It fell from his fingertips

Zhou Yan sank to the sixteenth floor and stood at the door of room 1601.

His finger hovered over the doorbell, hesitant to press it for a long time. His prominent Adam's apple bobbed back and forth, his palms were sweaty, and even his back felt a little uneasy.

Finally, after taking several deep breaths, Zhou Yanchen raised his hand and knocked on the door.

Soon, the door was opened from the inside.

Zhou Jinbai stood at the door, his brows slightly furrowed, his dark eyes fixed on Zhou Yanchen's face. He showed no emotion, but his gaze made Zhou Yanchen feel uneasy.

Zhou Yanchen and Zhou Jinbai stared at each other for only a few seconds before his eyes nervously drifted away.

He has been afraid of his brother since he was a child.

I'm afraid of him, but I also admire him the most and am most dissatisfied with him.

I admire him for taking over the Zhou family business at such a young age and managing such a large group so well; what I resent is why he is always right and why he has to live in his brother's shadow forever.

But now that they've been caught red-handed, all their resentment vanished, leaving only embarrassment and guilt.

"Come in."

Zhou Jinbai spoke coldly, his voice devoid of any warmth.

Zhou Yanchen was suddenly called over, and when he saw that his brother's aura was off, he immediately panicked.

Recalling what his older brother had said on the phone earlier, Zhou Yanchen understood everything: his older brother must have known everything and thought he was skipping work and coming on vacation.

"Brother, the project in Haicheng is progressing well, so I just came out to relax. Didn't we agree that the project's interim final report would be submitted next Wednesday? So, I..."

Zhou Yanchen forced a relaxed smile, but it was a little stiff. He glanced at Zhou Jinbai's face and felt even more uneasy when he saw that Zhou Jinbai didn't react.

Zhou Jinbai coldly lifted his eyelids: "Going out with other girls behind your girlfriend's back, what's wrong with that?"

After a slight pause, Zhou Jinbai's voice lowered further, this time radiating an even colder aura: "Zhou Yanchen, you've grown quite the brat? Is this how I taught you?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanchen's face turned pale instantly.

Can……

Zhou Yanchen's Adam's apple bobbed, and his palms sweated even more, but he still stubbornly insisted, his tone carrying a hint of arrogance and resentment: "Brother, Su Leqi is my buddy, you know that, how can it be considered going out with another girl behind your girlfriend's back? Besides... Tang Luoqing is just my girlfriend, not my wife yet, this... isn't that serious, is it? Once she becomes my wife..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Yanchen was met with Zhou Jinbai's icy gaze, and the rest of his words stuck in his throat. He shut his mouth without any self-respect.

The surroundings were unusually quiet for a moment. Zhou Yanchen felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave and could hardly breathe under his brother's gaze.

I do not know how long it has been,

"Come with me."

After Zhou Jinbai finished speaking, he walked out before Zhou Yanchen could react, his tall figure moving quickly.

Zhou Yanchen didn't understand, but he still obediently followed.

He followed behind Zhou Jinbai, watching his back, his heart pounding with anxiety.

Where are you going? Are you going to find a secluded place to beat him up?

Zhou Yanchen, who was usually carefree and fearless, was feeling uneasy, but had no choice but to follow Zhou Jinbai into the elevator.

The elevator went down, the numbers jumped to the first floor, and then it stopped.

A few minutes later, Zhou Yanchen followed Zhou Jinbai to the private boxing gym on the first floor.

The place is huge, with punching bags hanging in the center of the room, punching pads, and protective gear all readily available. The floor is covered with thick soft mats, and the professional equipment gleams coldly under the lights.

"Brother, what's wrong with you...?"

Zhou Yan swallowed hard, his voice trembling slightly.

Is his brother going to box against him?

He couldn't beat his brother; not only could he not beat him, but he was completely crushed by his brother.

Seeing that Zhou Jinbai ignored him, he went straight into the dressing room next door.

When he came out again a few minutes later, the man had changed into a black vest and athletic pants, and was wearing a pair of black boxing gloves.

Zhou Jinbai walked up to the sandbag and threw a punch.

The punches, accompanied by a whooshing sound, slammed into the sandbag, the dull thuds echoing throughout the room. Each punch was powerful, causing the sandbag to shake violently.

Zhou Yanchen stood at the door, his heart pounding, a chill running down his spine.

In a daze, scenes from my childhood flashed into my mind.

He was still a child then, and being mischievous, he grabbed his mother's kitten to play with. The kitten scratched his hand, and he got so angry that he grabbed the kitten and threw it into the swimming pool next to him, almost drowning the cat.

When the mother came back, she was so angry that she cried, but in the end she couldn't bear to hit her youngest son.

On the contrary, when Zhou Jinbai came home from school and found out about this, he grabbed his younger brother, who was five years younger than him, and hung him up to beat him.

They really did hang them up and beat them.

Zhou Yan still remembers that beating to this day. Since then, he, who was already afraid of his brother, would go weak in the knees whenever he saw Zhou Jinbai.

Looking at Zhou Jinbai now, the man's black vest clings tightly to his body, outlining the sharp and smooth muscle lines of his shoulders and back.

The muscle definition beneath the vest rippled and contracted with each punch, like a lurking beast suppressing something.

Sweat trickled down the man's jawline, past his prominent Adam's apple, and splattered onto his boxing gloves.

Each punch was fast and fierce, carrying an uncontrollable force, slamming into the sandbag with a dull thud.

Soon, the man's bangs were soaked with sweat and stuck to his forehead, the collar of his vest was soaked with sweat, and the fabric that clung to his collarbone contracted and expanded with his breathing.

In the reflection on the floor-to-ceiling window, the man's eyes were indifferent and cold, completely different from the usually refined and restrained Zhou Jinbai.

Zhou Yan shrank back and subconsciously took two steps back towards the door.

Although he wasn't the punching bag, for some reason, he always felt like his older brother's fists would come at him at any moment.

At this moment, Zhou Jinbai stopped moving, panting, with beads of sweat sliding down his jawline.

Then, he turned around and looked at Zhou Yanchen.

The image of Zhou Yanchen forcibly kissing Tang Luoqing in the elevator not long ago kept flashing through his mind. The man's eyes grew colder, his dark pupils like a deep, icy pool, exuding a deep chill.

"Zhou Yanchen, if I find out you're not a decent human being again..."

Zhou Jinbai's voice was a little hoarse, but still had a magnetic quality that came with exercise. He said, word by word, "It's not as simple as hitting a sandbag."

Zhou Yanchen's breath hitched, and a chill ran down his spine.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end he swallowed it back and just stood there obediently, looking exactly like a scolded elementary school student, his head almost touching his chest.

After all, he really couldn't beat his older brother.

·

That night, Zhou Yanchen stayed in room 1601 all night.

He sat on the sofa in the living room, with his computer and documents spread out in front of him. He yawned every now and then, his eyes were so tired that he could barely keep them open, but he still forced himself to write the report.

But he couldn't help but mutter, "Strange, it's just a weekend outing with friends, why is my brother taking it so seriously?"

He didn't actually do anything.

Downstairs, Tang Luoqing waited in her room for a long time, but Zhou Yanchen never showed up.

After taking a shower, she leaned against the headboard, holding her phone. The screen lit up and dimmed repeatedly as she glanced at the time and then at the door.

Zhou Yanchen said he would come over after finishing his work, but Tang Luoqing's eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and she fell asleep while waiting.

The phone slipped from my hand and fell onto the blanket.

The next morning, the warm sunlight filled the room. Tang Luoqing sat up, her eyes not fully open, and yawned groggily. It took her a while to fully wake up.

The room was quiet, and she was still all alone.

Zhou Yanchen still didn't come.

Wait, Zhou Yanchen said he came specifically to see her? What about his luggage?

Tang Luoqing finally realized that something was wrong yesterday.

Thinking about it this way, and remembering yesterday, Zhou Yanchen left in a hurry after receiving a call from his brother, saying he had to rush to finish a report.

But is it really about rushing to finish a report?

Tang Luoqing bit her lower lip, her fingers gripping her phone tightly.

This kind of thing has happened before.

Zhou Yanchen likes to use his brother as a shield. For example, when it comes to business trips, even though he wants to go, he blames his brother.

Will he use his brother as an excuse again this time?

Tang Luoqing took a deep breath, hesitated for a long time, and finally opened Zhou Jinbai's WeChat chat.

This was the second time she had proactively sent a WeChat message to Zhou Jinbai.

Just before typing a line and sending it, Tang Luoqing couldn't help but wonder if her older brother would find her annoying? Or perhaps, was it a bit abrupt to send it so early in the morning?

After hesitating for a long time, Tang Luoqing gritted her teeth and sent a message: [Excuse me, brother, I wanted to ask if Yan Chen is still with you?]

Five minutes after sending the message, Tang Luoqing received a WeChat reply from Zhou Jinbai: [He's sleeping. What's up?]

Tang Luoqing glanced at the time in the upper left corner of her phone screen with some surprise. It was a little past eight o'clock. She was sleeping... which was understandable.

After all, perhaps last night... I really was busy with work until very late?

Tang Luo then sent a message: 【It's nothing. I was originally planning to have breakfast with him.】

This time, the other party replied quickly: "I'll pass on the message once he wakes up."

Tang Luoqing replied: 【Thank you, big brother.】

She put away her phone, got out of bed, changed her clothes, and washed up.

Since Zhou Yanchen is with his elder brother, he probably didn't lie last night.

After leaving her hotel room, Tang Luoqing went to the 13th floor to have the buffet breakfast.

The restaurant was quiet and not crowded. Tang Luoqing found a seat by the window and was about to get some food when she caught a glimpse of two familiar figures out of the corner of her eye.

Tang Luoqing paused. Weren't those two Su Leqi and Lao Chen?

The two of them were sitting at a table not far away, having breakfast. Su Leqi was absent-minded, and Old Chen was talking about something else.

Tang Luoqing's brows furrowed even more, and her fingers unconsciously tightened their grip on her phone.

Su Leqi and Lao Chen? What are they doing here? Are they staying at this hotel too?

What a coincidence?

Or……

A terrible thought suddenly popped into Tang Luoqing's mind.

The next moment, Su Leqi and Lao Chen turned their heads unintentionally and happened to meet Tang Luoqing's eyes.

The two seemed startled; they didn't even bother to eat breakfast, turned around, stood up, and quickly walked outside.

But she bumped into a man and awkwardly stopped in her tracks.

It's Zhou Jinbai.