At the same time.
The Zhou residence.
Zhou Suisui was hugging her phone, racking her brains over what to text Jiang Zongyan to provoke a reply from him.
Just then, her phone let out a brief notification chime.
She immediately threw off the covers and grabbed it.
As she read the message, her rosy lips slowly curved upward.
J: Don’t agree to everything Jiang Ruitian asks of you.
Zhou Suisui read the message twice, then checked again and again to make sure it really was from Jiang Zongyan. It was the only reply he had sent her all evening.
She had thought he was going to scold her, or threaten her not to bombard him with messages anymore.
Instead, he had merely tossed out a sentence that made no sense at all.
Zhou Suisui rubbed her chin. Three seconds later, her eyes suddenly lit up.
She knew it! This man was definitely trying to drive a wedge between the sisters.
He couldn’t stand seeing them glued to each other all day.
Who was Jiang Ruitian?
She was Suisui’s very best friend—the “little spy” and most reliable “strategist” Suisui had bought with half her allowance.
Without Jiang Ruitian tipping her off, how could she have kept such precise track of his whereabouts?
How could she have engineered one “chance” encounter after another?
As if!
Her slender fingers flew across the screen.
Tiantian would never lie to me. ╭(╯^╰)╮
She even attached an adorably haughty reaction sticker.
The Jiang family villa.
Jiang Zongyan’s master bedroom.
Located on the far eastern end of the second floor, it had the best view and the greatest privacy in the entire villa.
The room was decorated in an understated yet luxurious Italian minimalist style. Its crisp lines and sleek design revealed the cool restraint unique to him.
Just like his personality—calm and powerful, with hardly a trace of unnecessary warmth or liveliness.
Jiang Zongyan pushed open the door. He had just raised a hand to undo several buttons of his shirt and had taken it halfway off.
When he heard the notification, he instinctively stopped undressing and casually picked up his phone, his eyes sweeping over the screen.
His expression froze for a moment.
Then the corner of his mouth twitched violently.
He had kindly warned her, yet she refused to listen.
In that case…
Suit yourself. Just don’t regret it.
After sending the message, he tossed the phone back onto the bed and took off his clothes as he headed toward the bathroom.
When he reached the bathroom door, he suddenly stopped.
His cool, solemn gaze fell involuntarily on the gray marble countertop.
An image of the girl swinging her legs and acting spoiled toward him surfaced before his eyes…
She wore no elaborate makeup. With her bare, delicate face, she was beautiful in a way that was almost breathtaking.
Her brows and eyes curved gently. Whenever she looked at someone, she liked to tilt her head ever so slightly. Her gaze was clear, with a hint of mischief, clean as a blank sheet of paper.
Whenever that pretty little mouth opened, it always managed to say something that left him utterly helpless.
Suddenly, he let out a soft laugh for no apparent reason.
When he came to his senses and saw the unfamiliar curve of his lips reflected in the mirror, his entire body instantly went rigid.
—
Zhou Suisui snorted when she received his message.
She wasn’t going to fall for his trick.
She was just about to reply when her phone began to ring.
She looked at the caller ID: Sweet Little Sweetie.
No way, no way.
Jiang Zongyan had only just warned her, and now Jiang Ruitian was calling her?
She hesitated before swiping to answer. Before she could say anything, Jiang Ruitian’s sweet, cheerful voice rang happily through the receiver.
“Suisui, are you free tomorrow? Come over to my house for dinner!”
“Dinner?…”
Zhou Suisui suddenly thought of Jiang Zongyan’s warning.
Could there really be something going on that she didn’t know about?
Her thoughts raced. Jiang Zongyan wasn’t the kind of person who meddled in other people’s affairs. Jiang Ruitian had invited her to the Jiang family home for dinner… What could she possibly be scheming?
It wasn’t as if Suisui had anything worth scheming over, right?
“Here, give me the phone!”
A moment later, the voice on the other end changed to a gentle one.
“Suisui, it’s Aunt Jiang. How have you been? You haven’t come over to keep me company in so long. I’ll make some of your favorite dishes tomorrow. Will you come over and have dinner with me?”
Her warm, pleasant voice was like a spring breeze in March, blowing across a frozen lake and melting the ice.
Hearing that familiar voice again, the small trace of concern in Zhou Suisui’s heart vanished completely. She hurriedly nodded, even though the other person couldn’t see her.
“Of course, Aunt Jiang. I want your sweet-and-sour pork ribs.”
“All right! Sweet-and-sour pork ribs it is! And steamed crab, too—you love that.”
“Thank you, Aunt Jiang. You’re always so good to me.”
“You silly girl…” Mrs. Jiang pretended to sound annoyed. “Why are you being so polite all of a sudden after only a few days apart?”
She continued, “Don’t be so formal with me. Just tell me what you want to eat, and I’ll get it for you without a second thought.”
The corners of Zhou Suisui’s lips lifted unconsciously, and her heart grew warm.
There was laughter in Mrs. Jiang’s voice, and Suisui could practically picture the way her eyes crinkled into a smile.
She had loved eating Aunt Jiang’s cooking ever since she was little. Perhaps it was because it tasted a little like a mother’s love…
Her own mother had passed away when she was three. Forgive her, but she barely remembered her anymore.
When her Chinese teacher had assigned an essay titled “My Mother,” she had written it about Mrs. Jiang.
She had been so young then. The moment she saw the essay title, “My Mother,” she had burst into tears without warning.
Jiang Ruitian had patted her shoulder and said with great bravado, “Don’t cry, Suisui. I’ll share half of my mom with you.”
From then on, every essay she wrote titled “My Mother” was about Mrs. Jiang.
Since being reborn, she had been busy dealing with her brother’s affairs and really hadn’t visited Aunt Jiang in a long time.
That last bit of hesitation in Zhou Suisui’s heart was completely swept away by the gentle invitation.
“I’ll definitely be there tomorrow.”
“Good, good. Aunt Jiang will be waiting for you. Come early, all right?”
The call ended.
Zhou Suisui hugged her phone and rolled across the bed.
With Aunt Jiang there, Jiang Zongyan couldn’t possibly eat her alive, could he?
The next day.
In the faint morning light, the birds in the trees around the Zhou family estate began chirping noisily.
Zhou Suisui was still sleeping soundly when Sister Wu’s gentle voice came from outside the door.
“Miss, are you awake?”
Zhou Suisui slowly opened her eyes. She glanced at the already-bright light outside the window and sat up, her gaze still hazy with sleep.
“Sister Wu, what is it?”
The girl’s soft, adorable voice carried the unique hint of a sleepy girl acting spoiled.
Even a woman like Cui Wu couldn’t help feeling her bones go soft at the sound.
She replied, “Your brother asked me to wake you and tell you to come downstairs. He brought you lots and lots of presents from his business trip. Hurry down and take a look!”
Presents?
Zhou Suisui’s eyes lit up instantly.
That was right—before leaving on his business trip, her brother had told her he would bring her presents when he came home.
Her drowsiness vanished in an instant. Without even washing up, she hurriedly pulled on her slippers and thundered downstairs, her hair sticking up in every direction.
Cui Wu followed behind her, amused and helpless at the same time.
“Miss, it’s cold in the morning. At least put on a jacket.”
“I’m fine, I’m fine.”
After all, she was still a nineteen-year-old girl. The moment she heard the word “presents,” her eyes practically glowed.
She just loved the feeling of opening a mystery box. You know what I mean?
