Confrontation
Zhou Sujin’s tone wasn’t aggressive, but each word seemed to carry a hidden edge, an unspoken sharpness that pierced through.
Realizing he’d been seen through, Zhang Yanxin chose not to deny it any longer.
With the partnership between their companies already at an impasse, it was best to be straightforward.
“Since President Zhou already guessed that the watch was a birthday gift from Wei Lai to me, would you consider letting it go?”
Zhou Sujin, accustomed to being in control and calculating every move, had never felt as cornered as he did now, especially after being asked for a watch on the very first day of Chinese New Year.
At the dinner where he first met Wei Lai, she kept staring at the watch on his wrist. His mom quickly saw through their pretense as a couple, Lu An’s unusual behavior that day in his office, and even his mom’s hesitations during Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner.
So this was the answer.
“President Zhou, that watch holds no meaning for you.”
Zhou Sujin glanced toward the driver’s seat, where Lu An’s chauffeur waited for instructions. He lowered the phone slightly and said, “Give me a few minutes.”
With that, he grabbed his coat and stepped out of the car.
Pulling the coat over his shoulders, he looked across the car’s roof toward the supermarket’s coffee corner.
The sun had begun to rise, casting light across the large glass windows. All he could see was the shadowy outline of Wei Lai, seated in the chair he’d occupied earlier. Her head was bent over what seemed to be the store’s report.
On the other end of the line, Zhang Yanxin remained silent, unwilling to press further and lose his advantage.
This quiet confrontation—neither one was willing to back down.
Zhou Sujin withdrew his gaze away from the coffee corner and continued walking toward the rear of the car, speaking into the phone, “Whether I’m willing to let it go, you already know better than anyone.”
Zhang Yanxin paused, offering no response.
The early morning chill was biting. Zhou Sujin felt for the button on his coat, but in the end, he left it undone.
“Do you know why I decided to stop investing in Xinming Semiconductor? Why I choose to reduce our stake?”
In just half a minute, with two sentences, he’d shifted control of the conversation firmly back to himself.
Zhang Yanxin could only follow along. “I’m all ears.”
Zhou Sujin: “It was because of Wei Lai’s blazer. The day you made her go pick it up, I decided not to invest further.”
It concerned a lot of complexities involved, so the plan to divest was postponed for months.
“In business, having a ruthless edge and capability to match is a skill. But being greedy, putting profits above all else—that’s human nature. No one’s immune to it, including myself. But to make things difficult for a woman who once treated you well, especially right in front of me—what would you call that? What gives you the right to even think about a long-term partnership with me?”
Kunchen Group might not be investing more, and it had reduced part of its stake, but it was still a shareholder in Xinming Semiconductor.
“From now on, have your father be the point of contact for any business matters.”
To say this much was already giving Zhang Yanxin a huge face. With that, Zhou Sujin ended the call.
Wei Lai was still seated at the same table, head down, focused on a stack of reports at her side.
Zhou Sujin got back into the car and signaled the chauffeur to start the car.
Lu An’s chauffeur didn’t usually interact with Lu An, so unlike Uncle Yan, he couldn’t get Zhou Sujin’s unspoken signal and was unsure of their destination.
The chauffeur turned around and asked, “Where to, President Zhou?”
Zhou Sujin pondered for a couple of seconds. “Thank you for your help. Take a taxi back, I’ll drive myself.”
Lu An’s car was a white Wraith. Zhou Sujin got into the driver’s seat and headed east until he reached the lakeside, where he finally stopped. From their place at Jiang’an Cloud Residences, they had a clear view overlooking this lake.
Rolling down the window, he let the cold wind rush inside.
He dialed Lu An, asking where he had put the watch box.
When buying this watch back then, it was Lu An who paid for it, and he was the one who carried the box to the car. Zhou Sujin was only wearing this watch temporarily and didn’t care where the watch box ended up.
Lu An had been up all night playing mahjong. He’d barely been asleep for an hour when his phone blared to life, rudely pulling him from his sleep. He cursed under his breath and reached for his phone, wanting to see which inconsiderate person would disturb him so early on Chinese New Year’s morning.
Seeing Zhou Sujin’s name on the screen, he held his tongue and quickly picked up the call.
“Where’s the watch box?”
“What… watch box?”
“The box for the watch Wei Lai originally intended to give Zhang Yanxin.”
Lu An scrambled out of bed. “Zhang Yanxin reached out to you?”
“En.”
Lu An’s throat tightened, and he tensed. “When?”
“Twenty minutes ago.”
Fk you, Zhang Yanxin! Lu An hadn’t expected Zhang Yanxin to pull such a crazy move, reaching out to Zhou Sujin on Chinese New Year of all times. Was he trying to go all-in with this?
Zhou Sujin repeated, “Where’s the watch box?”
“Lemme think.” Lu An’s head was spinning as he tried to piece it together, anxiously tracing back.
That day, he had driven Zhou Sujin to the flagship store in Zhou Sujin’s Cullinan. After Zhou Sujin tried on the watch and found it suitable, he wore it out without taking it off. They’d then stopped by Riverside Restaurant for late-night takeout. When they got to the hotel, he only remembered grabbing the food; he seemed to not have grabbed the bag from the flagship store.
That’s where his memory ended—completely blank after that.
“It’s probably in the Cullinan’s trunk or somewhere around there.” He threw off the blanket and got out of bed. “Is the Cullinan at your place? I’ll come over and find it, then I’ll bring it to you.”
Zhou Sujin: “No need to go to all that trouble. Just send it over by air.”
But Lu An insisted, “My family’s been rushing me into marriage—annoying. This is the perfect excuse to escape.”
He had to head to Jiang City himself. He needed to ask Zhang Yanxin what he was doing.
“That watch…” Zhou Sujin paused. “Did Wei Lai have to spend one-to-one to buy that watch?”
Lu An froze, caught off guard that Zhou Sujin would even care about a watch’s price. In situations like this before, Zhou Sujin was never one to ask so many questions.
Luxury watch brands these days all require accompanying purchases; there was no special treatment, more less for Wei Lai.
“Yeah, it did. The watch itself was over eight hundred thousand, and she bought a matching amount in jewelry.”
Wei Lai didn’t earn that much annually; he’d heard she took on project after project and worked overtime almost daily just to afford the watch. Such devoted love, yet Zhang Yanxin hadn’t the slightest appreciation.
“Got it.” Zhou Sujin hung up.
May all the days in the future be smooth, forever loving me.
by Wei Lai* 🙂
* – In Chinese, Wei Lai’s name has the same phonetics as “the future”
He could still picture the words neatly penned on the card, unlike her usual rushed handwriting.
In the console were Lu An’s usual brand of cigarettes. Zhou Sujin took one out of a pack and placed it between his lips. Searching the car, he couldn’t find a lighter, so he took the cigarette from his mouth, rolled it between his fingers, and then flicked it into the car ashtray.
“After Chinese New Year, Kunchen will completely withdraw from Xinming Semiconductor and pull out all investments from Xinming Group’s other ventures.“
He sent the message in several group chats and @everyone.
Min Ting was in those group chats and felt something was off when he saw the message so early in the morning.
Previously, Zhou Sujin had only reduced his stake, choosing not to invest more in Xinming Semiconductor but never withdrawing from Xinming Group’s other ventures.
Now he was withdrawing across the board.
It would have been one thing to simply withdraw, but he made it public in their group chats. Now, no one in their circle would consider working with Xinming Group again.
What had Zhang Yanxin done to provoke him so badly, enough to make him blow up on Chinese New Year?
Min Ting DMed him: “If you hurt your enemy by a thousand, you’ll lose five or six hundred yourself. Are you sure it’s worth it?“
Zhou Sujin: “No worries. Withdraw first, then acquire.“
Min Ting: “…”
“You’re planning to acquire Xinming Group?“
Zhou Sujin: “I’ll acquire the areas I’m interested in.“
Min Ting: “Why not lead the team yourself? That way, you’ll get plenty of chances to travel to Jiang City.“
Not in the mood for jokes, Zhou Sujin replied, “I’m driving.“
He tossed his phone onto the passenger seat and started the car, heading back to the office.
At the Jiang City office, he had a temporary office with a 270-degree floor-to-ceiling view that overlooked the lake.
The company garage was nearly empty, with only a handful of cars. He parked at a random spot.
When the receptionist on duty saw the CEO arrive, her mind went blank for a second. OMG, what’s going on?
She barely had time to close her game before quickly setting her phone down and standing up.
“Happy New Year, President Zhou,” she stammered, barely managing to catch her breath.
Zhou Sujin nodded. “Happy New Year,” and added, “No need to call anyone in.”
She had been about to call the CEO’s Executive Assistant for Jiang City but immediately replied, “Got it, President Zhou.”
The office had been cleaned a few days earlier, so everything was tidy and clean.
He turned on the AC and turned on his computer.
Zhou Jiaye saw the message in the group chat about half an hour later. He had anticipated many scenarios but hadn’t expected Zhou Sujin to withdraw entirely from Xinming Group.
There was no need to ask—Zhang Yanxin must’ve chosen today to ask for the watch. He understood Zhang Yanxin’s mindset: You ruined my Chinese New Year’s Eve, so I’ll ruin your New Year’s Day.
If I can’t enjoy it, neither can you.
A complete divestment wasn’t a trivial matter. He pulled up Zhou Sujin’s number and dialed, only to be rejected.
Zhou Sujin: “In a meeting.“
Checking the time, Zhou Jiaye noted it was not yet 10:30 a.m.—likely in a meeting with the team in Australia.
Even if the sky were falling, nothing could disrupt his planned schedule.
“Xinming Group’s power in Jiang City is second only to Yunhui Group. Acquiring them would consume a lot of your energy and won’t be a quick battle—it won’t be settled in just a year or two. Think carefully.“
Zhou Jiaye added a reminder, “A strong dragon cannot repress a snake.*”
* – a Chinese idiom that means that even a powerful outsider can’t easily take down the local giant
Zhou Sujin: “I know what I’m doing.“
Zhou Jiaye: “Let’s discuss this on call later.“
Once the meeting ended, Zhou Sujin collected himself.
He called his brother back and asked if there was anything else.
Zhou Jiaye first explained on Lu An’s behalf. “He didn’t mean to keep it from you. Wei Lai happened to be around that week, and it was the holiday season, so he planned to tell you after Chinese New Year.”
Zhou Sujin hadn’t cared about that at all.
Zhou Jiaye continued frankly, “Mom and Auntie probably knew about it for a while. They looked into that watch.”
He and his lil bro had a shared pet peeve: they hated it when people pried into their affairs. Their mom, despite claiming to be an open-minded parent who respected her children’s privacy, had done exactly that. And now, since she couldn’t admit it without revealing her own snooping, she’d kept it to herself.
Zhou Sujin was indifferent to all that. “Is there anything else? If not, I’m hanging up.”
Zhou Jiaye: “There actually is. Mom and Auntie asked me to check: why do you keep wearing that watch?” Of the last ten times they’d seen him, he’d been wearing it nine.
“It’s Lu An’s gift and a nice gesture of his. It’s not expensive, not rare, and easy to repair if it breaks. The watch you gifted me got damaged and had to be sent all the way to Switzerland for repairs, only for them to tell me it couldn’t be fully restored to original.”
After a pause, he added, “I’m already spending what little personal time I have on Wei Lai. I don’t have time to think about switching watches.”
Zhou Jiaye understood.
“I have to go now.” Zhou Sujin ended the call.
Wei Lai was at a work lunch with a few store managers, so Yang Ze ordered lunch from Riverside Restaurant and had it delivered to the office.
He worked through the afternoon until evening, by which time Lu An had arrived from Beijing.
Lu An had spent the entire journey silently cursing at Zhang Yanxin. Who would pick Chinese New Year to cause trouble?
No wonder Yuan Hengrui had hit him—he deserved it.
The shopping bag from the flagship store was still in the Cullinan’s trunk, along with Wei Lai’s handwritten card.
Lu An carefully placed the box on Zhou Sujin’s desk, keeping his mouth shut since the situation was unclear and anything he said might get him in trouble.
Zhou Sujin paused his work, opened the watch box, and immediately saw her handwritten birthday card.
He didn’t pick up and open the card. He removed the watch from his wrist, fastened the clasp, and set it back in the box.
Lu An watched him the entire time. Zhou Sujin’s expression remained as calm and composed as ever, without a hint of emotion.
“What… are you planning to do with the watch?”
Zhou Sujin put the box back into the dust bag and slipped it back into the shopping bag, replying, “I’ll let Wei Lai handle it.”
Lu An took a deep breath of cold air. He’d thought Zhou Sujin wasn’t going to tell Wei Lai, but it seemed the situation was more serious than he’d imagined.
After all, this was a matter between husband and wife; it wasn’t his place to say anything. Still, he suggested, “Maybe today isn’t the best time. It’s Chinese New Year, and you’re here to see her—Wei Lai must be thrilled.”
Zhou Sujin hadn’t planned to bring it up today.
But someone else had already told her—every detail.
Wei Lai had spent the day inspecting seventeen stores and returned to the Jiang’an Cloud Residences store. She brewed herself a cup of coffee and took a seat in the cafe to rest.
“Honey, I’m all done. How about you?“
Just as she sent the message, Zhang Yanxin’s call came in. She’d deleted his number long ago, but she knew it by heart.
She declined the call without hesitation.
“Wei Lai, I’m sorry to disturb you. I couldn’t resist looking into that watch, and by chance, it ended up with Zhou Sujin. I reached out to him this morning on behalf of my friend asking if he would consider selling it. He guessed the watch’s original owner was you.
I don’t know what’s come over me. I’d hoped we could move on and find our own paths. When the rumors surrounded you, I genuinely wished you’d meet someone better.
But I couldn’t let go.“
“Zhou Sujin has already decided to completely withdraw from Xinming Group. I didn’t think he’d take it so seriously—it might end up affecting you.“
“Sorry.“
Wei Lai abruptly stood up, her movement so sudden that the chair scraped loudly against the tile floor. Luckily, no one else was at the cafe today.
She wanted to go find Zhou Sujin immediately, but after a few steps, she stopped, realizing she had no idea where he was.
After calming down, she gave him a call.
He had already known about everything this morning, yet when he called her at noon, his tone had been completely normal, with no trace of displeasure.
The call connected, and Zhou Sujin said, “I’ll be at the entrance of the store in two minutes. Come out then.”
Wei Lai opened her mouth, but in the end, she only said one word, “Okay.”
She deleted Zhang Yanxin’s messages and blocked his number.
She had once loved him. Now, things had become this ugly—something she never wanted to see.
At the store entrance, she remembered her coat was still draped over the back of the chair and hurried back to get it.
Zhou Sujin had told her to come out in two minutes, but he had arrived in less than a minute. A white Wraith parked at the supermarket entrance, and the passenger door swung open from the inside.
Wei Lai got in, but her hand struggled to pull the seatbelt down.
Zhou Sujin leaned over, tugging the belt with enough force to loosen it for her.
If she hadn’t received Zhang Yanxin’s messages, she might’ve hugged his neck while he fastened her seatbelt. But now, her mind was in turmoil.
The Wraith drove from the complex’s east gate directly into the underground garage. Afraid of distracting him while he drove, Wei Lai stayed silent until they reached the elevator.
Zhou Sujin glanced at her from the corner of his eye. The woman in front of him was a completely different person from the one he’d seen that morning. “You found out?”
Wei Lai came back to her senses, their gazes meeting for a brief moment before she nodded.
The elevator arrived at their floor, and Zhou Sujin held down the open button. “Head home first. I need to grab something from the car.”
He hadn’t brought the watch up, planning to discuss it with her tomorrow. Now, there was no need to delay things any further.
Without taking off her coat, Wei Lai changed into her slippers and went straight to the living room to wait.
Where should she even begin?
The things she wanted to give him were beyond her financial reach right now.
As she drifted in thought, the front door opened.
She stood up from the sofa, taking a few steps forward to greet him.
He had already taken off his dark coat, now wearing only a white shirt, exuding an aura that felt distant and unapproachable.
Wei Lai reached out, wanting to hug him.
Zhou Sujin: “Let’s talk properly. Don’t act cute.”
Wei Lai met his cold gaze, freezing her arms in mid-air. “Oh.” Her fingers curled slightly, and she slowly lowered her arms, stepping back half a step.
The hurt on her face was hard to hide.
Zhou Sujin abruptly turned to look out the window, taking a deep breath to ease the tightness in his chest. Even the call with Zhang Yanxin in the morning hadn’t left him feeling like this.
He tossed a small bag onto the sofa before pulling her into his arms. “I never said you couldn’t.”
Wei Lai said aggrievedly, “I’ve been looking forward to tonight all day, just to celebrate Chinese New Year with you.”
“I know.”
Wei Lai wrapped her arms around him.
With one hand on her waist and the other wrapped tightly around her back, Zhou Sujin held her close. “The card and watch are both in the box. You take care of it. This matter is over between you and me.”
