Chapter 7

Wei Lai didn’t have Zhou Sujin’s contact information and wasn’t sure which hotel he was staying at. She had to ask Zhao Yihan to help find out how to contact him.

For someone of his status, it’s difficult to obtain his private contact information. She didn’t want to make it difficult for her sister.

“His driver’s or secretary’s number will do.”

Zhao Yihan replied, asking her to wait for a moment.

Wei Lai stood on the roadside, staring into the night.

“Wei Lai, what are you doing here?”

Wei Lai turned her head towards the sound of the voice, and a deep blue sports car stopped beside her.

It had been two years since this car had appeared in front of her.

Inside the sports car, Yuan Hengrui held the steering wheel with both hands. “I said I would wait for you. You probably didn’t believe me back then,” he self-mockingly said, “You only had eyes for him at the time. Who else could you trust?”

Two years ago, Yuan Hengrui was one of her pursuers, but she rejected him. Later, when she was with Zhang Yanxin, Yuan Hengrui told her, “I’ll wait for you two to break up.” He was resentful, saying, “I was the one who pursued you first. Zhang Yanxin shamelessly interfered!”

Back then, they almost came to blows because of her.

If it weren’t for Zhang Yanxin’s much higher family background, he would have wanted to beat Zhang Yanxin up to vent his anger.

Yuan Hengrui still had the same playful look as before, but according to his friends, all he had left was his face and a wealthy dad.

He looked at Wei Lai. “It’s been a month since you broke up. I can finally pursue you now. I’m not dressed formally today, so I’ll find you another day.”

Wei Lai didn’t respond.

The person Yuan Hengrui feared the most wasn’t his father; he wasn’t afraid of his father even if his father stopped his cards. It was Wei Lai, the one he feared the most, especially when she was angry.

Seeing that she didn’t look good at the moment, he wisely kept quiet and drove a bit further away.

Guessing that she was waiting for a car or for someone to pick her up, he decided to accompany her.

At that moment, Zhao Yihan sent Zhou Sujin’s phone number along with the name of the hotel he was staying at.

Wei Lai hailed a taxi and left. Only then did Yuan Hengrui turn the car around and head home.

In the taxi, Wei Lai gave the driver the address.

Halfway through the journey, she entered Zhou Sujin’s phone number and pressed the dial button.

Zhou Sujin was about to take a shower when his private phone rang.

Seeing an unfamiliar number from Jiangcheng, he knew that not many people had his private number. He answered, “Who’s this?”

“It’s me,” Wei Lai explained why she was calling again. “I forgot to return your watch. I’ll send it over right away. When are you available?”

“Leave it at the front desk.”

“Hey, Mr. Zhou, wait a moment before hanging up. Is it convenient for me to return it to you in person? I also have something to discuss with you. It won’t take too long.”

She asked in a low voice, “Is that okay?”

Zhou Sujin’s tone was indifferent. “I have plenty of things to do.”

Wei Lai pretended not to understand his cold words. “Yeah, I’ve been quite busy lately, especially with a string of bad luck. One thing after another.”

Zhou Sujin remained silent.

Wei Lai said, “I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.”

He didn’t confirm or reject. Most likely, he didn’t refuse.

But she didn’t have a room card, so she couldn’t take the elevator to the floor where the presidential suite was located.

“Mr. Zhou, should I go to the front desk when I arrive at the hotel?”

He responded with a “Hmm” before hanging up the phone.

Wei Lai breathed a sigh of relief. Just thinking about seeing him again soon made her feel uneasy again. Half of the burden in her heart was lifted, only to be lifted up again.

It was the first time she had been so afraid of someone. She seemed to understand why someone like Lu Yu would be afraid of him.

When she arrived at the hotel, she went straight to the front desk.

The staff asked her what she needed, and she said she was looking for Zhou Sujin, who was staying in the presidential suite. Without further questions, the staff directly took her to the top floor.

Wei Lai stood at the door of the suite, preparing herself mentally before knocking.

No one answered the first knock, so she knocked again after two minutes.

The door opened from the inside, and Zhou Sujin appeared in front of her. He was still wearing the white shirt he wore at the banquet, with the collar unbuttoned slightly, revealing a handsome and superior-looking Adam’s apple.

He was much taller than her, so she had to tilt her head to look at him.

“Sorry for bothering you again. I brought back your watch,” she said, taking it out of her bag. He didn’t know that the original owner of this watch was her, nor did she need to tell him.

Zhou Sujin took the watch and turned back into the living room.

Wei Lai stood at the door without entering, avoiding any unnecessary misunderstandings.

“What’s the matter?” Zhou Sujin grabbed a bottle of water from the bar and sat down on the sofa, drinking from it.

She didn’t come in, and he didn’t invite her.

The distance of four or five meters between them was very comfortable for Wei Lai.

She came to discuss and confirm something with him: “If tomorrow someone gossips and asks me if I’m really dating you, can I still remain silent?”

Zhou Sujin squeezed the soda water bottle in his hand and turned to look at her. “What do you think?”

Wei Lai followed his lead, “No.”

Zhou Sujin nodded. “Good to know.”

Wei Lai tried to make him understand that she didn’t want to keep pretending to be his girlfriend, but circumstances forced her to: “We just ‘publicly announced’ tonight, but if we break up tomorrow, won’t it be too hasty? It doesn’t match my loyal and affectionate personality.”

Zhou Sujin chuckled.

Wei Lai understood his attitude.

Breaking up immediately after going public would be like exposing herself, showing that Zhou Sujin didn’t take her seriously, and she would be dumped again because she hastily made their relationship public without his consent.

Then people in Zhang Yanxin’s circle would laugh at her.

Wei Lai composed herself and smiled lightly. “Mr. Zhou, you’re busy, so I won’t disturb you anymore.” She thanked him again. “Thank you for helping me at the dinner tonight.”

She gently closed the door and left.

As she was lost in thought, the elevator stopped on the first floor.

As she stepped out of the elevator, someone called out to her.

“Miss Wei, hello.” A man in his fifties walked over slowly. “I’m Mr. Zhou’s driver.”

“Hello.”

The driver handed her the car keys. “Mr. Zhou’s car, the Lamborghini, is in parking space A028 in the hotel’s underground parking lot. You can drive it away tomorrow. Borrow it for three days, and after three days, return it to its original parking space. Leave the car keys at the front desk.”

Handing her the car keys, the driver nodded slightly and went upstairs.

Wei Lai lightly grasped the car keys. In the end, Zhou Sujin couldn’t bear to see her being laughed at by others, so he lent her the car. She could drive it wherever she wanted for three days, flaunting their relationship as much as she wanted. It showed that their relationship was good.

“I owe you a lot of favors. If there’s anything I can do to help in the future, I’ll be obliged to do so.” She didn’t have his WeChat, so she could only send a text message. She didn’t know if he would read it.

“Hey, isn’t this Miss Wei?” An unfamiliar voice sounded. Since they had just parted an hour ago, the voice wasn’t entirely unfamiliar.

Wei Lai turned around and smiled appropriately. “Mr. He, hello.”

He Wancheng smiled and gestured for his assistant to hand the two packed late-night snacks to Wei Lai. “It’s a coincidence to meet you here. I won’t disturb you. You’ve been kind enough to bring these upstairs. Zhou Sujin said you’re not picky about food, so I decided to pack you a seafood casserole rice.”

Since He Wanchen noticed that Zhou Sujin barely touched his food at the dinner table and almost didn’t eat, he called Zhou Sujin and asked if he wanted him to bring a Jiangcheng-style seafood casserole noodles to him. Zhou Sujin didn’t refuse.

Thinking of Wei Lai, he packed an extra portion.

Wei Lai didn’t have a room card and couldn’t go up to the top floor, so she had to make an excuse: “Mr. He, you’re busy. I need to go to the front desk for something.”

He Wanchen waved his hand to let her go and entered the elevator with his assistant.

It turned out that He Wanchen was also staying at this hotel.

Carrying the late-night snacks, Wei Lai went to the front desk to find a staff member. She could only say that she had forgotten to bring the room card when she came down and asked the staff to swipe the elevator for her again.

The staff member glanced at the two late-night snacks in her hands, the Rolls-Royce key logo in her other hand, and didn’t say anything, just swiped the card for her to go to the top floor.

Returning to where she came from, Zhou Sujin probably felt speechless as well.

Wei Lai knocked on the door, “It’s me.”

Zhou Sujin opened the door and looked her over.

Wei Lai handed over the late-night snacks. “I met Mr. He downstairs.”

Afraid of being misunderstood, she emphasized, “Mr. He asked me to bring them up.” It wasn’t her being presumptuous or having any other intentions towards him.

Zhou Sujin didn’t take the late-night snacks she brought herself and simply said, “Come in, the door doesn’t need to be closed.”

Wei Lai asked, “Would it disturb you if I came in?”

It was a redundant question, and Zhou Sujin didn’t say anything.

Wei Lai, knowing that she needed to thank him in person for lending her the Lamborghini, came in generously, placed the two meals on the table, washed her hands, and sat across from Zhou Sujin.

Zhou Sujin raised his eyes and saw her scrutinizing him with a pensive expression. “What’s on your mind?”

Wei Lai asked, “Did you see the text message?”

Zhou Sujin replied, “No, I didn’t.”

It didn’t matter that he hadn’t seen it; thanking him in person was more sincere.

Wei Lai said, “Thank you for helping me once again.” He had helped her several times tonight, and there was no connection between them. She felt indebted, and verbal thanks lacked sincerity.

“I used to work at a venture capital firm. If you or Mr. Lu ever need help with investments in Jiangcheng in the future, feel free to let me know.”

Zhou Sujin was straightforward. “With your current job abilities, you can’t help me.”

Wei Lai was struck dumb by the blow. After reacting, she asked curiously, “Did you already know what my job is?”

Zhou Sujin raised his chin towards the coffee table next to him. Wei Lai glanced over and saw a few sheets of paper on the tea-colored glass, apparently her background check.

“Do you think I would let you up here and lend you my car if I didn’t know who you were?”

True.

Wei Lai didn’t know how to respond for a moment and lowered her head to eat.

In her peripheral vision, there was him, and also the car keys to the Lamborghini.

Her former colleague Tang Yi’s family dealt with used cars, and they were quite prominent. At one point, Tang Yi’s brother had dealt with an old Lamborghini for a while. Tang Yi had taken her for a drive a few times, and she had driven it a few times. She was familiar with the operating system.

The silence in the room made her feel oppressed. Bringing up his car, she said, “I’ve test-driven a Lamborghini before, so I’m quite familiar with its basic performance. I’ll be careful driving your car.”

There was a pause for a few seconds, then she continued, “You’re not like what I’ve heard.”

Zhou Sujin lowered his head and ate his noodles slowly. “How so?”

Wei Lai sincerely said, “You’re kind-hearted.”

Zhou Sujin: “…”

This was the most ironic and absurd praise he had ever heard. Any random compliment would seem more sincere than saying he was kind-hearted.

He chuckled softly without saying anything.

Wei Lai tactfully remained silent and quietly ate her food from the takeout box.

Zhou Sujin noticed her food and saw that she was quite picky, pushing all sorts of seafood to one side of the box.

“Don’t you like seafood fried rice?”

Wei Lai looked up. “I do, but I don’t like eating seafood. I only like the rice inside.”

Zhou Sujin was speechless.

After eating the late-night snacks, it was approaching midnight, and Wei Lai took her leave.

In the elevator lobby, Zhou Sujin’s driver was waiting for her, saying it was too late and offering to take her home.

That night, Wei Lai didn’t sleep well.

It wasn’t as peaceful as the first night after a breakup.

The next day, at noon, after a simple lunch, Wei Lai went to the hotel to retrieve the car Zhou Sujin had lent her.

Standing in front of parking space A028 in the hotel garage, Wei Lai was stunned. It was the same deep emerald green Lamborghini she had seen outside Jiangjing Restaurant. At the time, she had admired it for a while with the window down.

At this moment, her phone rang, and she quickly answered.

“Hello, Mr. Zhou.”

Zhou Sujin’s voice was cold. “You can leave the car there for now. Someone will contact you next weekend.”

Next weekend to take the car back?

That meant leaving it with her for over ten days.

At this moment, Wei Lai heard the sound of airport announcements from his end of the call and hurriedly asked him, “Are you at the airport now? Are you going back today?”

Zhou Sujin responded with a “Hmm.”

“When will you come to Jiangcheng again?”

After asking, Wei Lai felt she had overstepped.

Zhou Sujin had already resolved the tricky issues with the Jiangcheng project. There was nothing else he needed to deal with personally. He said, “I won’t come unless there’s something urgent.”