Chapter 32

After ending the call with Wei Lai, the bowl of seafood noodles had also cooled down. It was specially made for his birthday, so he took it back to the private room to have it reheated.

The birthday dinner ended at 8:30 p.m., and he still had to visit his grandparents’ house.

Lu Yu followed him downstairs. “Is Grandma asking you to go back for a blind date?”

“Not sure.”

“You’re usually spot-on with these things.”

Zhou Sujin didn’t answer, instead, he lowered his head to send a message, arranging tomorrow’s work for Yang Ze.

Lu Yu had been bored earlier and participated in a lucky draw on the official video account of Wei Lai Supermarket. He won an electronic cash voucher worth 25 yuan off for every 88 yuan spent offline, valid until the 25th of this month.

This promotion was quite generous.

He wanted to ask Zhou Sujin if he was planning to go to Jiangcheng recently, but he was afraid of Zhou Sujin’s cold words. He swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue.

The elevator stopped, and Zhou Sujin glanced at the digital keypad, confirming that it was the first floor, and stepped out of the elevator.

When he got into the car, he instructed Uncle Yan, “Tomorrow I’ll go to Jiangcheng and bring Cullinan to my place.”

Cullinan was in the company’s underground parking lot. Uncle Yan would drop him off at the old mansion and then return to the company to fetch his car.

After entering the courtyard, the old mansion was even quieter and more deserted than his villa.

Grandpa was upstairs writing calligraphy, and Zhou Sujin didn’t disturb him.

Grandma was reading a medical journal, all in English. Grandpa and Grandma had never gotten along well since they were young. They were comrades in arms of their father’s generation, and there was no matchmaking involved, only parental orders.

After they got married, they raised several children together, and the children and family responsibilities bound them together.

They could argue with each other with just a few words, unwilling to give in to each other. As they grew older, they became even more stubborn and unyielding. Grandpa was stubborn and strong-willed, while Grandma couldn’t be bothered to argue and focused solely on her medical field. Even at their age, she still insisted on holding clinics twice a week.

Seeing him enter the room, Grandma placed the magazine on the sofa and took off her reading glasses.

“Sit down first, Sujin. I’ll get you a bowl of noodles.”

“Grandma, it’s okay. I already had longevity noodles.”

Grandma gave up and took out a big red envelope from behind the sofa, speaking in a teasing tone like talking to a child. “Take this to buy some delicious snacks.”

Zhou Sujin smiled and took it. “Thank you, Grandma.”

Regardless of how much wealth he and his brother had, Grandma still gave them a red envelope on their birthdays and New Year’s Day every year, and her words were almost the same each time.

“Hasn’t your mother been in London for almost a month? She hasn’t come back yet?”

“…Yeah.”

His mother hadn’t gone to London, but she wasn’t in Beijing either. She went on vacation with her aunt to avoid the hustle and bustle.

His aunt had called him a few days ago, saying that she had been sunburnt after staying at the beach for too long and was planning to return home soon. His mother didn’t want to come back and planned to accompany her grandparents.

Grandma pointed to the various gifts on the side table. “Someone came to see me this afternoon again. If this continues, the gifts in the house will pile up like a mountain.”

They came to visit her under the guise of visiting her, but they were actually introducing blind date candidates to him. Grandma was also extremely helpless.

“Grandma,” Zhou Sujin put away the red envelope, “next time someone introduces a match to me, just tell them that I’m showing signs of reigniting an old flame.”

“…”

Grandma put her glasses back on and continued reading her journal.

She never liked lecturing her children. When words didn’t work, she’d rather do her own thing.

Zhou Sujin, with nothing to do, didn’t want to go upstairs to chat with Grandpa, so he counted the money in the red envelope.

After staying at Grandma’s house for half an hour, he took the car driven by the bodyguard back. After entering the courtyard, it only took a few minutes for Uncle Yan to bring Cullinan back.

Zhou Sujin was waiting in the courtyard, reaching out. “The keys.”

He then said, “You can take a break for the next two days.”

Uncle Yan was puzzled. “What about the car?”

If he took a break, who would drive the car to Jiangcheng?

Zhou Sujin explained, “I’ll drive myself.”

At this, even the two bodyguards, who were always calm and composed, gave him an extra glance.

Driving over a thousand kilometers from Beijing to Jiangcheng, Uncle Yan was stunned, holding the car keys in his hand for a long time without giving them to his boss.

Zhou Sujin said calmly, “Uncle Yan, the keys.”

Uncle Yan snapped out of his daze and handed over the keys. Driving over a thousand kilometers in one day was too exhausting for someone who didn’t often drive long distances.

Knowing he shouldn’t say more, he still couldn’t help but say, “Mr. Zhou, let me drive instead. It’s too tiring for one person to drive such a long distance.”

“No need.”

Uncle Yan took a break, and the two bodyguards followed in the Bentley.

The next morning, before five o’clock, Cullinan and the Bentley left the villa area, one after the other, heading towards the highway entrance.

Wei Lai woke up around five past ten. She slept, but it was a weary sleep, her mind tangled with thoughts all night, even her dreams revolving around whether or not to marry Zhou Sujin.

When he brought up marriage on the phone last night, her first thought wasn’t about whether it was right to marry him, but rather, if she refused again, they would never intersect.

Before hanging up, he mentioned he would probably arrive in Jiangcheng around seven or eight tonight.

She had less than twenty-four hours to consider.

Deciding the course of a lifetime in just one day, she wondered if it was too rash.

After freshening up and putting on makeup, it was still early in the morning.

She didn’t go to the office in the morning. After breakfast, she went directly to the Jiang’an Yunchen store, where the promotional activities during the opening would last until the 25th.

The coffee corner provided limited free coffee every day. Yesterday, on the first day of opening, the coffee corner and free book bar received unanimous praise. Many customers bought freshly baked bread from the supermarket and sat in the coffee corner to eat.

“Lai Lai, you’re up early today.”

Manager Kang took off her coat and greeted her.

“Manager Kang, good morning.”

Aunt Kang was transferred from the main store. As long as Wei Lai’s supermarket had been open, she had been the manager for as many years, older than Wei Lai’s mother. She had watched Wei Lai grow up and was used to calling her Lai Lai, occasionally teasing her by calling her Manager Lai.

With the new store opening, Manager Kang was so busy that she barely touched the ground. She was always the last to leave and the first to arrive at the store during this time.

“By the way, Lai Lai, a customer suggested yesterday that we should consider stocking some Geisha coffee beans. Price doesn’t matter; they just want coffee from the original plantation. The Geisha coffee you put in the free coffee corner was praised by those who understand coffee; they want to buy some to brew at home.”

The nearby area consisted mostly of middle to high-end residential areas, mostly inhabited by young people. As long as the coffee beans were of good quality, they wouldn’t have trouble selling.

Manager Kang: “Where did you buy the Geisha beans? Find out about the source and see if we can cooperate.”

There was no sourcing channel; it was Zhou Sujin who had them directly flown in from a plantation in Panama.

Before business hours, Wei Lai brewed two cups of coffee and gave one to Manager Kang. “Let’s discuss it tomorrow.”

Manager Kang smiled. “Is tomorrow a special day that we have to wait until then?”

It wasn’t a particularly special day, but Wei Lai wasn’t sure if she could negotiate with Zhou Sujin tonight. If it didn’t go well, she would feel embarrassed to trouble him with the coffee beans again.

Half past seven, Wei Lai sent a message to Zhou Sujin: [Busy?]

Zhou Sujin received the message just as he left the service area and couldn’t reply until he reached the next one.

It was almost half an hour later when he replied.

[Not busy now.]

Wei Lai: [As I mentioned before, marriage is a big deal. Let’s meet like we’re on a blind date.]

Zhou Sujin noticed that she didn’t call him Mr. Zhou anymore without any deliberate reminder.

He asked her: [Where do you want to meet for this blind date?]

Wei Lai just wanted to clarify some things in person; as for where to meet, she didn’t care. She didn’t have any particular restaurants in Jiangcheng she wanted to go to.

[You decide.]

Zhou Sujin immediately instructed Yang Ze to book a table at the riverside restaurant for the evening, specifically requesting a private room.

At noon, he had a simple lunch at the service area. Along the way, he stopped at four service areas. At five-fifty in the evening, Cullinan exited from the Jiangcheng expressway.

After a day of long-distance driving, he wore casual clothes in the morning.

After leaving the expressway, Zhou Sujin first returned to Jiang’an Yunchen. Passing by the seventeenth store of Wei Lai Supermarket, there was a constant stream of people entering and exiting the supermarket.

Today was his second blind date. He went home and changed into a shirt and coat.

[I’ll pick you up, be there in about half an hour.]

Wei Lai: [No need, I’ll drive myself over, just in case the blind date goes sour.]

Zhou Sujin called her and said, “I’m already on the way. If you’re willing to go on a blind date with me, it won’t go sour.”

Wei Lai wanted him to be mentally prepared; she had thoughts of marrying him, but whether the meeting would go smoothly was another matter. “You may not value marriage as much, but I do. Once you care, you tend to demand more. You may not be able to accept it.”

“If I can’t accept it, I’ll endure it. I should be able to accept it.”

“… “

Not even half an hour later, Cullinan parked in the supermarket parking lot.

Wei Lai had just finished her work because she had things on her mind, her efficiency at work today was average.

She took out her makeup bag, intending to touch up her makeup, when her mother came to find her.

Cheng Minzhi came in with sales reports from various stores from the first half of the month. Her daughter was wearing a long skirt today, looking more refined than usual, even her nails matched the color of her dress.

She smiled and asked her daughter, “Are you going out for dinner with friends tonight?”

“No, I’m having dinner with Zhou Sujin.”

“He’s in Jiangcheng?”

“Yeah.”

Cheng Minzhi rolled up the report and put away her curiosity, “Then let’s talk about it tomorrow. It’s just routine reports, nothing urgent.”

“Wei Lai?” Zhou Sujin’s voice came from outside the door, followed by a very light knock.

The door wasn’t closed. Wei Lai’s office was small, and she could see the person standing at the door as soon as she raised her head. He was wearing a stiff black coat and had waited for her downstairs more than once, but it was the first time he had come to her office.

“Aunt Cheng, hello.”

“Sujin, come on in.” Cheng Minzhi turned to her daughter and said, “Mom will leave first, you guys chat.”

Zhou Sujin had already taken a few steps into the office. He didn’t expect Cheng Minzhi to leave so quickly, so he followed her out.

“No need to see me off, why are you so polite with Aunt Cheng?” Cheng Minzhi closed the office door for them. Even though they had broken up, they still often met for meals, feeling like they hadn’t completely parted ways.

Wei Lai’s office was simple to the point of being plain, with only a desk, a few light gray filing cabinets, two sets of sofas by the window, and a tea cabinet, just twenty square meters, not as spacious and magnificent as offices in office buildings.

After more than two months apart, they couldn’t come up with a suitable opening line.

“Would you like something to drink?” Wei Lai stood up and walked to the tea cabinet.

“No need, you’re busy.”

Zhou Sujin took off his coat and sat down on the chair opposite her desk.

Wei Lai still poured him a glass of warm water. He had high demands for coffee, and she didn’t have the coffee beans he liked.

For a moment, they looked at each other in silence.

During the two months apart, at some particularly tired moment, she had entertained the unrealistic idea that he might suddenly come to see her.

“Why did you come upstairs?”

Zhou Sujin looked at her and said, “To greet Aunt Cheng.”

Wei Lai nodded, sorted the reports on the table, and put the important documents into the filing cabinet.

She had just said she would drive to the restaurant herself, but now she realized Zhou Sujin hadn’t even told her which restaurant they were having their blind date at.

After tidying up, she went downstairs with him.

Walking beside him, her mind was in turmoil.

Originally walking side by side, when they reached the stairs, she lagged behind him by two steps because she was lost in thought, and he suddenly turned back.

It was clearly such a normal gesture, but for some reason, at that moment, it felt special to her.

No one said anything and they continued down the stairs.

In the parking lot, besides the Bentley, Cullinan’s car was also there.

Zhou Sujin opened the passenger door of Cullinan’s car. “Get in this one.”

He didn’t mention that he had driven Cullinan’s car all day to bring Kuli Nan here. Wei Lai assumed the driver had brought it.

It wasn’t until the car turned into a familiar intersection that Wei Lai realized Zhou Sujin had booked the riverside restaurant.

Since breaking up with Zhang Yanxin, she hasn’t been here for a meal.

He had booked the best-positioned private room with a view of the river, right next to where she had celebrated Zhang Yanxin’s birthday.

Zhou Sujin signaled to the waiter not to stay in the private room, poured a glass of warm water for Wei Lai, and then poured himself a glass of water.

It was Wei Lai’s first official blind date, and she was meeting someone who came from a powerful family and was strong in all aspects. She lightly held the glass and said, “You’ve been on blind dates before and have experience. You go first with the opening statement.”

Zhou Sujin remained unchanged, “The previous one doesn’t count as a blind date.” It wasn’t an excuse to avoid the topic, and then he said, “I’ll go first.”

He didn’t plan to drink tonight either, so he pushed the wine glass aside and poured himself another glass of water.

As he poured water, he said, “There are many reasons for deciding to marry you.”

This was the part Wei Lai most wanted to hear, and she instinctively held her breath.

He bluntly stated one of the reasons, “There are regrets from before.”

Wei Lai understood what he meant by regrets—thinking they could last two years, promising her to use his power for two years, but ending it in three months.

When they broke up, the sense of loss was incomprehensible to anyone.

“I rejected the blind dates arranged by my family because I had never considered getting married so early, but I can accept the way we interact.”

“You think our interaction during our pretend relationship was good, right?”

Zhou Sujin nodded. “Yes.”

He spoke openly, “After marriage, we’ll continue with this pattern. One of us will stay in Jiangcheng, and you can continue developing your career here. All my resources and connections will be at your disposal. I’ll come to see you once every week or two, or even once a week when I’m not busy. We’ll spend the holidays with both sets of parents. We won’t get bogged down in the trivialities of marriage.”

A post-marriage life without chaos was also what Wei Lai wanted.

Zhou Sujin added, “There won’t be any mother-in-law conflicts either. I’ll handle everything on my mother’s side.”

He also mentioned what might happen during marriage, “If one day you feel like you can’t go on, you can divorce me.”

Wei Lai took a sip of warm water. Sometimes water can calm a person down.

She asked, “What if one day you feel it’s not working out?”

Zhou Sujin was blunt, “I’ve always felt that our personalities don’t match, but it doesn’t affect anything. I can tolerate most of your quirks.”

Wei Lai: “…”

Not the most flattering, but it was the truth.

After all, during their contractual pretend relationship, he had agreed to all her requests, excessive or not.

Zhou Sujin finished what he wanted to say, “Now, tell me about your requirements for marriage.”

Anything was fine with him for marriage, except that he was too indifferent. If there was no love in a marriage, responsibility and patience were indispensable, and emotional value had to be provided to her.

Wei Lai replied, “My requirements aren’t high, but they might be high for you and difficult to achieve.”

Not difficult, but as difficult as climbing to the heavens.

“After marriage, you can’t make me feel even the slightest grievance.”

“That won’t happen.”

Wei Lai gripped the cup again, just like the first time she acted coquettishly with him, feeling uncertain, “After marriage, you have to pamper me and go along with me.”

Zhou Sujin: “…”

There was silence in the private room for a while.

To ease the atmosphere, Wei Lai smiled and said, “I told you this blind date might not go well tonight, and you still don’t believe it.”

Even if they didn’t come to an agreement, she would still enjoy this meal.

Zhou Sujin looked at her and asked, “Do you have any other requests?”

Wei Lai replied, “No, that’s all.”

Zhou Sujin didn’t say anything more. He took out Cullinan’s car keys and handed them to her. “There’s something valuable in the safe, it’s for you.”

Wei Lai looked at the car keys, then at him. By giving her the keys, he accepted her demands.