President Zhou, Sorry
Wei Lai felt her heart skip a beat, and for a moment, she was at a loss for words.
His eyes were distant and deep, clouding her judgment. She looked away.
Zhou Sujin gave her time to process. Even he had taken days to come to this decision, much less her.
Wei Lai took over half a minute to gather her thoughts and find her voice again. “Marriage is a big deal.”
Zhou Sujin asked her, “Have you ever thought about marriage before? Not with me specifically, just marriage in general.”
Wei Lai nodded. Despite her parents’ divorce, she wasn’t that pessimistic about marriage.
It might be because of her paternal grandparents’ influence. Their marriage was very happy. Even at their age, if one went to the library to read, the other would definitely go along.
She wanted a marriage like theirs: simple and lasting, with companionship into old age.
When she met Zhang Yanxin, she thought she could have that kind of marriage.
But in the end, it was just wishful thinking.
“I thought about marrying Zhang Yanxin.”
Zhou Sujin had been watching her out of the corner of his eye, but he suddenly turned his head to look at her.
He didn’t interrupt her, waiting for her to continue.
“I even picked out a ring.”
“I thought that next year after we’d been together for three years, our relationship would be solid enough to get married.”
“But then, when I gave him his birthday present, he broke up with me. He didn’t even look at the present, and we didn’t even eat that dinner together.”
“The man I loved for two years and wanted to marry suddenly left me without any warning and got engaged to someone else. In the end, he gave me a villa as compensation, thinking money could make up for all the emotional trauma.”
“I was so hurt by him that I got PTSD.”
“Since then, I’ve found marriage and relationships quite meaningless. It’s better to focus on running my supermarket and making more money.”
Bringing up her relationship with Zhang Yanxin again stirred some emotions within her.
She paused and composed herself before saying, “Even though I find it meaningless, I’ve never thought of getting married easily.”
Having shared her past, she felt more composed now. Marriage involved both families, and she couldn’t toy with her parents and grandparents.
On the day she brought him home, her mom was bustling around happily, and she already felt guilty toward her.
A contract marriage that ended after its term would only bring temporary joy to her grandparents as well.
She declined Zhou Sujin, “President Zhou, I’m sorry, but I won’t consider marrying you.”
Zhou Sujin’s response seemed a bit delayed, “It’s okay.”
It suddenly fell into silence inside the car.
Zhou Sujin glanced at his watch; it was already a quarter past midnight.
“It’s late, you should go back now.”
They both opened the car doors almost simultaneously and got out.
Wei Lai handed the car keys back to him. “President Zhou, I definitely won’t be taking the car.”
Zhou Sujin didn’t take the keys. “I’ll have Lu An come pick it up tomorrow.”
He closed the car door and then opened it again, realizing he had forgotten his suit jacket inside.
“Any other birthday wishes?”
Wei Lai shook her head. His gaze was always so calm and inscrutable; even when she rejected him, he didn’t show the slightest sign of displeasure.
“Thank you for coming to celebrate my birthday.”
“You’re welcome.” Zhou Sujin put on his suit jacket. “After just rejecting me, you’d definitely feel uncomfortable having dinner together. For tomorrow night’s birthday dinner, I’ll have Lu An find a few friends to celebrate with you.”
Wei Lai refused without a second thought, “No need, I’ve already told my mom I’d have dinner at home.”
Zhou Sujin didn’t insist. As he was leaving, he added, “Happy birthday.”
Uncle Yan had already driven away the Bentley. “President Zhou, how will you get back?”
“There’s a car.”
He urged her to go upstairs, then walked toward a black sedan by the roadside.
Wei Lai noticed the unremarkable car with a Jiang City license plate.
As he approached, someone immediately got out to open the door for him. She realized then they were his bodyguards.
After he got in the car, it didn’t start right away.
He was probably waiting for her to go upstairs first. Wei Lai pointed to the Cullinan, “I’ll watch the starlight headliner for a while longer.”
The black sedan started its engine.
She watched him leave, then got back into the Cullinan. Locking the doors from inside, the car fell into silence, occasionally a few silent meteors streaking across the sky.
She couldn’t compose herself for an entire hour.
After zoning out in the car for another half hour, she took the car keys and went upstairs.
The next morning, Wei Lai hadn’t gotten up yet when she received a message from Zhou Sujin.
“There’s an issue at work, so I have to return early. Lu An comes here often, so you can reach out to him for anything in the future. All the best.“
A wave of sadness surged in her chest, and she couldn’t hold back her tears, reaching for the tissues on her nightstand and pulling out several sheets.
At noon, she had lunch with her dad.
Her dad had reserved a table at a restaurant near his law firm. Today, he was treating her to Western cuisine and had the restaurant make a jasmine and grape cake specially for her.
To get to the restaurant, they had to pass by the entrance of her paternal grandparents’ complex and the front door of their once-broken home.
“Did you pull an all-nighter again last night?” Wei Huatian eyed the dark circles under his daughter’s eyes. “You can’t stay up late often; it’s too hard on the body.”
“I didn’t.”
Wei Huatian placed the candles and lit them before asking his daughter to make a wish.
She had already made two wishes last night while gazing at the starlight headliner: first, for Zhou Sujin’s safety in all his endeavors; second, for Wei Lai Supermarket to make it into the top 100 national supermarket chains.
Even the 100th spot would be fine.
Wei Huatian cut a large slice of cake for himself, leaving a small portion for his daughter. She wasn’t very fond of sweets and barely ate them a few times a year.
He picked the green grapes from his slice and gave them to his daughter. Looking up, he saw her zoning out.
“Lai Lai, what are you thinking about?”
Wei Lai ate a green grape with a fork, lying without missing a beat, “I was thinking about the new Jiang’an Cloud Residences store.”
After lunch, they left the restaurant, and the chauffeur brought the car around. Wei Huatian got in.
Wei Lai waved to her dad and only then did she notice the style of his trench coat. He had several black trench coats, and he was wearing the one she bought him in Beijing today.
Wei Huatian got into the car and took off his thin-rimmed glasses before pressing the bridge of his nose. Having worked overtime until past midnight last night, he was already feeling the strain today. He wondered how his daughter managed to cope after staying up late. After putting his glasses back on, he instructed the chauffeur to head to Jiang’an Group.
Yuan Hengrui personally received Wei Huatian, warmly inviting him from the reception room to his own office.
Although his tea-making skills were not very refined, he still insisted on doing it himself.
In his heart, Wei Huatian was always like a father-in-law to him.
“Uncle,” he handed the teacup to Wei Huatian, “I’ll get straight to the point. The storefront over there will only be sold to Wei Lai, and she has to sign the sales contract personally. I promised her, and I won’t go back on my word.”
Wei Huatian smiled. “Whether I buy it or she buys it, it’s the same. It’s for her anyways.”
“It’s not the same.” Yuan Hengrui sat down beside him, his elbows resting on his knees, leaning forward slightly, showing utmost respect to Wei Huatian.
“Uncle, I understand her. She wants to buy the things she desires with the money she earns herself.”
For example, the watch she gave to Zhang Yanxin. She saved the money for a long time and took on two projects simultaneously to buy it sooner, nearly working herself to death in the office.
That’s why when he hit Zhang Yanxin that time, Zhang Yanxin wasn’t undeserving.
Wei Huatian tried to persuade him, “You don’t understand a father’s feelings…”
“Uncle, I do. My dad is the same way with me. He threatened to disown me, but when he saw me sell my sports car, thinking I was short on money, he secretly had someone order me a new one. Though I don’t need it now.”
It was Wei Huatian’s first time meeting Yuan Hengrui, but he was no stranger to him. On any given day, if there was a modified sports car roaring down the streets of Jiang City, there was an 80-90% chance it was him.
After meeting him today, he realized he wasn’t as much of a playboy as he’d thought.
After parting ways with her dad at the restaurant, Wei Lai made another trip to Jiang’an Cloud Residences.
The project manager from the construction company noticed the difference, joking that she seemed to be the most attentive to the 17th store’s construction.
She smiled without responding.
The day seemed to drag on unusually long.
She spent several hours at Jiang’an Cloud Residences before visiting six other stores, and finally, it was evening.
“Your dad came to our company at noon and wanted to buy the Jiang’an Cloud Residences storefront for you. Over 1,500 square meters, and he didn’t even blink an eye before saying he wanted to buy it. He truly is your dad. But I didn’t sell it (seeking praise here).“
“Happy 26th birthday.“
Yuan Hengrui wrote all that nonsense up front just to find an excuse to say the last sentence.
Wei Lai: “Thanks.“
Yuan Hengrui suppressed the urge to chat with her further. After all, she had a boyfriend now. He locked his screen and tossed his phone far away.
Wei Lai sat in front of her computer. The screen was dark, not knowing what to do.
It felt like she had a breakup.
Lost in thought, a call came in. It was He Wancheng’s number.
Wei Lai instinctively sat up straight, answering with a smile, “Hi, Uncle He, how can I help you?”
“Didn’t I mention that I had an old classmate who runs a supermarket a while back? I met him today, and he said he knows Wei Lai Supermarket. He even visited it while on a business trip to Jiang City. When are you and your mom free? I’d like to connect you guys.”
Wei Lai was grateful. She wasn’t naive; He Wancheng’s diligent efforts to help weren’t because of her but because of Zhou Sujin.
She confessed, “Uncle He, I’ve broken up with Zhou Sujin. I’ve been busy dealing with the breakup lately.”
He Wancheng knew about their breakup; Zhou Sujin had told him and asked him to look after Wei Lai Supermarket if he was in Jiang City in the future. He didn’t know the reason for the breakup, and Zhou Sujin hadn’t mentioned it, but he could guess. After all, the disparity between their families was too great, and Zhou Sujin’s family wouldn’t agree.
“I don’t understand you kids’ issues, so I won’t say much. But Wei Lai, let me give you some advice: a breakup shouldn’t stop you from making money, right?”
Wei Lai laughed, “Right.”
“Then find some time to come to Su City.”
“Okay, thank you, Uncle He.”
She couldn’t stay lost in this vague sense of sadness, so after hanging up, she began planning her trip to Su City.
Cheng Minzhi had noticed her daughter’s unusual behavior over the past few days, but she kept it in her heart and didn’t ask questions.
On Friday, they set off for Su City.
On the way, Wei Lai chatted with her mom about the supermarket chain in Su City, which was ranked 41st on the top 100 list and was very strong.
As they were chatting, Wei Lai received a message on her phone from He Wancheng, sending her a phone number.
“The chauffeur is already at the station. Call him when you arrive.“
“Thank you for the trouble, Uncle He.“
He Wancheng: “It’s no trouble. It’s my pleasure to extend my hospitality in Su City.“
He put down his phone and looked at Zhou Sujin sitting on the sofa across from him.
Zhou Sujin arrived in Su City yesterday to attend a high-profile forum. With no meetings scheduled for this afternoon, he had stopped by He Wancheng’s office.
“Wei Lai and her mom are coming to Su City today. They should be arriving soon.”
With legs crossed and leaning back on the sofa, Zhou Sujin sipped the tea that He Wancheng had brewed for him. “Are they here for buying?”
“I’m introducing them to someone in their industry.”
Zhou Sujin nodded without saying anything further and took another sip of tea before looking up at He Wancheng. “Is this tea from Jiang City?”
He Wancheng was surprised and smiled. “You can actually tell where the tea is from?”
Zhou Sujin replied briefly, “I’ve had it before.”
It was the tea his uncle brewed on his birthday.
He Wancheng couldn’t quite grasp Zhou Sujin’s meaning and asked, “I’ve booked a table for dinner to welcome Wei Lai and her mom. Wanna join?”
“Thanks, but,” Zhou Sujin placed down his teacup. “I have dinner plans tonight.”
