“Wait.”
Jiang Zongyan’s indifferent gaze swept over the oversized black bathrobe she was wearing. A flash of icy coldness flickered briefly in his eyes.
“You’re planning to leave dressed like that?”
She had glanced at her phone just now. It must have been a message from that “online boyfriend” who could never show his face, right?
He was finally done with whatever had kept him busy…and at last had time to ask her out?
She had gone to all that trouble to find him just so she could take the opportunity to meet that cowardly boyfriend of hers, hadn’t she?
She really had no shame!
The thought sent an inexplicable surge of anger through Jiang Zongyan.
He had always been calm and self-controlled, unmoved by anything. Yet at that moment, his breathing had grown slightly uneven.
“Hmm?”
Reminded of what she was wearing, Zhou Suisui quickly lowered her head to look at herself, then hurried back into the bathroom.
A moment later, she ran out again.
Frowning, she pointed toward the bathroom counter at the man sitting upright on the sofa, looking as though she was about to cry.
“Where are my clothes? I clearly left them here just now.”
She only wanted to get her brother’s attention. She wasn’t actually trying to get herself killed!
If he saw her dressed like this in the same room as Jiang Zongyan, she wouldn’t even know how she had died.
Jiang Zongyan’s brows drew together, and a hint of disdain crossed his face.
“You’re sure you left them on the counter?”
The moment he asked that, Zhou Suisui fell silent. A flicker of guilt appeared in her eyes.
At home, she had a habit of tossing her clothes wherever she pleased and never bothered organizing them. Out of habit, she had probably thrown them on the floor when she took them off. They were likely scattered everywhere by now.
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
“Mr. Jiang, the clothes are here.”
Jiang Zongyan’s special assistant, Lin Zhou, stood outside the door. Behind his gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes held a faint, weary helplessness.
He had already gotten off work. He had been planning to take his girlfriend out to dinner and then see a movie, only to be summoned back by a phone call from his boss. And not for anything ordinary, either—he had been sent to a store to pick up women’s clothes.
One could only imagine what awaited him when he got home later.
Jiang Zongyan suppressed the emotions roiling in his eyes and said in a deep voice, “Come in.”
“Yes, sir.”
Lin Zhou immediately pulled himself together and pushed open the door.
He was carrying several exquisite shopping bags and said respectfully, “Mr. Jiang, the clothes—”
Before he could finish, the corner of his eye caught sight of Zhou Suisui standing by the bathroom door in Jiang Zongyan’s bathrobe. He abruptly fell silent.
The bags in his hands nearly slipped, and his pupils practically shook with shock.
Who didn’t know that Mr. Jiang had never been interested in women?
Not only did he refuse to let women into this hotel suite, he was even disgusted by women with ulterior motives who came within ten feet of him.
Yet now, not only was there a woman in the presidential suite, she was none other than Zhou Suisui, the beloved daughter of the Zhou family—the young lady who was treasured by everyone around her.
In their social circle, who didn’t know that CEO Zhou and their Mr. Jiang were constantly at odds?
The two of them were remarkably in sync about one thing: in public, they acted like the best of brothers, putting on equally fake smiles whenever reporters pointed their cameras at them.
But in private, every time they met, they mocked and undermined each other without mercy.
At that thought, Lin Zhou couldn’t help secretly giving his boss a thumbs-up.
Their Mr. Jiang was truly something else! He had gone straight for the treasure CEO Zhou held most dear. CEO Zhou was probably crying somewhere with nowhere to vent his grief.
“Put the clothes there and leave.”
Jiang Zongyan’s casual tone carried a faint chill.
Having worked by his side for many years, Lin Zhou instantly shuddered. He quickly withdrew his gaze and placed the shopping bags on the cabinet by the door.
“Then I’ll leave you to it.”
He turned around, and the door closed behind him.
Lin Zhou let out a long breath of relief.
Had the CEO’s words just now been a warning not to look around?
He couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
The thousand-year-old iron tree was finally about to bloom.
Curious, Zhou Suisui opened the shopping bags. Inside was a pink floral dress from LV’s latest collection.
The week before, an employee at the LV store had enthusiastically sent a picture of the dress to her phone. Apparently, only twenty had been made worldwide.
Jiang Ruitian had complained to her two days ago that she hadn’t managed to get one and had barely slept for three nights because of it.
As for Zhou Suisui, she had been too reluctant to spend that much money and hadn’t bought it.
How had Jiang Zongyan managed to get one?
Zhou Suisui couldn’t help sneaking a glance at him.
He seemed to have received a work-related message. Jiang Zongyan gave a slight nod, his long fingers tapping slowly and methodically on his phone.
He didn’t seem particularly concerned with what she was doing.
Zhou Suisui rolled her eyes and teased him with a smile, “Brother Yan, are you keeping a lover hidden somewhere? How else could you have gotten this dress? Did you reserve it ages ago?”
The dress had to be reserved at least a week in advance.
Lin Zhou wouldn’t have been able to buy it on such short notice, no matter how much money he had. This had nothing to do with money.
Jiang Zongyan didn’t look up as he answered indifferently, “Yes.”
Zhou Suisui was speechless.
She clearly hadn’t expected him to admit it so openly. The mischievous curve of her lips collapsed, and she let out a soft huff.
Sure enough, among those powerful men who could manipulate the business world with a wave of their hands, there were very few who were truly clean.
How many of them didn’t keep a mistress on the side?
Some probably even had a third or fourth woman.
Then again…her brother was an exception. He was a hopeless romantic through and through.
Actually, she didn’t dislike men who were hopeless romantics.
She even thought that being hopelessly devoted was the best dowry a man could offer.
But her brother…he had loved without boundaries, had terrible taste in women, and had ultimately lost his life because of it. Even among the world’s wealthiest circles, there couldn’t be many people as foolish as him.
The thought left Zhou Suisui feeling gloomy again. Even the dress she had longed for no longer brought her much joy. She pulled it out of the bag in one angry motion.
She failed to notice that a set of matching undergarments nearly went flying with it.
Her expression changed, and she caught them just in time.
When she realized what they were, her snow-white face instantly flushed red. Even the tips of her ears began to burn.
“H-how do you know my size?”
She was seriously beginning to wonder whether this man really was as uninterested in women as the rumors claimed.
Those frighteningly sharp eyes of his were practically a measuring tape!
He must have been around countless women to be able to tell someone’s size with a single glance!
Her indignant voice finally made Jiang Zongyan lift his gaze from above the screen of his phone.
He looked toward her lazily.
First, his eyes lowered to the little dress in her hands.
A hint of amusement played in his dark eyes. His gaze drifted lightly toward the laundry basket by the bathroom door.
“See for yourself.”
“…”
Following his line of sight, Zhou Suisui looked into the laundry basket.
Those were the clothes she had just taken off—the ones she had casually thrown onto the bathroom floor…
There were only two people in the room. Who had gathered up the dirty clothes went without saying.
“…”
She had miscalculated. She had forgotten that this man had both obsessive cleanliness and severe perfectionism.
Jiang Ruitian often complained that her brother forced her to tidy her room. Even the pillows had to be arranged perfectly straight, driving her nearly insane.
Realizing that she had misunderstood him, Zhou Suisui’s ears turned scarlet. Her pearly teeth lightly bit down on her pink lips, which were red enough to bleed. Even her fingertips, still clutching the clothes, felt faintly hot.
“I-I’m going to change!”
Clutching the clothes in her arms, she hurried toward the bathroom, looking like she was fleeing for her life.
Watching her retreating figure stumble away in panic, Jiang Zongyan let out a low chuckle.
He’d thought she was so bold. Turns out she still knew how to be shy.
