Chapter 26

Zhou Sujin never ate hotpot for anyone, not even during blind dates. If the blind date wanted to eat hotpot, he would go along but wouldn’t eat it himself, ordering something else instead.

【I’ll find someone to accompany you.】

Wei Lai: 【I don’t know the person you’re finding.】

She expressed straightforwardly, 【I don’t want to eat with anyone else.】

Zhou Sujin gave up and turned to his elder brother who was still smoking outside the car, “Do you have any appointments for lunch?”

“No other plans.”

“I’ll have lunch here with you.”

Zhou Jiaye stubbed out the cigarette. “Aren’t you going back to eat with Wei Lai?”

“She’s having hotpot.”

Zhou Sujin then replied to Wei Lai, 【Send me the address. I’ll join you after lunch.】

Since it was a sham, Zhou Jiaye didn’t try to persuade him. Even if they were a real couple, he wasn’t sure if his brother would make an exception to accompany Wei Lai for hotpot.

Not forgetting to bring the precious gift from his grandfather in the trunk, he entered the house and instructed the butler to add a few more dishes for lunch.

“I have a video conference later, help yourself.” Putting down the gifts, Zhou Jiaye headed upstairs to the study.

Zhou Sujin helped himself to a bottle of red wine from the liquor cabinet. When he reached for a wine glass, he remembered that he was driving today, so he put the wine back.

The housekeeper asked him if he wanted tea or coffee.

Zhou Sujin didn’t often come, and the housekeeper didn’t know what coffee he liked, so she asked what types of coffee they had.

There were plenty of coffee beans at home, from various parts of the world.

The housekeeper picked out more than ten types and brought them over for Zhou Sujin to choose from.

There wasn’t the type of coffee Zhou Sujin usually drank, but there was the Geisha that Wei Lai liked. He didn’t choose the Geisha, opting instead for a type of coffee bean he hadn’t tasted before.

While the housekeeper went to brew the coffee for him, he sat quietly in the living room for a while. His homes in Beijing and Jiangcheng were not as quiet as they used to be. It wasn’t noisy, but rather his personal space had been encroached upon by Wei Lai.

Now even his bedroom and bed were occupied, and her belongings could be seen everywhere.

Zhou Jiaye only had a short video conference, which ended quickly, and he came downstairs.

The housekeeper had already brewed the coffee and made an extra cup for him.

Not picky about coffee, he drank whatever was available, took a sip, and looked at his younger brother. “Why did you choose this? Don’t you usually drink dark roasted coffee beans?”

Zhou Sujin said, “There isn’t what I want here.”

It wasn’t that there wasn’t, there were too many coffee beans at home, and the housekeeper might not have brought them out.

Zhou Sujin tasted a few sips and commented, “It’s not bad.”

It was rare for Zhou Jiaye to receive such high praise from his younger brother for a coffee bean that was roasted to a medium-light level. Zhou Jiaye asked, “There’s still a lot at home, do you want me to bring some back for you?”

Zhou Sujin didn’t refuse.

Zhou Jiaye asked the housekeeper to bring two bags for him to take, and handed them to him before leaving.

Because his aunt liked coffee and didn’t have a fixed preference, he brought coffee from all over the world for her. All the coffee beans at home were sourced from their place of origin, not from planting areas introduced later.

“What kind of coffee does Wei Lai drink? If there’s any here you want, feel free to take it. I drink little coffee, and my aunt can’t drink that much either.”

“No need, Yang Ze ordered some for her from Panama.”

As soon as he heard that it was from Panama, Zhou Jiaye knew what kind of coffee it was. “Does she like Geisha?”

“Yes. She said she’s following the trend.”

Zhou Jiaye laughed. Geisha had once gained a lot of popularity due to its high price. “I have something even more expensive here, definitely unavailable on the market. Do you want me to take it to her?”

Zhou Sujin understood Wei Lai. “She won’t accept anything whose price cannot be found.”

Zhou Jiaye chuckled. Wei Lai’s temperament was completely different from that of his brother. He was curious, “With her personality, how can you tolerate her?”

Zhou Sujin took a few more sips of coffee from his cup. “If I can’t tolerate it, I’ll endure it for two years at most.”

Zhou Jiaye said, “…”

He could actually endure it for two years.

At this moment, Wei Lai, who was shopping several kilometers away, suddenly felt like sneezing but couldn’t. She covered her mouth and nose for a few seconds, but ultimately didn’t sneeze.

It wasn’t cold today, so she shouldn’t have caught a cold.

After buying a few skirts for herself and a deep autumn windbreaker for her father and mother, she walked out of the mall close to half past twelve and leisurely searched for nearby hotpot restaurants, finally choosing the closest one and walking over.

【Mr. Zhou, I’m at this restaurant.】

She sent him the location of the hotpot restaurant.

Zhou Sujin: 【Got it.】

It was her first time eating hotpot alone. When she was in school, she would team up with classmates to buy meals, and not long after graduating, she met Zhang Yanxin. Since then, whenever she wanted to eat hotpot, Zhang Yanxin would always make time for her, no matter how busy he was.

When he was away on business and not in Jiangcheng, she still had those plastic sisters to hang out with.

Wei Lai ordered one spicy hotpot and one non-spicy, wanting to try many different dishes. She ordered a variety and planned to take the leftovers home.

The spicy hotpot hadn’t started boiling when Zhou Sujin arrived.

Everywhere he passed, people’s eyes followed him.

Today he was wearing a dark-colored shirt, contrasting sharply with the lively atmosphere of the hotpot restaurant.

Zhou Sujin sat across from her. “Haven’t started eating yet?”

“No. Waiting for you.”

“I’ve eaten.”

“I know.”

This wait wasn’t for him to eat together but for him to arrive at the restaurant before she placed her order.

Wei Lai put beef into the pot to cook, first in the mushroom broth, and then transferred the remaining meat from the plate to the spicy pot when it was almost done.

Zhou Sujin leaned back on the sofa, looking at his phone. She called out to him, “Mr. Zhou.”

“Hmm?” He responded without lifting his head, waiting for her to continue.

“Are you working?”

“Reading the news.”

She handed him the ladle. “Then watch the hotpot for me. When it’s almost done, just take it out. I’ll eat first.”

Zhou Sujin raised his head after finishing reading the current news. “Am I here just to watch the pot for you?”

Wei Lai smiled. “…Not really. You happened to be free.”

Zhou Sujin placed his phone on the sofa and began unbuttoning his sleeves. “Do you feel like you’re taking advantage of the situation?”

Wei Lai nodded. “Hmm.”

The talk was talk. She interrupted by pinching the ladle and placing the handle on his side.

Zhou Sujin unbuttoned his cuffs and placed them on the table, rolling up his shirt sleeves to reveal his muscular and smooth arms.

He reached for the ladle and scooped the cooked beef onto an empty plate.

The spicy pot hadn’t been de-seeded, so a few peppercorns came along with the meat when he scooped it. Wei Lai looked up and saw the light green peppercorns. “Mr. Zhou, there are peppercorns.”

She just habitually said so.

When Zhang Yanxin accompanied her for hotpot in the past, he would carefully remove the peppercorns and wouldn’t let any touch her plate.

Zhou Sujin glanced at her and used chopsticks to remove the peppercorns to the side.

There were only a few pieces of beef left, which he scooped out in a few spoonfuls.

After setting down the ladle, he wiped his hands with a wet towel and continued reading the news.

Wei Lai didn’t dare to ask him to help cook or scoop the food for her again. She ate while taking care of the cooking herself.

She wouldn’t ask where he went this morning unless he mentioned it himself.

“Mr. Zhou, do we need to go to your house tonight or tomorrow?”

“No need.” His mother wouldn’t want to see them for the time being.

He understood his mother. Even if she had doubts, she wouldn’t inquire directly. Her dilemma was how to treat him and Wei Lai when they met, so she wouldn’t let him bring Wei Lai home for a short period of time.

“That’s good.” Wei Lai also didn’t want to go, because Mrs. Zhou was already suspicious, and she would find it hard to act naturally. Unlike at her aunt’s house where there were many people, at his family’s old house, they would be alone, making it easier to slip up.

Since they didn’t need to go to his house again, their mission for this trip was over.

“I’ll return to Jiangcheng tonight. It won’t affect work tomorrow.”

She needed to oversee the renovation of Jiang’an Yunchen. Three days in Beijing had accumulated quite a bit of work.

Zhou Sujin asked her, “Do you want to order more dishes?”

“No need, it’s enough.”

He scanned the QR code and paid the bill.

After leaving the hotpot restaurant, Wei Lai booked a high-speed train ticket back instead of using his plane. Taking the high-speed train back to Jiangcheng was more convenient. She booked an evening train and would arrive in Jiangcheng around nine in the evening.

On the way back to the villa, Wei Lai looked at the golden leaves on the roadside. They had just been cleared in the morning, but now there was a thin layer again.

“The gingko tree in Aunt’s yard is beautiful. It must be over a hundred years old, right?”

“Yes, a few hundred years.”

Wei Lai felt a little regretful. “I was too nervous yesterday and didn’t have time to take pictures.”

Zhou Sujin said, “My mother should still be at my aunt’s house. Leaves fall every autumn. You can take pictures next year.”

Wei Lai thought about it and realized that was true. Their contract wouldn’t end next year, so she and Zhou Sujin should still be together.

Zhou Sujin guessed correctly; his mother was still at his aunt’s house.

Ning Rujiang handed off the morning errands to her assistant. Her sister wasn’t in a good mood, so she accompanied her for lunch.

Ning Ruzhen was too preoccupied to eat much, barely finishing half of her usual portion.

After lunch, Ning Rujiang personally squeezed a cup of fruit and vegetable juice for her sister. “You need to keep up with your nutrition.”

Ning Ruzhen took the juice, took a sip, and found it sour and sweet.

Ning Rujiang worried about her sister, “This won’t do. Don’t wait for them to reveal themselves. You’ll make yourself sick holding it all in.”

Ning Ruzhen retorted, “Why is he so troublesome? He won’t let me have a peaceful day.”

Ning Rujiang lightly patted her sister’s back. “Mine is no different.”

Ning Ruzhen pressed her temples, forcing herself to calm down. “I don’t have the time to watch him every day to see if he’s truly in love.”

“Then what do you plan to do? Have it out with him?”

“How? What do I say?”

Ning Ruzhen fell silent for a moment. “If it’s indeed a masquerade, and he can deceive me, then as a mother, I can’t leave him any dignity.”

There’s nothing one can do about one’s own children.

She finished the glass of juice, having made up her mind.

“You and Grandpa both think highly of Wei Lai.”

“He’s decent. Even if it’s a charade, he has a contractual relationship with Sujin. It doesn’t mean he lacks integrity.” Ning Rujiang wasn’t boasting. “My father and I are quite good at judging character.”

Ning Ruzhen said, “There’s still over three months until Chinese New Year. By then, they’ll have been together for half a year. If it’s genuine love, they should understand each other well enough. We’ll have them engaged by Chinese New Year. Before the engagement, I’ll personally visit Wei Lai’s parents in Jiangcheng. Once engaged, we proceed to register for marriage.”

Marriage is a serious matter; it’s not child’s play.

If it’s fake, he’ll naturally ‘break up’ on his own.

This was the only dignified way she could think of handling the situation, without hurting the mother-son relationship or Wei Lai’s pride.

Ning Rujiang felt apprehensive. “Sujin won’t listen to the family about registering for marriage.”

Ning Ruzhen had already planned ahead. “Someone can persuade him. Grandpa will talk to him. He won’t disobey.”

Zhou Sujin always listened to his grandfather since childhood, never defying him or making him angry.

—

The black Bentley entered the villa area, with most of the journey being in silence.

Having spent a long time with Zhou Sujin, Wei Lai had grown accustomed to this silence.

He drove, and she looked out the window.

“Uncle Yan will take you to the station this afternoon.”

Wei Lai withdrew his gaze from the window. “Okay.”

In his world, picking up or dropping off someone at the station simply didn’t exist.

Back at the villa, he didn’t stay long, took the gifts from his family to her, and drove to the company.

He came with two large suitcases, and now there was an extra one on the way back. She received more gifts than she gave out, and her aunt had prepared several for her.

Although Zhou Sujin’s mother suspected her of being an impostor, she didn’t skimp on gifts for her, even labeling each gift with a note indicating who it was from.

The packaging of each gift was generous and luxurious, indicating their high value.

Fortunately, the gifts she prepared for everyone were carefully chosen, so when she received these gifts, she didn’t feel too indebted, but she still felt guilty.

Especially to her aunt and grandfather; both genuinely liked her from the bottom of their hearts, especially her aunt, who had praised her beauty and maturity last night, asking when she would come to Beijing again and suggesting they go shopping and have coffee together.

As a fake girlfriend, it was better to see the parents as little as possible to minimize the risk of exposure.

She could only vaguely promise to visit when Zhou Sujin wasn’t busy.

Because there were too many suitcases, her mother came to pick her up in Jiangcheng at night in the company’s business car.

The trunk couldn’t fit three large suitcases, so her mother used the company’s business car.

Seeing her daughter, Cheng Minzhi hugged her tightly. “Are you nervous?”

How could she not be nervous? Wei Lai explained the situation that evening. “My aunt invited four tables of people, and all the relatives from Zhou Sujin’s side were there. Even his grandparents came from abroad. It was too overwhelming; I was almost scared to death.”

Cheng Minzhi comforted her daughter. “It’s normal to be like this the first time you meet the parents. It’ll get better with more meetings in the future.”

It won’t get better.

Her situation was just the opposite. The more times she met them, the more nervous she became.

Wei Lai and his mother lifted three heavy suitcases into the car. The gifts hadn’t been opened, so she didn’t know what they were.

Cheng Minzhi closed the car door. “I thought you could stay in Beijing for a few more days.”

Wei Lai sat in the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt. “I’ve eaten, drank, played, and had fun for three days. That’s enough.”

Cheng Minzhi’s consideration was that the two children were in different places. Although it wasn’t too difficult to meet, they weren’t in the same city, and it wasn’t easy to meet at will. So, whenever they meet, they should stay longer if possible.

“The supermarket still has me. I can have someone else handle the renovation.”

Wei Lai chuckled, “It’s a different matter. Dating shouldn’t affect my work.”

His mother started the car, and she fell silent.

[Mr. Zhou, I’ve arrived.]

Zhou Sujin called. He had just arrived home and was planning to take a shower, standing in front of the bathroom sink filled with her cosmetics. It felt like her stuff was taking up his personal space while she wasn’t there.

“Did someone pick you up?” he asked.

“My mom did.”

“Get some rest when you get home.”

And that ended their conversation.

If his mother wasn’t around, he probably wouldn’t have said that last sentence.

As the car rolled through the leaf-strewn boulevard, she could almost hear the crackle of dry leaves. She looked out the window, passing by a supermarket near their house. It was close to closing time, yet there were still customers coming and going.

At that moment, she still felt that Jiangcheng was the best.

—

The next day, Wei Lai woke up and confirmed that he was at his own home.

These past few days, sleeping in the guest room of Zhou Sujin’s villa, he always worried someone would come upstairs and find out they were pretending to be a couple. He couldn’t sleep soundly.

[Lai Lai, when are you coming back? Dad isn’t busy these days, and he can pick you up.]

Her father messaged her before she even had breakfast.

“Dad, I came back last night.”

She could imagine how disappointed her father must be on the other end of the phone. Wei Lai: [Dad, are you free today? I’m going to the store in Jiang’an Yunchen this morning. I bought you a trench coat in Beijing and wanted to bring it to you.]

Wei Huatian: [Dad’s free today.]

After breakfast, Wei Lai didn’t go to the office but drove straight to Jiang’ an Yunchen. Unexpectedly, his father arrived even earlier than her, waiting at the store entrance.

The storefront was already open, and the construction team from the renovation company was working inside.

Wei Lai handed the trench coat to his father. “See if it fits.”

Wei Huatian smiled contentedly. “I don’t need to see; I know it fits.”

One trench coat swept away his days of disappointment.

He put the coat in the car and asked about the location of the seventeenth store. “This location is good. How big is it?”

“About fifteen hundred square meters.” Wei Lai turned to look at the storefront. “I plan to buy it when I have enough money.”

Wei Huatian knew that most of the commercial property rights here belonged to the Jiang’an Group. “Is Yuan willing to sell?”

“Yeah, I introduced him to Zhou Sujin. As long as I want to buy, I can choose any location’s commercial property at a reasonable price.”

But she didn’t have enough money now. She needed to open a new store and renovate fifteen old ones. If she couldn’t manage the funds by then, Yuan gave her three years. If the funds were still tight by then, and the business of this store was still good, he would continue to rent it to her.

Not all stores could be opened successfully. Yuan also said that if she found she wasn’t making money after two years and wanted to withdraw, there would be no penalty.

Wei Huatian told his daughter not to worry about money. “Dad will sponsor you some.”

Wei Lai smiled. “No need, I won’t use anyone’s money. I’ll buy it with my own earnings.”

She walked into the store with her father, telling him roughly what each area would be used for and how to design the free bookstore and coffee corner.

She also coordinated with the project manager of the renovation company on some matters and details, and it was almost noon when they finished.

Her father, who rarely took a day off, accompanied her all morning.

“Lai Lai, your birthday is coming up. Do you have time to have dinner with Dad that day? If not, we can celebrate a day earlier.”

Her birthday was on November 8th, in just over ten days.

Wei Lai replied to her father, “Lunch that day.”

She had been busy meeting parents and renovating new stores recently, forgetting about her own birthday. Zhou Sujin probably didn’t even know when her birthday was. They were seen as a loving couple by outsiders, but his family suspected they were pretending. She had to be careful.

She informed him in advance to let him prepare: [Mr. Zhou, my birthday is on the 8th of next month. Can you come to Jiangcheng?]

Zhou Sujin saw her message after the meeting and replied after a moment’s consideration, [Okay, I’ll come to see you that day. What gift do you want?]

Wei Lai: [No need for gifts. I don’t want anything. Just your presence is enough.]