It fell from his fingertips

Despite her many worries, Tang Luoqing still followed Zhou Jinbai to the Zhou family villa on a Friday night after the cultural and creative exhibition.

Returning here once again, she felt a mix of emotions.

She had come many times before, each time posing as Zhou Yanchen's girlfriend.

Unexpectedly, one day she came back, but her identity had changed to Zhou Yanchen's older brother and Zhou Jinbai's girlfriend.

This feeling was strange and awkward, and I was even more afraid of seeing the disgusted looks in Zhou's parents' eyes later.

The car stopped in front of the villa. Tang Luoqing hesitated for a long time before getting out, and then saw Zhou's parents coming out of the villa and waiting at the door.

She immediately tensed up, her whole body stiffened, and she was at a loss.

The next moment, her hand was grasped by Zhou Jinbai, and their fingers intertwined.

Tang Luoqing looked down at the hand that Zhou Jinbai was holding, and the unease in her heart gradually subsided.

She followed Zhou Jinbai step by step to the door.

In fact, Tang Luoqing wasn't the only one who felt embarrassed; Zhou's parents also felt awkward.

However, the two could not show the slightest embarrassment, because they knew that although their eldest son had been quiet and unsmiling since childhood, he was a man of his word and was particularly ruthless to himself.

Just like back then, despite having already achieved such remarkable success in the art world, she gave it all up just to support the crumbling Zhou family and ensure that they would not disappoint the old man's dying expectations.

Over the past nine years, Zhou Jinbai, the eldest son, has led the Zhou Group to a level that others could not reach, thanks to his iron-fisted approach.

Therefore, Zhou's parents had no doubt about what he had said before.

In other words, even if they had a lot of dissatisfaction and resentment towards Tang Luoqing's sudden change of status from the youngest son's wife to the eldest son's wife, they could not show it in the slightest, otherwise it would be like personally driving away their most beloved son.

They couldn't afford such a loss, nor did they want to lose their most prized son.

"Luo Qing, you've arrived. Please come in and sit down."

Zhou's mother took a deep breath, forced a smile, took Tang Luoqing's hand, and led her into the villa.

Tang Luoqing was slightly taken aback. She turned to look at Zhou Jinbai and saw him nod slightly to her. She suppressed her awkwardness and walked into the villa with Zhou's mother.

For the rest of the night, Zhou's parents treated him almost exactly the same as before. Apart from a slight, subtle awkwardness between them, there was nothing else to tell.

But the more this happened, the more uneasy Tang Luoqing became.

After leaving the Zhou family villa, Tang Luoqing sat in the car on her way home, watching the scenery pass by outside the window in silence.

"What's wrong?"

Zhou Jinbai's deep voice came from the driver's seat.

Upon hearing the voice, Tang Luoqing shook her head: "It's nothing."

Before leaving the Zhou family villa, she inadvertently noticed that Mr. and Mrs. Zhou visibly relaxed after she left.

This feeling is really...

The next moment, Zhou Jinbai slowly brought the car to a stop.

He took Tang Luoqing's hand, kissed it, and his voice softened: "What happened? Was it because my parents... when I was tidying up work during lunch?"

"No, no, my uncle and aunt have always been very good to me, they've always been. I'm just curious..."

Tang Luoqing vaguely sensed something. She turned her head and looked at Zhou Jinbai seriously. After thinking for a long time, she continued to ask, "Zhou Jinbai, how exactly did you convince your uncle and aunt to accept me? Don't tell me they support your choice. I'm not stupid. Tell me, what did you sacrifice to get them to accept me? I want to hear the truth."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jinbai was slightly taken aback.

"Zhou Jinbai..."

Tang Luoqing broke free from Zhou Jinbai's grasp, cupped his face in her hands, and kissed the corner of his lips. She continued, "Don't lie to me. You know, what I hate most is being lied to. If you don't tell the truth today, you know what I'll do..."

Before she could finish speaking, Tang Luoqing was pulled into Zhou Jinbai's arms.

The man's grip on her was much tighter than usual. While it didn't constrict her or make her uncomfortable, it was so tight that she couldn't break free at all. He had a strange feeling that he was afraid she would leave or disappear.

Tang Luoqing gently patted Zhou Jinbai's back, her voice low but much gentler than usual: "Zhou Jinbai, tell me, okay? I don't want to know nothing, nor do I want to just follow the path you've laid out for me. I hope that when facing difficulties, we can walk side by side, instead of just hiding behind you and letting you pave the way for me while I reap the benefits."

Zhou Jinbai's sullen voice reached Tang Luoqing's ears: "You didn't reap the benefits without sowing, and I didn't fight my way through all the difficulties on my own. The fact that you chose to be with me is ultimately because I seduced you first, so even if there are difficulties, I should be the one to face them."

Before Tang Luoqing could say anything more, Zhou Jinbai released her and sighed softly, "But you're right, I really shouldn't have kept it from you. Okay, I'll show you..."

Tang Luoqing was taken aback, not understanding what Zhou Jinbai meant.

Then, he unbuckled his seatbelt, turned around, took off his suit jacket, and then unbuttoned his shirt, revealing two long scars on his pale back to Tang Luoqing.

These two scars look like they've been there for a while; they've stopped bleeding and have scabbed over, so they seem like they'll heal soon.

However, the depth and length of the scar can vaguely reveal what the skin looked like when the injury was first caused by tearing open.

Tang Luoqing's breath hitched, her nose tingled, and her eyes welled up with tears.

She finally understood that Zhou Jinbai's avoidance over the past period of time was not because he was unwell or his feelings for her had faded, but because he was afraid she would discover that he was injured.

Tang Luoqing raised her hand tremblingly and gently touched Zhou Jinbai's injured area. When she spoke again, her voice was choked with emotion: "Does it hurt?"

"It hurts, but... it doesn't hurt anymore after I saw you."

Zhou Jinbai turned around, put on his shirt, took Tang Luoqing's hand that was hanging in mid-air, kissed it, and continued, "Now that you know, I have nothing to hold back anymore. Tonight..."

At this point, Zhou Jinbai leaned close to Tang Luoqing's ear, lowered his voice, and added in a magnetic, husky voice, "I'll personally serve you tonight, okay?"

Tang Luoqing's cheeks flushed.

"Aren't you afraid...it will hurt when you move? What if the wound reopens?"

"It won't hurt, I've missed it for so long. And..."

"And what?"

"If Luo Qing is truly worried about the wound reopening, there are ways to prevent it from doing so."

"What method?"

"Our Luo Qing... will do it herself."

Tang Luoqing's cheeks turned bright red.