Chapter 34

The manager entered and saw Wei Lai leaning against Zhou Sujin, one hand resting on Zhou Sujin’s leg while the other held a cup of tea. Zhou Sujin had his legs crossed, leaning back on the sofa, casually answering a phone call.

There was a sense of calm and coldness about him, even with Wei Lai leaning on him, giving off an impression of not being overly intimate with outsiders.

“I’m outside, not convenient to talk now, we’ll discuss later,” Zhou Sujin temporarily ended the call.

The manager placed several rings in front, ones that Wei Lai might like, with the men’s plain ring closer to Zhou Sujin.

To Zhou Sujin, all men’s rings looked almost the same, nothing worth choosing meticulously. He raised his hand and picked the one closest to him.

It happened to fit his finger perfectly, so he didn’t take it off after trying it on.

Wei Lai looked at the ring on his slender ring finger. Only at that moment did she feel a slight sense of him being her husband.

She had been struggling to adapt to their sudden change in relationship.

She had been eyeing his ring when Zhou Sujin asked, “Do you think it doesn’t look good?”

Since he asked for her opinion, Wei Lai honestly replied, “It’s alright.”

Zhou Sujin gestured to her, “You choose.”

Wei Lai explained, “It’s just that I feel it’s alright. Our tastes have always been quite different.”

Zhou Sujin didn’t respond, his eyes were waiting for her to choose.

Wei Lai carefully examined all the men’s rings and selected the one she thought looked best.

Without saying anything, Zhou Sujin took off the one he had randomly picked up and directly put on the ring she had chosen for his ring finger.

He then asked her, “Do you need my opinion on your ring?”

Wei Lai shook her head and said, “I’ll handle it myself.”

“Are you sure about your choice?”

Wei Lai nodded. The ring was for her to wear, so it had to be something she found attractive.

People were strange; if he sat there silently, she would feel disappointed, but now that he actively helped her choose, she felt she didn’t need it.

Zhou Sujin said, “Alright then. Don’t be upset when I’m gone.”

As he spoke, he had already stood up, and that clear scent had suddenly moved away from her. Wei Lai looked up and asked, “Where are you going?”

“Not far, just making a call.”

“Then come back quickly.”

She didn’t realize herself, but there was a hint of coquetry in her words.

“Okay,” Zhou Sujin agreed.

He left a black card for Wei Lai, took his phone, and went outside. The call just now was from his mother.

His aunt had told his mother about his decision to get married, and his mother questioned what he considered marriage to be.

Ning Ruzhen had a splitting headache; she had never experienced anything like this even when she argued with her husband.

Before answering her son’s call, she took a few deep breaths.

“Mom, I plan to get engaged next weekend. I don’t care if anyone doesn’t come, but I hope you will.”

Ning Ruzhen was angry at her son and even angrier at herself for lacking principles.

Once a child played the family card, she, as a mother, had no tricks up her sleeve.

“Zhou Sujin, you might as well just make me angry all at once!” She hung up after saying that.

Soon after, Zhou Sujin received a message from his aunt, asking him and Wei Lai to discuss when both sets of parents could meet.

His mother’s quick acceptance of the situation was largely thanks to his aunt’s effort.

Back at the jewelry store, Wei Lai had already chosen an engagement ring, swiped his black card, and paid for the ring she chose herself.

Zhou Sujin didn’t notice the ring on her finger. “Was there no suitable size?”

“There was.”

Zhou Sujin nodded, not asking further.

He drove them to the jewelry store but drove back himself. Wei Lai sat in the passenger seat, examining the diamond ring. It wasn’t a matching set with his ring, but the designs complemented each other, said the store manager, both crafted by the same designer.

She had been torn between two diamond rings, but after hearing the store manager’s explanation, she chose this one.

Zhou Sujin caught sight of the ring box. “Why aren’t you wearing it?”

Wei Lai looked at him. “Can you help me put it on?”

Zhou Sujin found it inconvenient while driving. “Wait.”

Approaching the next traffic light, which would turn red in about a minute, he stopped the car, leaned over, took the ring box from her hand, and opened it. “Give me your hand.”

Wei Lai placed her hand in his, their palms slightly touching.

He took her hand and slid the diamond ring onto her ring finger.

As Zhou Sujin put the wedding ring on her, she held her breath throughout, always looking at his stern profile, unable to imagine what he would be like when he was gentle.

“Alright.” He handed her the ring box on the armrest and gestured for her to put it away.

“I’m going back to Beijing tomorrow.”

As the green light came on, he started the car.

Wei Lai was admiring her diamond ring when she heard this and was momentarily surprised, “Didn’t you say you were staying a few more days?”

As the car passed through the intersection, Zhou Sujin focused on the traffic, unable to spare a glance at her.

“I’ve already bought the ring. There’s no need for me to stay here. I’ll go back and prepare for the engagement.”

Wei Lai responded with a simple “Oh.”

She thought he could spend a few more days with her.

To make it convenient for her, they had decided to hold the engagement ceremony in Jiangcheng.

Regarding the timing of the parents’ meeting, Zhou Sujin sought her opinion.

Without hesitation, Wei Lai said, “The day before the engagement. This way, Aunt won’t have to fly to Jiangcheng twice. It would be too troublesome.”

He compromised for her; she couldn’t only think about herself.

Zhou Sujin glanced at her, “Meeting the day before the engagement is too late.”

“It’s okay, my parents understand.”

Suddenly remembering his schedule for that day, Zhou Sujin said, “I’m actually busy that day. I have to go to Shanghai for a summit forum.”

The forum’s significance was such that he couldn’t casually miss it.

Understanding the demands of his work, Wei Lai said, “You focus on your work.”

Meeting was just a formality; she didn’t care much about those formalities.

—

On the day of the meeting between the parents, Mr. Zhou couldn’t attend due to work, so his aunt and uncle attended on his behalf.

Since Zhou Sujin couldn’t be present, he specifically invited He Wancheng and Wen Changyun to accompany them. With the presence of these two, they could avoid any awkwardness during the dinner.

It had been fifteen years since Cheng Minzhi and Wei Huatian sat together for the first time.

As they exchanged pleasantries and took their seats, a whirlwind of emotions swept through their hearts: past love, former hatred, and current inability to let go, all tangled together.

Both of them tried to suppress the complex emotions, not letting anyone notice anything unusual.

He Wancheng glanced at this former couple and discreetly averted his gaze.

Today, he spoke the most, responsible for maintaining the atmosphere at the table.

During the conversation, He Wancheng mentioned the history of the development of Wei Lai’s supermarket, saying, “Our General Manager Cheng used to be a top student in the law department. He was a top student no matter where he went.”

Ning Rujiang looked at Cheng Minzhi in surprise. “You used to be a lawyer too?”

Cheng Minzhi smiled. “Do I look like one?”

In order to keep her daughter by her side at all times, she had decided to become a boss herself.

Ning Rujiang had a filtered view of Wei Lai, which indirectly led her to have a favorable impression of Cheng Minzhi as well. Later, she switched seats with Wei Huatian and sat next to Cheng Minzhi, asking her how she raised such a sensible and sweet-talking child.

Cheng Minzhi and Ning Rujiang hit it off instantly, chatting about their children and business, with plenty to talk about.

Ning Ruzhen’s character meant that she couldn’t warm up to anyone easily, but today she wore a faint smile on her lips throughout, giving Zhou Sujin enough face.

With the engagement tomorrow, she didn’t want any more estrangement between herself and her son.

Everything that needed to be discussed between the two families had been settled. After leaving the restaurant, Wei Lai felt much relieved; there had been tension and sadness over the past few hours.

Nervous for herself, saddened for her mother.

At the car, Wei Lai hugged her mother.

Cheng Minzhi turned to comfort her daughter, “I’m fine. Maybe I should have met your dad earlier, communicated about your studies, talked about your work and relationships.”

The reason it was hard to let go was that they were still living in the past.

Seeing each other today was indeed uncomfortable at first, but gradually, they could calmly exchange a few words.

She smiled, “Maybe when it’s your wedding, Mom’s heart will finally fully open.”

This was the first time her mother admitted in front of her that she hadn’t let go of her father.

After dropping her mother off, Wei Lai didn’t want to go back to her own apartment. Instead, she decided to stay here with her mother.

While she was washing up, her phone rang twice.

Wei Lai, without even drying her hair, went to the bedside to pick up her phone. It was a missed call from Yuan Hengrui.

“What’s up?” she called back.

Yuan Hengrui was in his own office. If this had happened in the past, he would have definitely driven his sports car to her apartment and asked her face to face.

“You’re getting engaged tomorrow, is that true? The hotel is all booked.”

“Yeah.”

Yuan Hengrui remained silent for a long time, long enough for a cigarette to burn halfway.

Wei Lai didn’t hang up; she waited for him to gather himself.

Yuan Hengrui tapped the ash into the ashtray, half of it falling outside.

“I’ve been thinking, marrying Zhou Sujin is a good choice for you. Relying on me, I might not make it onto the rich list in this lifetime. Even though you have He Wancheng as a support now, he can only help you deal with supermarket troubles. If you encounter personal issues, it wouldn’t be right to trouble others.”

He took a drag of his cigarette, but it tasted bland in his mouth.

How many times had he experienced heartbreak?

Every time, it was because of the same woman.

“Am I considered high-quality peach blossom?” she asked.

“…”

Yuan Hengrui answered his own question, “I think I am.”

He extinguished the cigarette. “When you have time, let’s have a meal together. It’s not easy for you to meet me in Beijing in the future.”

“No need to treat me to a meal. I’m not going to Beijing. What would happen to my family’s supermarket if I did?”

Yuan Hengrui instantly revived. Why didn’t she say so earlier? As long as she didn’t go to Beijing, he felt that his soul was still alive in Jiangcheng.

“Well, then I wish you and Mr. Zhou all the best.”

After chatting for a few more moments, he reluctantly hung up the phone.

He couldn’t be the only one feeling down; he had to bring Zhang Yanxin along. He needed to spread the news of Wei Lai’s impending marriage far and wide.

—

The next day, Wei Lai woke up naturally as soon as the sun rose.

She hadn’t slept deeply at night, waking up twice, but she felt very refreshed.

After a simple wash, she waited for the makeup artist to arrive.

There were a total of six dresses, brought by her aunt from Beijing. In fact, two or three sets would have been enough, but her aunt said having more dresses would allow them to take more beautiful photos.

Her plastic sisters group suddenly became lively. Although they were plastic, she still invited them to attend her engagement ceremony.

[Darling, how many dresses do you have?]

[Six.]

[!!]

[Mu Di only had two main dresses and four high-end ones for her wedding!]

Wei Lai decided to keep a low profile today: [You guys chat, the makeup artist is here.]

The makeup artist arrived at nine o’clock, which was still early.

She opened Zhou Sujin’s chat, [Have you come back from Shanghai?]

Since they bought the rings separately, they hadn’t seen each other.

Zhou Sujin: [Yes, I arrived in Jiangcheng early this morning.]

He asked: [Shall we meet at the hotel, or should I come to pick you up?]

[You pick me up.]

Her mother knocked on the door and came in to help her change into the dresses. The styles of the six dresses were different. The first one she chose was a gradient-effect jewel fairy gown.

The second one was a dreamy blue embroidered gown.

As for the remaining four dresses, she didn’t arrange them in any particular order. Anyway, she liked each one of them.

After getting ready, the doorbell rang.

Her mother looked out of the second-floor window and said to the person downstairs, “Sujin, I’ll open the door for you.”

Wei Lai sat upright, pursing her lips slightly in front of the makeup mirror.

The makeup artist chuckled, “Why are you still nervous?”

Wei Lai: “…”

Soon, footsteps could be heard coming up the stairs. The makeup artist closed her makeup box. “I’ll wait for you at the hotel.” She consciously carried the box and left first.

After the makeup artist left, Zhou Sujin walked in.

Wei Lai could see him in the mirror, but she turned away. Today, he was wearing a gray suit with a dark shirt, exuding a dignified and noble aura.

According to her aunt, he had originally planned to wear black. However, her aunt suggested that gray would complement her dress better, so he chose this suit.

Zhou Sujin’s gaze swept over her openly, finally resting on her slender wrist. “Not wearing your watch?”

There were only a few bracelets on Wei Lai’s wrist. “The watch is too valuable. What if I accidentally break it?”

Zhou Sujin: “It’s okay.”

He said it was okay, so Wei Lai took out her watch and put it on.

With this diamond-studded watch on her wrist, the dress seemed to pale in comparison.

After a while, they went to the hotel together.

On the way, Zhou Sujin asked her about the meeting of the elders last night.

His tie was a bit tight, so he loosened it a bit at the collar.

Wei Lai said, “It went well. Everyone is just worried about our long-distance situation after marriage.”

After they obtained their marriage certificate, the Chinese New Year would arrive in about ten days, and they would face celebrating it apart.

When they arrived at the hotel and got out of the car, Wei Lai received a message from Zhao Yihan saying that they were already in the banquet hall. She replied to Zhao Yihan that she would be there soon.

After Zhou Sujin got out of the car, he strode into the hotel. Wei Lai caught up with him and hooked her arm through his. “Wait for me.”

Zhou Sujin glanced at her. “Who did you see again?”

“No one,” Wei Lai replied. This time she didn’t make use of him and explained, “I’m about to see Aunt and the others.”

Zhou Sujin took her arm and held her hand in his.

Wei Lai felt like her high heels were stepping on her own heartbeat. With every step she took, her heart seemed to “thump” along.

When they approached the elders, Zhou Sujin finally let go of Wei Lai’s hand.

Ning Rujiang urged them, “Go backstage and go over the program with the host.”

Zhou Sujin said, “We said we didn’t need it to be so complicated.”

“Not complicated. There are only three or four processes in total. Since you’ve invited so many guests, you can’t just let them sit down and eat without any program.”

After they walked away, Ning Rujiang leaned closer to her sister and whispered, “Stop worrying about whether it’s genuine or not. At least, he’s taking this engagement seriously. Just treat it as if you were getting to know each other through blind dates. You’ll develop feelings over time.”

Ning Ruzhen said, “Long-distance relationships are too difficult. You wouldn’t understand. It might be fine for a month or even a year, but what about after a long time? As a mother, of course, I hope they do well, but there will be a day when I’m tired and fed up and don’t want to catch a plane.”

She stopped herself. “Let’s not talk about this today.”

Meanwhile, backstage, originally, there were only four processes. Zhou Sujin went over the program with the host and decided to cut two of them, making it simpler to suit his frugal nature.

The host wiped his forehead. While removing processes made it simpler, the time on stage couldn’t be too short either, or it would rely solely on him to entertain the guests, who weren’t there to see him.

He decided to push for one more thing, “Mr. Zhou, it’s best not to remove this process. Even though it’s not a wedding, having it makes the event more complete.” He pointed to the kissing segment that Zhou Sujin had crossed out.

After a few seconds, Zhou Sujin said, “Then let’s keep it.”

Before noon, the guests had already filled the seats.

When Wei Lai went on stage, she was wearing the second gown, which shimmered under the lights.

There were too many people, and most of Jiangcheng’s socialites were present. She couldn’t see anyone’s face clearly.

At this moment, everyone’s eyes were focused on her.

Many people were surprised when they heard about Zhou Sujin’s engagement to her. Privately, they speculated that it was a marriage of convenience. After all, Zhou Sujin’s family background wasn’t something she could easily enter, and he wasn’t someone like Yuan Hengrui, driven by love. Other than convenience, they couldn’t find a reason for him to enter into marriage so quickly.

Just now, when the host mentioned the kissing segment, they couldn’t imagine Zhou Sujin, who was usually cold and aloof, kissing in public. At most, they expected him to kiss her forehead. Even Wei Lai herself thought so because the host had fought hard to keep this segment.

Zhou Sujin had a microphone in his hand, which he handed to the host.

He turned to look at Wei Lai and pulled her in front of him with one hand.

In his embrace, Wei Lai’s breathing became shallow.

Zhou Sujin’s palm lightly grasped her waist, while his other hand supported the back of her head as he lowered his head.

With his cold aura suppressed, Zhou Sujin’s lips touched hers lightly.