Edited by Elv
Tian Yin Corporation
Zhou Kao was taken aback by the words, “What’s wrong?”
Wen Le slowly covered her face, her skin was already turning deep red.
“… Zhou Kao, you’re such a… fool…”
After a while, Zhou Kao finally realized, reaching up to touch his lips, his eyes widening slightly. He turned and opened the mirror on the other side of the wardrobe, only to see the disheveled red marks on his lips in the mirror.
Zhou Kao cleared his throat, his ears turning slightly red.
For a while, Wen Le didn’t hear any movement. She cautiously opened her fingers a little and peeked at Zhou Kao.
She saw him standing in front of the mirror, carefully examining something.
Not knowing what Zhou Kao was looking at, Wen Le slowly lowered her fingers and asked, “What are you looking at?”
Zhou Kao was still carefully studying his reflection in the mirror. He pointed to the prominent red mark on the corner of his mouth from where he was pointing, “You did this.”
Then he pointed to another obvious mark of red beyond his lips, “And this.”
Wen Le stared at him in disbelief. This audacious guy! He’s actually thinking about these things now…
Annoyed, Wen Le was about to jump out of the wardrobe to hit Zhou Kao. Her movements were a bit hasty, causing her to slip, almost falling out.
Zhou Kao hurriedly moved forward, embracing her from under her arms to lift her up.
Wen Le hung onto Zhou Kao in half fright but then slapped his shoulder with a soft pat. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and then she held Zhou Kao’s face in her hands, raising an eyebrow at him and asking, “Really? Do you have to be so calculative about who did what?”
Zhou Kao laughed in response, holding Wen Le close and turning around, pressing her onto the bed. Laughing heartily, he said “Then calculate it for me.”
Wen Le squinted her eyes and bit her lower lip slowly, whispering, “You’re quite naughty.”
Zhou Kao chuckled softly and, using his hand adorned with the men’s ring, guided Wen Le’s hand with the women’s ring onto the top of her head, their fingers entwined. He leaned down to her ear and softly asked, “Do you like it?”
Without waiting for Wen Le’s response, he lowered his head and kissed her lips.
This kiss was different from the previous intense ones. It was filled with almost overwhelming love, restrained into a gentle, lingering flow. They exchanged their breaths, conveying their affection.
At this moment, they didn’t want to think about anything else, focusing solely on kissing each other.
However, this was destined to be an eventful night. A burst of phone ringing shattered the intimacy of the room.
In a daze, Wen Le reached out to push Zhou Kao.
Zhou Kao’s breathing grew heavy as he continued to kiss Wen Le’s lips, his words muffled, “Ignore it.”
Wen Le was also getting lost in the moment, allowing Zhou Kao to kiss her for a while longer. Finally, she managed to regain her composure and patted Zhou Kao’s shoulder gently.
Zhou Kao lightly nibbled Wen Le’s lips again before reluctantly pulling away from her.
Wen Le’s breath was still erratic as she picked up her phone. Seeing the caller ID, she jolted awake.
Zhou Kao wrapped his arms around Wen Le from behind, his lips kissing her neck. His voice was low and lazy, “Who is it?”
Wen Le squirmed a bit, saying, “My dad.”
Zhou Kao’s movements froze. He let go of Wen Le and obediently sat down next to her.
Wen Le remembered what her father had told her earlier today, and her heart skipped a beat. She took a deep breath to steady herself before answering the call.
“Dad.”
Wen Tianqi’s voice came through the receiver, “Lele, why did you take so long to answer the phone?”
Wen Le felt guilty but quickly made up an excuse, “My phone was on silent, so I didn’t hear it.”
Wen Tianqi didn’t suspect anything, only advising, “Rest early tonight, don’t stay up too late. When you read at night, make sure the lighting is good to protect your eyes.”
Wen Le nodded, “I understand, Dad.”
“Why is Dad calling me so late?”
Wen Tianqi explained, “It’s nothing important. It’s just that I forgot to ask you about your preferences for the decoration style when we were renovating. One of these days, I’ll have Uncle Jiang drive you to see, and if there’s anything else you need, just let me know anytime.”
Wen Le nodded again, “Sure, I’ll let Uncle Jiang know when I have time.”
Wen Tianqi continued, “The car I got you is in the garage. But I suggest you drive less. Sometimes it’s inconvenient for Uncle Jiang to drive you since he’s accompanying me – you can contact Xiao Yang for transportation. The car he drives suits your current situation.”
Wen Tianqi gave Wen Le some more instructions, and before hanging up, he reminded her again to focus on her studies.
After ending the call, Wen Le felt a bit guilty.
Zhou Kao hugged Wen Le from behind, rubbing his cheek against hers. He whispered softly, “Having a boyfriend won’t necessarily affect your studies.”
Wen Le chuckled at his words and turned to look at Zhou Kao, “Did you hear everything?”
Zhou Kao replied, “I didn’t intend to eavesdrop, but your voice on the phone was quite loud.”
Wen Le laughed lightly, “I wasn’t avoiding you.”
Zhou Kao smiled and lifted Wen Le’s hand, kissing it softly. His voice was gentle, “Will you stay with me a bit longer and let me drive you back?”
Wen Le’s fingers lightly traced Zhou Kao’s brow, and she nodded with a smile.
But when her gaze swept over the lingering red marks on Zhou Kao’s lips, she suddenly asked, “Your mother… knows, right?”
Zhou Kao held Wen Le’s hand, wrapped his arm around her waist, and leaned against the head of the bed together. “Yeah.”
With a smile in his eyes, Zhou Kao continued, “I guess she probably noticed as soon as she walked in.”
Wen Le thought of her shoes and bag she had left in the hallway and couldn’t help but sigh, burying her face in Zhou Kao’s chest. “This is just too embarrassing…”
Meeting your boyfriend’s mother for the first time while being caught up in intimate activities on a bed – could there be anything more awkward in the world?
Zhou Kao lowered his head to kiss Wen Le’s forehead. “It’s my fault.”
Wen Le took a deep breath and asked, “Your mother left so soon because she found out I was here?”
Zhou Kao suddenly chuckled, seemingly thinking of something. “It seems she’s quite confident in leaving her sick son with you.”
Wen Le said, “Your mother’s reaction was really unexpected, but it did help alleviate my embarrassment.”
Zhou Kao remarked, “You’ll know better after meeting her more. You should get along well.”
Wen Le playfully rolled her eyes at him. “Let’s talk about that in the future when we get there.”
Suddenly, Zhou Kao remembered something, got out of bed, and left the bedroom. He returned shortly with something in his hand.
Wen Le looked and saw it was the bangle she had left on the table in the living room. She had taken it off to avoid making noise while typing on the computer.
Zhou Kao took Wen Le’s hand and helped her put it on. She jingled the bangle, and her wrist looked even more delicate and fair against the backdrop of the jade bracelet.
Zhou Kao was fixated on the bangle. He slightly furrowed his brows.
Noticing his expression, Wen Le was puzzled. “What’s wrong?”
Zhou Kao shook his head. “It’s nothing.”
He just felt like he had seen this bangle somewhere before, but he couldn’t recall where exactly.
Zhou Kao couldn’t remember, but someone else might remember.
With a smile on her face, Li Hua came down from Zhou Kao’s apartment and got into the car waiting downstairs.
The driver quickly opened the door upon seeing Li Hua approaching. “Madam.”
With a contented smile, Li Hua entered the car.
The driver inquired, “Madam seems to be in a good mood. Is the young master alright?”
Li Hua took her phone out of her bag with a smile and replied, “He’s doing well. He even has the time to…”
Li Hua paused, not expressing what she meant by “still have the time.” The driver was an old staff of the Zhou family and had watched Zhou Kao growing up. Understanding Zhou Kao’s reserved personality, he couldn’t imagine how else the young master could be when he was sick.
After exhausting the driver’s imagination, he could probably only guess that Zhou Kao, while sick, was working and studying relentlessly.
Li Hua dialled an assistant’s number. “Annie, do you still have the auction catalogue from the last auction in Hong Kong? Send it to me to have a look.”
Shortly afterward, Li Hua’s phone received a message. Annie had sent the auction catalogue to her.
Opening the catalogue, Li Hua found a familiar picture. The warm jade bracelet in the photo was identical to the one she had seen today at Zhou Kao’s place.
Although not an expert, based on Li Hua’s years of experience in collecting jade and gemstone jewellery, she didn’t think the bracelet was fake.
Li Hua recalled the previous month when she had gone to Hong Kong to attend an auction for the old lady’s birthday. She had set her eyes on this bangle then, but due to the high price of the jade Buddha she was bidding for the old lady, she missed out on buying this bangle. She didn’t expect to see it again at Zhou Kao’s place, casually placed on the table.
Li Hua remembered that the final bid for this warm jade bangle was nearly 5 million RMB.
Li Hua calculated in her mind, considering which family could afford to buy this bangle. She picked out a few families with girls of the same age as Zhou Kao, but she couldn’t figure out who it might be.
She knew that the girls from those families didn’t seem to like such things much. They seemed more inclined to spend money on sports cars, designer bags, and high-profile jewelry. Moreover, these girls’ families wouldn’t casually spend a few million to buy a bangle for their daughters.
Li Hua couldn’t help but think of the girl’s shoes and bags left in the hallway. They didn’t seem to have prominent logos, and she thought that a girl willing to spend so much on a jade bracelet might not be fond of flaunting wealth. Such a girl was more like someone raised in an old family money.
However, Li Hua realized that the girls from the well-established families who were familiar with the Zhou family had an age gap with Zhou Kao. There wasn’t much interaction between them, especially considering the style of the girl’s shoes and bags. She should be someone around Zhou Kao’s age.
Li Hua couldn’t fathom who this girl was that managed to capture Zhou Kao’s heart. She knew Zhou Kao’s personality better than anyone. He was cool and distant, and his rationality always outweighed his emotions.
To be honest, Li Hua was surprised to see Zhou Kao, while sick, kissing a girl on the bed. She even doubted whether that was really her son.
Li Hua couldn’t figure it out, so she called Annie to ask her to find out who had bought that bangle at the auction.
After a while, Annie called back, “Ms. Li, the buyer for that bracelet was Tianyin Corporation.”
Li Hua was taken aback. “Tian..Tianyin Corporation?”
