Chapter 47

Zhou Sujin returned from the flower shop to find no one at home. There was a note stuck on the cabinet door at the entrance hall:

“Honey, I’m coming home for a bit. I’ll be back in about an hour.”

Taking down the note, he placed the roses in the bedroom.

Wei Lai didn’t return to her own apartment; she went to her mother’s place. She planned to spend the day at home for tomorrow’s appointment, and the only way to pass the time was by cooking.

There was nothing to eat at Jiang’ an Yunchen house, so she came back to get some supplies. There were dumpling fillings made by her grandmother before the New Year, both sweet and savory. She only took two kinds of fillings: lard and sesame, and fresh meat. After closing the refrigerator door, she remembered she hadn’t taken the glutinous rice flour.

She packed two large bags of groceries and snacks into the trunk of her car.

She took a picture of the trunk and sent it to her mother: “The home thief strikes again. I’ve almost emptied the fridge (chuckling).”

Cheng Minzhi replied with a smile: “I prepared them for you to take. Sujin is in Jiangcheng?”

“Yeah, she arrived early yesterday morning. Today we even went to Shanghai for coffee.”

Cheng Minzhi liked the status update her daughter posted, thinking it was from a café in Jiangcheng.

She was currently at the beach with a group of friends of He Wancheng, having a barbecue. As she was typing with her head down, suddenly her vision was blocked by a dark figure. He Wancheng brought a plate of skewered meat he had grilled for her, said nothing, and just placed the plate on the table in front of her.

“Mom, I’m driving. Let’s talk when you get back. Have fun.”

Wei Lai started the car. It took her three intersections to get out of the city, and her speed only picked up when she reached the parking area, making her arrival more than twenty minutes later than expected.

Back home, Zhou Sujin had taken a shower and was in the living room flipping through a collection of essays.

“Honey, I’m back,” she said, seeing him holding two large bags.

He fastened the book he was reading and walked over, asking, “Why didn’t you call me when you were downstairs?”

“I can handle it. I’ve been helping the inventory aunt since I was little, following her to stock up. I’m also good at sports. From elementary school to high school, I always got first place in the women’s long-distance race in the sports meet.”

She talked about her past, unsure if he liked to hear it or not.

Zhou Sujin took the supermarket shopping bags from her hands and looked at her. “Do you want to go jogging with me tomorrow morning?”

“…” Tomorrow seemed to be minus four degrees Celsius.

Wei Lai hesitated for two seconds, smiled, and shook her head, changing the subject. “Why didn’t you work overtime when I wasn’t at home?”

Zhou Sujin just said, “Work can wait until the day after tomorrow.”

He didn’t deliberately remind her that he had bought flowers for her until Wei Lai went to the bedroom to take a shower and found a large bunch of red roses on the bedside table.

There was also a card he had written by hand, completely different from his usual flamboyant handwriting.

He had gone out to buy her flowers, not to find a quiet place. This was the first time he had taken the initiative to give her a gift, and roses were different from other gifts.

She hugged them, the scent of flowers filling her nose.

When Zhou Sujin entered the bedroom, Wei Lai turned to look at him. “Thank you, I really like them.”

The joy in her heart couldn’t be expressed in words. She gently placed the flowers down and hugged him.

While she hugged him, Zhou Sujin also embraced her.

“Why did you suddenly think of giving me flowers?”

“There’s no special reason. I just wanted to.”

So straightforwardly, Wei Lai’s heart skipped a beat. She looked up at him in his arms. It was rare to see any emotional fluctuations in his eyes.

“Did you pick out the flowers yourself?”

“Yeah, I picked them all.”

She felt even more satisfied and said with a smile, “No one would believe it if I told them.”

Zhou Sujin took over the conversation, “Indeed, no one would believe it. Even Lu Yu is used to my coldness, saying that I’m not a good person.”

“I won’t judge you in the mall. As long as you’re good to me in private.” With that bouquet of roses boosting her confidence, she asked directly, “Zhou Sujin, are you only like this to me? Are you not good to anyone else?”

After asking, she dared not look him in the eye, avoiding any expression on his face.

Zhou Sujin looked down at her, and her long, dense eyelashes trembled involuntarily.

He said, “Yes, I am indeed only like this to you.”

Wei Lai suddenly couldn’t hold onto the conversation anymore, her heart pounding wildly in her chest.

She grabbed the shirt around his waist, feeling lost for a few seconds.

Sensing her confusion, Zhou Sujin switched to holding her with one hand, and with the other, he held the hand she had grabbed his shirt with, rubbing her hand with his thumb. “Go take a shower. I’ll put the flowers in the vase for you.”

“Stay a little longer,” Wei Lai held onto his fingers.

His hand had distinct knuckles, warm and dry.

Her already erratic heartbeat accelerated further.

Wei Lai lifted her foot, wanting to kiss him but unable to reach him.

As Zhou Sujin leaned down to meet her kiss, he gently removed the hand she had grabbed onto and lifted her up in his arms.

Wei Lai was held firmly by his strong arms. She pushed her tongue against his lips, tentatively trying to enter.

Zhou Sujin carried her to the bed, cupping the back of her head firmly as he kissed her passionately.

Wei Lai trembled at his touch, unable to breathe properly. Her chest felt tight from lack of oxygen, as if a fish had been out of water for too long, her heart could stop beating at any moment.

In that moment of extreme oxygen deprivation, she pulled away from his lips, burying her face in his neck, seemingly trying to breathe hard, needing enough oxygen to fill her lungs.

Zhou Sujin wrapped his arms around her shoulders, holding her close to him to calm her down. “Take a shower later and go to bed early.”

Wei Lai nodded. They had been intimate many times last night, and she couldn’t bear him again today.

The bouquet of roses was placed in a vase on her bedside table.

The next day, Wei Lai woke up early, but Zhou Sujin was even earlier, already out jogging.

It was another long day of their twelve-hour date for him. She had planned to cook in the morning, take a nap after lunch, and wake up around four or five, so the day would pass quickly.

When Zhou Sujin returned from his run, he saw that she had taken all the ingredients from the fridge. He said to her, “Let’s go out for lunch.”

Wei Lai replied, “Let’s eat at home. I’ll cook, and you can work next to me. That way, you’re still accompanying me.”

Zhou Sujin knew she wanted to give him as much autonomy as possible, so he didn’t agree. “Finally, I have some time off. Don’t waste it in the kitchen.”

“What should we do in the morning then? It’s cold, and there’s not much to do in Jiangcheng.”

“Stay at home. Don’t you like reading?”

“You might not be interested in my books.”

“It’s okay. You can read to me.”

Wei Lai hadn’t thought of dating like this before.

After breakfast, she brewed two cups of coffee, one Rose Summer and one that he liked.

Sitting on the sun-drenched balcony with her back to the sun, she opened a book she had only read halfway through, starting again from the beginning, occasionally interspersing Jiangcheng dialect in her sentences.

Zhou Sujin also silenced his personal phone. He didn’t understand the Jiangcheng dialect and asked her what she meant.

Wei Lai put down the book. “How about I teach you the Jiangcheng dialect?” She was afraid he wouldn’t have the patience to learn.

Zhou Sujin nodded. “Okay.”

Wei Lai moved her chair in front of him, sitting face to face with him.

This didn’t seem like a date. Several times, she wanted to put her feet on his lap, and she couldn’t help but act coquettishly. “Honey.”

Zhou Sujin looked at her. “You want to put them on me?”

“Yeah.”

Zhou Sujin adjusted his sitting position. “Go ahead.”

Wei Lai stretched out her legs, resting both feet on his well-defined abdominal muscles.

Zhou Sujin just looked at her, and didn’t say anything, letting her behave recklessly.

—

The second day after the end of the Spring Festival holiday, Wei Lai finally had time to meet up with a few close girlfriends for hot pot. The others weren’t in Jiangcheng, only Qiao Sitian and Yin Le were available.

In their group chat, only Qiao Sitian and Yin Le called her “baby,” while others called her “Lai Lai,” saying “baby” was cheesy.

She rushed to the hot pot restaurant after work, arriving last.

They often ate hot pot together, so they were well aware of each other’s preferences. Qiao Sitian had already ordered the hot pot base and ingredients, waiting for the broth to boil.

Yin Le pushed a few slices of watermelon toward her. “Where’s your husband, Mr. Zhou?”

“He came back last night.” Wei Lai took off her coat and put it away, picking up a slice of watermelon to eat.

Qiao Sitian looked Wei Lai up and down, her bright oval face glowing with a translucent sheen. “You’ve been moisturized well.”

“…”

Sitting on the same side as Yin Le and Wei Lai, Qiao Sitian grabbed Wei Lai’s face without saying a word, turning her face toward her. Wei Lai laughed and pushed her away.

Qiao Sitian added meat to the spicy pot while saying, “Do you know what they’ve been gossiping about you these past few days?”

Wei Lai hadn’t paid attention and didn’t care at all. Rumors about her hadn’t stopped since she broke up with Zhang Yanxin. There have been hundreds of versions so far.

“What are they saying about me?”

“They’re curious about the contents of the prenuptial agreement between you and Zhou Sujin. Someone saw Zhou Sujin taking a private legal advisor to your father’s law firm before the marriage certificate was issued.”

If they had signed a prenuptial agreement, then Zhou Sujin’s wealth would have nothing to do with Wei Lai.

Qiao Sitian said leisurely, “Did you really sign one?”

Wei Lai admitted openly, “Yes.”

In addition to supplementary agreements, there were also property arrangements.

“Are they pitying me again, saying my third dream of marrying into a wealthy family is shattered?”

Qiao Sitian just smiled and scooped out the cooked meat, using the public chopsticks to remove the peppercorns and placing them on Wei Lai’s plate.

Then she changed the subject, bringing up Xinming Group. “Zhou Sujin has decided to completely withdraw from Xinming Group and plans to acquire it. It’s obvious he cares a lot about you, so you don’t have to worry about what others say behind your back.”

Wei Lai was about to pick up her chopsticks when her hand paused mid-air. “Acquire Xinming Group?”

“Don’t tell me you don’t know?”

Wei Lai shook her head. Zhou Sujin hadn’t mentioned it.

He said this matter was between him and her, restricted to just the two of them. It was not appropriate for her to say more about it between him and Zhang Yanxin.

Qiao Sitian gossiped, “How did Zhang Yanxin offend Zhou Sujin? I heard his father was furious at home on New Year’s Day, and Zhang Yanxin had an indifferent attitude, saying he had long wanted to stop cooperating with Zhou Sujin, and he had someone else he wanted to cooperate with.”

Last night, she and her husband speculated all night about whom Zhang Yanxin might cooperate with.

Yin Le nudged Wei Lai. “Why so silent? Isn’t it like a soap opera?”

It was a bit like a soap opera.

The watch she had bought for her ex-boyfriend was now on her current husband’s wrist.

Even after finishing the hot pot, Wei Lai didn’t mention how soap opera-like it was.

After parting ways with Qiao Sitian and the others, Wei Lai drove away, heading towards Jiang’ an Yunchen.

It wasn’t until she realized that Zhou Sujin wasn’t in Jiangcheng anymore, and there was no one at their home, that she arrived at the entrance of the residential area. She eased off the accelerator, slowly pulling over to the side of the road.

Looking up at the towering buildings, she couldn’t distinguish which floor was their home.

At that moment, she suddenly missed him so much.

Zhou Sujin had left Jiangcheng early in the morning, spending the night with her.

When she woke up in the morning, she received a message from him: “I’ve arrived in Beijing.”

Previously, she had mentioned that she wasn’t used to sudden lack of contact and hoped he would send her a message to let her know he had arrived safely. This time, he did send one, but only to her.

Wei Lai glanced at the rearview mirror. There were no cars coming. She reversed the car and turned it around, leaving Jiang’ an Yunchen and heading back to her small apartment.

On the way, she received a call from Zhao Yihan, asking if she was home and saying she wanted to bring her something.

Looking at the time on the screen, “I’m still out, about twenty minutes away.”

“Then see you later.”

It had been a while since she had met Zhao Yihan, just before New Year’s Eve, she had a meal with her father and Zhao’s mother, barely considered a reunion dinner.

After dinner, Zhao’s mother walked Zhao Yihan home, and her father accompanied her back to the apartment. Her father rarely mentioned her mother, “You and your mother have been spending New Year’s Eve alone for these years, not at your uncle’s house with your grandparents?”

“I didn’t go to my uncle’s house. Mom didn’t want to go. She just wanted to stay at home.”

Then she and her father remained silent until they reached her apartment.

Pulling her thoughts back, she arrived at her apartment. She looked at her phone, only unreading messages in work and friends’ groups.

After washing up, it was almost ten o’clock, and she couldn’t help but glance at the chat box.

Knowing that she couldn’t wait, she still held a glimmer of hope.

—

Zhou Sujin came out of the company and went to his aunt’s house, bringing back things from Jiangcheng.

It was too late for coffee. Ning Rujiang poured warm water for her nephew and handed him the cup, deliberately glancing at his wrist when passing the cup, where the watch used to be.

Zhou Sujin calmly took the cup of water, pretending not to notice anything.

Ning Rujiang sat down on the chair next to him. She had heard bits and pieces about Jiangcheng from her eldest nephew.

Ning Rujiang sighed, “Jiaye mentioned that you’re going to London recently. Your grandparents are still in the cherry orchard area. Come back early. What are you going there for?”

Zhou Sujin replied flatly, “Company matters.”

He was going to meet the person Zhang Yanxin intended to cooperate with.

While beating around the bush with his nephew, he was more evasive than she was. Ning Rujiang had to be straightforward, “Is it related to Xinming Group, right?”

“Did Zhang Yanxin talk to you about buying the watch from me?”

“He did.”

Ning Rujiang patted her nephew’s arm sympathetically. “It’s just a watch. Don’t worry too much about it. If you don’t want to keep it, Auntie can hold onto it for you until you change your mind.”

Zhou Sujin sipped his warm water. “It’s in my watch cabinet.”

Ning Rujiang stared at her nephew. The watches he kept in his safe were all particularly cherished. “You haven’t dealt with that watch because Wei Lai put a lot of thought into it, right?”

Zhou Sujin didn’t respond. He handed the tea leaves and snacks he brought from Jiangcheng to his aunt. “Wei Lai bought these specifically for you. She queued for an hour to get the snacks.”

Directly avoiding the topic, Ning Rujiang understood her nephew well. If he didn’t want to talk about something, he wouldn’t. “Please thank Lai Lai for me.”

After sitting for half a cup of tea, Zhou Sujin left.

Sitting in his car, he glanced at the time, then opened his conversation with Wei Lai: [Finish your work and get some rest soon. If there’s anything bothering you, you can talk to me about it.]