Love in the Illusion

9

Chapter 9

The boy stood with his back to the green bus stop sign, chatting with Xu Sui. She glanced past him unintentionally, then stumbled forward, only regaining her balance when Shi Yuejie grabbed her elbow.

Xu Sui murmured a thanks and withdrew her hand, her gaze flustered. Shi Yuejie turned his head to follow her line of sight.

Zhou Jingze was sauntering toward them with his hands in his pockets, a roguish face beneath his black baseball cap. He chewed on a mint candy, a lazy grin playing on his lips.

The smile on Shi Yuejie's face faltered slightly the moment he saw Zhou Jingze, but it returned to normal by the time he approached.

"What brings you here?" Xu Sui asked, looking up at him.

"Looking for someone," Zhou Jingze replied, lowering his gaze to meet hers.

Xu Sui sensed the awkward tension and was about to break the ice by introducing the two when Shi Yuejie spoke up first, his smile warm. "Jingze, long time no see."

Xu Sui widened her eyes slightly, her clear pupils flickering with confusion. "You... know each other?"

Shi Yuejie nodded and was about to explain their relationship when Zhou Jingze pressed the mint candy against his tongue, crunching it loudly until the powder melted in his mouth. He chuckled lightly, his tone casual:

"More than just knowing each other. What do you think our relationship is?"

Zhou Jingze's gaze locked straight onto Shi Yuejie, like a hidden dagger. Shi Yuejie found himself cornered, hesitating for a long moment before finally squeezing out two words: "Friends."

Zhou Jingze's lips curled slightly at the words, the arc of his smile mocking, but in the end, he said nothing.

With Zhou Jingze forcibly inserting himself, his overwhelming presence wedged between the two, Shi Yuejie found himself at a loss for words. He turned to Xu Sui and said, "You can rest assured about this matter. Your exam results have been properly recorded."

Xu Sui nodded. As Shi Yuejie was leaving, he hesitated for a moment before patting Zhou Jingze on the shoulder with a smile and saying, "I'm off." Zhou Jingze let out an almost imperceptible scoff but remained silent.

After Shi Yuejie left, Zhou Jingze leaned against the bus stop sign. He took out a pack of pressed candies, poured out a mint one, and lowered his head to unwrap it, his jawline sharp and defined. Not a single word escaped his lips.

Xu Sui feared he might misunderstand and stammered an explanation, "That was just my invigilator senior... because... there was a bit of an incident during the exam..." For some reason, Xu Sui didn't tell Zhou Jingze who the person that framed her was.

"Senior, huh?" Zhou Jingze slowly enunciated the word, then abruptly changed the subject, "Is the matter resolved?"

"Sort of." Mentioning this made Xu Sui somewhat listless.

After the exam, Shi Yuejie immediately applied to review the surveillance footage. He spent over two hours going back and forth through the exam hall recordings, identified the actual cheater, and then proceeded to contact the academic office and the parties involved.

In the end, the matter was resolved smoothly, but the student was willing to take the punishment rather than apologize. Xu Sui felt somewhat wronged by being framed for no reason.

Nevertheless, Xu Sui was grateful to Shi Yuejie. Unaccustomed to owing favors, she asked if he had any requests she could fulfill. Unable to refuse her insistence, Shi Yuejie simply asked her to treat him to milk tea, leading to the scene Zhou Jingze happened to witness.

Just as Xu Sui was about to say something, her teacher messaged her to come to the office to pick up photocopied exam papers. Noticing her hesitation, Zhou Jingze flicked her forehead and said, "Go ahead. I have something to do too."

After Xu Sui left, Zhou Jing * stood at the bus stop smoking a cigarette. He pulled out his phone, made a call, and after hanging up, logged into WeChat to find Bai Yuyue's profile picture.

Their chat history still remained from last Sunday, with Bai Yuyue's message:

—I saw you sending Xu Sui back to school.

Zhou Jingze hadn't replied. The slanting rain streaked across the screen, and he wiped away the wet traces with his thumb, staring thoughtfully at the words.

After helping the teacher sort out the exam papers in the office, Xu Sui returned to her dorm. As soon as she pushed the door open, 1017 immediately ran over, meowing at her.

Bai Yuyue was combing her hair when she suddenly slammed the wooden comb onto the table with a loud "thud," her tone unpleasant: "So noisy."

Xu Sui ignored her, tearing open a bag of cat food and pouring it into a bowl to feed the cat, completely disregarding Bai Yuyue. Just as Bai Yuyue, having fizzled out like a dud firecracker, was about to speak in her irritation.

With a "ding," the phone on the table lit up. Bai Yuyue picked it up and opened WeChat to see a message from Zhou Jingze: 【Come outside.】

Upon seeing the message, Bai Yuyue's eyes brightened. She immediately tidied up the table and began touching up her makeup, her brows and eyes unable to conceal her excitement and joy.

Bai Yuyue quickly freshened up and changed into a flared wool skirt that accentuated her curves, looking both stunning and alluring. As she stepped out, she bumped right into Liang Shuang, who was just returning.

"Where are you off to, all dressed up so beautifully?" Liang Shuang asked.

"Of course, it's a date with someone important," Bai Yuyue replied, glancing back at Xu Sui as she spoke.

After the orange cat finished eating, she was pouring goat milk into a box when her hand trembled at the words, spilling fresh milk onto the floor. The kitten immediately bent down to lick it all up.

After breaking up with Zhou Jingze, Bai Yueyue remained single. The only one who could easily stir her emotions was probably Zhou Jingze.

So the person Zhou Jingze mentioned this morning was Bai Yueyue. Her heart suddenly clenched into a tight knot, her eyes began to sting, and she stared blankly at a fixed point.

After spacing out for ten minutes, Xu Sui refused to wallow in her despondent state. She got up, packed a few books, and decided to head to the library—doing something was better than letting her mind wander.

Carrying a stack of books downstairs, Xu Sui shivered slightly as a cold gust of wind hit her. The rain had stopped, leaving the ground damp. She walked down a tree-lined path, descended a flight of steps, and turned left.

The library was a fair distance from the girls' dormitory. After walking down the path, one had to cross through a garden. As the weather turned colder, the garden saw fewer visitors. Clusters of flowers bloomed within, flanked by two rows of brown benches facing each other, their armrests rusted red.

Xu Sui hadn't walked far when she heard the sound of an argument. She couldn't help but stop in her tracks. Through a thicket of wild roses, she saw the two people quarreling.

Xu Sui lowered her dark lashes. Heaven truly loved to play tricks on her—just how many times was she destined to stumble upon Zhou Jingze with another girl?

To be precise, it was Bai Yuyue doing all the accusing.

Bai Yuyue stood before Zhou Jingze, her usual haughty demeanor gone as tears fell pattering down her face. She lowered her head and whispered, "I was wrong... Can we make up?"

Zhou Jingze remained silent. His silence sent Bai Yuyue into another emotional spiral. "I already apologized! Were you ever that attentive to me when we were together?"

"You... still like me, don't you?" Bai Yuyue's voice trembled with desperation. Clutching at straws, she abruptly pulled open her knit blouse, revealing pale skin from her collarbone down to her chest—a stark and arresting sight.

With shaking hands, Bai Yuyue grabbed Zhou Jingze's hand and pressed it against her chest, utterly devoid of self-respect. Through her sobs, she pleaded, "Didn't you say... you loved touching me the most?"

Zhou Jingze looked at her without saying a word, eventually just raising his hand to adjust her clothes properly, his well-defined fingers pulling the zipper back up. Xu Sui caught sight of the black mole on his thumb resting against the girl's shoulder.

The sky was gray. Zhou Jingze wore a flight jacket, its shoulders already darkened. He listened the entire time, taking in every accusation, good or bad, and only offered one sentence, spoken slowly:

"Bai Yuyue, don't stoop to such cheap behavior."

Bai Yuyue finally broke down, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably as she sobbed beyond words. She had given up at last, knowing there was no chance for her with Zhou Jingze.

Bai Yuyue took a step forward, walking a dozen paces before Zhou Jingze, who remained standing in place, called out to her, "Think about what I said."

The figure ahead stiffened slightly but ultimately left without turning back.

Zhou Jingze stood there tall and handsome in black pants and short boots, lightly tapping the ground with his toe before scoffing, "Stop eavesdropping, come out."

Xu Suixin startled, clutching her books as she shuffled out a couple of steps, explaining, "I didn't mean to."

Zhou Jingze turned around and said leisurely, "What now? We've already broken up, and now you've seen it—hurts even more."

"I'm sorry," Xu Sui thought for a moment.

With his hands in his pockets, Zhou Jingze walked toward her step by step, his gaze fixed straight on Xu Sui. He stopped right in front of her, so close their foreheads could almost touch.

The scent of cigarettes on him wafted over, the sharp aroma making Xu Sui's heart race uncontrollably. She instinctively stepped back, only for Zhou Jingze to move even closer.

Zhou Jingze leaned down to look at her, his eyes dark as stone, carrying a hint of mischief and nonchalance: "Why don't you take her place?"

The warm breath against her ear sent tingles through Xu Sui's skin. Under Zhou Jingze's gaze, her face visibly flushed crimson, like a drop of vermilion dye spreading rapidly across translucent oilpaper, from her cheeks all the way to behind her ears, exuding an almost dewy radiance.

Seeing Xu Sui remain silent, Zhou Jingze took another step closer, raising an eyebrow as he pressed, "Hmm?"

"I... I..." Xu Sui was both nervous and unbearably embarrassed. She stumbled backward several steps, inadvertently rustling the rose bushes with a loud crash. As the light dimmed, something fell, and the air seemed to crackle with an invisible spark.

Zhou Jingze stood before her, slowly closing the distance. Xu Su caught sight of his tall, straight nose bridge and thin lips pressing downward inch by inch, so close she could see his pitch-black eyelashes.

Her heart leaped into her throat, a mix of fear and faint anticipation.

Then Zhou Jingze leaned down, pinching the rose petal on her shoulder between his thumb and forefinger, and actually brought it to his mouth. His lips pressed against the crimson petal as his teeth slowly chewed and devoured it, his dark eyes glinting with teasing amusement.

Cult-like yet brimming with mischief.

Xu Sui let out a sigh of relief, gasping for air, while the books she had been clutching tightly in her arms clattered to the ground, petals once again fluttering down onto their shoulders.

"Just teasing you." The mischief in Zhou Jingze's eyes was evident.

"Come out for dinner tonight, Xixi knows." Zhou Jingze plucked another petal, gently rubbing it between his fingertips.

Xu Sui nodded. After Zhou Jingze left, she rested her hands on her knees, still breathing lightly. Watching his carefree retreating figure, she thought to herself, how could someone be so wicked.

Like poison, a single casual word can be addictive, drawing one into a dream, only to plunge them into hell the next second, forcing them to sober up.