But we could have love too, couldn’t we?
After a brief kiss, Zhou Sujin pulled away from her lips, though his arm remained wrapped around her waist, gently holding her close. Wei Lai continued to embrace him, and so, he didn’t let go either.
Zhou Sujin: “Aside from the blazer, did you like the other pieces? If not, I can have them exchanged.”
“No need, the colors are all ones I like.”
As for the styles, even if they were exchanged, the store wouldn’t have anything she preferred more.
Wei Lai nodded toward the two watch safes. “Teach me a bit about them.”
Zhou Sujin looked down at the person in his arms. “Let’s eat first.”
Wei Lai almost forgot they hadn’t had dinner yet. Normally, she was quite punctual with her meals, and she rarely forgot to eat.
“Fine, after dinner then.” She stood up from his embrace.
Zhou Sujin only let her go once she released him.
When they went downstairs, Wei Lai didn’t hold his hand. With the maid and other people around, she didn’t cling to him in public, instead casually chatting with him over dinner.
“Do you remember, you said I could add five amendments to our prenup?”
Zhou Sujin calmly corrected her that it was thrice.
Wei Lai was easygoing. “Alright, thrice for now. After I’ve used them up, you can let me add more, yeah?”
Zhou Sujin didn’t give a clear response. “When will you stop causing me trouble?”
Wei Lai chuckled. “Probably never in this lifetime.”
She continued to talk about the prenup, intending to add a clause today.
Zhou Sujin asked, “What do you want to add?”
Wei Lai said straightforwardly, “On the prenup, it was written that you have to coax me.”
Zhou Sujin nodded and asked, “Did I forget to coax you one time?”
“No, you didn’t.”
He had always been attentive, going out of his way to coax her, never letting her feel the slightest bit wronged. Even during the honeymoon phase, no boyfriend had ever been as considerate as him.
Wei Lai wanted to bridge the emotional gap between them a little more, ensuring their relationship wasn’t just surface-level. “Could you start coaxing me without me having to ask? Like, you’d want to do it on your own.”
Zhou Sujin’s expression was composed. “If I don’t coax you proactively, would it be considered wronging you?”
Wei Lai shook her head. “No, it wouldn’t.”
She set down her fork from the fruit and vegetable salad, her tone serious. “Anything extra I want to add, I’ll discuss it with you. I respect your feelings. Think about whether you want to include it or not.”
Zhou Sujin: “Let’s not add it.”
Wei Lai paused for a moment. “Alright, then we won’t.”
Wei Lai lowered her head and continued eating from her plate.
If she didn’t initiate conversation, the dining table fell silent.
Zhou Sujin set down his chopsticks and picked up the glass of warm water beside his hand before taking a sip. “You’re upset because I didn’t agree, aren’t you?”
“No,” Wei Lai paused for a few seconds before continuing, “But you have to let me feel disappointed for a few seconds.”
She said as she kept her head down, eating absentmindedly.
Zhou Sujin looked at her. “Your request doesn’t suit the nature of our marriage one based on mutual benefit. That’s something for couples.”
Wei Lai looked up. “But we could have love too, couldn’t we?”
As soon as she said it, she regretted it, but there was no taking it back.
Zhou Sujin met her gaze for a few seconds. “Didn’t you say that marriage and love are meaningless?” Getting married was just to give yourself a strong background to rely on and to put your family at ease.
Wei Lai tried to recall. When he had first asked if she would consider marrying him, she had indeed said something like that. Hurt by Zhang Yanxin at the time, she had voiced her thoughts without much filter.
She explained, “Ideas change. You didn’t want to get married before, either.”
Zhou Sujin set down his cup of water and extended his hand. “Give me the pen and the prenup.”
Wei Lai didn’t move. “I’m eating.”
Suddenly, the salad in her mouth tasted much better.
Zhou Sujin caught the shift in her expression, from disappointment to delight. Earlier, he had made a slight concession on his bottom line. How this concession would eventually play out, and whether it would spiral out of his control, remained entirely unknown.
After dinner, Wei Lai went upstairs to retrieve a pen and the addendum from her purse. It was the same pen he had used back at their home in Jiang City, one she now carried with her everywhere.
She pondered for a long while over what exactly to add to the agreement but couldn’t decide, so she handed it directly to him.
“You write it.”
Zhou Sujin spread the agreement out on the dining table. “You carry this with you all the time?”
“En.” Ready to add to it anytime.
Wei Lai stood beside him, watching as he contemplated for a few seconds before writing a few words in bold strokes in the blank space: He will take the initiative to coax her in the future.
He signed his name and dated it.
This was probably the shortest agreement he had ever written.
But it moved her deeply.
Zhou Sujin capped the pen and handed the agreement back to her, glancing at his watch. “I’ll walk you through the watches in an hour. I have a meeting in a bit.”
“No rush. Take care of whatever you need first.”
Wei Lai contently took the signed agreement back to the bedroom.
While Zhou Sujin attended his meeting in the study, she caught up on work messages in the bedroom.
Most of the messages had already been handled by her mom, so it only took her half an hour to clear up the rest.
With Zhou Sujin still in his meeting, she decided to run a bath and soak for a while.
It was cloudy today, and the snow in the backyard remained nearly unchanged, looking just as it did in the morning untouched and powdery, with a few footprints across the ground.
Now, looking down at those footprints from the second floor, she realized just how aimless her morning had been.
From the warmth of the bathtub, she gazed at the snow-covered branches outside. For some reason, his bold and decisive handwriting of “He will take the initiative to coax her in the future” flashed across her mind.
She also thought back to the first time she met him at He Wancheng’s dinner. Back then, they had been from two completely different worlds.
“Wei Lai?” Zhou Sujin finished his meeting and came looking for her, only to find the bedroom empty.
Wei Lai was lost in thought and didn’t hear him.
It wasn’t until he entered the bathroom that he called out again, “Why didn’t you answer?”
“……”
Her mind went blank for half a second.
She was soaking in the tub, with just a few drops of essential oil in the water no flower petals, no bubbles, nothing to hide behind.
Instinctively, Wei Lai grabbed the edge of the bathtub. “I’ll be out soon.”
Zhou Sujin didn’t deliberately look away, but he also didn’t stare at her, his gaze settling on her face. “Did you get your PJs?”
“Yeah.”
He nodded and turned to leave.
Wei Lai took a moment to compose herself before rising from the tub and wrapping herself in a towel.
Although she and Zhou Sujin had been intimately close the night before, the room had been dark then. This time, it was different their proximity felt much closer.
The walk-in closet was temperature-controlled, but not as warm as the bedroom. Wei Lai layered a loose caramel-colored sweater over her strappy nightgown; the large neckline exposed the straps, making them look almost like an intentional design.
Zhou Sujin had showered as well and changed into his PJs. He pushed open the closet door to find Wei Lai standing in front of the safe, examining a watch.
The nightgown was short, and from his vantage point, her long, slender legs were immediately within view.
Wei Lai placed the watch back into the safe and removed her gloves before grabbing her phone. “Hold on a second.” She quickly opened the PowerPoint from before, continuing to add notes.
Zhou Sujin: “Do you really need to take such detailed notes?”
“En.”
Wei Lai listened attentively throughout his explanations, and with her quick typing speed, she managed to jot down nearly everything he said.
Due to time constraints, Zhou Sujin was only able to brief her on ten of the watches.
Locking the watch safe, he added, “I’ll tell you the rest another time.”
Wei Lai saved her PowerPoint.
Zhou Sujin glanced at her. She had been quieter than usual tonight and didn’t cling to him, just focused on note-taking. His tone deepened as he asked, “Didn’t I sign the agreement for you? Still unhappy?”
Wei Lai looked up, not upset, just contemplating how to respond.
Zhou Sujin pulled her closer, bringing her into his arms. “Just because I didn’t agree to you once, you’re still feeling wronged?”
Of course, she felt a bit wronged.
Wei Lai saved the file and tossed her phone onto the nearby sofa before leaning into his arms, tilting her head to look up at him. “Honey, can you do something about this height difference?”
This time, instead of a princess carry, Zhou Sujin used his height advantage to easily lift her up, positioning her against his waist. Wei Lai’s legs naturally wrapped around his waist.
Now, she was taller than him, allowing her to study every well-defined feature of his face.
Her gaze fell on his lips, bending down to kiss him.
Zhou Sujin tightened his hold on her, tilting his head up slightly to accommodate her, letting her lips and tongue have their way.
After a while, her legs started to tire from clinging on, and Wei Lai couldn’t help but let them drop.
Zhou Sujin gently set her back down, but Wei Lai clung to his arms, unwilling to let go, wanting to stay in his arms.
Zhou Sujin: “Can’t even have a two-minute break?”
“Nope, two minutes is too long.”
He looked at her, then picked her up again, this time not in a princess carry nor lifting her high, just raising her a few inches off the floor.
Wei Lai felt like she might slide down at any moment, so she tightened her hold around his neck.
This way of holding her took little effort, allowing Zhou Sujin to keep her close with just one arm, while the other slipped beneath the hem of her loose sweater.
A shiver ran through Wei Lai’s entire body, and before any sound could escape, he kissed her deeply, sweeping over her lips and tongue.
It was a cool, gentle kiss, paired with the warmth of his fingertips.
Zhou Sujin was exceptionally patient, the tingling sensations he brought her came in waves, like ripples in a wheat field, one after another, sweeping over her.
Wei Lai buried her face in the crook of his neck, avoiding his gaze.
She was suspended in the air.
The feeling of being weightless, combined with the accumulating tingling, hit her heart with double the intensity.
“Honey, let me down.”
Zhou Sujin didn’t let go. Even as she trembled uncontrollably in his arms, he held her tightly with both arms.
The second hand of his watch ticked past four or five rounds before Wei Lai finally calmed down.
There were no wet wipes in the walk-in closet.
Zhou Sujin went to the sink and turned on the faucet, letting the water run over his hand, washing away the evidence on his fingertips.
The next morning, Wei Lai was woken up by her alarm at 7:30 a.m.
Zhou Sujin had already left for the office, but he had left a note for her on the nightstand: Call me when you wake up.
Wei Lai rubbed her sore waist and legs, propping herself up to sit.
Out of the three-pack, there was only one left.
She had mentioned that she had plans to meet someone today, which was the only reason he hadn’t opened the third one.
Today, she definitely needed to wear a turtleneck. A faint hickey was left on her neck where he hadn’t been careful with his kisses.
“Honey.”
“Just woke up?”
“En, what’s up?”
Zhou Sujin told her to meet him at 5:30 p.m. at the hospital entrance, providing her with the address.
“What’s going on?” Wei Lai couldn’t help but feel anxious. “Is it you who’s unwell, or is someone else in the family not feeling well?”
Zhou Sujin: “We’re going to pick up my grandma. She’s working this afternoon.”
He added that they wouldn’t be going to visit his own family or his aunt’s. Instead, he wanted to take her to meet his paternal grandparents. Since they weren’t particularly sensitive about love, they didn’t need to put on a show just a normal conversation would be enough.
Wei Lai felt a wave of relief; as long as no one was unwell, that was fine.
She threw off the blanket and got out of bed, rubbing her legs a few more times before she stood up.
“I have to head over to Yuanwei Capital this morning to see if I can secure some funding.” After adding the clause to the addendum last night, she felt like they’d gotten a little closer, so she took the initiative to share some of her plans and arrangements.
Zhou Sujin: “Yuanwei Capital won’t invest in you.”
“…”
Wei Lai couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation. “Can’t you at least give me a little bit of encouragement this early in the morning?”
“It’s not about lacking confidence in you. Several of Yuanwei’s shareholders know who you are. They might assume that you’re seeking investment behind my back, and if they agree, it could create conflict between us.”
Wei Lai only knew the public-facing boss of Yuanwei Capital but wasn’t aware of who was the real power behind it clearly, someone with an influential background. She guessed, “The major shareholders behind Yuanwei are your friends?”
“En, some of them were at that dinner the other night.”
Trying to secure funds from his friends would be no different than directly asking them for money.
Wei Lai changed her mind on the spot. “Then I won’t go to Yuanwei. I’ll try other VCs instead.” There were plenty of VCs out there, and she knew more than just this one.
Zhou Sujin was silent for a moment before asking, “Why not seek investment from me?”
Wei Lai joked, “I was waiting for you to say that.”
Zhou Sujin suddenly chuckled.
It wasn’t that Wei Lai hadn’t considered asking him for investment, but that was a last resort, something she’d only consider if she had no other options. As long as there was another path, she would do it on her own.
She shifted back to the main topic. “I want to try raising funds myself first. If that doesn’t work out, then I’ll come to you.”
Zhou Sujin: “Alright.”
Concerned that her next choice of a VC might also be connected to his friends, she asked, “Could you have Secretary Yang put together a list of your friend’s VCs for me, so I can avoid them?”
Zhou Sujin confirmed, “You’re sure you want Yang Ze to compile it and send it directly to you?”
“Of course.”
“So you have no issues with Yang Ze anymore?”
Wei Lai was puzzled. She couldn’t remember ever having any issues with Secretary Yang, so she asked what he meant.
“You didn’t want to add his WeChat, and every time I suggested you reach out to him, you seemed reluctant, like you weren’t too happy about it.” When she was asking about the supply chain for the Gesha coffee beans, he originally was going to have her ask Yang Ze directly, but after recalling how she reacted, he ended up handling the matter himself instead of having her reach out.
Wei Lai: “It has nothing to do with Secretary Yang.”
In the past, she felt that explaining was unnecessary, but now that they were married, she decided to clarify. “It’s a conditioned response from my last relationship. Back then… he didn’t even directly break up with me. He just told me that if I needed anything in the future, I should contact his secretary. So whenever you tell me to reach out to Secretary Yang, I instinctively think that you might be planning to end things between us.”
She laughed, adding, “But it’s all good now.”
“Let’s continue when I get home tonight. I’m at my brother’s place.”
“Alright, talk to you soon.”
After hanging up, Zhou Sujin signaled to Zhou Jiaye to continue.
Before Wei Lai’s call came in, they had been talking about a project partnership for next year. The partnership involved four companies, and one of them happened to be his previous blind date’s family company.
He was against the partnership, proposing that either they withdraw or their Kunchen would withdraw.
Zhou Jiaye was puzzled. “It was just a blind date, not even a relationship. Our companies can’t even collaborate?”
Zhou Sujin: “Not for me.”
Zhou Jiaye knew a bit about the blind date. They had met at a hotpot restaurant, and his lil’ bro ordered something else for himself, merely getting through the meal. Though they exchanged WeChats, he used his work account and never talked to her again after that one meal.
“Wei Lai wouldn’t care,” Zhou Jiaye remarked, knowing that she wasn’t the type to get jealous over such things.
Zhou Sujin said, “She wouldn’t care.” They were married but without love. Naturally, she wouldn’t be jealous.
Zhou Jiaye laughed, a bit confused. “If you know she wouldn’t mind, what are you worried about?”
“I married her in a rush, and people have been speculating that we have a marriage of convenience divorcing sooner or later. If we were to partner with them now, who knows how the rumors would spread? I can’t control what others say about her behind her back, but I won’t create opportunities for them to gossip about her myself.”
With that, Zhou Sujin pushed the letter of intent for the partnership back to his brother. “You know me, I don’t make just any money.”
