Chapter 8: Why don't we try having an early love affair?

  Wang Xijun felt a soft and warm sensation on her lips, it took her a while to realize that she was actually kissing Zhou Hao!

  At this moment, her whole body stiffened, completely unsure of how to react, and didn't dare refuse Zhou Hao, or rather, she simply didn't want to refuse. In her heart, there was only one thought left, "Zhou Hao kissed me! Zhou Hao kissed me! Is this soft feeling what a kiss is?"

  She had also read Qiong Yao's romance novels, and the beautiful descriptions of kissing scenes filled her heart with fantasies. Moreover, she had long been infatuated with Zhou Hao, so sometimes in her dreams, she would dream of kissing him too. However, the feeling in those dreams was vastly different from reality. To say it accurately, real-life kissing is even more intoxicating and soul-stirring.

  But after all, she didn't have any experience in this area, so she didn't know how to react and didn't dare move.

  Wang Xijun's stiff body made Zhou Hao think he had scared her, so he let go of her and apologized, "Sorry, Xijun, I was too abrupt."

  Wang Xijun's face was completely red, and she was so shy that she couldn't say anything, only shaking her head. The two of them fell silent, and for a while, the only sound was the "thumping" of their hearts.

  After a long time, Wang Xijun finally lowered her head and bit her lip, saying in a voice almost as soft as a mosquito's: "Zhou Hao, do...do we count as having an early romance?" Her expression was shy and timid, her slender body trembling slightly, like a little rabbit that had been startled.

  Seeing Wang Xijun like this, Zhou Hao felt numb in his heart and hugged her, laughing: "Then, why don't we try an early romance?"

  Wang Xijun heard this, and her cheeks suddenly flushed with a crimson glow, like the fiery clouds in the sky. She pursed her lips and said timidly: "B-but... but Teacher will scold us." As she spoke, her face wore an expression of coy shyness, as if inviting him to taste it.

  Although Zhou Hao was still a virgin in his past life and now, he had also tried kissing before.

  Wang Xijun had never experienced such a scene before, only feeling wave after wave of suffocation and dizziness surging up to his brain, yet it felt very comfortable, making people involuntarily indulge in it and unable to extricate themselves. At this time, Wang Xijun felt like a small boat drifting on the turbulent sea surface, following the ups and downs of the waves.

  "Oh my, whose child is so shameless!" The plump middle-aged woman on the second floor of the small foreign-style house next door had just opened her window and saw Zhou Hao and Wang Xijun passionately kissing in the alley.

  Startled by the voice, both of them suddenly loosened up like they had been electrocuted. Zhou Hao also hastily pulled Wang Xijun to make a fleeing escape out of the alley.

  When she came outside, Wang Xijun was panting heavily with her hands on her knees. It wasn't that she had run a long distance, but the kiss with Zhou Hao just now had left her breathless. Zhou Hao stood beside her, gently patting her back.

  As she calmed her breathing, her face was still flushed bright red. It was really because of being caught off guard by that middle-aged woman earlier, it gave people a feeling of being caught in the act, making this young girl who had never been in love before feel both ashamed and afraid.

  "Let's go home." Seeing Wang Xijun's melancholic eyes, Zhou Hao smiled and was about to take her hand, but she dodged him.

  "There are so many people here..." Wang Xijun said with a low head and a blush.

  Zhou Hao looked around and only then realized that this was a bustling street, and it was indeed inappropriate to hold hands so openly.

  After what just happened, the original bookstore couldn't be visited anymore, so I had to go home. However, on the way back, Wang Xijun seemed to deliberately avoid suspicion and kept a distance from Zhou Hao, making Zhou Hao laugh.

  When Zhou Hao returned home, he saw a note left by Yan Tong on the table, saying that she had to work overtime tonight and didn't need to wait for her to come back. She also bought vegetables and put them in the refrigerator, so dinner was up to Zhou Hao himself.

  He put down his school bag and sat on the chair, Zhou Hao thought of what had just happened. When dealing with those few boys from Second Middle School, he felt that his body's reaction was extremely fast, and his strength was also very strong, amazingly able to knock someone flying with just one punch. As he pondered, Zhou Hao raised his right hand and clenched his fist, muttering to himself: "Could this also be an ability?"

  However, Zhou Hao was more excited, after all, with this power, he could not only protect himself but also others, such as his mother and Wang Xijun.

  As soon as he thought of Wang Xijun's delicate and shy face, Zhou Hao couldn't help but smile from the bottom of his heart. That kiss just now had broken through the thin paper between them. Thinking of this, Zhou Hao found that he actually missed her a bit.

  Then Zhou Hao came to the opposite door and knocked on Wang Xijun's house, but it was opened by Wang Xijun's younger brother Wang Zhongcai. Wang Zhongcai is only one year younger than Wang Xijun, this year he just entered junior high school, in the same school as Wang Xijun, also very close to Zhou Hao. Seeing Zhou Hao, he smiled and said: "Hao Ge".

  "Hey, where's your sister?"

  Wang Zhongcai said, "My mom went to my grandma's place today and said she won't be back tonight. My sister is cooking in the kitchen." Wang Xijun's mother was named Lu Shi Ping, who worked as a workshop director at a garment factory in Xiangcheng. Wang Xijun's father had passed away early, and it was all thanks to Lu Shi Ping's hard work that she had raised her children on her own, which wasn't easy at all.

  After hearing Wang Zhongcai's words, Zhou Hao said: "What a coincidence! My mom is also opening a night shift. Why don't we have dinner together?"

  "Alright." With that, Wang Zhongcai invited Zhou Hao into the house.

  As soon as Zhou Hao entered, he saw Wang Xijun tying an apron in the kitchen and stir-frying vegetables. Although she was only 14 years old, due to Lu Shi Ping's busy work, the daily life of the siblings often relied on Wang Xijun. Looking at Wang Xijun's busy back in the kitchen, Zhou Hao suddenly felt a warm feeling in his heart.

  "Doesn't it feel like my sister is particularly virtuous?" The nearby Wang Zhongcai noticed Zhou Hao's gaze at his own sister, and quietly poked Zhou Hao in the waist, saying: "Hao Ge, I'll tell you, my sister has liked you for a long time."

  "How did you know?"

  Wang Zhongcai quietly pulled Zhou Hao to one side, "One time I went into her room and saw a draft paper on the table, it was full of your name, I recognized that handwriting, it's my sister's."

  Thinking of Wang Xijun writing her name repeatedly on paper, Zhou Hao suddenly felt an inexplicable feeling in his heart, as if there was a gentle stream flowing in his heart. But he still said: "This can't represent anything, right?"

  "This still doesn't count for anything? Then why didn't she write my name, I'm her brother after all." Wang Zhongcai said with a pout.

  Noticing the commotion, Wang Xijun turned around and saw Zhou Hao chatting with her brother. The embarrassing scene from earlier involuntarily flashed in her mind, and her face immediately flushed red.

  "Look at my sister, her face is even red." Wang Zhongcai noticed something was off, because Wang Xijun used to like Zhou Hao, but she wouldn't show it so obviously. So he looked suspiciously at Zhou Hao and said, "I'm saying, Brother Hao, you didn't do anything to my sister before, did you? Otherwise, why would she blush as soon as she sees you?"

  Zhou Hao's forehead broke out in a cold sweat as he thought this guy was too sharp.

  After flatly denying that he had bullied Wang Zhongcai's sister, in order to get rid of his entanglement, Zhou Hao hid in the kitchen and cooked with Wang Xijun. However, Wang Xijun became flustered and nervous because Zhou Hao was present, and she began to fumble about.

  Finally, after much effort, dinner was ready, and the three of them sat together for a late dinner. However, under Wang Zhongcai's suspicious gaze, neither Wang Xijun nor Zhou Hao dared to say a word, and they just buried their heads in eating. Unbeknownst to them, this only intensified Wang Zhongcai's suspicions. After dinner, Wang Zhongcai suddenly said, "Forget it, I'll go watch TV at your place, Hao. You two can stay here and do your homework or read books, I won't bother you." With that, he got up and left, leaving Zhou Hao and Wang Xijun behind.

  "It's all your fault, I won't be able to hold my head up in front of him from now on." Wang Xijun said with a pout.

  Zhou Hao shrugged, "Don't worry, even if he really knew something, I guess he wouldn't tell your mom." He sat down on the sofa behind him and started reading the newspaper he had bought today.

  Wang Xijun was also at ease with Wang Zhongcai, believing that he would not betray himself. Seeing Zhou Hao rudely lift his feet to read the newspaper, as if he were the master of this house, she glared at Zhou Hao, but still picked up her bowl and chopsticks, showing a strong sense of being a virtuous wife.

  Zhou Hao was not watching news such as government meetings or traffic accidents, but financial and economic news. The domestic financial market has now developed to a certain scale, and some newspapers have also launched special financial editions, reporting on the dynamics of listed companies on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges.

  In 1996, the Shanghai Composite Index and Shenzhen Component Index both saw huge gains, with over a hundred stocks rising by more than five times. Among them, Zhou Hao still clearly remembers the stock that rose the most, and now from newspaper reports, it seems that these memories of the stock are indeed strong. Starting in October, a wave of cold wind blew in from the management level, one after another, with regulations such as "Notice on Standardizing the Behavior of Listed Companies", "Securities Exchange Management Measures", and "Notice on Resolutely Prohibiting Over-Issuance of Stocks" and so on, also known as the "Twelve Golden Rules". However, none of these were able to stop the upward trend of the market.

  It's now mid-October, and the domestic stock market won't start falling until December, so Zhou Hao still has two months to make a profit.