Light and shadow swirled softly. Su Nian’s shadow fell across his chiseled face, blurring his features into soft, indistinct lines.
Su Nian’s throat tightened. Gazing at those thin lips, she leaned forward and kissed him gently. It was a light kiss, brushing tentatively against him until her hesitation wore away his patience entirely. Zhou Beiming reclaimed control. He parted her lips with ease, kissing her with growing intensity, nipping and tasting her deeply.
Su Nian winced. She clung to his broad shoulders, letting out a soft, muffled protest.
Zhou Beiming pulled back just enough to look at her, his dark eyes heavy-lidded. He grazed her lips once more, deliberately. “Enjoy the chicken leg?”
Su Nian dared not meet his gaze. Had Zhou Kang told him? “I didn’t eat it,” she said quietly. “I gave it to a classmate.”
Zhou Beiming let it go though not without a sharp warning. “If you so much as taste one… I shall pull out every last one of your little teeth. Leave you looking like an old woman.”
Su Nian fell silent. “Childish.”
Zhou Beiming’s voice dropped to a husky murmur. “Shall I show you something grown-up, then?”
He drew her in and kissed her again, deeper than before. The room filled with soft, breathless sounds warm, intimate, and utterly shameless. Su Nian, who had been sitting above him, melted until she lay pliant beneath him. Her body curled inward, her dress slipping askew, her undergarments loose and undone.
Zhou Beiming pulled back at last. His voice was rough and unsteady. “Useless little thing.”
He spoke sharply, yet he lifted her effortlessly into his arms and carried her to the bathroom. He set her gently upon the vanity counter. “Supplies are in the cabinet above.”
Bang. The door clicked shut firm, but not unkind.
Su Nian leaned back against the cool marble walls, biting her lip until the heat in her blood slowly cooled. She reached upward and opened the cabinet door. Neatly stacked inside were exactly the brand she used. Three full shelves enough to last her a year or two. Why so many?
She glanced around. She had been here before, yet the bathroom had always held only his things. Now… there were women’s things everywhere. Su Nian felt as though she had unwittingly boarded a pirate ship. She had agreed only to help him keep up appearances and now she had somehow been drawn entirely into his life. She glanced toward the door. He was a man of wild mood swings living with him would surely be no easy matter. She sighed and stepped down from the counter.
When she stepped out after her shower, clinking sounds came from the open-plan kitchen. She looked over to see Zhou Beiming standing there, one hand in his pocket, calmly dropping dark, lumpy contents into a soup pot.
Su Nian minded her own business. She settled on the sofa in her robe and picked up her phone. Moments later, it rang. Mother.
It had been quite some time. Her brother and sister, born the same year, were in their final year of high school preparing for university entrance. Her mother’s attention had always been fixed entirely on her son.
Su Nian answered. Zhang Mengyue’s voice came sharply through the line. “Niannian so I hear there’s to be a grand banquet for Su Feixiao’s prize. Must you not strive to make something of yourself as well? Do not forever be outshone by that baseborn little brat.”
She always spoke this way. “Mm,” Su Nian replied simply neutral, noncommittal.
Her mother invariably chided her whenever Su Feixiao basked in praise. Yet when Su Nian herself achieved something, her mother paid it no mind at all. Several times she had invited her parents to attend her competitions; always they were “too busy.” In the beginning she had told them proudly of her awards only to hear the same dismissive words from parents long since divorced: “Such a trivial thing. Why must you make so much of it? You only want gifts.” Occasionally she received a small trinket. Far more often, she was scolded.
Zhang Mengyue sensed her indifference and grew sharp. “What sort of attitude is this? I speak for your own good. Remain as you are in that household and once Zhou Beiming tires of you, you will have no worth left. Tell me then what sort of life you shall enjoy.”
That is why I save what I can, Su Nian thought. As a child she had longed to grow up earn her own way, so she would no longer be treated as dead weight. Now that she had grown and earned… somehow it was not as she had imagined. They still looked down upon her. She often wondered: If they wanted me so little… why did they have me at all?
“I know you mean well, Mother,” Su Nian said softly. “I shall strive harder.”
She had striven. She was twenty-four and nearing completion of her doctorate. She possessed no extraordinary gifts only relentless, sleepless study that had won her a place at A University, the nation’s finest, and a spot in its combined master’s-doctoral program. None of this mattered to her parents. They saw only her siblings’ brilliance. Su Feixiao won an art competition and her father threw a feast. Her brother rose a single rank in his exams and her mother bought him limited-edition sneakers worth thousands.
Zhang Mengyue lectured her a while longer, then announced: “Your brother sits his university exams next year. I shall send him to you this summer. You will keep an eye on him and tutor him. I have business projects to attend to; I cannot spare the time.”
Su Nian hesitated. She was busy writing her dissertation. Worse she was supposedly cohabiting with Zhou Beiming. How could she possibly take charge of her brother? “Mother… hire a tutor instead. I am fully occupied with graduation.”
Zhang Mengyue scoffed openly. “What is the value of that doctorate of yours? This ridiculous computer science shall you audit your father’s books? Or run one of his departments? I told you to study business administration. Only then might you stand against Qin Xiu in his company.”
Choosing her major had been Su Nian’s single act of rebellion. Once, it had been for Gu Yinchen. Now, though her path with him was ended… she regretted nothing. She loved what she studied. Accustomed as she was to belittlement, she could not bear having her field dismissed so lightly.
“Mother,” she said quietly, “you studied business administration. Did it not… lose you to Aunt Qin Xiu in the end?”
The words were light yet they struck Zhang Mengyue to the quick. Qin Xiu, once Su Haiping’s secretary, now occupied the position that had once been Zhang Mengyue’s.
“You ungrateful wretch!” her mother shrieked. “You eat at their table and now you turn against your own mother! Had I not given you this face this beauty that caught Zhou Beiming’s eye you would be worth less than garbage!”
The call ended. Silence filled the line. Su Nian stared at the darkened screen, stung. She regretted her words she knew better than to touch her mother’s deepest wound. She set the phone aside, drew her knees to her chest, and sat lost in thought so still she did not notice Zhou Beiming enter.
A cup appeared before her eyes, steaming. “Drink.”
His voice pulled her back to the moment. She looked at the dark, sweet liquid unlike the sludge of that morning, this appeared normal. It was strangely difficult to imagine Zhou Beiming preparing such things, and yet… it smelled better than anything the staff had ever made. Doubtless some woman had taught him.
“Thank you.” She took the cup in both hands. It was hot too hot. She set it quickly upon the coffee table and pressed her cool palms to her fevered cheeks.
Zhou Beiming watched her, clumsy and endearing. Yet in that moment, as her hands cupped her face, her lips pouted soft and red glistening like ripe cherries. If not for her time of the month… he would have leaned in and tasted them himself.
He sat beside her. “Burn you?” He was far less sensitive to heat. He lifted the cup, cooled it with a breath, and sipped testing. He found it perfectly fine. Women and their delicate ways. He swirled the dark liquid gently. “A banquet at your home next week?”
Su Nian nodded. “My younger sister won an art award. Father wishes to host a celebration.” She looked up. How did he know?
“Tedious nonsense,” Zhou Beiming scoffed. “Tell him I shall not attend.”
So Father invited him. Su Nian felt a quiet surge of relief. “Very well.” She kept her head bowed.
A silence fell between them. Zhou Beiming studied her lowered face. “Something troubles you.”
Su Nian lifted her head and met his gaze. She had always admired his eyes warm amber, framed by long, straight lashes, perfectly shaped. They held a soft, lazy warmth that seemed full of feeling… yet remained fathomless, distant, touched with a quiet chill. She caught her breath, then looked away. “Nothing troubles me.”
Zhou Beiming clicked his tongue. “Written all over your face.”
Su Nian touched her forehead in confusion. “Truly. Nothing.” She spoke little of her family to anyone not even her closest friend. Zhou Beiming did not press. He looked at her as one might look at something precious kept safe within one’s home. Feed her well, care for her… in time, surely she will grow fond of me. And if not? Then I shall simply give her all the chicken legs she could ever wish for.