It fell from his fingertips

Is Zhou Yanchen coming to see her?

Before moving, Tang Luoqing had no intention of telling Zhou Yanchen where she lived. She felt that although she had agreed to forgive him according to her grandmother's wishes, she no longer trusted Zhou Yanchen.

Once trust is broken, it is very difficult to repair, especially since the cracks keep piling up.

Tang Luoqing slowly exhaled, unsure how to refuse.

After all, Zhou Jinbai was sitting opposite them.

"What's wrong? Luo Qing, are you still there?"

Zhou Yanchen on the other end of the phone seemed a little impatient, his tone becoming slightly serious: "I flew all the way from Haicheng to see you, and you won't even see me? Baby, this is so unfair to me, you can't do this."

Tang Luoqing: "..."

She glanced at Zhou Jinbai across from her, who seemed to be looking down at his phone. Just then, Zhou Jinbai also received a call. As he answered and was about to speak, Tang Luoqing covered the earpiece, turned around, stood up, and quickened her pace to leave the restaurant.

Once outside, Tang Luoqing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Listening to Zhou Yanchen's increasingly impatient urging voice on the other end of the phone, she said, "I'm very busy right now. I haven't had much inspiration for my paintings lately, and I also have to prepare for the cultural and creative exhibition, so..."

"So you don't want to see me?"

Zhou Yanchen, on the other end of the phone, was running out of patience: "Tang Luoqing, do you still like me?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Luoqing did not answer Zhou Yanchen's question, but instead asked, "Zhou Yanchen, do you... still like me?"

"Of course I like you."

Without a second thought, Zhou Yanchen on the other end of the phone declared confidently, "If I didn't like you, would I have flown all the way back? If I didn't like you, would I have stayed in Beijing for those few days? Luo Qing, stop messing around, okay?"

Hearing the slightly accusatory voice, Tang Luoqing didn't know what else to say.

After a moment of silence, she remembered something: "Are you coming back at the end of the month? How about we have dinner together at the end of the month?"

"The end of the month?"

Zhou Yanchen on the other end of the phone was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected Tang Luoqing to change the subject so quickly. He completely lost his patience: "Let's talk about it later. Never mind, I'm going back to Haicheng."

Before Tang Luoqing could say anything more, Zhou Yanchen hung up the phone.

Tang Luoqing looked at the disconnected call on her phone screen and sighed softly.

Out of the corner of her eye, Tang Luoqing noticed the red string on her left wrist. She pinched the little goldfish pendant on the string, and her nose felt a little sore.

Her birthday is at the end of the month, but Zhou Yanchen probably forgot.

Tang Luoqing composed herself, turned around, and walked into the restaurant.

Zhou Jinbai had finished making the call, and all the dishes had been served.

Tang Luoqing sat back down and explained apologetically, "I just got a phone call. Um, let's have dinner."

Zhou Jinbai looked at Tang Luoqing quietly for a second, then looked away and nodded: "Okay."

Tang Luoqing ate her food absentmindedly, not even noticing the extra plate of shrimp on the table—the ones she had ordered and then deleted earlier.

It's too quiet, almost awkwardly so, but it's okay to be quiet during mealtime.

Unexpectedly, after some time, a plate of peeled and cleaned shrimp was pushed across the table.

Tang Luoqing looked up and saw Zhou Jinbai slowly taking off his disposable gloves, saying, "Consider it payment for helping me with the drawing."

Tang Luoqing opened her mouth.

She agreed to paint for Zhou Jinbai to thank him for saving her, but now he's peeling shrimp for her as payment... which seems a bit like putting the cart before the horse.

and,

"You know I like to eat shrimp?"

Tang Luoqing likes to eat shrimp, especially garlic shrimp, but she doesn't like peeling shrimp, finding it a troublesome task.

When Zhou Yanchen was pursuing her, he would often peel a box of shrimp and deliver it to her dormitory.

Now, looking at the plate of shrimp in front of her, Tang Luoqing was at a loss.

"We've had meals together many times."

Zhou Jinbai, sitting opposite him, spoke in a cool voice: "Knowing you like to eat shrimp, that shouldn't be surprising."

Tang Luoqing was taken aback. When had she ever eaten with Zhou Jinbai so many times?

Are you referring to... when we were at the Zhou family's house?

At that time, she thought Zhou Jinbai was very cold and didn't dare to talk to him. Unexpectedly, he remembered that she liked to eat shrimp.

Tang Luoqing also recalled the bowl of breakfast noodles she had at the seaside hotel last time. It was breakfast noodles without cilantro, which Zhou Jinbai must have noticed from her little quirk when she ate at the Zhou family's house.

So, he knew all along.

The thought of the Zhou family, of Zhou's father and mother, made Tang Luoqing's breath catch in her throat. In a daze, it was as if something was hanging over her head, a dark cloud gathering over it, with rain pouring down. The rain was so heavy that it was pressing on her heart, making it hard for her to breathe properly.

But just then, Tang Luoqing heard the man opposite her speak slowly.

"I know what you're worried about. I'm Yan Chen's brother. If you're with me, you won't be able to face my parents or Yan Chen in the future, right? Or perhaps you're also worried about..."

Tang Luoqing looked up and saw Zhou Jinbai staring intently at her.

Their eyes met, and Zhou Jinbai's expression grew even more serious, yet a hint of tenderness appeared in his deep eyes: "I'm worried that I'll end up like Yan Chen, who cares about you now but will become perfunctory in the future and keep deceiving you."

Tang Luoqing opened her mouth in surprise again, wanting to say something, but found herself speechless.

Zhou Jinbai is right. The main reasons she refused to be with him were these two.

But most importantly, she doesn't really want to start another intimate relationship.

She was a low-energy person, and her relationship with Zhou Yanchen had exhausted all her enthusiasm.

She doesn't want to cry for anyone or have her emotions swayed by anyone in the future.

Zhou Jinbai glanced at the red string on Tang Luoqing's left wrist, his eyes darkening. When he spoke again, his tone was subtly lower: "Tang Luoqing, I understand your concerns, and I won't force you to make any choices. I'm sorry... for causing you trouble."

Tang Luoqing was even more at a loss for words.

"Let's eat."

Zhou Jinbai moved a plate of shrimp aside, indicating to Tang Luoqing that she should continue eating.

Tang Luoqing didn't enjoy the next meal at all.

Before leaving, she glanced at the untouched shrimp on the table, feeling a little regretful.

But it can only be a pity.

After dinner, as dusk fell and the city lights began to twinkle, it wasn't a good time for painting. So Tang Luoqing arranged to meet Zhou Jinbai the next day to find another place to paint.

The next morning, Tang Luoqing carried her painting supplies and left her house. After thinking for a moment, she knocked on the door of the house across the street.

Because Zhou Jinbai told her yesterday to call him when she went out today.

But after knocking on the door, no one came to knock for a long time.

Tang Luoqing hesitated before knocking on the door again.

This time, someone came to open the door very quickly.

But when the door opened, Tang Luoqing found that the man inside had a flushed but pale face and looked listless, as if... he had a fever?

Then, Zhou Jinbai fainted on Tang Luoqing's body.