Chapter 02
** Viewing the Apartment**
The living room lights were quite bright. The staircase light was a small orange fixture hanging on the wall. Su Hao stood right beneath that light. She was silent for a few seconds, then turned and went back upstairs. She stood at the top of the stairs for a while longer before walking over to call the elevator.
The residential elevator was small. Once she stepped inside and the door closed, she reached out and pressed the button for the third floor.
The elevator rose.
She thought of Zhou Yang back in those days—the Zhou Yang she had pursued. By nature, she was reserved, gentle, and obedient. But she had never liked a man so much that she pursued him directly, doing many things that didn’t quite suit her personality. Many people had laughed at her, but she hadn’t thought she would fail.
Yet she did fail.
Back then, she hadn’t seen Zhou Yang’s true posture clearly.
Tonight, though.
She saw it clearly.
Sure enough, fruit forced from a tree isn’t sweet.
So that was the reason.
She wasn’t his type.
True, not to mention the difference in status—they had also lived in completely different worlds.
Her hair was still damp with moisture. The elevator arrived on the third floor. The doors opened, then closed again. Su Hao pressed the button for the first floor again. Soon, the elevator descended to the first floor.
Arriving on the first floor, the elevator doors opened.
With that amount of time, they should have finished talking, right?
Su Hao took a deep breath and walked out.
By the wine cabinet in the living room, Su Qian and Zhou Yang were standing. Zhou Yang had his jacket draped over his arm and was leaning against the wine cabinet, speaking with Su Qian. Sensing Su Hao coming down, Zhou Yang glanced over, smiled slightly, and stopped talking. Su Qian turned her head, and as soon as she saw Su Hao, she immediately walked over. “You washed your hair without drying it? Come, come, let Auntie help you blow-dry it.”
Su Hao touched her hair strands and said, “I couldn’t find the hairdryer.”
“Silly girl, it’s right there on the nightstand. The second drawer. You didn’t even look.” Su Qian pulled Su Hao toward the floor-to-ceiling window, no longer paying attention to her son.
Not wanting Su Qian to dry her hair for her, Su Hao took the hairdryer herself, bent down, and turned it on.
The tall, lean man by the wine cabinet took a cigarette, put it between his lips, walked to the entryway to change his shoes, grabbed his car keys, opened the door, and left.
The door closed softly.
Only Su Hao and Su Qian were left in the house. The hairdryer whirred loudly as Su Hao began drying her hair. Su Qian stood by, smiling and giving directions. “There’s still some in the back. Don’t hold it too close—it’s bad for your scalp.”
Su Hao obediently moved it a little farther away.
That night, Su Qian took Su Hao to stroll through the back courtyard, showed her the swimming pool and the rose garden she had planted. There was also an auxiliary building in the back courtyard. The first-floor door of that building was tightly shut. Su Qian, caught up in her enthusiasm, said, “This building is full of Zhou Yang’s things—mostly airplane models and the like.”
Su Hao took another look at that auxiliary building and gave a soft “Mm.”
Su Qian realized she had said too much. She looked at Su Hao and, seeing that Su Hao’s expression was natural, breathed a sigh of relief.
After touring the back courtyard, they returned to the main building. Not long after, Zhou Yang’s father, Zhou Qinkai, came home. Seeing Su Hao, he smiled. “Long time no see, Su Hao.”
“Hello, Uncle Zhou.”
He hung up his coat and said with a gentle smile, “You look a bit thinner, though.”
“Exactly. I told her she’s lost weight,” Su Qian chimed in.
Not only was she thinner, but the aura around Su Hao was also much more subdued. The innocence of a few years ago was gone, replaced by a faint, subtle womanliness. It was clear she had been through some trials.
After Zhou Qinkai returned, Su Qian showed a more delicate, feminine side. Not wanting to intrude, Su Hao used sleep as an excuse, left the first floor, and returned to her second-floor room.
The curtains were open. She walked over and closed them, then went back to lie down on the bed. She opened WeChat, chatted with her mother for a while, and then sent messages to her best friend.
**Liao Liao:** How’s Li City?
**Su Hao:** Haven’t explored it much yet. Lots of tall buildings.
**Liao Liao:** First-tier city, definitely different.
**Su Hao:** Come visit during National Day.
**Liao Liao:** I wouldn’t dare come until you’re settled in. Will you be staying at their place?
**Su Hao:** No.
**Liao Liao:** Good that you’re not staying. That Zhou Yang—is he still as handsome as before? Married yet?
**Su Hao:** I don’t know. I didn’t ask.
**Liao Liao:** True. No need to ask.
Liao Yun wanted to ask if Su Hao still liked that person but ultimately didn’t. Logically speaking, after so many years, any feelings would have long since changed.
Besides, Su Hao had already been through a relationship.
—
She slept soundly until morning. Su Hao woke up still holding her phone—she had forgotten to put it down while chatting with Liao Yun the night before. The bedside phone rang, and Su Hao reached over to answer it.
Su Qian’s voice came through. “Hao Hao, are you awake?”
“Just woke up.”
“Good. Hurry up and wash up, then come down for breakfast.”
“Okay.”
She hung up the phone, got out of bed, first pulled open the curtains to let the outside sunlight in, then went into the bathroom to wash up. After coming out, she changed into a floral dress and went downstairs in her slippers. In the dining room, only Su Qian was there, sitting idly eating some fruit. Seeing Su Hao come down, she immediately waved. “Come.”
Su Hao smiled, walked over, and sat down.
The table was set with a Chinese-style breakfast. She ate some congee and asked Su Qian, “Where’s Uncle?”
“He went to the company. Left early this morning.” Su Qian peeled an egg for Su Hao and added, “After breakfast, Auntie will go with you to look at apartments.”
Su Hao took the egg and said, “I want to find one myself.”
Su Qian looked up at Su Hao.
Su Hao smiled gently.
She knew Su Qian would definitely arrange a good apartment for her. But that wouldn’t be right. She wasn’t here to enjoy life—she was here to work. Su Qian gave her a teasing glare. “Fine, fine, I get it. I’ll listen to you. I’ve never rented an apartment before. Today, I’ll try it for the first time.”
Just as she finished speaking, a tall man walked in through the entrance. The two of them turned to look. Zhou Yang was unbuttoning his shirt collar as he entered. His long, narrow eyes swept over them. “After breakfast, I’ll take you to see an apartment.”
“Do you have a good place in mind?” Su Qian’s eyes lit up.
Zhou Yang changed his shoes, stood up straight, and gave a lazy smile. “She’s going to work at my company next, so naturally she needs a place close to the office. I recently found one there.”
“Perfect.” Su Qian looked at Su Hao. Su Hao wiped the corner of her mouth with her finger and said to Zhou Yang, “Thank you.”
Her tone was gentle. Sitting there in her floral dress, she looked quite fair. Zhou Yang nodded, unbuttoning his cuffs as he walked toward the stairs. Su Qian stared at him for a few seconds, then asked, “Where did you stay last night? Did you sleep at Yi Wan?”
Zhou Yang cast a casual glance at her and smiled a little roguishly. “What, Mom, are you checking up on me?”
Su Qian glared at him.
He smiled again and went upstairs.
After a while, Zhou Yang came back down wearing a black shirt and trousers, sleeves rolled up, and sat down for breakfast. Su Hao and Su Qian had already finished eating and were talking softly. He carried a faint, pleasant scent of shower gel—it seemed to be the same brand Su Hao had used. Perhaps the whole house was stocked with that brand.
Su Hao stood up and said, “Auntie, I’ll go get my suitcase.”
Su Qian was momentarily taken aback. She wanted to ask her to stay but hesitated, feeling a little regretful. “So soon?”
Su Hao pulled out her chair and smiled. “It’ll be easier to pack this way.”
“Alright, then.”
Su Hao walked toward the stairs. Her skirt hem was blown by the wind and brushed past the leg of Zhou Yang’s trousers as she turned and went upstairs. She hadn’t taken all her clothes out in the first place, so she tidied up a little, pressed everything down, closed the suitcase, and was able to lift it. She took the elevator down. By this time, Zhou Yang had finished eating. He was chewing on a piece of apple when he stood up, turned, and took the suitcase from her.
He was tall, and as soon as he approached, he blocked out a lot of light. Su Hao instinctively took a small step back to keep her distance from him.
Zhou Yang glanced at her, raised an eyebrow, and then walked toward the door.
Su Hao turned and hugged Su Qian. Su Qian, moved by her gentle obedience, felt her eyes grow red. “What’s wrong with staying at home? I could even introduce you to a boyfriend—”
Su Hao wiped the corner of Su Qian’s eye and said, “Auntie, I have to stand on my own two feet, don’t I?”
“Haven’t you already done that?” The more Su Qian spoke, the more her heart ached for her. She touched Su Hao’s cheek and said, “But you need to find a boyfriend too, you know that? Don’t just focus on work.”
“Okay, okay.” Su Hao smiled and agreed.
Su Qian added, “Then I won’t see you off. If you ever feel wronged at the company, you must tell me. Or tell Zhou Yang.”
“Okay, okay, okay.” Su Hao agreed repeatedly.
After some back-and-forth, Su Qian finally let go. Su Hao walked down the steps. Zhou Yang had already finished a cigarette. He was sitting in the driver’s seat, his long, slender hand hanging out of the car window, the cigarette butt extinguished. He looked over, and Su Hao nodded at him before opening the rear door and getting in. The car’s air conditioning was very cool.
The door closed, and she waved at Su Qian.
Zhou Yang had no interest in such clingy, sentimental female emotions. He started the car and drove straight out. The car left the villa area and merged onto the main road. Large trees on both sides shaded the sun, so not much sunlight got into the car. Su Hao was looking at this unfamiliar city when a resume was handed over to her.
She was startled for a moment, then took it.
Zhou Yang lit a cigarette up front and said, “I had my assistant help put this resume together for you. Take a look.”
“You don’t have any work experience, so you’ll have to start as a financial assistant.”
Su Hao opened it and glanced through it briefly.
It was a very professional-looking resume. If she had done it herself, she probably couldn’t have made it look like that. She gave a soft “Mm” and said, “Thank you. This resume is very good.”
“Report directly to the company tomorrow.” The man spoke with a cigarette in his mouth, his voice a little muffled, low and pleasant, with his usual lazy drawl.
Su Hao: “Mm.”
A short while later, the car arrived in the city center. Su Hao turned her head and saw the CBD complex. Amid the cluster of tall buildings, she could make out a soaring logo.
Zhou Yang tapped on the car window with his fingertip and said, “The one with the red soaring logo—that’s Festina, a subsidiary of the Zhou Group.”
“Where you’ll be working.”
Su Hao leaned forward, stared at it, and said, “Mm.”
Then the car turned onto a smaller road. Amid the tall buildings, there was an older residential area. It wasn’t very old, but compared to the surrounding architecture, it looked a bit dated. The car stopped at the entrance. Zhou Yang got out, opened the trunk, and took out the suitcase.
Su Hao quickly got out and walked over.
Zhou Yang carried the suitcase to the stairwell, set it down, and said, “I can’t park here. Just go straight up to the third floor, Room 301. The key is in the door. I’ve already paid the rent. You can stay here for now.”
Su Hao nodded, took the handle, and started lugging the suitcase upstairs. After just two steps, the man’s low voice sounded behind her. “Wait.”
Su Hao turned around.
Zhou Yang had one long leg propped on the first step, holding his phone in his hand, and asked with a smile, “What type of man do you like?”
“I’ll keep an eye out for you.”
He smiled, as if unafraid that her answer might point toward him. Even if she answered “you,” he could still find her a man like himself—it just wouldn’t be him, that’s all.
At that moment, Su Hao seemed to see right through him. She was silent for a few seconds, then said, “Anything is fine.”
