Twenty-Seven

 The phone stopped ringing, and Su Hao smiled without answering. Her expression spoke volumes. Zhou Yang squinted his eyes, loosened his tie, and walked step by step towards Su Hao. The scent of fir trees mixed with a hint of tobacco emanated from him as he approached closely.

Su Hao could see the gold threads hidden in his tie. Instinctively, she took two steps back, but he raised his hand, reaching towards her shoulder.

Su Hao's eyes changed, and she retreated even faster. She stumbled, her high heel twisted, and she began to fall backward. Zhou Yang frowned, extended his hand to grab her slender waist, and with a swift turn, pinned her against the staircase wall. Their breaths were now close, and Zhou Yang's eyes teased, "Why are you backing away? Don't you know you have a lot of hair on your shoulder?"

He held her with one hand while the other carried his jacket. He motioned for her to look, and Su Hao turned to see a small clump of hair on her shoulder. She reached out to remove it.

The man released her as if he had just been holding her up. Su Hao took off the hair, her cheongsam's meticulous craftsmanship showing even a small flaw. She threw away the hair and glanced at Zhou Yang.

He had removed his tie and was smoking while leaning over the coffee table's tablet. His shirt was tucked into his trousers, highlighting his slim waist.

Su Hao looked away. She had been anxious earlier, partly because of Su Qian's words and her mother's probing, which had made her lose her composure.

Su Qian came out with a fruit tray, her eyes lighting up when she saw Su Hao, "Wow! You look amazing!"

"Oh my goodness, Hao Hao, you look perfect in a cheongsam." She walked over, grabbing Su Hao's wrist, "I heard you wanted to know about Shen He’s family? I can tell you, I know too."

"Thank you, Auntie." Su Hao was surprised that Aunt Su Qian also knew.

"Come, come, oh my, you look stunning. Let me take a picture first." Su Qian put down the fruit tray, took out her phone, and snapped a photo of Su Hao, who smiled shyly and dodged a bit.

"Alright, sit down. I'll tell you about Shen He’s family." Su Qian planned to give a simplified version of Shen He's family background, thinking that as long as the relationship developed well, family status wouldn't be an issue. She herself was wearing a cheongsam and pulled Su Hao to sit on the sofa. Su Hao sat sideways, the slit of her dress slightly revealing her long, fair legs.

"Shen He is the youngest in his family," Su Qian began, but before she could continue, someone sat on the opposite sofa. Su Qian and Su Hao looked over. Zhou Yang had his long legs crossed and was leisurely tying his tie, raising an eyebrow, "Go on, continue."

Su Qian withdrew her gaze and continued talking to Su Hao.

"He has an elder sister and an elder brother."

"His sister is Shen Xuan, founder of Modern Magazine, and his brother is Shen Ling, who graduated with a master's degree at fifteen and is now a professor at the KeLan Institute of Biology," Zhou Yang interrupted.

Su Qian's throat choked.

What is this rascal doing?

Spouting so much information, trying to scare Su Hao?

Zhou Yang finished tying his tie, smoothed it out, and said, "Currently, there's no heir for the Shen family. Shen Xuan is the first in line, and Shen Ling is into biology, so he probably won't take over. Shen He is bound to take over sooner or later."

He leaned forward slightly, elbows on his knees, smiling at Su Hao, "You need to work hard too."

Su Hao quietly looked at him without a word.

Modern Magazine.

The hottest magazine in the country, covering multiple fields.

Including aerospace.

Including biology.

It covers both popular and niche areas, making it a consistently successful publication. Shen Xuan is also listed among the wealthy.

As for Shen Ling, she had heard of him during her university days – a prodigy. Though she hadn't paid much attention, his name was well-known.

Shen He turned out to be their younger brother.

"Zhou Yang, get out!" Su Qian grabbed a pillow and threw it at Zhou Yang, who caught it easily, placed it on the sofa, picked up his coat, and smiled mischievously, "Mom, she would have to find out sooner or later."

With that, he grabbed the keys from the cabinet and walked towards the door.

He gently pushed the door open, and the sunlight streamed in. Zhou Yang squinted as if he couldn't stand the slight heat, but his eyes carried a few strands of victorious coldness.

He knew exactly what Su Hao was concerned about.

Rubbing his lips, Zhou Yang chuckled softly and strode towards his car.

"Hao Hao." Su Qian looked at Su Hao, gently touching her face, "If the feelings are deep enough, nothing else matters."

Su Hao snapped out of it and smiled at Su Qian, "I know, Auntie."

But her heart had cooled a bit.

WeChat chimed again.

It was Shen He.

Shen He: Hao Hao, what are you doing?

Su Hao: At the Zhou family’s place, with Aunt Su Qian.

Su Hao: Nothing much.

They chatted back and forth, and Su Qian, seeing this, smiled without interrupting, while also giving Su Hao some snacks. After chatting for a while, Su Hao felt it was impolite to occupy too much time and told Shen He they would talk later. For the rest of the afternoon, Su Hao focused on accompanying Su Qian.

From their conversation, she could guess that the Zhou family was indeed facing some problems. Fortunately, Zhou Yang had prepared early, and his military technology business was separate and wouldn't be caught up in this mess. After dinner, Su Qian received a call from Zhou Yang. After chatting for a bit, she excitedly grabbed Su Hao, "Come on, let's go to the shooting range. There’s a competition today, and it's the finals."

Su Hao was taken aback.

Su Qian quickly explained, "Zhou Yang’s shooting range hosts an annual shooting competition. This is the fifth year, and Zhou Yang is not participating this year. It’s all newcomers. You should join such social events more often."

Su Qian had her own plans. She wanted Su Hao to meet more people. If things didn’t work out with Shen He, Su Hao would have other options.

Without a choice, Su Hao was pulled along by Su Qian. The Zhou family's driver drove them to the military golf course, where the shooting range was brightly lit and filled with cars. Su Hao followed Su Qian out of the car, holding her phone and stepping on the gravel.

The environment here was quite remote.

A few people stood chatting by the iron fence. Zhou Yang, in a white shirt and trousers, was smoking and laughing lowly, full of charm and nonchalance.

Noticing their arrival, he raised his head and opened the iron gate with the hand holding the cigarette, "Mom, you’re here for the fun again."

"Hello, Auntie."

"Hello, Auntie Qian."

"Auntie Qian, you look beautiful."

Su Qian nodded at them and led Su Hao inside. Su Hao was wearing a floral dress, looking graceful in the night. As Su Qian pulled her along, her slightly obscured profile and exposed fair skin caught the attention of several young men.

A few of them squeezed beside Zhou Yang, "Brother Yang, who is she?"

"Your wife?"

"Wife?"

"Her waist is really slender. Can I hit on her?"

Zhou Yang, surrounded in the middle, bit his cigarette and let his eyes fall on Su Hao, smiling as he said, "Guess?"

"Wow, I didn't expect you to like this type too, Brother Yang."

"A virtuous wife and loving mother type."

"Go inside." Zhou Yang walked to the ashtray, extinguished his cigarette, and walked into the fenced area. A few rich young men quickly followed him.

The shooting range competition was ongoing. Li Yi seemed to be the coach, standing nearby with a clipboard, taking notes. When he saw Su Hao and Su Qian coming in, he nodded in acknowledgment. In the viewing area, Su Hao recognized many people: the Xu family couple, the Jiang family couple, and Liu Yan. They were sitting on the sofa, first greeting Su Qian, then Su Hao.

Su Hao smiled back at them.

She and Su Qian sat down on a long sofa.

There were eight young men competing, laughing and shooting, with another dozen people watching from the stands, making it quite lively.

There weren't many ladies present.

It was mostly men.

A few judges were sitting there, drinking tea and chatting.

It looked formal yet casual.

Su Qian introduced the people to Su Hao, pointing them out one by one.

"These are from the Ying family of Dongshi."

"The Chen family of Haishi."

"The Yan family of Licheng."

"The Li family of Licheng." Suddenly, the sofa next to Su Hao sank, accompanied by a man's deep voice. Su Hao turned her head to see Zhou Yang pouring a glass of red wine and handing it to her. She hesitated, took it, and passed it to Su Qian. Zhou Yang then poured another glass and handed it to Su Hao.

Su Hao accepted it.

Zhou Yang crossed his long legs and leaned back, glancing at Su Qian, "Mom, what are you up to?"

Su Qian took a sip of the red wine, frowning slightly in distaste, "Too much ice. What do you think? I'm obviously helping Su Hao."

Su Hao, caught between the mother and son, felt a bit helpless. Just then, a hearty laugh came from the door—it was Aunt Li’s voice. Su Qian asked Zhou Yang to take care of Su Hao while she went to find Aunt Li.

As soon as she left, the long sofa was left with only Su Hao and Zhou Yang. Su Hao moved a bit to the side. Zhou Yang, leaning back against the sofa, casually glanced at her.

He really wanted to pin her down on this sofa and kiss her passionately.

Thinking of this made Zhou Yang feel breathless. He took a sip of coffee, then followed her gaze to see the Chen family's young master, Chen Yu, watching the competition.

From the side, he looked a bit like Shen He.

Zhou Yang cracked his knuckles.

A few seconds later, he leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees, and said softly, "That’s Chen Yu, the young master of the Chen family."

Su Hao snapped back to reality and turned to look at him.

Zhou Yang's long, narrow eyes were obscure in the night. He smiled, "Doesn’t he look like Shen He?"

Su Hao didn't respond.

She had indeed noticed a resemblance, which was why she had taken a few more glances.

"Chen Yu is also preparing for an arranged marriage. Two months ago, he was still dating a university girlfriend, but for the sake of his family, he had to give her up and eventually chose the one his family picked." As he spoke, he leisurely sipped his wine, the collar of his shirt slightly open, revealing his collarbone, his eyes unreadable.

The wine swirled in his glass.

Suddenly, Su Hao asked, "It seems like you're telling me that Shen He and I have no future."

"Then why did you introduce him to me in the first place?"

Zhou Yang's hand, holding the wine glass, paused.

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