Come see you or not?
Wei Lai squeezed a dollop of hand wash into her palm, lathering it into a foam before rinsing it under cold water. It was purely psychological, but her right hand still felt hot, each finger burning.
She hadn’t managed to see Zhou Sujin lose control at first.
In that moment, even the surge of hormones still couldn’t defeat his strong self-control.
It seemed that being overwhelmed by desire was not something that could happen to him.
As they lay back in bed, they felt even more unfamiliar with each other. In the darkness and silence of the room, awkwardness and an unspoken tension grew.
Zhou Sujin wasn’t used to sleeping with someone in his arms. Likewise, she wasn’t used to sleeping in his arms. That definitely wasn’t going to help her sleep. Under the covers, she cautiously moved, her hand accidentally brushing against his fingers. Startled, she quickly pulled away.
Zhou Sujin lay flat on his back, turning his face slightly to look at her. He thought she had already fallen asleep, her breathing steady just moments ago. He offered her the hem of his robe to hold onto.
“Thank you.”
Zhou Sujin didn’t respond, closing his eyes to sleep.
Her “thank you,” though soft and gentle, lacked any hint of coquettishness. Half an hour earlier, the soft moans she made in his arms, at the height of her pleasure, seemed like they had come from a completely different person.
A side of her he had never seen before.
“Get some sleep.”
“En, good night.”
Wei Lai was exhausted. Her mind was still a mess, but she fell asleep anyway.
The next morning, she woke up naturally at 10:05 a.m.
She had slept for six and a half hours, just enough to regain her energy.
Zhou Sujin wasn’t in the room. She deliberately avoided thinking about what had happened last night and got up to freshen up.
Her undergarments had been washed and dried, so Wei Lai retrieved them from the laundry room and changed. As she passed the study, the door was closed, but she could faintly hear him talking. It wasn’t clear whether it was a phone call or a meeting.
Not wanting to disturb him, Wei Lai did her makeup and headed downstairs to buy breakfast.
The sea salt croissants at the supermarket had just come out of the oven. She grabbed a few and then went to pick up several cartons of milk.
After placing the milk into her basket, she suddenly remembered that Zhou Sujin would be heading to Beijing today, and she wouldn’t stay there alone. Milk had a short shelf life and would expire long before he returned.
She put a few cartons back, leaving only two.
“Lai Lai, haven’t had breakfast yet?”
Wei Lai turned around and greeted with a smile, “Good morning, Auntie Kang.”
Manager Kang looked closely at the circles under her eyes. “Working overtime up until two or three again?”
“… Not that late.” Wei Lai smiled, giving a vague response.
Manager Kang never missed a chance to talk about work. “So, what’s the status of the Gesha coffee beans supply?”
Due to the engagement and registering their marriage, Wei Lai had completely forgotten about this matter. “Let me follow up and get back to you within an hour.”
After buying breakfast for the two of them, Wei Lai checked out and headed back home.
In the elevator, her phone rang—it was Zhou Sujin asking where she was.
“I’m almost home. I went to the supermarket to grab breakfast.”
“I had a restaurant deliver some breakfast.”
The breakfast had arrived while she was at the supermarket, a full spread with both Western and Chinese dishes.
Hearing the front door open, Zhou Sujin stood up from the sofa and washed his hands before sitting down at the dining table.
“Honey,” she called from the entryway without stepping inside.
“What’s up?”
“Can you help me with something?”
“Hanging up your coat?”
“En.”
Zhou Sujin was portioning the food onto plates. “With the time it takes for me to come over, you could’ve hung up a whole wardrobe by now.”
Despite the remark, he set down his plate and fork.
He came over from the dining room quickly. Wei Lai glanced at him—he had already changed into his business attire: a crisp white shirt and black pants, though he hadn’t put on his cufflinks yet, and his sleeves were casually rolled up once.
Zhou Sujin grabbed a hanger from the closet and asked her, “What did you buy for breakfast?”
“Bread, milk, and some fruit.”
After hanging up the coat, Zhou Sujin gestured with his chin. “Go have breakfast.”
Wei Lai walked ahead to the dining room. Earlier, on her way back from the supermarket, she had worried about the awkwardness that might arise when they sat face-to-face.
But she needn’t have. He wasn’t the type to let any interaction between them fall into an uncomfortable silence.
She didn’t unpack her groceries, placing the bag straight on the kitchen island.
Zhou Sujin glanced at the bag. “Didn’t you say you bought bread?”
“It’s fine, I’ll take it to the office as snacks.”
He casually made conversation, “The fresh-baked bread today?”
“En.”
“Bring it over, let me try.”
“It’s sea salt flavor.”
“That’s fine.”
Wei Lai handed him one of the croissants. He didn’t seem to particularly like croissants, but he accepted it, likely out of respect for her effort in going out to buy breakfast.
Zhou Sujin continued portioning the dishes, placing the first plate in front of her. “Take more if it’s not enough.”
“Thank you.”
As Wei Lai picked up her fork and began eating, she occasionally glanced at him from time to time. His calm, indifferent demeanor—it was something that only someone in his position of power could naturally possess.
She had tried her best to act normal with the events of last night, but she could only manage half of his naturalness.
Catching herself before her thoughts spiraled, she remembered she had something important to discuss with him.
“President Zhou.”
Zhou Sujin wasn’t used to hearing her address him that way, especially after she’d been calling him “honey” since yesterday. “Are we discussing a partnership or about work?”
“It’s more about my work.”
“Go ahead.”
“I used the Gesha coffee beans you gave me at the book bar at the Jiang’an Cloud Residences store. Customers love it and suggested we stock it in the supermarket.”
“You’re asking me for the supply channel?”
Wei Lai nodded. “Besides selling it, we’d also use some for the free book bar.”
She kept her gaze on him as she spoke, waiting for his response.
He was leisurely eating the sea salt croissant she’d bought. From his expression, there was no telling whether he liked it or not.
Zhou Sujin: “I don’t have the supply channel.” Not only did he not have it, but he also had never cared about it. “You should ask Yang Ze. He’s the one who ordered the Gesha coffee beans.”
He simply explained, “At that time, we were in a contractual relationship. There was no reason for me to personally buy you gifts.”
Wei Lai wasn’t interested in the past. What she wanted to know was, “What about henceforth? When you give me gifts in the future, will you still have your assistant or secretary order them for you?”
Zhou Sujin looked at her. “If you don’t want that, then I won’t let them handle it.”
Wei Lai added another condition. “Every gift—no matter how big or small, whether it’s expensive or just a trinket, even a single flower—has to come from you.”
Zhou Sujin stared at her for a few seconds before agreeing. “Alright…”
If he didn’t go along with her, she’d only end up feeling wronged again.
Finally finishing the sea salt croissant, he wiped his hands with a towel and picked up his phone to send a message to Yang Ze: “Wei Lai wants to place a bulk order of Gesha coffee beans to stock in all supermarket locations. It’ll likely be a long-term deal, so contact the plantation and find out who she should liaise with.“
Yang Ze: “Got it. I’ll reach out to them right now.“
Zhou Sujin: “I’ll be at the project meeting this afternoon.“
Originally, he’d planned to return to Beijing by noon, but Wei Lai had slept in so late that he had no choice but to delay his flight. He rescheduled his flight for the evening.
He turned to Wei Lai and said, “I’m heading back tonight.”
Wei Lai was already prepared for this. “What time is your flight?”
“Eight. I won’t make it in time to pick you up after work.”
Wei Lai: “You can make it up to me the next time you come to see me.”
After finishing breakfast, Wei Lai grabbed the grocery bags and prepared to leave. She had a busy day ahead, with lots of work to get done. At 2:30 p.m., she had an interview, and there wasn’t time for their date to continue.
Before parting, she reached out to hug him. “See you next time.”
She wanted to ask when he’d be back in Jiang City, but the words caught in her throat, and she swallowed them.
Before they separated, she double-checked, “While we’re apart, are we sticking to the same arrangement as when we were under contract?”
Zhou Sujin nodded. “That way, we’ll both have our own space.”
In the afternoon, Wei Lai met with Chen Qi for the interview. But really, it wasn’t much of an interview. It was Chen Qi choosing their supermarket, not the other way around. Chen Qi was good at conversing but composed. Wei Lai found him familiar, yet no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t recall where she’d seen him before, even after the interview ended.
As the conversation wrapped up, her mom asked Chen Qi why he chose to come to Wei Lai Supermarket. Given his resume, he could easily go to a larger company.
Chen Qi answered truthfully, saying: first, the compensation was competitive and not far off from the big corporations. Second, he was drawn to the free book bar and study area—working together would be enjoyable since their ideas aligned. Third, there had been a Wei Lai Supermarket near his house since he was a kid. Over 20 years had passed, and that store was still there. He wanted to ensure it would always stay that way.
He smiled as he added, “That last reason might sound a bit sentimental, but it’s genuinely how I feel.”
After graduating, Chen Qi worked at a large supermarket chain, steadily rising to senior management with outstanding performance. Her mom had mentioned that Blissful Garden Supermarket’s boss had previously tried to recruit him with a high salary but failed.
Who would’ve thought he’d submit his resume on his own?
Everything was agreed upon, and he would start after Chinese New Year.
As the interview wrapped up, Chen Qi remarked, “I often go to the free book bar at the Jiang’an Cloud Residences store. The Gehsa there is excellent, probably the best I’ve ever had.”
Wei Lai finally remembered—she had seen him at the free book bar before.
Maybe because he was dressed in professional attire for the interview today she hadn’t recognized him.
After seeing Chen Qi off, she had barely sat down in her office when an unexpected guest arrived. It was Tang Zhi, a former colleague.
She had invited Tang Zhi to her engagement party, so it had only been two or three days since they’d last seen each other.
“You don’t need to work today?”
“Nope, my project’s finally done, so I’m on annual leave.” Tang Zhi was off until Chinese New Year, making this her longest vacation since she started working.
Tang Zhi plopped down on the sofa, exhausted. She’s been burnt out the past while.
After Wei Lai resigned, she found work to be a drag. Her boss, Mu Di, was moody and unpredictable, making each day harder to get through. She was mentally drained.
Wei Lai brewed a cup of coffee for Tang Zhi. “Are you free tonight? Let’s grab dinner together.”
Tang Zhi took the coffee. “You don’t need to accompany your husband?”
“He went back already.”
“You guys have only been married for a day!”
“Last night, he stayed up late for an overseas meeting either way.”
Tang Zhi was speechless for a moment. “No wonder Zhou Sujin’s so rich.”
Wei Lai laughed and sat back down in front of her computer.
As Tang Zhi drank her coffee, she asked, “When’s your schedule free? Let’s take a few days off for a getaway.”
Wei Lai: “I won’t have time before Chinese New Year. I’m going on a business trip the day after tomorrow. The last stop is Beijing.”
She laid out her plans for the next ten days to Tang Zhi.
Tang Zhi was shocked. “You’re driving to Beijing all by yourself?”
“En, I’ll take my time. No rush.”
“You can’t drive into…” Tang Zhi stopped mid-sentence, remembering that Wei Lai’s Cullinan had a Beijing license plate, so she could drive straight onto the inner-ring highway*.
* – certain cities in China don’t allow outside license plates to drive on certain roads during peak hours, so if one has a Beijing license plate, they can’t drive on a certain road in Shanghai during peak hours
“I’ll come with you. We can take turns driving.”
“No need. By the time we’re back, it’ll almost be Chinese New Year. You finally got some time off, so you should stay home and rest.”
Tang Zhi sighed inwardly. It really was a rare break. Life for Mu Di didn’t seem to be going well after her marriage. One day, Tang Zhi accidentally overheard Mu Di quietly questioning someone on the phone: “Do you really think you’ll get that watch back? Have you ever considered how I feel?”
When the boss wasn’t in a good mood, the employees would bear the brunt of it.
“I might resign soon.”
She turned to look at Wei Lai. “If I do, I’m coming to work for you.”
Wei Lai laughed. “If you don’t mind, you’re welcome anytime.”
Tang Zhi: “Then it’s settled.”
Back when they worked together, the two of them were always in sync. The main reason was that Wei Lai’s calm demeanor made working with her stress-free.
The day after having dinner with Tang Zhi, Wei Lai set off on her trip.
She didn’t bring a chauffeur, opting to drive herself.
The two FMCG companies she was visiting on behalf of her mom were located in different provinces, but they were more or less along the way to Beijing.
She visited these two companies first, conveying her mom’s greetings and well-wishes, while also finalizing next year’s partnerships.
By the time she finished with the second company, it was already the fourth day since she had departed from Jiang City.
Over the past few days, the north had been hit by heavy snow, with temperatures plunging to minus seven or eight degrees.
Originally, she could’ve reached Beijing by the fifth day, but due to the snow and highway closures, she didn’t arrive until the evening of the sixth day.
She had arranged to meet Qi Linsheng for lunch the next day at S.Z. Restaurant.
The snow along the roadside hadn’t melted yet, and the sky was starting to sprinkle more snowflakes.
Over the past few days, she had only contacted Zhou Sujin once. He had told her who to get in touch with for the Gesha coffee beans procurement. The call lasted just a few moments—once they finished discussing business, it ended.
She didn’t know where he was now or what he was busy with.
While they were apart, each focused on their own careers. They only called when something important came up. When they were together, he would go along with whatever she wanted. As a couple who still weren’t familiar with each other, this arrangement seemed to work best.
The only thing she wasn’t used to was the sudden lack of any contact on the first day after they parted.
Wei Lai found a parking spot and parked the Cullinan before texting Zhou Sujin. “Are you busy right now?“
Zhou Sujin had just left the office and was on his way to his friend’s dinner. It was rush hour, and with the snow falling, the streets were completely gridlocked.
He replied, “Not busy. What’s up?“
Wei Lai: “We never really discussed this, but if I happen to be in Beijing for business, am I supposed to come see you or not?“
Zhou Sujin stared at her message and pondered for a moment before responding, “Are you in Beijing right now?“
