Chapter 9: You Have a Home in Jiangzhou?

A young woman in a plain qipao carried the tea in, moving light as a breeze.

The tea set was white porcelain, so thin it was nearly translucent—the tea's color bled through the walls of the cup, a clear, bright jade green.

Fragrant steam curled upward. Sui Nuo caught a faint hint of orchid, but she didn't dare drink, afraid her hand would tremble lifting the cup and give her away.

Time crawled by, second by second.

Sui Nuo counted silently in her head—one to three hundred, then back from three hundred to one, over and over.

She had no idea how long it had been. She only knew her legs had gone a little numb, but she didn't dare move, afraid any shift would make a sound.

Just as she was debating whether to secretly change position, footsteps sounded outside the door.

More than one person.

Sui Nuo's nerves snapped taut like a startled little rabbit, and she unconsciously edged closer to Mrs. Qin.

Mrs. Qin's body tensed too, but her expression didn't flicker.

Sui Yuanshan tried to keep his composure, but his Adam's apple bobbed visibly.

The door was pushed open.

In came an old man with graying hair, wearing a dark gray jacket with knotted cloth buttons. He wasn't tall, but his back was ramrod straight, his strides short and each step planted firm.

His face was lined—wrinkles carved by the years, the kind that carried a story. In his brows and eyes you could still vaguely make out the handsomeness of his youth,

but what stood out more was the composure and calm of a man who had weathered great storms.

Sui Nuo had only ever seen Old Master Xie in news photos. Back then he'd looked like a kindly old grandpa, but now that the real man stood before her, the feeling was completely different.

A sense of power that needed no external embellishment, seeping out from the very bone.

Just by standing there, he changed the texture of the air in the room—heavier, thicker.

This was the true helmsman of the Xie family.

The thought surfaced in Sui Nuo's mind, and her fingers twisted tighter.

Behind Old Master Xie followed one person—Sui Nuo recognized him. It was the butler, Uncle Zhao. She'd seen that name in the margins of some business magazines.

Then the third person entered, and Sui Nuo recognized him at a glance.

Xie Jing.

Today he wore a thin black jacket over a dark gray crew-neck shirt, no tie, the collar slightly open to reveal a sliver of collarbone.

The crease of his trousers fell straight to the tops of his shoes—black leather, polished to a shine, yet somehow giving off the impression that he couldn't be bothered to wear them.

He looked taller than in the photos. Taller. Taller.

Sui Nuo sized him up and figured she probably only reached his chest.

His shoulders were broad, his posture upright but his bearing languid, as if every bone in his body was protesting why he had to come to a place like this.

Up close, that face was enough to stop your heart—the curve of his brow bone, the height of his nose bridge, the sharp line of his jaw, every feature precise as if calculated by a formula, and combined together they became something you didn't dare look at directly.

Sui Nuo glanced once and immediately lowered her head, fast as if she'd been scalded.

Old Master Xie's gaze swept the living room—first landing on Sui Yuanshan, then moving to Mrs. Qin, and finally settling on Sui Nuo.

He looked for two seconds, then suddenly smiled.

It was genuine kindness—the natural warmth an elder shows looking at the younger generation.

His gaze rested on Sui Nuo's face for a few seconds, then he nodded in satisfaction, turned, and said something to Uncle Zhao. His voice wasn't loud, but Sui Nuo heard it.

"This child has clean eyes. Not bad."

Sui Nuo didn't know how to react. She thought for a long while and decided she should say something, so she lifted her head and gave Old Master Xie a smile.

It was a small smile—her lips only curved up a tiny bit, but her eyes curved too, into two little crescent moons.

Seeing that smile, the look in Old Master Xie's eyes softened a few more degrees.

Xie Jing stood behind Old Master Xie, hands shoved in his pockets out of sheer boredom, looking like he couldn't care less about anything in front of him.

His gaze swept over the three members of the Sui family, quick as could be, like he was counting heads.

When he looked at Sui Yuanshan, his expression didn't change at all. Same with Mrs. Qin.

Then his gaze landed on Sui Nuo.

It stayed for less than a second.

Quick as a gust of wind, leaving nothing behind.

Then he looked away, walked to the farthest spot on the sofa, and sat down.

He leaned back into the sofa, long legs casually crossed, his right thumb absently rubbing the rim of his teacup—one circle, another circle, and another—like counting sheep, or like counting how much longer this boring meeting would drag on.

Uncle Zhao took his place beside Old Master Xie and bent slightly to say something.

After hearing it, Old Master Xie's smile faded a little. He turned to look at Xie Jing:

"Why are you sitting so far away? Come over here."

Xie Jing didn't move at all, his voice lazy:

"This is fine."

Old Master Xie glanced at him—not a stern look, but Xie Jing paused, and finally stood up, walking over unhurriedly and sitting down beside Old Master Xie.

Sui Nuo noticed that when he sat down, the whole sofa sank slightly—like a large feline lazily settling onto its own territory, utterly unconcerned about whether it disturbed anyone else.

With the distance between them shortened, Sui Nuo actually felt less nervous.

She kept her head down, her gaze on the tips of her shoes. In her peripheral vision, she could sense someone sitting across from her—very tall, with an overwhelming presence, like a silent volcano that could erupt at any moment.

But Mr. Volcano clearly had no interest in her.

Sui Nuo secretly let out a breath of relief.

Old Master Xie took the seat of honor. Uncle Zhao stood behind him.

The old man lifted his teacup, took a slow sip, set it down, wiped the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, and only then looked at Sui Yuanshan, his tone as casual as chatting with a neighbor:

"Yuanshan, how has your father, Old Mr. Sui, been lately?"

Sui Yuanshan's shoulders gave a slight jolt—his name had been called.

He tried to make his voice sound steady:

"Old Xie, my father's health is still fine. It's just that his legs aren't very convenient, so he couldn't come visit today. I hope Old Xie will forgive him."

Old Master Xie waved a hand:

"No need for pleasantries. He's two years older than me—I should be the one visiting him."

Sui Yuanshan's smile froze for an instant.

Old Master Xie going to visit his father?

That would scare every last member of the Sui family, old and young, to death.

He hurriedly said, "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. Old Xie, you're too kind."

Old Master Xie smiled again, his gaze turning to Mrs. Qin:

"This must be the Qin family's girl? Qin Shichang's granddaughter?"

Mrs. Qin was slightly taken aback—she hadn't expected Old Master Xie to know the details of her maiden family. She quickly nodded:

"Old Xie has a good memory. My grandfather is indeed Qin Shichang."

"Your grandfather and I had business dealings back in the day. He was a shrewd man."

Old Master Xie's expression was calm as he said this, but the tone of those three words "shrewd man"—it was hard to tell whether it was praise or criticism.

Mrs. Qin didn't dare read too much into it. She just maintained a proper smile.

Old Master Xie's gaze finally landed on Sui Nuo, and this time it lingered a bit longer.

Sui Nuo felt that gaze fall on her like a beam of warm yellow light—not scorching, but making her instinctively want to sit up straight.

She tried hard not to tremble, lifted her head, and met Old Master Xie's eyes.

Those eyes, though old, were still bright and deep, as if they could see through everything.

"So you're Sui Nuo?"

Sui Nuo nodded, her voice light as a feather landing on the ground:

"Hello, Grandpa Xie."

After saying it, she wondered if that form of address was too intimate. Old Master Xie might not like being called "Grandpa"—what if he thought she was trying to cozy up to him?

Her mind raced. She was just about to correct herself to "Old Mr. Xie" when Old Master Xie had already started laughing.

"Good, good." He said the word twice, the wrinkles on his face all smoothing out,

"This child is well-behaved. I like her."

Sui Nuo breathed a sigh of relief, but then her heart rose again—because in her peripheral vision, she saw Xie Jing seem to glance her way.

Only for an instant—so fast her retina hadn't even formed the image before that line of sight withdrew.

She wasn't sure if he'd really looked at her. Maybe she was just too nervous and hallucinating.

Old Master Xie exchanged a few pleasantries with Sui Yuanshan, asking about Old Mr. Sui's recent condition, the latest developments at Sui Industries, and similar topics.

Sui Yuanshan gradually became a bit more fluent from his initial stumbling, but before every sentence he had to run it through his mind three times, terrified of saying a single wrong word.

Just when Sui Yuanshan had finally relaxed a little, Old Master Xie suddenly changed tack, his tone as casual as if discussing what to have for dinner:

"Yuanshan, about the two children—I'd like to set the date today."

Sui Yuanshan nearly couldn't hold steady the teacup he'd just picked up.

Sui Yuanshan's Adam's apple rolled violently. Mrs. Qin's back straightened a few more degrees. Sui Nuo's fingers twisted even tighter—all three reacted almost in sync, like three puppets pulled by the same string.

"Old—Old Xie," Sui Yuanshan's voice floated a little, "you mean...?"

Old Master Xie leaned back in his chair, his tone flat as if discussing a small business deal:

"Xie Jing is twenty-four this year. It's long past time he settled down.

Sui Nuo is nineteen—just the right age. The two young people are well-matched.

I'm thinking we set the engagement first, and we can discuss the specific arrangements slowly."

Well-matched.

Sui Nuo chewed on those two words silently, thinking that Old Master Xie's understanding of "well-matched" might be a little different from hers.

But she didn't dare say so.

Sui Yuanshan opened his mouth, wanting to say something to decline, but looking at Old Master Xie's kind yet unquestionable face, the words that came out became:

"Yes—yes yes, Old Xie is right."

Mrs. Qin rolled her eyes inwardly, but on the surface she still maintained a dignified smile.

Under the coffee table, she discreetly stepped on Sui Yuanshan's foot, signaling him not to agree so quickly—at least put up a struggle.

Sui Yuanshan sucked in a sharp breath from the step and hurriedly added: "Old Xie, um... our Sui family is of modest standing, and the Xie family is a top-tier wealthy elite family. This marriage... isn't it too much of a grievance for Xie Jing?"

The words were utterly humble, debasing himself to the dust.

Mrs. Qin's heart bled hearing it, but she had to admit—this was one of the few graceful things Sui Yuanshan had managed to say.

Old Master Xie waved his hand, his tone carrying an unquestionable certainty:

"Status and standing—I've never cared about that.

What matters is that the child is good. I like Sui Nuo. That's enough."

Hearing this, Sui Nuo's heart skipped a beat. Not because she was moved—because the pressure had just gotten heavier.

Old Master Xie said he liked her. So if she didn't perform well in the future, wouldn't she be failing the old man's expectations?

Would she be returned?

If she were sent back, could the Sui family still hold on?

The merry-go-round in her head started spinning again.