhou Xuci gently traced the small dimple at the corner of her lips with his fingertip. His voice, thick and intoxicating like aged wine, murmured, “It’s my birthday today. Let me kiss you a little longer, okay?”

His words were utterly bewitching.

Xu Zhizhi pouted, helpless against him. “Even if it weren’t your birthday, you’d still kiss for a long time.”

You’re such a kissing fiend!

“Because you look so kissable.”

Zhou Xuci tightened his arm around her waist, his other hand cradling the back of her head, fingers threading through her soft hair as he lost himself in a passionate kiss.

He didn’t let it go on too wildly, eventually releasing her as he’d intended.

“Did you skip dinner?” Zhou Xuci asked.

Xu Zhizhi nodded. “Mm.”

“Even if you’re busy, you have to eat on time,” he said, his expression turning slightly stern. “Is your stomach feeling okay?”

“It’s fine.” Xu Zhizhi wrapped her arms around his. “I had some bread earlier. I didn’t let myself go hungry.”

Zhou Xuci ruffled her hair. “Let’s go get dinner.”

“Okay.”

He took her back to his small apartment and cooked noodles for them.

Xu Zhizhi didn’t idle either, helping by prepping ingredients and washing a bunch of bok choy.

Together, they bustled around, filling the small apartment with the warmth of everyday life.

Lately, with the client’s project deadlines pressing, Zhou Xuci had been staying more often at the small apartment, it was only a five-minute walk from his studio.

The living room had undergone a slight change: a small painting area had been set up, complete with a canvas, easel, brushes, and paints.

It was all prepared for Xu Zhizhi.

Once the noodles were ready, they sat side by side at the small dining table, enjoying the fragrant meal.

After eating their fill, Xu Zhizhi settled in front of the easel, squeezing out paints, mixing colors, and starting to paint.

Zhou Xuci was revising a project proposal.

About half an hour into her painting, her phone suddenly buzzed.

It was Sun Xiuya, whom she hadn’t been in contact with for a long time.

Not wanting to disturb Zhou Xuci, Xu Zhizhi stepped out onto the balcony to answer the call.

“Xu Zhizhi!”

“What have you done to A-Yu?”

“Why has he suddenly become like this?”

Sun Xiuya’s hysterical screams pierced through the phone, sharp as needles stabbing into Xu Zhizhi’s ears.

“He won’t listen to me anymore! He’s started rebelling! He won’t answer my calls!”

“Xu Zhizhi, it’s all because of you, isn’t it? You must have turned him against me, poisoning the bond between A-Yu and me. How malicious you are!”

Xu Zhizhi had endured too many of these frenzied accusations to feel anything but numb.

Only now, she was no longer afraid.

In the past, Sun Xiuya’s manic episodes had trapped her in endless darkness, but now, she had broken free and grasped the light that belonged to her.

Lifting her head to gaze into the pitch-black night, Xu Zhizhi replied coldly, “What happens with your son has nothing to do with me.”

“You’ve got the wrong person. I have no right to interfere with his freedom, nor do I want any further involvement in his life.”

“And please, don’t come looking for me to vent your madness anymore. I am no longer your puppet on strings. What I owe the Shen family, I will repay in full. My life… please, do not disturb it any longer.”

The evening breeze swept by, lifting Xu Zhizhi’s hair as she gazed up at the boundless sea of stars.

Below, the world was illuminated by countless household lights. One day, one of those lights would be lit by her own hands.

She would eventually have a home of her own.

…