Chapter twenty-four

After replying to the WeChat message, Zoe didn't look back at the two people near the window and quickly turned to go downstairs. The stairs of the Hunan cuisine restaurant were made of wooden boards, giving off a sense of ancient charm.

Afraid that Sampson might be waiting for her downstairs for a long time, she walked a bit too fast. As she lifted her foot, her pale foot slipped out of the high heels and landed on the wooden stairs.

Zoe felt embarrassed and raised her toes, turning her head to look at the stuck high heels. The stairs were dimly lit, and her hand was just reaching out.

A hand wearing a wristwatch took her high heels, and Zoe said coldly, "Give me my shoes."

Nick held the shoes and looked down at her. After a second, he walked down a couple of stairs below Zoe. She instinctively took a few steps back, supporting herself on the railing to steady her body.

Nick glanced down at her tiny feet that had nowhere to rest. The stairs were a dark red, and her feet stood out starkly white against them. He rubbed his lips.

Then, he squatted down, placing the small black high heels in front of Zoe's feet. With his other hand, he grasped her ankle.

Zoe was startled and exclaimed, "Nick!"

He looked up at Zoe, a half-smile on his face, "Lift it up, I'll help you put it on."

Zoe shook her head.

Upon hearing this, Nick rubbed his fingers lightly against Zoe's ankle. All the coldness and disdain he had shown earlier had vanished, and he was now the same as he was the night before.

"Let me go."

Nick didn't respond, his gaze fixed on her feet. She had painted her toenails with wine-red nail polish, making them look even whiter. Nick subtly curved his lips, and his hand showed no sign of leaving.

Zoe felt like she was being held hostage. If she struggled, she would fall, but if she didn't, she would look too awkward.

She closed her eyes and nudged her foot towards the high heels. Nick sneered and said, "That's good."

He grasped Zoe's foot and slipped it into the shoe.

Zoe only wanted to get dressed as quickly as possible to end this.

At that moment, Sampson's voice came from outside, accompanied by footsteps.

"Zoe? Are you done?"

Zoe felt tense and flustered, her ankle still feeling warm from Nick's touch, and the boy in front of her slowly putting on her shoes.

Sampson's call made Zoe's spirit reach its peak.

She kicked forward. She struggled.

Bang! A handsome man in a black shirt fell onto the lowest step.

Zoe's breath caught, and she lowered her head, her expression dazed.

Nick grasped the railing with one hand, his expression cold. He narrowed his eyes and stared at Zoe.

"Oh, how did you fall down?" Sampson's voice echoed from behind them, watching the scene with amusement.

Time seemed to stand still. More people on the stairs turned to look.

Nick stood up from the stairs, brushed off the dust on his clothes, and slowly Zoe didn't dare look up at him. She turned to the side and quickly ran past him, saying to Sampson, "Boss, let's go back?"

Sampson glanced at Nick standing on the stairs, leaning against the railing. Nick's black pants were now dusted, but his face remained cold, without a trace of the earlier embarrassment.

Sampson smiled and led Zoe away, saying, "I have something to tell you. My car has a limited license plate and I'll have to wait until 2:30 to leave. Is that okay?"

Zoe nodded. As soon as they exited the door and she breathed in the fresh air, she felt her heart relax a bit.

Behind her, Nick's assistant carefully descended the stairs and called out to Nick. Nick glanced at him, took out a cigarette, and turned to go downstairs. The assistant followed behind, looking at the empty doorway. Unable to contain himself, he whispered, "Nick, just now... were you kicked down the stairs by Sampson's new secretary?"

When he arrived, he had just seen Zoe withdraw her foot.

Nick was already seated on the stairs. Fortunately, he had reacted quickly and grasped the railing with one hand; otherwise, he would have rolled down like a boulder.

Nick turned his head and squinted at the assistant.

The assistant immediately shut up.

So it was true?

Why were you kicked?

Nick, what did you do?

Around 6 pm, the black Jaguar finally drove into the underground garage. Nick unbuttoned two more buttons of his shirt, unlocked the door with his fingerprint, and entered the house to see the newly hired chef busy at work.

She was preparing the spicy and sour fish that he usually ate, and the aroma had already wafted outside.

However, Nick's frown did not ease. He walked to the fridge in the living room's low cabinet, took out a bottle of beer, and took a sip. The refreshing liquid flowed down his throat into his stomach. He lazily leaned against the armrest of the sofa, taking one sip after another.

The new chef emerged from the kitchen and saw him. She was twenty-seven years old, a renowned foodie and chef, but she felt a bit nervous looking at the handsome profile of the young man. "Nick, I made spicy and sour fish today. Would you like to try it?"

Nick glanced at her without much patience and said coldly, "No."

The chef bit her lip, feeling slightly aggrieved.

If you don't try it, you'll leave a lot uneaten again.

Since she started working as his personal chef, he had never finished a single meal, leaving behind leftovers every time.

When she asked several times if the food was good, he would reply straightforwardly that it was average, without a single compliment.

She felt a lot of pressure.

An hour later.

The three dishes and one soup on the table still had more than half left, almost untouched.

The chef looked unhappy, took off her apron, and left directly. Before leaving, she glanced at the main bedroom.

After dinner, Nick took off his shirt and went to take a shower. She glanced at him and caught a glimpse of his slender waist.

She gritted her teeth again and left.

As the weather got colder, fewer students walked around the campus. The romantic spots on campus also became less busy. A black Jaguar drove into the campus, not too fast, with the windows open. Nick rested his chin on his hand, holding the steering wheel with one hand, lazily watching the road ahead...

Passing by the artificial lake, two girls, each holding a phone and chatting, caught Nick's attention. The car slowly drove past them.

Those two girls were Ellie and Stella.

Nick's gaze swept over their faces briefly and then quickly returned.

Driving forward for a while, a red Tesla sped by, almost grazing his car.

walked up to Zoe.

The person in the car was Luna.

Nick tapped his fingertip against his lips.

The black Jaguar soon arrived at the parking lot for the Finance Department's college. As soon as the car door opened, a cold breeze blew in.

Nick pulled up the collar of his baseball jacket and stuck his hands in his pockets, heading towards the dormitory.

The three dormitory buildings were close together, with scattered lights on.

The lights in the self-study student dormitory were dimmer than in the other two buildings.

Nick stood under the shade of a tree in front of the self-study student dormitory, took out a cigarette, lit it, and put it in his mouth...

Behind him was the lake.

Beyond the lake was the romantic spot, and from this position, one could hear whispers, a mix of male and female voices, filled with ambiguity.

If one were bold enough, one might even see couples kissing.

On nicer days, one might even hear panting and the rustling of clothes.

After smoking half a cigarette, the light in Zoe's dormitory remained on. Nick extinguished the cigarette, threw it into the trash can, rubbed his lips, and walked towards the self-study student dormitory.

Coincidentally, the dormitory manager was dozing off wrapped in a thick jacket.

Nick stepped up with his long legs and went upstairs.

Since it was a new dormitory, the stairway sensor lights were very responsive, lighting up with just a few steps.

The female dormitories were on the fourth floor and above. Nick could smell a fragrant aroma as he arrived at Zoe's dormitory door and knocked on it with his knuckles.

In the winter of the south, the cold was piercing.

Even though Zoe was a native of the south, she still couldn't quite bear it and had climbed into bed early, wrapped in a blanket, to read a book.

The dormitory was only occupied by her, so it was very quiet.

When the knock came, Zoe was startled. She got off the bed, put on her shoes, and glanced at Luna's chair, where a scarf was draped over the backrest.

Assuming that Luna had come back, she smiled and opened the door with one hand.

"Did you forget something...?" Seeing the tall boy at the door, Zoe's smile froze on her lips, and she reflexively tried to close the door. Nick reached out and blocked it, pushing hard.

The door swung open, and a gust of wind blew on Zoe's face.

She shivered, "What do you want?"

Nick lifted his eyelids and looked at her...

She was wearing a white furry pajama top with a rabbit on the chest. Her hair was tied up into a bun with a few strands of hair hanging down. Her lips were red, her skin white, and her homebound appearance made her look extremely soft.

He smiled lazily and said, "Shouldn't you apologize today?"

Zoe felt cold and instinctively hugged the scarf in her arms, pressing her hand against the door in a silent struggle with him.

But it was futile.

She couldn't push it closed.

At his question, Zoe's mind flashed back to the stairs in the Hunan restaurant today, where he had lowered his eyes to help her put on her shoes, but she had kicked him onto the stairs with one foot.

The tall and handsome boy had sat down on the stairs with a thud.

Always somewhat arrogant, he had looked quite embarrassed at that moment.

She had left hurriedly without saying a word, so naturally, she hadn't apologized.

Zoe opened her mouth and said honestly, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it today."

Nick nodded, looking indifferent, and with another push, the door was completely open, and he walked in directly.

Zoe couldn't stop him in time.

It was also cold inside the room, but it was much warmer than outside, with a faint feminine scent.

Zoe gritted her teeth and said, "Nick, if you don't leave, I'll call the dormitory manager up."

Nick turned around and looked at her, "Do you believe me if I say I won't do anything to you?"

Zoe blanched upon hearing this.

She pressed her lips tightly and looked at the internal phone installed in the dormitory. This phone could be used to call the dormitory manager downstairs.

Nick tilted his head slightly and followed her gaze, also noticing the phone.

The phone was familiar to him; he had lived here for more than three years, and every dormitory had one. He had even led the team to install the phones in this dormitory building.

Both of them knew that the other was looking at the phone.

Nick moved his body at this moment, and a second later, his large hand pressed down on the receiver. Zoe pressed against it and felt his cold hand. She was startled and immediately withdrew her hand.

Nick chuckled and picked up the receiver, holding it in front of her and smiling with his lips curved, "Go ahead and call."

Zoe looked at him.

His body leaned against the desk, his legs were very long, and his expression was still lazy and boneless.

The receiver was right in front of her.

Zoe was very vigilant; she blamed herself for forgetting to bring her phone with her...

She looked at the receiver, and Nick looked at her. After a moment of staring each other down, Zoe reached out to take the receiver.

In a split second.

The receiver fell from Nick's hand. Zoe reached down to grab it, and Nick wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into his embrace. He lowered his head and pressed his forehead against hers, his voice low, "Zoe, make me a meal again, huh? I'm so hungry..."