Chapter 595

Zhou Shihe's mind flashed a thought: What should she do?

Should she continue to be magnanimous? Forgive him and treat him as usual?

Or should she break ties with him?

Or should she tell Mai Sui?

After all, by her original nature, when he dared to disrespect her at Xiyuan before, she would have slapped him immediately.

But this time, she endured twice before finally pushing his hand away, raising her right hand sharply—yet halving the force as it came down.

By her original nature, she would have stormed out tonight, never speaking to Li Heng again, becoming a stranger to him.

Yet she inexplicably endured it, merely pushed away his ambiguous hand, merely stared at him fiercely—just enough to drive him back.

To some extent, this gave both herself and him a face-saving exit.

In her mind, memories flooded one after another: holding hands and hugging while skiing in Northeast China; him accidentally kissing her lips; sharing a room in Jingcheng; hearing him murmur her name in sleep deep into the night; practicing "The Original Wind of the Hometown" together; their unspoken understanding on the Spring Festival Gala stage; his secret glances when lost in thought; catching her bathing…

With countless thoughts swirling, Zhou Shihe reflected: When had it begun? Why had the version of herself, whom all friends and family described as "never giving men an inch," become so tolerant of him? Especially since he was a womanizer.

Was it because he was different?

Because he was a great writer? Because she especially loved his words?

Because he was the legendary musician praised by state media? Because she especially loved those ten instrumental albums?

Was it because she valued their friendship?

Or was it because he was Mai Sui's beloved man?

In the study, Zhou Shihe was now deeply conflicted; half her college years had slipped by unnoticed, and she had only truly bonded with three friends: Mai Sui, Sun Man, and Ye Ning.

If she broke with him, Mai Sui—who adored him—would surely leave her.

Maning had been his high school classmate and desk partner; though Maning often picked fights with Li Heng, it was all teasing and fun. If forced to choose between her and Li Heng, she believed Maning would pick him without hesitation.

And Ye Ning? She had always admired Li Heng, and with Mai Sui and Maning's influence, plus Ye Zhanyan's infatuation with him, she would almost certainly side with Li Heng.

Since childhood, she had few true friends. Because their temperaments matched, Zhou Shihe treasured this friendship deeply, investing great effort into cultivating these four bonds.

Otherwise, given her background and status, she would never have cooked for four outsiders.

She would never have rushed about to host guests for him.

She would never have come to Lushan Village on the third day of the New Year.

Why had she come to Lushan Village today?

Her stated reason: the Singapore concert was vital to her teacher; she couldn't afford to mess it up. Since she now needed Li Heng's help, she had come to accompany him—as a sign of respect.

As for the deeper reason she appeared in Lushan Village on the third day of the New Year, the thought "I fell for Miss Zhou at first sight" surfaced in her mind—and she cut it off instantly, refusing to let it extend further.

She was terrified.

Terrified of arriving at a conclusion she could not accept: that she had been subconsciously brainwashed by his words, that she had developed feelings for him unlike any before.

She feared she had fallen into his carefully woven, invisible net of emotion, that her heart had stirred for him.

Zhou Shihe sat motionless in her chair, tormented, weighing: she truly did not want to destroy this deep friendship over something as trivial as him brushing her hair back. Telling Mai Sui would be easy—but how would she face Mai Sui afterward?

In Lushan Village, everyone she knew was closely tied to him. Would she return to the dormitory alone for the rest of her junior and senior years?

Yet none of this was the most important point.

She sensed vaguely: Li Heng was a world-renowned musician, China's top writer, wealthy, powerful, and esteemed.

But in truth, he was barely nineteen, still months away from twenty—this age, men were brimming with vigor; alone with her, losing control for a moment was not entirely incomprehensible.

Zhou Shihe had unparalleled confidence in her own allure; she believed that if she wished, few men could resist her.

This confidence was not blind—it stemmed from her exceptional outer and inner qualities, from her family background.

Unconsciously, Zhou Shihe began excusing Li Heng, shrinking his act of brushing her hair into the definition of "male impulse," to soothe herself.

Though she had long sensed his unusual feelings for her, until tonight Li Heng had always been extremely restrained; even when his emotions surged, he ultimately reined in all improper thoughts, never deliberately overstepping.

In the study, she had wrestled with her thoughts for hours, refusing to let them drift toward scenarios where Li Heng might touch her again, where she might accept his feelings, where she might one day become entangled with him.

Because she understood clearly: Li Heng's love for Xiao Han was genuine; he doted on Mai Sui; Teacher Yu would not abandon her pursuit of him. Any other woman trying to intrude would find it far from easy.

After countless turns of thought, she fully abandoned the idea of breaking with him and shelved the notion of confronting Mai Sui.

She wanted to attend her teacher's concert in Singapore without incident.

She wanted to finish college in peace.

After sitting quietly in the study for a long time, Zhou Shihe felt tired, her feet numb.

She stood, bent to rub her tingling calves, steadied herself, then stepped toward the study door.

The second-floor living room was empty.

Zhou Shihe instinctively glanced at the master bedroom—the door was closed, no light seeping beneath it.

She paused, then walked toward the stairwell and began descending.

But halfway down, at the landing, she stopped.

Because she had run straight into him.

Li Heng held two bowls—one with sweet rice wine, the other with three fried eggs—in each hand.

Seeing him suddenly, Zhou Shihe involuntarily gripped the wooden handrail, her inner turmoil perfectly masked by calm stillness as she simply gazed at him.

The sweet wine carried its fragrance. After a long silence, Li Heng broke it first: "I traveled all day. Dined on noodles at Zhang Zhiyong's. Maybe because I didn't eat rice, I felt off inside—so I made sweet wine with fried eggs. Have you ever had this? Try some?"

Well, the reason he made sweet wine with fried eggs—

Was simply because the kitchen had nothing but eggs and sweet wine; he couldn't cook anything else.

Given what had happened earlier, Zhou Shihe instinctively wanted to refuse.