The stubborn her

scarf

Although it was a family gathering, the atmosphere at the dinner table was not relaxed. The conversation revolved around the topic of Tao Xinxin talking about her boyfriend, and hardly anyone touched the food on the table. Shen Zhitong had little appetite to begin with, and ate even less.

Seeing that it was getting late, Zhou Xingjin took the opportunity to bid farewell to his parents and the Tao couple under the pretext of sending Shen Zhitong home. Outside, the temperature was low, and the night wind made people shiver, but inside the car, it was warm and fragrant.

"Just now, don't mind what Xinxin said," Zhou Xingjin said.

Shen Zhitong knew what he meant and shook her head lightly. What she said was indeed true. Compared to families like theirs, she did come from a humble background. It was just a misunderstanding at the dinner table that led everyone to bring up the topic of her family's finances. In reality, her family situation had little to do with them. Therefore, she didn't need to feel upset or hurt her pride.

"Where do you live? I'll take you home," Zhou Xingjin asked.

Shen Zhitong gave an address and added, "Thank you."

"It's nothing," Zhou Xingjin's face was hidden in the darkness of the car, his expression unclear.

Shen Zhitong's place wasn't far, only a thirty-minute drive to an old-fashioned neighborhood with shared rental houses. Zhou Xingjin stopped the car at the entrance of the community, watching Shen Zhitong get out of the car and enter the dilapidated iron gate of the community, braving the cold wind. He withdrew his gaze, unintentionally noticing a woman's scarf left on the passenger seat.

Seemingly understanding something, his eyes gradually turned cold. He chuckled lightly, shifted his gaze away.

The phone screen lit up, and Tao Xinxin sent him a string of messages on WeChat.

Zhou Xingjin's expression softened as he read Tao Xinxin's usual cheerful tone:

"Xing Xing, where did you find this girl? You really helped me shut my parents up just now, otherwise they would be eyeing you every day... I'll treat you to a meal another day!" followed by some mischievous emojis.

That Guanxi, was the poor boy she had been infatuated with recently.

Zhou Xingjin sighed lightly, tapped the screen with his fingertip, and replied with a simple "Okay."

As long as she was happy.

The faint light from the phone screen cast on his face, revealing a pair of lonely and helpless eyes in the night. It was on that evening that Shen Zhitong received Zhou Xingjin's friend request on WeChat.

It was deliberately added from the company group chat.

Shen Zhitong stared at the profile picture of the request, forcing herself to calm down and agreeing to it.

Soon, a photo came over from the other side, showing her scarf.

It was then that Shen Zhitong remembered that she had left her scarf in his car.

Feeling embarrassed, she sent a message on WeChat apologizing. "I'll come to your office tomorrow to pick it up." The other side replied, then there was no more communication.

The next day, Shen Zhitong went to his office on the top floor, the door was half open, but there was no one inside.

Her scarf was neatly folded and placed on a chair.

Shen Zhitong took back the scarf and sent him a message, thanking him.

There was no reply from the other side.

Minutes passed, hours passed, half a day passed, still no reply. Shen Zhitong's heart gradually went from pounding to feeling lost, and finally, it returned to calm.

After all, he was a busy CEO, it was normal for him to miss messages.

She thought to herself.

Zhou Xingjin contacted her again half a month later.

On Valentine's Day. He invited her out for dinner.

At a high-end Western restaurant.

It happened to be a weekend, and outside were couples immersed in romance. Zhou Xingjin wore a long navy blue woolen coat with double-breasted design, his high waistline making his originally tall figure even more superior when standing and walking.

Women at nearby tables kept stealing glances at him.

Seemingly accustomed to it, he casually flipped through the menu with both hands.

Before going out, Shen Zhitong had rummaged through her closet. The slightly more expensive item was a khaki wool coat, bought at a discount for over five hundred yuan during Singles' Day.

Zhou Xingjin didn't pay attention to what she was wearing, unable to discern whether her mood was good or bad, and didn't speak much.

The two of them seemed to be just out for a meal, and there was a strange atmosphere lingering when the food arrived.

Shen Zhitong didn't speak much normally, but to ease her own embarrassment, she took the initiative to start a conversation with him.

"Do you have any hobbies, Mr. Zhou?"

"None," Zhou Xingjin replied bluntly.

In fact, he really didn't have any hobbies. All his thoughts were focused on work. From the conversation at the dinner table last time, it could be inferred that he rarely even dated over the years.

"You must have some," Zhou Xingjin said casually as he flipped through the Valentine's Day event brochure on the table.

Shen Zhitong nodded and smiled, "Photography."

"Portraits, or landscapes?"

"I prefer taking landscape photos, I'm not very good at portraits."

"Why is that?" Zhou Xingjin glanced at her and then lowered his eyes to flip through another page of the brochure.

Shen Zhitong shook her head.

She continued, "Taking portraits requires interacting with people. You need to understand the model, resonate with her, even fall in love with her. Feel her joy, experience her pain, only then can you capture soul-stirring works."

Zhou Xingjin glanced at her, then lowered his eyes again, flipping through another page of the brochure, "You're not good at it?"

Shen Zhitong shook her head.

She continued, "That's why many photographers easily fall in love with their models and end up marrying them."

Zhou Xingjin chuckled lightly, "That's just business."

Shen Zhitong said, "But you can't deny that there are partners who genuinely fall in love. Many world-renowned portrait photographers have produced their best works precisely because of their loved ones."

"It's just that both parties are familiar with each other's work styles, practice makes perfect." Zhou Xingjin casually tossed the brochure onto the table.

Shen Zhitong was speechless, unable to find a suitable angle to refute him for a moment, so she could only keep silent.

After all, what she was best at was keeping silent. After all, she wasn't here to argue with him.

As the two of them were talking, a surprised voice came from the entrance of the restaurant, "Brother Xingjin? What are you doing here for dinner?"

Zhou Xingjin raised his head to look, seemingly expecting it.

Shen Zhitong followed the sound and saw Tao Xinxin, whom she had seen that evening.

Tao Xinxin was accompanied by a man who looked trendy and rebellious, wearing a black leather jacket with semi-long hair tied into a ponytail at the back of his head. He was probably the "poor boy" mentioned by Tao's parents. The two of them walked over and greeted Zhou Xingjin.

Tao Xinxin glanced at Shen Zhitong sitting across from Zhou Xingjin, her eyes flashing with what seemed like surprise. This girl again? Valentine's Day dinner with Zhou Xingjin... Could it be real?

She pursed her lips and smiled as she extended a hand towards Shen Zhitong. "Shen... Zhitong, right?"

Shen Zhitong stood up and shook hands with her.

"Shen Zhitong looks very young, are you still in school?" Tao Xinxin asked.

"I just graduated," Shen Zhitong replied.

"So young?" Tao Xinxin glanced at Zhou Xingjin and teased, "Do you know that when you were in elementary school, your brother Xingjin was already in college and managing several companies?"

Shen Zhitong's focus was on the words "your brother Xingjin," and her ears felt slightly warm.

"Xinxin, let's go," the man beside Tao Xinxin pulled her, signaling not to disturb their date.

But Tao Xinxin didn't care, she turned to Zhou Xingjin and said, "Brother Xingjin, can we share a table with you? Hope you don't mind."

Zhou Xingjin was accustomed to her sudden requests like this, so he smiled faintly and said, "You can sit wherever you like."

Shen Zhitong rarely saw Zhou Xingjin smile, this was the first time.

What she didn't know was that Zhou Xingjin invited her out for Valentine's Day just to find a companion and give himself an excuse to "coincidentally" encounter Tao Xinxin in this restaurant.