Chapter 43

“Then you’re busy.”

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the sun was shining brightly. It had been clear for several days, and the snow in the backyard had melted, revealing the green and yellow lawn.

Cullinan stayed in Beijing, while Wei Lai took Zhou Sujin’s plane back. The flight departed at two thirty in the afternoon, and Zhou Sujin didn’t wake her up when he left in the morning.

Wei Lai naturally woke up at eight-fifteen and lay in bed for a few more minutes.

These past few days felt like a dream.

After a simple wash and breakfast, she began to pack her luggage to go home, especially finding a box to store the calligraphy and paintings.

A few days ago, Zhou Sujin took her to visit his grandparents. His grandfather, upon hearing that she had free book events at every supermarket, asked her if she wanted some calligraphy and paintings for decoration.

The characters were all written by his grandfather himself, rarely given to others. She was delighted and took many of them back.

Before leaving for the airport, she called Zhou Sujin.

Zhou Sujin was discussing matters with someone and apologetically nodded before stepping outside with his phone.

When the call connected, Wei Lai told him, “I’m heading to the airport now.”

“Okay, call me when you get home.”

In the past, he would have just responded with an “okay” without saying anything else afterwards.

Wei Lai whispered into her phone, “Husband.”

“What’s wrong? Do you want me to send you off?”

It wasn’t really necessary.

She didn’t want him to send her off, especially since she knew how important his negotiations were today. Only she knew that her “husband” just now wasn’t a coquettish call; it was different from all the previous ones.

“It’s okay, I just wanted to call you.”

In the yard, a Bentley drove in.

Wei Lai picked up her bag and headed downstairs. “Uncle Yan is here. I’ll hang up now.”

Starting a long-distance relationship again, she added another clause to their supplementary agreement, detailing how to deal with being apart and how to stay in touch. She didn’t say much, leaving it all to him.

As the plane soared into the sky, she grew further and further away from him.

When she landed in Jiangcheng, her father was already waiting for her in the arrival hall.

With two large suitcases, Wei Huatian wouldn’t let his daughter push them; he pushed both himself.

Wei Lai walked by her father’s side, chatting with him about family matters.

Wei Huatian asked her, “I thought you would spend the New Year with Zhou Sujin in Beijing.”

“Then my mom would spend the New Year’s Eve alone.” Wei Lai spoke too hastily, and after saying it, both she and her father fell silent for a long time. She didn’t try to make up for her slip of the tongue.

When they got into the car, Wei Huatian took off his glasses and carefully wiped them with a glasses cloth.

Wei Lai glanced at the glasses; perhaps there was no dust on the lenses.

She looked away, took out her phone, and sent a message: **”Husband, I’ve arrived.”**

Zhou Sujin called back, “Who’s picking you up? Dad or Mom?”

“My dad.”

“I’ll come see you after the New Year.”

“Okay.”

The call ended shortly.

Back in the city, Wei Lai first delivered gifts to her grandparents and then to her grandparents’ in-laws. By the time she arrived at the office, it was already dark.

Cheng Minzhi was staring at the computer screen, looking at reports. Someone knocked on the door. “General Manager Cheng.”

She suddenly looked up, and her daughter smiled as she walked in.

“You, I told you not to come back.”

“I missed you.” Wei Lai first hugged her mother, leaned on her mother’s shoulder, and then picked up the stack of documents on her mother’s desk. “Let me do this.”

Cheng Minzhi asked her daughter, “When will Sujin come over after the New Year? Or are you two going somewhere for a few days?”

Wei Lai didn’t know either. Zhou Sujin hadn’t told her the specific arrangements for after the New Year.

—

On New Year’s Eve, Zhou Sujin and Zhou Jiaye accompanied their mother to the old house. At noon, the whole family, consisting of dozens of relatives, had a reunion dinner at their grandparents’ house. In the evening, they each went back to their own homes.

Their father wasn’t home on New Year’s Eve; every year, it was just the three of them, mother and sons, having the New Year’s Eve dinner together.

Ning Ruzhen glanced at her younger son’s wrist and then at her elder son’s indifferent face, rejecting blind dates and rejecting love. She was infuriated.

The two brothers hadn’t said more than a few words since they returned.

They had been like this since they were kids, treating silence as golden and avoiding speaking if possible.

She tried to keep her tone gentle. “Sujin, today there are no outsiders. Can you tell me calmly, why you get married?”

Zhou Jiaye looked at his younger brother. He hadn’t cared before, but since he learned that the watch was a gift from Wei Lai to Zhang Yanxin, he was particularly curious about his younger brother’s attitude towards marriage and how deep his feelings were.

Zhou Sujin replied, “Because it’s suitable.”

Ning Ruzhen said, “…”

Reminding herself that tonight was New Year’s Eve, she shouldn’t get angry.

Zhou Sujin looked at his mother. “It’s not just to appease you. Wei Lai and I are suitable in all aspects.”

He gave examples to help his mother understand. “Just like how I wouldn’t ask her not to be cute, and she wouldn’t mind my few words. She cares about my preferences, and I can satisfy and tolerate her vanity. There’s too much to say in just one or two sentences. You’ve been married to Dad for so many years, and you might not even achieve mutual respect, but she and I can.”

Ning Ruzhen probably understood. Her son felt comfortable with Wei Lai. Indeed, meeting someone you’re comfortable with is harder than meeting someone you instantly fall for.

“Mom, just one more nagging, try to solve the long-distance problem as much as possible. Your dad and I were in a long-distance relationship for many years in the beginning, you don’t know how difficult it was.”

At that time, she had to take care of two children, and only she knew how hard it was.

“I have a plan.” Zhou Sujin clinked his glass with his mother’s. “Next year, I might not necessarily spend the New Year in Beijing. Mom, please understand.”

When Wei Lai’s supermarket project got on track and wasn’t as busy until New Year’s Eve, he would find a suitable city where both families could celebrate the New Year together, but he didn’t know which day it would be.

Ning Ruzhen said, “What’s there to understand? It’s not that serious. Your brother is here keeping me company.”

Zhou Sujin drank the water in his cup. “He’s him, and I’m me.”

Ning Ruzhen’s nose felt sour. Although she was irritated all year round, at this moment, she felt that her two sons weren’t so bad after all.

Taking advantage of this rare moment of warmth, she said to her younger son, “Can you not wear that watch in the future?”

Zhou Sujin asked, “What’s wrong with this watch?”

“It’s not as nice as the one your brother gave you.”

“That one hasn’t been repaired yet.”

Ning Ruzhen hesitated but ultimately decided not to bring it up on New Year’s Eve.

She stayed with her mother until eleven o’clock, and then Zhou Sujin and his older brother went back to their residence.

They hadn’t even reached midnight at the villa, but Zhou Sujin called Wei Lai.

Wei Lai answered cheerfully, “Happy New Year. I thought you wouldn’t call.”

“Waiting for my call?”

Wei Lai didn’t answer right away, inadvertently revealing her inner emotions.

“Wei Lai?”

“Yeah, I’ve been waiting.”

“Did you wait yesterday?”

This time, Wei Lai didn’t say anything.

Before the New Year, he was the busiest, with all sorts of social engagements. He didn’t get home until after two in the morning yesterday.

If she didn’t wait for his call, she would feel disappointed again.

“This time, I’ll stay a few more days in Jiangcheng.”

Wei Lai didn’t really feel disappointed because it was the agreed-upon way of getting along. Waiting for his call had an element of expectation.

It was normal not to wait and not to feel disappointed.

There were a few minutes left until midnight. She went to the second-floor terrace with her phone in hand.

Zhou Sujin faintly heard the sound of wind from the speaker, “Are you in the yard?”

“On the terrace. It’s almost midnight. I’ll make a wish to face the fireworks at midnight. Maybe it’ll come true.”

Every New Year’s Eve in Jiangcheng, there would be fireworks displays. According to her Q group message, they would last for about half an hour each time. The first display was at seven in the evening in the old city area, and the second one was at eleven fifty in the park area.

Although she was a bit far away, Wei Lai could still see the fireworks in the sky from the terrace, especially the ones at midnight, which were the most spectacular.

“If you want your wish to come true as soon as possible, make a wish to me instead of the fireworks.”

Wei Lai laughed. “Even if I make a wish for you, you can’t help me fulfill it.”

“Make a wish that I can help you fulfill.”

“Husband, you’re the one who suggested I make a wish.”

“Okay.”

Wei Lai looked at the fireworks rising in the distance and adjusted her breathing before saying into her phone, “I hope Zhou Sujin will love me very much one day.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the wind on the terrace seemed to stop.

Even her breathing seemed to pause.

This was not a conversation she wanted to continue. She was mentally prepared for the awkwardness.

Zhou Sujin asked, “Do you have any other wishes? You can make them all at once.”

“No more.”

This wish could be considered extravagant.

Zhou Sujin looked at his watch. There were three minutes left until midnight. “Do you want to wait for midnight to make another wish?”

The other wish was no longer important. “No, I won’t make another wish.”

Wei Lai returned to the room, feeling instantly warmer.

It was getting late, and Zhou Sujin told her to go to bed early as he had other matters to attend to.

Wei Lai’s instinctive reaction was, “Did you receive a call?”

“No.” Zhou Sujin was still in the car and hadn’t gotten out yet. He turned off the engine. “What kind of call would I make to someone in the middle of the night? It’s nothing.”

“Then you’re busy. I’ll go to sleep.”

Wei Lai bid him good night and hung up the phone.

Her mother had already gone to rest, so she went back to her room.

The next morning, Cheng Minzhi got up at six o’clock. The tickets from Jiangcheng to Haicheng had long been sold out, so she managed to get a ticket for a direct flight from Shanghai and had to take the high-speed train to Shanghai first in the morning.

She had slept early last night, and there were more than a dozen unread messages on her phone.

She replied to each greeting one by one, and when she got to the bottom, she was slightly taken aback.

He Wancheng: [Mr. Cheng, I’m leaving Jiangcheng and can give you a ride to Shanghai.]

Sioux City was in between Jiangcheng and Shanghai, so how could it be on the way?

Cheng Minzhi quickly declined: [Director He, there’s no need to trouble yourself. Taking the high-speed train is very convenient for me. It only takes an hour to get there.]

He Wancheng quickly replied: [I’m already in Jiangcheng.]

Cheng Minzhi didn’t know what else to say, so she could only express her gratitude.

She wasn’t too young to be naive. A man wouldn’t go out of his way to pick her up just to discuss work.

After thinking calmly for a while, she went to make breakfast for her daughter.

Today was the first day of the Lunar New Year, and there were many visitors. They only needed to register, and even non-property vehicles could enter the compound directly.

As soon as breakfast was ready, He Wancheng’s car pulled up in front of the gate.

On the second floor, Wei Lai was awakened by her alarm clock.

All the supermarket stores were open as usual today. She planned to go on an inspection tour.

When she opened the curtains to check the weather for the day, she saw a black car parked at the gate, and her mother was pushing a suitcase into the yard. The rear door opened, and He Wancheng got out of the car.

After reacting, she quickly closed the curtains.

Wei Lai sat back on the bed until the alarm clock rang again ten minutes later before she snapped out of her daze.

She hoped that her mother would meet someone who could accompany her for the rest of her life this time, instead of being constantly trapped by the past.

She waited until He Wancheng’s car left before going downstairs.

Her mother had prepared breakfast for her and left a note.

Lai, Happy New Year!

Today, I’ll be a bit cheesy. Thank you for coming back to spend New Year’s Eve with me. This is the twenty-sixth New Year’s Eve you’ve spent with your mom, and I’m extremely content.

Love you, Lai. In the new year, may everything go smoothly.

Wei Lai took a deep breath to calm her emotions and replied to her mother’s message: [I love you too. Have a pleasant journey (heart)]

After finishing breakfast, she went to the first store of the day, Jiang’an Yunchen Store.

On the way to Jiang’an Yunchen, she received continuous New Year’s greetings.

While waiting at a red light, she glanced at several messages. The top one was from Yuan Hengrui, which seemed like a mass text, but she knew it wasn’t.

[Yuan Hengrui wishes you and your family a Happy New Year, good health, and all the best!]

Wei Lai replied to him: [Happy New Year. I wish you and Jiang’an Group all the best.]

Yuan Hengrui didn’t expect her to reply. [Thank you. I hope you and Mr. Zhou are doing well.]

The red light started counting down, and Wei Lai put down her phone.

On the first day of the New Year, the supermarket opened an hour later than usual. When Wei Lai arrived at the store, it had just opened, and as she got out of the car, she was about to close the door when she unintentionally glanced at the table by the window of the coffee corner and froze for a moment.

If she hadn’t seen his profile, she wouldn’t have believed that it was him.

With a slam, she closed the car door and hurried over, standing outside the window and knocking on the glass.

Zhou Sujin turned his head when he heard the sound and met her bright smile.

“Happy New Year.”

The soundproof glass was good, so he couldn’t hear what she said, but he could roughly guess from her mouth movements.

Zhou Sujin put down his coffee cup and stood up, motioning for her to wait outside.

At this moment, there was no one in front of the supermarket, so Zhou Sujin came out from the entrance. Wei Lai hugged him directly. “Why didn’t you call me?”

Zhou Sujin lowered his gaze. “Didn’t I say I suddenly came to see you?”

“When did you arrive?”

“At six thirty.”

He said he had something to do on the phone yesterday, so he should have been rushing to the airport.

At this moment, someone passed by in front of the supermarket, so Wei Lai let go of him.

“You said you wanted to stay a few more days in Jiangcheng.”

Zhou Sujin said, “Yeah, there are still a lot of things to deal with on this project. I’ll stay for about ten days.”

Since it wasn’t urgent to finish talking today, Wei Lai hugged him again before they parted ways.

Zhou Sujin looked at her and said, “I haven’t forgotten. I’ll pick you up after work tonight.”

Wei Lai released his clothes, contentedly entered the supermarket, and busied himself with his own work.

Zhou Sujin was using Lu Yu’s car today; his own car hadn’t arrived in Jiangcheng yet.

Just as he got into the back seat, his phone rang. Seeing the number, he furrowed his brows, but still answered.

“Mr. Zhou, Happy New Year.”

“Happy New Year. What’s up?”

Zhou Sujin maintained his dignity.

Zhang Yanxin was currently sitting in his quiet and cold office. The air conditioner had just been turned on, and the heating was still insufficient. That watch had become almost like an obsession for him. He had tried to adjust himself for a while, but it was of no use; he still couldn’t get over that hurdle. He had lost interest in all watches, and in his spare time, he thought about the watch Wei Lai had bought for him.

So, he asked Lu Yu for help, but Lu Yu refused without hesitation.

Previously, he had hesitated because Kunchen Group was a shareholder of their Xinming Semiconductor. He endured it time and time again, suppressing himself from reaching out to Zhou Sujin.

Last night, he found out that Kunchen had decided to reduce their holdings in New Ming Semiconductor.

Now, there was no possibility of any good relationship between him and Zhou Sujin.

He just wanted to get back that watch and didn’t want to involve Wei Lai. “Mr. Zhou, a friend of mine wants to buy back a watch that he once sold, due to some unavoidable circumstances at the time. Later, he found out that the watch was with you, so he asked me to inquire if you were willing to sell it. Would you be willing to part with it? My friend wants to buy it back.”

After speaking, there was silence on the phone.

Zhang Yanxin didn’t say anything more, unsure of what Zhou Sujin was thinking.

There was silence again for a few seconds.

Zhou Sujin spoke up, “Is it really your friend who wants to buy it back, or is it you?”