Chapter 17

Lin Zhe had just finished a full day of military training when his counselor yanked him out of formation.

He was in the Directing 1903 cohort, and the woman currently raking her fingers through a bird’s-nest of wavy hair was their life-advisor: Zhou Yu.

One hand in his pocket, Lin Zhe nudged his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Teacher Zhou, why the emergency summons?”

Zhou Yu scratched her head like the answer might be tangled in there. With a little effort their counselor could be pretty, but she always looked half-awake. If he had to compare her to an animal, Lin Zhe wouldn’t hesitate: sloth.

“Zhao Ge’s gone dark,” she muttered. “No reply, no nothing. You know where she is?”

Lin Zhe tilted his head, baffled. If you can’t reach Senior Zhao Ge, why ask me?

His face was an open book, and Zhou Yu’s irritation spiked. “Aren’t you her boyfriend?”

Lin Zhe’s brows drew together. Since when? Even if they’d once made that “once you get into Lihai University we’ll date” pact, they’d never actually sealed the deal. And on paper he was still Chen Zhijing’s boyfriend.

“Uh, no idea where you heard we were a couple—”

She cut him off, eyes flashing. “Some boyfriend you are. Your partner drops off the grid for days and you’re not even worried?”

He gave up correcting her; it was faster to let her think what she wanted.

“Here’s her off-campus address.” She pulled a scrap of paper from her jacket, scrawled against the wall, and stuffed it into his hand. “Go make sure she hasn’t died in there. I’ve got things to do—call me after.”

She yawned, already shambling away. Things to do? More like a date with her pillow.

Still, he hadn’t seen Zhao Ge since training started, and the nightly spam calls had stopped. He glanced at his phone: only seven-thirty, sky just dimming. Might as well.

...

Following the scribbled directions, he reached her apartment complex in under twenty minutes. Wide, clean streets, manicured hedges—nice place.

Building 2, Unit 701.

He pressed the bell.

Inside, Zhao Ge was in pajamas, hunched over her laptop, fingers flying. Deadline for the final volume loomed; she’d been barricaded here for days. The chime made her scowl. Nothing killed momentum like an interruption.

She exhaled, pushed back from the desk, and shuffled to the door. Peering through the peephole she froze.

Why is Xiao Lin here?

She sprinted to the bathroom mirror: sleep-flattened hair, faint panda eyes. Great. Because she’d trashed her last draft, she’d been pulling all-nighters. A quick swipe of concealer, a finger-comb through her bangs, then she slipped on the gauzy robe she’d ditched earlier. If she was going to open the door, she’d do it looking like the final scene, not the bloopers.

Click.

The door swung inward. Midnight hair spilled to her waist; one shoulder dipped as she leaned forward, a wisp of silk clinging to collarbones sharp as sketched lines. Her eyes—winter lakes beginning to thaw—met his.

Lin Zhe forgot how to breathe.

Zhao Ge seized his wrist, tugged him inside, and shut the world out behind them.

Maybe it was the soft warmth circling his wrist, but Lin Zhe’s pulse stuttered.

They were standing so close that he could feel Zhao Ge’s breath feather the hollow of his throat.

After tugging him inside, Zhao Ge looked away, cheeks pink.

“Xiao Lin... what are you doing here?”

Lin Zhe took a steadying breath before answering, voice level.

“Teacher Zhou Yu couldn’t reach you. She was worried, so she asked me to check on you.”

Zhao Ge swallowed a groan. Of course Zhou Yu would send him without a heads-up.

If she’d known, she wouldn’t have answered the door looking like this.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.