A Twisted Love Affair
Chapter 52: Her quilt is fragrant_1

Chapter 52: Her quilt is fragrant_1

It looked a lot like a baby hamster nibbling on its food.

Zhou Luchen leaned against the car, lazily watching her. "I want some too."

Shen Jing paused, slightly startled. "Eat what?"

He stared at her, silent.

Such a tsundere.

Shen Jing scooped up a small piece from the untouched side of the ice jelly. "Open up."

Seeing her stand on tiptoe, her fair, dainty feet looking petite in his oversized men’s slippers, Zhou Luchen patiently bent down.

A small wooden spoon held a bit of green dumpling jelly.

"You don’t mind sharing the bowl, do you?"

But he didn’t eat; he was just teasing her to see if she would feed him.

It was always like this; he was just playing with her.

Annoyed, Shen Jing stepped on his leather shoe. "Are you disgusted by me?"

Zhou Luchen bent down and smiled at her, his voice low and hoarse. "Haven’t we kissed before?"

They had.

Sharing a bowl and spoon... For a rich young master like him, it must be his mysophobia acting up.

Ultimately, their feelings just weren’t that deep.

Eat it or don’t, there’s barely enough for me anyway.

Shen Jing took back the bowl. "Let’s go inside. Since you’re a guest, don’t bully Grandma. Yesterday’s construction crew nearly moved the house. Fortunately, your older brother stopped them."

How could Zhou Luchen be so ruthless? She was still living here, yet he didn’t seem to care at all, as if she didn’t exist.

Zhou Luchen glanced at her sideways. "Why didn’t you come and beg me?"

Walking ahead of Zhou Luchen, Shen Jing said, "I know how little I weigh in your eyes. I certainly can’t sway the Second Young Master’s decisions. Why would I go looking to get stabbed in the back?"

Zhou Luchen watched her slender back. Why does she walk so slowly? Swaying her hips like that... so indecently seductive.

Shen Jing looked back and asked, "Is the house still going to be moved?"

Zhou Luchen answered directly and decisively, "It will."

He mentioned the master plan: the scenic area’s parking lot would be near the house, which would disturb Elder Mrs. Xu.

Shen Jing suggested, "Then you should build the parking lot somewhere else."

Zhou Luchen was extremely calm. "Can’t be changed."

Listen to him. Just a moment ago, he was saying, ’Why don’t you come and beg me?’

Even if she did, it wouldn’t change Zhou Luchen’s mind about anything.

Zhou Xiangqun, lying in the rocking chair, couldn’t sleep well. He pondered, unable to find a solution. "Why don’t the mosquitoes bite you two?"

Without even glancing at Zhou Xiangqun, Zhou Luchen said, "We’re not as rotten as you."

Zhou Xiangqun scooped up a spoonful of the ice jelly. This stuff... first time trying it, not bad at all.

"Same to you. I’ve never deceived a girl in my life," Zhou Xiangqun said. "I do honest work and wait for the day the higher-ups assign me a wife. Not like the Second Young Master, who lives carefree, backed by capital and power, indulging in romance and worldly pleasures."

Zhou Luchen retorted, "Weren’t you given the joint venture?"

"I don’t want the joint venture." Zhou Xiangqun raised his thick eyebrows slightly. "International business is too hectic. You die young that way."

Zhou Luchen wasn’t in the mood to continue the conversation and followed Shen Jing into her room.

It was ordinary, but very clean and cozy. Pink bedding, a pink carpet, a pink nightlight.

Dawn had not yet broken.

Shen Jing gestured to her bed. "Are you sure you want to stay here?"

This pampered, coddled Second Young Master... The suit he’s wearing alone is probably worth enough to build a dozen small houses like this.

Grandma cleans it every day. I’ve been staying here for a while, and though my bedding is pink, soft, and smells nice, it’s nothing compared to the Second Young Master’s luxurious mansion.

"He can manage."

That Mr. Zhou next door certainly can. Hasn’t he been swatting mosquitoes all night?

Shen Jing patted down her bedding, smoothed it neatly, and as she fluffed the quilt, a delicate, milky fragrance wafted out—the fresh scent of pear mixed with a rich, creamy sweetness.

After finishing, she picked up the bowl from the table and left.

"You get some rest. I’m going to help Grandma with breakfast."

Zhou Luchen had been leaning against the doorframe, his tall, imposing figure blocking half the doorway. As she passed, he turned sideways to let her through.

He watched her bustling about, then go to the sink to wash the bowl and disinfect it.

Zhou Xiangqun looked at the aloof Second Young Master. "Are you helping the Wei Family because of that woman with the surname Wen, or is it purely for Wei Sulin?"

"This Wei Family deal has documentation from above. It’s meant to help everyone in Tong Village, young and old, earn new income. If it succeeds, the Wei Group’s reputation will skyrocket."

Zhou Luchen opened his mouth. "None of your business."

Zhou Xiangqun nodded. "The Zhou Family’s business has never had much to do with the Wei Family. I don’t care who you’re trying to protect; I won’t let Grandma move."

His voice was cold and distant. "Do as you please."

When Shen Jing came out of the kitchen, Zhou Xiangqun told her, "Zhou Luchen left. What are you looking at? Who knows what got him all worked up to come here anyway."

What else would I be looking at? Whether his car is still by the roadside.

It’s gone.

Completely empty.

He comes and goes as he pleases, never a word to me.

What kind of stalemate was this relationship of theirs?

Zhou Luchen refused to let their relationship progress, yet she wasn’t willing to take a step back and be kept by him like a pet. She’d rather indulge in passion and desire without any official status.

But recalling Zhou Xiangqun’s words, Shen Jing said curiously, "You really dare to talk about him like that."

"Why wouldn’t I dare? I practically grew up with the Second Young Master," Zhou Xiangqun said. "When it comes to him, there’s nothing else I really get."

「 」

In this world, apart from Zhou Xiangqun, no one else dared to openly challenge Zhou Luchen.

With the eldest and second young masters of the Zhou Family at a standoff, the Wei Family didn’t want to offend either side.

The village head came to Elder Mrs. Xu’s house. "Our entire township just wants to make some money. If you don’t move your house, that’s fine too. Just sign this, please."

Elder Mrs. Xu asked, "Just for money?"

The village head nodded. "Yes."

Elder Mrs. Xu looked at the fellow villagers gathered outside her courtyard. "I’ll move."

The villagers breathed a collective sigh of relief. "It’s good that you see it that way."

Zhou Xiangqun tore up the contract. "She’s not moving," he declared to Elder Mrs. Xu.

"The Wei Group’s affairs have never involved cooperation with the Zhou Family; we’re in different fields. The Second Young Master’s sole aim is to help the Wei Family."

Elder Mrs. Xu understood clearly. "Let’s move. I’m the only one in the village who hasn’t signed. We’ll all have to see each other in the future; I don’t want to stand in the way of their prosperity."

In the end, Elder Mrs. Xu’s house was moved intact across the river. It wasn’t that Zhou Xiangqun couldn’t stop it, but Elder Mrs. Xu had compromised for the sake of her fellow villagers.

Zhou Xiangqun felt guilty. "Elder Mrs. Xu, why didn’t you wait a little longer?"

Elder Mrs. Xu didn’t seem too upset. Looking at Zhou Xiangqun, she said, "The Second Young Master is someone who will never compromise. All these years within the Zhou Family, you’ve been the one compromising for him. You’ve truly been a good older brother."

Elder Mrs. Xu didn’t want to see the two brothers actually come to blows eventually.

Every time Zhou Xiangqun rejected a proposal, Zhou Luchen would just submit a new application. It really wasn’t worth letting the conflict drag on.

The house was moved.

Zhou Xiangqun didn’t leave. His secretary came to the village on time every day with documents for him to handle.

The secretary occasionally brought the wrong documents.

Zhou Xiangqun could reprimand his secretary so severely without uttering a single curse word that the man would feel utterly ashamed.

This man is so incredibly deep and inscrutable, with such a reserved yet passionate nature, Shen Jing thought.

Whenever it was time for his bath, he would come and knock on her windowsill, and Shen Jing would always leave the room. It was a strange, unspoken understanding they had.

The river in the village was only ankle-deep.

After they played in the water for a while and came ashore, Zhou Xiangqun handed her her slippers. "You play the pipa quite well."

Shen Jing took the slippers. Zhou Xiangqun clearly doesn’t know much about it, she thought.

Zhou Xiangqun had no penchant for feigning artistic tastes and had little exposure to such things, but he genuinely thought her playing was very good.

They walked side by side.

"When are you leaving?"

Shen Jing countered, "You can’t bring yourself to truly oppose Zhou Luchen, can you?"

"This younger brother of mine..." Zhou Xiangqun chuckled. "I’ve always given in to him since we were kids. It would feel strange not to, even just once."