Will you come with me?

“On such a beautiful evening, you’re hiding in a corner looking at your phone. How bored are you?”

The bar was dim and noisy, with scantily clad men and women dancing. Qiu Si sat down at a corner bar counter, snapped his fingers at the bartender across from him, and ordered a margarita.

“I called you to the bar to relax,” he leaned his hand against the marble counter, glancing sideways at the unmoved man beside him, raising an eyebrow, “but here you are, just changing locations to work and look at your phone.”

Completely ignoring the mockery, Zhou Shiyu lounged lazily against the high stool, his tailored suit showing off his broad shoulders and narrow waist, long legs crossed, his posture weary and cold. Amidst the loud music and screaming, only he was out of place looking at his phone, with overhead spotlights casting ambiguous beams that seemed to isolate him from his surroundings.

Zhou Shiyu was waiting for Sheng Sui to reply.

The “typing” indicator appeared and disappeared. A full minute passed before a message of explanation popped up.

【SS: Mr. Zhou, I’m terribly sorry. I didn’t expect you to add me on WeChat, so I mistook you for someone else】

Between the lines, it was filled with Sheng Sui’s careful distancing and confusion about his previous behavior.

Zhou Shiyu knew he had been too eager earlier, which caused her suspicion.

His sudden appearance was like a giant boulder falling from the sky, unexpectedly thrown into Sheng Sui’s calm and peaceful life. Though not his intention, it was enough to stir up stormy waves.

But even so, he didn’t want to just let it pass and pretend nothing happened.

Behind his lenses, his dark eyes grew slightly deeper, when he heard the endless chatter beside him:

“Just in the time it took me to get to the bar, the beauty at the opposite table has thrown flirtatious glances at you three times. At least lift your head and look at her.”

Qiu Si had known Zhou Shiyu since university and later co-founded Chenghe Capital with him, so he spoke without much restraint:

“If you continue like this, you’ll end up dying alone—”

Before he could finish, Zhou Shiyu suddenly looked up, just one casual glance, and Qiu Si immediately shut his mouth.

Zhou Shiyu turned his phone face down, making a light sound as it hit the marble counter, then raised an eyebrow and asked back: “Not talking anymore?”

Qiu Si waved his hand and changed his tune: “Not talking anymore. I’m afraid you’ll climb through my window at midnight to kill and burn me.”

The outside world’s evaluation of Zhou Shiyu most often included “gentle and refined,” but Qiu Si, having worked with him for many years, knew best the cold heart behind the man’s warm smile. He was very quiet in private.

After Chenghe took off, Zhou Shiyu’s reputation soared in the industry. Countless olive branches were extended to Qiu Si, trying to drive a wedge between them, but he decisively refused them all.

The longer they worked together, the clearer it became that playing mind games with Zhou Shiyu would only result in being played to death by him.

Qiu Si picked up his wine glass and took a couple of sips to calm his nerves. From the corner of his eye, he saw someone walking over and enthusiastically waved: “Secretary Chen, come quickly. Your Mr. Zhou has turned from cloudy to overcast again.”

“Mr. Qiu,” Secretary Chen greeted respectfully, then walked to Zhou Shiyu’s side, bending down to whisper in his ear, “There are two matters I need to consult with you about.”

“The old master just called asking when you’ll be back. He wants to arrange for you to have dinner with Miss Fu.”

“Cancel it,” Zhou Shiyu didn’t even lift his eyelids, his attitude cold. “What else?”

“Then there’s the location for tomorrow’s celebration banquet,” Secretary Chen’s tone was steady and measured. “I wanted to ask if you have any requirements. If not, I’ll handle it as usual.”

His slender fingertips lightly tapped the screen. Zhou Shiyu pondered for a moment, then said indifferently: “Yuxing Tower, 6:30 PM.”

The man had never cared about such things before. Even the steady Secretary Chen was slightly stunned upon hearing this, quickly adjusting: “Alright, I’ll make the reservation.”

After speaking, his gaze stopped on the marble counter, suddenly remembering that he had never seen Zhou Shiyu use a white phone before.

“Mm.”

Responding with a single character absent-mindedly, Zhou Shiyu stood up and strode away under the burning gazes from all directions.

Halfway through, girls mustered the courage to approach and try to strike up conversations, but the man ignored them all and walked straight past.

Qiu Si watched the man’s tall, lean figure leave, then looked leisurely at Secretary Chen: “What’s wrong with him today? Just because the old master arranged a blind date for him?”

Secretary Chen inexplicably thought of that afternoon’s trip: “It’s probably something else.”

Yuxing Tower was a popular Hong Kong-style restaurant with a quiet environment and elegant decor. Soothing music flowed melodiously, and the spacious hall was furnished with exquisite square tables where well-dressed diners conversed in low voices.

This made her blind date’s loud voice even more conspicuous.

“My dad died early, my mom’s unreliable, and I have a younger sister who needs to study. Every day I used to wake up thinking about how to make money.”

After ordering, Zhou Qi took the initiative to start the conversation, talking about how he dropped out of middle school to work in the city to support his sister’s education, relying on his muscular build to establish himself in a factory, then later starting his own steel business, making some money in recent years due to good policies.

Now that he was over thirty and successful in his career, he wanted to settle down, find a wife to take care of him at home, and have a big fat son.

Sheng Sui could see that her blind date was very satisfied with her appearance, and she could tell that Zhou Qi wasn’t bad in character. It’s just that the man had started drinking before the food arrived, and his gradually rising volume made her restless.

The man’s gesture of tilting his head back to drain his wine glass in one gulp was exactly like her alcoholic father from childhood.

When her father was sober, it was fine—at most he would just ignore her. But every time he got drunk, he would inevitably shout loudly, and when that wasn’t enough, he would hit her to vent his anger, attracting all the neighbors to come watch the spectacle.

At first, Sheng Sui would cry and scream, but as time passed, she realized no one would save her. Tears would only bring more criticism and pitying glances.

So she learned to keep quiet and smile obediently.

When Zhou Qi tried to toast again, Sheng Sui politely declined: “I can’t drink alcohol, I’m afraid it will hurt my stomach.”

“This little bit of red wine is nothing,” Zhou Qi looked at the woman with red lips and white teeth under the warm yellow light, unable to help but boast, “When we talk business at drinking tables, we start with at least a jin of baijiu—”

“I’m sorry.”

Sheng Sui couldn’t stay any longer. She felt like everyone around was turning to look at her, so she made an excuse to get up: “I’ll go to the restroom.”

It wasn’t a lie—she really needed to go to the restroom to inject insulin before the food arrived.

Short-acting insulin takes about fifteen minutes to take effect. Injecting too early can cause low blood sugar, while too late would cause blood sugar to rise too quickly.

Leaving behind the man’s booming voice, Sheng Sui could finally breathe freely as she locked the stall door.

The needle piercing her skin caused a slight stinging sensation. Sheng Sui looked down, pressing her thumb against the round pen tip, slowly pushing the insulin into her body bit by bit, lost in thought.

Being with Zhou Qi made her feel suffocated. She couldn’t continue anymore.

She had to explain about her illness as soon as possible. That way, no matter how much the other party liked her, they would immediately back down.

Sheng Sui was very experienced with this.

After a long while, she finally left the restroom, her mind full of thoughts about how to broach the subject with Zhou Qi.

Naturally, she brushed past Zhou Shiyu and his group who had just arrived.

“Making a project worth hundreds of millions, and for the celebration banquet you treat us to a tea restaurant. Isn’t Mr. Zhou being too stingy?”

Qiu Si sat down lazily at the square table, complaining verbally but ordering seven or eight dishes in a row before stopping. He turned his head and glanced at the table diagonally across from them, grinning.

“Look, isn’t that Zhou Qi? The one who begged you for investment last month,” he nudged Zhou Shiyu’s arm with his elbow, “Is that his girlfriend across from him? That’s really a fresh flower stuck in cow dung—”

“No.”

Zhou Shiyu suddenly spoke, his low, cool voice making the other three pause their movements and look up, only to see the man’s expressionless face: “Just a blind date.”

“You even know this?” Qiu Si thought this person had been moody lately. “But with Zhou Qi’s explosive temper that flares up at the slightest disagreement, that girl on the blind date is really pitiful.”

Zhou Shiyu pressed his lips together and said nothing, his gaze fixed on the two people conversing not far away, his dark eyes behind the lenses deep and cold.

Early spring’s chill hadn’t yet faded. Today Sheng Sui had changed into a light purple loose sweater and a thin gauze skirt in the same color scheme. Her soft black hair was casually pinned up with clips, elegant and refined yet with a lazy, casual charm.

Her face, usually bare of makeup, was lightly made up today—vermillion lips and pearly teeth, delicate eyebrows and smiling eyes. Her originally gentle and graceful features now carried some naturally seductive charm.

The man across from her was attentively passing her dishes, and she was momentarily stunned before smiling and accepting them.

It could be called a heartwarming scene.

Zhou Shiyu only found it extremely glaring.

“The pineapple bun just came up, try it.”

As soon as Sheng Sui returned to her seat, Zhou Qi pushed the dessert in front of her: “Why were you gone so long? The food would have gotten cold if we waited any longer.”

Having just injected insulin, she couldn’t eat high-carb foods. Sheng Sui could only reluctantly accept the dessert, struggling with when to bring up the topic.

Usually, she would confess after the blind date ended. Zhou Qi was the only one where she wanted to escape before the food even arrived.

Seeing her face flush slightly, Zhou Qi thought Sheng Sui was shy and couldn’t help but feel smug: “The matchmaker just asked for my thoughts, and I said I’m quite satisfied with you.”

“I’m not well-educated and don’t go for complicated stuff. You said you wanted to find someone with good character, and I think I’m alright. If you think it’s suitable, we could try—”

“Mr. Zhou Qi.”

Hearing the man praise her made Sheng Sui’s scalp tingle, and she didn’t dare delay any longer: “I’m afraid we’re not suitable.”

“Not suitable?” The rejection came so suddenly that Zhou Qi stared wide-eyed in surprise. “Do you think my character isn’t good? Or—”

“It’s my problem,” the man’s loud questioning successfully drew looks from several nearby tables. Sheng Sui’s smile stiffened: “My health isn’t very good. I have Type 1 diabetes.”

Zhou Qi didn’t believe it: “Diabetes? Isn’t that something only old people get? You’re so young, how could you have diabetes?”

The man’s reaction was as expected. Sheng Sui didn’t want to explain, only hoping he wouldn’t shout: “You can tell the matchmaker directly that it’s my problem.”

Zhou Qi considered trying again for a moment, then thought about how Sheng Sui had concealed this first. Recalling his earlier self-indulgence, and emboldened by alcohol, he became angry from embarrassment:

“Why didn’t you say you were sick earlier? Isn’t this deceiving people?!”

At this moment, a server brought dishes to the table, gently reminding: “Sir, please lean back a bit, be careful of burns—”

Zhou Qi was interrupted and suddenly slammed the table: “What’s all the noise? Didn’t you hear I was talking?!”

The moment his palm hit the table, Sheng Sui felt as if someone had slapped her face, the pain making it difficult to breathe.

Enough.

She’d had enough.

“Not informing you beforehand was my oversight.”

With gazes from all around piercing her back, at that moment, Sheng Sui felt like she had become that girl in the alley again, being gossiped about, her too-short sleeves unable to hide the bruises from beatings.

A smile was the only dignity she had left.

Just like now, she bit the soft flesh in her mouth hard but still forced a smile, taking the opportunity to leave: “Sorry, I need to take a phone call.”

Without waiting for Zhou Qi’s reaction, she grabbed her purse and was about to leave.

She turned around, only to meet Zhou Shiyu’s gaze directly. The man was sitting diagonally to her right, now looking intently in her direction.

In the crowded restaurant, Zhou Shiyu still stood out like a crane among chickens. His pure black suit exuded cool restraint, while his gold-rimmed glasses added a touch of gentle refinement.

A stark contrast to Sheng Sui’s current disheveled state.

Their eyes met, and she hurriedly avoided his gaze, quickening her pace to walk straight past Zhou Shiyu’s table.

Sheng Sui hadn’t expected Zhou Qi to chase after her. She heard angry scolding from behind: “You think you can just leave like this?”

From the corner of her eye, she saw the man’s thick, broad hand about to grab her. She moved sideways to dodge, when her wrist was suddenly grasped by another warm, dry hand. The grip was gentle but unyielding.

With a slight force from the palm, she was pulled away from danger.

The woody, cool fragrance that reached her nose seemed familiar, with undertones mixed with hints of clear bitterness, yet it made her feel incredibly secure.

The moment Zhou Shiyu pulled her behind him for protection, rather than feeling embarrassed or humiliated, Sheng Sui’s first reaction was the complete dissipation of her anxiety and panic—the clear realization that she was now safe.

A pained cry reached her ears. Sheng Sui turned her head to see another handsome man leaning back in his chair, leisurely retracting his outstretched leg, with Zhou Qi sprawled on the ground beside his feet.

“Who the hell tripped me—”

Zhou Qi cursed as he climbed to his feet. Looking up to meet Qiu Si’s grinning face, he was first stunned, then his gaze shifted to see Zhou Shiyu and Sheng Sui, whom the man had pulled behind him.

For a moment, expressions of shame, fear, and shock took turns playing across Zhou Qi’s face.

“Well, if it isn’t Brother Zhou,” Qiu Si spoke leisurely: “Are you here to ask for money again? There’s no need for such a grand bow—we can’t accept it.”

Zhou Qi’s face alternated between red and white, unable to swallow this humiliation: “You two bosses, this is my private matter, you—”

“Mr. Zhou.”

Zhou Shiyu interrupted gently, looking down at Zhou Qi from his superior position, a faint smile on his lips, but his words were chilling:

“I can give you one chance to walk out on your own.”

After speaking, the man casually glanced toward the distance, where the restaurant manager who had rushed over was already waiting with two or three security guards. Seeing Zhou Shiyu look their way, they all bowed respectfully.

Zhou Qi knew he couldn’t win this fight. Before leaving, still thinking Zhou Shiyu was just playing the hero to save the beauty, he shot a vicious glare at Sheng Sui behind the man: “We haven’t finished talking. I’ll be waiting for you in the parking lot.”

“……”

After Zhou Qi left, no one was watching the spectacle anymore. Life went on as usual, and other people quickly focused back on their own affairs.

Sheng Sui was still shaken, mentally disoriented, but her body moved first to thank Qiu Si and Zhou Shiyu.

“It’s my honor to serve a beautiful lady,” Qiu Si noticed that someone was still holding Sheng Sui’s hand and raised an eyebrow as he stood up. “I’ll go settle the bill for your table.”

After a deliberate pause, he looked meaningfully at Zhou Shiyu: “Someone better remember to reimburse me for this.”

Sheng Sui was about to say it wasn’t necessary when she heard Zhou Shiyu reply tersely with a “fine.”

“Really, you don’t need to—”

Before she could finish, Sheng Sui felt the wrist that had been gently encircled grow cool as Zhou Shiyu finally remembered to release her hand.

Then her shoulder felt a weight as the man removed his suit jacket and draped it over her shoulders. When his well-defined hands gathered the collar, Zhou Shiyu leaned down slightly, his thin lips stopping beside her ear.

The quiet, gentle, slightly bitter woody fragrance drifted into her nostrils, the scent becoming intense due to their suddenly shortened distance.

Sheng Sui’s breathing tightened as she heard the low, gentle male voice fall: “Zhou Qi has quite a criminal record. He’s not a suitable marriage candidate.”

“There are many single, unmarried people,” warm breath rolled past her ear as she looked up into Zhou Shiyu’s dark eyes, seeing emotions churning in their depths that she couldn’t fathom.

The man looked into her eyes calmly and intently: “Teacher Sheng, you deserve better.”

Indeed, he had heard all of the earlier argument.

Sheng Sui suddenly remembered that when they met in the corridor yesterday, Zhou Shiyu had specifically emphasized to her that he was also single and unmarried.

As if he was deliberately trying to hint at something.

But because of the Zhou Qi incident, her mind was still in chaos. Right now she just wanted to find a place to hide and sleep it off.

Not wanting to trouble anyone else, Sheng Sui then suggested leaving.

“What trouble? Since you’re here, let’s eat together,” Qiu Si said as he returned from paying the bill. The others at the table, seeing that Sheng Sui and Zhou Shiyu’s relationship wasn’t shallow, also tried to persuade her to stay: “Zhou Qi is still waiting for you outside. If you go out now and get pestered again, what then?”

“I’ll just hail a taxi at the restaurant entrance,” Sheng Sui was determined to leave, forcing a relaxed smile with curved eyebrows: “He wouldn’t dare do anything.”

Everyone was fooled by her cheerful appearance and stopped trying to persuade her, only kindly reminding her to be safe.

Before leaving, Sheng Sui returned the jacket to Zhou Shiyu. As if afraid of revealing any flaws, she deliberately avoided the man’s downward gaze and turned to leave immediately.

It’s fine, just taking a taxi home.

Zhou Qi would at most badmouth her to the matchmaker—he couldn’t really do anything.

There was nothing to be afraid of.

The elevator finally reached the fifth floor and opened. Sheng Sui stopped her self-consolation and stepped in. The next second, a tall, slender figure followed her in.

As the metal doors closed, in the enclosed space, Sheng Sui looked up at the man in front of her in surprise.

When had Zhou Shiyu come?

The man maintained his familiar composure, handing over a bulging plastic bag in his hands, his voice gentle:

“After injecting insulin, you need to eat promptly. Low blood sugar can be very dangerous.”

The bag contained food with meat, eggs, dairy, and vegetables. Even the carbohydrate staples that could raise blood sugar were thoughtfully chosen to be diabetes-friendly: pumpkin and pearl barley rice, and buckwheat noodles.

Sheng Sui looked down at the heavy bag of food, her thoughts in turmoil.

Why would Zhou Shiyu know these things? And why would he specifically chase after her?

Sheng Sui thought she should be full of questions, but when she took the still-warm plastic bag, she only felt her eyes growing hot.

Though they had only met once, Zhou Shiyu could easily see through her pretense of strength and her vulnerability beneath the facade.

Even her most unspeakable illness was mentioned by the man with the same casual tone, his calm voice reminding her to eat as if discussing the most ordinary daily meals, rather than treating a “different” diabetic patient.

Sheng Sui had never encountered anyone like Zhou Shiyu.

Staring at the bag of food for a long time, she couldn’t bring herself to refuse. After accepting it, she said quietly: “……Thank you.”

Zhou Shiyu looked down, taking in all the hesitation in Sheng Sui’s eyes.

Reason told him he shouldn’t be impulsive. If he scared Sheng Sui away for momentary satisfaction, thirteen years of waiting would all be for nothing.

But seeing her wronged and dejected, he still couldn’t remain indifferent, still couldn’t help crossing the line again and again.

“I need to go to the company now. I could give Teacher Sheng a ride along the way.”

This is the last time; Zhou Shiyu warned himself, the hidden longing in his dark eyes behind the lenses something Sheng Sui would never detect.

If she felt uncomfortable and refused, he would immediately back away.

He decided to give the choice to Sheng Sui. The suppressed emotions made his usually smooth voice slightly hoarse: “So,”

“Will you come with me?”