Do you have any questions about my physiological structure?

Until getting out of the car, Sheng Sui’s emotions still couldn’t calm down for a long time.

There’s no such thing as truly understanding someone else’s pain in this world. She was already shocked beyond composure just from hearing about it; the harm Zhou Shiyu suffered at that age was unimaginable.

After the embrace, Zhou Shiyu only patted her back comfortingly, and when the red light was about to end, he took out a blanket from the back seat to cover Sheng Sui’s knees, telling her to sleep for a while.

The man’s tone was stable and gentle, making Sheng Sui’s reaction seem excessive. She obediently agreed in a muffled voice, tilting her head toward the car window and closing her eyes. A few minutes later, she heard her husband adjusting the car’s temperature higher.

For the remainder of the journey, both remained silent.

Zhou Shiyu drove very steadily. Later, Sheng Sui dozed off drowsily. When she woke up again, the car had already left the bustling city center, with patches of green forest rapidly receding outside the window.

Old Master Zhou lived in an expensive villa district away from the economic center. The villas were far apart from each other, with a quiet environment. Along the way, Sheng Sui only saw two or three people walking their dogs on the street.

As the car was about to approach a three-villa compound, Zhou Shiyu deliberately slowed down. After parking by the roadside, he turned around with one hand on the steering wheel.

He reached out to tuck the fallen blanket around Sheng Sui, asking softly: “Feeling better?”

“……”

Aren’t you the one who was hurt? Why are you comforting me instead?

Sheng Sui knew this thought was too much. When she turned to look at him, her profile inadvertently brushed against Zhou Shiyu’s warm hand.

“I’m really fine.”

Zhou Shiyu smiled and ruffled her hair, leaning closer to look carefully into Sheng Sui’s beautiful eyes;

“Also, I’m more afraid you might cry now.”

Hearing the other person constantly showing concern for her, Sheng Sui’s nose tingled with a hint of sourness, then heard Zhou Shiyu continue leisurely:

“If you cry, your makeup will smudge, and all the morning preparation time will be wasted. That would be a pity.”

“……”

How could someone be concerned about smudged makeup at a time like this?

The emotion and tears instantly dissipated. Sheng Sui puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction as she looked at him, and when the man leaned over to kiss her, she deliberately turned her head to dodge.

Zhou Shiyu raised an eyebrow, his tone taking on a roguish quality: “Suddenly not letting me kiss?”

The flirtatious tone became even more ambiguous in the enclosed space. Sheng Sui’s ears heated up upon hearing it, and she tugged at her seatbelt.

She couldn’t always be led around by the nose; she cleared her throat lightly, not very skillfully turning his own methods against him: “If you want to kiss, either the foundation on my face gets dirty, or the lipstick on my mouth gets smudged.”

Zhou Shiyu looked at her tantrum with a smile. After a while, his right hand gently supported the back of Sheng Sui’s head, leaning over to place a kiss on the top of her head.

When he wanted to, he could always find a way.

“Suisui, I’m very happy that you care about me,” Zhou Shiyu’s thin lips touched her smooth hair, the faint fragrance always bringing peace of mind, saying in a low voice, “So you should be happy too.”

“Think positively, at least we’re very happy now.”

Amid someone’s persistent demands for kisses, the sad atmosphere was completely ruined. As soon as the car stopped steadily in front of the villa, the passenger door was hurriedly opened.

It was Sheng Sui urging Zhou Shiyu to quickly open the trunk.

Seeing her slender back and the thin redness on her neck, Zhou Shiyu’s dark eyes behind his glasses finally showed a hint of smile.

He still preferred her carefree appearance.

When the two arrived, it happened to be noon mealtime.

Someone was already waiting in front of the villa. Before Sheng Sui could take out the meeting gifts from the trunk, she heard greetings from afar.

She turned around to see a middle-aged man around fifty walking quickly over, followed by another strong young man.

The leading middle-aged man had graying temples and a straight back. After briefly exchanging pleasantries with Zhou Shiyu with a smile, he turned to politely nod to Sheng Sui, introducing himself: “Hello Miss Sheng, I’m Old Master Zhou’s butler, surname Li. Was your journey here smooth?”

He didn’t forget to direct the young man behind him to take the meeting gifts from the trunk back to the villa first.

“The old master has been looking forward to your visit. He’s been talking about it since early this morning, eager to meet Miss Sheng, yet worried that being too enthusiastic might frighten you…”

Butler Li was talkative by nature. Sheng Sui felt a bit overwhelmed at first, but fortunately his intentions were friendly, and mostly Zhou Shiyu helped deflect for her, so she gradually relaxed.

The three walked up the marble steps together, passing through the corridor to the main hall decorated in typical Chinese style. They saw a white-haired elderly man sitting with his back to everyone on the redwood sofa, with Zhou Yi and a heavily made-up woman sitting diagonally beside him, appearing to be in her early thirties.

After seeing the people clearly, Sheng Sui couldn’t help but pause.

It wasn’t because of Old Master Zhou, but rather this woman who was presumably Zhou Yi’s mother—she was a face Sheng Sui often saw on television and the big screen. While not a top celebrity, she had considerable national recognition.

Having a special identity in the entertainment industry, no wonder she had never been seen picking up Zhou Yi from school.

“Hello Teacher Sheng, I’m Lin Xi.”

The woman quickly noticed the newcomers in the living room. She ruffled Zhou Yi’s hair and stood up, walking gracefully toward Sheng Sui with every gesture full of charm.

Lin Xi actively extended her hand to greet Sheng Sui: “Teacher Sheng has taken such good care of little Yi at school. I haven’t found an opportunity to thank you.”

“Not at all, it’s what I should do.”

After thanking her, Sheng Sui noticed that Lin Xi seemed to have no intention of greeting Zhou Shiyu. Her gaze stayed on the man for half a second before quickly moving away, while her right hand unconsciously tightened around Zhou Yi.

Zhou Shiyu kept his hands in his pockets with a gentle smile, also showing no intention of speaking.

Finally, Sheng Sui turned around to bow and greet the white-haired elderly man on the redwood chair.

“Only one person here knows manners,” Old Master Zhou coldly huffed in dissatisfaction, speaking directly to Sheng Sui,

“Little Sui, right? Since you married Zhou Shiyu, remember to teach him proper manners. He doesn’t even know to greet people when entering the house.”

His tone was harsh and strict, but the content seemed to already acknowledge her identity as his granddaughter-in-law.

When Sheng Sui was confused about how to respond, she heard Zhou Shiyu’s calm voice from above: “You could just say ‘welcome’ directly. This tone will frighten her.”

Upon hearing this, Old Master Zhou grabbed his cane and struck the wooden floor heavily: “Never see you come home, but you have the most nonsense to say every day. Hurry up and go eat!”

He then asked Butler Li to help him up, walking toward the dining room with unsteady steps.

Lin Xi followed with Zhou Yi.

When Sheng Sui was about to follow, her wrist was caught by a warm, dry hand.

She turned back to see Zhou Shiyu gesture in a direction with his eyes, saying softly: “The restroom is the second door on the right side against the wall. Take your injection at noon as usual.”

The dining room was some distance from the main hall, and there was no one around at the moment. Sheng Sui hesitated, always feeling it was impolite to wander around someone else’s house.

Just as she was wondering whether to ask Old Master Zhou or Butler Li first, she was suddenly lightly patted on the buttocks.

“I bought this villa, so make yourself at home.”

Zhou Shiyu had become visibly more bold recently. Seeing Sheng Sui like a startled rabbit, he was amused by her wide-eyed stare, bending down to look into her watery eyes: “Or I could accompany you.”

The ill-intentioned man raised his hand, his left thumb pressing on Sheng Sui’s bright red lower lip, covering his lips at her ear to whisper: “But whether I’ll do something bad,”

“I can’t guarantee that.”

After speaking, he straightened up unhurriedly, looking down at the lipstick staining his fingertip, rubbing it between his fingers to spread it, examining it with interest.

“……”

Zhou Shiyu’s effortless flirtation was simply the best weapon against all of Sheng Sui’s emotions.

She turned around and walked to the restroom to give herself an injection without looking back, deliberately washing her hands slowly until the redness in her ears faded before pushing the door to head toward the dining room.

Old Master Zhou’s home also had an open-plan dining room. When Sheng Sui arrived, besides her, only Zhou Shiyu had not yet taken his seat.

Unlike the three guests sitting at the round table, Zhou Shiyu’s tall figure stood out among the three or four busy servants in the kitchen, standing alone at the cooking counter, looking down at the food scale placed on the table.

Seeing the food scale that looked exactly like the one at home, Sheng Sui was startled, surprised that Zhou Shiyu would bring the scale from home when visiting.

Regardless of Old Master Zhou frequently turning back to look, the man unhurriedly placed a porcelain bowl on the scale, reset the data to zero, then used a wooden spoon to scoop rice from the rice cooker, stopping only when reaching the predetermined weight.

Making special arrangements while visiting was really inappropriate. Just as Sheng Sui felt embarrassed, she saw Zhou Shiyu set her portion aside and take another empty bowl to place on the scale, repeating the same action.

His intention to save her from embarrassment couldn’t be more obvious.

Seeing the delay in coming to the table, Old Master Zhou impatiently tapped the table and complained: “The food is getting cold, why are you still fussing around? I’ve never seen you live so meticulously before!”

Zhou Shiyu carried the porcelain bowl to sit beside Sheng Sui, placing the portion with less rice in front of her, calmly accepting the old master’s anger: “Dr. Liu called me last week, saying your liver fire is too strong.”

“Try to lose your temper less recently, just consider it for your own health.”

Upon hearing this, Old Master Zhou’s eyes widened, about to explode, when Butler Li timely mediated: “Miss Sheng, hearing you were coming, the old master specifically had someone stew American ginseng black chicken soup. It has great nourishing effects. Would you like to try some?”

Sheng Sui felt flattered: “Yes, thank you for the trouble.”

“It’s nothing,” Old Master Zhou’s expression softened upon hearing this, showing no temper toward his granddaughter-in-law, “Next time you come, tell Butler Li in advance what you’d like to eat, so we don’t waste food by making things you don’t like.”

Through a few exchanges, Sheng Sui roughly understood Old Master Zhou’s tough-exterior-soft-interior personality. Every three sentences he didn’t forget to scold Zhou Shiyu, occasionally training Lin Xi as well, all because the two younger generation rarely came to visit. Lin Xi had understandable reasons due to work, while Zhou Shiyu clearly had an attitude problem.

Sheng Sui could keenly sense that after Zhou Shiyu returned to the Zhou family, he still spoke gently as usual, but always gave people a sense of wariness and tension, even that refined elegance carried a hint of aggression.

During the meal, the man silently peeled shrimp for Sheng Sui; when Sheng Sui tactfully said several times that she could do it herself, he said there was no need to dirty another person’s hands, completely ignoring everyone else.

Old Master Zhou showed no reaction to this, but Lin Xi across from them gradually looked strange, wanting to speak several times but stopping, finally only serving and feeding Zhou Yi.

Later even Sheng Sui noticed the strangeness. When the woman cast another gaze her way, she couldn’t help but look up to meet her eyes, then heard Zhou Shiyu laugh and say indifferently:

“Excuse me, Miss Lin, do you also need someone to help peel shrimp?”

The charming woman’s lips stiffened, turning away to continue coaxing her son, never meeting Zhou Shiyu’s gaze: “Not at all, I was just watching President Zhou and Mrs. Zhou’s good relationship, envious and taking a few more looks.”

“……”

The lunch passed without major incident. After the meal, Old Master Zhou stood up, calling Zhou Shiyu to follow him to the study for a talk.

After the door closed, Lin Xi suggested wanting to take a walk with Sheng Sui in the backyard to aid digestion.

Sheng Sui could see the other party had something urgent to convey. After leaving Zhou Yi with the butler’s care, the two walked from the corridor to the outdoor lawn.

The two walked while chatting about Zhou Yi’s situation at school.

Speaking of the incident when her son accidentally pushed someone, Lin Xi changed the subject: “Last time when little Yi had his accident, I was filming in the mountains with no signal and missed Teacher Sheng’s call. I’m sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” Sheng Sui guessed the other party wasn’t just here to thank her, steering the topic toward the core person, “Zhou Shiyu and I were fortunate to meet because of that incident. I should be thanking you.”

Sure enough, after hearing this, Lin Xi’s expression became even more complex. After frowning and struggling for a long time, she asked with determination:

“Do you know that Zhou Jianbin had severe violent tendencies?”

The three-character name corresponded with the “that man” in Zhou Shiyu’s mouth. Sheng Sui nodded, and after a moment of silence said softly:

“You want to ask whether Zhou Shiyu has ever hit me, right?”

She could see that Lin Xi had obvious wariness toward Zhou Shiyu.

Or more accurately, fear.

Even when the man unintentionally approached, Lin Xi’s body would instinctively protect Zhou Yi, let alone deliberately sitting across from him at the dinner table, unable even to make eye contact.

This was a self-protection mechanism that the body automatically produced after suffering violent harm.

Sheng Sui stopped and looked at her, her tone gentle, polite but firm: “Thank you for the reminder, but he hasn’t treated me that way.”

Lin Xi hadn’t expected this seemingly gentle woman to speak so directly, leaving her somewhat at a loss: “I didn’t mean that, it’s just that Zhou Shiyu sometimes gives me the feeling that he’s too much like his father—”

“But Zhou Shiyu is not his father.”

Sheng Sui rarely interrupted others while speaking, but Lin Xi’s well-intentioned words sounded truly harsh: “Groundless accusations are very unfair to him.”

Lin Xi’s phoenix eyes looked at her for a few seconds. After being convinced, she smiled and actively apologized: “You’re right. Maybe I became neurotic today after seeing him wearing a belt.”

“……”

Despite Old Master Zhou’s repeated angry attempts to make them stay, after coming out of the study, Zhou Shiyu quickly proposed taking Sheng Sui to leave.

The man didn’t even bother to find an excuse, bluntly stating he was unwilling to stay under the same roof as others.

Until the two said goodbye and got in the car, Sheng Sui was still pondering the afternoon conversation with Lin Xi.

Most people are unwilling to reveal their past wounds to others. This was true for Sheng Sui, and the same for Lin Xi.

The woman’s purpose was just a kind reminder. There was no need to expose her past to a stranger she was meeting for the first time, and Sheng Sui wouldn’t pry into others’ privacy either.

What inexplicably concerned her was Lin Xi’s casual mention of “belt,” which in that context obviously referred to a tool that had once subjected her to violence.

Zhou Shiyu had said he never used belts.

The frequently appearing keyword made the answer seem obvious, but the man’s gentle smile when receiving the gift last night, even not forgetting to flirtatiously express his fondness, made Sheng Sui unable to be certain.

She couldn’t very well ask directly, “Did your father beat you with a belt?”

Thinking this way on the road, Sheng Sui couldn’t help but secretly glance several more times at the belt she had given Zhou Shiyu around his waist during the return journey.

It wasn’t until the car steadily drove into the independent parking space that Zhou Shiyu, who had been quiet the entire way, unfastened his seatbelt and turned to look at her.

“Suisui, you’ve been staring at that area for quite a while.”

The man exposed Sheng Sui’s voyeurism that she thought was well-concealed, his smile gentle and polite: “Excuse me, Mrs. Zhou, do you have any questions about my physiological structure?”

“……”

Sheng Sui sincerely admired how Zhou Shiyu could use the most elegant and refined manner to say the most ambiguous statements, each word capable of throwing her into complete chaos.

So much so that every time she wanted to seriously comfort the other party, she was precisely dodged by Zhou Shiyu, who then turned the tables on her.

Sometimes she couldn’t even tell whether Zhou Shiyu was hinting that she shouldn’t meddle, or if the man truly didn’t care.

Just like now, she was eager to figure out whether giving a belt was a mistake. Reminding herself not to be too direct, she stammered for a long time before tentatively saying: “We haven’t been married long, so there are probably many things about you that I don’t understand enough.”

She chose her words carefully: “If I’ve done anything wrong, you can tell me directly.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Shiyu squinted and pondered for a moment, then raised his eyebrow to ask her under Sheng Sui’s earnest gaze:

“Do you want to understand me more?”

Sheng Sui nodded eagerly.

“Good.”

As always never refusing her requests, Zhou Shiyu leaned his back against the seat again, turning to look at Sheng Sui while switching off the interior and exterior lights of the car.

The overhead lights in the underground garage were dim. With partial vision taken away, the remaining senses became particularly acute.

After a while, Sheng Sui heard very light sounds of fabric rubbing against the car seat. It was Zhou Shiyu beside her casually tugging at his collar, with continuous rustling sounds.

The balance of control tilted toward the man again. In the enclosed, dim space, even though Zhou Shiyu said nothing, just his dark eyes behind his glasses looking at her quietly and seductively, Sheng Sui could clearly feel the restless stirring of her disturbed emotions.

Sheng Sui still wouldn’t admit defeat, making one last attempt: “I—”

“The night is long, where would Suisui like to start understanding?”

“In the car, at home, or on the bedroom balcony?” Zhou Shiyu had this ability—clearly following her meaning, yet easily steering the conversation back to the scenario he wanted, unhurriedly pulling Sheng Sui into his trap while not forgetting to be cunning and ingratiating,

“You know I’ve always been obedient to you.”