Downstairs at the villa.
Zhou Sui'an was standing beside the open trunk, taking things out.
The sunlight fell over him, making his gentle features seem almost unreal. With broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and perfectly proportioned features, he looked like a male model.
“Brother!”
Zhou Suisui called out.
Zhou Sui'an turned around and saw her standing at the doorway in nothing but a thin nightdress. His brows immediately drew together.
“Why did you come out without a coat? What if you catch a chill?”
She had hated taking medicine and getting injections ever since she was little.
And she was incredibly strong. Whenever she needed a shot, three nurses could barely hold her down.
“I’m not cold.”
The moment Zhou Suisui said it, a cool morning breeze swept over her, making her shiver.
Zhou Sui'an’s frown deepened. He quickly set down what he was holding and walked over to her.
He took off his own coat and draped it over Zhou Suisui’s shoulders, gently ruffling her hair as he teased, “Then be brave enough not to cry the next time you get an injection.”
Wrapped in the coat, still warm from his body, Zhou Suisui immediately felt warmer.
“Brother, can you stop bringing up embarrassing things from when I was little?”
Zhou Sui'an affectionately tapped the tip of her nose. “Your embarrassing moments were my nightmares.”
Every time Zhou Suisui fell ill, he would spend sleepless nights caring for her, never even taking off his clothes to rest.
Yet this ungrateful little thing never took her health seriously.
Zhou Suisui had obviously thought of that too, and a flicker of emotion crossed her eyes.
“I know. From now on, I’ll take good care of myself and make sure you never have to worry about me.”
Only then was Zhou Sui'an satisfied. Like a child showing off a treasure, he took her hand and led her to the open trunk.
“Come on, let’s see what gifts I brought you from my business trip.”
“Wow, there’s so much! Did you buy all of this for me?”
Zhou Suisui’s eyes widened in surprise.
The trunk was crammed with beautifully wrapped boxes. There was everything from perfume and jewelry to handbags and skincare products.
“This must have cost a fortune, right?”
The exquisite gift boxes nearly filled the entire trunk.
There was so much that Zhou Suisui could barely take it all in.
And every item was something she usually liked.
Some of them were things she had merely mentioned to her brother in passing, yet he had remembered every single one.
“As long as you like it, my sister, it’s worth every penny.”
Clearly, her delighted expression pleased him.
Zhou Sui'an took the gifts out one by one. “You’ve worked hard handling things at the company these past few days. Don’t go in today. Take the day off and get some proper rest at home.”
By the time he finished speaking, he had already called the servants over to carry everything inside.
Zhou Suisui looked up at her brother. Then she suddenly remembered that she was supposed to have dinner at the Jiang residence that day and nodded.
“Okay. I’ll rest at home today.”
Zhou Sui'an visibly relaxed. He closed the trunk and turned toward the back seat of the car.
Zhou Suisui had sharp eyes. She noticed that he was still carrying an especially elegant box in his hand. It was unlike any of the brands they usually saw.
It was covered in velvet, with a subtle embossed logo. It looked extraordinarily expensive, and the logo seemed vaguely familiar.
“Brother, what’s that?”
A look of confusion flickered through her eyes as she raised a slender, pale finger and pointed at the box in Zhou Sui'an’s hand.
Her brother had given all the other gifts to her, yet he had kept that box for himself.
It seemed that whatever was inside was particularly important to him.
Zhou Sui'an paused. A trace of unease flashed across his face before he quickly smiled as though nothing had happened.
“It’s nothing. Just something I’m planning to give to a client.”
“For a client? Let me see.”
Zhou Suisui raised a brow and reached out curiously.
But Zhou Sui'an smoothly shifted the box to his other hand, opened the car door, and got into the back seat.
“Brother has to go to the company. I’m running late. Go back inside and open your presents.”
With that, he instructed Assistant Wen to start the car.
Zhou Suisui stood where she was, watching the familiar vehicle disappear from sight. Suspicion churned in her heart.
Was it really a gift for a client?
The look on her brother’s face had clearly suggested that he was hiding something.
She handed the gifts to Sister Wu, then hurried back to her room and turned on her computer.
She was certain she had seen that logo somewhere before.
The dark embossed gold design looked like a combination of letters in an ornate typeface—simple, elegant, and highly distinctive.
She typed keywords into the search bar: “dark embossed logo,” “gold foil logo,” “ornate lettering”…
She went through more than a dozen pages, but none of the results matched.
“Sister Wu!”
She called toward the door.
Sister Wu quickly appeared. “Young Miss?”
“Come take a look. Have you ever seen this logo before?”
Zhou Suisui picked up a sticky note from the desk and drew the shape from memory.
It wasn’t completely accurate, but the general outline should have been close enough.
Sister Wu leaned over and studied it carefully. After thinking for a moment, she said uncertainly, “This… looks like the logo of some clothing brand. The style is somewhat feminine.”
“A clothing brand?”
“The design looks too distinctive to belong to an ordinary domestic brand. It might be a niche label from Europe or America.”
Women’s clothing.
Zhou Suisui’s heart jolted, and an ominous feeling surged through her.
Could it be…
The nightmare from the previous night came rushing back to her, along with the miserable fate she had suffered in her past life.
The urgency had left Zhou Suisui’s cheeks flushed, but they instantly drained of color, turning as pale as paper.
Breathing rapidly, she immediately picked up her phone and sent Assistant Wen a message:
“Assistant Wen, where is my brother going later? Is he going to see Su Wan?”
The car had only driven a few hundred meters when the phone in Assistant Wen’s pocket vibrated.
After Wang Jianguo had been dismissed, Assistant Wen had temporarily taken over as the driver.
While waiting at a red light, he instinctively took out his phone and glanced at it.
Before he could reply, Zhou Sui'an spoke calmly from the back seat.
“Who sent the message?”
Assistant Wen froze. “CEO Zhou, it’s… it’s my mother…”
“Is your mother Zhou Suisui?”
“…”
Silence filled the car for several seconds.
Assistant Wen tightened his grip on the steering wheel, and a few beads of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.
“CEO Zhou, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have lied to you.”
Zhou Sui'an kept his gaze fixed on the road ahead. His voice was so calm that it was impossible to detect any emotion in it.
“My sister is insecure. You can continue reporting my whereabouts to her, but don’t tell her about what I’m doing today.”
“CEO Zhou, Young Miss is only worried about you. Please don’t be angry.”
For a moment, Assistant Wen couldn’t tell what his employer was feeling. Was he angry, or wasn’t he?
Still, he braced himself and pleaded on Zhou Suisui’s behalf.
The day before, several secretaries from the CEO’s office had chattered in his ear for hours.
They had talked about how the Young Miss had used decisive tactics to bring the despicable Wang Zhengfei to heel, how she had created a safer working environment for the female employees, and how she had improved the staff meals…
As a result, Assistant Wen had developed a newfound opinion of Zhou Suisui and even felt a certain admiration for her.
Zhou Sui'an nodded. “She’s my sister. I know what I’m doing.”
He hadn’t spoken harshly, but his words carried an unquestionable weight.
“Then… are we still going to Miss Su’s place?”
Assistant Wen couldn’t read his boss’s intentions and cautiously sounded him out.
