It fell from his fingertips

In the spacious and brightly lit boxing room, Zhou Yanchen looked at Zhou Jinbai, who was wearing boxing gloves and exuding a cold aura. His face gradually lost all color, and he felt extremely flustered.

Before he could react, a sharp figure suddenly approached.

Zhou Jinbai's eyes were icy cold, devoid of any brotherly affection. His gloved fist, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, slammed down hard towards Zhou Yanchen.

The punch was exceptionally powerful, carrying a long-suppressed rage. Zhou Jinbai's mind flashed back to Tang Luoqing's broken body, drenched by the torrential rain.

"Well……"

Zhou Yanchen had no time to dodge. A sharp pain quickly swept over his slapped face, and a muffled groan of pain escaped his throat. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

Before he could even catch his breath, a second punch followed.

The man's punches were sharp and cold, and his strength increased.

With a loud "bang," Zhou Yan, who had just been punched hard, lost his balance and staggered back several steps before his legs gave way and he fell heavily to his knees on the boxing mat. His knees hit the ground with a dull thud, and the pain made his scalp tingle.

Following closely behind, Zhou Jinbai unleashed a series of powerful punches, each one carrying a gust of wind.

It was unclear how much time had passed, but Zhou Jinbai finally stopped using force when Zhou Yanchen knelt down and begged for mercy, glancing down at his brother who was kneeling in a disheveled state.

At this moment, Zhou Yanchen was no longer the carefree and unrestrained man he usually was. His face was covered in bruises, his lips were cut and red, and his bangs were soaked with cold sweat and stuck to his forehead. His breathing was rapid and disordered, and his chest was heaving violently.

He struggled to lift his head, his knees throbbing, his eyes filled with fear and grievance. His voice hoarse and frantic, he begged for mercy, "Brother, I was wrong, please don't hit me anymore, it hurts so much..."

He paused slightly, a deep resentment and bewilderment welling up in Zhou Yanchen's eyes: "But...but you beat me up like this just because I went to a club with other girls? Is that reasonable? Even if my girlfriend saw this, she wouldn't treat me like this, she wouldn't hit me, bro..."

Zhou Jinbai stood in front of Zhou Yanchen, his whole body exuding a chilling aura, his brows and eyes devoid of any warmth.

A moment later, the man's thin lips parted slightly, his voice low and cold: "Have you forgotten the Zhou family's rules?"

The man lowered his eyes to stare at his kneeling brother, his gaze deep and cold, and continued, "You can go out with other girls to socialize, attend parties, go anywhere, and do anything that both of you agree to, but the prerequisite is that you are single."

"If you're single now, I won't care what crazy things you do."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yan's throat tightened.

He opened his mouth, but all his words of explanation got stuck in his throat.

From childhood, Zhou Yanchen was well aware of the Zhou family's tradition of taking relationships seriously, and he was also aware of the pure love between his parents.

I heard that their mother was just an ordinary girl from a humble family. She was out of place in the strict Zhou family and had no way to help the prominent Zhou family. Naturally, it was extremely difficult for the two of them to be together back then.

But back then, my father insisted on marrying my mother and even directly scolded away the woman who wanted to marry him. Then he was placed under house arrest by my grandfather.

So, in order to be with his mother, the father jumped from the second floor without thinking, breaking his leg in the process.

Grandpa was so angry that he fainted on the spot. After waking up, he finally agreed to let the two of them get married.

For decades after their marriage, the parents remained as loving and devoted to each other as ever, never experiencing any estrangement or discord. Their love was evident in every day they spent together.

Therefore, Zhou Yanchen understood from a young age that loving someone means being wholehearted, serious, and devoted, and never betraying the encounter or the sincerity of the relationship.

But he was born carefree and unrestrained, and loved being undisciplined and free, which is why he repeatedly failed to grasp the proper measure.

Even so, Zhou Yanchen still muttered under his breath, unwilling to give up: "But I didn't do anything fundamentally wrong. I haven't had any ambiguous relationships with other women, and I haven't slept with my girlfriend to do anything wrong. Bro, aren't you making a mountain out of a molehill?"

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Yanchen met Zhou Jinbai's icy gaze and dared not continue.

For a moment, the atmosphere in the boxing ring turned icy cold, so oppressive that it was hard to breathe.

I do not know how long it has been,

I'm giving you two choices.

Zhou Jinbai stared coldly at his younger brother, whose face was bruised and swollen from the beating, his tone devoid of any warmth: "Either we break up and set each other free, you'll be single again and no one will be able to restrain you."

"Either, put away all your capriciousness and recklessness, and behave yourself obediently."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yanchen frowned deeply in surprise.

·

After returning home, Tang Luoqing took off her wet clothes, took a hot shower, and washed away her disheveled state, which also slightly soothed the bitterness surging in her heart.

After washing up, she changed into a clean shirt and jeans, dried her hair, tied it into a ponytail, and looked at herself in the mirror. She took a deep breath, and then another, but tears still streamed down her face uncontrollably.

Tang Luoqing did not let herself cry uncontrollably anymore, after all, she had cried too much before.

She sniffed, scooped up some cool water to wash away her tears, walked out of the bedroom, picked up Milk Candy who had been waiting obediently outside the bathroom door, rubbed her cheek against Milk Candy's soft little belly, and still couldn't help but shed a few tears.

She raised her hand, wiped away her tears, took a deep breath, and then, her voice choked with emotion, said to Naitang, "Naitang, shall I take you home, okay?"

The warm light overhead illuminated Tang Luoqing's relatively calm face. She looked down at the little one in her arms, knowing perfectly well that things shouldn't happen more than three times.

Tang Luoqing knew that she deeply loved Zhou Yanchen, loved his past gentleness and thoughtfulness, loved his past favoritism, loved all the beautiful memories they had shared together, and loved him as a person.

Even the deepest love cannot withstand repeated disappointments.

Tang Luoqing no longer wanted to be trapped in this relationship of constant correction and forgiveness, endlessly torn between herself and others, causing internal strife and exhaustion.

Lost in thought, she looked up and her gaze fell on her slender wrist.

Tang Luoqing wore this red string for a whole year without ever taking it off; it was a testament to her once joyful belief in Zhou Yanchen.

But now...

Tang Luoqing raised her hand, took off the red string from her wrist, and casually placed it on the bedside table.

Then, Tang Luoqing put down the milk candy, took out her suitcase, and began packing her luggage.

She didn't take any shared items, only her own clothes, tablet, sketchbook, easel, etc.

After neatly packing all her personal belongings, Tang Luoqing bent down, picked up the well-behaved and soft Naitang, put her into the cat carrier, then placed the cat carrier on the handle of one of the suitcases. With one hand pulling a heavy suitcase, she slowly walked out of her home where she had lived for a long time.

The elevator is going down.

Tang Luoqing stood at the foot of Building 10, looking up at the dark second floor of the community. She bit her lower lip, feeling a slight pain. The kitten on her suitcase meowed, as if curious about what she was going to do.

Tang Luoqing looked at Naitang reassuringly, forced a faint smile, and pushed the two suitcases and the kitten toward the entrance of the residential area.

Soon, we arrived at the entrance of the residential area.

A gentle evening breeze brought a refreshing coolness after the heavy rain.

Tang Luoqing took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, picked up her phone, opened the ride-hailing app, and prepared to call a car to leave.

The next moment, a car silently stopped in front of her.

The car window slowly rolled down, revealing Zhou Jinbai's handsome face.

The man's gaze fell on Tang Luoqing's figure. The coldness he had shown in the boxing gym not long ago had faded, and his tone was gentle and deep: "Where are you going? I'll take you."

Tang Luoqing: "..."

The reason she chose to return to Royal Bay was that she hoped to leave quietly without anyone seeing her, including Zhou Jinbai. Why did this man seem to know what she was going to do, and actually…

She didn't know if Zhou Jinbai had stayed outside the community the whole time, or if there was some other reason. Tang Luoqing pursed her lips, blinked, and the bitterness in her eyes faded considerably. Her tone was serious, but it carried a strong sense of estrangement: "Zhou Jinbai, I want to... be alone."

As soon as she finished speaking, Tang Luoqing inadvertently glanced at Zhou Jinbai's hand resting on the steering wheel.

On the back of his hand, which was usually clean and pale, several scratches of varying depths had appeared.

The abrasion was still red and broken, with thin lines of blood oozing out, which was particularly glaring.

Tang Luoqing's breath hitched, and she unconsciously took half a step forward, her voice filled with undisguised anxiety: "What happened to your hand?"

Even the coldness he tried to project vanished instantly.

Zhou Jinbai took in all of Tang Luoqing's reactions. He followed Tang Luoqing's gaze to look at the back of his hand, his tone as emotionless as ever: "I went to talk to Yan Chen."

A simple sentence, yet it sent a jolt through Tang Luoqing's heart.

Did you go and talk to Zhou Yanchen, but ended up hurting yourself?

Her brow furrowed, her heart filled with mixed emotions.

Meeting Zhou Jinbai's deep gaze, Tang Luoqing hurriedly looked away: "Zhou Jinbai, you, you don't have to do this, I... I don't like you."

Even if she breaks up with Zhou Yanchen now, it's impossible for her to be with Zhou Jinbai.

Putting aside the fact that Zhou Jinbai is Zhou Yanchen's older brother, if she were to get together with her brother right after breaking up with her younger brother, she wouldn't be able to get over it in her heart, nor would she be able to face Zhou's parents, who have been very good to her.

And most importantly, Tang Luoqing doesn't want to talk about relationships with anyone right now.

She was deceived time and time again by the man she once thought would love her like her father loved her mother. She didn't believe that Zhou Jinbai wouldn't love her like Zhou Yanchen did.

After all, what good was Zhou Yanchen in the past? He's changed now.

After he said that, the car fell silent.

Zhou Jinbai tightened his long, slender fingers on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white from the force, and his prominent Adam's apple bobbed heavily, as if he was trying to suppress all the emotions surging in his heart.

After a long silence, Zhou Jinbai stared intently at Tang Luoqing again, his deep eyes open and honest, intense and passionate, his words clear and distinct: "Yes, I know."

He paused slightly, and just when Tang Luoqing thought Zhou Jinbai was about to leave, the man changed his tone: "But I like you, Tang Luoqing, I like you."

"I know you can't trust anyone right now, I just want... a chance to send you wherever you want to go."