That evening.
Zhou Sui'an was heartlessly locked outside by Zhou Suisui for the entire night.
The next morning.
Cui Wu got up early to open the door and was startled to find Zhou Sui'an asleep against the door.
She had assumed that if Miss refused to open the door, Young Master would spend the night at a hotel or in the lounge at the company.
She never expected him to sleep right there in front of the door.
In the end, her heart softened, and she quietly left a crack in the door for him.
When Zhou Suisui came downstairs, she immediately saw Zhou Sui'an sitting on the sofa, sneezing repeatedly.
His face was pale, and he looked utterly haggard.
When he looked up and saw his sister, Zhou Sui'an instantly perked up and hurried over to greet her.
“Little sister, did you sleep well last night?”
Normally, Zhou Suisui would have worried about him right away.
But now, she remained expressionless and walked past him toward the dining room.
She ate her breakfast in silence.
Zhou Sui'an sat across from her. Watching his sister ignore him left him feeling tortured inside.
Zhou Suisui had little appetite. After eating a few bites, she got up.
Zhou Sui'an also put down his chopsticks and followed closely behind her, trying to win her over with a cheeky smile.
“Suisui, are you full? You hardly ate anything… Just look at how thin you are…”
Zhou Suisui went to pour herself some water.
Zhou Sui'an immediately picked up a cup, filled it, and handed it to her.
“Here, little sister.”
He lowered himself and tried desperately to please her, but Zhou Suisui did not show the slightest reaction.
She ignored him completely.
Instead, she took another cup for herself.
After drinking some water, Zhou Suisui sat on the sofa and scrolled through her phone without even lifting her eyes, treating him as if he did not exist.
“Suisui, I bought these little cakes especially for you. Have a bite.”
Zhou Sui'an sat down beside her.
Ignoring how unpleasant his sister looked, he picked up one of the cakes and used a small spoon to scoop out a piece with the most cream in the middle. Then he held it to her mouth.
“Come on, open up.”
But he misjudged the force he was using, and the cake poked Zhou Suisui right in the mouth.
Uh.
Both of them froze.
Like a child who had done something wrong, Zhou Sui'an hurriedly pulled out some tissues.
“Little sister, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“!”
Her mouth covered in cream, Zhou Suisui finally reached the limit of her patience.
She shot to her feet and glared angrily at him.
“Zhou Sui'an, are you sick?”
“…”
Meeting Zhou Suisui’s eyes, which were reddened with emotion, Zhou Sui'an abruptly stopped.
He nervously clenched the tissues in both hands until his fingertips turned white. Standing there helplessly, he did not even know where to put his hands or feet.
Just then, a sweet, energetic voice broke the standoff between the siblings.
“Suisui!”
“My future sister-in-law!”
Jiang Ruitian breezed in and grabbed Zhou Suisui by the arm, unable to hide the excitement on her face.
“Come on, come on! We’re celebrating today. Let your bestie take you clubbing and have some fun!”
Sister-in-law?
Zhou Suisui had still been angry with her brother, but the moment she heard those words, her face flushed bright red.
She quickly raised her eyes and glanced at her brother.
Zhou Sui'an’s face had turned livid. His lips moved as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, he closed his mouth again.
His face went deathly pale, and he looked as though he could not bear another blow.
Zhou Suisui felt even more irritated.
“Jiang Ruitian, let’s go.”
She could not be bothered to explain.
It was even better if her brother misunderstood.
Zhou Sui'an watched them leave with desperate eyes. Unwilling to give up, he followed them and called out toward Zhou Suisui’s back.
“Suisui, can you not go to that kind of place… There are all sorts of people there… It’s not a good place…”
In the past, he would have put on a stern face and forbidden his sister from going somewhere so chaotic.
But now, he spoke without the slightest confidence.
Not a good place?
Zhou Suisui stopped when she heard that and turned around with a cold laugh.
“Heh. What right do you have to control me?”
She had not originally been in the mood to go out today.
Now, she was determined to go.
“I…”
Zhou Sui'an pressed his lips together, his expression bitter and his gaze shifting. In a voice as soft as a mosquito’s hum, he said, “I’m your brother…”
Zhou Suisui curled her lips mockingly.
“You still know that you’re my brother! You want to control where I go? What about you? For Su Wan, you didn’t even blink before bidding several hundred million on that diamond.”
Zhou Suisui’s hands, hanging at her sides, had already curled into fists.
It was as though he had angered her so badly that she began to laugh instead.
“Heh.”
Surely not.
After doing something like that, did he really think they could pretend nothing had happened, just as they had before?
He could continue being her gentle and considerate older brother.
And she could continue being his obedient, well-behaved little sister?
Dream on!
She did not want to repeat what had happened in her previous life, when she might wake up one day only to be told to go to the hospital and identify his body.
She let out a disappointed snort and was about to leave.
But then she suddenly stopped again, frowning as she stared at him.
“Wait. Where did you get all that money?”
That was three hundred million!
No—he had bid more than seven hundred million!
All the money was in her hands. Where had he gotten so much?
At that thought, Zhou Suisui’s clear eyes swept over him from head to toe like X-rays.
“…”
Zhou Sui'an’s eyes darted away. He did not dare meet her gaze, making it obvious that he was hiding something.
Seeing that he refused to answer, Zhou Suisui frowned deeply.
After hesitating for a moment, she guessed, “Did you borrow it?”
“…”
Zhou Sui'an lowered his head even further, staring at the tips of his shoes.
Zhou Suisui’s gaze turned cold as she continued relentlessly, “Who did you borrow it from?”
Zhou Sui'an finally raised his head, his face full of helplessness.
“Little sister, can you stop asking?”
“…”
He was not even going to let her ask?
Zhou Suisui turned to Cui Wu and said, “Sister Wu, I’m sorry to trouble you. Go find out exactly how he raised the money recently.”
“All right, Miss.” Cui Wu sighed.
Zhou Sui'an abruptly raised his head.
“No need to investigate. It’s my own money.”
“What money do you have?”
Zhou Suisui calmly watched him put on his act.
If he had several hundred million in hidden personal funds, how could she not know about it?
Did he really take her for an idiot?
Jiang Ruitian had been standing nearby, listening anxiously for quite some time. At last, she understood what they were talking about.
She spoke hesitantly.
“Sui'an, are you selling that luxury apartment overlooking the river in the city center?”
“!”
Zhou Sui'an’s heart jolted. His face instantly turned deathly pale.
“What apartment?”
Zhou Suisui immediately turned to look at her.
“Yesterday, an agent sent our family a brochure advertising a property for sale.”
“A property-for-sale brochure?”
A terrible premonition suddenly welled up inside Zhou Suisui.
Jiang Ruitian explained, “It’s that one-of-a-kind river-view apartment in the city center. It’s listed at a full twenty percent below market value, supposedly because the owner needs to sell urgently.”
“You know how valuable properties in that area are. Even with the market in its current state, it should be impossible for one to remain unsold.”
“The agent said the buyer had to pay in full, in cash. It’s worth several hundred million. In the entire city of Tang, there probably aren’t more than a hundred people who could produce that much cash within a few days.”
The Jiang family was one of the most capable families in that regard.
To promote the property, the agent had sent the brochure to the Jiang family at the earliest opportunity.
The brochure should still be in Zhou Sui'an’s hands.
Jiang Ruitian still did not know that Zhou Sui'an was selling the apartment to bid on the pink diamond for Su Wan. She simply assumed that the Zhou family had run into financial trouble.
“Sui'an, have you run into some kind of difficulty? If you’re short on money, I can mention it to my father. He definitely won’t stand by and do nothing.”
Facing Jiang Ruitian’s concerned gaze, Zhou Sui'an rubbed the bridge of his nose. Too ashamed to lift his head, he had no idea how to respond.
“!!”
He was selling the apartment?
Buy Su Wan a pink diamond?!
Zhou Suisui trembled with rage.
She had imagined her brother borrowing money from someone else.
But she never imagined that he would sell the house to raise the funds!
