Chapter 21

As they were about to approach, Mu Di suddenly pulled her father back.

Just tens of seconds ago, there was still some distance between Zhou Sujin and Wei Lai. They were talking normally, but by the time she looked down to put her phone in her bag, Zhou Sujin had already enclosed her in his embrace.

Wei Lai should have seen Mu Di and her father, but she didn’t want to see them, so she came up with this trick. Surprisingly, Zhou Sujin also cooperated. Although this place wasn’t on the roadside, there were quite a few people passing by the café’s entrance.

They didn’t seem to care about anyone else being around.

It would be quite rude for Mu Di to disturb them by going over.

From her father’s angle, he couldn’t see what state Zhou Sujin and Wei Lai were in. He looked puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

Mu Di pulled her father back, saying, “We’ll talk in the car.”

Meanwhile, Wei Lai waited for a while but didn’t see anyone approaching.

When she had been close to his embrace earlier, it hadn’t felt right to place her hands anywhere. So she had simply held onto the edges of his suit jacket.

Her heartbeat was hidden beneath a calm exterior, showing no signs of the tumult inside.

“The person’s gone.” Zhou Sujin released her.

Wei Lai stood up from his embrace and let go of his jacket. Once again, she said, “Thank you, Mr. Zhou.”

Zhou Sujin remarked, “There’s never a dull moment.”

Wei Lai just looked at him, saying nothing.

Zhou Sujin gestured towards the Cullinan. “If you need anything, call me.”

Before parting ways, Wei Lai took a half step forward, bringing the distance between them as close as it had been when he had held her.

Zhou Sujin lowered his head, wondering what she was going to do.

Wei Lai wrapped her arms around his waist from outside his suit jacket, hugged him, and repeated, “Have a safe trip, Mr. Zhou.”

Releasing him, she turned and walked towards the Cullinan.

The last embrace was meant for Uncle Yan, who was sitting not far away in the car, but it seemed to carry a hint of reluctance.

Even they themselves couldn’t tell if it was genuine or just good acting.

Zhou Sujin stood still for a moment longer, waiting for Wei Lai to drive past him before he got into his own car and left.

Wei Lai returned to the office, while Bentley headed towards the airport expressway.

“Dad, do you think they can last long?” Mu Di asked her father on the way home.

Her father replied, “I hope they can last long.” After a moment, he added, “That way, you and Zhang Yanxin can have a peaceful life after marriage.”

Mu Di turned to look at her father, wanting to say something but hesitating.

Her father didn’t say anything more, just patted her hand. “Dad knows.”

Did he know that her harmony with Zhang Yanxin was just for show?

Did he know she had been forcing herself to smile?

Back home, Zhang Yanxin was in the living room.

Shortly after their engagement, they registered for marriage. Their current days were equivalent to those after marriage.

Zhang Yanxin was on the phone in the living room, mentioning the name Wei Lai. Mu Di knew instantly; that he was introducing business to Wei Lai.

He was aware of the breakup fee he had given Wei Lai, as well as the conditions he had promised her. Mu Di knew it all and tacitly agreed to compensate Wei Lai so generously. After all, she owed Wei Lai a lot.

After Zhang Yanxin finished his call, she casually asked, “By the way, how many years of business are you going to introduce to Huatian Law Firm?”

Five years.

That was what Wei Lai had proposed on the night of their breakup. But since Huatian Law Firm knew about Wei Lei’s breakup with him, they had rejected all the business he had introduced. So he had to help indirectly.

Zhang Yanxin said, “Twenty years.”

Mu Di’s expression wasn’t very good. “Isn’t that too long?”

Wei Lai was supposed to exist between them for twenty years.

“Or, I’ll talk to Wei Lai and discuss compensating her in other ways.”

Zhang Yanxin replied, “It has nothing to do with her. It’s my voluntary compensation.”

Mu Di didn’t insist on shortening the compensation period. It was useless to argue; sometimes, he wouldn’t even budge, even in front of others. She peeled off a piece of chocolate to counter the sourness rising in her heart.

The living room remained silent.

A message popped up on Zhang Yanxin’s phone. His secretary replied, “[Mr. Zhang, Huatian still rejected the client, probably guessing that it was introduced by you.]”

“[Understood.]”

Huatian Law Firm didn’t accept any of his goodwill gestures. Although Wei Lai had accepted the breakup fee, she had immediately set up free bookstores and study rooms.

“Why aren’t you wearing your watch?” Mu Di’s gaze inadvertently swept over his hand, which was empty of any wristwatch. He hadn’t worn one for a long time, not even at events.

Zhang Yanxin put away his phone. “I’m not interested.”

On the night he and Wei Lai broke up, he lost interest in other watches. He wondered what style of watch Wei Lai had given him and how long he had waited in line to get that watch.

When she gave him that watch, did she think they would get married?

He wanted his secretary to check the original order details of that watch. But then he realized he was already married and suppressed that thought.

He couldn’t even guarantee whether one day in the future, he might not succumb to that strong desire to know.

—

The National Day holiday passed in the blink of an eye, and Cheng Minzhi returned from her trip.

She brought back many gifts for her daughter and went straight to her daughter’s apartment from the airport.

Wei Lai was currently troubled about what gift to choose for Zhou Sujin’s family. It wasn’t as easy as meeting her real parents. She had listed almost two pages of alternative gifts but still didn’t feel satisfied.

She selected a few and sent them to Zhou Sujin: [Help me take a look.]

Zhou Sujin was still abroad, [You don’t need to prepare, I’ll buy.]

Wei Lai replied, [How could I let you buy the gifts? Your family must have carefully prepared gifts for me too. Even if it’s just acting, I should still prepare sincerely. I can’t waste the goodwill of your family.]

At this moment, the doorbell rang, and her mother called her from outside.

“Mom, I’m coming.” Wei Lei dropped the mouse, went barefoot to open the door, and pulled her mother to the computer desk. She was worried that her mother’s mood might not improve even after returning, so she had to find something to distract her.

The only thing that could make her mother forget her troubles was her own matters, especially those related to relationships.

“Mom, can you help me see what gift would be suitable? I’m going to Zhou Sujin’s house on the 20th.”

“Zhou Sujin?”

“Yeah, the one in Beijing. Didn’t you say not to forget to tell you the good news? We’re together now.”

“Wait a moment, let Mom think.”

Cheng Minzhi had been busy outside for seven or eight days and then had to endure a flight of over four hours back. She was a bit slow to process information at the moment.

Wei Lai poured a glass of water for her mother and placed it on the table, explaining in detail, “His family knows he has a girlfriend. The 20th is his aunt’s fiftieth birthday, and he wants to take me there. Actually, I don’t know if we’re really suitable for each other or if we can last long in the future. But he’s willing to take me home so soon, and I’m quite happy about it.”

Just recently getting together and already meeting the parents, Cheng Minzhi understood that Zhou Sujin’s family was an influential one. She worried that her daughter wouldn’t feel secure in the relationship with him and thus, he wanted to bring her home early to gain approval from his family. Zhou Sujin was serious and considerate about this relationship, which reassured her.

Instead of putting pressure on her daughter, she advised her to be calm. “It’s great to meet the parents, but Lai Lai, you shouldn’t rush into marriage just because your last relationship failed. Take it slow, enjoy the process, and don’t think too much about the outcome.”

Wei Lai had been worrying about how to broach the subject of breaking up two years later, but she hadn’t expected her mother to be so open-minded, relieving her of her worries. She hugged her mother tightly, leaned on her shoulder, and acted spoiled, “Mom, thank you.”

Cheng Minzhi pinched her daughter’s cheek affectionately. “Alright, get up and think about what gift to choose.”

There were two gift lists on the keyboard, and she picked them up to read. From the scribbles on the paper, it was evident how indecisive her daughter was when choosing gifts.

Wei Lai stood up straight, fetched a chair from the living room, and sat beside her mother.

Since her daughter had already decided to meet the parents, she also had to start preparing.

Cheng Minzhi asked her daughter, “Before you go to Zhou Sujin’s house, is he going to visit our house first? Is he going to your father’s place first or mine?”

Wei Lai: “…”

She had completely forgotten about this procedure.

“He’s still abroad. I’ll ask him which day he’ll be back.”

She would ask him if he was willing to come to their house to meet the parents.

It took two hours to finalize the gift list. It was too late to go to the mall today, so her mother suggested they go tomorrow.

After her mother left, she called Zhou Sujin and told him about the situation.

“Even if I temporarily keep my parents in the dark about going to your house to meet your parents, they’ll definitely find out eventually.”

She asked him, “Do you have time to come to our house?”

Zhou Sujin admitted, “I do, but it’s not in my plans.”

Wei Lai understood. After all, they were in a contractual relationship. She pretended to be his girlfriend to deal with his family, and he provided her with any networking resources she wanted. However, dealing with her family was not part of the contract.

“It’s okay, I’ll find a reason to decline. My parents are easygoing.”

If Zhou Sujin had any concerns, he said, “When I pick you up in Jiangcheng, I’ll visit Aunt Cheng and have a meal with her, just the two of us.”

As long as his mother was dealt with, Wei Lai was already content. She didn’t expect him to visit her father’s house again. “Thank you, Mr. Zhou.”

Zhou Sujin didn’t respond and asked her, “Is there anything else?”

Wei Lai wanted to ask him which country and city he was currently in, but she ended up saying, “Nothing.”

Zhou Sujin hung up the phone.

He was willing to accompany her to make his mother happy, and she was more concerned about accompanying him home. It took her a week to sporadically gather all the gifts. There were two items missing in Jiangcheng, so she drove to Shanghai over the weekend.

After double-checking all the gifts, she packed them all into suitcases.

This busy and fulfilling week was spent shopping for gifts at night and dealing with the supermarket during the day. The decoration of the sixteenth store was proceeding smoothly.

In recent days, she and her mother were busy selecting a location for the seventeenth store. She was eyeing the location of Jiang’an Yunchen, but they couldn’t find a suitable house to rent.

“Ms. Wei?” Her mother knocked on her office door.

Wei Lai smiled. “Ms. Cheng, please come in.”

Cheng Minzhi brought in a plate of fruits. “Guess whose call I just received?”

Wei Lai wanted to say ‘Dad?’, but she held back and shook her head. She picked up a grape and ate it.

“Mr. Yuan. Yuan Hengrui’s father.”

“How does Mr. Yuan have your number?”

“I think he asked Dad for it.”

Not wanting to talk about her ex-husband in advance, Cheng Minzhi got to the point, “Mr. Yuan said that their group holds properties, whether in the urban area or the park area. If we’re interested in any location to open a supermarket, it’s just a matter of one sentence, and the rent can also be negotiated.”

Jiang’an Yunchen was developed by Yuan Hengrui’s family company. Jiang’an Group was the earliest real estate enterprise in Jiangcheng, mainly focusing on developing high-end properties. In recent years, Jiang’an Group’s strategy has begun to adjust, with changes in its core business, starting to delve into the semiconductor industry.

Wei Lai asked, “What are Mr. Yuan’s conditions?”

Cheng Minzhi replied, “He wants to get to know Zhou Sujin through you and hopes to cooperate on semiconductor projects.”

She peeled a grape for her daughter. “I refused him at the time. If Mr. Yuan contacts you again, don’t answer his call.”

“If he contacts me, I’ll help him get in touch.”

“Don’t.” Cheng Minzhi forbid, “I’ve already turned him down. Focus on your relationship with Zhou Sujin. If we can’t rent a suitable place at Jiang’an Yunchen, we’ll choose another location. We don’t have to open the store in that neighborhood.”

Wei Lai reassured her mother, “Zhou Sujin said his resources are at my disposal, however I want to use them.”

Cheng Minzhi replied, “He may say that, but…”

“Mom, I’ll only use it this once.”

Wei Lai immediately found Zhou Sujin’s other WeChat account and sent a message, [Mr. Zhou, are you busy now?]

It was evening on Zhou Sujin’s side, and he was about to rest. Seeing that she sent the message to his public account, he knew what she meant.

[You want to use my resources?]

It was convenient to communicate with big shots. There was no need to be awkward.

Wei Lai replied boldly, [Yes. If you have time, I’ll explain it to you in detail.]

Zhou Sujin called her, “You’ll need my resources more and more in the future. Do you think I’ll have time to do these things for you?”

His voice was clear and magnetic, and Wei Lai had gotten used to his tone by now. These tasks were all handled by his assistant. When she initially suggested using his assistant, she was reluctant. Now she slapped herself in the face and said, “Share Yang’s assistant’s WeChat contact with me, and I’ll ask him to arrange it.”

Zhou Sujin shared Yang Ze’s business card with her through his personal account and asked, “Are you using my resources yourself or are you connecting with someone else?”

Wei Lai replied, “I’m connecting Mr. Yuan Hengrui’s father. He wants to meet you to see if there’s a possibility of cooperating on a semiconductor project. I’ll ask Yang’s assistant to arrange a time for you later.”

Zhou Sujin turned off the living room light and went back to the bedroom. “You’re helping him. What resources can he provide you with?”

“I want to open the seventeenth store in Jiang’an Yunchen’s commercial space, about 1,500 square meters. When I went there, I found out that their commercial properties are all owned by Jiang’an Group and are not available for rent at the moment. I’m taking this opportunity to exchange resources with Mr. Yuan, so it’s equivalent to you helping me secure the location for the store.”

Zhou Sujin thought for a moment. It seemed that the residential area he lived in Jiangcheng was called Jiang’an Yunchen.

“Do you want to open a supermarket over there?”

“Yeah.” Wei Lai, emboldened, half-jokingly said, “Opening a supermarket there would make it convenient for you to buy things.”