Chapter 45

How to deal with the watch, Wei Lai temporarily has no idea.

On the night of the breakup, she immediately passed the watch to someone else. At that time, she no longer had any attachment to Zhang Yanxin. It just happened that the watch ended up in Zhou Sujin’s hands.

“Do you want to hear me explain?” She looked up at him.

Zhou Sujin just silently gazed back at her without saying a word.

His expression was neutral, but there was effort in his cold eyes to convey warmth.

Wei Lai took a few seconds to gather her thoughts before speaking, “At first, I thought it wasn’t necessary to tell you. The watch was bought with your money, not a gift from me. After the contract ended, maybe we wouldn’t see each other again. It’s just a cheap watch for you, easy to fix if it breaks, and you even thought it wasn’t good-looking.”

She paused, then continued, “So I didn’t say anything.”

As she spoke further, she lowered her gaze, no longer looking at him.

“After we got married, I didn’t know how to say it. It’s only been over twenty days since we got our marriage certificate, and it’s not easy to see each other. There were a few times I wanted to speak up at home in Beijing, but because of my greed and the atmosphere at the time, I didn’t want to ruin it, so I waited until now.”

“If I had known that Zhang Yanxin still wanted to buy back that watch, I would have told you in advance, no matter what.”

Wei Lai looked up again, “I’m sorry for making you so passive in front of him.” It was even embarrassing.

Zhou Sujin never liked listening to explanations, but today he patiently listened to every word she said. After she explained so much, he realized that what he wanted to hear the most wasn’t any of that.

He loosened his grip on her hand slightly and asked, “Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

Wei Lai could clearly feel that his hand on her shoulder wasn’t as firm as before. “Yes,” she replied.

Zhou Sujin gestured for her to speak.

“I want you to hold me a little longer.”

“…”

Zhou Sujin locked eyes with her for a moment, then didn’t press further. He just held her tighter than before.

Tonight, there was no mood for going out for a fancy dinner. Wei Lai decided to cook something herself, which would help calm her down.

“What do you want to eat? I’ll try to make it, we can have something casual,” she suggested.

Zhou Sujin lowered his gaze, “Didn’t you anticipate celebrating with me all day?”

“Yes.”

“Such a trivial matter wouldn’t ruin my appetite, dinner is already arranged.” He glanced at his wrist out of habit, only to find it empty.

The watch had been taken off long ago.

“It should be arriving soon. I’ll go to the study to check my email first.”

As he said this, he still held her tightly.

When her hand moved away from his waist first, Zhou Sujin slowly released her.

Wei Lai sat quietly on the sofa for a while, then took out the watch box and opened it. She took out the card with her fingertips, unable to recall the feelings she had when she wrote that card initially.

Putting down the watch box, she took the card and hurried to the study.

The door to the study was open, and before entering, she knocked twice.

Zhou Sujin was focused on the computer screen, not as alert as usual. It wasn’t until he heard her footsteps approaching that he looked up, “What’s wrong?”

Wei Lai pointed to his desk, “I need to borrow your shredder.”

He only occasionally used it to shred documents, and the power wasn’t on.

She turned it on, then directly stuffed the greeting card into it, instantly turning it into a small pile of shredded paper.

She still hadn’t figured out the best way to handle the watch. He liked to keep watches, and the extent of his attachment to watches was something others couldn’t understand.

She couldn’t dispose of the watch as easily as she did with the shredded card, a watch he had worn for over half a year.

“You’re busy,” she said, closing the shredder and turning to leave.

“Wei Lai.”

He rarely addressed her so formally.

Wei Lai turned back.

Zhou Sujin calmly said, “The watch…” Give it to me.

He paused, then changed his mind and said, “I’ll take it myself.”

With that, he closed his email and stood up.

Wei Lai couldn’t guess what he wanted to do with the watch, so she didn’t ask further, walking beside him to the living room.

Back in their home in Beijing, she would either hold his hand or tug at his clothes when they walked together. Today, she was much quieter. Zhou Sujin glanced at her a few more times.

The watch and its box were lying on the sofa. He bent down to pick them up, carefully placing the watch back in the box. He then put the box into his pocket, temporarily storing it in the entrance cabinet, where he kept many of his temporarily stored items.

Wei Lai couldn’t grasp his intentions, “Do you not need me to handle it?”

“No need, I’ll take it with me.” Zhou Sujin closed the cabinet door and said to her, “I have plenty of space in my watch cabinet for this watch.”

Wei Lai’s eyes suddenly became moist, and she looked away, unable to meet his gaze.

The doorbell rang, indicating the delivery of dinner. Zhou Sujin went to answer it.

Meanwhile, Wei Lai took the opportunity to go to the bathroom to wash her hands and compose herself. When she returned to the dining table, there were no signs of tears in her eyes. She hadn’t expected herself to be so emotional.

Tears had come unexpectedly for the second time today.

The first time was on her birthday, the day their contract ended. He sent her a message: “Lu Yu often comes to Jiangcheng. You can always find him if you need anything. Everything will be fine in the future.”

At that moment, she couldn’t control herself and burst into tears.

Zhou Sujin took out a bottle of wine from the wine cabinet but couldn’t find the opener.

Knowing where it was, Wei Lai offered, “I’ll get it for you.”

Zhou Sujin took it from her. “How did you know where it was?”

She had been here only a few times.

“On the twenty-ninth day of the Lunar New Year, I came over to clean and tidy things up.” She watched him open the wine and added, “I also put up the couplets. They’re a bit crooked, though.”

One person couldn’t get the height right, so she had to rely on feeling to put them up.

When Zhou Sujin came over this morning and saw the couplets on the door, he thought the property manager had put them up and didn’t pay much attention.

After opening the wine, he handed her the opener and asked her to put it back.

Just a bottle opener made him feel that she was gradually considering this place as her own home, organizing things according to her preferences.

Wei Lai stared at the wine bottle. She didn’t know much about wine only the varieties sold in her own supermarket.

“Where is this wine from?”

“My grandfather made it at his own vineyard. It’s not for sale to the public.”

It’s no wonder she hadn’t heard of this wine.

Zhou Sujin handed her the first glass of wine. “If you don’t like it, I’ll open another bottle for you.”

Wei Lai was particular about coffee but not so much about wine. It all tasted the same to her.

During dinner, neither of them spoke much. No matter how much they pretended everything was fine, their mood was still affected by Zhang Yanxin’s actions today.

After dinner, Zhou Sujin went back to work overtime.

Wei Lai had brought two boxes of her clothes and belongings when she came before the New Year, but she hadn’t had time to sort them out. Tonight was a good time to pass the time.

With all the items sorted out, the door to the study remained closed. Wei Lai didn’t want to disturb Zhou Sujin and decided to take a hot bath instead.

The bathtub here didn’t offer a view of the outside, so she made sure not to lose focus, reviewing today’s store inspections and planning for financing after work.

She was the first to go to bed tonight, lying down before ten o’clock.

When you’re not quite sleepy but your mind wanders easily, it’s easy to start overthinking. She sat up, unwilling to let herself idle, and opened her phone to continue refining the financing proposal.

A few days ago, Yang Ze listed the names of venture capital companies related to Zhou Sujin in the Beijing circle for her. After reading it, she decided to give up on Beijing Capital. Most of the powerful venture capital firms had backers from his circle.

She decided to try the Shanghai Circle.

It was almost eleven o’clock when Zhou Sujin came into the bedroom and saw her seemingly editing something. “Still not sleeping?”

Wei Lai saved the document first and looked it up. “I’m waiting for you.”

Zhou Sujin habitually took off his watch and realized what he was doing when his right hand reached his left wrist. He adjusted his fingers, touched the cufflinks, and quietly removed them.

“There are no tools at home.” He walked to her side of the bed, removing another cufflink as he discussed with her, “I’ll sleep in the guest room tonight. Can you sleep in the master bedroom alone?”

It wasn’t because there were no tools. There was still some resentment in his heart. Their marital life shouldn’t carry such resentment.

Zhou Sujin placed the two cufflinks on her bedside table. “I’ll come back to sleep here tomorrow night.”

Wei Lai nodded, giving him time to digest his emotions.

If it were her wearing the watch he had given to his ex-girlfriend, a woman he loved enough to consider marrying, then the issue wouldn’t be about switching rooms to sleep. She might have to go back to her own apartment to calm down.

“Well, you should sleep early too. Don’t stay up too late,” she said.

Zhou Sujin responded vaguely and went to the closet to get his pajamas.

Wei Lai turned off her phone and laid down on her pillow.

Her gaze followed him as he moved, from the closet to the bedroom door. He was about to turn off the light for her.

“Zhou Sujin.” She suddenly sat up.

This was the second time she had addressed him directly by his name.

Zhou Sujin’s hand paused on the switch, looking at her. “What’s wrong?”

Wei Lai quickly got out of bed, barefoot, and ran to him.

“Nothing. I just want to hug you.” She hugged his waist tightly, with a force she had never used before. “Husband, goodnight. Will you drop me off at work tomorrow morning?”

“Sure. Get into bed.”

Wei Lai looked up and whispered, “Can you carry me to bed?”

She hadn’t been playful all night. Zhou Sujin handed her the pajamas he was holding, then bent down, scooped her waist, and lifted her like a princess.

It wasn’t the first time he had held her like this, but Weilei’s heart still raced.

Zhou Sujin placed her on the bed and pulled the covers over her. “Go to sleep.” He switched off the bedside lamp and headed straight to the master bedroom’s bathroom.

Soon, Wei Lai heard the sound of water from the bathroom.

He might have been taking a shower in the master bedroom just out of convenience and familiarity, or maybe he intended to sleep in the guest room later. She closed her eyes, pretending to sleep, not wanting to make him feel conflicted.

The water from the shower was lukewarm, slightly warm. It felt cold when it fell on her body.

Zhou Sujin deliberately adjusted the water temperature to be slightly low, using cold water to clear his mind.

When he left, Wei Lai lay on her side, her breathing even, looking as though she had fallen asleep.

Zhou Sujin had seen what she looked like when she was asleep, and she didn’t seem as tense as she did now. He didn’t go to the guest room this time, instead lying down next to her and turning off the light.

Wei Lai felt his hand and grasped it slightly.

Without leaning towards him, she fell asleep with an arm’s distance between them.

—

The next evening, both Bentley and Cullinan arrived in Jiangcheng.

Zhou Sujin instructed Uncle Yan to return Lu Yu’s Phantom. Lu Yu didn’t have a car, so he hadn’t left home all day. When Uncle Yan asked where Zhou Sujin was, he found out he was at the company. Lu Yu took the car and headed to the subsidiary of Kunchen Group in the park area.

It took courage to persuade Zhou Sujin. Lu Yu lit a cigarette when he arrived downstairs at the company and casually opened the ashtray in the car, noticing a cigarette inside that hadn’t been smoked and was almost crushed. He was shocked.

The driver would never waste a cigarette like this. Zhou Sujin must have wanted to smoke, but there was no lighter in his car.

Lu Yu didn’t have the mind to smoke himself. He extinguished the cigarette and dialed Zhou Jiaye’s number.

“Zhou Sujin has crossed the line and started smoking.”

“Smoking?” Zhou Jiaye was also surprised.

Zhou Sujin never smoked, and he never accepted a cigarette from anyone, breaking the habit.

Lu Yu rolled down the car window to dispel the smell of smoke. “He’s at the company. I wanted to advise him not to quarrel with Wei Lai anymore, but now I dare not.”

He was afraid of making things worse.

“Do you see how upset he is?”

“I’m worried about Wei Lai,” Zhou Jiaye said.

“What about Wei Lai?” Zhou Sujin’s father’s expression showed concern. “Don’t let them quarrel during the New Year.”

Talking about Wei Lai, Zhou Sujin spoke a few more words, “She’s fine. They didn’t quarrel. A new employee from their supermarket asked her to discuss something in the afternoon.”

As long as they didn’t quarrel, Zhou Jiaye was relieved.

Zhou Sujin ended the call and asked Lu Yu if he had plans to meet someone tonight and suggested they have dinner together.

“…No plans,” Lu Yu cautiously asked, “Aren’t you going home for dinner?”

Zhou Sujin put down his phone. “Wei Lai isn’t at home. She’s out with her colleagues.”

Lu Yu nodded. Finally, this sentence made them feel a bit like a couple.

Today, neither of them brought their drivers. They each drove to the Riverside Restaurant.

While waiting for the elevator, someone recognized him. “Mr. Zhou, Happy New Year! Are you spending the New Year in Jiangcheng? Where’s our little Wei Lai? Isn’t she coming out with you?”

Qiao Sitian greeted him, holding her husband’s arm.

Zhou Sujin recognized the person in front of him, Weil Lai’s hotpot buddy who had attended their engagement banquet. Her last name was Qiao, but he couldn’t remember her first name.

He nodded. “She’s having dinner with her colleagues. Please give my regards to Director Qiao on my behalf.”

Qiao Sitian smiled. “Okay, thank you on behalf of my dad, Mr. Zhou.”

The two elevators arrived simultaneously, and Zhou Sujin and Lu Yu took the other one.

As the elevator doors closed, Lu Yu asked, “Are they very close? It’s interesting how she addresses Wei Lai.”

Zhou Sujin’s phone received a message, but he didn’t respond.

[Where are you, hubby?]

Zhou Sujin typed with one hand: [Having dinner with Lu Yu at the Riverside Restaurant in Jiangcheng. Ran into a friend of yours named Qiao.]

[It’s Qiao Sitian.]

She’s the only Qiao in their plastic sister group.

Wei Lai had just returned home and spent the afternoon discussing the current issues in the supermarket with Chen Qi and planning improvements.

Chen Qi had something to attend to at home in the evening, so she came back after a simple dinner.

She continued chatting with Zhou Sujin: [Is Qiao Sitian surprised to see you in Jiangcheng?]

[Mm.]

[Qiao Sitian brags about how good her husband is to her every day in the group chat. I’ve been busy lately, so I’ve been low-key. But I won’t be busy tomorrow.]

Zhou Sujin: “…”

[Go eat. You must be hungry.]

Wei Lai ended the conversation.

Seeing that Zhou Sujin had finally finished chatting, Lu Yu asked, “Are you considering collaborating with Director Qiao?” Otherwise, why would you suddenly ask about Director Qiao?

Zhou Sujin: “I’m considering it.”

“We need to find a partner with similar strength to Xinming Group. Currently, Jiang’an Group still can’t constrain Xinming.” Lu Yu glanced at the menu and casually ordered a few dishes.

Their dinner conversation mainly revolved around work, and they left the restaurant around ten o’clock.

When Zhou Sujin returned home, the lights were on, but no one was in the living room. He found Wei Lai in the bedroom. She had already taken a shower and was leaning against the headboard, looking at the printed reports. There was a bottle of eye drops on the bedside table.

“Why are you so late?”

Her voice carried a complaining tone, mixed with a hint of coquetry.

“Lost track of time discussing business. I’ll pay attention next time.” Zhou Sujin bent down and hugged her, trying to appease her, and took the reports from her hands. “Been looking at the reports all this time? Aren’t your eyes tired?”

Wei Lai wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes, tired. But if I don’t look, I’ll start daydreaming. I thought of you twice when I zoned out.”

Zhou Sujin’s Adam’s apple moved slightly. With one hand supporting himself on her pillow, he kissed her lips.

His cold breath stole her breath away, leaving Wei Lai only feeling the warmth of his lips and tongue, melting her into water.

Zhou Sujin kissed down her delicate and beautiful neck.

His lips were filled with the faint fragrance of her body.

He had never been so gentle for so long.

Wei Lai’s cheeks pressed against his cheek. She gripped his hands tightly, rubbing them.

Every inch of her skin was filled with excitement.

Zhou Sujin lifted his head from her neck, embracing her in his arms, and finally responded to her, “Yesterday’s incident is in the past. I’ll come to Jiangcheng to see you every week from now on.”