At the entrance to the auction house, Zhou Sui'an and Su Wan were walking in one after the other.
“Zhou Sui'an! Stop right there!”
A girl’s clear voice rang out behind them.
Every word was clipped and deliberate, as though she were biting each syllable to pieces in her throat. She was furious.
“...”
The familiar voice made Zhou Sui'an stop in his tracks. His breathing suddenly caught.
His heart pounded so violently that, in an instant, it seemed to leap into his throat.
He turned around stiffly.
Zhou Suisui stood not far away. Her palm-sized face was as cold as ice, and her blazing gaze was fixed straight on him.
If looks could kill, Zhou Sui'an would have died hundreds of times by now.
“Suisui... What are you doing here?”
Zhou Sui'an tugged awkwardly at the corner of his mouth. A flash of panic and helplessness crossed his eyes. He looked like someone who had been caught red-handed doing something wrong, and he immediately wilted.
Su Wan also turned at the sound. When she saw Zhou Suisui, the corners of her lips lifted into a faintly provocative smile.
“Suisui, you came too.”
In front of Zhou Sui'an, she had to maintain her gentle image.
But Zhou Suisui did not even glance at her. Treating her as if she were nothing more than air, she kept her gaze fixed firmly on Zhou Sui'an.
“!!”
Zhou Sui'an felt his scalp prickle beneath her stare. After a moment, he took the initiative and moved closer, trying to placate her.
“Little sister, if you were coming, why didn’t you tell your brother ahead of time? I could’ve brought you with me.”
The girl’s clear, limpid eyes seemed to have seen through everything long ago.
“Heh.”
Zhou Suisui’s chest rose and fell violently. She gave a cold laugh.
“Brother, if Mom and Dad were still alive, they’d probably be so furious they’d claw their way out of the ground!”
Zhou Sui'an was speechless.
Why had his sister dragged their parents into this?
He awkwardly rubbed his nose and stammered in protest, “It’s n-not that serious...”
“You’re the only sister you have left, and you’re probably going to anger me to death too.”
“Don’t...”
Zhou Sui'an was both amused and exasperated.
Whenever his sister got angry, she became a spicy little firecracker. He had no idea how to coax her.
Su Wan watched from the side, sneering inwardly, her heart full of disdain.
Zhou Sui'an was a grown man, and a company president at that, yet he was completely submissive in front of his sister.
She frowned, then put on an affected air and stepped forward to defend him.
“Suisui, he’s your brother, after all. How can you speak to him like that? You should show him some respect...”
“Su Wan, this has nothing to do with you.”
Before she could finish, Zhou Sui'an’s expression darkened, and his voice turned displeased.
This was a matter between him and his sister.
It had nothing to do with outsiders!
Nor would he allow anyone to speak ill of his sister in front of him.
Besides, he was the one in the wrong this time. He had come to the auction without telling her.
Su Wan was instead shouted at. Her eyes instantly reddened with hurt.
“Sui'an, why are you yelling at me? I just couldn’t stand the way Suisui was behaving. Children need to be taught properly.”
“Children?”
At last, Zhou Suisui turned to look at her, her eyes filled with mockery.
“That’s right, I’m a child! May I ask who you are, ma’am? What makes you think you have the right to speak here?”
“You!”
Su Wan’s face filled with disbelief, as if she had just been struck across the head.
This was the first time Zhou Suisui had been so rude to her in front of Zhou Sui'an!
In the past, even if she had been unhappy, she had at least held her tongue in front of Zhou Sui'an and never dared to be too harsh with her.
Her face turned pale, then livid, and she was so furious that she could not speak for a long moment.
She was a celebrity, yet Zhou Suisui had just called her an old woman.
Seeing how angry his sister had become, Zhou Sui'an felt both heartache and helplessness.
Girls shouldn’t get angry during their periods. Otherwise, their stomach cramps would only become worse.
He hurriedly tried to soothe her.
“Suisui, don’t be angry. Tell me what you like, and I’ll bid for it all today. How’s that?”
“Really? You said it yourself!”
That was exactly what Zhou Suisui had been waiting to hear.
Without the slightest hesitation, she extended a snow-white finger and pointed to the most eye-catching item on the brochure: the Pink Heart.
“This one, then.”
The curve of Zhou Sui'an’s lips stiffened slightly.
The moment Su Wan heard that, she panicked.
Before Zhou Sui'an could respond, she blurted out, “How can that be?”
The Pink Heart could only be hers.
She had already built up anticipation for it on Weibo and made her intentions public. There was no room to back down now.
Sure enough, Zhou Suisui was deliberately targeting her!
“Why can’t it be?”
Zhou Suisui turned her head and looked at Su Wan with obvious sarcasm.
“My brother’s money is the Zhou family’s money. And half of the Zhou family’s money belongs to me, so why can’t I have it?”
Her fair, delicate face looked innocent and soft, and she wore a faint smile the entire time.
“Besides, Miss Su, you’re asking for a diamond worth several hundred million yuan?”
“...”
“Weren’t you always presenting yourself as an independent queen?”
“Where’s your pride?”
“Weren’t you supposed to refuse handouts?”
“Then why are you asking for something so expensive the moment you open your mouth?”
“Are you treating my brother like a sucker?”
Her tone remained calm, and her voice was neither high nor low, but every word was sharp enough to cut.
“Sui'an... I didn’t!”
Su Wan panicked.
Zhou Suisui’s string of questions had left her utterly speechless.
Unable to argue with her, she turned to Zhou Sui'an with a look of grievance.
But Zhou Sui'an merely lifted his head and stared at the ceiling, pretending not to see her.
Ahem.
Was he tired of living?
If he dared to say even one word in Su Wan’s defense right now, his sister might sever all ties with him on the spot.
He sighed and forced himself to say to Su Wan, “Go home first. This kind of occasion isn’t suitable for you today.”
“What?”
Su Wan was so shocked she could not even cry.
Just because Zhou Suisui had arrived, she was being sent away?
“Leave.”
Zhou Sui'an frowned, his cold eyes filled with warning.
It was as if he were telling her that if she didn’t leave now, she could forget about getting the Pink Heart.
“...”
Su Wan clenched her teeth in fury.
There was no trace of gentleness left on her face. Her features twisted as she snorted coldly at Zhou Suisui before leaving reluctantly.
For the sake of the Pink Heart, she would swallow this humiliation.
At that moment, she despised Zhou Sui'an even more.
What kind of man let his own sister control him so completely? He didn’t have even an ounce of backbone.
Behind her, Zhou Sui'an continued trying to appease Zhou Suisui.
“Suisui, just this once. From now on, I’ll listen to everything you say. I absolutely won’t go against you again. If you say east, I’ll go east. If you say west, I’ll go west.”
“Could you stop making promises you don’t intend to keep?”
Zhou Suisui’s eyes were full of mockery.
“I’ll ask you one last time. Are you really going to do this?”
Zhou Sui'an’s gaze darkened, and he pressed his lips together in silence.
“Suisui, I have my reasons. Just this once, please give in to your brother. After this, I’ll cut ties with her for good.”
He only wanted to sever his relationship with Su Wan as soon as possible and repay the debt of gratitude he owed her.
He clearly remembered the despair he had felt when he was on the verge of death, as well as the white handkerchief that had fallen gently onto his forehead...
That handkerchief had been his salvation.
So as long as Su Wan did not go too far, he was willing to indulge her in anything.
But how could he explain all of this to Suisui?
It would be no different from tearing open the wounded, shattered version of himself and exposing it to her.
Some burdens were better carried alone.
His sister did not need to bear those troubles.
Zhou Suisui looked at him, disappointment filling her eyes. With a cold snort, she turned and walked into the auction hall.
“Fine. Let’s see how you manage to come up with several hundred million yuan in three days!”
“…”
She had just turned around when Zhou Sui’an’s phone chimed.
