Zhou Sui'an watched his sister’s haughty retreat and let out a helpless sigh.
He turned his gaze away and opened the message.
It was a confirmation text from the realtor about the sale of the house, asking him to sign in the blank space.
Turning his back, Zhou Sui'an quickly signed on the screen and secretly slipped his phone back into his pocket.
Zhou Suisui had assumed her brother would follow her.
But when she turned around, she caught him sneaking around.
He looked so guilty that he might as well have been wearing a sign announcing that he was up to no good.
What was he plotting now?
She had developed a stress reaction whenever it came to her brother. The moment she saw him acting like this, fear welled up inside her.
Zhou Suisui was so angry she felt dizzy. The last trace of warmth in her heart vanished completely.
“Hah!”
She let out a cold laugh and stopped paying attention to him, turning to walk into the auction hall on her own.
“Sis, wait for me.”
Zhou Sui'an hurried after her, grinning ingratiatingly as he tried to sit beside her. But Zhou Suisui disdainfully shoved him away.
“Don’t sit next to me.”
“Don’t be angry, Sis. I won’t sit beside you. I’ll sit behind you.”
No matter how much he tried to appease her, Zhou Suisui refused to give him so much as a pleasant look.
In the end, Zhou Sui'an could only sit behind her with an utterly helpless expression.
His sister still wasn’t feeling well. He’d better not upset her.
Reluctantly, Zhou Sui'an moved farther back.
Just then, a commotion arose at the entrance to the hall.
“Look! Isn’t that Young Master Jiang?”
“Why would he personally attend today’s auction?”
“Let’s see what’s being auctioned today. There must be some priceless treasure, or Young Master Jiang wouldn’t have come in person.”
“Could it be the Pink Heart? It would be perfect for a marriage proposal…”
“You’re overthinking it. Who doesn’t know that Young Master Jiang has no interest in women?”
“Who knows? Men in the prime of their lives can always prove everyone wrong. Love is impossible to predict, after all.”
“…”
Zhou Suisui instinctively turned toward the entrance.
Jiang Zongyan walked in wearing a black, custom-tailored suit.
The golden glow of the setting sun streamed in behind him, outlining his entire figure in dazzling light.
The brilliance was so intense that his features were impossible to make out. All anyone could see was his tall, straight silhouette, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist perfectly accentuated by the bespoke suit.
He walked in at an unhurried pace.
His footsteps were not loud, yet each one seemed to land on everyone’s heart.
The auction hall, which had been filled with whispers, fell silent in an instant.
Everyone unconsciously held their breath, their eyes following that imposing figure.
He paid no attention to anyone, casually slipping his fingers into his trouser pocket.
Every step was calm and composed, carrying an innate air of nobility and authority.
Only when his gaze swept across the crowd and landed on the girl’s puffed-up face did he pause slightly.
The corner of Jiang Zongyan’s lips lifted almost imperceptibly. He walked straight over and naturally took the empty seat beside Zhou Suisui.
He turned his head. “Why are you unhappy?”
Zhou Suisui blinked. Only then did the reality that this person truly was Jiang Zongyan sink in, and she looked at him in surprise.
“Why are you here too?”
“To bid on something.”
Jiang Zongyan’s gaze fell on the crease between her brows. “Who made our young lady angry?”
Zhou Suisui pouted without saying a word.
Jiang Zongyan raised an eyebrow. After a moment of thought, he asked, “What do you want?”
Zhou Suisui let out a drawn-out sigh.
Still, she didn’t say anything.
His brows drew together even more as he tentatively asked, “The Pink Heart?”
Zhou Suisui paused, then nodded.
Jiang Zongyan looked at her, and a meaningful smile suddenly curved across his lips.
From the seat behind them, Zhou Sui'an watched the two of them sitting so close that their heads were nearly touching. His teeth ached with jealousy, but there was nothing he could do.
Who could blame him? He was the one who had offended his sister.
If he caused a scene now, she would only dislike him even more.
No one noticed that Su Wan had quietly slipped into the last row of the auction hall.
Watching Zhou Sui'an and Zhou Suisui fall out, she felt utterly delighted.
So what if Zhou Suisui was capable? In the end, she still couldn’t defeat her.
The auction soon began.
The first few lots were nothing special, and Zhou Suisui had little interest in them. Her mind remained fixed on the identity of the mysterious person.
After thinking it over, she concluded that the only person with that kind of financial power was Jiang Zongyan, sitting beside her.
Could it be him?
Zhou Suisui studied him suspiciously.
If it was him, then…
By then, Cui Wu had finished handling her business and had quietly taken the seat on Zhou Suisui’s right.
“Miss, if Young Master insists on bidding, are we really going to buy the diamond?”
Zhou Suisui nodded silently.
Spending hundreds of millions on a diamond made her heart ache just thinking about it.
Fortunately, the diamond had considerable collectible value. It shouldn’t depreciate too badly.
Cui Wu leaned toward her again and whispered a reminder. “Miss, Young Master Jiang has been sitting here for ages, and he hasn’t taken an interest in anything. It looks like he’s here for the final lot too.”
Zhou Suisui nodded and replied casually, “He’s probably bidding on it for his first love.”
He couldn’t possibly be bidding on such a pink diamond for his collection, could he?
If it were for collecting, he could have simply sent Lin Zhou. There was no need for him to attend in person.
The fact that he had come himself meant that he regarded it as extremely important.
Anyone who liked such a delicate pink diamond had to be a woman.
And so the conclusion was obvious: Jiang Zongyan had come to bid on the Pink Heart for a woman, and that woman was his beloved first love.
The man looked cold and restrained, but in reality, he understood women better than anyone else. Otherwise, how would he know that girls needed ginger-brown-sugar tea during their periods, or that he should massage their stomachs?
Zhou Suisui mentally criticized Jiang Zongyan eight hundred times while desperately trying to ignore the faint discomfort stirring in her heart.
Sensing her gaze, Jiang Zongyan turned his head.
Their eyes met, and the disdain and displeasure in the girl’s eyes had not yet faded.
“What is it this time? I don’t think I’ve done or said anything. How did I offend you?”
The man’s eyes held a smile, his expression full of innocence.
Zhou Suisui narrowed her eyes and leaned closer, whispering, “You’re here for the Pink Heart too, aren’t you?”
Jiang Zongyan froze for a moment. He thought Jiang Ruitian must have told her something beforehand, and the tips of his ears unconsciously turned red.
Ahem…
Zhou Suisui suddenly smiled, her previous gloom vanishing completely.
“Brother Yan, you absolutely must win it tonight. Don’t let anyone else have it, understand? Especially not my brother!”
Don’t let her brother have it?
There was definitely something fishy going on.
She always sided with her brother and had never once taken him seriously.
Jiang Zongyan was silent for a moment before his thin lips parted.
“You really like pink diamonds?”
Zhou Suisui froze.
Who wouldn’t like something so beautiful—and so expensive?
She nodded vigorously. “Of course!”
Jiang Zongyan suddenly curved his lips into a smile so devastatingly handsome that it could charm anyone.
“Fine. I’ll bid on it later and let you play with it.”
Zhou Suisui: “?”
Let her play with it?
She had to have misheard him, right?
Before she could blink and ask him to clarify, Jiang Zongyan had already turned his head toward the auction stage.
Beside her, Cui Wu covered her mouth and secretly stifled a laugh.
Zhou Suisui looked at her in confusion. “What are you laughing at?”
Cui Wu leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Miss, Young Master Jiang isn’t bidding on it for some first love. He clearly likes you. You’re his first love, aren’t you?”
“Ridiculous!”
Zhou Suisui stared at her. “How is that possible?”
Zhou Sui’an was sitting right behind her, listening to the two of them converse. She was so furious that she nearly crushed the sign in her hand.
