Chapter 44

The tone wasn’t aggressive, but every word from Zhou Sujin carried a sharp edge, piercing invisible daggers at him.

Having been found out, Zhang Yanxin had no intention of denying it anymore.

The cooperation between the two companies had reached a dead end, and being direct was the best approach.

“Since Mr. Zhou has guessed that the watch was a birthday gift from Wei Lai to me, would you be willing to sell it?”

Zhou Sujin was accustomed to being in control, accustomed to strategizing. He had never been so passive before, being approached by someone to demand the watch.

Especially not on the first day of the new year.

During the formal dinner where he met Wei Lai, she stared at the watch still on his wrist. The pretense of being a couple was quickly seen through by his mother. Lu Yu’s unusual behavior in his office that day, his mother’s hesitation during dinner…

The answer lay here.

“Mr. Zhou, that watch holds no significance to you.”

Zhou Sujin looked towards the driver’s seat of the car. Lu Yu’s driver was waiting for him to give directions. He put away his phone and said to the driver, “Wait for me a few minutes.”

With that, he grabbed his coat and opened the door to step out.

As he put on his coat and crossed over the car roof, he saw the coffee corner of the supermarket.

The sun was gradually rising, casting shadows, and the reflection on the glass made it difficult to see clearly. Wei Lai was sitting on the chair he had once occupied, flipping through something. Probably the store’s reports.

On the other end of the phone, Zhang Yanxin didn’t repeat his question. Asking again would put him at a disadvantage.

In this covert contest, neither of them wanted to lose.

Zhou Sujin withdrew his gaze, no longer looking towards the coffee corner, and walked towards the back of the car to continue the call. “Whether I’m willing to sell or not, you know better than anyone.”

Zhang Yanxin paused, not saying anything.

The morning chill was heavy. Zhou Sujin reached for the button on his coat but ultimately didn’t fasten it.

“Do you know why I decided not to invest further in your New Ming Semiconductor and why I decided to reduce our holdings?”

In just half a minute, he had regained control of the conversation with two sentences.

Zhang Yanxin could only follow his lead. “I’m interested to hear more.”

Zhou Sujin said, “Because of the suit Wei Lai bought. The day you asked Wei Lai to fetch the suit, I decided not to invest further.”

However, there were many factors involved, and he needed to handle things carefully. The plan to reduce holdings was postponed for several months.

“Being ruthless and cunning in business is a skill. Pursuing only profit and being greedy is human nature, which no one can avoid, including myself. But to make things difficult for a woman who once treated you well, especially in front of me, what do you call such behavior? Do you even have the qualifications to cooperate with me in the long term?”

Kunchen Group had merely decided not to further increase its investment and had only reduced its holdings. Currently, they are still one of the shareholders of Xinming Semiconductor.

“For future work matters, let your father contact me.”

Saying this much was already giving him a lot of face. Zhou Sujin hung up directly.

Wei Lai was still sitting at that table, her head remained lowered, surrounded by piles of reports.

Zhou Sujin got into the car and instructed the driver to drive.

Lu Yu’s driver rarely interacted with him, unlike Uncle Yan who understood him well. He couldn’t understand where he was supposed to drive to with such a vague instruction.

The driver turned and asked, “Mr. Zhou, where to?”

Zhou Sujin pondered for two seconds. “Thank you for the ride back, I’ll drive myself.”

Lu Yu’s car was a white Maserati. Zhou Sujin took the driver’s seat, headed east, and stopped by the lake. From Cloud Mansion on the riverbank, he could overlook the lake.

Lowering the car window, the cold wind blew in.

He called Lu Yu, asking where the watch box was kept.

At the time of purchasing the watch, it was Lu Yu who paid for it and carried the watch box to the car. He had only temporarily worn the watch, so he hadn’t paid attention to where the box was kept.

Lu Yu had stayed up all night playing mahjong. Just as she had fallen asleep for less than an hour, she was awakened by the phone, cursing in her heart about who was so lacking in manners to disturb her sleep on the first day of the new year.

Seeing Zhou Sujin’s number, she shut her mouth, answering promptly.

“Where’s the watch box?”

“W-What…watch box?”

“The box intended for the watch Wei Lai was going to give to Zhang Yanxin.”

Lu Yu jumped out of bed in one swift motion. “Zhang Yanxin contacted you?”

“Yeah.”

Lu Yu couldn’t believe that Zhang Yanxin would go crazy and provoke Zhou Sujin on the first day of the new year. It seemed like he was determined to confront Zhou Sujin head-on.

Zhou Sujin repeated, “Where is the watch box?”

“Let me think.” Lu Yu’s mind was now a mess, anxiously trying to recall.

That day, he was driving to the flagship store with Zhou Sujin. Zhou Sujin felt that it was suitable after trying it on, and he didn’t take off the watch. Later, they went to buy supper at the Jiangjing Restaurant, and when they arrived at the hotel, he only remembered carrying the supper downstairs. It seemed like he didn’t take the handbag given by the flagship store downstairs.

His memory only reached here, and he had no impression of what happened next.

“It should be in the trunk of Cullinan or somewhere.” He lifted the blanket off the bed. “Cullinan is at your villa, right? I’ll go over and find it, and then I’ll send it to you.”

Zhou Sujin said, “No need to trouble yourself, I’ll have it sent over by air freight.”

Lu Yu insisted on going himself. “I’m being pressured to get married at home, it’s annoying. It’s a good time for me to go hide.”

He had to go to Jiangcheng himself to find out what Zhang Yanxin really wanted to do.

“About that watch,” Zhou Sujin paused slightly, “did Wei Lai arrange anything when he bought it?”

Lu Yu was taken aback, not expecting Zhou Sujin to care about the price of the watch. In the past, Zhou Sujin would never ask so many questions about such matters.

Even top watch brands now require arrangements. How could Wei Lai receive special treatment?

“He did. The watch cost over eight hundred thousand, and he arranged for almost the same amount of jewelry.”

Wei Lai’s annual salary wasn’t that high. It was said that he participated in many projects to buy this watch, and there wasn’t a day he didn’t work overtime. Such unrestrained love, but unfortunately, Zhang Yanxin didn’t know how to cherish it.

“Got it.” Ending the call.

May everything go smoothly in the future, and may you love me forever.

——by the Future

He still remembered the neat line on the card, different from Wei Lai’s usual sloppy handwriting.

There were cigarettes in the armrest box that Lu Yu often smoked. Zhou Sujin picked up the cigarette box, knocked out one, and put it in his mouth, searched the car but couldn’t find a lighter. He took the cigarette out, crushed it a few times, and threw it into the car’s ashtray.

【After the Chinese New Year, Kunchen will completely withdraw from Xinming Semiconductor and withdraw all investments in other fields of Xinming Group.】

He posted this message in several friend groups and @’ed everyone.

Min Ting was also in these groups. Seeing such news early in the morning, he had a bad feeling.

Zhou Sujin had only reduced his holdings before, he had only stopped adding investments to Xinming Semiconductor and had not withdrawn investments in other fields of Xinming Group.

Now he was completely withdrawing in all aspects.

It was one thing to withdraw, but it was announced in the group. In this way, there would be no one cooperating with Xinming Group in the group anymore.

What had Zhang Yanxin done to offend him and make him so angry on New Year’s Day?

Min Ting privately sent him a message: 【If you hurt the enemy by a thousand, you’ll hurt yourself by five or six hundred, isn’t it not worth it?】

Zhou Sujin: 【It’s fine. Withdraw first, then merge.】

Min Ting: “…”

【Are you planning to acquire Xinming Group?】

Zhou Sujin: 【Interested areas will be merged over.】

Min Ting: 【You can personally lead the team for the merger, so you can frequently travel to Jiangcheng.】

Zhou Sujin wasn’t in the mood to joke, 【I’m driving.】

He threw his phone onto the passenger seat and started the car back to the office.

There was a temporary office for him in the Jiangcheng branch, with a panoramic view from the 270-degree floor-to-ceiling windows, overlooking the lake.

Today, there were only a few cars parked in the company’s parking lot. He casually found a parking spot.

The receptionist saw the group boss coming, and her mind buzzed for a moment, Oh my, what’s going on.

She hadn’t even had time to exit the game, slapped her phone onto the desk, and stood up.

“…Mr. Zhou, Happy New Year.”

After speaking, her breath was unstable.

Zhou Sujin nodded and said, “Happy New Year.” Then he said, “There’s no need to notify anyone to come over.”

The receptionist was about to call the secretary of the branch president, but she responded, “Okay, Mr. Zhou.”

The office had been cleaned the day before, neat and tidy.

He turned on the air conditioner and then the computer.

Zhou Jiaye saw the message in the group half an hour later, had predicted various possibilities, but had never expected Zhou Sujin to completely withdraw from Xinming Group.

Without asking, he knew that Zhang Yanxin must have chosen today to get the watch. He understood Zhang Yanxin’s psychology, if you make me uneasy on New Year’s Eve, I’ll make sure you don’t have a good New Year’s Day.

If he wasn’t happy, then no one would be happy together.

Withdrawing all investments was not a small matter. He found Zhou Sujin’s number and dialed it, but it was hung up on the other end.

Zhou Sujin: 【In a meeting.】

Zhou Jiaye checked the time; it was not even ten-thirty, so he should be having a video meeting with the team in Australia.

Even if the sky were to fall, it wouldn’t affect his original arrangements.

“The strength of Xinming Group in Jiangcheng is second only to Yunhui Group. Mergers and acquisitions will involve a lot of your energy. It’s not something that can be resolved quickly within a year or two. Consider it carefully.”

Zhou Jiaye reminded us again, “The strong dragon doesn’t crush the local snake.”

Zhou Sujin replied, “I have my plans.”

Zhou Jiaye stopped there and said, “We’ll talk on the phone later.”

After the video meeting ended, Zhou Sujin also managed to gather his emotions.

He called his elder brother to ask if there was anything else.

Zhou Jiaye first explained a few things to Lu Yu, “He didn’t deliberately hide it from you. Those days happened to be when Weilei was here, and it was also the New Year. He wanted to wait until after the New Year to tell you.”

Zhou Sujin didn’t care at all.

Zhou Jiaye admitted, “Mom and Aunt probably knew a long time ago. They secretly checked that watch.”

He and his brother hated it when others pried into their affairs. His mother claimed to be an enlightened parent who respected her children’s privacy, so even if they found out, they couldn’t say it directly. Saying it directly would be like exposing oneself.

Zhou Sujin didn’t care about these things now, “Is there anything else? If not, I’ll hang up.”

Zhou Jiaye said, “Actually, there is. It’s on behalf of Mom and Aunt. Why do you always wear that watch?” He wore it nine times out of ten when they met.

“That watch was a gift from Lu Yu, a token of his affection. It’s not expensive, not rare, and even if it breaks, it’s easy to repair. After the watch you gave me broke and was sent to Switzerland for repairs, the feedback I got was that it couldn’t be restored, only partially repaired.”

Zhou Sujin added, “All the private time I have now is spent on Wei Lai. I don’t have the time to think about which watch to wear on which day.”

Zhou Jiaye understood.

“I’m busy.” Zhou Sujin ended the call.

Wei Lai had a working lunch with several store managers at noon and didn’t join him. Yang Ze had lunch from the Jiangjing Restaurant sent to his office.

He was busy at the company until evening when Lu Yu arrived from Beijing.

Lu Yu cursed Zhang Yanxin all the way on the road. Who would choose to cause trouble for someone on New Year’s Day?

No wonder Yuan Hengrui hit him. He deserved it.

The handbag from the flagship store was in the trunk of Cullinan’s car, and the blessing card was in the box.

Lu Yu carefully placed the box on Zhou Sujin’s desk. The situation was unclear, so it was better to say less.

Zhou Sujin put aside his work, opened the watch box, and saw her handwritten birthday card at first sight.

He didn’t pick up the card again, took off the watch from his wrist, fastened the buckle, and put it back in the box.

Lu Yu watched him the whole time, no different from usual, silent and calm, without any extra expression on his face.

“How… do you plan to handle the watch?”

Zhou Sujin put the watch box into a dustproof bag, put it into the handbag, and said, “Let Wei Lai handle it himself.”

Lu Yu gasped in the cold air, thinking that Zhou Sujin didn’t plan to tell Wei Lai. It seemed that the situation was more serious than he thought.

After all, it was a matter between them as a couple, and it wasn’t his place to interfere. All he could do was advise, “Maybe not today, on the first day of the new year. You coming to see her again, Wei Lai should be very happy.”

Zhou Sujin hadn’t planned to bring it up with her today anyway.

But someone had told her in advance, and without missing a detail.

Wei Lai finished visiting seventeen stores by noon and returned to the Jiang’an Yunhen Store. He made himself a cup of coffee and sat down to rest in the coffee corner.

【Husband, I’m done with work. How about you?】

As soon as the message was sent, Zhang Yanxin’s call came in. She had already deleted his number, but once familiar, it was still fresh in her memory.

She didn’t pick up, just hung up.

【Wei Lai, I’m sorry to bother you. I couldn’t resist checking on that watch. I didn’t expect Zhou Sujin to buy it by chance. This morning, I asked him on behalf of my friend if he would be willing to sell it, and he guessed that the original owner of the watch was you.

I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I thought about us each going our own way, and when you were troubled by rumors, I hoped you could date someone better.

But then I felt regretful and couldn’t let go.】

【Zhou Sujin has decided to completely withdraw from Xinming Group. I didn’t expect him to care so much. It might affect you.】

【I’m sorry.】

Wei Lai suddenly stood up, the movement was too big, and the chair made a sharp noise as it scraped against the tiles. Fortunately, there was no one else in the coffee corner today.

She wanted to go find Zhou Sujin immediately, took a few steps, and then stomped her foot. She didn’t even know where he was now.

After calming down, she called him.

He already knew in the morning, but when he called her at noon, his tone was normal, and she couldn’t detect any displeasure.

The call connected, and Zhou Sujin said, “Be at the store entrance right away. Come out in two minutes.”

Wei Lai opened her mouth but only managed to say one word, “Okay.”

She deleted Zhang Yanxin’s messages and added his number to the blacklist.

Seeing that her coat was still on the back of the chair at the store entrance, she hurried back to retrieve it.

Zhou Sujin had instructed her to come out in two minutes, but he himself arrived in less than a minute. A white ghost stopped at the supermarket entrance, and the passenger door opened from the inside.

Wei Lai got in, but didn’t fasten her seatbelt.

Zhou Sujin leaned over and helped her pull it down with force.

If he hadn’t received Zhang Yanxin’s message, when he was fastening her seatbelt, she would have instinctively hugged his neck. But now her mind was in turmoil.

The ghost drove directly into the underground parking lot from the east gate of the community. Wei Lai didn’t speak, remaining quiet until they entered the elevator.

Zhou Sujin glanced at her. She looked different than when he saw her in the morning. “Understood?”

Wei Lai came back to her senses, met his gaze for a moment, and nodded.

The elevator stopped at their floor, and Zhou Sujin pressed the open door button. “You go home first, I’ll go to the car to get something.”

He hadn’t brought the watch up with him and planned to talk to her about it tomorrow. There was no need to push it back deliberately now.

Wei Lai didn’t take off her coat, changed her shoes, and went straight to the living room to wait for him.

Where should she start when she wants to talk?

She still didn’t have the financial ability to buy the things she wanted to give him.

Lost in thought, the door to the house opened.

She stood up from the sofa and took a few steps forward.

He had already taken off his dark coat and was wearing a white shirt, but there was a distant coldness about him.

Wei Lai raised her hand, wanting to hug him.

Zhou Sujin said, “Let’s talk properly, don’t act cute.”

Wei Lai happened to meet his cold gaze, and her hand froze in mid-air, “Oh.” Her fingertips curled slightly, her arm slowly lowered, and she took a step back.

Her sadness couldn’t be concealed, written all over her face.

Zhou Sujin suddenly turned his face to look out the window, trying to ease the pressure in his chest so it wouldn’t feel so heavy. Even Zhang Yanxin’s call this morning hadn’t made him feel this way.

He tossed the handbag onto the sofa and pulled her into his arms. “I didn’t mean to stop you from acting cute.”

Wei Lai said sadly, “I’ve been looking forward to today all day, just hoping to celebrate the New Year with you tonight.”

“I know.”

Wei Lai hugged him.

Zhou Sujin pressed her waist with one hand and wrapped the other around her back to hold her tight. “The card and the watch are both in the box. You handle it yourself. This matter is past between you and me.”