Zhou Shiyu, you won’t be alone anymore.

“…The cultivation of baby snapdragon requires careful attention to light adjustment. In late autumn, winter, and early spring, when temperatures are not too high, adequate sunlight should be provided, while in summer’s high temperatures, more attention should be paid to avoiding light…”*1

After finishing her school lesson preparation in the evening, Sheng Sui sat cross-legged on the living room sofa with her laptop, a cushion on her lap holding her personal notebook, carefully reading the cultivation methods for baby snapdragon on the webpage, murmuring to herself.

“What are you busy with?”

A familiar male voice came from above her head while she was writing. Sheng Sui looked up to see Zhou Shiyu approaching with the mug she used, containing a milk-blue colored drink.

“Warm milk with butterfly pea flower powder and ginger paste,” Zhou Shiyu sat down beside her, letting Sheng Sui taste it, “It’s called ‘Blue Moon,’ which helps with calming and stress relief.”*2

Accustomed to Zhou Shiyu’s constant care and closeness, Sheng Sui smiled and thanked him before accepting the milk, her mouth filled with rich sweetness.

“I’m looking up how to raise baby snapdragon.”

Sheng Sui pointed at the computer screen with her pen tip, explaining: “The information says baby snapdragon likes relatively dry growing environments, so I need to ensure our seedling’s leaves stay dry in the future; it also says baby snapdragon prefers cool climates, so when the weather gets hot, I’ll need to figure out another solution…”*1

She talked to herself for a long time before noticing the person beside her had been silent the whole time, embarrassedly scratching her head: “I think I talked too much.”

When the woman raised her hand, her hem lifted, revealing a section of soft white waist, like jade and snow, indented at the waist dimple.

Zhou Shiyu’s dark eyes behind his glasses deepened slightly. Without making it obvious, he wrapped his arm around her slender waist, covering that patch of snow-white back under her clothes, asking: “Do you like growing flowers very much?”

“I’ve never grown any, so I can’t really say I like it.”

Sheng Sui tried hard to ignore the firm, strong arm around her waist, turning to look at him: “But you seem to like it very much.”

“I think if I succeed, you should be very happy.”

Zhou Shiyu was silent for a moment, his throat slightly itching: “Is my happiness… very important to you?”

“Of course it’s important.”

“Just like how you get up early to cook because you want to take care of me,” Sheng Sui thought this was natural, instead finding the man’s question strange.

Turning around in his warm embrace, she looked seriously into Zhou Shiyu’s eyes: “You are my husband, and I also hope that in this marriage, you feel the same happiness as I do.”

The woman’s bright, moist eyes were filled with solemnity, and some confusion and dignity regarding Zhou Shiyu’s absurd question.

Her eyes were clear, reflecting only one person’s image; when their four eyes met, Zhou Shiyu suddenly had a moment of disorientation, as if returning to that cold winter thirteen years ago.

At that time, Sheng Sui had watched over him by his hospital bed, looking at him with the same expression—bright, clean, clear.

One glance lasting ten thousand years, nothing more than this.

Zhou Shiyu sighed audibly, extending his long arm to pull Sheng Sui into his embrace, placing a kiss on her smooth forehead:

“It turns out you’re better at sweet talk than I am.”

Sheng Sui was puzzled, looking up to ask: “Sweet talk? Does what I just said count too?”

“Yes, every word is against the rules,” Zhou Shiyu responded in a low voice, holding her tighter in his arms, burying his head in Sheng Sui’s neck, “I need some time to recover.”

“…Okay.”

Sheng Sui was held so tightly she couldn’t move, her nostrils filled with the man’s clear, bitter cold woody fragrance. No matter how she thought about it, what she said was perfectly ordinary.

So Zhou Shiyu was such an easily moved personality?

Unable to figure it out, Sheng Sui still raised her hand to gently pat her husband’s back in comfort, then heard the man ask her again: “Can you say those words to me often?”

“Half a sentence would be fine too,” Zhou Shiyu’s tone was gentle with laughter, perfectly concealing his emotional fluctuation in an instant, coaxing her in different ways,

“Or just calling me ‘hubby’ would be fine too.”

So this was his purpose; Sheng Sui withdrew from the ill-intentioned man’s embrace, softly retorting: “…I clearly said ‘husband’ just now.”

Zhou Shiyu smiled and asked about the difference between the two.

Sheng Sui couldn’t articulate the distinction either, only instinctively having a vague resistance to the term “hubby”: “Maybe ‘husband’ is more like what mutually respectful married couples use, while ‘hubby’ is more suitable for passionate lovers?”

Her marriage with Zhou Shiyu was combined due to compatibility, not love.

The term “hubby” in her subconscious was not only overly intimate, but also seemed to represent their relationship crossing the warning line of “respectful love,” thereby falling into the deep abyss of passionate romance.

She never believed love could last long, convinced that mutual respect and affectionate reverence between spouses could better protect this relationship, rather than adding the highly uncertain factor of “love.”

So she instinctively wanted to avoid risks.

If possible, she wanted to walk with Zhou Shiyu peacefully and for a long, long time.

Until now, she believed that Zhou Shiyu, who also needed a long-lasting stable marriage, thought the same way.

Sure enough, upon hearing this, the man only fell silent for a moment, the gentle smile still on his lips, no longer insisting as he ruffled her hair: “Okay.”

“If you don’t like it, then we won’t call it that.”

“……”

Before going to bed and bathing, Zhou Shiyu took out a set of freshly washed new nightgown from the walk-in closet, handing it to Sheng Sui at the bathroom door.

The man smiled and explained: “An apology for yesterday.”

The nightgown wasn’t an ambiguous, revealing style, but a design that clearly prioritized warmth.

The fabric was soft and delicate, an elegant and simple cream-white shirt dress that reached past her knees, with exquisite lace trim design at the cuffs and collar.

“Spring evenings are still cold,” Zhou Shiyu asked Sheng Sui to find time to try it on to see if the size fit, “Wear more when sleeping, try to avoid catching cold and getting sick.”

Sheng Sui accepted the clothes: “…Okay.”

After bathing in the bathroom, Sheng Sui dried her body with a towel, looking down at the two sets of clothes on the storage rack—one set was her own prepared sleepwear, the remaining one was the nightgown Zhou Shiyu had just given her.

After hesitating for a moment, she still chose to wear her husband’s gift.

She thought all gift-givers who carefully prepare presents would hope their thoughtfulness would be treasured and treated well.

She didn’t want to disappoint Zhou Shi’s intentions, no matter how insignificant.

When Sheng Sui came out wearing the new clothes, she saw the man leaning against the headboard handling work look up at the sound, seeing the nightgown on her body, the smile in his dark eyes behind his glasses growing even more.

“Looks like the size fits perfectly,” Zhou Shiyu never spared praise for her, putting down his tablet to seriously compliment, “Very beautiful.”

Sheng Sui no longer blushed and felt flustered when praised, suppressing her rising lip corners as she walked to the bedside, lifting the covers to lie down flat.

Soon, the warm lamp on the man’s bedside table was turned off, the bed surface beside her slightly sank, and the sound of long, steady breathing reached her ears.

The bedroom was spacious, quiet, and dark. Sheng Sui looked at the ceiling above her head, blinking slowly. After a few seconds, she turned to face her husband, asking softly:

“Do you really like that term of address?”

Zhou Shiyu turned to hold her, eyes closed, intimately pressing against her forehead and asking in a low voice: “What term of address?”

“…The synonym for ‘husband,'” Sheng Sui’s ears quietly heated in the darkness, grateful it wouldn’t be discovered, her volume weakening,

“If you prefer that one, I can change it in the future.”

She indeed didn’t like terms of endearment between lovers, but she also clearly understood this was her cognitive issue;

If just changing a form of address could make Zhou Shiyu satisfied; she couldn’t say she gladly accepted it, but she was willing to change how she spoke.

After a few seconds of silence, there was the man’s finger touching her ear in the darkness, followed by deep, low laughter.

“Your ears are hot,” Zhou Shiyu’s fingertip gently rubbed her earlobe with moderate pressure, his hot breath falling on her neck, “Aren’t you embarrassed?”

“A little bit, but I’ll get used to it.”

Her heartbeat gradually intensified. Sheng Sui honestly admitted her inexperience, placing her hand on Zhou Shiyu’s shoulder for support, tilting her head to bring her thin lips close to his ear, whispering extremely softly:

“…Hubby.”

“……”

After speaking, she immediately felt Zhou Shiyu’s body tense up, mistakenly thinking the man hadn’t heard clearly and thought she was blowing in his ear, so she timidly raised her voice and called again.

“Hubby—”

Before she finished speaking, Sheng Sui was tightly embraced by the man in the darkness, overwhelming passionate kisses came like an unstoppable force, she was forced to sink into them, unable to escape.

After an unknown amount of time, she collapsed weakly on the bed surface, breathing fresh air in large gulps like a drowning person, even the aggressor’s comforting gentle patting on her back was of no help.

In her daze, a hoarse male voice sounded by her ear: “…It’s something I should have told you in advance.”

Sheng Sui asked groggily: “What?”

Zhou Shiyu lovingly stroked away the moisture at the corner of Sheng Sui’s eyes that was about to fall but hadn’t yet, getting up to get out of bed.

Before leaving, he didn’t forget to wrap his wife well in the blanket to prevent cold air from making her catch cold.

“I should have told you that your husband is a normal adult male.”

The man bent down beside the bed, gently kissing Sheng Sui’s forehead, his voice hoarse: “If his wife crawls to his ear in the middle of the night calling ‘hubby,’ he won’t be able to control himself.”

“……”

Soon, the sound of cold water came from the tightly closed bathroom. The flush on Sheng Sui’s face had just faded, but hearing the water sound, she belatedly came to her senses, stunned for a moment, then like a turtle withdrawing its head, she quickly shrank into the blanket.

She never wanted to come out again.

The meeting time with Old Master Zhou was set for Saturday daytime.

According to Xiao Ming’s introduction, among the leaders in the venture capital circle, eight or nine out of ten came from already wealthy families, and except for Zhou Shiyu, Sheng Sui’s experience dealing with rich people was close to zero.

Seeing the time approaching, buying a meeting gift for the old master was also urgent.

Zhou Shiyu had a dinner engagement on Friday night, so Sheng Sui happened to call Xiao Ming out for shopping. First, when they were roommates, they would go out to shop at the mall every Friday, and second, she wanted to ask her friend’s opinion on what to give an elderly person.

With Zhou Shiyu’s keen perception, before leaving in the morning, he handed Sheng Sui a bank card at the entrance.

“No need, I have money with me,” Sheng Sui quickly waved her hand, “I’m just afraid the gift won’t be expensive enough.”

“Don’t worry about the old master.”

Zhou Shiyu sighed upon hearing this, looking down to see Sheng Sui’s shoelaces had come undone, squatting down to tie them into a beautiful bow, “This is for you to buy yourself some things.”

“The experience of earning money for my wife to spend freely,” the man finally stood up, smiling at Sheng Sui, his voice still gentle:

“I want to try it too.”

With the spring equinox arrival and rising temperatures, Zhou Shiyu had changed from long coats to light jackets, appearing even more slender and neat; spring light poured through the bay window into the house, whether viewed from far or near, could only be described as ‘pleasing to the eye.’

“…What are you daydreaming about? Didn’t you say you wanted to buy gifts for the elderly? Are you being silly?”

Xiao Ming’s calling voice pulled back her thoughts. Sheng Sui grasped the waving hand in front of her, somewhat worried: “What price range do you think I should buy to seem sincere?”

“Sincerity isn’t just measured by money.”

Xiao Ming casually hooked her arm around her best friend’s shoulder, hitting the nail on the head: “Besides, people who like you will still like you even if you come empty-handed, while people who hate you will still hate you even if you give them mountains of gold and silver.”

“In life, just having a clear conscience is enough, everything else can go to hell.”

Sheng Sui thought about it and agreed.

So she dragged Xiao Ming around the expensive supplement section on the mall’s third floor for two hours, until Xiao Ming, worried about her tight budget, hurriedly pulled her to find a restaurant for dinner.

During the meal, Xiao Ming casually chatted: “When you first said you were buying something for someone, I thought you were going to give it to your husband.”

Sheng Sui’s hand reaching for food paused, her gaze naturally falling on the bracelet on her wrist that Zhou Shiyu had given her on her birthday.

Thinking carefully, she seemed to have never given Zhou Shiyu a gift.

She silently put down her chopsticks: “After we finish eating, let’s go browse the men’s section on the second floor.”

Given Zhou Shiyu’s economic strength, rather than expensive items, Sheng Sui was more inclined to give something the other party could use daily but was lacking at home.

After browsing around and around the mall’s second floor, the only thing that met the criteria was a belt.

Sheng Sui hadn’t specifically looked for one, but after several days of cohabitation, she indeed hadn’t seen a single belt in the walk-in closet, guessing that Zhou Shiyu’s suits were all custom-tailored, making belts optional.

She picked up and put down the belt she had her eye on, on one hand worrying about its low practicality, then thinking that if she bought it, this might be Zhou Shiyu’s first belt.

Just like the bracelet currently on her wrist.

In the end, Xiao Ming made the decision for her, waving her hand to ask the saleswoman to wrap up the belt: “What are you hesitating about? It’s not like you’re only going to buy your husband one gift for the rest of your life.”

“Besides,” Xiao Ming lifted Sheng Sui’s chin, playfully scratching, “giving a man a belt means tying him down, what a good meaning.”

Sheng Sui was successfully amused, cheerfully paying with her own salary card.

To let Zhou Shiyu experience having a partner swipe his credit card, Sheng Sui didn’t forget to buy herself a spring outfit, though the price was about twenty times cheaper than the belt.

When Sheng Sui returned home with big and small bags, Zhou Shiyu was already working in the living room at home, while also multitasking by grooming Ping’An.

Hearing the door open, the man looked up and stood, striding to the entrance to take the things from Sheng Sui’s hands.

Seeing her bright, sparkling eyes, Zhou Shiyu’s dark eyes also took on some smile, going to the dining room to pour a glass of warm water and handing it to Sheng Sui: “Did you have fun?”

Sheng Sui nodded with curved eyebrows, introducing the meeting gifts she had chosen for the elderly person to Zhou Shiyu one by one, remembering clearly even the effects of each item, treasuring them like family heirlooms.

The man’s gaze was gentle like water, listening to her chatter with the same patience as always; Sheng Sui couldn’t help but say more, finally handing over the exquisite packaging box containing the belt.

Zhou Shiyu recognized this as a luxury brand that focused on traditional handcrafting, where any accessory started at four or five figures, equivalent to at least a month of Sheng Sui’s salary.

“I’ve never picked gifts for other men,” the woman held her water cup and looked up at him, her smile somewhat shy and sweet, her ears tinged with red, “I don’t know if you’ll like it.”

Under expectant gaze, Zhou Shiyu’s defined hands opened the gift box, immediately seeing the black belt lying quietly at the bottom of the box, its style understated and luxurious.

“…Thank you.”

Opening his mouth, he noticed his voice was unusually hoarse. Zhou Shiyu caught sight of his flawless smile in the reflection of the black glass dining table surface: “I like it very much.”

This expression he had practiced in the mirror tens of thousands of times, his muscles forming memory, able to instinctively smile without brain commands.

As expected, Sheng Sui, who noticed nothing, curved her lips upward, her shallow dimples catching the eye, continuing enthusiastically: “I was worried you’d think it was useless. If you like it, would you like to try it—”

A crisp crack interrupted the latter half of her sentence. Zhou Shiyu looked down to see that the plastic part of the gift box in his hand had been pinched off at one corner.

He nonchalantly smiled and restored the dented area, putting the box back in Sheng Sui’s hands, bending down: “I never use belts, and I don’t know how to fasten them.”

His thin lips stopped beside the woman’s ear, Zhou Shiyu’s voice hoarse and ambiguous, though his dark eyes behind his glasses were completely clear:

“Can Suisui help me?”

“……”

After the man finished speaking, he took half a step forward, making their standing-sitting position even more awkward in this specific scenario.

Sheng Sui could hardly look straight ahead, her mind suddenly recalling her foolish question that night when she was pressed against something, heat rushing to her face.

She glared at him with no intimidating power: “How are you being improper again?”

“I’ll wear it tomorrow when we go to the old master’s house,” Zhou Shiyu’s thin lips intimately kissed her neck, causing Sheng Sui to involuntarily tilt her head back, his smile unchanged,

“…Since this is the first time you’ve given me a gift, I need some psychological preparation.”

True to his word, Zhou Shiyu wore the belt Sheng Sui gave him the next day as promised.

Not knowing whether the man truly didn’t understand how to use it, when Sheng Sui sat down at the vanity to do her makeup, she saw Zhou Shiyu walk into the walk-in closet. Half an hour later, when she had finished her hair and makeup, she discovered the man was still standing motionlessly in front of the full-length mirror, holding the belt.

“Are you okay?”

Sheng Sui approached to ask, not expecting Zhou Shiyu to really not know how to fasten a belt, saying softly: “…If needed, I can help.”

“It’s fine.”

The man came back to his senses and smiled slightly at her, looking down to fasten the belt properly, quite different from the expected fumbling.

Sheng Sui thought Zhou Shiyu had probably been thinking about work just then.

After breakfast, the two tidied up briefly, with Zhou Shiyu driving to Old Master Zhou’s house, about a two-hour journey.

On the way, the old master called. Sheng Sui couldn’t hear the content clearly, but from the tone alone, she could tell Old Master Zhou had a rather strong personality, making Zhou Shiyu seem incredibly gentle in comparison.

What was even more magical was that Zhou Shiyu maintained an unhurried tone throughout, yet it was clear that in his relationship with the old master, he obviously held the dominant position.

After the three-minute call ended, Zhou Shiyu put away his phone and said apologetically: “Zhou Yi and his mother will also be there today. Sorry for not informing you in advance.”

“It’s fine, you just found out too,” Sheng Sui waved her hand to indicate she didn’t mind, but she was genuinely curious about something else, carefully asking,

“May I… ask a question about your family?”

Zhou Shiyu gripped the steering wheel with his left hand, saying gently: “Of course you can.”

Regarding the family relationship between Zhou Shiyu and Zhou Yi, Sheng Sui had always been curious, but it was inappropriate to pry due to privacy concerns;

That night during their blind date dinner, Zhou Shiyu had mentioned that his parents died early, but Zhou Yi was only seven years old now, and the first contact on his guardian information wasn’t even Zhou Shiyu—

“Zhou Yi and I are half-brothers.”

Zhou Shiyu answered while looking ahead, his tone as calm as a waveless lake: “When I was seventeen, I discovered my mother had committed suicide in the bathroom because she couldn’t bear the domestic violence;”

“As for that man, he died in a car accident when I was twenty-three.”

Sheng Sui was momentarily shocked into speechlessness.

The traffic light ahead turned red, and the car slowly stopped. Zhou Shiyu turned to smile at her, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear: “It’s okay, it happened long ago and I’ve forgotten it. Don’t feel like you’ve offended me.”

The man’s voice was very light, smiling as he softly called her nickname: “Suisui, actually I’m the same as you.”

“I’ve never had a home either.”

“……”

For some reason, seeing the person in front of her smile gently while talking about his deceased parents and horrifying childhood, Sheng Sui only felt a huge stone pressing on her chest, making her unable to breathe.

Her original family wasn’t happy, and she knew all too well the pain involved; at nearly thirty years old, she still hadn’t emerged from the shadows of her childhood.

How could it be as Zhou Shiyu said, that he could forget whenever he wanted to forget.

Some pain, no matter how long time passes, can never be smoothed away.

She had originally thought that someone like Zhou Shiyu, so refined, tolerant, and emotionally stable, must have grown up surrounded by love.

Who knew reality was contrary to expectations.

Foolish as she was, she couldn’t understand how Zhou Shiyu managed to smile while talking about these past events, describing them with such lightness, as if—

As if he had long since become accustomed to and forced himself to cheerfully face these sufferings.

“…No, you won’t.”

The impulse bursting from her chest was irrepressible. Sheng Sui turned to tightly embrace Zhou Shiyu, her slender arms struggling yet desperately trying to encircle the man completely in her embrace.

The center console made her waist ache dully, but it wasn’t as sharp as the piercing pain she felt now, as if someone was gripping her heart tightly.

Zhou Shiyu’s head rested on her thin shoulder, rarely not offering comfort, only silently and patiently waiting for her next words.

“You won’t be without a home,” Sheng Sui knew her expression was pale and chaotic, but she could only repeat with a trembling voice,

“Zhou Shiyu, you won’t be alone anymore.”

“You still have me.”