Volume One, Chapter 11: Everything About Chu Nanqing

The door behind her suddenly swung open, startling Yu Jin.

“Zhou...”

She wasn’t sure how much he had overheard outside, so she chose to remain silent for the moment.

“Chu Nanqing?”

Zhou Jincheng’s expression was cold and stern as he lowered his gaze to study her, a strange emotion flickering in his eyes.

Yu Jin shook her head and stepped back toward the wall.

“You’ve got the wrong person.”

Zhou Jincheng set down the things in his hands and strode over to her, scrutinizing her face closely.

“Of course I know I’ve got the wrong person. Then why are you here?”

Yu Jin glanced at Jin Suyi, who had already fallen asleep on the bed, and lowered her voice so only he could hear.

“My mother is Aunt Jin’s friend and asked me to visit her.”

Zhou Jincheng cast her a sidelong glance, then stepped aside to let her move away from the wall.

Yu Jin quickly grabbed her bag from the table, ready to leave, but Zhou Jincheng blocked her path, now holding an apple in his hand.

“Since you came to visit Aunt Jin, shouldn’t you at least peel an apple for her before you go?”

Swallowing her nerves, Yu Jin took the apple he offered and picked up the fruit knife from the table, beginning to peel it carefully.

“Why did you say your name was Chu Nanqing?”

Zhou Jincheng stood beside her, watching her hands peel the apple.

Yu Jin paused and spoke calmly, “Only when I said I was Chu Nanqing would Aunt Jin take her medicine.”

“Do you really know Chu Nanqing?”

Yu Jin placed the peeled apple slices on the tray, looked up at him, and answered attentively.

“I saw her once when I was little. She was quite plump.”

“She’s not plump at all,” Zhou Jincheng interrupted coldly.

Yu Jin glanced at him indifferently and continued, “I haven’t seen her since. I heard the Chu family fell into trouble and she was taken away by the police.”

Zhou Jincheng fell silent, his mind deep in thought.

Yu Jin turned to him and asked, “Then why are you here to see Aunt Jin?”

“I was passing by,” he replied flatly, carrying the tray to the bedside, wrapping it in plastic wrap, and setting it on the nightstand.

Yu Jin pressed her lips together. In such a remote place, “passing by” was clearly not the truth.

What was his real purpose for coming here?

Her father had committed suicide, she had been imprisoned, and only her mother remained—now lost to madness. What else could he possibly want?

Clenching her fists behind Zhou Jincheng’s back, her eyes reddened.

Hearing the movement, Zhou Jincheng turned around, still seeing her composed, cold expression.

He stepped closer, his gaze sharp as a blade.

“Gather one million yuan by the fifteenth of next month. I will help you win the lawsuit.”

Yu Jin was stunned.

Hadn’t he said he wouldn’t take the case? He even promised to pay triple the deposit to her.

“Have you changed your mind?”

Zhou Jincheng rested one hand on the low cabinet beside her thigh. Broad-shouldered and slender-waisted, he was nearly thirty centimeters taller than her.

Just looking down at her made her scalp tingle.

“You came here to get me to help with the lawsuit, didn’t you?”

“Everything about Chu Nanqing is not something you can use as leverage.”

“There won’t be a next time.”

Yu Jin wanted to argue but realized she needed him to hold onto this misunderstanding for now.

“Fine, there won’t be a next time.”

At least he was willing to help with the lawsuit. There was still a chance Xiao Jing could come back to her. As for the million yuan, she would find a way.

“There are pears in the fruit basket too.”

Zhou Jincheng glanced indifferently at the basket nearby.

“Aunt Jin can’t finish so much fruit.”

Yu Jin waved her hand, refusing to peel pears.

“I want to eat them.”

Zhou Jincheng’s tone made it sound as if it was only natural for her to do so.

“If you want to eat, why don’t you peel them yourself?”

Yu Jin stood still, snapping at him with a sour expression.

“Why don’t you bring your own daughter back yourself?”

Leaning casually against the bookshelf, Zhou Jincheng’s long legs seemed impossibly proportioned. He pinched the acupuncture point on his forehead in a lazy pose.

Yu Jin wanted to pick up a pear from the basket and throw it at his head.

Fuming, she said nothing, washed a pear, grabbed the fruit knife from the table, and finished peeling the apple before starting on the pear.

She didn’t want to peel any apples or pears; she wanted to peel Zhou Jincheng.

Did he make a nasty face like this when peeling fruit for others during lawsuits?

“Doctor Situ.”

A nurse passing by outside called out to someone. Standing just beyond the open door was a young, handsome man.

His white coat was as pure as snow, his demeanor cool and distant. His fingers, holding a medical chart, were long and elegant as jade.

Situ Suinian responded politely and pushed the door open to enter the ward.

Besides Yu Jin, there was a man she didn’t recognize.

“Who is this?”

Yu Jin didn’t know how to introduce Zhou Jincheng. She opened her mouth, about to say he was just passing by.

The nurse following Situ Suinian caught up and said, “Lawyer Zhou Jincheng is Aunt Jin’s son-in-law.”

What kind of son-in-law was he?

Yu Jin wanted to clarify but couldn’t bring herself to say it.

She had only met Chu Nanqing as a child. How could she possibly know about Zhou Jincheng’s connection to the Chu family?

Zhou Jincheng nodded slightly, his gaze briefly sweeping over Situ Suinian.

“Hello.”

What was there to be “hello” about?

Yu Jin felt uneasy.

He might as well have spoken the truth.

“Long have I heard your name, Lawyer Zhou.”

Situ Suinian smiled faintly, showing no desire to continue the conversation.

He came to Yu Jin’s side and naturally took the fruit knife from her hand, placing it on the table.

“Your blood and energy are weak. You shouldn’t handle sharp objects—it’s easy to hurt yourself.”

“Do you want a pear? I’ll peel it for you.”

Yu Jin pointed to the man leaning against the bookshelf. “He’ll eat it.”

Situ Suinian put the pear he had just taken back on the table, looking at Zhou Jincheng with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“If Lawyer Zhou wants fruit, he can go downstairs.”

“There’s a juicer and a peeler specifically for patients at the sanatorium.”

Yu Jin’s lips twitched. She hadn’t meant to smile but couldn’t help it.

She looked up at Situ Suinian with admiration shining in her eyes.

Doctor Situ was concise and to the point, perfectly expressing what she couldn’t say herself.

“Looks like I should donate more equipment to the sanatorium, so doctors don’t have to use patients’ peelers when they want fruit.”

Zhou Jincheng smirked, a hint of coldness glinting in his dark eyes.

Situ Suinian frowned, saying seriously, “I always peel my own fruit.”

Zhou Jincheng acknowledged with a grunt and came to stand beside Yu Jin. His arm slid around her waist; the muscle beneath the thin fabric brushed against her skin.

The tingling sensation felt as if a thousand tiny insects were crawling through her bones. Yu Jin’s shoulders trembled as she quickly pulled away, her heart racing wildly.

There were only a few sensitive spots on her body, and Zhou Jincheng had long since teased them to their limit.

She couldn’t touch him—any contact made her vulnerable...

Five days a week, they spent the night at a hotel outside the school.

The remaining two days, he worked late at the law firm.

No matter how much she tried to change, his mark remained on her.

Zhou Jincheng seemed unaware of her discomfort. He simply took a pear from behind her.

Half peeled.

He bit into the pear, exactly where Yu Jin had removed the skin.

“Then you’re in a tough spot, Doctor Situ.”

Situ Suinian’s face darkened. Ignoring Zhou Jincheng, he said to Yu Jin, “Stay away from him.”

This man was married, yet expected a young girl to peel fruit for him. His intentions were improper.

“I’m afraid she won’t get what she wants.”

Zhou Jincheng’s gaze swept over Situ Suinian before settling steadily on Yu Jin’s face, probing deeply.