Chapter 10

Wei Lai accompanied his mother until half past ten, carrying several bags of snacks they bought at the supermarket on their way back.

Seeing that it was getting late, Cheng Minzhi suggested that her daughter stay at home.

“I have to go back and pack for my business trip, and then make a statistical report.”

“What statistical report?”

“Asking Qi Linsheng for goods, I need to show sincerity.”

Cheng Minzhi nodded understandingly, “Alright, I’ll leave it to you then, you handle it.”

Wei Lai opened the car door but didn’t rush to get in. Instead, she first checked how many valuable items needed to be brought to Zhou Sujin and whether they were heavy.

The password box was in the armrest compartment between the driver’s and passenger’s seats. She bent down and entered the password directly. She remembered the password Zhou Sujin had given her after just one look.

Standing beside her daughter, Cheng Minzhi noticed how familiar her daughter was with the password, as if she were entering her own frequently used password. She looked at the car thoughtfully.

Someone who was willing to lend such an expensive car to others must be quite casual about it, and probably owned more than one luxury car.

The license plate of this car was not an ordinary Beijing plate either. She spent the whole night pondering but couldn’t figure out which of her daughter’s friends the car owner was.

Her daughter had a few good friends she hadn’t met but had heard of, but their financial situation didn’t allow them to buy such a car.

Was it the breakup fee from Zhang Yanxin?

Afraid of touching on her daughter’s sadness, she suppressed her gossiping heart and casually said, “I heard that the starry sky roof of the Cullinan is a major feature, with a meteor effect. Does your friend’s car have a starry sky roof? Mom is broadening her horizons.”

Wei Lai blurted out, “No, it wasn’t selected.”

It was quite in line with Zhou Sujin’s character. He was allergic to such romantic features.

Upon opening the password box, there were quite a few valuable items inside. At the top were three velvet boxes.

She recognized the logo on the velvet box. Zhang Yanxin had given her jewelry from this brand on their second anniversary, and she had sold them all after they broke up, not keeping a single piece.

In addition to the jewelry, there were also two men’s watches, enough to buy a Cullinan.

Wei Lai’s hand hadn’t touched the passenger’s side door when Uncle Yan stopped her, “Miss Wei, please sit in the back. Mr. Zhou has placed flowers for the elders on the front passenger seat.”

“Oh, okay.”

Wei Lai turned and opened the rear door to get in. Like the Cullinan, the rear seats of the car didn’t have optional airline seats, so three people could sit side by side.

She guessed that it might be because Zhou Sujin mostly drove SUVs himself, so the comfort of the back seat wasn’t within her consideration, unlike her sedan, which was mostly driven by the driver. Since she sat in the back more often, the back seats of her sedans were equipped with airline seats.

Once settled, Wei Lai noticed the large bouquet of flowers on the front passenger seat. It wasn’t expensive, but it looked refreshing and pleasant with its multi-headed blue hydrangeas and eucalyptus.

As the car descended from the inner ring overpass, Wei Lai saw the Kunchen Group’s office building, its all-glass curtain wall dazzling in the sunset.

The car stopped at the main entrance, conveniently allowing her to watch people come out of the building.

Taking advantage of his long legs, she felt like he only took a few steps down the stairs and arrived in front of her.

His crisp black suit made him look even more cold and noble, exuding an imposing aura.

The driver had already opened the door for her, and with a dark figure entering the car, the interior was filled with his unique presence.

After he settled in, Wei Lai placed the handbag between them, “Mr. Zhou, here are your bracelets.”

Zhou Sujin put the handbag aside and sent a voice message to Min Ting, “The bracelets have arrived. Come to my place later.”

Wei Lai’s peripheral vision unintentionally swept to the handbag again, and then she withdrew her gaze.

“Aren’t you resigning?” Zhou Sujin put away his phone and glanced at her sideways.

Wei Lai understood his implied question: What business do you have after resigning?

She replied, “I just started work yesterday. I’m working under my mom. Tonight, I have an appointment with the regional manager of a snack company to discuss cooperation.”

Zhou Sujin nodded. He had looked up her information before. Her father was the director of a law firm, and her mother managed a chain supermarket.

After that, Zhou Sujin dealt with work on his phone, and Wei Lai didn’t disturb him, taking out her own phone to check messages.

The SUV drove all the way to a private courtyard, where Zhou Sujin got out, carrying the flowers from the passenger seat.

“Wei Lai.” she called out to his retreating figure. It would be difficult to see him again in the future.

Zhou Sujin had just taken a few steps when he stopped, turning to wait for her to continue.

“I want to thank Director He for helping me solve such a big problem.” Wei Lai said.

Zhou Sujin didn’t say anything, just nodded slightly at her, then turned and walked towards the courtyard.

At that moment, a voice came from the courtyard, “Your uncle has been eagerly awaiting your arrival.”

Wei Lai looked over and saw a dignified elder woman welcoming them from the majestic gate.

“Is your brother not coming with you?”

“No.”

Zhou Sujin handed the flowers to his aunt.

“You didn’t come in vain for dinner. You remembered what flowers I like.”

The two of them chatted as they entered the courtyard, their voices fading into the distance.

The car started moving again, and Wei Lai withdrew her gaze.

It wasn’t until she arrived in Beijing that she truly felt the vast difference between his world and hers.

Uncle Yan had escorted her all the way to the hotel entrance. He took the suitcase out of the trunk and said, “Miss Wei, if you need anything, feel free to call me anytime.”

“Thank you, Uncle Yan, but there’s no need. You’ve already gone through so much trouble.”

Wei Lai reminded Uncle Yan that the bracelets were on the back seat of the car.

She pushed her suitcase into the hotel, while Uncle Yan reported to Zhou Sujin, “Mr. Zhou, she’s been dropped off.”

—

At this time, in the courtyard of the aunt’s house, the eldest brother Zhou Jiaye had also arrived.

The scolding from the aunt could be heard throughout the courtyard.

“What’s wrong with you two? I told you not to look at your phones. The more I talk, the more excited you get, right? Put down your phones.” Ning Rujiang inserted the multi-headed blue hydrangeas she had been trimming into a vase and ordered her two nephews not to look at their phones.

She had just earnestly lectured them, but they had each picked up their phones, one saying he needed to reply to an email, and the other followed suit.

Zhou Sujin didn’t reply to any emails; he was checking messages from Uncle Yan.

He glanced at his brother’s phone screen, and it too showed a WeChat conversation.

“Hey, hey, I’m talking to you! You two are really worthless!” Even Ning Rujiang, who had a stable mood, could be driven to swear when faced with these two brothers who were sparing with words.

Every time she saw them, she felt like she would live a few years less, so she rarely saw them. It wasn’t surprising that her sister and brother-in-law avoided these two sons. While other families looked forward to reunions, in their family, it was the opposite. Except for the Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival, they didn’t call them back home for dinner. It wasn’t worth it if they were upset.

So, out of sight, out of mind.

My sister often says that if she hasn’t been driven to death by her two sons in this lifetime, it must be her good karma from a past life.

Today, having the two nephews over for dinner at home was at the request of my sister. She poured her heart out to me, saying that this year alone, more than a dozen people have come to introduce potential partners to her two sons. Some were directly rejected, and for a few, they didn’t know how to refuse politely, so it became awkward.

Just now, I mentioned the matter of blind dates to Zhou Sujin and Zhou Jiaye. Of course, I phrased it very tactfully, emphasizing the emotional aspect:

Do you two know how many blind date prospects your parents have turned down for you over the years? Probably not. Parents will do whatever they can for their children without seeking recognition. Your parents also have their own social relationships to maintain and their own social etiquette to consider. You may think your dad doesn’t need to care about anyone’s opinion and can just reject them directly, but you don’t need to either. However, for the sake of some friends’ faces, it’s necessary to give some consideration, isn’t it?

I left it at that.

Then I asked for their opinions on who should meet their blind date prospects first.

Thus, this opportunity was passed back and forth between them, with Zhou Sujin refusing and Zhou Jiaye, of course, declining even more.

“Jiaye, express your opinion.” Aunt Ning Rujiang directly addressed her eldest nephew.

Zhou Jiaye slowly raised his head, pointed his chin in the direction of Zhou Sujin, and said, “He’s more filial than me. I’ll give him the chance.”

Zhou Sujin said, “No need to be so polite. You’re usually not filial, so this is a chance for you to show it.”

And so they began kicking the ball back and forth again. Aunt Ning Rujiang’s mind was clouded by anger. She hadn’t finished trimming the hydrangeas in her hand, and yet she began arranging them in the vase.

After each of them said a few words, they fell silent again. Seeing their indifferent demeanor, Aunt Ning Rujiang was infuriated. She picked up the spray bottle and sprayed a few times into the vase, as if she were spraying it at her own heart, cooling down some of her anger.

Seeing her aunt angry, Zhou Jiaye put down his phone and unclasped his watch with his long, powerful fingers, placing it on the table. He said to Aunt Ning Rujiang, “I’ll go make tea for Aunt.”

He found an excuse to leave the living room.

“Really, thank you, there’s no need.” He had just stood up when Aunt Ning Rujiang, who had come closer in two or three steps, pulled him back into his seat. “Your uncle doesn’t drink tea at night; he can’t sleep after drinking strong tea.”

“Aunt, how about this,” Zhou Sujin looked at Aunt Ning Rujiang, “my brother and I will draw lots.”

Whoever draws the lot goes.

It all depends on fate.

Zhou Jiaye glanced at Zhou Sujin. Although he was dissatisfied, he still agreed, “Fine.”

A smile of satisfaction appeared on Aunt Ning Rujiang’s face. She said to her second nephew, “It’s still you who cares about your aunt. You’re more sensible than your brother.”

A direct praise.

She fetched some paper and a pen and made two simple lots.

Zhou Jiaye drew first, opened the paper, and didn’t win. He turned his head to Zhou Sujin and said softly, “Congratulations.”

The piece of paper was still on Zhou Sujin’s fingertips, and since his older brother had said so, there was no need to open it to know what he had drawn.

With a slight force from his clearly defined fingers, Zhou Sujin separated the paper ball. The one who would go on the blind date was him.

Aunt Ning Rujiang didn’t care who went on the blind date. After all, she just needed to get it done. She was busy sharing the good news with her sister and casually asking who Zhou Sujin’s blind date prospect was. She only knew which family’s girl had been introduced to Zhou Jiaye but didn’t know which family’s daughter had been introduced to Zhou Sujin.

Aunt Ning Rujiang went back to her room to make a call, and finally, the living room quieted down.

Zhou Jiaye got up, pushed open the ancient window, lit a cigarette, and leaned against the window to smoke.

He looked back at Zhou Sujin. “Just eat dinner tonight, that’s enough. If you insist on drawing lots and put yourself into it, it’s your own fault.”

Zhou Sujin raised an eyebrow. “You’ve seen Aunt’s attitude. If we don’t settle things tonight, will it be you who can leave this place, or me?”

Seeing their nephews sitting in the backseat of Zhou Sujin’s SUV on the road in front of Aunt’s house at dusk, Aunt Ning Rujiang naturally understood that it wasn’t just a regular friend who could sit in his brother’s SUV without hiding, nor was it someone they could ignore and let her know the location of Aunt’s house.

[Zhou, there are a total of five valuable items in the password box.]

Zhou Sujin sent pictures of three bracelets, [The others don’t need to be brought.]

Following the pictures, Wei Lai opened the jewelry box. It was a limited edition women’s bracelet for this year, collecting all the styles. It turned out that she also understood romance. She retracted her previous statement that she was allergic to romance.

If she had known that these valuable items were bracelets he intended to give to other girls, she wouldn’t have insisted on bringing them herself. It would have been easier to just send them over.

—

The next morning at eleven o’clock, Wei Lai took a taxi to the high-speed rail station.

She had contacted Lemeng, the manager of the East China region, Qi Linsheng, by phone in the morning, and made an appointment for her free time in the next two days. When she learned that she was the new purchasing manager of Wei Lai Supermarket and wanted to meet her in Beijing, Qi Linsheng fell silent for a while.

During the silent tens of seconds, there must have been a strong struggle, and finally he replied, “I’m available after eight tomorrow evening.”

After expressing her gratitude, she immediately booked a restaurant near where he was having the meeting.

Wei Lai sat by the window on the train. As the high-speed rail left the urban area, the window turned into a dynamic watercolor painting: fields of wheat nearby, large patches of low clouds in the distance, villages nestled among the fields, rivers surrounding the villages, and electric wires extending to unknown places.

As she stared at it, she lost herself in thought.

“Stay in Beijing for a few more days,” her mother messaged her.

Wei Lai returned to reality, “I used to go there often, there’s nothing much to do.”

She glanced at the handbag containing the bracelets. This time she didn’t plan to invite him to dinner again, she needed to be cautious.

When there were still nearly two stations left before arriving in Beijing, Zhou Sujin’s driver, Uncle Yan, called her, saying he was already waiting for her at the exit.

It seemed that Zhou Sujin treasured those strands of bracelets very much, to have Uncle Yan come over so early.

After arranging the meeting place, Wei Lai got off the train and headed straight for her destination with her luggage. She had only met Uncle Yan twice, once when she gave her the car keys at the hotel, and the other when he drove her home.

“Uncle Yan, hello,” she smiled and handed him the handbag, “These are three bracelets from Mr. Zhou. Please check them.”

Uncle Yan didn’t take the handbag but took her suitcase instead. “You should personally give these to Mr. Zhou.”

“Is Mr. Zhou in the car?”

“No. He’s at the company.”

Uncle Yan explained, “The restaurant where Mr. Zhou is dining tonight is less than five hundred meters from your hotel. I’ll drop you off on the way.”

Wei Lai didn’t refuse. It was just right to thank Zhou Sujin in person.

Today, Uncle Yan drove a long black extended version of the St. Just, and she couldn’t help but wonder how many luxurious SUVs Zhou Sujin owned.

Zhou Sujin glanced at his brother but didn’t respond.

Since Zhou Sujin couldn’t stand the smell of smoke, Zhou Jiaye only took a few puffs before extinguishing the cigarette. He sat back down and picked up the watch from the table, putting it back on.

Suddenly, something occurred to him, and his gaze fell on Zhou Sujin’s wrist, where he still wore the new watch that had no collector’s value.

“Did your girlfriend give you that?”

Zhou Sujin wanted to say, “What girlfriend?” but then remembered that he had admitted Wei Lai in Jiangcheng , and he had never denied having a girlfriend in front of Zhou Jiaye.

“It wasn’t from her.”

The night he bought the watch, it was paid for with Lu Yu’s credit card, and later he reimbursed Lu Yu from another source. So, in essence, he bought the watch with his own money.

“Dinner’s ready.” Ning Rujiang, having finished her call, returned to the living room and called her two nephews to eat, her voice cheerful. “The chef made dishes that both of you love tonight.”

“Oh, Sujin, I just spoke with your mother on the phone. The blind date is set for tomorrow night, and I’ve already booked a table for you.”

With the blind date set, Ning Rujiang’s mood couldn’t have been better. The dinner was pleasant, except for Zhou Sujin, who didn’t find it so.

After dinner, Zhou Jiaye went to the tea room to make tea for Uncle, as Aunt said Uncle didn’t drink tea at night. They sat in the courtyard and enjoyed the tea leisurely.

Zhou Sujin left early. With Aunt in a good mood, she let him leave directly.

As he got into the car, he instructed Uncle Yan, “Go to the hotel.”

Uncle Yan took a moment to react. “Sure thing, Mr. Zhou.”

It was to the hotel where Miss Wei was staying.