Chapter twenty-eight

Zoe dragged her suitcase and walked quickly ahead.

Walking swiftly, the suitcase was so small that it seemed like it was about to fly away with her.

Behind her, a black car followed slowly.

The car windows were all open. Nick, with a cigarette in his mouth and chin resting on his hand, watched the slender figure walk out of the school gate.

Zoe originally intended to take a taxi back, but seeing Nick still following her, she turned towards the subway station instead. With just a few steps, she dragged her suitcase down the stairs.

She swiped her card and entered the station.

The tears on her face had already dried. Zoe took out a wet tissue to wipe her face, wrapped herself in a scarf, and waited for the subway to arrive.

This time of day was the peak period for nearby universities to go on vacation.

Especially at this stop, people and suitcases were indistinguishable. Zoe waited for a stop but couldn't squeeze in, so she had to wait again.

Ten minutes later, she finally squeezed into a carriage.

There were too many people. Zoe dragged her suitcase and followed the flow of people, standing at the intersection of two carriages.

Nestled next to the handrail, she let out a sigh of relief.

Leaning against the wall, she stared blankly.

A warning sound came from the carriage, signaling the doors were about to close.

Beep-beep-beep—

The doors closed, and the crowd surged again.

Zoe's vision darkened. She sensed a familiar gaze and looked up. Nick, with a jacket draped over his arm, supported his hand on her cheek and raised his eyebrows at her.

Zoe was startled.

Nick smirked and whispered in her ear, "Running so fast, does your foot hurt?"

The warm breath blew on her earlobe, making Zoe's earlobes flush instantly. She dodged and glanced but saw a couple embracing and kissing each other amidst the crowd.

She was startled and quickly averted her gaze.

Nick followed her gaze and looked over, then turned back to her with a playful expression.

The next second, he pinched her chin and, despite the crowd, leaned over to kiss her lips.

Zoe widened her eyes and looked up to push his waist.

Nick sneered and, due to the pressure from the crowd behind him, had to lean closer to her, deepening the kiss.

The environment was cramped and the space narrow.

He kissed deeply, inch by inch, with a hint of tobacco scent invading her lips.

Zoe moaned weakly, unable to resist, allowing his tongue to stir in her mouth.

A tear trickled out again.

This narrow space, however, stimulated Nick. He swallowed her moans again and again.

After a long while, he rubbed her red lips with his fingertips and whispered, "I had a spur-of-the-moment idea, but I didn't expect the feeling of being crowded on the subway to be so good."

Zoe got off at the wrong stop.

Nick's kiss had made her lose her footing. Seeing the doors open, she immediately squeezed through.

Nick reacted and tried to follow, but the doors closed.

Zoe turned back and saw Nick trapped inside the carriage. She suddenly felt a sense of revengeful satisfaction.

She stood in place, wiped her lips, glared fiercely at Nick, and even used her mouth to tell him to go away.

Nick: "..."

"The feeling of being crowded on the subway actually wasn't that great."

She had let him slip away.

Returning to the old downtown area of East China, it was exactly 10:30 pm.

Zoe carried her suitcase upstairs.

Since she hadn't been back to live here for a long time, a layer of dust had accumulated. Zoe took a mop into the bathroom and, upon turning, saw herself in the mirror. She was startled to see her lips were very red, as if she had applied lipstick.

In reality, however...

Her lipstick had all been eaten by Nick.

This...

Was from his kisses.

Zoe quickly grabbed a towel hanging on the wall, dampened it, and wiped her lips.

Then she took the mop out and started to clean.

After a busy round of cleaning, it was noon. Zoe went downstairs to buy some vegetables and came back to cook a bowl of noodles for herself.

She made it through lunch in a hurry, and when she had some free time, she realized that she wasn't feeling as sad as she had thought.

The sorrow of being homeless...

Had become less profound.

Upon hearing a noise, Camila wiped her hands and emerged from the kitchen, looking around cautiously.

Nick placed his keys on the shoe rack and hung his jacket up casually. Upon seeing her, he furrowed his brows but didn't speak. He bent down to grab a cola and, as he drank, licked his lips...

He paused and walked towards the bathroom, leaning on the sink and examining his lips.

During their struggle, Zoe had bitten him.

Remembering how she looked in the subway, Nick's eyes tightened, and a surge of desire flashed in them.

From the moment she cried, he had wanted to touch her.

Later, when he chased her onto the subway, he had only intended to send her back.

Little did he expect that he would have such an unexpected reward. He smirked, picked up his cola, and walked out of the bathroom.

Turning around, he saw that Camila hadn't gone back into the kitchen yet.

His voice became colder: "What are you looking at?"

Camila's gaze fell on his lips and then quickly shifted away. She said, "I won't be coming tomorrow, so should I make you something to eat tonight and put it in the fridge?"

"No need."

He walked to the sofa and sat down.

Camila felt a bit uneasy and then approached him, asking, "I'm making spicy and sour intestines tonight. What do you think?"

"It's fine, don't ask me again. Are you the chef or am I?"

Nick picked up his tablet and replied coldly, his profile as cold as ice.

Camila was startled and didn't dare ask anymore.

She felt a bit upset and went into the kitchen. Since entering Nick's kitchen, her confidence had been repeatedly undermined.

Camila held the spatula for a while, staring blankly, before finally gathering her courage and starting to work.

An hour later, the dishes were served. Camila was very nervous. She had tried them again and again in the kitchen, making sure the flavors were perfect before bringing them out.

Because they were prepared so delicately, the aroma had already wafted out of the kitchen, enticing and mouth-watering.

After all the dishes were on the table, Camila called Nick to dinner.

Nick put down his tablet and sat at the dining table.

Camila was too nervous to watch him eat, so she went back to the kitchen to busy herself.

After about fifteen minutes, Camila came out and found the table empty.

Half a bowl of rice was left, and it seemed that he had only taken a few bites of his favorite spicy and sour intestines, leaving almost no trace. As for the other dishes, even less had been eaten.

Camila immediately felt a bit frustrated. She picked up the chopsticks next to her and tried the food herself. The flavors were perfect.

Her face paled.

After hesitating for a moment, she walked to the door of the study and knocked.

"Nick, aren't you going to eat more?"

There was the sound of keyboard typing from inside the study, and the boy's voice came through the door.

"I'm full."

Camila was speechless.

Half an hour later, Camila picked up her bag, went downstairs, took out her phone, and found Liu Ma's number.

"Liu Ma, sorry to bother you, but I wanted to know who Nick's previous chef was? Did she cook dishes that suited Nick's taste?"

In the afternoon, Zoe slept for a while and woke up when it was already dark.

She reached for her phone and saw a WeChat message.

It was from Nick: "Have you boarded the car?"

It was sent three hours ago.

The high-speed train from Haishi to City B takes about four hours.

He had calculated it accurately.

Zoe got out of bed and didn't reply to the message.

She walked to the window, pulled open the curtains, and saw the streetlights lit up, cars passing by, and small shops illuminated.

People were coming and going, and there would be even more people returning in a few days.

Zoe stood at the window for a moment, her face reflected in the glass, a bit hazy and a bit clear. She yawned and turned to go out to get something to eat. Just then, her phone rang.

Zoe bent down to pick it up.

It was a call from Nick.

Zoe hesitated for a moment, feeling a strange warmth in her heart for some reason.

She picked up the phone but didn't speak. Nick's impatient voice came from the other end, "Are you home yet?"

Zoe rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, I'm home."

Nick: "More than three hours have passed, and you haven't replied to a single message."

Zoe: "... I fell asleep."

Nick chuckled sarcastically, "Really? You were deliberately ignoring me?"

Zoe: "..."

Nick: "When are you planning to go back to school?"

Zoe: "I don't know, I haven't decided yet. I'm going to eat now."

Nick: "Alright, go eat."

He didn't persist and hung up the phone after that.

Zoe looked at the darkened screen and put away her phone. Suddenly, she felt motivated to cook. She took out the extra ingredients she had bought at lunch, prepared them, and cooked two dishes and a soup. She served them on the table along with rice cooked with corn kernels, and the aroma was irresistible.

She hadn't eaten like this for a long time.

Zoe once again thought of her grandmother as she ate the food on the table, bite by bite.

On the eve of the Chinese New Year, the weather was cold and the chill from the seaside city of Haishi hadn't dissipated yet. Leo had his coat collar turned up as he walked into the supermarket while talking on the phone, saying, "Alright, I got it. Ten packs of potato chips, some chocolate, and what else? Yogurt? Okay, Mengniu's or... What? Speak clearly... Anmuxi? Alright, alright..."

As he spoke, he took items from the shelves and threw them into his shopping cart.

When he turned the corner, his gaze froze. He stopped and pulled his cart over, heading towards the fresh food section.

As he approached, he saw Zoe alone, pushing a cart and looking at some tofu. She was wearing a thin black down jacket today, with a burgundy dress underneath, which made her skin look very pale. Under the bright lights of the shelf, even her eyelashes seemed longer.

Leo stared at her intently, ignoring the noise on the other end of the phone, and hung up.

Zoe had chosen her ingredients and was heading towards the checkout counter. Leo quickly followed, remembering that Zoe's family should be in City B now, so she was spending the New Year here?

Leo tugged at his collar and followed closely behind.

As they walked out of the supermarket, Zoe had bought a lot of things and was struggling to carry them all. Leo smirked and quickly caught up with Zoe, calling out, "Yi Yi..."

Zoe was startled and turned to see Leo. "Leo..."

"Let me help you carry these."

Leo reached out to take the bags from Zoe's hands, but she shook her head quickly, "No, it's okay."

"Don't be silly, they're so heavy. Let me take them, let me take them..." Leo smiled charmingly, "You don't want to use a strong guy like me? Why are you carrying them all by yourself?"

Zoe had bought a lot of things, all prepared for the New Year. After tonight, there would be no more good ingredients available, so she had bought everything in one go.

With Leo's sudden interruption, she stumbled a bit...

Not far away, at the traffic light intersection, a black Lincoln was parked. Inside the car, a woman wrapped in a scarf, with red lips and exquisite makeup, looked very pretty. Only when she smiled occasionally did the fine lines at the corners of her eyes show.

She brushed her hair aside, grasped the steering wheel, and looked at her son in the rearview mirror. "I ask you, why did you have to mess with Sampson? He's not a respectable person. Now both your father and I are worried..."

Nick, with his long legs crossed and leaning against the window, looked lazy and indifferent, not uttering a word as he let the woman in front of him talk...

A second later, his eyes turned cold.

He stared straight at the two people pulling and tugging at the entrance of Walmart.

It was Zoe and Leo.