The assistant looked at Zhou Zuizui's swollen cheek and was about to step forward when he was frightened by her gaze.
Zhou Zuizui left the office without changing her expression, slamming the door shut, and went straight into the elevator and downstairs.
When I arrived at the lobby on the first floor, I ran into that receptionist again.
The receptionist was visibly taken aback when she looked at her, "Ms. Zhou..."
Zhou Zuizui nodded and then left.
After leaving the building and getting into her car, Zhou Zuizui drove away without hesitation. After driving a long way, she finally parked the car in a roadside parking space, buried her head in the steering wheel, and burst into tears.
She always felt that her parents' strict discipline was for her own good. Although they were controlling, she could understand it. Even if she couldn't understand it, Zhou Zuizui could accept it temporarily.
But the older she got, the more she realized that wasn't the case.
Other people's children are loved by their parents. Parents let their children learn things according to their interests, tell them they love them, and buy them gifts. But not in her family. Every time she comes back from a business trip, her mother asks the housekeeper and calls the teacher to inquire about her grades. If her grades have dropped, her mother will use extremely vicious language to humiliate her, to make her feel disgusted and resentful.
—Why are you so stupid! How could I have such a stupid daughter? You are so stupid. I should have abandoned you... and so on.
Zhou Zuizui grew up in this kind of linguistic environment. At first, she was indeed obedient, but in fact, she had a lot of resentment in her heart, but she couldn't show it, nor did she dare to. She was suppressed too much when she was a child. Whenever she rebelled as a child, her parents would lock her in a small dark room.
Zhou Zuizui was very scared, which is why Xia Wen commented on her when they first met: she was clearly not a well-behaved student, but in front of her teachers and other family members, she was like an obedient puppet, showing a discrepancy between her appearance and her inner self.
Indeed, she had climbed over the wall and skipped classes in high school. However, when the teachers asked her about it, Zhou Zuizui would say that she was not feeling well. No matter what the excuse was, the teachers would believe her because she gave the teachers the impression of being a good girl, a good student who never lied and was always the top student in the grade.
The university began to break free of its cage and escape.
She escaped completely by marrying Shen Nan.
During her two years in the ancient town, she didn't experience Shen Nan's presence, but it was undoubtedly the most carefree period of her life, as she didn't have to think about any messy things.
But she also knew that it was her way of escaping.
When you live in this world, there are always things you have to face; there's no point in running away.
So she came back to face it, but she didn't expect it to be so difficult.
Sometimes, certain decisions are very, very difficult to make.
Zhou Zuizui didn't know how long she had been crying. She didn't want to cry, but she couldn't help it.
She told herself this was the last time, the very last time. When her phone rang, Zhou Zuizui paused for a moment before looking at the caller ID.
"Hello."
"What's wrong with your voice?" Ai Zeyang noticed something was off and subconsciously frowned, asking, "Why is it so hoarse?"
Zhou Zuizui coughed, took out a bottle of water from the car, and mumbled, "Just woke up, what's wrong?"
Ai Zeyang found it strange, but that wasn't the point at the moment: "I have news, very specific details, come quickly."
"good."
Zhou Zuizui wiped away her tears before driving to Ai Zeyang's company. Fortunately, it wasn't far away, and the security guard at the entrance recognized her and let her in directly.
The young women at the front desk greeted her with smiles: "Sister Zui Zui is here."
"Yes, I'm looking for your boss."
"The boss called us, you can go up now."
Zhou Zuizui silently curved her lips into a smile, "Thank you."
Upon arriving at Aizeyang's office, Zhou Zuizui unexpectedly saw someone and raised an eyebrow.
Ai Zeyang glanced at her and said, "You're here."
"Have they found him?" she asked anxiously. "Is there any confirmation?"
The man in black sitting on the sofa greeted Zhou Zuizui: "Hello."
"Rang Ge, is that right?" Zhou Zuizui nodded and smiled. "Hello, thank you for your help."
"Of course."
After watching the two sit down, he got straight to the point and said, "I investigated this orphanage. Although the previous records are no longer available, we were able to find out who the adoptive family was based on the director's memory. However, the family had already immigrated abroad. After they adopted your sister, it is said that her health was always poor, and the doctor said that she might not survive. So, she was sent to another orphanage."
Zhou Zuizui listened, her heart aching.
"And then?" she heard her own trembling voice ask.
Brother Rang smiled and looked at Zhou Zuizui: "You're very lucky. Your sister is very fortunate. She survived and was even adopted by a wealthy family." He handed the documents to Zhou Zuizui and said with a slight smile, "She was adopted by the Duan family and is currently living with them."
Has it been confirmed?
"The information over there shows that although it wasn't the Duan family, it was someone from the Duan family who handled it."
Ai Zeyang agreed, saying, "I asked my dad, and he said that more than ten years ago, the Duan family did adopt a seven or eight-year-old girl and raised her at home ever since."
Zhou Zuizui's eyes lit up as she looked at Ai Zeyang: "Shall we go take a look now?"
"No," Ai Zeyang said, rubbing his temples. "It's a bit troublesome."
"What trouble?"
Ai Zeyang pursed his lips and said, "Your sister's health isn't very good."
Zhou Zuizui was taken aback. She subconsciously flipped through the pile of documents in front of her and began to read them carefully. After reading them, she understood what the two people meant by what they said.
The Duan family is involved in both business and politics. They are quite powerful and well-known in the area. If you were to compare them, they might be even wealthier than Ai Zeyang, and roughly on par with Lu Jiaxiu and his group. But strangely enough, they are not friends from the same social circle.
At least Zhou Zuizui had never heard the names or information about the Duan family from Ai Zeyang.
Looking at the information, she asked in a low voice, "So, they initially adopted my sister just because the young master of the Duan family has a heart condition? And they wanted a playmate who could be at home with them all the time?"
“That’s how it is,” Rang Ge said. “But actually, they originally wanted to adopt a boy, but I don’t know why they chose your sister.”
Zhou Zuizui nodded and said softly, "Thank you for choosing my sister."
Even if the initial purpose wasn't so appealing, at least her sister wasn't bullied or sold to a mountainous area, and she's safe and healthy now, which is enough.
She looked at Ai Zeyang, who, seeing her anxious expression, thought for a moment and said, "There's a gathering in a few days. I don't know if your sister will be there, but I can introduce you to the Duan family."
"Okay." Zhou Zuizui could only reluctantly agree, "Thank you."
Ai Zeyang patted her head and said with a smile, "It's my duty. I've worried myself sick over you and Xia Wen."
Brother Rang left shortly after arriving, leaving the two of them in the office.
Ai Zeyang then glanced at her still red and swollen eyes, had his assistant bring her some ice, and asked in a low voice, "Tell me, what happened?"
Zhou Zuizui didn't say anything, silently working on her eyes to reduce the swelling.
"Did you have another fight with your parents?"
"Yeah, they're awful." Zhou Zuizui lifted her eyelids to look at Ai Zeyang: "Did you know the government was going to build a bridge?"
Ai Zeyang paused slightly, then nodded: "I know your family wants to take it over."
"They actually went to Shen Nan's grandfather for help." Zhou Zuizui got angry as soon as she mentioned this: "Who do they think they are! They said they could just use my name to ask for help because I'm Shen Nan's wife!"
She gritted her teeth and said, "I disagree!"
Ai Zeyang paused, gesturing for her to drink some water and calm down, before analyzing, "I know what you're thinking. Your parents are indeed wrong. He hit you again?"
"Um."
Ai Zeyang frowned subconsciously and looked at Zhou Zuizui: "What do you want me to help you with?"
Zhou Zuizui was silent for a while before saying, "No need for now, I can do it myself."
Ai Zeyang glanced at her: "If you can't handle it, come to me. I may not be good at other things, but I still know a few tricks in the business world."
"clear."
Not long after she arrived, Zhou Zuizui returned to work at the newspaper.
However, she spent the entire afternoon searching for information about the Duan family on Baidu. The results were dazzling, and she even saw a familiar face staring blankly at it.
"What are you looking at?" Lin leaned closer and glanced at him, then asked with a smile, "The eldest young master of the Duan family, huh? What, are you interested in him?"
Zhou Zuizui shook her head: "You look somewhat familiar."
Lin laughed again, "Duan Bowen is a notorious playboy, how could he not look familiar?" She pulled Zhou Zuizui aside and gossiped, "You know, we once photographed him with several female celebrities..."
It has to be said that entertainment reporters' revelations are truly explosive.
Because of a single photo, Lin kept Zhou Zuizui gossiping about the eldest son of the Duan family all afternoon. By the end, her head was spinning, but she still didn't stop.
Having gossip in hand is great; you can comment on all sorts of things. Looking at the photos that came up in the search results, Zhou Zuizui asked the burning question: "Don't all these people... look the same?"
Lin laughed loudly: "Nonsense, they're not the same at all. This one has bigger eyes, that one has smaller eyes, and this one..."
Zhou Zuizui watched in silence.
Fine, she can't understand the hobbies of rich young masters.
Zhou Zuizui never expected that the very day after she had discussed the eldest son of the Duan family with Lin You, the very next day, the eldest son of the Duan family would appear as the subject of her filming.
"When did Ling Qing get together with the eldest son of the Duan family?" Lin frowned, puzzled. "Didn't they say she had a new love interest?"
Zhou Zuizui choked up for a moment, looked at the two people walking side by side not far away, thought for a moment and asked, "Are you not boyfriend and girlfriend?"
"Who knows?" Lin frowned again. "I'll take a few photos."
She muttered to herself, "Ling Qing is amazing; she even managed to get to know the eldest young master of the Duan family."
Zhou Zuizui remained silent, offering no opinion. She looked at the two people not far away. In fact, the eldest young master of the Duan family did have a rather obvious smile on his face, but there was absolutely nothing in his eyes that could be called love or affection.
But a moment later, the two people opposite them suddenly walked straight towards them. Before Zhou Zuizui could react, the two people were already next to the car.
"get off."
Lin choked up again, exchanged a glance with Zhou Zuizui, and said, "I'll go down, you don't have to."
Zhou Zuizui thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay."
Lin got out of the car again. Duan Bowen looked at the woman in front of him and smiled, "How many photos did you take?"
"Want to take a look?" Lin was obviously very experienced, waving the camera he was holding.
"It's you again, Lin You." Ling Qing frowned from behind and looked at her, asking, "Who's the other person in the car? Zhou Zuizui?"
She had only recently learned that Zhou Zuizui had started working at the newspaper, and Ling Qing was so angry that she smashed a vase. However, she had been too busy lately to leave the film set.
I just met with investors today, and I didn't expect to run into them so soon.
Lin raised an eyebrow and looked at Ling Qing: "What's it to you?"
Ling Qing frowned subconsciously, wanting to open the car door. But the person inside got out of the car before her. Zhou Zuizui, dressed in long sleeves and trousers, stepped out of the car, looking clean, neat, and particularly handsome.
"It's me. Is there something you need?"
Ling Qing looked at her powerful aura and before she could answer, the man beside her whistled and looked at Zhou Zuizui, saying, "Beautiful lady, we meet again."
Zhou Zuizui raised her eyes and looked calmly at the man in front of her: "Hello."
Duan Bowen smiled and said, "You're getting more and more beautiful."
Lin You: "...Know each other?"
"We've met once," Zhou Zuizui said.
Ling Qing looked at Duan Bowen, stomped her foot, and said in a coquettish tone, "Mr. Duan, what's going on?"
Duan Bowen scoffed and looked at the woman to the side. She had initially acted as if she had no interest in him, but after the woman appeared, she suddenly knew to try and win him over.
Women really do need to be competitive.
He raised an eyebrow, his expression shifting noticeably. When he looked up at Zhou Zuizui again, a sly smile still lingered on his face: "Unforgettable after just one meeting."
Zhou Zuizui choked, suddenly somewhat agreeing with what Lin You had said. The eldest young master of the Duan family was indeed adept at charming women, effortlessly spouting sweet words—no wonder he'd been around women before…
She smiled, looking at the two people in front of her: "We still have work to do, is there anything else?"
Duan Bowen was silent for a moment, then tapped the camera Lin You was holding: "Delete the photos."
Lin deleted them directly, not wanting to get entangled with them.
Then, Duan Bowen looked at Zhou Zuizui and asked, "Miss Zhou, could you please provide your contact information?"
Just as Lin was about to refuse Zhou Zuizui, she readily agreed: "Okay." She gestured for Duan Bowen to get his phone: "Is the phone number okay?"
"Can."
After exchanging contact information, Duan Bowen left with a reluctant Ling Qing, while Lin You and Zhou Zuizui got into the car and drove away.
Why did you suddenly give me your contact information?
Zhou Zuizui pursed her lips and looked at Lin Youxiao: "Don't worry, I'm not that kind of person." She raised her eyebrows and said: "My favorite is still our Captain Shen, okay? The reason I exchanged contact information with him is because I have something to ask him."
Lin was taken aback, paused for a moment looking at her expression, and then said, "As long as you know your limits, you've wasted your time tonight."
"Sorry." Zhou Zuizui smiled and said, "I did have some success tonight. I'll treat Sister Lin to barbecue. I'll tell you about this after everything is settled."
"OK."
On the other side, Ling Qing, standing beside Duan Bowen, frowned and said, "Young Master Duan, that Miss Zhou... is already married."
Duan Bowen raised an eyebrow, gave a meaningful "oh," and looked at the woman in front of him: "You know her very well?"
“Of course.” Ling Qing sneered, “Her husband is a soldier, he probably couldn’t stand being alone and wanted to…”
Before he could finish speaking, Duan Bowen interrupted him.
He looked at Ling Qing with a half-smile: "Miss Ling seems to still harbor some resentment. Was that man your ex-boyfriend?"
Ling Qing's expression froze for a moment, and before she could react, Duan Bowen had already turned and left.
The soldier, Shen Nan, had just finished training and was covered in sweat.
He's been in a bad mood these past few days, and no one in the team dares to mess with him. Gao Zhuo runs away whenever he sees Shen Nan, completely avoiding any potential trouble.
Just as this ended, Shen Nan's phone rang. He glanced at the caller ID, frowned, and said, "Hello."
"Brother Shen." A gentle female voice came from the other end: "I am Ling Qing."
"Hang up."
Ling Qing stared incredulously at the phone that had been hung up, gritted her teeth, and dialed back.
"What is it?" came the indifferent male voice from the other end.
Ling Qing didn't dare to be vague this time and said directly, "I ran into Zui Zui today, and I think it's necessary to tell you about it."
Upon hearing his wife's name, Shen Nan stopped his urge to hang up the phone immediately.
"What's up?"
Ling Qing was silent for a while before saying, "I saw Zui Zui with a man last night, the eldest son of the Duan family..." She rambled on, "The two of them standing together seemed quite intimate, do you know each other?"
Upon hearing this, Shen Nan gave a cold laugh and remained silent.
"Is there anything else?"
Ling Qing exclaimed in surprise, "No... nothing, I just felt like I should tell you."
Shen Nan took a deep breath before saying, "Miss Ling, I'll let it slide this time because you're Ling Shi's sister. But I hope you'll be more careful with your words and actions in the future. Thank you!"
After saying that, Shen Nan hung up the phone abruptly.
After returning to the dormitory, Shen Nan took a shower. Gao Zhuo said timidly, "Your sister-in-law called you, and I told her you went to take a shower."
Shen Nan's eyes lit up, and she glared at him: "Why didn't you call me?"
Gao Zhuo: "...Weren't you taking a shower?"
"Can't I answer the phone while taking a shower?"
Gao Zhuo: "...Oh, then you can just call back."
What's wrong?
Shen Nan glanced at him, casually dried her hair with a towel, and then left the dormitory with her phone.
After the man left, Gao Zhu patted his chest and said to the boy, "Men are so unpredictable, they're terrifying."
Xiao Tong expressed his deep sympathy: "Deputy Captain Gao, you've worked hard."
"That's right."
...
Outside, Shen Nan called Zhou Zuizui after he went downstairs, and this time the call went through smoothly.
"Wife." As soon as Zhou Zuizui answered the phone, she heard a very aggrieved voice on the other end: "You finally remembered me?"
Zhou Zuizui: "...I'm sorry."
She apologized softly, "I just wanted some peace and quiet."
She genuinely felt ashamed and embarrassed. But after clarifying things with that person today, Zhou Zuizui decided that she would never interfere in their affairs again. As long as they didn't cross her bottom line again, she could pretend that nothing had happened.
Hearing her voice, Shen Nan's heart softened completely: "Is everything alright now?"
"Hmm." Zhou Zuizui lay on the bed thinking, "Actually, it's not that great, but I've come to terms with it."
Shen Nan nodded, his Adam's apple bobbing. "That's good. I can see my wife when I go home this weekend."
Zhou Zuizui was both amused and exasperated: "Yes, I can sleep at home."
She chuckled, rolled around on the bed with her phone in hand, and felt much more at ease just hearing Shen Nan's breathing. It was an indescribable feeling, but she was just a little happy.
Neither of them spoke for a while before Zhou Zuizui brought it up herself: "By the way, you know what? It seems like my sister is about to be found."
Shen Nan was taken aback, then asked in surprise, "Really?"
“Yes.” Zhou Zuizui explained the situation in detail and then said in a low voice, “But it’s still not certain. Ai Zeyang said that the Duan family is very powerful and they don’t usually release people.”
When is the banquet?
"This Saturday."
Shen Nan was silent for a moment: "Don't go with Ai Zeyang."
"ah?"
"I'll go with you."
Zhou Zuizui opened her mouth and blurted out, "But you don't have an invitation."
Shen Nan gritted his teeth and said angrily, "...If you want it, you can have it!"
"Oh." Zhou Zuizui smiled, a slight smirk playing on her lips. "Are you still jealous of Ai Zeyang? The two of us..."
They are truly brothers who are as close as steel.
"No." Shen Nan snorted coldly, "I heard that the eldest young master of the Duan family is somewhat acquainted with you?"
Zhou Zuizui paused for a moment, then suddenly remembered something: "Ling Qing called you?"
"Yes," Shen Nan said, "but I'm hanging up."
He said in a low voice, "Be careful of her in the future, I'm afraid she might do something."
"It's your fault." Zhou Zuizui said speechlessly, "Actually, we went to film her at night and saw Duan Bowen. We had met once before at a bar. Today, we ran into him and he asked for my contact information. I thought my sister was still at their house, so I wanted to add him first, so I could ask him if anything happened in the future."
How could she possibly cheat on me? She's not stupid.
Besides, even if she were to cheat, she wouldn't do it in front of her rival and friends. Zhou Zuizui genuinely felt that Ling Qing was probably blinded by jealousy and couldn't understand this at all.
After talking for a while, the two said they needed to check on someone in Shennan's area, and then hung up the phone.
The next few days were quite relaxing for Zhou Zuizui. She wrote articles every day, and on Friday afternoon, she went home and stopped by the supermarket to buy some things.
Shen Nan wouldn't get home until after 8 PM. She planned to cook a meal to apologize. Although she had offered a verbal apology, she still felt very, very guilty.
At eight o'clock, Shen Nan had just arrived at his doorstep when he smelled the aroma of food.
He was slightly taken aback. As soon as he opened the door, he saw the woman with her back to him, busy in the kitchen. She was humming a song and seemed quite happy cooking by herself.
Shen Nan's eyes flickered before he changed his shoes and walked over, hugging her from behind and burying his face in her neck to kiss her.
"Ah..." Zhou Zuizui was startled, and said with a mix of laughter and tears, "How come you walk without making a sound?"
"Yes," Shen Nan said, kissing her earlobe. "You just didn't hear it."
Zhou Zuizui patted his hand: "You can go out first, I'll cook you a meal."
Shen Nan raised an eyebrow, then suddenly leaned close to her ear and whispered, "But I don't want to eat."
Zhou Zuizui was stunned and turned to look at him. As soon as she turned her head, her lips were sealed by someone's.
I'd rather eat you.
Author's Note: Waaaaah, I'm late again! I might as well change the update time to 8 PM! I promise I won't be late then.
By the way, when will it end? I can't say for sure yet, but I can guarantee that the main story will be finished this month! It's not a very long story.
"The Sweetest You in the World" will premiere next month. If you're interested, add it to your favorites first, because adding it to your favorites is such a pain.
Thank you everyone!!! Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution~
Thank you to the little angel who watered the [nutrient solution]:
I will know my own feelings and take better care of myself (166 bottles); Light Makeup (5 bottles); One Cup of Mango Yogurt (4 bottles); Xiaomeier (2 bottles); Sunflower?, Zhiyu°, Na Xiaohai, Future, Hanyu (1 bottle each);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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