Endless Fall

165 Unlike Other Women

“I think I heard something.” She tugged at his shirt and urged gently, “Hurry up and take a look.”

Zhou Yanshen looked up. “Three.” He patted her back. “I’ll walk you through it twice more.”

Qian Yue picked the ball.

She learned very slowly. She first let him walk her through it twice, then take the initiative to do it herself.

After showing her how it was done three times, he let go of her waist and reduced the frequency of contact.

“Qian Yue, are you tired?” Seeing that the clock on the wall was pointing to four, he put down the ball first.

“Not really.”

“Come and rest.”

Qian Yue sat at the square table with him.

She picked up the teacup that was emitting steam. The mist covered her eyes, making her look mysterious and gentle.

“Mr. Zhou.” She swallowed two mouthfuls of fruit tea. “Other than bowling, what else do you like to do?”

“A lot.” Zhou Yanshen leaned back in his chair and said casually, “For example, golf, rock climbing, and archery.”

“So versatile?”

“Not bad. I can’t compare myself to a pro player. That’s for sure.”

Qian Yue placed her elbow on the table. “Pro players are taught by famous coaches. You naturally can’t compare to them.”

She was not like other women who praised him in order to please him. Instead, she wanted to tell him the truth.

Zhou Yanshen admired her sincerity.

“You’re right.” He rubbed his wrist guard and smiled even wider. “I’ll take you rock climbing next week. How about that?”

“What day next week?”

“It depends on your schedule.”

“Then I’ll pick a time and tell you.” Qian Yue wanted him to keep thinking about her and was not in a hurry to agree.

She swiped open her phone and replied to two WeChat messages. While it was still early, she went to play two more rounds of bowling with him.

It was easy to get closer to each other by doing the same thing.

When they left the bowling alley and went to a nearby restaurant, they talked much more enthusiastically than when they first met in the afternoon.

The Chinese restaurant Zhou Yanshen chose had an elegant environment.

The mahogany screen across the dining table and the lanterns hanging on all sides gave off an antique feeling.

He stopped in front of the second-to-last screen by the window and pulled out a chair for her gentlemanly. “There are no private rooms in this restaurant. We can only sit here.”

“It’s fine.” Qian Yue looked around. “Their renovation is not bad. I rarely see one with a similar style.”

He walked around to the opposite side, picked up the iPad, and handed it to her. “Their dishes are even better.”

“Why don’t you recommend two first?”

“I usually order pork trotters with black pepper, crab spring rolls, and roast duck with caviar.”

Qian Yue found the dishes he mentioned from the signature dishes. After placing the order, she asked him, “Are the lychee shrimp balls delicious?”

“Jiaojiao said it’s delicious.” Zhou Yanshen took off his jacket. “Try ordering one.”

Qian Yue put down the Ipad. “You…”

“Yanshen.” A beautiful woman walked over and interrupted Qian Yue from continuing.

Qiao Rou sat down beside Zhou Yanshen, her clear voice filled with affection. “I haven’t seen you in a long time.”

She was Zhou Yanshen’s ex-girlfriend and was with him even longer than Du Wei, but the reason for breaking up was the same.

He got sick of her too quickly.

“You’re not filming?” Zhou Yanshen’s expression was calm. He looked at her as if he was looking at an employee.

“I just finished filming.” Qiao Rou seemed to have just noticed Qian Yue and asked with a smile, “Are you a new actress at Star River?”

“No.”

“You’re very beautiful.” After praising her, she reached out to Qian Yue. “My name is Qiao Rou, Yanshen’s ex-girlfriend.”

“Qian Yue.” Qian Yue shook her hand politely.

She ignored Qiao Rou and started talking about unfinished topics. “Do you come over with Jiaojiao often?”

“Not really.” Zhou Yanshen took two sips of lemonade. “She prefers to eat with me in the cafeteria.”

“Star River’s cafeteria?”

“Yes.” He met Qian Yue’s gaze. “The food in the cafeteria is more to her liking.”

“Indeed.” Qiao Rou turned to look at Zhou Yanshen. “Jiaojiao seems to like braised pork the most?”

“Pork ribs.”

“Then I remembered it wrongly.”

“Aren’t you going to accompany your friend?” Zhou Yanshen raised his chin in the direction she was coming from, feeling very annoyed.

“I want to be with you.”

“No need.”

His coldness made Qiao Rou pout.

She deliberately pretended to be aggrieved. “Then I’ll come and find you in a few days.”

“What for?”

“You know what I mean.”

Zhou Yanshen did not understand what she was up to, but Qian Yue, who was watching, understood it clearly.

She suppressed the emotions in her eyes and did not pay attention to Qiao Rou, who was walking away. “How long did it last?”

“About a month?” Zhou Yanshen did not have a good memory in this aspect.

“You two just broke up a while ago?”

“No.” Seeing that she was expressionless, he was slightly relieved. “It happened in the first half of the year.”

Qian Yue teased, “She still has feelings for you.”

“Impossible.” Zhou Yanshen did not believe that she would still miss him after breaking up.

“Why not?”

“We’re not in contact.” He tapped on the screen of his phone. “I don’t have an ex-girlfriend on WeChat either.”

Just like Qian Yue, he did not like to keep the contact details of his old lovers, let alone have anything to do with them.

She stared at the delicacies the waiter brought to the table. “What will you do if she comes to you again?”

“If she knows what’s good for her, she won’t come to me.” Zhou Yanshen restrained himself and did not say anything too harsh.

His clear attitude made Qian Yue stop asking.

She reached out her chopsticks to pick up a piece of pork trotter, but he grabbed her wrist. “This is very hot.”

Zhou Yanshen picked up a few pieces for her and placed them in a porcelain bowl before pushing the lychee shrimp ball forward.

“Thank you.” Qian Yue enjoyed his thoughtfulness and smiled. “Mr. Zhou, pass me the tissue.”

Zhou Yanshen handed it to her.

From the frequency at which she picked up food, he found her favorite dish and made a mental note of it.

“Qian Yue.” He put down his chopsticks and pointed at the television tower in the distance. “There’s a fireworks show tonight. Do you want to watch it?”

Qian Yue really wanted to.

However, she knew what it meant to do things step by step. She did not plan to do much with him in a day.

“I’m sleepy.” She covered her mouth and yawned. “I didn’t sleep well last night after drinking so much.”

Zhou Yanshen suddenly realized how inconsiderate he was.

“Then we’ll see another day.” He called the waiter to pay the bill and looked at her gently. “The fireworks show is available every week anyway.”

Qian Yue stood up. “Ok.” Before she left, she looked out expectantly and muttered, “We’ll definitely watch it another day.”

Hearing her mutter, Zhou Yanshen smiled and rubbed the top of her head.

They walked out of the restaurant against the setting sun and let the day end as night fell.