Chapter 16: Telling Zhou Beiming Bedtime Ghost Stories

The cup in her hands grew colder by the second.

Zhou Beiming once again brought the cup to Su Nian’s lips. “Try another sip.”

She leaned in and took a drink—warm and just the right temperature.

Holding the cup herself now, she noticed he hadn’t let go. Her hands gripped the top while his held the bottom.

Their palms touched—warm meeting cool.

After finishing the brown sugar water, Su Nian went back to the bedroom to sleep.

There was only one bedroom—no other option.

Lying on the big  bed“, she tossed and turned. When she tried to sleep seriously, she couldn’t fall asleep.

The last time she stayed here, she had the bed all to herself.

She lay flat on the bed, staring at the ceiling, counting sheep.

In the study, Zhou Beiming was in the middle of a video conference with an overseas team.

The foreign acquisition plan had hit a snag.

Only one day into living together, and he already had to travel for work.

He didn’t want to keep the meeting going. Facing the group of senior executives, he said bluntly, “Meeting adjourned. We’ll pick this up tomorrow.”

The abrupt ending left the executives stunned.

Zhou Beiming had already closed his laptop.

His phone buzzed on the desk.

It was a call from Huo Jiuyan.

He answered.

“Come out for a drink,” Huo Jiuyan said. “We’ve got some fresh models—so fresh they’re practically dripping.”

Zhou Beiming stood up. “No time.”

Huo Jiuyan teased, “What, still tending to yesterday’s monthly visitor?”

“Go to hell,” Zhou Beiming cursed. “Don’t call and harass me late at night again.”

That only made Huo Jiuyan more eager to bother him. “What are you doing home alone then? Playing left hand versus right hand?”

He smirked. “Or is it something with the one on her period?”

“Enough already.” Zhou Beiming’s voice went cold. “Since you’re so free, come with me on the business trip tomorrow.”

Huo Jiuyan: …

If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve kept my mouth shut.

He gave in and got serious. “It’s Yuling’s birthday today. You’re really not coming?”

Zhou Beiming’s expression was indifferent.

He vaguely remembered Jiang Yuling mentioning it, but he had been too busy and forgot.

Not that he planned to go anyway—he knew exactly what Jiang Yuling was after.

“Not like it’s her funeral,” Zhou Beiming replied lazily.

“Come on,” Huo Jiuyan said, exasperated. “You’re friends. It’s not like it’ll cost you a pound of flesh.”

Zhou Beiming refused. “I’ve got a bunny to raise. If I don’t raise her right, then I’ll be losing a pound of flesh.”

He hung up.

At the club—

Huo Jiuyan looked at his phone, now disconnected. “Fine, don’t come. What kind of excuse was that, anyway?”

Just then, Jiang Yuling approached and asked, “Is Beiming-ge coming?”

Jiang Yuling was Jiang Yun’s cousin.

She had grown up with them, and her feelings for Zhou Beiming were no secret.

Huo Jiuyan shook his head. “He’s in a meeting.”

Disappointment flickered in Jiang Yuling’s eyes.

She gave Huo Jiuyan a smile. “It’s fine. He’s always been a busy man.”

Huo Jiuyan reassured her, “For someone like Beiming, marriage has to be a proper match. You still have a chance.”

He patted her on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about the rumors. Beiming always makes a lot of noise but rarely does anything rash. Especially in the past two years—most days he just goes home after work. He doesn’t like people coming over. We rarely visit, and other women have no chance.”

With that, he walked away.

The smile on Jiang Yuling’s face faded.

All these years, Zhou Beiming had never shown any interest in her.

After seeing the news last night, she had a gut feeling: if she didn’t make a move soon, Zhou Beiming would belong to someone else.

She pulled out a jade pendant—something she’d gone to great lengths to acquire. But whether the Zhou family still acknowledged the engagement remained unknown.

Back in the apartment’s bedroom—

Zhou Beiming and Su Nian lay side by side under the covers, staring at each other.

Last night, Su Nian had been too sleepy. By the time Zhou Beiming came out of the shower, she was already asleep.

Tonight, however, she was wide awake.

Lying next to Zhou Beiming, doing nothing at all, felt strangely awkward.

He wrapped an arm around her waist and could feel how stiff her body was.

He pulled her into his arms and teased, “What are you, a corpse?”

Su Nian’s chin bumped against his hard chest. She mumbled softly, “I don’t sleep well in unfamiliar places.”

“Oh really?” Zhou Beiming looked down at her with a smirk. “Then why did you sleep like a little pig last night? I got into bed and you didn’t even flinch.”

“I was just really tired,” she replied.

He pinched her cheek. “Then don’t sleep yet tonight. Keep me company—let’s chat.”

What was there to talk about?

Su Nian stayed silent.

Zhou Beiming gave an order, “Tell me a story.”

Like a lazy lord requesting a tune.

Su Nian rolled her eyes. “I don’t know any stories.”

“If you can’t think of one, you’ll be punished by doing a handstand.”

Zhou Beiming laughed wickedly.

She was on her period—how could she do a handstand?

Racking her brain, she began, “Once upon a time, there was a couple who bought a small house. One night, the wife got up and suddenly saw a little red foot outside the window. She woke up her husband, but the red foot had vanished…”

Zhou Beiming cut her off and mocked, “At night? How did she know it was red? Were her eyes flashlights?”

Su Nian: …

This red-foot ghost story had been a childhood trauma for her.

Now, thanks to Zhou Beiming, it sounded like a joke.

She tried to explain, “That’s just how Granny Qu told it. If you really want to know why, I’ll ask her to visit you in a dream during Qingming Festival so you can ask her yourself.”

Until the age of three, Su Nian was raised by her paternal grandparents. Her grandmother passed away when she was two, and the next year, her grandfather also died.

Her parents were too busy working, so they left her with their neighbor, Granny Qu.

Granny Qu never had children of her own and treated Su Nian like her own granddaughter.

Every summer, they’d sit outside cooling off, and Granny Qu would fan her with a palm-leaf fan and tell her ghost stories.

Granny Qu passed away the year Su Nian went to university.

Zhou Beiming chuckled under his breath and whispered darkly, “If she doesn’t visit me on Qingming, I’ll bury you in her grave.”

His voice was soft—like he was telling a secret.

Su Nian didn’t take him seriously and asked, “So do you still want to hear a story?”

“Mhm,” Zhou Beiming answered, watching her quietly.

Su Nian went on to tell several ghost stories.

But Zhou Beiming kept interrupting with bizarre questions, making her feel like all her storytelling efforts were in vain.

The more she talked, the more boring it became. And the more boring it became, the sleepier she got.

When she woke up the next morning, she couldn’t even remember when she’d fallen asleep.

There was no one beside her—Zhou Beiming had gotten up earlier than her.

After freshening up, she walked out of the bedroom.

In the living room, a woman in her forties was cleaning.

On the dining table, a hearty breakfast was laid out.

The woman smiled and introduced herself, “Miss Su, I’m Zhang Ma. I used to take care of the young master at the Zhou residence. Since he’s going on a business trip for several days, he asked me to come and look after you.”

Zhang Ma?

Su Nian immediately thought of the overly sweet brown sugar water from before.

She remained polite. “Hello.”

In truth, she didn’t need anyone to take care of her.

Zhang Ma gestured toward the table. “Your breakfast is ready. Please enjoy.”

It looked, smelled, and tasted fantastic.

After taking a bite, Su Nian was surprised at how good it was—worlds apart from that overly sweet brown sugar water from the Zhou residence.

Once she finished eating, Zhang Ma brought out a pink insulated lunch container from the kitchen. “The young master asked me to prepare this.”

To be safe, Su Nian opened it first.

Home-style dishes.

Only then did she feel assured enough to take it with her. The feast Zhou Laoye prepared yesterday had been a little too much.