Chapter 13

Wei Lai originally planned to stay in Beijing for three days, reserving one day specifically to treat Zhou Sujin to dinner. Even though they now had a contract together and were publicly recognized as boyfriend and girlfriend, repaying a favor was a different matter.

However, plans couldn’t keep up with changes.

At noon, her father called her, saying he had contacted the emerging interior designer.

After looking at the designer’s portfolio, she found the design style exactly what she wanted, completely in line with her aesthetic preferences. Such a designer was hard to come by.

Her father informed her that the designer’s schedule was almost fully booked. If it weren’t for him resolving a legal issue for the designer previously, she would have to wait until March or April next year to book a design appointment.

Wei Huatian advised his daughter to prepare herself mentally, “His design fee is very expensive. He has a total of fifteen stores, and the design fee is a considerable expense.”

“Half of the design fee will be sponsored by Dad.”

Wei Lai smiled and refused, “Dad, I really don’t need it. I have money.”Now wasn’t the time to discuss these matters. Wei Huatian gave his daughter the designer’s contact number.

Wei Lai immediately contacted the designer. The designer’s studio was in Shanghai, and they arranged to meet tomorrow morning in Jiangcheng to discuss the design plan.

She had to abruptly end her trip in Beijing and return today.

She and Zhou Sujin still had two years ahead of them. There was plenty of time; there was no need to rush the invitation this time.

[Mr. Zhou, I bought a ticket back in the afternoon and made an appointment with the designer.]

[I’ll treat you to dinner next time we meet.]

[No need for Uncle Yan to pick me up. I’ve already arranged for a car and will check out soon.]

She sent him three consecutive messages.

On his way back to the old house, Zhou Sujin didn’t have time to let Uncle Yan pick her up.

He replied: [Understood.]

Today’s return to the old house was at his mother’s behest, asking him and his elder brother to come home for afternoon tea if they were free, and to stay for dinner in the evening.

The last time they had dinner at home was during the Lantern Festival, and now it was already September. Both he and his elder brother had almost forgotten what the utensils at home looked like.

Normally, when he wasn’t busy, he would go home to spend some time with his mother, even though there was no food.

Zhou Jiaye was not busy today and arrived home before him.

Several parking spaces were filled, and Aunt’s car was there too.

Apart from his father, everyone was gathered. Today was undoubtedly a meeting to interrogate him about why he refused such an excellent blind date, and then to make him explain his girlfriend’s situation.

Aunt’s husband brought tea sets and was brewing tea in the dining room, filling the room with the aroma of tea. His mother and aunt were having tea and snacks, while Zhou Jiaye was chatting with Aunt’s husband while drinking tea.

“Sujin, you arrived just in time. Come have a cup.” Aunt’s husband handed him a cup of hot tea with tongs and placed it on an empty seat.

After greeting everyone, Zhou Sujin sat down beside his elder brother.

With both brothers present, Ning Ruzhen spoke frankly, “I know you don’t want to go on blind dates, to be honest, I’m even more annoyed. When others introduce me to a daughter-in-law, they have to introduce two, if you reject once, I have to reject twice. Today, let’s have a good chat about how to refuse a blind date without offending people.”

After speaking, she glanced at her eldest son and then at her younger son. The elder one absentmindedly grabbed a snack to eat, while the younger one leisurely sipped tea without a word.

“Say something!”

Still, silence.

Ning Ruzhen’s anger surged.

Ning Rujiang comforted her sister while gesturing to his nephews, “Sujin, don’t make your mom angry. Say something to cheer her up.”

Disclose the situation about the girlfriend honestly.

Zhou Sujin turned to his elder brother and said, “Shall we go back first? Mom won’t see, and it will save her some trouble.”

Ning Rujiang: “…”

Ning Ruzhen was so angry that she wanted to find a chicken feather duster right there.

Seeing this, Aunt’s husband could only try to ease the situation for the two brothers, “I heard that the tea in Jiangcheng is excellent. Sujin, since you often go to Jiangcheng, did you bring back any tea?”

He didn’t bring any.

But there were other types of tea in the trunk.

Zhou Sujin put down his tea cup. “I’ll go get it.”

Aunt’s husband waved his hand, indicating for him to hurry.

With him gone, the dining room finally quieted down.

“You see, you all saw it!” Ning Ruzhen wanted to complain to her sister and brother-in-law, but there was too much to complain about, and she didn’t know where to start.

Ning Rujiang comforted her sister and shared what she knew, “Sujin has a girlfriend. I just found out yesterday, but I’m not sure if he brought her to deal with family matters or if they’re really dating.”

Ning Ruzhen took a sip of tea to suppress her anger. Being accustomed to being frustrated for years, she quickly calmed down. She looked at her eldest son and asked, “Do you know your brother has a girlfriend?”

Zhou Jiaye: “I know.”

Then he changed the subject, “Knowing or not doesn’t make a difference; I’ve never met her.”

Probably the only person who knew the truth was Lu Yu. But Lu Yu was tight-lipped; there was no getting a word out of him.

Ning Ruzhen pondered for a moment, “So, if you find out whether your brother and his girlfriend are seriously dating or if she’s just a ploy to fool us, I’ll exempt you from blind dates for a year.”

Zhou Jiaye: “…”

The temptation was considerable.

However, double-crossing was out of the question for him and Zhou Sujin. A mutual cover-up was a consensus they had reached since childhood. Every time, they coordinated seamlessly and had never slipped up. Whenever they encountered a problem, they passed the ball to each other and sabotaged each other’s situations. The family thought they didn’t get along, but it was all part of the strategy.

“Sis, I think we can start by investigating under Sujin’s watch.”

“What about his watch?”

“He’s been wearing a pretty ordinary watch frequently for the past couple of months. It doesn’t seem like something he would buy himself.”

“What watch did he wear today?” Ning Ruzhen had just been dizzy from anger and hadn’t noticed her younger son’s watch.

Ning Rujiang: “He didn’t wear that one today. I’ll let you know when I see him wearing it another day.”

[If you don’t want your family to find out who your girlfriend is, erase any relevant information about her from your watch.]

Taking advantage of Aunt and Mother’s lively chat, Zhou Jiaye edited the message and sent it out.

Zhou Sujin: [I told you before, she didn’t give it to me. Let Aunt and Mom search however they want.]

—

At 8:30 p.m., the high-speed train stopped at Jiangcheng Station.

Wei Huatian stood at the exit, scanning the crowd for his daughter’s figure.

“Dad!” Wei Lai’s voice came from behind.

Wei Huatian quickly turned around. His daughter had grown up, and their time together had become scarce compared to before. If she changed her clothes or hairstyle, it would be difficult for him to find her in a crowded place.

She passed by him with the crowd without noticing him.

He took her luggage. “Why didn’t you call me if you couldn’t find me?”

Wei Lai thought her father was waiting for her outside the station. She had almost reached the parking lot without seeing him. “I guessed you must be in the lobby since you didn’t answer your phone, so I came back.”

Wei Huatian suddenly remembered, “I was discussing a case with a client this afternoon. I forgot to turn off silent mode on my phone.”

Today, they still had a driver. Wei Lai sat in the back with her father.

Once in the car, Wei Lai yawned.

Wei Huatian felt sorry for her. “Are you exhausted these days? Have a nap. I’ll wake you up when we get home.”

Wei Lai shook her head. “I’m not tired. My body clock is just a bit messed up.” Going to Beijing and suddenly having a designated boyfriend limited her sleep for two nights.

She leaned against her father’s shoulder and dozed off. Somehow, she thought of last night, falling asleep leaning on Zhou Sujin’s shoulder.

“Tomorrow, Dad will be busy, so you’ll have to meet with the designer by yourself.”

“No need for you to accompany me,” Wei Lai teased. “It’s like when I used to go to early education classes as a child. If you don’t accompany me, I won’t go.”

Wei Huatian smiled wryly but didn’t respond.

Sometimes he felt like his daughter was drifting further and further away from him, a feeling he couldn’t quite explain.

For the next week, Wei Lai was incredibly busy.

With a total of fifteen stores, each store had different sizes, layouts, and consumer preferences. She accompanied the designer to each store, explaining the situation and describing in detail the design effect she wanted.

As her father had said, this project was a tedious task.

The designer stayed in Jiangcheng for six days and returned on the seventh.

Wei Lai finally had a moment to catch her breath. Today, she left work at the usual time to go home.

Just when things had quieted down for a bit, that deep blue sports car appeared again downstairs in her apartment building.

Yuan Hengrui stood leaning against the car door, his hands in his pockets. After standing for a long time, his back and legs began to ache, so he leaned his whole back against the car, resting his head on the roof.

Before him, the night sky stretched endlessly, so dark that it seemed bottomless, as if it could swallow people whole.

A slight turn of his head, and there were lights everywhere.

His car was parked in Wei Lai’s spot. Suddenly, two high beams flashed a few times, nearly blinding him.

Yuan Hengrui straightened up with a ‘push’ on his waist as Wei Lai returned.

Wei Lai said coldly, “What are you doing again?”

What else could he be doing?

He missed her.

Finally, he found an excuse to see her.

During this time, he had been confined at home by his father for reflection. He couldn’t show off, but he couldn’t even if he wanted to, because his legs were almost broken by his father.

That day, his father took him to the new office of Zhang Yanxin and gave him a solid kick in front of He Wancheng and Zhang Yanxin, which could be considered an explanation to Zhang Yanxin.

But he would rather have his legs broken by his father than apologize to that scoundrel Zhang Yanxin.

If he had the chance again, he would still fight Zhang Yanxin, who had hurt Wei Lai so deeply.

Yuan Hengrui opened the car door, picked up his phone from the passenger seat, and opened a photo.

“See for yourself.” He handed the phone to Wei Lai.

Wei Lai’s gaze fixed on the photo, showing a woman with both good looks and temperament.

Yuan Hengrui checked the wind direction and took a few steps back, trying to create distance between himself and Wei Lai, before taking out a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket.

“The woman comes from a family equivalent to Zhou Sujin’s, and they are going to get married. They met through a blind date. Don’t tell me you don’t mind.”

Wei Lai had been busy recently and didn’t have time to sleep. Also, knowing about Zhou Sujin’s blind date, she didn’t care even when some plastic sisters in the circle indirectly inquired about the situation.

“Many people have been gossiping behind your back these days, and you haven’t reacted at all. You’re pretending to be deaf and blind! Someone even saw you showing off in the streets yesterday with that car. Wei Lai, do you no longer care about your dignity? Or do you think your dignity and self-esteem are worthless without connections and resources?”

Wei Lai couldn’t be bothered to respond.

Seeing her not retort, Yuan Hengrui felt uncomfortable; her silence meant she acquiesced.

He took a big drag of his cigarette. “So, even though you know Zhou Sujin has a fiancée, you’re still willing to be his girlfriend in Jiangcheng, enjoying the status and resources he brings. Is that right?”

“Since you only care about fame and fortune and don’t care about feelings, if I make it to the top three richest people in Jiangcheng, will you finally look at me with respect?”

“And I’m not bad-looking either.”

Wei Lai stuffed the phone back into his arms and returned it to him. “Just go wherever you feel cool!”

Yuan Hengrui took another step back, trying not to let the smoke choke her. “Don’t be angry. I have a big mouth. I know you’re not that kind of person.”

Wei Lai: “You act like you know me so well.”

“Of course. I know you better than Zhou Sujin, better than Zhang Yanxin, and better than you do yourself! Wei Lai, do you believe it or not?”

Yuan Hengrui put out the cigarette and threw it in the trash can. “I know you don’t believe me.”

“There’s nothing I can do about it. I’m not a big shot, and my words don’t carry weight. When I become one of the top three richest people in Jiangcheng, you’ll definitely believe what I say.”

Wei Lai: “…”

“I’m leaving. Get some rest.” Yuan Hengrui retreated before he could annoy her further, and drove off in his flashy sports car, disappearing in a flash.

At the moment, he was filled with mixed emotions. He was happy that Wei Lai and Zhou Sujin probably wouldn’t last long, but sad that it would take him a long time to become wealthy.

A few days ago, he consulted a fortune teller to ask about his financial luck.

The fortune teller said he would naturally become rich and prosperous in the future.

This went without saying. He had been rich and prosperous since birth. So he asked the fortune teller if he could become one of the top three richest people in Jiangcheng.

The fortune teller fell silent suddenly…

After the sports car left, Wei Lai parked her own car in the parking space.

Regarding Zhou Sujin’s blind date and the rumors about her being abandoned again in her dream of marrying into a wealthy family, she didn’t bother about it.

She didn’t expect that over the past few weeks, the rumors would become increasingly absurd, suggesting that she was willing to sacrifice herself, unwilling to leave Zhou Sujin, and even took a night train to Beijing to cry and salvage the relationship, but Zhou Sujin was unmoved and eventually used the car to drive her away.

【You’re not even in that circle anymore, yet they still think about you all the time, caring about whether you’re doing well, if you’ve been abandoned, and even worrying about how much money you could sell that car for. Look at how much they love you (smirk)】

Her former colleague Tang Yi hurriedly told her the gossip he heard in the pantry during his spare time.

Wei Lai was driving her Cullinan today, which was the same one mentioned in the gossip.

For such rumors, she just laughed them off.

Since returning from Beijing, it has been over three weeks. Today, she received the initial design draft for the first store. The book bar and study room she had imagined were exactly as she envisioned, designed by the designer.

She shared this pleasant surprise with her parents and forwarded the rendering to Zhao Yihan. The three of them were the people she cared most about now.

After some consideration, she opened the chat with Zhou Sujin and sent him a copy of the rendering.

“I rushed back for this design.”

He didn’t reply.

An hour later, Zhou Sujin called.

After three weeks, it felt like talking to a stranger.

“Mr. Zhou,” she answered.

“I just arrived in Jiangcheng. I’ll be here for a few days for meetings. Would you like to meet tonight or tomorrow?”