Chapter Four: A Substitute?

The hand pressing down on her head suddenly tightened, as if intending to pull her away. Yet Jiang Yunzou only held him closer, trying tentatively to part his lips with hers.

“So hot…” she murmured unconsciously, tugging at her collar.

The sound of his breath by her ear grew heavier.

In the next instant, the world spun. Jiang Yunzou was forcefully thrown back onto the bed. A large hand clamped down firmly on her shoulder, breaths coming fast and ragged.

Her eyelids grew heavy.

Darkness swallowed her vision, and she slipped completely into sleep.

The next morning.

Her head still throbbed faintly as Jiang Yunzou sat up in bed, only to find herself neatly dressed in pajamas, with a glass of honey water placed atop the nightstand.

How had she gotten home last night?

Pressing her temples, she tried to recall, but her memory was hazy—something about meeting Shen Ruizhang at the bar, being carried to the car by him…

After returning to the house, had she… kissed him?

As her memory sharpened, her face flushed furiously.

Why hadn’t Shen Ruizhang pushed her away?

Jiang Yunzou was mortified. She had clearly decided to give up, yet somehow ended up doing something so foolish. She couldn’t imagine what Shen Ruizhang must think of her now.

After collecting herself, she went to wash up. Seeing that it was nearly noon, she assumed Shen Ruizhang had already left for the company, and so she headed downstairs.

She hadn’t expected to find Shen Ruizhang sitting in the dining room, reading a magazine. Before him sat a cup of black coffee and a thick omelet toast, both barely touched.

Jiang Yunzou’s heart tightened; she almost turned and fled back upstairs.

But Shen Ruizhang had already turned to look at her, his expression cold and detached.

She could only stop in place and speak softly, “Good morning, Uncle.”

He withdrew his gaze, his tone indifferent. “Come and eat.”

Jiang Yunzou hadn’t expected him to invite her to breakfast. Countless times before, she had greeted him in passing, but he hadn’t even bothered to lift his head.

After a moment’s hesitation, she descended the stairs and quietly sat across from him.

The butler brought over a bowl of porridge and some light side dishes.

Jiang Yunzou felt an inexplicable discomfort, like sitting on pins and needles. She thanked the butler and ate her porridge in small spoonfuls, when Shen Ruizhang’s cold voice cut through the silence: “What happened last night—I don’t want it to happen again.”

A sharp pain pierced her heart, but she answered obediently, “I understand. I’m sorry, Uncle.”

Shen Ruizhang regarded her deeply, then took a sip of coffee. “After breakfast, come to the company with me.”

Jiang Yunzou had no desire to share a car with him and refused instinctively, “...There’s no need, Uncle. I’ll come by myself.”

A strange feeling stirred within Shen Ruizhang.

In the past, Jiang Yunzou had always done whatever he said, but this sudden change in attitude left him unsettled.

Suppressing the odd emotion, he said coldly, “You’re already late for work. If you keep dawdling at home, how long do you intend to delay? I’ll take you with me.”

With that, Jiang Yunzou had no room left to refuse. She dropped her gaze and ate in silence.

Halfway through breakfast, Shen Ruizhang’s phone suddenly rang.

He glanced at the screen, and the coldness on his face instantly melted away. He answered, “What’s wrong?”

Jiang Yunzou caught a glimpse; it was Zhou Qingfei calling.

The white moonlight, after all, was something else entirely—she could so easily claim all his gentleness.

“All right, I’ll come pick you up soon.”

He hung up and was about to speak, but Jiang Yunzou interjected politely, “If you have something to attend to, Uncle, please go ahead. I’ll have the driver take me after I finish. It won’t take long.”

Shen Ruizhang opened his mouth but found the girl before him suddenly unfamiliar.

She still looked obedient, and her words from last night could be dismissed as drunken nonsense, but her gaze toward him seemed much more distant.

How did things come to this?

A restless frustration pressed tighter in his chest. Clenching his fist, he finally said, “As you wish.”

He left the villa. Soon, the sound of an engine starting drifted in from outside.

Jiang Yunzou finished the last mouthful of porridge, feeling strangely absent.

Before, if Shen Ruizhang ever chose Zhou Qingfei over her, she would have been devastated. Now, her emotions felt oddly flat.

Perhaps, once she’d realized there was no hope, she could finally stop tormenting herself.

In a daze, she headed to the office.

She had just turned on her computer and was preparing to organize files and draft her resignation letter when a commotion erupted outside.

“The president brought his girlfriend today!”

“Didn’t you know? Back then, Miss Zhou was forced to go abroad by her family. She and Mr. Shen were only sixteen or seventeen. Madam Shen thought they were unsuitable and forbade Miss Zhou from staying in the country—Mr. Shen nearly fell out with his family over it.”

“Now that Mr. Shen is in charge, he finally has the confidence to marry his white moonlight. It’s a love rekindled after adversity!”

Jiang Yunzou’s fingers paused over the keyboard.

What kind of love could make the ever-composed Shen Ruizhang lose control like that? How deeply must he love Zhou Qingfei?

She had been foolish, thinking that waiting long enough would bring a change in her favor.

Lowering her head, she began typing out her resignation.

Suddenly, someone knocked on her window. “Secretary Jiang, the president wants to see you.”

Jiang Yunzou was taken aback. “All right, I’m coming.”

She walked toward the elevator with her head lowered. As the doors opened, a voice drifted out, “Zhouzhou, is it true that someone as aloof as President Shen actually likes sweets?”

Jiang Yunzou instinctively looked up to see Zhou Qingfei and her assistant inside, holding cake and coffee.

Zhouzhou?

She collected herself and greeted politely, “Miss Zhou.”

“Oh, it’s Zhouzhou.” Zhou Qingfei smiled. “How coincidental. Are you going upstairs to see your uncle?”

Jiang Yunzou nodded, her lips parted as if to say something, and finally she couldn’t help but ask, “Is your nickname also Zhouzhou?”

Zhou Qingfei paused, then answered with a smile, “Yes, my surname is Zhou. In high school, everyone called me Zhouzhou. Later, people started calling me Qingfei, but your uncle still slips and calls me Zhouzhou sometimes.”

A heavy, dull ache pounded in Jiang Yunzou’s chest, as if struck by an iron hammer.

So, all these years, was it Zhouzhou Shen Ruizhang cherished, or Zhouzhou?

What did she even mean to him? Was she just a niece, or—because of the similarity in their names—a stand-in for someone he truly loved?

A wave of nausea rose in her stomach, so intense she nearly doubled over.

She had thought that at the very least, they’d shared some good memories, that the affection of over ten years could not be fake.

But now she realized, perhaps even the affection had been a lie.

Zhou Qingfei glanced at her pale face, a glint of calculation in her eyes as she feigned concern. “Are you all right, Zhouzhou? Are you feeling unwell?”

Jiang Yunzou dug her nails into her palm, forcing herself to remain calm. “It’s nothing. Maybe the air conditioning in the elevator is a bit too cold.”

Zhou Qingfei didn’t press further, but the corners of her lips curled into a mocking smile.

From the first moment she’d seen Jiang Yunzou, she’d taken a dislike to her. Just a silly little girl—how could she possibly deserve all of Shen Ruizhang’s attention?