Endless Fall

He picked up the cigarette that had fallen to the ground. He was eager to gossip, but he was afraid of making Pei Zhi angry, so he could only fight the urge back.

“Nothing serious.” He put the cigarette in his mouth again and pressed the lighter. “Did Brother Yan call you?”

“No, why?”

“He’s treating us to dinner tonight.”

Lin Jiao was puzzled. “Isn’t he in Lin city?”

“He came back this morning.” Chu Yuzhou blew out a stream of smoke. “You guys go ahead. I’ll send you the address later.”

“Okay.” Lin Jiao swallowed the biscuit in her mouth.

She turned off the screen. Just as she was about to get up and go to the kitchen to help, Zhou Yanshen gave her a call.

“Jiaojiao, are you free tonight?” His voice was very special. It was slightly hoarse and carried a trace of coldness, making him sound mysterious.

“Yes, Chu Yuzhou just told me.” Lin Jiao walked to the dining room and wiped the table. “Are you in a relationship again?”

“What do you mean again? This is my first love.”

How shameless, Lin Jiao thought to herself.

Lin Jiao didn’t even want to expose him. “How long do you plan to last this relationship? After dinner tonight?”

“Of course it won’t be so quick?” Zhou Yanshen hugged the beauty beside him and said with a smile, “This time, I’m aiming at marriage.”

When Lin Jiao heard this, she knew that his new girlfriend was next to him.

She didn’t say anything else. “Alright, I’ll see you tonight.”

“Do you want me to pick you up?”

“No need. I’ll come with Uncle.”

“You’re calling him ‘Uncle’ again?” Zhou Yanshen was very dissatisfied with this form of address. “Jiaojiao, don’t lower my seniority.”

“He’s not my biological uncle.”

“It’s all the same.”

Lin Jiao replied perfunctorily and hung up before he could go on rattle away.

She pushed open the kitchen door and saw that Pei Zhi had already finished making two dishes. She felt embarrassed. “Uncle, thank you.”

“It’s alright.” Pei Zhi wiped dry his hands and handed the plate to her. “What did Chu Yuzhou say?”

Lin Jiao summarized it.

When she talked about Zhou Yanshen being in a new relationship, she said with a shake of her head, “Why doesn’t he just find a good girl and settle down?”

Pei Zhi followed after her. “He hasn’t met anyone who really likes him. How can he settle down?”

“No?” Lin Jiao sat down beside him. “I think the last one was not bad. She seemed to like him.”

“How can you tell?”

“From the way she looked at him.”

“Have you forgotten her profession?” Pei Zhi picked up the spoon and scooped a bowl of soup for her.

Lin Jiao suddenly remembered.

She took two sips of soup and sighed. “It’s too difficult to find true love in the entertainment industry.”

Pei Zhi was silent for a moment. “Indeed.”

Being in the entertainment industry, it was very difficult for Zhou Yanshen to find out if the girls really liked him.

Perhaps he had tried at the beginning, but as more and more people wanted to use him to climb up the social ladder, he was probably too disappointed to believe in true love again.

Lin Jiao looked up and suddenly asked, “Uncle, have you ever thought of dating?”

“I have.”

“Then have you never dated anyone?”

Pei Zhi looked into her eyes and said with a meaningful smile, “It’s not time yet.”

She asked again, “What type do you like?”

“Girls who are sometimes cute and sometimes sexy.” Pei Zhi was afraid that she would notice something, so he only gave a rough description.

“Is that all?”

“That’s all at the moment.”

“This type is quite easy to find.” Lin Jiao took a spoonful of rice and teased, “The one who wooed you before was exactly the type.”

“Which one?”

“Chu Yuzhou’s ex-girlfriend’s best friend.”

“You remember it so clearly?” If not for her mentioning it, Pei Zhi would have forgotten about that woman.

“How can I forget her? She even called me just to get a chance to meet you.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about it?”

“I’m afraid you’ll be annoyed.” Lin Jiao knew that he wasn’t into that woman, so how could she make things difficult for him?

A trace of joy appeared in Pei Zhi’s eyes.

He put two pieces of corn into her bowl and stared at her side face. He asked curiously, “How did you reject her?”

“Well…”

“Can’t you tell me?”

“Not really.” Lin Jiao hesitated and asked him first, “Promise me that you won’t get angry.”

Pei Zhi had a bad feeling.

He’d guessed that there was more to this than met the eye, but since she’d already put it that way, he certainly wouldn’t get angry. “Yes, I promise.”

“And you also can’t get angry with Yilan either.”

“I won’t”

After receiving his promise, Lin Jiao said, “At that time, she annoyed me and Yilan relentlessly, so Yilan sent me a photo. After I forwarded it to her, she finally stopped.”

“What photo?”

“A photo of your bedroom.”

“What else? Let me see.” Pei Zhi could not imagine what was so special about that bedroom photo.

“Let me find it.” Lin Jiao downed the soup.

She took the tissue from Pei Zhi and leaned lazily on the chair. She found the photo. “Take a look at it. I’ll wash the dishes.”

Pei Zhi did not fight to wash the dishes this time.

He clicked on the photo.

The first thing that came into view was the crumpled gray bed sheets. On the bed sheets lay lipstick and a blue tie.

And… his boxer shorts.

Pei Zhi looked at the photo and did not know what to say.

He tapped on the screen. After the photo that filled the screen was gone, he noticed a few more text messages.

“He’s taking a shower. He might not have time.”

“What’s your relationship?”

“As you can see. /Shy. Alright, that’s all I can tell you. My hands are still too sore to type.”

Pei Zhi looked at the messages, and a scene flashed across his mind at the words “My hands are too sore”.

Even though he knew that this was a show put on by Pei Yilan and Lin Jiao, he still hoped that it would turn into reality one day.

“Uncle?” Lin Jiao came out after washing the dishes. Seeing that he was still sitting there in a daze, she waved her hand in front of his eyes.

“Huh?” Pei Zhi met her big eyes and immediately concealed all his emotions.

“Help me untie my apron.” She turned around.

Pei Zhi’s hand brushed past her fair skin and held the dead knot.

He narrowed his eyes and focused on untying the apron. “Were you the one who came up with those messages?”

“Only the first one is.” Lin Jiao recalled the photo and wanted to laugh. “I think Yilan is very talented in photography.”

Pei Zhi did not deny it.

After all, when he first saw the photo, his imagination really ran wild.

“All right.” He untied the knot in her apron and changed the subject. “Are you done in the kitchen?”

“That’s right.” Lin Jiao handed him the cup and looked at the time. “What time are we leaving?”