Zhou Beiming froze.
He lowered his dark eyes, gaze settling on the woman in his arms. Su Nian’s lipstick had nearly worn away, leaving only her natural blush vivid, bright, and dewy. Especially those clear, delicate features, wide and timid, stirring in him a reckless urge to ruin her utterly. His Adam’s apple rolled slowly. He had no patience left for anything else.
He spoke coldly over his shoulder. “Still standing there?”
The cleaner snatched up her broom and dustpan, hurrying away as fast as her legs could carry her.
Silence fell once more over the stairwell so quiet a pin drop could be heard.
Su Nian lay pressed to Zhou Beiming’s chest, feeling the strong, steady beat of his heart beneath her ear. He lifted her chin with his fingers, forcing her to look up. “Everyone else scrambles to be seen at my side. You… it’s as if you’re ashamed to be with me.”
Su Nian braced her hands against his shoulders and drew back. She had lived a proper, disciplined life for more than twenty years. She had never once imagined she would become a man’s mistress yet here she was, two years later. And his kind, of all people. Ashamed?
She lowered her gaze, meek and yielding as always. “Aren’t we going to eat? I’ve already ordered.”
She stepped aside, slipping free from beneath his fingers, and walked ahead.
After dinner they returned to his residence. Ye Wanzhen had spoken nothing but the truth Zhou Beiming was insatiable. His appetite was fierce; he would not stop until he had worn her completely out. Yet exhausted as she always was, Su Nian never stayed the night. Once it was over, she went home.
Tonight, however, Zhou Beiming sat up and pulled her back into his arms from behind, his cheek resting against the smooth curve of her back. He kept his hair cut very short the stubble was rough and faintly prickling against her skin.
Her father had told her: Su Fu Group had always been sustained by Zhou Beiming’s capital. Before the new energy project turned profitable, the company had bled money heavily great, gaping holes that only he could fill. And so, if Zhou Beiming still desired her… she would not say no.
Su Nian whispered softly, “More?”
“Mm.” Zhou Beiming turned her toward him. He drank in the sight of her and the sight alone was enough to stir his hunger anew. But then he saw how her legs trembled, and his gaze softened. He let her rest.
He reached for his cigarettes, only to remember he had left them in the car. Su Nian suffered asthma; he never smoked in her presence. Denied both release and tobacco, he leaned in and kissed her deeply claiming her soft, sweet lips again and again, pouring every ounce of his unquenched longing into the kiss until she lay limp and breathless in his arms.
He looked down at her eyes glistening, skin flushed and smirked darkly. “My little rabbit is still so easily undone.”
Su Nian curled into him, bowed and overwhelmed. Zhou Beiming waited until her breathing steadied before speaking again. “The old man at home is pressuring me to marry. What do you think?”
Su Nian lifted her heavy, dazed gaze. “I refuse to be someone’s mistress.” It was the plain truth. To break apart another’s marriage deserved nothing but ruin.
Zhou Beiming misread her meaning instantly. “You want to be the wife?”
Su Nian frowned, confused but before she could speak, he continued, smooth and unconcerned. “It could be arranged. I could marry anyone at random. The old man would be furious beyond words… the very thought is delightful.” He brushed the tip of her nose gently with his finger. “That’s settled, then. Don’t leave tonight. Tomorrow we’ll go and get our marriage license.”
Madness! Su Nian could not match his light, reckless disregard for life. “The Zhou family would never accept someone from such a humble background. I am far beneath you.”
Zhou Beiming spoke with sudden, absolute gravity. “You may be beneath me that is true. But I choose this. So carry no burden.”
Zhou Beiming was a master at turning every situation to his liking. Su Nian tried to refuse but he gave her no opening. “No prenuptial agreement. If ever we divorce, half of everything I have is yours. You lose nothing.”
Su Nian could not even begin to imagine the scale of Zhou Beiming’s wealth. And yet this man fell in love with every face he saw. One day he would meet someone who caught his fancy, and cast her aside. But… if she had money, if Su Fu prospered… would her mother come home more often?
Still, there was something in Zhou Beiming’s gaze watchful, amused, calculating that made her feel certain hidden designs lay behind those dark eyes.
Just then her phone rang.
She glanced at the screen. Gu Yinchen’s number. She had deleted his name from her contacts long ago but she had never been able to erase it from her mind.
She did not answer. Moments later, a text arrived.
Can we meet?
Su Nian froze. She shifted unconsciously and realized Zhou Beiming’s finger was still hooked around hers.
He looked at her. “You don’t want to?”
He treated marriage like a game. And yet, no matter how great the advantage he offered her she could not bring herself to accept.
Su Nian murmured softly, “Find someone else.” He had never lacked for women. There were plenty from which to choose.
She rose from his embrace, gathered her clothes from the floor, and dressed. “I’m going home.”
He said nothing as she left.
Su Nian did not return to the Su family home. She lived instead in an apartment of her own given to her by her father the day she agreed to become Zhou Beiming’s mistress. Over a hundred square meters, in a fine district, and conveniently close to Zhou Beiming’s residence. Her father’s intent had been perfectly clear.
The next morning Su Nian left early. Down in the lobby she found Gu Yinchen waiting.
He stood tall and slender in the hall. Two years had passed yet neither of them seemed to have changed much. Su Nian was still pursuing her doctorate at University A, dressed simply as a student. Gu Yinchen looked as fresh and unruffled as ever like the kind, gentle boy next door. Only the way they looked at one another had shifted. Su Nian’s gaze held no trace of admiration cool, distant, as if she were looking at a stranger. Gu Yinchen’s eyes, meanwhile, were veiled and unfathomable.
He walked over and stopped before her. “Two years… and you’re still angry? Such a temper for a little girl.”
Gu Yinchen was only two years older than she yet he had always treated her like a child. And children’s feelings meant nothing. She imagined that even two years ago, when he had seen her confession letter pinned openly to the bar counter, he had simply laughed it off thinking it amusing, and nothing more. That was why he remained so unbothered now.
Su Nian met his gaze calmly. “I’m not.”
Gu Yinchen reached out and patted the top of her head. Su Nian stiffened, stepping back instinctively just the smallest distance.
He noticed. A faint, bitter smile touched his lips. “You say you’re not yet you ignored my message last night, and now you look displeased to see me.”
Su Nian held herself aloof and polite. “Truly. I am not.”
It was all in the past. She changed the subject. “Brother Yinchen… is there something you need from me?”
Gu Yinchen let his hand fall back to his side. “I’ve heard your research institute is developing a new generation of robotics. My company wishes to enter a partnership. Might you help put us in touch?”
Su Nian nodded. “I will speak with Director He. He oversees all commercial partnerships.”
She had learned programming because of Gu Yinchen dreaming that one day they might stand side by side. Now that such an opportunity had truly come to pass… everything between them had changed beyond recognition.
She turned to leave but he caught her wrist in his hand.
Gu Yinchen spoke suddenly, quietly and his words carried weight. “Nian… I am single now. And I am very easy to win.”
There was meaning in every syllable. Had he spoken those words two years ago… Su Nian would have run to him without a second thought. She would never have gone to Zhou Beiming. But hearing them now… they felt like a sharp, bitter sting.
Su Nian swallowed the ache rising in her chest and replied evenly, “Brother Yinchen… you are so accomplished, so young and brilliant. There will be no shortage of women eager to pursue you.”
She tried to pull her hand free but he would not let go. He was stronger than she, as men always were.
Gu Yinchen stood beside her facing one way, she another. “And you?” he asked. “Didn’t you love me? Why not give us a chance?”
Su Nian stared at him, dazed. She could barely even remember what it had felt like to love him. She remembered only the quiet, secret longing much like what Su Feixiao felt now. Watching him come and go, longing to meet him and see him off; spending days choosing gifts for every holiday and birthday. On the rare days he had shown her warmth and attention, she had stayed awake all night, giddy and thrilled spinning whole, beautiful love stories in her head…
But those stories had long since shattered into dust. In their place lay only the messy, tarnished reality of adult life.
“I…”
A slow, gentle sound of clapping interrupted her.
They both looked up. Zhou Beiming had arrived. He held a half-lit cigarette between his fingers he had clearly been standing there long enough to watch the scene unfold.
He clapped slowly, lazily, as he walked toward them every step unhurried, eyes glinting with dark amusement. “My little rabbit… you look so gentle, so obedient on ordinary days. And yet barely one night apart and already you’re making me a cuckold?”