Su Nian had an excellent memory she had committed all the details Zhou Beiming gave her to heart.
She guessed that when Zhou Beiming had her do her homework, he didn’t just want her to know their family’s secrets; he wanted her to recognize every relative so she wouldn’t be caught off guard. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have printed everyone’s photo and personal information alongside those scandalous notes.
She nodded obediently. “I’m ready.”
Zhou Beiming released her and ruffled the top of her hair. “Go sit in the front.”
He stepped out first, then opened the passenger door for her. Su Nian got out and climbed into the seat. He closed the door behind her, then walked around and took the driver’s seat.
Half an hour later, the car pulled up to the Zhou family estate.
A crowd had gathered at the gate old and young alike, all dressed with distinction, bustling and lively. Through the windshield, Su Nian looked at the sea of faces and felt her heart begin to race. She hadn’t expected so many people to be waiting for them.
Zhou Beiming turned his head and saw her taut expression. He laid his warm palm over the back of her hand. “It’s the first time I’ve brought a girlfriend home. Everyone’s come to gawk.”
First time bringing a girlfriend home? Su Nian was stunned. She would have assumed the women Zhou Beiming had brought home could fill a cart. She moistened her dry lips and murmured, “Your family has quite a crowd of relatives.”
Zhou Beiming undid her seatbelt. “Family planning came too late for the old man. He didn’t get the memo sired six of them.”
Su Nian knew he meant his grandfather, Old Master Zhou. Zhou Beiming’s parents had died in a shipwreck over twenty years ago.
Zhou Beiming stepped out first, then leaned in and told her, “Wait until I open your door. Then you get out.”
Su Nian understood: if he treated her with respect, his relatives wouldn’t dare look down on her. She waited quietly in her seat.
Moments later, the door swung open. Zhou Beiming held out his hand with perfect grace. “Little rabbit… welcome to the Zhou family.”
He was usually so proud and aloof. Seeing him like this, Su Nian couldn’t help but remark, “You have a promising future as a greeter.”
Zhou Beiming slipped one hand into his pocket and smiled deeply. “It would be my greatest honor to welcome Miss Su.”
Su Nian relaxed a little and offered a faint smile in return. She placed her hand in his palm roughened with faint calluses and noticed a ring on his middle finger. It matched perfectly with the one she was wearing.
Zhou Beiming’s fingers closed around hers in an instant. This man was unprincipled and irreverent, yet somehow, he made her feel safe.
Side by side, they walked toward the crowd. Eyes fell upon Su Nian curious, skeptical, some even dismissive. The Zhou family stood at the very apex of society. Those gazes carried weight far beyond mere curiosity about Zhou Beiming’s companion. They scarcely cared about her simple clothes. Instead, they were dissecting her background, her intentions for being with him, and how long his fascination would last. Everyone hoped he would break it off soon and marry whichever young woman they had recommended.
Then they saw the jewels resting on Su Nian treasures locked away in the family vault for twenty years and many eyes widened in shock.
Zhou Beiming held her hand steadily as they came to a stop before the crowd. One hand remained casually in his pocket, but he stood tall, carrying himself with his usual unbothered arrogance. “This is my girlfriend, Niannian. PhD candidate. Scientist. Don’t try showing off in front of her I can’t even keep up with her, so you lot certainly won’t measure up.”
His tone was lazy, almost flippant framing it as though he were the one punching above his weight.
Su Nian knew her own standing perfectly well. Her heart sank, her palms grew damp. But Zhou Beiming rubbed slow, soothing circles against her skin with his thumb. He turned to glance at her, the corner of his lips curved in a faint, tender smile quietly bolstering her courage, steadying her as her knees threatened to buckle.
Standing at the front of the crowd was a man in his fifties. He looked Su Nian up and down and said coolly, “Compared to the flashy sorts you usually parade around, she is certainly… plain.”
Su Nian greeted him politely. “Good day, Second Uncle.”
The information Zhou Beiming had prepared was thorough she recognized most of the people present. This was Zhou Zhanhe, Vice Chairman of Yongtai Group and Zhou Beiming’s paternal second uncle. One did not strike a person who greeted them with a smile; impressed also that she could identify him, Zhou Zhanhe nodded. “Come inside. My father is waiting to meet his future granddaughter-in-law.”
He led the way, and the onlookers parted to let them pass. Su Nian had always been overlooked, growing up as if invisible. Now being stared at like an exhibit made her skin crawl.
Zhou Beiming sensed her unease. He lifted their joined hands and draped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. One arm and he had blocked out the weight of all those watching eyes. He leaned down, his breath brushing warm against her sensitive ear, and whispered low:
“Just stand by me. If the sky falls… I’ll hold it up.”
His tone was lazy, his voice rich and resonant as a cello so low it wrapped softly around her ear. To anyone else, it would have sounded like a lover’s gentle murmur. Zhou Beiming wasn’t forcing her to face anything alone. He simply wanted her there beside him. The pressure lifted; her shoulders relaxed.
The main hall was vast. Seated on the central leather sofa was an elderly man, sharp and spirited despite his age. He wore a black tunic and traditional cloth shoes, peering through reading glasses at short videos on his phone. At their arrival, he adjusted his glasses and looked over, letting out a cold huff. “What kind of work is so important? Did Zhou Beiming really insist on waiting for you to finish work before coming?”
Su Nian paused. She hadn’t said she couldn’t take leave. Perhaps… Zhou Beiming had simply wanted to arrive late. To deliberately get under the old man’s skin.
She lowered her gaze demurely and offered a soft excuse. “I am still studying, Grandfather. My supervisor was reviewing my dissertation today it means a great deal to my graduation. That is why I was delayed.” She offered a small bow. “I apologize. Next time, I shall come earlier.”
Old Master Zhou let the matter slide, then turned to the rest of the family. “Zhou Beiming has spent twenty-eight years as a bachelor. Now that he has finally brought a girl home… do not all crowd around and scare her off before he has even grown fond of her.” He instructed the butler beside him, “Everyone has arrived. Serve dinner.” Without another glance at Su Nian, he stood and walked toward the dining hall.
The message was clear: he did not care for her. If the patriarch disapproved, she would likely never truly enter the Zhou family. No one needed to lift a finger this woman would be gone before long, just another ex-girlfriend. Everyone settled in to watch the inevitable drama unfold.
In the dining hall, more than a dozen sat around the long table. Conversation was scarce; only the faint clink of cutlery broke the hush. The meal felt stifling and endless. Su Nian was beginning to understand: Old Master Zhou was a difficult man indeed.
After dinner, Zhou Beiming sat with Su Nian in the main parlor. Relatives aunt after aunt gathered around to make polite conversation, asking harmless, surface-level questions.
Then Zhou Beiming was called away by the butler. The moment he left, a woman stepped forward, leaning in to examine the bracelet on Su Nian’s wrist. This was Zhou Yunhe, Zhou Beiming’s eldest paternal aunt. In his notes, Zhou Beiming had described her as a brainless firebird.
Now Zhou Yunhe spoke in a tone thick with insinuation. “So… it is genuine.” She then asked Su Nian directly, “Tell me, child how did you and Beiming meet?”
With her youthful appearance and student’s attire, Zhou Yunhe assumed Zhou Beiming had simply grown tired of usual indulgences and sought something fresher, plainer, less rich.
Su Nian and Zhou Beiming’s beginning was far from respectable. She answered with a blend of truth and evasion. “In the rain. I had no umbrella. He offered to drive me home.”
Zhou Yunhe eyed her sideways. “Beiming has driven countless girls home. Does that not trouble you?”
Su Nian replied calmly, “We do not ask about each other’s pasts. We look only toward what lies ahead.”
Zhou Yunhe let out a sharp laugh. “The future is no poem to be recited lightly. The future is built of nothing but the past.”
Su Nian knew Zhou Yunhe’s own secrets by heart: an illegitimate child, born to a lover during her marriage, now raised in secret far away in Finland. She said simply, her tone light and untroubled, “That is very true, Eldest Aunt. But so long as Beiming has no secret children… whatever affection he may once have held for other women will surely fade with time.”
A few quiet words and Zhou Yunhe’s face darkened instantly. Before Su Nian could react, the woman reached out, snatched the bracelet roughly from her wrist, and spoke through a strained smile. “I shall borrow this for a day or two.”
Su Nian stared at her wrist, red and stinging. That bracelet had belonged to Zhou Beiming. If it were taken by another… he would be furious.