Chapter 2

Chi Zhou hates deception the most.

If you promise him something, you have to do it, or he’ll be impossible to deal with.

When we were dating in college, there was one time I promised to spend his birthday with him. But on his birthday, when I went to wait for him after class, I saw through the window outside the lecture hall that a girl was sitting next to him, inching closer and closer. He neither initiated nor rejected her, his cool and indifferent features giving off a careless, scoundrel-like vibe.

It seemed he sensed something and turned his head, spotting me through the window.

I turned and left immediately.

I thought he would apologize, would come to coax me, but the next morning I found out he had blocked me on all his contacts.

He ignored me for a long time after that, no matter how much I apologized.

His coldness made me feel, for a while, that our relationship was about to end.

Until one night, when I was waiting for him after class, it suddenly started to rain.

I hadn’t brought an umbrella. He walked straight into the rain under his black umbrella, not sparing me a single glance.

His back was straight and cold.

Chi Zhou’s figure quickly disappeared into the bustling crowd.

Behind me, the lights in the building went out one by one.

In the empty campus, only a few security guards in raincoats with flashlights were left, urging me to hurry back to the dorm.

I whispered into the heavy rain, “Chi Zhou, I’ll never like you again.”

I walked into the rain, crying.

Since there was almost no one on campus, I cried out loud without restraint.

Then, at the corner, a pair of cold hands suddenly pulled me into an embrace.

I gasped in surprise.

But my breath was instantly stolen away.

When the security guard’s flashlight swept over, Chi Zhou tilted his umbrella to block the light.

I clutched his collar, sobbing as I stood on tiptoe…

He impatiently wiped the water from the corner of my eyes. “Stop crying.”

“Chi Zhou.” I called his name softly. “Can you stop being mad?”

He let out a mocking laugh, his pale face even more distant and cold than the moonlight.

“Hmph. Are you actually afraid of me being mad?”

I reached out and gripped the hem of his shirt tightly, tiptoeing closer to him. He lifted his head to dodge, and my nose bumped right into his chin.

“Chi Zhou, I’ll spend every birthday with you from now on. I mean it.”

He lowered his head, looking at me with deep eyes.

“I swear! If I lie, may I swallow a thousand needles!”

Later, he carried me on his back to the girls’ dormitory.

The puddles on the ground reflected our intertwined shadows.

Every time we made up after a fight, we’d be even more affectionate than usual, but only for a while.

“Chi Zhou, I really like you.”

“Mm.”

“Do you like me?”

“Mm.”

“Then… why didn’t you push her away?”

I felt Chi Zhou’s steps pause for a moment. He replied lazily, “What are you doubting? Do you think I’m okay with just anyone?”

My cold hand touched his face…

“No. It’s just that you have so many choices, and I’m scared.”

“Xia Zhi, you’re my girlfriend. What are you afraid of?”

And just like that, we made up. After that, I kept every promise I made to Chi Zhou.

Including, when we got married, I swore to him that I would never make him give away the cat.

Just now, I didn’t really want him to send Green Tea away. I just… wanted him to coax me.

Chi Zhou must be starting to hate me again.