The phone stopped ringing. Su Hao pressed her lips together and smiled faintly without replying. But the expression spoke for itself.

 

Zhou Yang narrowed his eyes, loosened his tie, and walked down step by step until he stopped right in front of her. The scent of fir from his body rushed toward her, mixed with a hint of tobacco. He was standing too close.

 

She could even see the gold threading hidden in his tie. Instinctively, Su Hao stepped back twice. At the same time, his hand lifted and reached toward her shoulder.

 

Su Hao’s expression changed. She retreated even faster.

 

Her heel slipped, the high heel twisting back. Her slender body tipped backward. Zhou Yang frowned, reached out swiftly, and wrapped an arm around her slim waist. With a turn of his body, he pinned her against the stairway wall the next second.

 

Their breathing drew closer.

 

Zhou Yang looked at her with a teasing gaze. “Why are you backing away? Don’t you know you’ve got hair all over your shoulder?”

 

He held her with one arm, his other still carrying his jacket. As he spoke, he motioned for her to look. Su Hao turned her head—and sure enough, there was a small clump of hair there.

 

She reached up to remove it.

 

The man in front of her released her naturally, as if he really had only been helping her up. Su Hao picked off the hair. The qipao was exquisitely made—any flaw stood out clearly.

 

She tossed the hair aside and glanced at Zhou Yang.

 

He had already taken off his tie and was smoking, leaning forward as he tapped at the tablet on the coffee table. His shirt was tucked into his trousers, accentuating his lean waist.

 

Su Hao looked away.

 

She had been a little impulsive just now—between Su Qian’s words and her mother’s probing, she had momentarily lost her composure.

 

Su Qian came out carrying fruit. The moment she saw Su Hao, her eyes lit up. “Wow! You look amazing!”

 

“Oh my goodness, Haohao, you’re so suited to wearing a qipao.”

 

Then she walked over, grabbed Su Hao’s wrist, and said, “I just heard you wanted to know about Shen He’s family? I know too—I’ll tell you.”

 

“Oh—thank you, Auntie,” Su Hao said, startled. She hadn’t expected Su Qian to know as well.

 

“Come, come—this is too beautiful. Let me take a photo first.” Su Qian set down the fruit plate, lifted her phone, and took pictures of Su Hao. Feeling shy, Su Hao smiled and tried to dodge.

 

“Alright, sit down. I’ll tell you about Shen He’s family.”

 

Su Qian intended to gloss over Shen He’s background and keep it simple. In her view, if feelings ran deep enough, family background wouldn’t matter. Wearing a qipao herself, she pulled Su Hao to sit on the sofa.

 

Su Hao sat slightly sideways. The slit of the dress tugged open a little, revealing her fair, long legs.

 

“Shen He is the youngest in the family…” Su Qian hadn’t finished speaking when someone sat down on the sofa opposite them.

 

She and Su Hao looked over.

 

Zhou Yang sat with his long legs crossed, fingers leisurely hooking his tie as he fastened it. He raised his brows. “Go on. Don’t stop.”

 

Su Qian withdrew her gaze and continued.

 

“He has an older sister and an older brother…”

 

“His sister is Shen Xuan, the founder of Modern magazine,” Zhou Yang cut in smoothly. “His brother is Shen Ling, who finished graduate school at fifteen and now teaches at the Kolan Institute of Biology.”

 

Su Qian choked.

 

What is this brat doing?

 

Trying to scare Su Hao?

 

Zhou Yang finished straightening his tie and continued calmly, “The Shen family hasn’t chosen an heir yet. Shen Xuan is first in line. Shen Ling is focused on biology and probably won’t take over. Sooner or later, it’ll be Shen He.”

 

He leaned forward slightly, elbows resting on his knees, smiling at Su Hao. “You’ll have to work hard too.”

 

Su Hao looked at him quietly.

 

She didn’t say a word.

 

Modern magazine.

 

Currently the hottest magazine in the country, spanning multiple fields—
aerospace,
biology,
both popular and niche industries.

 

Because of its diversity, it remained hugely successful. Shen Xuan was a regular name on the rich list.

 

As for Shen Ling—she had heard of him back in college. A genius among geniuses. She hadn’t paid much attention then, but his name was legendary.

 

And Shen He… was their younger brother.

 

“Zhou Yang, get lost!” Su Qian grabbed a cushion and hurled it at him.

 

Zhou Yang caught it effortlessly, placed it back on the sofa, grabbed his jacket, and put it on, grinning lazily. “Mom, she was going to find out sooner or later.”

 

He picked up his keys from the cabinet and headed toward the door.

 

As he gently opened it, sunlight poured in. The man squinted slightly, as if bothered by the brightness—yet a trace of cold satisfaction gleamed in his eyes.

 

He knew exactly what Su Hao was worried about.

 

Rubbing the corner of his lips, Zhou Yang let out a low chuckle and strode toward his car.

 

“Haohao.” Su Qian looked at Su Hao carefully and gently touched her face. “If feelings are deep enough, there’s nothing else to be afraid of.”

 

Su Hao came back to herself and smiled at her. “I know, Auntie.”

 

But in truth, her heart had already cooled a little.

 

Now, she could only take things one step at a time.

 

Her WeChat rang again.

 

It was Shen He.

 

Shen He: Haohao, what are you doing?

 

Su Hao: I’m at the Zhou house, with Auntie Su Qian.

 

Shen He: Mm. Something suddenly came up earlier, so I hung up halfway through the call.

 

Su Hao: It’s okay.

 

They chatted back and forth. Su Qian saw it and smiled without interrupting, still feeding Su Hao snacks. After a while, Su Hao felt she shouldn’t take up too much time and told Shen He they’d talk later.

 

She spent the entire afternoon陪ing Su Qian.

 

From their conversation, she could roughly tell that the Zhou Group was indeed facing some difficulties. Fortunately, Zhou Yang had prepared early—his military tech company had already been separated and wouldn’t be dragged into the mess.

 

After dinner, Su Qian received a call from Zhou Yang. After hanging up, she excitedly grabbed Su Hao’s hand.

 

“Let’s go—to the shooting range. There’s a competition today. The finals.”

 

Su Hao was stunned.

 

Su Qian quickly explained, “Zhou Yang’s range hosts a shooting competition every year. This is the fifth year. He won the championship in previous years, but he’s not competing this time. It’s all newcomers. You should attend more of these social events.”

 

She had her own plans.

 

Let Su Hao meet more people. If things didn’t work out with Shen He, she’d still have options.

 

With no way to refuse, Su Hao was pulled along. The Zhou family driver took them to the military golf and shooting grounds. The entire range was brightly lit, packed with cars.

 

The location was remote.

 

Several people stood by the iron gate chatting. Zhou Yang was wearing a white shirt and black trousers, a cigarette between his fingers. He laughed softly, charming and relaxed.

 

Noticing them, he looked up and opened the gate with the hand holding the cigarette. “Mom, here to join the fun again?”

 

“Hello, Auntie.”

 

“Hi, Auntie Su.”

 

“Auntie, you look gorgeous.”

 

“Still so young—eighteen again this year?”

 

A group of rich young men greeted her with slick smiles.

 

Su Qian tapped a few of them playfully and led Su Hao inside.

 

Su Hao wore a floral dress that fluttered in the night air. Half-shielded by Su Qian, her hazy profile and the pale skin exposed under the lights drew many lingering gazes.

 

A few of the guys crowded around Zhou Yang.

 

“Brother Yang, who’s that?”

 

“Your wife?”

 

“Your girl?”

 

“Her skin’s so fair—it reflects light.”

 

“Her waist is tiny. Can I try my luck?”

 

Surrounded by them, Zhou Yang bit his cigarette and looked at Su Hao, smiling. “Guess.”

 

“Damn, didn’t know you liked this type.”

 

“Looks like the virtuous wife type.”

 

“Go in.” Zhou Yang stubbed out his cigarette, stepped into the fenced area, and the others hurried after him.

 

The competition was underway. Li Yi, likely the coach, stood nearby holding a clipboard, recording scores. He nodded at Su Hao and Su Qian when he saw them.

 

In the spectator area sat many familiar faces—Mr. and Mrs. Xu, Mr. and Mrs. Jiang, Liu Yan. They greeted Su Qian first, then Su Hao.

 

Su Hao smiled politely.

 

She and Su Qian sat down on a long sofa.

 

Eight young men were competing, laughing as they shot. Over a dozen people sat in the stands. It was lively—but there were hardly any wealthy young women.

 

Mostly men.

 

Some judges sat off to the side, sipping tea and chatting.

 

Formal, yet casual.

 

Su Qian introduced people to Su Hao one by one.

 

“This is the Ying family from Dong City.”

 

“The Chen family from Hai City.”

 

“The Yan family from Li City.”

 

“The Li family from Li City—”

 

Suddenly, the sofa beside Su Hao sank. A low male voice followed.

 

She turned her head.

 

Zhou Yang sat beside her, poured a glass of red wine, and handed it to her.

 

Su Hao hesitated, took it—and passed it to Su Qian instead.

 

Zhou Yang poured another and handed it to Su Hao.

 

This time, she accepted it.

 

Zhou Yang crossed his legs and leaned back, glancing at Su Qian. “Mom, what exactly are you doing?”

 

Su Qian took a sip, frowned slightly—it had too much ice—and said, “What do you think? Of course I’m helping Su Hao—”

 

“Find a backup?” Zhou Yang said with a smile.

 

Su Hao, stuck between the two of them, felt helpless.

 

At that moment, cheerful laughter came from the entrance—it was Auntie Li. Su Qian told Zhou Yang to look after Su Hao and went to greet her.

 

Once she left, only Su Hao and Zhou Yang remained on the long sofa.

 

Su Hao shifted slightly away.

 

Zhou Yang leaned against the backrest, his narrow eyes casually sweeping over her.

 

He desperately wanted to pin her down on that sofa and kiss her hard.

 

The thought made his breath hitch. He lowered his head and took a sip of coffee.

 

Following her gaze, he noticed Chen Yu—the Chen family’s young master—watching the competition.

 

Chen Yu wore a hoodie and jeans, leaning against a table, talking to someone.

 

From the side, he looked somewhat like Shen He.

 

Zhou Yang’s fingers tightened.

 

A quiet crack sounded.

 

A few seconds later, he leaned forward, resting loosely on his knees, and said in a low voice, “That’s Chen Yu, the Chen family’s young master.”

 

Su Hao snapped back to attention and turned to look at him.

 

Zhou Yang’s eyes were dark in the night. He curled his lips into a smile. “Looks like Shen He, doesn’t he?”

 

Su Hao didn’t respond.

 

She had thought they looked similar—that was why she had glanced a few extra times.

 

“Chen Yu is also preparing for an arranged marriage,” Zhou Yang continued calmly, sipping his wine. “Two months ago, he was still dating a college girlfriend. But for his family, he had to give her up and choose the one they selected.”

 

The wine swirled in the glass.

 

Su Hao suddenly asked, “You sound like you’re telling me that Shen He and I are impossible.”

 

“Then why did you introduce him to me in the first place?”

 

Zhou Yang’s hand paused mid-sway.