Chapter Twenty

Ethan walked in from the balcony with a tablet in hand, intending to ask Nick a question, but he found him playing with his phone with a cold expression, neither typing nor looking at it.

He was just like that, with cold eyes, not knowing what he was thinking.

Ethan immediately stopped in his tracks.

Just then, the dormitory door opened, and Leo walked in carrying a bag of snacks, also with a cold expression.

The already tense atmosphere plunged straight to freezing point, making Ethan feel chilled all over. He managed to squeeze out a smile and asked Leo, "What did you buy?"

Leo threw the snacks on the table and said, "From a classmate, eat whatever you want."

Ethan flipped through the bag, took out a pack of potato chips, opened it, and ate quietly.

Leo returned to his desk, turned on his computer, and started working on his own things.

He and Nick were separated by a walkway, and neither one looked at the other.

When he went on the school forum, he glanced through it casually.

He saw several new posts.

[Mr. Nick almost forcibly kissed self-study student Zoe again, watch the video!]

[I don't want to believe that our Senior Nick is like this, but the video makes me have to believe it.]

[Sob, give me back my Senior Nick.]

He clicked on it, and the video popped up.

It was from the morning.

The video showed Nick blocking Zoe in the classroom, split into several clips.

One clip showed Nick sitting next to the sleeping Zoe, his wristwatch-wearing hand reaching towards her neck, clearly intending to touch her.

One clip showed Nick covering Zoe's eyes with both hands, leaning close to her, and saying something unintelligible.

Another clip depicted Zoe leaning against the window while Nick stood against the window sill, looking down at her.

After watching the videos, Leo's expression became even colder.

A sense of unwillingness welled up in his heart.

Why could he just go ahead and do it, while he was left feeling uneasy here?

After a while, Leo nudged his chair and turned to Nick's side.

Nick's expression was cold and angry, studying a graph, while his phone beside him was switched off, a dark and lifeless screen.

Leo leaned his hand on the table and shouted, "Nick, do you really think Zoe will agree to you after you chase her like this?"

"She'll only be more scared of you and want to avoid you even more."

Nick tightened his jaw, and after a moment, he turned his head, lazily resting his forehead on his hand, his expression indifferent as if unaffected by Leo's words. He only raised his eyebrows and said, "What's your opinion?"

These words seemed casual.

But there was a hidden sincerity in seeking advice, which Nick concealed well.

Leo said, "Put aside your tricks and let's compete fairly. What do you think?"

Nick sneered, "She likes me, so you won't get a fair chance."

Leo's face darkened, almost rising from his seat.

The two men stared at each other, and the tension rose again.

After a moment, Leo gritted his teeth and said, "You're so arrogant."

Nick raised his eyebrows, turned his face back to the computer in front of him, and nudged the table with his foot, swaying it.

However, his mind flashed back to the WeChat message Zoe had just sent.

"I really hate you so much..."

A fierce expression flashed across his eyes, and he tapped his fingers on the table, each tap harder than the previous one.

When Zoe sent that WeChat message, she was on the phone with Lindsay.

Lindsay asked her how she planned to celebrate her birthday and said that her sister was not feeling well recently and couldn't come over to accompany Zoe, so she suggested Zoe make a bowl of longevity noodles for herself.

At that moment, she suddenly felt a sense of weariness towards the world.

She typed back, "Restore Nick."

And that was when she sent the message, "I really hate you."

After sending it, she regretted it a little.

After all, this guy was the only one she had ever liked.

It felt like she was denying all her past feelings.

But since she had sent it, it was done.

If sending this message could make a difference and stop him, then it was worth it.

She was truly exhausted by having to deal with anyone.

Luna lazily talked on the phone.

Ellie chatted enthusiastically with the guy from the social gathering.

Stella watched her anime.

Zoe lay on the bed, watching them.

Suddenly, she felt that they were much happier than her.

She buried her head in the pillow and fell asleep.

There were classes every day for the next few days, quite a few of them.

Since that day, coupled with the incident in the classroom, Zoe still had to brave the stares of her classmates and attend classes.

Gradually, she got used to it.

"Just look if you want, can you stare a hole in me?" she thought.

Winter came unexpectedly in the blink of an eye.

Zoe's birthday fell on December 24th, also known as Christmas Eve in other countries.

She wrapped herself up tightly in the morning and went downstairs with Luna.

Leo rode over on his bike, waved his hand, and handed Zoe the breakfast he was carrying.

Zoe was taken aback.

Leo pulled the hood of his sweatshirt and said, "How about I bring you breakfast every day from now on?"

Zoe replied, "No need."

"You don't want to eat it? I'll just have to throw it away. Such a waste, don't you think?"

As he spoke, Leo placed the breakfast on the ground and rode off on his bike, humming a tune.

Zoe was completely surprised by Leo's sudden appearance after a few days of not seeing him.

Luna picked up the still-warm breakfast and said, "Why don't we just eat it? It's a waste to throw it away. If you don't want to owe him, you can send him a red envelope later."

Zoe hesitated for a moment, trying to speak, but just then, a dark figure descended the stairs from the neighboring dormitory. It was Nick, dressed in a black baseball jacket, black pants, and a blue T-shirt underneath. His hands were in his pockets, and he looked lazily at Zoe.

Upon seeing him, Zoe instinctively tried to hide.

Nick stood still, narrowed his eyes, then rubbed his lips and walked over, reaching out to take the breakfast from Luna's hand. His voice was hoarse as he said, "I haven't eaten yet. Thank you."

Zoe and Luna were stunned.

Nick carried the breakfast and passed by Zoe's side, his gaze deeply fixed on her face. There was restraint in his eyes as he smiled and said, "Zoe, if I sent you breakfast, would you just throw it away?"

Zoe felt uncomfortable under his gaze. After sending that WeChat message, he hadn't replied.

For the next few days, the WeChat chat was quiet, and she hadn't encountered him on campus, even though their dorms were so close.

She had just let out a sigh of relief when she encountered him again today.

Zoe bit her lip and didn't answer.

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.

Nick snorted, took out a cigarette, and bit into it, along with the breakfast, and walked away without looking back.

Soon, he disappeared from Zoe and Luna's sight.

Luna hesitated for a moment, then took Zoe's hand and continued walking, "Has he changed his nature?"

Zoe shook her head, indicating that she didn't know.

Back in the classroom, she received a WeChat message from Sampson.

"Remember to come to the company on the weekend. I need to talk to you about something."

Zoe quickly replied, "Okay."

After class in the afternoon, as soon as she returned to the dormitory, she was stopped by Stella.

Ellie also got off the bed and said with a smile, "Zoe, let's go out for dinner tonight?"

Luna was untying her scarf behind them and exchanged a glance with Stella. Stella winked at Luna, but Zoe didn't notice their small gestures because she was facing the other way.

She had originally planned to go back to the old Huadong District and cook herself a bowl of longevity noodles.

But now, since they were willing to accompany her, it was naturally a good thing. Zoe nodded and said, "Okay."

"Then hurry up and get ready. Dress up nicely and let's go."

Ellie excitedly pushed Zoe's shoulder, urging her to go inside. Zoe had no choice but to obediently grab her clothes and go in.

The four of them quickly got ready and were ready to go by 6:30 pm.

As Ellie requested, Zoe wore a brown skirt inside, with a slightly low neckline, but it was just right with a black scarf around her neck. She paired it with a long black overcoat.

Luna, still dressed neatly, nodded approvingly at Zoe's outfit, "It's not bad..."

Ellie added, "You look so pretty."

Stella commented, "This is how a girl should dress..."

Their praise was a bit over the top, making Zoe blush.

After that, the three of them took Zoe out of the dormitory.

Luna drove them all to dinner.

They ate noodles, and when Zoe poked her noodles, she glanced at Luna, Stella, and Ellie. They were laughing and talking, not paying attention to her, but Zoe smiled and pretended not to notice.

However, a warm feeling surged through her heart.

After dinner, Luna suggested going to a bar for some fun, just a quiet one.

Zoe didn't refuse since they were so eager to go.

But when they arrived at the bar's entrance, Zoe realized that this bar was one of the best in the city. She was stunned, feeling that it was too extravagant.

She pulled Luna aside and asked.

Luna explained, "This bar belongs to Noah's family. Our school rented out the venue tonight, so don't worry about it."

Zoe was taken aback, "Really? Is that so?"

So, Noah also knew about her birthday?

And what about Nick?

This made her think more.

After all, Noah and Nick were good friends.

Once inside the bar, Zoe saw many familiar classmates, especially many self-study students whom she knew.

She looked around but didn't see Nick, only Noah and Ethan. Shortly after, Leo arrived and handed her a box.

Leo's eyes sparkled with a smile, "Happy birthday."

Zoe was at a loss for words.

Later, Zoe received quite a few birthday gifts.

She felt a bit overwhelmed, but seeing the smiling faces of her classmates, she made a mental note to return the favors when she had a chance.

Luna told Zoe, "It's normal to exchange favors. Don't worry, just don't refuse to help out when your classmates need you in the future."

Zoe smiled at Luna.

Due to her family's misfortunes, she had become afraid of having too many interactions and entanglements with others, fearing that she couldn't repay the favors or didn't know how to repay them.

But Luna was different. She was mature and had a career.

Luna knew how to repay favors and knew how to do it properly.

Zoe admired Luna.

She nodded and considered the gifts. They seemed to be nothing too expensive, so she decided to accept them all.

With the gifts came the inevitable drinking. Zoe wanted to thank Noah, so she walked over with a glass of wine.

Noah was sitting in a corner,lowering his head, playing on his phone, while Ethan leaned against Noah's side, speaking.

As Zoe approached, she heard Ethan say, "Damn, how much did we spend tonight? You should calculate the bill."

Noah glanced at Ethan and replied, "What's the rush? It's not coming out of your pocket. It's paid for by our Mr. Nick."

Ethan said, "Over two hundred thousand for this one night? Mr. Nick is really generous."

Noah chuckled, "To win over a beauty's heart, one has to put in some effort. You don't know, for Nick's birthday, Zoe threw him a huge birthday party. This is nothing compared to that."

Ethan asked, "Is Mr. Nick trying to pursue Zoe using the same method? Will it work?"

Zoe stood frozen in place, the dim lighting of the bar obscuring her expression.

Her hand gripping the wine glass trembled slightly. A hand reached from behind and steadied her glass, accompanied by a low and casual voice whispering in her ear, "Hold onto your glass tightly, you'll have to pay if you drop it..."