Zhou Suisui lay sprawled on the bed, resting her chin in both hands as her snow-white legs kicked idly in the air behind her. She waited eagerly for Jiang Zongyan’s reply.
After all, she was the one in the wrong for using him in the first place.
No matter how angry he was, she had to make sure her apology was sincere.
Late at night, the only sound in the room was her faint breathing, unusually clear in the silence.
Even Zhou Suisui herself hadn’t realized it, but the longer she waited, the more nervous she became.
One minute passed. Then two…
There was still no response.
Zhou Suisui raised an eyebrow and glanced at the time displayed on her phone. It was only ten-thirty at night…
That wasn’t late at all.
Could he be taking a shower? Or working overtime and hadn’t seen her message?
Or perhaps… he simply didn’t know who she was.
That was possible too. As the busy-as-a-bee president of the Jiang Corporation, he probably had plenty of WeChat contacts.
At the thought of this possibility, Zhou Suisui puffed out her cheeks. Her slender fingers flew across the screen as she sent him another message.
Thorny Little Rose: “Hi~ Brother Yan, guess who I am?”
“…”
One minute later: “It’s Suisui!”
“…”
Two minutes later: “Zhou Suisui!”
“…”
Three minutes later: “…[○･｀Д´･○] Stingy brat, so what if I blocked you on WeChat? It wasn’t on purpose!”
The moment she sent it, she hurriedly tapped the recall button.
“Hehe.”
It felt so good to be mischievous for once.
Who told him to trick her on purpose that evening and make her lose face in front of Jiang Ruitian?
Sneaking in one little insult probably wouldn’t hurt, right?
Hugging her phone, Zhou Suisui rolled over. Her head rested on the edge of the bed, and her long, black hair spilled over the side like satin.
If he didn’t want to reply, so be it. She would find someone else who was willing to talk to her.
She would ask Jiang Ruitian to find out what was going on with her brother. If he was injured, she would pay his medical expenses and sincerely apologize.
Just as she was dejectedly preparing to exit the chat, she saw the lifeless conversation window change. The capital “J” was replaced by the words “typing…”
Zhou Suisui froze. A rush of blood shot straight to her head, and she instantly sat upright.
The next second, “typing…” changed back into the quiet “J.”
“Ahhhhhhh!”
Unwilling to give up, Zhou Suisui refreshed the page three times, only to confirm that he hadn’t replied at all.
What did he mean by that?
Had he seen the line where she insulted him?!
“Oh no, oh no!”
Clearly, feeling good for a moment had come back to bite her.
Jiang Zongyan knew everything. He had deliberately toyed with her.
She could practically picture that infuriating face of his, the corners of his lips curled up as he laughed at her.
He had obviously seen her messages and was simply sitting there in silence, watching her perform a one-woman show.
Fine. Didn’t he enjoy watching a good show?
Then she would keep pestering him and see how long he could hold out.
A wicked grin spread across Zhou Suisui’s face as her fingers flew over the screen, sending one message after another.
“I just received the pretty dress Brother Yan sent me. Suisui loves it so much. Brother Yan is so good to me~”
“Oh, and I received the tube of ointment too. I didn’t expect you to be so busy and still remember such a little thing?”
She added a smug little emoji afterward—a fox gleefully wagging its tail.
“I accidentally removed you from my blacklist while clearing it out. I absolutely did not block you on purpose!”
“You’re not hurt, are you? Don’t blame my brother for what happened. It was my fault… My brother thought I’d been tricked by a bad person. Oh, and by ‘bad person,’ I definitely wasn’t talking about you.”
“Brother Yan, you’re not still angry, are you? If you are, you can scold me a couple of times. Or I can treat you to dinner as an apology? Chinese, Western, or French—I’ll make sure you eat your fill!”
After she sent all those messages, the chat window remained utterly silent. There wasn’t even the slightest response.
Puffing out her cheeks, Zhou Suisui angrily tossed her phone onto the sofa, only to snatch it back a second later.
She kept refreshing the page.
The little person in her heart was stomping furiously.
It was just an accidental block for a tiny little while. Did he really have to be so petty?
“Jiang Zongyan, is it really that fun to keep someone hanging?”
—
Meanwhile, in the master bedroom of the Jiang family villa.
A middle-aged woman lay weakly on the spacious bed.
She was extraordinarily beautiful, with snow-white skin, soft willow-shaped brows, and gentle, elegant features devoid of even the slightest trace of aggression.
Time seemed to favor her especially. It had left no sign of aging on her face, instead settling into her appearance as an air of dignified grace.
Yet at that moment, she was scolding her son, a hint of coquettish displeasure in her slightly upturned eyes.
“I’m talking to you. Are you even listening?”
Jiang Zongyan had just turned off his phone when he met his mother’s displeased gaze.
Half an hour earlier, a servant had called him in a panic and urged him to come home immediately.
The servant had said that Mrs. Jiang was ill and that he needed to return at once.
Standing beside the bed, Jiang Zongyan lowered his eyes to look at his mother’s rosy, healthy complexion. He raised his well-defined hand and wearily rubbed the bridge of his nose.
“Mom, if you’re going to pretend to be sick, at least make it convincing. Have you ever seen a sick person scold someone with that much energy?”
Mrs. Jiang was thoroughly exposed by her own son. She choked, then snapped angrily, “I thought you’d forgotten all about this family—and about me!”
“That’s not true.”
Jiang Zongyan answered absentmindedly before lowering his head to look at his phone again.
The two adorable little buns on the girl’s head were unbelievably cute.
They looked exactly like someone he knew…
Seeing how distracted he was, Mrs. Jiang angrily slapped the edge of the bed. Her beautiful eyes were filled with accusation.
“You’ve been abroad for three years, and you’ve only been back for a few days. How many times have you come home? Are you trying to drive me to my grave?”
Jiang Zongyan stood tall beside the bed.
He was just about to answer when the phone in his pocket vibrated.
He instinctively took it out and glanced at the screen. Zhou Suisui had sent him a whole barrage of messages.
Suddenly, the corners of his lips lifted slightly.
He had been amused into laughter.
She had the nerve to insult him?
“…”
That tiny movement was immediately caught by Mrs. Jiang.
“I’m talking to you! What are you smiling at? Is what I’m saying funny?!”
Mrs. Jiang glared at him, raising her voice.
“When are you going to bring me a daughter-in-law? Your father and I have spent our whole lives hoping you’d settle down and start a family. And yet you’re never home. Are you planning to wait until I’m dead and my eyes are closed before I get to meet my daughter-in-law?”
The moment she finished speaking, Jiang Zongyan’s phone began vibrating as if it had been switched to continuous mode. One message after another kept popping up, making the phone buzz nonstop.
Jiang Zongyan slid his finger across the screen.
He looked at the string of ridiculous, nonsensical messages.
And at the adorable little fox wagging its tail…
He couldn’t help imagining Zhou Suisui’s smug little face and those bright, clever eyes that held a hint of slyness.
The hard line of his jaw softened slightly, and even his lips seemed to suppress a smile.
That little thing had done it on purpose. She was timid, yet always looking for trouble.
That smile completely ignited Mrs. Jiang’s fury.
She abruptly sat up in bed, grabbed the pillow beside her, and hurled it straight at her son’s face.
“You’re still smiling?! I’m talking to you about something serious! Are you listening to me at all?”
