It fell from his fingertips

Five days after submitting the first article, the first payment arrived in my account.

Tang Luoqing looked at the amount on her phone screen and excitedly hugged and kissed Naitang several times.

Then a question came to mind: Should I treat Zhou Jin to a free meal?

If he hadn't helped her point out those detailed questions that she couldn't even think of no matter how hard she tried, she probably wouldn't have been able to submit a perfect manuscript.

This favor should be expressed in person to show gratitude.

Thinking of this, Tang Luoqing picked up her phone and dialed Zhou Yanchen's number.

Zhou Yanchen's gentle voice rang out: "What's wrong, baby?"

"The first payment for the article has arrived."

Tang Luoqing, thinking about the amount received on the screen, felt a surge of joy: "I was really grateful for Big Brother's guidance on the last draft. I'm thinking... treating him to a meal to thank him. What do you think?"

"Sure, you can decide on this."

Before he could finish speaking, someone called out Zhou Yanchen's name.

"Mr. Zhou, the meeting is starting."

Zhou Yanchen quickly said, "But my brother is very busy, he might not have time. Why don't you ask him? Don't you have his WeChat?"

"Baby, I have to go to a meeting. I'll talk to you later."

Hearing the shouts on the other end of the phone, Tang Luoqing knew Zhou Yanchen was busy, so she hung up.

Little did they know, after Zhou Yanchen hung up the phone, he wasn't going to attend any meeting at all.

Meanwhile, on Zhou Yanchen's side...

The billiard hall was filled with a faint smell of tobacco. Zhou Yanchen hung up the call and casually tossed his phone onto the sofa.

Su Leqi, who was leaning against the pool table next to him, chuckled, her tone full of teasing: "Zhou Yanchen, from now on, going out with you will feel like attending a meeting, right? Every time you answer a phone call, it's like you're giving a work report. Aren't you tired?"

Zhou Yanchen looked up without looking up.

He bent down, set up his cue, aimed, and completed the movement in one smooth motion. The cue tip struck the white ball with a crisp "click," and the red ball grazed the edge of the pocket and fell into it.

He straightened up, casually rubbed the end of the cue stick, glanced at Su Leqi, raised an eyebrow, and said in a lazy and somewhat impatient tone, "Stop talking nonsense, let's play another round."

On the other hand, although Zhou Yanchen said that Tang Luoqing had her older brother's WeChat, she was still hesitant.

They first added each other as friends at a family banquet at the Zhou family's old house. Zhou's mother held Tang Luoqing's hand and said with a smile, "We're all family. Add me on WeChat so we can help each other out if anything happens in the future."

The man was wearing a dark shirt, holding his phone between his fingers and nodding slightly. When he handed her the QR code, she didn't even dare to look up at Zhou Jinbai's eyes. After scanning the code, she hurriedly looked away and didn't dare to send a single word afterward.

At this moment, Tang Luoqing hesitated for a long time, typed a lot of words, deleted and edited them, and finally sent them in a proper manner: "[Hello, brother, this is Tang Luoqing. Thank you for your guidance on my drawing last time. I would like to invite you to dinner to express my gratitude in person. When would be a convenient time for you?]"

at the same time,

Zhou Jinbai was sitting in front of the floor-to-ceiling window of the airport VIP waiting room, with a half-cup of black coffee beside him. His assistant stood beside him with his head down, quietly reading the pending list of the overseas branch.

Just then, the phone on the coffee table next to him vibrated. Zhou Jinbai glanced at it casually and paused in his act of picking up his cup to drink coffee.

Immediately, Zhou Jinbai picked up his phone and saw the message on it.

However, his trip overseas was to deal with the mess at the branch office, and it was a certainty that he would be working non-stop for a week, so he wouldn't have time recently.

Zhou Jinbai lowered his eyes, his fingers paused slightly, and he typed a line of text on his phone before sending it.

Meanwhile, Tang Luoqing received a message from the other party: 【Sorry, I'm busy lately】

She breathed a sigh of relief. She realized she had been too presumptuous. Maybe she should wait for Zhou Yanchen to return before making a decision.

Tang Luoqing was about to reply, "It's okay, I won't bother you anymore," when the other party opened the second message before she could send it.

Zhou Jinbai: [Next Thursday at 5 PM.]

Tang Luoqing was slightly taken aback, then quickly replied: 【Okay, brother, I'll make the reservation and send you the address. Thank you for your help.】

After sending the message, Tang Luoqing breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the restaurant was in a dilemma.

She spent a full half hour choosing a private chef restaurant with excellent online reviews. The reviews said the environment was tranquil and the dishes were light and not greasy, but the price was a bit expensive, around three thousand yuan per person.

However, since it was the first time I was treating Zhou Jinbai to a meal, I couldn't afford to treat him to something too cheap.

Fortunately, her royalties this time were quite substantial, so indulging in a little luxury now and then wasn't out of the question.

After confirming the location, Tang Luoqing sent Zhou Yanchen a message: "I've made plans to have dinner with my older brother next Thursday at 5 PM."

Almost forty minutes later, Zhou Yanchen replied: [Not necessarily. We'll see. If I can't get back, you can treat Big Brother to a meal alone and use my card.]

From the very first day Zhou Yanchen began pursuing Tang Luoqing, he gave her a special "girlfriend card".

But she's never used it before, so naturally she won't use it this time either.

Tang Luoqing sent the restaurant address to Zhou Jinbai, and received a reply four hours later: 【Sorry, I just got off the plane, I'll be there on time.】

Tang Luoqing quickly replied: 【It's nothing, it's nothing.】

That's how it was settled.

·

It was already Thursday afternoon at four o'clock.

Tang Luoqing changed into a white shirt and jeans, a very ordinary and unremarkable outfit, but still quite appropriate.

Just as Zhou Yanchen picked up his bag and changed his shoes, he stood at the door with his suitcase. The man's shirt collar was unbuttoned by two buttons, and his hair was damp with rainwater. He looked weary from his journey.

"Why are you back?"

Tang Luoqing was taken aback, but she had already rushed forward and hugged Zhou Yanchen: "Weren't you out of town overseeing the project?"

"The head office is having a briefing on Friday, so I came back a day early to prepare."

Zhou Yanchen leaned his suitcase against the entrance, looked at Tang Luoqing's waist, lowered his head, and kissed her: "Going to dinner with my brother? Perfect, I'll go with you."

"OK."

Half an hour later, in a private kitchen.

Tang Luoqing picked up the teacup beside her, stood up and bowed slightly to Zhou Jinbai, her tone solemn and sincere: "Brother, I specially invited you here today because I wanted to thank you in person for your guidance on my drawing last time. If you hadn't pointed out those key issues, I definitely wouldn't have been able to submit such a smooth drawing. I'll toast you with this tea instead of wine."

She spoke earnestly, the tips of her ears were slightly red, and her eyes were clear and honest.

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Yanchen next to him also picked up his teacup, his posture becoming more reserved than usual: "That's right, brother. She's been talking about it several times at home these past two days, saying that you hit the nail on the head with just one sentence. I was worried that you were too busy to come, but thankfully you did."

"Thank you for taking care of her, brother."

Zhou Jinbai raised his eyes, picked up his water glass, took a small sip, and gestured that there was no need for formalities: "It was nothing, no need to be so polite. You have a solid foundation, you just hadn't quite figured things out yet."

Just as the hot dishes were being served, Zhou Yanchen's tone returned to its usual lazy and casual manner: "Alright, then we won't stand on ceremony."

He put on gloves and began peeling shrimp. He pinched the shrimp tail with his fingertips and twisted it to peel out the whole shrimp meat, then casually dropped it into Tang Luoqing's bowl. His movements were so practiced that it was clear he had done it countless times.

Tang Luoqing whispered, "You eat too, don't always make it for me," then picked up a shrimp and put it in her mouth, a slight smile curving her lips.

Sitting opposite him, Zhou Jinbai lowered his eyes, his fingertips resting on the rim of his cup, his knuckles turning white.

His gaze fell on the water in the glass, but his peripheral vision involuntarily swept over the natural and intimate interaction between the two, making his chest feel heavy.

A year ago, he happened to see Zhou Yanchen squatting downstairs tying Tang Luoqing's loose shoelaces. The usually unruly man looked serious in his eyes when he lowered his head, a seriousness that his older brother had never seen before.

At that time, he knew that his younger brother had truly settled down and was serious this time, and that he, as the older brother, should also keep his distance and suppress any inappropriate thoughts in his heart.

But looking at the scene before me, I still felt a little short of breath.

Zhou Jinbai put down his teacup and said in a flat voice, "I'm going out for a smoke."

Before the two could respond, Zhou Jinbai stood up and walked out of the private room.

At the end of the corridor, a cool night breeze blew in, dispelling some of the stuffiness.

Zhou Jinbai leaned against the gray wall, a cigarette between his fingers. The flame from the lighter flickered and lit the cigarette.

He didn't rush to smoke, but instead looked up at the swaying shadows of the trees in front of him, his brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.

Just then, a familiar voice came from the fire escape not far away.

He glanced up and saw Zhou Yanchen leaning against the wall, a cigarette between his fingers, clearly also out for some fresh air.

Standing opposite him was Su Leqi, who was wearing a red dress. It seemed they had just happened to pass by and bumped into each other.

The night was so quiet that the voices drifted on the wind, very clear.

"Finally caught you!"

Su Leqi crossed her arms and laughed, her tone incredibly familiar: "Last time you said you'd come back from out of town and we'd drink until we dropped, but it's been so long since you got back, are you deliberately avoiding me?"

Zhou Yanchen exhaled a puff of smoke, his tone nonchalant: "What's the rush? I've been busy lately. Let's talk about it when I'm free. If you don't like it, go to Haicheng. It's not like you haven't been there before."

"Too much to do? Are you busy spending time with your girlfriend?"

Su Leqi scoffed, "Zhou Yanchen, how many times have I flown to Haicheng? If I fly there again, it'll be considered a business trip."

The rest of the conversation faded into a whisper, becoming indistinct with the sound of the wind.

The cigarette between Zhou Jinbai's fingers was half-burned, and a long ash had accumulated, which was then scattered in the wind.

The temperature in his eyes gradually cooled, and even the aura around him seemed to deepen.

So all that talk about business trips to catch up on projects and settling down is really nothing more than this?

"It's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature." He had overestimated his younger brother.

In the past, because of Zhou Yanchen's rare seriousness, I was forced to stay far away, afraid that even glancing at him would overstep my bounds as an elder brother. But now, it seems that he is making a mountain out of a molehill.

Perhaps he didn't need to restrain himself so much?

What are you doing here?

Tang Luoqing's voice came from the other end of the corridor.

Then came Zhou Yanchen's voice: "Come out for a smoke. Let's go inside."

"That's strange, wasn't my brother supposed to be out smoking? Where is he?"

The two walked side by side into the private room, talking as they went.

Zhou Jinbai stood in the shadows, looking at the smiling profile of the girl whose waist Zhou Yanchen was holding, his fingertips tightening slightly.

After the two figures disappeared from the doorway of the private room, Zhou Jinbai stubbed out his cigarette, straightened his shirt cuffs, and walked back expressionlessly.

As she sat down, Tang Luoqing looked up and smiled at him, her eyes curving into crescents, clean and soft.

Zhou Jinbai's prominent Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and he nodded, his face expressionless, as if everything he had just heard in the corridor had nothing to do with him.

The rest of the meal proceeded peacefully.

As usual, Zhou Yanchen served Tang Luoqing food and peeled shrimp, occasionally making a few lighthearted remarks to keep the atmosphere from getting awkward. He also always maintained proper boundaries with Zhou Jinbai, behaving like a younger brother.

Zhou Jin rarely spoke; most of the time he just listened, occasionally responding with a word or two. Only when he lowered his eyes to hide his gaze would a hint of coldness flash across his eyes.

By the time the party ended, it was completely dark.

Zhou Yanchen took Tang Luoqing's hand and said goodbye to Zhou Jinbai: "Brother, we'll be going now. Take care on your journey."

Zhou Jinbai hummed in agreement, his gaze lingering on Tang Luoqing's face for a moment before returning to his own, his voice flat and even: "Be careful."

Watching their car merge into the traffic, Zhou Jinbai got into his car.

The carriage was silent. He leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, only a faint coldness remained in his eyes.

"Go check Yan Chen's entire itinerary during this business trip, including all the places he went and the people he met, down to the smallest detail, and send it to my email as soon as possible."

Zhou Jinbai didn't want to interfere in his brother's private affairs, but if Zhou Yanchen had no intention of taking it seriously, then perhaps he didn't need to keep up the good behavior he had maintained for so long.

Just like the teacher said, perhaps he can also give it a shot.