Chapter 77 Extra-Nine: Surprise

On the day when Chen Chen was fourteen months and five days old, Zhou Sujin’s watch finally arrived.

At that time, the original store manager had already been promoted to regional manager, and it was the new store manager who received Wei Lai.

Wei Lai ordered a couple’s watch again, using her VIP status to queue.

The manager advised her to prepare herself: “Ms. Wei, if you’re queuing with your VIP status, it could take ten to eight years to get it.”

Wei Lai smiled: “That’s okay.”

She was no longer worried about being separated from Zhou Sujin.

Wei Lai’s listing date for Baiduooo had already been set, and she would be out of town for the next week, first going to Beijing and then to Shanghai.

When they returned to Jiang’an, Yunchen, Zhou Sujin was already back and playing with his daughter.

Chen Chen was half lying in her father’s arms, holding Zhou Sujin’s phone to her ear, pretending to make a call: “Hello,” and deliberately elongating the last syllable.

“Hello.”

One of her legs was draped over Zhou Sujin’s arm, while the other dangled in the air, swinging lazily.

“Hello, Mommy. Hmm. Mommy.”

She was talking to herself.

Zhou Sujin looked down at his daughter and asked, “What did Mommy say?”

Chen Chen smiled, “Daddy.”

Zhou Sujin followed her words: “She said Daddy?”

Chen Chen replied with a nonsense answer: “Hmm.”

At that moment, the front door opened, and a voice called out, “Baby, Mommy’s back!”

“Mommy!” Ignoring the phone in her hands, which fell to the ground with a clatter, Chen Chen jumped out of Zhou Sujin’s arms.

She ran too fast and stumbled, falling with a thud.

“Slow down.” Zhou Sujin quickly got up from the sofa, but before he could reach her, Chen Chen had already picked herself up.

Wei Lai half-squatted down as her daughter rushed into her arms.

Chen Chen hugged her neck, rubbing against her, “Mommy.”

Wei Lai kissed her daughter, inhaling the sweet scent of milk on her.

With her other hand, she held up the watch. “Honey.”

Zhou Sujin took a moment to respond: “The watch arrived?”

“Mm-hmm.”

They had waited almost four years for it.

“Daddy.”

Chen Chen often saw her father wearing a watch and, seeing him open the box, extended her small arm toward him.

Zhou Sujin smiled faintly: “Do you want to wear it?”

Chen Chen nodded vigorously, her obsidian-like eyes sparkling with seriousness and anticipation.

Zhou Sujin took out the watch and placed it on her arm, putting it on over her clothes and fastening the clasp.

He said to his daughter, “This is the one Mommy gave to Daddy.”

Chen Chen’s attention was entirely on her arm; she didn’t catch a single word her father said.

She cautiously touched the watch’s dial, pulled her finger back, and then touched it again, feeling its cold, smooth surface.

“I’m going on a business trip tomorrow; I won’t be back until after the listing ceremony.” It would be at least a week, possibly ten days—this was the longest he had been away since Chen Chen was born.

Zhou Sujin took the watch off his daughter’s arm and put it on his wrist. “I’m on a three-week long leave; I won’t have to go to the office starting tomorrow.”

Wei Lai, not believing what she heard, asked nervously, “How long?”

Zhou Sujin replied, “Three weeks. I’ll spend the day with Chen Chen and work in the evenings, so it won’t delay anything.”

After putting on the watch, he picked up Chen Chen.

Chen Chen usually bathed and went to bed around eight every night, listening to a few minutes of piano music in bed.

Before he had finished playing one piece, Chen Chen was already asleep.

The house fell completely silent.

Every night, once Chen Chen was asleep, it became their private world.

Wei Lai had been busy with the company’s listing recently, often working late until eleven or twelve, but today she was home the earliest.

Back in their bedroom, Zhou Sujin held her close, his fingers caressing her shoulder blades. “Do you want a midnight snack? I can make you something.”

Wei Lai looked up at him and asked with a smile, “What can you make for a midnight snack?”

Zhou Sujin replied, “Something light, like baby food.”

Wei Lai laughed, “I’m not hungry. I’ll wait until next time you can make me something.” She lifted her foot, and Zhou Sujin kissed her. His fingers traced from her shoulder blades to the front of her body, gently rubbing.

A slight shiver ran through her.

Wei Lai instinctively tried to lean back, but he wrapped his other arm around her, pulling her close.

Today was the earliest they had finished at home.

Before ten o’clock, the floor lamp in the master bedroom was turned off.

Wei Lai accepted Zhou Sujin’s deep kiss, feeling him grip her hand tightly.

She was wearing his black shirt today, and his cool presence enveloped her.

Zhou Sujin gazed into her eyes, leaned down, and kissed her lips again.

The dew from the flowers had dampened the shirt.

Petals enveloped and embraced him.

---

The next day, Wei Lai woke up early to go to Beijing.

Zhou Sujin took her to the high-speed train station, and before parting, he hugged her, saying, “Message me if I don’t reply promptly; just call me.”

Wei Lai nodded, “I know.” He barely looked at his phone while playing with their daughter.

It would be a long time until they saw each other again, and she hugged him tightly.

After more than four years of marriage, they still felt reluctant to part every time.

Upon arriving at her destination, Wei Lai received a message from Lu Yu.

“I talked to my mom; this time, I’m serious about being with Chen Jiarui.” With a history of pretending, it was hard for his mother to believe that he and Chen Jiarui were genuine.

Over the past month, he had had deep conversations with his mother several times, and she had remained silent until a few minutes ago, when she finally said: “If you think it’s appropriate, then it’s fine. I won’t interfere with you and your dad.”

Lu Yu sent another message: “Sorry for bothering you during this time; thank you for your guidance.”

Wei Lai replied: “No bother; don’t mention it. I didn’t help much.” She then asked him: “Does Chen Jiarui know you like my sister?”

“Yes, I’ve told her.”

“Then winning back Chen Jiarui won’t be easy.”

Lu Yu responded: “I know. If one year doesn’t work, then I’ll try for two.”

Wei Lai felt relieved hearing this; she was worried he would give up too easily if he faced rejection after pursuing her for a few days.

“Good luck. I hope to hear good news about you two around this time next year.”

Lu Yu may not be good at pursuing, but at least he had spent a year with Chen Jiarui and remembered her likes and habits.

After finishing his work in the evening, he drove alone to wait for Chen Jiarui to finish work at her current company, parking beside her car.

He rolled down the window and lit a cigarette.

Looking up at the building, every floor had its lights on, but he couldn’t tell which floor or office was hers.

Suddenly remembering something, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through his WeChat chat history, finally finding Zhao Yihan’s profile after scrolling to the bottom.

Zhao Yihan always contacted him for Wei Lai.

Taking a drag from his cigarette, he deleted the chat box.

He first met Zhao Yihan before the summer vacation of their sophomore year. When he decided to pursue her, he found out that she already had a boyfriend, who was also from Jiangcheng.

Later, his childhood friend gave everyone a KPI to invest in Jiangcheng. He hesitated about whether to come, but in the end, he did, and stayed longer and longer.

Now, Zhao Yihan has a successful career, a happy marriage, and a lovely daughter.

Those feelings of affection had slowly faded away without him even realizing when it had started.

The last time he went to Jiangcheng, driving through the city’s streets and alleys, he no longer thought of her.

Lu Yu input Chen Jiarui’s number, searched for her WeChat, and added her again: “It’s me, Lu Yu.”

An hour passed without her accepting the request.

He waited until 9:30, when a tall figure emerged from the office building.

Lu Yu took a sip of soda to steady his breathing and pushed the door open to step outside.

As soon as Chen Jiarui came out of the building, she saw his car; the vehicle and its license plate were hard to ignore.

The wind was strong, and she adjusted her scarf.

She understood his intentions and disliked the pretense of ignorance. “Lu Yu, you don’t know me. Just because you’re here doesn’t mean I’ll be with you.”

Lu Yu opened the car door for her, meeting her cold gaze. “If I still had feelings for someone else, I wouldn’t be looking for you.”

The cold wind blew away the white mist from his mouth.

They stared at each other for a long time.

Suddenly, Chen Jiarui turned her face away, looking elsewhere. She had forgotten when she had started to like him.

Trapped in a cycle she couldn’t escape, repeatedly tormented.

“You said you didn’t want to settle for marriage.” Lu Yu took a few steps closer to her. “I’ll pursue you until you feel that what we have isn’t settling.”

---

Wei Lai spent five days in Beijing. On the day she left for Shanghai, she met her aunt in the airport VIP lounge.

“Aunt, what a coincidence,” she hugged Ning Rujiang.

Ning Rujiang thought to herself that it was actually not a coincidence.

Wei Lai was going to Shanghai for the listing ceremony of Wei Lai·Baiduoo, and Zhou Sujin was also going to witness it. Her sister had important work recently and couldn’t spare time to go to Jiangcheng, so she went to Jiangcheng to accompany Chenchen for a few days.

“Aunt, where are you going?”

Ning Rujiang casually replied, “Going to Haicheng to see an old friend.”

Wei Lai didn’t suspect anything.

Ning Rujiang sat down to chat with Wei Lai: “On my way here, I called Sujin. From the sounds over there, Chenchen must be tearing the house apart.”

Wei Lai laughed, “She only behaves when she’s asleep.”

Zhou Sujin couldn’t manage his daughter at all, indulging her completely. Chenchen had her personality; if you indulged her an inch, she would take a foot.

Her flight was earlier than her aunt’s, so she left the VIP lounge first.

Zhao Lianshen was also going to Shanghai today; the company had booked the same flight for him.

He boarded the plane later than she did, and their seats were next to each other.

Wei Lai hadn’t seen Zhao Lianshen for quite a while; he hadn’t attended recent meetings and seemed to have been busy with other projects abroad. She asked him directly, “Mr. Zhao, are you going to attend the gong ceremony?”

Zhao Lianshen thought seriously for a moment: “Forget it, you can go with Yu Younian and the others.”

There were media on-site, and he didn’t want to show his face.

He confirmed with her, “There’s a thank-you dinner that night, right?”

Wei Lai replied, “Yes.”

Zhao Lianshen nodded and didn’t say anything more.

He invested in many companies, but he only attended the listing ceremony of Wei Lai·Baiduoo. Wei Lai·Baiduoo was also the company he had invested the most in, pouring a considerable amount of advertising money into it over the past three years.

It was said that Grandpa Zhou planned to name Chenchen “Duo Duo,” but Zhou Sujin didn’t agree at all.

“Chenchen can speak now, right?”

Wei Lai turned her face, not expecting him to show interest in Chenchen. “She can only say simple words like ‘dad’ and ‘mom’; she doesn’t say anything with more than three characters.”

Zhao Lianshen nodded, leisurely saying, “Can Chenchen play with Zhou Sujin?”

Wei Lai smiled, “The father and daughter get along quite well.”

Now she realized that whenever Zhao Lianshen took the initiative to chat with her, no matter what they talked about, the ultimate purpose was always to find fault with Zhou Sujin.

“Mr. Zhao, I’d like to discuss something with you in advance.”

“You can say it.”

She planned to give Zhou Sujin five hundred thousand of her shares as a birthday gift next year, which wouldn’t affect any shareholder interests in Wei Lai·Baiduoo.

Zhao Lianshen looked at her sideways. Without his consent, Zhou Sujin would never receive that gift.

After a pause, he said, “Okay.”

Wei Lai was a bit taken aback; his quick agreement was unexpected.

After landing in Shanghai, she called Zhou Sujin. The phone rang twice before he hung up.

Zhou Sujin was holding their daughter; Chenchen had just fallen asleep a few minutes ago, and he hadn’t wanted to put her down yet. He typed a message with one hand: “Chenchen just fell asleep; I’ll reply to you later.”

“No need to reply; I was just checking how Chenchen is doing.”

“Are you in Shanghai?”

“Mm, heading to the hotel soon.”

Assistant Yang sent a message: “Mr. Zhou, all arrangements for the day after tomorrow have been made.”

Zhou Sujin replied to Yang Ze: “Thank you for your hard work.”

These past few days, he had been inseparable from his daughter, who was particularly clingy, so he could only wait for her to fall asleep before leaving home.

That evening at 7:00, he arrived in Shanghai.

Knowing where Wei Lai was staying, Uncle Yan drove straight to the hotel entrance.

Zhou Sujin called Wei Lai, asking if she was done with her work.

Wei Lai was just about to order food. “I’m done. Where’s Chenchen? Why haven’t I heard her voice?”

“I’m downstairs at the hotel. Let’s go grab a coffee.”

Zhou Sujin wanted to say a few more words, but she had already hung up.

He put on his coat and opened the car door.

The day after tomorrow, she would be the boss of a listed company, yet she still jumped into his arms like a child, and Zhou Sujin caught her.

Wei Lai buried her face in his embrace; he had appeared just when she was thinking of him.

Originally, she felt a bit regretful that he couldn’t be present to witness the listing of Wei Lai·Baiduoo.

“Now that I think about it, how could he possibly be absent on such an important day for her?

‘What about Chen Chen?’ Mother asked, as Aunt Wei was an important shareholder of Weilai Baiduo and also attended the listing ceremony that day.

Zhou Sujin replied, ‘Aunt is at our house.’

Wei Lai suddenly laughed, ‘I got so busy that I forgot. I ran into Aunt at the airport, and she said she was going to Haicheng to see an old friend. I really believed her.’

It was cold outside, and Zhou Sujin opened the car door, letting her get in first.”

Wei Lai remembered him saying over the phone that he wanted to go for coffee. “Which café?”

Zhou Sujin got in and replied, “The one we used to go to.”

In Shanghai, they had only been to one café together—the one Zhou Sujin drove her to for their first official date after getting married. It was located by the Huangpu River, with an open view and a few books on each coffee table.

A cup of Guixia tea and a book of essays made that first date feel like just yesterday.

On the day of the Weilai Baiduo listing ceremony, Wei Lai wore the suit Zhou Sujin had bought for her and put on delicate, light makeup.

The people for the gong ceremony had already been confirmed: there were six in total—herself, her mother, Yu Younian, Chen Qi, and the presidents of Baiduo Industries and Lemon Foods.

Zhou Sujin sat in the guest area below the stage.

Wei Lai stood in front, and among all the people present, she spotted him at once.

Originally, they had invited him to be a guest speaker, but he declined, saying it was her day to shine.

The ceremony began, and she went up to give her speech.

Zhou Sujin was the one who applauded the longest in the audience.