Zhou Suisui had been so engrossed in reading that she jumped in fright. She instinctively closed Jiang Zongyan’s file, as though she had been caught doing something shameful.
She looked up at the visitor, her gaze briefly flicking over the lunchbox in his hand.
“Finance Director Fu? Are you here to see my brother?”
The visitor was none other than Fu Jie, the Finance Director.
Fu Jie was six feet one, dressed in a crisp gray suit. A pair of rimless gold-wire glasses rested on the bridge of his nose, giving him an elegant, scholarly air.
At that moment, the tips of his ears were flushed, and he looked rather nervous.
His fingers gripped the handle of the insulated lunchbox so tightly that the veins on the back of his hand stood out.
As though he had finally worked up the courage, he walked over to her and held out the lunchbox.
“I’m not here to see the CEO. I’m here to see you.”
“Me?”
Zhou Suisui blinked. “Finance Director Fu, what can I do for you?”
“You—you haven’t eaten yet, have you? This is braised pork ribs. I made them myself this morning. Give them a try.”
Unlike usual, his voice was noticeably tense. His sharp eyes lowered slightly, and he did not even dare to look directly at the girl in front of him.
The day before, he had happened to hear from Li Qingqing that the Young Miss’s favorite dish was braised pork ribs.
For some reason, he had gotten up unusually early that morning, gone to the supermarket downstairs to pick out the freshest ribs, stewed them, and packed them into an insulated lunchbox.
By the time he realized what he was doing, he was already standing here with the lunchbox in hand.
His heart was filled with both anticipation and anxiety. He was terrified that Zhou Suisui would reject him outright.
Looking at the lunchbox he was offering her, Zhou Suisui drew her delicate brows together ever so slightly.
“Thank you for your thoughtfulness, but I’m afraid I’ll have to pass. I already have plans for lunch.”
Her tone was gentle, yet firm. “You’ve been working hard too, so you should keep it for yourself.”
Fu Jie looked up in surprise, and the light in his eyes instantly dimmed.
Of course, he knew this was merely the Young Miss’s excuse for rejecting his gesture.
He tightened his grip on the lunchbox. An awkward, bitter smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
“Sorry to have bothered you.”
With that, he turned and left.
His steps were hurried, as though he wanted to escape this awkward situation as quickly as possible.
But when he reached the door, he stopped and reluctantly turned back.
If he left just like this, would he have no excuse to ask her out again?
“Next time… next time, let me take you out to eat. Whenever you’re free.”
He did not wait for Zhou Suisui to reject him. He simply strode away.
Zhou Suisui was a spoiled, radiant Young Miss—the little princess her CEO brother held in the palm of his hand.
He must have been out of his mind.
Being rejected was only to be expected.
The previous night, the CEO had sent him a text message, asking what he thought of the Young Miss.
He had spent nearly the entire night tossing and turning, trying to figure out what the message meant.
Had he misunderstood? Had he been too eager? The Young Miss was only nineteen, after all.
“…”
Zhou Suisui’s large eyes were filled with question marks.
What was wrong with Finance Director Fu today?
—
Outside the office.
Fu Jie hurried along and nearly collided with the man coming out of the elevator.
“CEO Zhou.”
“Finance Director Fu, what are you carrying?”
Zhou Sui'an lowered his gaze to the insulated lunchbox in Fu Jie’s hand.
“Nothing.” Fu Jie shifted uneasily, wanting nothing more than to leave as quickly as possible.
Zhou Sui'an glanced at the open door behind him, then looked at the man before him, who was pretending to be calm.
His bold brows arched upward in a sly manner.
“Finance Director Fu, I haven’t eaten yet. What’s in the lunchbox? Can I have a taste?”
Fu Jie froze for a moment, then hurriedly handed him the lunchbox, looking slightly embarrassed.
“CEO Zhou, I’ll get back to work.”
“Go ahead.”
Watching Fu Jie’s innocent, bashful expression, Zhou Sui'an curled his lips into a knowing smile.
Zhou Suisui was propping her head up with one hand, still puzzled by Finance Director Fu’s strange behavior, when she saw her brother walk in with an insulated lunchbox.
“Little Sis, you must be hungry. I’ve already had someone send over some food. It should be here soon.”
“Oh.”
Zhou Suisui’s expression was indifferent as she stared at the lunchbox in his hand.
Her look clearly asked: Why are you carrying Finance Director Fu’s lunchbox?
Zhou Sui'an scratched the back of his head. Under her scrutiny, he grew a little guilty and said with a laugh, “I didn’t know Finance Director Fu was so talented in the kitchen. He’s tall, handsome, a top university graduate, and he can cook and do housework. He’s practically the perfect homebody husband.”
Zhou Suisui was speechless. “Big Brother, when did you change careers? Are you tired of being a CEO and decide to become a matchmaker?”
Zhou Sui'an was momentarily silenced. He cleared his throat and said, “A good man doesn’t stay available for long. You have to move fast.”
Zhou Suisui rolled her eyes. “Work is work. Don’t drag personal feelings into it.”
Her expression turned unusually serious. “You know better than I do how important the position of Finance Director is.”
“…”
“He oversees every payment and receipt in the company. The best relationship we can have is that of business partners.”
“…”
“We can’t become friends outside of work. Otherwise, there’s no guarantee he won’t turn into another Wang Zhengfei.”
“…”
Hearing this, Zhou Sui'an’s expression grew serious as well. He seemed to give it some thought before nodding in agreement.
“Little Sis, I think you’re absolutely right.”
Zhou Suisui breathed a sigh of relief.
She had thought her brother had finally come to his senses and would stop trying to play matchmaker.
The next second, she heard him say smugly, “That’s precisely because the position is so important that I’ve come up with an even better solution.”
Curious, Zhou Suisui looked up. “What solution?”
Zhou Sui'an said, “We’ll just hire Fu Jie as the Zhou family’s live-in son-in-law.”
“Pfft!”
Zhou Suisui had just taken a sip of water and nearly spit it out.
She grabbed the chopsticks from the table and smacked them against Zhou Sui'an’s head with a sharp crack.
“Zhou Sui'an! Has water gotten into your brain?”
“You’re actually willing to sell your own sister just for the money in your pocket?!”
Zhou Sui'an covered his sore head, looking utterly aggrieved.
“What do you mean, sell you? I only came up with this idea because I can’t bear to see you get married.”
His eyelashes trembled, and he looked especially wronged. “I investigated him. He’s an orphan with no parents, and he has a good temperament and excellent work abilities. He’s practically the perfect candidate for a live-in son-in-law. Besides, once he becomes one of our own, we’ll never have to worry about him tampering with the accounts.”
Zhou Suisui glared at him angrily. She reached out with her chopsticks and clamped them over Zhou Sui'an’s mouth.
“Shut up!”
“Mm…” Zhou Sui'an’s lips were squashed into a sausage shape as he protested resentfully with his eyes.
“And don’t mention becoming a live-in son-in-law again!”
Zhou Suisui puffed out her cheeks and said angrily, “I’m still young! I don’t want to date!”
At those words, Zhou Sui'an’s eyes lit up instantly.
He pried the chopsticks away from his mouth, a foolish grin spreading across his face.
“Yes, yes, of course. No dating. You’re still young, so you don’t need to date!”
So his sister really wasn’t dating Jiang Zongyan. She hadn’t been lying to him.
The anxious knot that had been hanging in his heart for the past few days finally loosened.
In truth, how could he really bear to let his sister get married?
Once she married, would the Zhou family household register be left with only his name—“Zhou Sui'an”—all alone?
His suggestion that she take a live-in son-in-law had partly come from this selfish little hope.
