Zhou Beiming buying sanitary pads for her? No man had ever purchased something so personal for her before. Su Nian’s face burned with embarrassment. “There’s no need to trouble yourself. I’ll just order a delivery.”
Zhou Beiming’s gaze sharpened, cutting straight through her. “Am I less capable than a deliveryman?”
Su Nian shrank back. If he insisted on going, let him go. “I’ll send you a picture.”
She hurried out to fetch her phone, looked up her usual brand online, and sent him an image of the overnight variant.
Zhou Beiming’s phone chimed. He opened their chat two years of messages, never deleted, all preserved. Every conversation had been started by him. The content was always simple: Eaten? Sleeping? Share your location… This single image, soft and pink, stood out against the otherwise stark, utilitarian thread. He slipped the phone back into his pocket, hands still tucked casually inside, and said, “Wait here.” His throat felt oddly tight; he gave a quiet cough after speaking.
Su Nian nodded and walked him to the door.
It was nearly midnight when a Maybach pulled up before a 24-hour convenience store. Zhou Beiming stepped out and strode inside with long, unhurried strides. He had never set foot in such a place before. Shelves stretched in every direction, crowded with goods. He glanced at his phone how on earth was he supposed to find such a tiny thing amid all this? He laid the phone on the counter. “Do you carry this?”
The cashier shook his head. “We have other brands available. Would you care to see them?”
Zhou Beiming turned on his heel and walked out.
At the entrance, a woman clad in Chanel stepped in just as he emerged. She beamed brightly. “President Zhou out so late? Whatever are you buying?”
Zhou Beiming glanced at her. Ye Wanzhen. He said nothing and walked past her without a pause.
Ye Wanzhen stood awkwardly frozen. The last time they had met, she had joked publicly at a restaurant that he was insatiable in bed and he had overheard. She had apologized on the spot, and he had walked away just as coldly then.
Ye Wanzhen asked the cashier for a pack of women’s cigarettes. Ever since that dinner, she had lost seven endorsement deals for no apparent reason. The pressure had been relentless. She asked casually, “What was that gentleman looking for?”
“Sanitary pads,” the cashier replied. “Not the specific kind he wanted.”
Ye Wanzhen fell silent. Zhou Beiming buying sanitary pads?! Stunned, she pressed on. “What kind did he want?”
The cashier named a brand and specified the overnight variant.
Ye Wanzhen rushed out immediately and called to Zhou Beiming just as he was about to get into his car. “President Zhou I know exactly where you can find what you need.”
Zhou Beiming looked up, expression impassive. “Lead the way.” He got into his car.
Ye Wanzhen reached for the passenger door intending to ride with him but it was locked. Zhou Beiming started the engine, gestured for her to lead, and pulled away without waiting for her to join him. She scrambled into her own car and hurried after him.
Zhou Beiming possessed the kind of standing that drew women of Ye Wanzhen’s stature to him willingly. Merely being linked to him in rumor could elevate a woman’s social standing overnight. That was exactly why so many starlets and socialites vied to be seen near him. Even the faintest, unsubstantiated gossip was taken as truth because Zhou Beiming never bothered issuing denials. If a woman allowed ambiguity to linger, the public simply assumed it was fact.
Ye Wanzhen had no intention of letting this golden opportunity slip. Zhou Beiming out personally buying sanitary pads for a woman at midnight the story alone would be explosive once it hit the web. She sent a photo and a brief account to the press. Even as she typed, she found herself wondering: Who on earth could the woman be, to make the head of the Zhou family and Chairman of Yongtai Group venture out himself at such an hour?
Back at the Zhou estate, Su Nian had remained standing rather than risk soiling anything. It was already past one o’clock, and Zhou Beiming had not yet returned. She fought drowsiness by scrolling through academic research on her phone.
A call came in Gu Yinchen. She declined it. Once the ringing stopped, she returned to reading about the latest developments in AI. Moments later, a text arrived also from Gu Yinchen.
Zhou Beiming is with another woman right now. Do not humiliate yourself.
Su Nian opened the message, marked it read. A news link followed, the headline stark:
Zhou Beiming Spotted Late at Night with Starlet Ye Wanzhen Together Purchasing Sanitary Pads.
Su Nian stared, unfazed. She had long grown accustomed to such rumors. Still she could not help thinking to slip in a tryst while supposedly running an errand for her… truly boundless stamina, exactly as the gossip claimed. She did not click the link. Instead, she blocked his number. Best to cut trouble off at the root. She preferred keeping life simple; Gu Yinchen’s meddling brought her nothing but grief.
In truth, she told herself, Zhou Beiming could fill his life with whomever he chose. So long as those women left her alone and he gave her no cause for complaint… it mattered little to her. She returned to her papers, absorbed once more until the door finally opened.
Zhou Beiming walked in clutching a convenience store bag, his face thunder-dark. He tossed the bag carelessly toward her; it landed in her arms.
Did his outing go poorly? she wondered. Had she known he would return in such a temper, she would have told him to take his time. After all, the first day was rarely heavy she could have managed.
“Thank you,” Su Nian said, holding the bag.
Zhou Beiming ignored her thanks completely. Without a word he stalked over to the sofa, propped his long legs up on the coffee table, and glared at his phone. One glance was enough; he hurled the device onto the cushions with a sharp click of his tongue. “Utter garbage!”
Who is he cursing now? Su Nian pretended not to hear and quietly slipped toward the bathroom.
Moments later, his phone began ringing. He glanced at it irritably and massaged the space between his brows. Will this never end? On his way back, Huo Jiuyan had called to say he was trending online for buying sanitary pads. Barely minutes had passed and it was already public. That woman… she was poisonous. Being photographed was routine, but buying such items on behalf of her? Did she imagine she was worthy of being linked to him this way? Zhou Beiming’s gaze drifted to the bathroom door. The phone kept ringing. Even Jiang Yun who had practically vanished from public view had surfaced.
He answered brusquely. “Make it quick.”
“The photos are crystal clear,” Jiang Yun teased. “Is the story true?”
“Fabricated,” Zhou Beiming replied coldly. “Anything else?”
“Why on earth were you buying sanitary pads?”
Zhou Beiming’s expression hardened. “Because I chose to. Mind your own business.”
“Using them yourself or perhaps for the Old Man?” Jiang Yun jeered.
Zhou Beiming hung up without listening further. When the phone rang yet again, he powered it off entirely and rose to his feet, striding toward the bathroom.
Inside, Su Nian was carefully rinsing a stained undergarment the white fabric had proven stubborn to clean once soiled. Hearing him enter, she instinctively turned the stained part away. It felt mortifying enough to be tending to such matters; she certainly did not want him seeing it. She kept her eyes lowered, her hands moving mechanically. She held her breath afraid his foul mood might turn on her. Other than the rushing water, the room was silent.
Zhou Beiming leaned against the doorframe, arms folded, his gaze resting evenly upon her. “Leave such things to the servants.”
Su Nian kept scrubbing. “I’m not used to it.” Back at her father’s house there had been staff too but Qin Xiu always insisted she wash her own clothes. Especially things worn next to the skin; she would have felt far too self-conscious letting anyone else handle them.
Zhou Beiming stepped forward. He held a hand under the running tap icy cold. He turned the water off, took the damp garment from her hands, dropped it straight into the wastebasket. “Then don’t wash it.”
“Wait ” Su Nian stared, bewildered. Why throw it away? It came from the estate’s wardrobe and judging by the label, it had been expensive.
Zhou Beiming took a clean towel and began gently drying her damp hands. “Aren’t women meant to avoid touching cold water at such times?”
Su Nian looked up at him, stunned. He actually knows that? Had another woman told him?