For a moment, the room fell silent.
Actually, Zhou Zuizui had a rough idea of what Shen's mother meant, but she didn't think much of it at the time because she was eating.
Looking back now, it's really obvious.
She thought about it and then laughed, a mixture of amusement and exasperation in her voice: "Mom, you can just say it directly."
Shen Nan glanced at her, reached out and ruffled her hair, his voice soothing: "Don't overthink it, no one's pressuring you." He said, "You can have a child if you want, or it doesn't matter if you don't."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Zuizui smiled mischievously and looked at him: "Is it really possible not to have children?"
Shen Nan nodded: "Of course, this is a lifelong matter, and your wishes are the most important."
Although he liked children, Shen Nan wouldn't force Zhou Zuizui if she didn't want to. Zhou Zuizui married him, not to have his children; she was his wife, and that was her priority.
Shen Nan wasn't the rigid type of man. Although he was a bit old-fashioned, he was quite open-minded. He knew that women worry about how childbirth would affect their figure and many other things. Childbirth is a big deal, and once a child is born, you must love him/her well. So you should only have children if you want to, otherwise, if you don't love the child, the child won't be healthy.
Although Shen Nan felt that it would be difficult to persuade his mother, he was able to persuade her as long as Zhou Zuizui said she didn't want to have children.
Zhou Zuizui chuckled. Although she didn't know whether Shen Nan was telling the truth or not, she was still touched.
At least this man didn't assume that just because she married him, she had to have his children and continue his lineage.
Actually, Zhou Zuizui doesn't dislike children, but she's a little scared. She's afraid she won't be able to take care of them, afraid something will go wrong, and then she'll regret it for the rest of her life. She's also afraid... that the child's personality will be as strange as hers.
In short, she likes children, and of course she likes her own even more, but she hadn't really considered this before.
She smiled and said, "I don't dislike children."
She looked at Shen Nan, reached out and hugged him affectionately, saying, "My only fear is that I won't be able to take good care of her."
Fear of repeating the same mistakes.
Shen Nan reached out and patted her back to reassure her: "Don't worry, it won't happen."
Zhou Zuizui remained silent for a while before softly agreeing.
After a while, Shen Nan urged her to take a shower.
"Go take a shower first."
"good."
After they both showered, Zhou Zuizui noticed the injury on his back and hurriedly applied medicine to it. Looking at those wounds, her heart was filled with heartache; she couldn't bear to see him like that, she truly couldn't bear to.
After the medicine was applied, the two inexplicably kissed.
Zhou Zuizui was dazed from the kiss, her mind was blank, and it felt like it had been a while since they had been intimate, giving her a sudden sense of unfamiliarity.
As they kissed, she could feel Shen Nan's breathing become heavier. After a while, Shen Nan suddenly turned to his side and hugged her tightly.
Zhou Zuizui hummed in confusion before opening her eyes to look at him: "...Not continuing?"
Shen Nan chuckled softly, pressing her against his chest and saying, "There's nothing there."
Zhou Zuizui was startled, only then realizing that the two of them were at home.
She thought for a moment, then lowered her head and bit Shen Nan's lip, saying indistinctly, "Then let's not wear it..." She blinked and whispered in Shen Nan's ear, "Let's let nature take its course."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Nan tightened his grip on her, making it hard for her to breathe.
"Have you thought it through?"
"I've thought it through," Zhou Zuizui said after a moment's thought. "But my constitution is rather cold, so it probably won't be that easy..."
Before she could finish speaking, Shen Nan pressed her down, rolled her over, and silenced her with a kiss.
The two were in the far corner, so even if they made a loud noise, no one would hear them, especially since the room was very well soundproofed.
Shen Nan continued doing what he had started doing, enjoying it immensely.
Perhaps provoked by Zhou Zuizui, the two of them, with their excellent stamina, fooled around until the wee hours of the morning before finally washing up and falling asleep.
The next day, Zhou Zuizui actually went fishing with Grandpa Shen.
She just didn't expect to run into an 'acquaintance'.
She went over with Grandpa Shen and Shen Nan, and after greeting the grandfathers there, they were warmly welcomed.
A few old men huddled together, showing off.
"Old Shen, your granddaughter-in-law is so obedient, she even comes to fish with you."
Grandpa Shen chuckled and said, "Of course! Our Chuichui is very obedient, and she even volunteered to come fishing with me."
An elderly man named Lin standing nearby said, "...Let him show off, he didn't catch a single fish today!"
Old Master Shen puffed out his beard and glared: "That's alright, fishing in Shennan is quite good."
Shen Nan hurriedly agreed, smiled and said, "I'm sorry, gentlemen, I have to go fishing for my wife to eat today."
Several elderly people glanced at him, their words filled with disdain, but most of their eyes betrayed envy. In their old age, what they truly craved most was the company of their families.
But they also know that everyone has their own life, so the old men would occasionally get together to bicker, play chess, and fish, enjoying their retirement quite a bit. However, if anyone brought their family along, they would definitely be envious, and the person in question would certainly show off quite a bit.
Take, for example, Mr. Shen now.
After chatting with them for a while, Zhou Zuizui went fishing with Shen Nan at a nearby spot.
Shen Nan is a man who can calm down anytime, anywhere. At this moment, he is staring intently at his fishing rod, completely still.
Zhou Zuizui had little patience and was just about to wander around when she saw a familiar figure walking in the other direction. She squinted, stood up, and followed from the other side.
The newcomer was carrying something in his hand and stood in front of Old Master Shen with a fawning expression. He put the things on the ground and his face was full of smiles.
As Zhou Zuizui walked over with a cold face, she happened to hear him say, "Grandpa, you know I'm really out of options, so I wanted to ask you for help. After all, you're Zuizui's father..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Zuizui gritted her teeth and said from behind, "What did you say?"
Mr. Zhou was stunned, never expecting her to be here.
What are you doing here?
Zhou Zuizui scoffed coldly and looked at the man in front of her: "Didn't you say you were my father? Then don't you know why I'm here?"
Mr. Zhou looked at her awkwardly, trying to salvage the situation: "Zui Zui... that's not what Dad meant. Dad meant that he didn't expect you to come fishing with Grandpa Chen."
"Is that so?" Zhou Zuizui said without changing her expression, "If you had known, you wouldn't be here."
She looked at Zhou's father and said, "Don't use my name to ask for favors. I don't owe you anything." She paused before saying, word by word, "If it weren't for the law prohibiting severing ties, we would be completely unrelated now."
She pointed to the things on the ground: "Also, move your things away. Grandpa doesn't need them. If he wants them, I can buy them for him."
Hearing this, Zhou's father glared at her angrily: "Zhou Zuizui, what did you say! You still..."
"What else?" Shen Nan came over from the side, his voice deep and somewhat intimidating.
He lifted his eyelids to look at Zhou's father, pursed his lips, and said, "Uncle, what you did today was a bit inappropriate."
Although Shen Nan didn't know what Zhou's father wanted from Old Master Shen, anything that could get Old Master Shen's help must be a difficult matter. The Shen family was powerful, but ever since Old Master Shen, they had always been very cautious, adhering strictly to all rules; offering help was simply out of the question.
However, Zhou's father liked to talk about it outside, saying that his daughter married into the Shen family, a wealthy, powerful, and influential family. He said that the Shen family had given him a lot of convenience in the business world because of this, and most of it was done to curry favor with the Shen family.
However, these were all trivial matters, and neither Shen's mother nor father would say much about them, so Zhou Zuizui naturally didn't know.
But this was the first time Shen Nan had encountered someone who had come to Old Master Shen's side.
Zhou's father paused, then looked at Shen Nan: "A Nan, Dad has no other choice..."
The Zhou family has a project that's been stalled and can't get approved. The person holding it back happens to be a former subordinate of one of Old Master Shen's subordinates, someone who had previously received preferential treatment from him. If Old Master Shen were willing to intervene, the project would definitely be approved immediately. However, Zhou's father has approached Old Master Shen twice, and both times he said he wouldn't get involved in such matters. Today, Zhou's father is only coming here because he has no other choice.
Unexpectedly, I ran into Shen Nan and Zhou Zuizui.
Zhou Zuizui scoffed coldly, picked up everything from the ground, threw it all at her father, and said in a cold voice, "You'd better leave now."
“Zhou Zuizui, you…” Zhou’s father glared at her, wanting to scold her, but Shen Nan was standing to the side.
At this moment, Old Master Shen also spoke. He sighed and said softly, "I'm sorry, it's not that I'm unwilling to help, it's just that I really can't."
Even after Mr. Zhou left in a fit of anger, the other elderly men sitting on the other side didn't come over. They had all walked away when Mr. Zhou arrived; after all, this was a family matter, and they didn't want to get involved.
Even so, Zhou Zuizui felt embarrassed and ashamed. Why did she have such parents who, for the sake of their careers and making money, were willing to make things difficult for an old man?
The thought of this made her feel ashamed to stay there any longer.
She pursed her lips, looked at Shen Nan who wanted to comfort her, paused, and said, "I'm fine." Zhou Zuizui looked down at Grandpa Shen and said, "Grandpa, I'm sorry."
Grandpa Shen looked at her with amusement and patted her hand: "Why blame you? It's good that you don't blame Grandpa for not helping."
“Of course not,” Zhou Zuizui said. “There must be a reason why the government won’t approve it.”
Grandpa Shen nodded: "After all, it's their world, so I won't interfere." He looked to the side: "Want to go fishing with Grandpa again?"
Zhou Zuizui hesitated for a moment, then said, "Okay."
However, she became somewhat careless while fishing, as her mind was not on it at all.
While Shen Nan went to the other side, Zhou Zuizui looked at Grandpa Shen on the side, pursed her lips and said, "Grandpa, I want to go back first."
"Then ask Anan to accompany you."
"No need." Zhou Zuizui thought for a moment and said, "I'll go back first, it's very close by."
It's only a ten-minute walk from here to their home, and besides... she doesn't really want to go home.
Shen Nan was called away by another grandfather to help out on the side. When he returned more than ten minutes later, Zhou Zuizui was gone.
He looked around, about to ask a question, when his phone vibrated. It was a message from Zhou Zuizui: I'm going home now, I'm a little tired.
Shen Nan frowned and looked at Grandpa Shen: "Grandpa, where is my wife?"
Old Master Shen glared at him: "I'm in a bad mood, I'm going back first."
Shen Nan: "…………"
Grandpa Shen sighed and said, "I don't know what's wrong with those two from the Zhou family. Zui Zui is such a good person, and her grandparents aren't like that either. How come their son and daughter-in-law are so heartless..." He shook his head and said helplessly, "Zui Zui has had a hard time too. You should try to understand her a little more."
"I know."
Shen Nan understood. After thinking for a moment, he still dialed Zhou Zuizui's number.
No one answered.
Shen Nan frowned, thought for a moment, and said, "Grandpa, I'll go back first then."
Old Master Shen glanced at him and said with disdain, "Get out of here!"
Shen Nan chuckled and reassured the old man, "I'll come and keep you company again next time."
However, when Shen Nan returned home, Zhou Zuizui was not there.
Chen's mother looked at him with some surprise, "How did you know I was going to call you to invite you to dinner?"
"I don't know." Shen Nan looked around. "Has Chuichui not come back?"
"No, I don't." Mother Shen looked completely bewildered. "What's wrong?"
She observed Shen Nan's expression, widened her eyes, and asked, "Did you two have a fight?"
Shen Nan sighed helplessly: "They didn't argue. I just ran into her dad at the fishing spot."
Mother Shen: "...Oh, you need to ask your grandfather for a favor?"
"Mom, do you know?"
"I know." After a few seconds of silence, Mrs. Shen said, "That project won't be approved for their company."
She pondered for a moment and said, "There's a bridge. Their company helped build a building before, and there were problems. It was only through Zhou's father's desperate efforts to find people to help cover it up. This time, it's impossible for it to be given to them." She nodded and said, "I heard your uncle mention it a couple of times before, but I didn't expect that Zhou's father had gone all the way to your grandfather's place."
Shen Nan rubbed his temples, feeling somewhat defeated.
What a mess this is.
Chen's mother looked at him, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.
"Mom, is there anything else you want to say? Go ahead and say it."
Mother Shen hummed in agreement and said in a low voice, "I'm just telling you this. I have no problem with Zui Zui. She's fine, and you're all living well. But Mr. and Mrs. Zhou, don't get too close. If they're really investigated, it'll be a big problem." She actually knew quite a lot. She lowered her voice and said, "Over the years, they've offended a lot of people and done a lot of heinous things in order to make money. You should be careful when you get close to them, and be cautious when you do."
“I know.” Shen Nan thought for a moment and said, “Zui Zui doesn’t get along with her parents.”
Mother Shen nodded: "I know that."
“It’s not that you know it’s bad,” Shen Nan added, “she even considered severing ties with them.”
Mother Shen was taken aback, and after a moment she said, "She has character."
Shen Nan chuckled and explained, "She probably went back to our side. She scolded her dad away today, so she might be too embarrassed to face you for a while."
Shen Nan understood Zhou Zuizui better than anyone else; she was someone who valued her reputation highly. She felt that her parents were truly despicable for doing such a thing.
Although she had no contact with her parents, they were still related by blood. Their actions had undoubtedly caused them to lose all face. She didn't know if she could ever hold her head high again in the Shen family. The thought made Zhou Zuizui want to cry.
But she's not a crybaby.
How could they not be able to withstand such a small blow?
Zhou Zuizui sat in the taxi, took a deep breath, and then gave the driver a new address.
Xia Wen was taken aback when she saw the person who had suddenly appeared at her doorstep: "What are you doing?"
Zhou Zuizui glanced at her listlessly, looking rather unenthusiastic.
"Let me stay for a few days."
Xia Wen raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised: "You had a fight with Shen Nan?"
"No." She didn't care if it was an argument.
Seeing her expression, Xia Wen didn't ask any further questions. That's how it was between the two of them; if they didn't want to talk about it, they wouldn't press for details, and they could talk about it when they felt like it.
Zhou Zuizui even put her phone on silent mode. Xia Wen smiled and looked at her: "Eat or something else?"
"I want to drink."
Xia Wen glanced at her: "How did you know I had alcohol here?"
Zhou Zuizui looked around, raised her eyebrows, and asked, "Has President Tang been here?"
Xia Wen: "..."
She stroked her chin and pointed to a spot not far away: "There's a pair of men's slippers by the door. Do you think I can't see them? You can tell at a glance that they come here often."
Xia Wen choked up slightly, not hiding much from her.
“I’ve been here a few times, but I always leave after sitting for a while.”
"Oh?" Zhou Zuizui clicked her tongue twice, drawing out the last syllable: "President Tang, you're not good enough. You've already entered your house, why didn't you stay overnight?"
Xia Wen paused, subconsciously thinking of what happened the night before... The two of them were about to get intimate, but after sensing her resistance, the man still left in a gentlemanly manner.
"You're blushing." Zhou Zuizui smiled, her lips curving into a smile. "Don't think about it, the person in front of you right now is me!"
She snorted and said haughtily, "Let's order takeout, have some beer or something, and go to a bar tonight."
"Sure," Xia Wen agreed, then looked at her and asked, "Aren't you going to tell Captain Chen?"
Zhou Zuizui pursed her lips, shook her head and said, "Not for now, I want some peace and quiet."
Xia Wen couldn't persuade her, and had no other choice.
The two ordered takeout at home, ate quite a bit, and then started watching old movies. The whole afternoon was lively and fun until Zhou Zuizui got sleepy and fell asleep.
Xia Wen looked at the person lying on the sofa, went to the room to get a blanket and covered her with it. The phone on the side of her was flashing incessantly. She glanced at it twice, then reached out and answered a call.
"Hello," Xia Wen said proactively, "Captain Chen, this is Xia Wen."
Shen Nan looked at the empty room and hummed in agreement: "Is Zui Zui with you?"
“Yes.” Xia Wen thought for a moment and said, “She doesn’t seem to be in a good mood. She said she’ll stay at my place for the next few days.”
Upon hearing this, Shen Nan pondered for a few seconds before saying, "Then I'd appreciate it if you could take care of it for me. Thank you."
Xia Wen smiled: "Of course, you two didn't have a fight, did you?"
"No." Shen Nan paused and said, "Zui Zui probably didn't tell you because she didn't want to, so..."
"I understand. Don't worry, I'll let you know if anything happens. He'll be fine with me."
"This is troublesome."
After hanging up the phone, Xia Wen took the phone and shoved it back to Zhou Zuizui's side, letting out a helpless sigh.
Meanwhile, Shen Nan frowned at the empty room for a while before calling Lu Jiaxiu and then leaving.
…………
Zhou Zuizui and Xia Wen spent the entire weekend living an extremely wasteful life.
On Monday, she got ready to go to work. Her clothes and bag were new ones she had bought while shopping on Sunday.
Lin glanced at her outfit with surprise, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "You look much prettier today."
Zhou Zuizui hummed in agreement: "When have I ever not been pretty?"
Lin laughed again: "You never used to dress up specially."
Zhou Zuizui: "Actually, it's laziness, but it's not that different."
"That's true, I did wear makeup before." She commented, "Your clothes and bag aren't too flashy, but your dress today is GIE and your bag is Chanel. Your whole outfit costs tens of thousands."
Zhou Zuizui smiled and said, "I have something important to do today, and I probably can't do it without dressing in a high-profile way."
Lin's eyes lit up, but he didn't ask any more questions.
Zhou Zuizui sat attentively in her office all morning. During the lunch break, she told Lin, "I'm going out for a bit. If I don't make it back this afternoon, please ask for leave for me."
"No need," Lin said, raising an eyebrow. "Just say you're filming on location."
Zhou Zuizui: "Thanks."
She walked away with her bag in her high heels, looking very haughty.
Jiayue Company is a large company that has grown rapidly in recent years and is involved in many industries.
When Zhou Zuizui appeared at the entrance, she was unsurprisingly stopped and asked to register. After registering, she went to the lobby and was about to walk towards the elevator when she was stopped by the receptionist.
"Hello, who are you looking for?"
Zhou Zuizui smiled slightly and looked at the girl in front of her: "I'm looking for your CEO Zhou."
The receptionist, looking at the smile on her face, paused for a moment and asked, "Do you have an appointment?"
"No." Zhou Zuizui raised her eyebrows and said with a smile, "Why don't you make a phone call and ask? Just say my surname is Zhou."
The receptionist was taken aback, but quickly agreed.
The main reason is that this person shares the same surname as the boss, and their attire is not something an ordinary person would wear. She guesses they might be a relative of the boss or something, so she should treat them with respect.
A moment later, the receptionist said, "Ms. Zhou, this way please."
"Thanks."
Zhou Zuizui entered the elevator, pressed the button for the top floor, then lowered her eyes to look at the ground and gave a cold smile.
As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I looked up and saw Zhou's father's assistant. It was obvious that he was the one who had answered the phone earlier.
He looked at Zhou Zuizui with a smile and called out, "Miss, Mr. Zhou is still talking to someone and will not finish for a while."
Zhou Zuizui nodded and said, "I understand. I'll wait here."
"Okay, what would you like to drink?"
Plain boiled water.
A moment later, Zhou Zuizui saw the man see the person off with a smile, and only then did she stand up.
Upon seeing her, Mr. Zhou subconsciously narrowed his eyes, his face serious: "Why are you here! Who let you come up?"
"What?" Zhou Zuizui raised an eyebrow and asked, "Can't I come?"
She sneered at Zhou's father: "Do you want to argue with me here or in the office?"
Once inside the office, Zhou's father didn't even glance at her, and sat down in front of the computer with an impatient look on his face: "If you have something to say, say it as soon as possible. If not, get out of here. You're not welcome here."
Zhou Zuizui looked down at her father and said sternly, "Do you think I wanted to come looking for you?"
She said coldly, "Zhou Ji, I'm only here today to warn you... Don't try to use my name to ask the Shen family for help again, no matter who it is!" She scoffed, "You'll do anything for money these days. You even dare to use my name to ask Grandpa for help? Haven't you thought about why you weren't given that project?"
Enraged by what she said, Zhou's father reached out and slapped her.
Zhou Zuizui chuckled, completely unconcerned about being hit. She coldly stared at Shen's father, warning, "While you can still hit me, you'd better slap me a couple more times. If I find out you've gone to the Shen family for help again, I won't need anyone else to do anything; I can bring you down!"
Her eyes were full of indifference: "Don't think I don't know what you've been doing."
She smiled slightly and asked in a low voice, "Do you remember how you handled that incident from a few years ago?"
Mr. Zhou stared at her, his eyes wide with shock.
Zhou Zuizui said calmly, "If you cross my line again, don't blame me for being ruthless." After saying that, she turned and left, leaving behind the words, "You'd better watch yourself."
Author's Note:
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