The Zhou residence.
Outside the villa.
Zhou Sui'an crouched on the marble steps, his expensive custom-made suit rumpled and smeared with dust at the knees.
His usually immaculate hair was disheveled, stray strands falling over his forehead and hiding his reddened eyes.
He looked utterly pitiful.
“Little sister, will you open the door for your brother?”
“Your brother really knows he was wrong!”
“I swear, I’ll never do it again!”
“…”
There was no response from inside.
He switched to a cheerful, coaxing tone. “Suisui… I bought your favorite little cake on the way home. Strawberry flavor. Open the door for me, okay? I won’t come in. I’ll just give you the cake.”
Zhou Suisui still ignored him.
“Little sister… at least say something, will you? You can curse me out if you want.”
Zhou Sui'an muttered as he gripped the box of strawberry cake tightly in his hand.
Although he was a complete mess, he had protected the little cake perfectly.
His legs were so numb that he could barely stand, and his throat was hoarse from shouting. Even his pleas had taken on a raspy, nasal quality.
“Get lost!”
Zhou Suisui finally lost her patience and shouted angrily from inside.
Zhou Sui'an’s eyes lit up. “Little sister! You finally spoke to me!”
He not only failed to get angry, but smiled instead. “All right, your brother will leave right away. Don’t be angry, okay? Don’t upset yourself. Your brother isn’t worth getting angry over.”
He carefully placed the little cake at the door, then craned his neck toward the crack beneath it and called out loudly, “Suisui, I left the cake outside the door. Remember to eat it.”
The silence inside returned. She could not even be bothered to curse him anymore.
Zhou Sui'an sighed regretfully. It seemed his sister was truly angry this time.
He would rather she curse him out.
He knew his sister well.
If she was willing to scold him, that meant there was still room for him to make amends.
But when she neither cried nor made a fuss, that was when things were truly serious.
He knew he was in the wrong. He should never have provoked his sister and made her angry again.
As a thought occurred to him, his lashes trembled slightly. Still unwilling to give up, he reminded her, “Don’t believe anything Jiang Zongyan said, all right? He made it sound nice just now, saying he’d buy the diamond for you to play with, but look… he was only saying it. Don’t take his words to heart, and don’t be sad, okay?”
“Oh, Young Master Zhou, what are you doing?”
The moment he finished speaking, a gloating voice came from behind him.
There was a show to watch!
Lin Zhou parked his car outside the gate. As soon as he entered the villa grounds, he saw the scene before him.
The President of the Zhou Group, who was usually mighty and decisive, now looked like a discarded Alaskan Malamute, all aggrieved and pitiful.
Zhou Sui'an paused, then immediately spoke with hostility. “What are you doing here?”
Lin Zhou smiled without answering. Carrying an exquisite velvet box, he walked up to Zhou Sui'an and looked down at him, raising an eyebrow.
“What mistake did CEO Zhou make to get kicked out by Miss Zhou?”
“…”
Heat rose to Zhou Sui'an’s cheeks. He lifted his eyes and replied calmly, “Who got kicked out? It’s just too hot today, so I’m sitting here to enjoy the breeze.”
“Enjoying the breeze?”
Lin Zhou fought back a laugh without exposing him. “All right, then. You can continue sitting here and enjoying the breeze while I deliver something to Miss Zhou.”
With that, he stepped forward and raised his hand to knock on the door.
Deliver something?
Zhou Sui'an immediately eyed him warily. “What is it? Did Jiang Zongyan send you?”
Lin Zhou smiled brightly and nodded. He looked refined and elegant, which only made Zhou Sui'an appear even more disheveled by comparison.
Zhou Sui'an was furious. He got to his feet at once and coldly waved him away.
“My family doesn’t accept anything from Jiang Zongyan. Leave! Go, go, go!”
The smile in Lin Zhou’s foxlike eyes deepened. “CEO Zhou is barely able to take care of himself right now. I’m afraid your words don’t carry much weight.”
Zhou Sui'an laughed angrily. “I’m the head of the Zhou family. You’re saying my word doesn’t carry weight?”
What a joke.
This bootlicker was just like his boss—both of them were insufferable.
Just then, the villa’s front door clicked open from the inside.
Cui Wu looked at the visitor in confusion, then greeted him warmly. “Assistant Lin, what brings you here?”
The last time Assistant Lin had come to their home, he had delivered a dress for Miss Zhou.
What had he come to deliver this time?
“Housekeeper Cui, could I trouble you to pass this gift from our president to Miss Zhou?”
Lin Zhou smiled warmly and quickly handed over the brocade box.
Cui Wu reached out to take it. The moment she got a good look at it, she sucked in a sharp breath.
This… wasn’t this the box containing the pink diamond from the auction just now?
The Pink Heart, worth the astronomical sum of eleven hundred million!
Good heavens!
That was over a billion yuan, and it was now in her hands.
Cui Wu’s hands began to tremble.
She still did not know that the brocade box contained eight Pink Hearts.
If she had known it was an entire set, she probably would have gone weak in the knees and collapsed on the spot.
“!!”
Beside her, Zhou Sui'an narrowed his eyes dangerously and glared at Lin Zhou, his back teeth grinding audibly.
That Jiang Zongyan—he had actually tried to win over his sister by throwing money at her.
How shameless.
Yet he had to admit that this vulgar tactic happened to be something girls found impossible to resist.
Lin Zhou did not linger. After handing the gift to Housekeeper Cui, he turned and prepared to leave.
Before going, he caught sight of Zhou Sui'an’s furious face and stopped.
With a mocking laugh, he walked over and patted him on the shoulder.
“Young Master Zhou, don’t worry. Our president is a pretty good man. He’s handsome, wealthy, and genuinely cares about Miss Zhou. You can rest assured about entrusting your sister to him!”
“Get lost! A toad dreaming of eating swan meat!”
Zhou Sui'an could take it no longer. He grabbed the broom beside him and swung it at Lin Zhou.
Lin Zhou’s eyes widened in shock.
By the time he reacted, his face was covered in disbelief. He turned and ran.
“CEO Zhou, you’re a respectable man with a reputation to uphold. How can you act like some street thug?”
“Go back and tell Jiang Zongyan that he can forget about coveting my sister! If my sister wants diamonds, I’ll buy them for her. She doesn’t care about his worthless rocks!”
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t care. Miss Zhou likes them!”
As Lin Zhou ran, he continued twisting the knife.
“Why, you—”
Zhou Sui'an spat out a string of curses.
Lin Zhou hurriedly yanked open the car door, jumped in, started the engine, and sped away in one smooth motion.
“Don’t run if you’ve got the guts! Cough, cough, cough!”
Zhou Sui'an choked on a mouthful of exhaust fumes. He stamped his feet in fury, watching helplessly as the car disappeared down the road.
Inside the living room.
Zhou Suisui sat on the sofa, staring at the eight pink diamonds before her, her heart pounding rapidly.
“Eight! There are actually eight of them!”
Housekeeper Cui pinched the spot beneath her nose, so shocked that she could barely speak. She nearly fainted.
Good heavens! One was worth eleven hundred million. How much would eight of them be?
Under the crystal chandelier, the pink diamonds reflected a soft glow. Up close, they were even more dazzling, radiating an almost magical allure.
Zhou Suisui gently stroked one of the pink diamonds, and her heart trembled faintly.
Jiang Zongyan had actually sent Assistant Lin to deliver the diamonds to her.
Not just one, but an entire box.
[Brother Yan, these diamonds are so expensive. Are you planning to propose to some girl?]
[Yes. To you.]
Their conversation outside the auction house moments earlier replayed again and again in her mind.
It was like a haunting spell, impossible to dispel.
Zhou Suisui’s breathing grew uneven, and her heart raced as if it might leap out of her chest. Even her fingertips felt hot.
