Thirty-Six

 Before going to bed, Liao Yun sent a video call. The blush on Su Hao’s face had faded considerably. She answered the video call, walked over to the window, and the room was somewhat dim.

Liao Yun glanced around and asked, “Are you at the hotel?”

“Yes, is it too dark? I’ll turn on the lights.” Su Hao reached for the switch, and the room brightened up. After seeing this, Liao Yun said, “The environment looks good.”

“You seem to have gained some weight.”

Su Hao pinched her face and asked, “Have I?”

“Yes, and you look much better. Before, when you were taking care of your father, your face was so pale.”

Su Hao replied, “It was alright back then.”

“It seems life is treating you well over there,” Liao Yun sighed.

Su Hao sat by the window, with high-rise buildings and beautiful lights behind her. Liao Yun admired the view for a moment and looked at Su Hao. “Have you started dating anyone?”

Su Hao leaned against the window, her expression unchanged. “Not yet.”

“Not dating?” Liao Yun thought such a great woman like Su Hao would surely have many admirers in the big city, where people usually don’t care much about one’s past.

“Not yet, no rush.”

“Is it that there’s no one, or there’s just no rush?” Liao Yun asked cautiously. She knew Su Hao didn’t mind, but she was really afraid of hurting Su Hao. Su Hao smiled, “Really no rush. And yes, there’s no one.”

“They must be blind!!!” Liao Yun spat in frustration.

Su Hao laughed.

Liao Yun asked again, “Is Auntie going to Licheng for a while?”

“Yes, I’m planning to pick her up in a week or two,” Su Hao felt grateful that Liao Yun got the news so quickly, indicating she often visited her mother.

“I’m so busy that I can’t go with her. Otherwise, I’d have liked to go and play for a bit.” Liao Yun expressed some longing. Returning to Jiang City, a small city, was nice with its mountains and rivers, but it wasn’t as bustling as the big city.

“When you take your annual leave, come over here. There will be a place to stay.” Su Hao scratched her hair. She felt more relaxed with Liao Yun. Liao Yun nodded, “Sure.”

After hesitating for a moment, she asked, “By the way, how is Zhou Yang now?”

Su Hao was taken aback, thinking Liao Yun might have noticed something. But when she saw Liao Yun’s innocent, curious look, she replied, “He’s the same as before, just more mature.”

“Still handsome?”

“Mm, about the same.”

The kind of person who attracts attention wherever he goes, restless and appealing to many women. Liao Yun sighed, “Oh, people like him must be living very well.”

Su Hao smiled, pulling at the hem of her nightdress.

Her phone beeped.

A WeChat message popped up. Su Hao glanced at it.

Zhou Yang: Are you asleep?

“Who’s texting you at this hour?” Liao Yun asked sneakily from the other end. Su Hao looked up and smiled, “A colleague from the company.”

“A man?”

“A woman.”

“Don’t lie to me. I have something to tell you.” Liao Yun spoke with focus. Su Hao had a premonition, and sure enough, Liao Yun said, “Tang Rui should be coming back this week. Also, he might be going somewhere else for development. I heard it could be Haishi, but it might also be Licheng.”

“What do you think?”

“What can I think?” Su Hao asked back with a smile.

Liao Yun responded with a “Ah,” and then laughed, “Yeah, what can you think? The outside world is so wonderful, with so many men. You wouldn’t end up entangled with him again, would you?”

“Our Su Hao must have many admirers.”

Su Hao just smiled, uninterested in Liao Yun’s self-talk. The two of them could chat about anything. After a while, they hung up. It was getting late. Su Hao poured herself a glass of water, drank it, and then lay back down to rest. Her phone soon rang with a voice call. She looked and saw it was Zhou Yang. Su Hao answered.

“I’m about to sleep,” she said softly.

Zhou Yang was still looking at documents, with the sound of pages turning. “Hmm? Then I should say goodnight?”

He was smiling.

Su Hao replied, “Goodnight.”

Her voice was pleasant, and the voice call ended.

Zhou Yang was momentarily surprised and then smiled, thinking Su Hao was quite aloof.

After ending the call, Su Hao didn’t go to sleep immediately. She opened Liao Yun’s chat window, typed for a while, and then deleted it. She rarely talked about emotional matters with anyone, as there seemed to be nothing much to discuss. Now, looking at it, only Liao Yun was someone she could chat with, but even after typing out the message, she regretted sending it.

Beep—

The phone rang.

Tang Yu: Are you asleep? When are you coming back to Licheng?

Su Hao: Not asleep yet, maybe in a couple of days.

Tang Yu: Wow, okay. I miss you a bit. Is that strange?

Su Hao: Not strange.

Su Hao hesitated, typed a long message, and then deleted it. She realized she had no one to talk to about emotional matters. Sitting by the bedside lamp, she opened her Moments and casually scrolled through. She came across a forum link posted by Li Xiu. She clicked on it, looked around, and downloaded an app.

She then saw an emotional post.

The story went something like this: Her ex-boyfriend, who was a playboy, now wanted to get back together and repeatedly sabotaged her developing relationship. She asked what others thought she should do.

The comments were diverse and varied.

The original poster replied, “I still have some feelings.”

But then the original poster added, “He dumped me before, and he was always in control.”

Another person replied, “Then agree to him, and this time, you dump him.”

Su Hao liked the comment “Then agree to him, and this time, you dump him,” and the thought she wanted to express vanished.

In the next two days, Su Hao finished her work and received a text from Assistant Lu about the booked flight. Zhou Yang likely still had some finishing touches to handle, so the flight was scheduled for Saturday. Su Hao completed her work on Friday morning and took a nap at the hotel in the afternoon.

After waking up, Su Hao took a shower, changed into a new outfit, and went down to the restaurant on the second floor for a meal. The restaurant served Western cuisine.

Su Hao ordered a steak and ate while enjoying the view outside. The chair in front of her was pulled out, and Zhou Yang sat down. He loosened his tie and said, “You haven’t replied to the message.”

“I didn’t see it.” Su Hao glanced at him and then picked up her knife and fork, preparing to cut her steak. Zhou Yang, having removed his tie, crossed his long legs and reached over to move Su Hao’s plate. He took her knife and fork and began cutting the steak for her, his voice low and amused. “You should cut it like this. How long would it take you to cut it the way you were doing?”

Since he was cutting it for her, Su Hao let him do it. She took a sip of her juice. Zhou Yang had been busy these past few days, but he made sure that the waiter brought food to her every day.

The roses had been replaced by lilies, which was quite thoughtful.

Su Hao turned her face toward the window. Zhou Yang finished cutting the steak, forked a piece, and held it up to her lips. Su Hao came back to her senses and looked at him.

Zhou Yang glanced at his own hand and realized that this was the first time he had served a woman like this. He tapped his tongue against his cheek and pushed the fork forward, “Hmm?”

Su Hao, not in a hurry, opened her mouth.

Although she didn’t smile, her gentle features made even a simple glance seem like a small frown. Zhou Yang laughed softly and asked, “Do you treat every man who likes you like this?”

Su Hao continued eating the cut steak, her cheeks puffed up. “How so?”

“Indifferent.” Zhou Yang forked another piece of steak for himself. They shared the same set of cutlery. After he finished speaking, he paused for a moment, his gaze deepening. “Oh, I was wrong. You seem quite enthusiastic towards Shen He.”

In that billiard room, the way she looked at him seemed as if he was the only one in her eyes.

Thinking about this, Zhou Yang felt a pang of irritation.

Su Hao thought, You still dare to mention Shen He!

They finished the steak, and Su Hao had never touched the fork; Zhou Yang had fed her the entire time.

Zhou Yang put down his cutlery, wiped his lips with a napkin, and asked, “There’s still some time this evening. Would you like me to take you shopping?”

Su Hao stood up, “No need for you to accompany me. I’ll go by myself.”

“Oh?” He smiled, picked up his coat and tie, and untied his collar. He called the waiter to sign the bill. Su Hao glanced at him and left first. She planned to visit the commercial district to buy some things for her mother, Su Qian, and for Liao Yun. After going downstairs, Zhou Yang grabbed her wrist from behind and said in a low voice, “I still need to take you to the shopping spots around here.”

Without waiting for her response, he pulled her toward the black car and opened the passenger door, somewhat forcefully pushing her inside.

After Su Hao sat down, she couldn’t help but ask him, “Are you so overbearing with every woman?”

Zhou Yang heard this and laughed. He looked down at her, his elbow resting on the car window, and his fingertips touched her nose. “Only with you.”

He spoke sweetly as if it were second nature.

Su Hao smiled.

Then, she rolled down the window.

Zhou Yang had no choice but to let go of her. He walked around the front of the car to the driver's seat. Once inside, Li Yi happened to send a WeChat message.

Li Yi: Wen Ze Li asked to invite you for drinks tonight.

Zhou Yang: Not going, shopping.

Li Yi: What? You’re going shopping??

Zhou Yang: Is that surprising?

Li Yi: Your first girlfriend cried for three hours just to get you to go shopping with her! Did you ever pay her any attention?

Zhou Yang: Really?

He thought for a moment, trying to remember what his first girlfriend looked like.

He couldn’t recall, so Zhou Yang decided not to think about it. He started the car and glanced at Su Hao, who was looking down at her phone. She had opened the emotional forum again.

She was focused on reading, her fingers absentmindedly pinching her ear, which was small and rosy. Zhou Yang found himself somewhat mesmerized. He reached out and pinched her little finger as it moved around. Su Hao was startled, looked up, and Zhou Yang smiled, “Is your ear itchy?”

“A kiss would make it stop itching.”

Su Hao shook him off.

Zhou Yang wasn’t bothered. He started the car and drove toward the commercial street. It was a lively time, crowded with people. Su Hao wasn’t used to such places. She walked and looked around, while Zhou Yang’s hands were in his pockets as he casually walked beside her. “What do you want to buy?”

“For my mom? You can’t afford it; it’s too expensive.” Zhou Yang guessed immediately.

“Why not buy this?” He said, reaching out to wrap his arm around her waist and lead her into a store selling silk scarves. Su Hao immediately realized that Su Qian also liked silk scarves. Her eyes brightened as she walked over to choose one.

Zhou Yang lazily leaned on the sofa, waiting for her. The store was mid-to-high-end, but with Zhou Yang’s designer clothes, presence, and looks, he was impossible to ignore. Several people quickly gathered around to introduce scarves to Su Hao. In the end, Su Hao chose a purple one and went to pay.

While paying, her phone rang.

She glanced at it.

It was a message from Yun Lü.

Yun Lü: Su Hao, I need to tell you something. Shen He’s grandfather will suddenly return to the country. It was Zhou Yang who leaked the information.

Su Hao tightened her grip on the silk scarf.

She calmly completed the payment, took the bag, and walked towards Zhou Yang. Zhou Yang reached out to take the bag, but Su Hao pulled it back.

The next moment, she stood on tiptoe and leaned close to Zhou Yang’s ear.

Zhou Yang was momentarily stunned. He instinctively wrapped his arm around her waist and tilted his head to listen, fully aware. At this moment, Su Hao whispered, “Zhou Yang, did you call Shen He’s grandfather back to the country? How are you so capable?”

Her tone was as gentle as flowing water.

But it felt like a cold breeze blowing over Zhou Yang’s back.

Zhou Yang stiffened.

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