Qiao Shuran stood wrapped in her bathrobe by the floor-to-ceiling window on the second floor, watching the black car disappear into the distance.
It was only a marriage of mutual benefit. There was no need for attachment or emotional ties.
Whether he was present or absent would not have much impact on her life.
As long as she could borrow his influence and act powerful under his name, her goal had been achieved—there was no reason to be greedy.
Thinking this, Qiao Shuran drew the curtains and flopped onto the wedding bed, rolling once.
After two consecutive days of wedding banquets, she was indeed a little tired.
But since she had woken up late in the morning, she was not sleepy at the moment.
She called a maid to prepare snacks and desserts, then casually picked a movie she liked.
She ate while watching, leisurely and unhurried.
But before the movie even reached halfway, the weather outside suddenly changed.
Strong winds howled, thunder crashed, and heavy raindrops the size of beans slammed violently against the glass window, as if the end of the world had arrived.
Qiao Shuran actually liked this kind of weather—the more extreme it was, the more comfortable it felt to curl up under the blanket.
But then…
She suddenly had a moment of conscience and thought of her “stranded” aunt.
She was lying safely in a luxurious villa, with food and drink, untouched by wind or rain.
But her dear aunt, whose bank card had been cut off by the family—was she even surviving?
The more she thought about it, the more worried she became. She paused the movie and called her aunt.
She called several times in a row, but no one answered.
When she tried again, the phone was actually switched off.
What was going on?
Anxious, Qiao Shuran could no longer focus on the movie. She lay on the pillow thinking of solutions—but unintentionally fell asleep.
There was no helping it. The weather was too soothing, too sleep-inducing. She simply couldn’t keep her eyes open.
Zhou Yannan sat in the back seat of the car, originally closing his eyes to rest.
But his heart felt strangely unsettled.
This kind of sudden, unplanned trip happened several times every month; he had long been used to it.
Yet today, for no reason at all, he felt irritated.
Missing home?
Ridiculous.
Ever since he started building his career at sixteen, the world had been his home.
Missing her?
Even more impossible.
A marriage formed through convenience—what feelings could there be?
It was probably just the weather.
The rain was too heavy, visibility poor. He was worried it might affect the journey.
But the trip was not delayed.
At dawn, he still arrived in Hong Kong under the heavy rain.
In a private estate located halfway up the mountain, several of his partners had already been waiting.
The shipment involved this time was a batch of medicine—an extremely sensitive matter—so everyone had come in person.
Although it was a joint venture, the final decision still belonged to Zhou Yannan.
As the gilded bronze doors were pushed open, the man entered with a cold, stern expression and steady steps.
Everyone in the hall stood up respectfully.
“Brother Nan.”
“Yannan.”
“Fourth Uncle.”
The young and handsome man who addressed him as Fourth Uncle was Zhou Bingchen, the son of his eldest cousin and Song Huimin.
Though still young, he was the most outstanding among the younger generation of the Zhou family.
Shortly after graduating, he had already become Zhou Yannan’s right-hand man, handling Hong Kong operations.
This time, the problem arose with a batch of traditional medicine exported to Southeast Asia—under Zhou Bingchen’s responsibility.
Zhou Yannan glanced over the group, then walked to the main seat.
“Sit.”
Everyone immediately sat back down.
“Who speaks first?”
He took the shipping documents from Zhou Bingchen and scanned them briefly.
No one spoke.
After a few seconds of silence, Zhou Bingchen lowered his eyes. “I’ll speak first.”
He exhaled slowly. “The transportation process was entirely handled by my people. It was my failure in supervision that caused the issue midway…”
“Cut the nonsense.”
Zhou Yannan raised his hand, and the thick stack of documents was thrown directly onto his nephew.
“Give me a solution.”
“Yes.”
The young man picked up the documents from the floor and carefully explained his plan, his voice tense and restrained.
At 3:30 a.m., the discussion finally reached its end.
Zhou Bingchen’s proposed solution was fairly solid, and the oppressive atmosphere in the room eased slightly.
Seeing that Zhou Yannan’s cold expression had softened a little, everyone finally let out a breath of relief.
“Alright, alright. Since there are no objections, let’s go with Bingchen’s plan.”
The one speaking was Sheng Biao, heir of the Sheng family from Hancheng.
He was the oldest among them, aside from Zhou Yannan, and held considerable authority.
As his name suggested, he was tall and imposing, with a rough voice and arms covered in tattoos.
To those who didn’t know him, he looked like a gangster boss. Those who did, however, joked that he was afraid of his wife.
Before anyone else could react, Zhou Yannan had already smiled faintly.
“Brother Sheng, so eager to leave? Afraid your wife won’t let you in if you go home late?”
“Keep what you see to yourself, and we can still be friends.”
Sheng Biao laughed loudly. “To be honest, before I left, your sister-in-law already tried to stop me. She said the thunderstorm tonight makes flying unsafe.”
“Tch, look at you acting like you’re some devoted husband!”
A voice snorted from near the door.
It was Liu Yunting, second young master of the Liu family, wearing a flashy purple shirt and a ponytail.
He had originally been a carefree playboy with no responsibilities, but after his elder brother’s accident in middle age, he had no choice but to take over the family business.
Even so, he never changed his womanizing nature and remained a playboy at heart.
Seeing Sheng Biao showing off his married life, he couldn’t help but mock him.
“So what if you’re married? Stop showing off. Yannan just got married too—when he left, his little wife must’ve been reluctant too. Did you hear him say anything?”
Reluctant?
Zhou Yannan played with the lighter in his hand, recalling the scene before he left.
There had been a trace of disappointment in her eyes, but it could not be called reluctance.
Still, since there was no real emotion between them, he could understand even if there was none.
“Alright. That’s it for tonight. Everyone find a room and stay here. There’s a new project at dawn—we’ll inspect it together.”
After arranging everything, he put the lighter back into his pocket.
“Dismissed.”
“I’m already here, of course I’m staying.”
Liu Yunting toyed with his little braid, smiling frivolously. “Staying in that ghost place in Hancheng all day—I’m bored to death. Finally time for something new.”
He had fair skin and a mischievous smile, eyes curved like blossoms when he grinned.
“I’m heading out to find some fun. Who’s coming with me?”
“You go alone.”
Sheng Biao kicked him without warning. “Your sister-in-law’s calling to check on me. I’m going back to my room.”
The two of them cursed at each other as they left one after another.
In the large room, only Zhou Yannan and Zhou Bingchen remained, along with a young master from the Zong family.
Zong Lei was the most refined-looking and youngest among them, always wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
His father and elder brother were in the capital, influential figures in politics.
He alone stayed behind in his hometown to manage the family business.
He was one year younger than Zhou Yannan, and the two were very close, often speaking freely with each other.
After everyone else had left, he finally spoke mysteriously:
“Brother Nan, guess who I ran into on the way here?”