"Why did Su Qinghuai send so many messages today?" Su Zhiyi muttered in confusion.
System 030 clamored, "He's jealous! He's jealous!"
Su Zhiyi read Su Qinghuai's messages a few more times and indeed detected a deep resentment in them.
She could feel the faint jealousy emanating from his words.
Su Qinghuai was usually a man of few words, making conversation with him quite laborious.
Whether on the phone or in person, they rarely exchanged many words.
He was taciturn, and she was too lazy to waste her breath on him.
Today, Su Qinghuai appeared to have fewer words than the other two men, but compared to his usual self, he was already quite talkative.
Among these messages, half were ambiguous punctuation marks.
"If he's jealous, let him be. No need to soothe him; he'll get over it on his own."
Su Zhiyi gave Su Qinghuai's messages a cursory glance, then typed a reply.
But her reply to Su Qinghuai was clearly not as attentive as her replies to Song Lian and Si Yanjing.
Her initial approach to Su Qinghuai was solely to have him act as her eyes and ears after leaving the Su family, continuing to gather inside information for her.
Additionally, to have him keep the Su family in check to prevent her identity from being exposed.
However, the Su family had not yet publicly acknowledged Su Qinghuai as the heir.
In the eyes of the St. Désmo Academy students, Su Qinghuai was still the poor special admit from the slums.
Unlike Si Yanjing and Song Lian, who were universally recognized as sons of wealthy families.
He could not help her at all in maintaining her disguise as the eldest Miss Su at the academy.
Si Yanjing and Song Lian were different.
She could use their status to show that she still had close ties with the upper class and was one of them herself.
She could also borrow their connections and resources to prepare for any unexpected events and solidify her identity as the Su family's eldest daughter.
"Host, aren't you afraid Su Qinghuai will get angry..." the system said worriedly, "and then expose your identity, leading to mutual destruction?"
"Heh."
Halfway through typing, Su Zhiyi paused at the system's words.
Suddenly, a cold laugh escaped her lips.
"He won't. Never."
Su Qinghuai was her most loyal dog; he would never betray her.
【Su Zhiyi: Mm, just finished chatting.】
【Su Zhiyi: Did I ask for Si Yanjing's contact today?】
【Su Zhiyi: I'd rather ask you—what identity are you using to ask me this question?】
【Su Qinghuai: ...】
Su Qinghuai sent an ellipsis, and the chat window fell silent for a long time.
So long that Su Zhiyi grew sleepy, her eyes aching.
So long that she no longer wanted to wait for his reply, turned off her phone, and went straight to sleep.
Her question was too sharp; even if she were to answer it, she couldn't give a definite answer.
Her relationship with Su Qinghuai was too vague.
If she hadn't been expelled from the Su family...
They shared the same surname, both from the Su family.
Then Su Qinghuai could be considered her elder brother.
But she had been expelled.
Su Qinghuai, as the true heir of the Su family, had no blood relation to her, yet she had usurped his position as the heir for eighteen years.
How ironic—the true heir of the Su family fell in love with the fake heir who had been expelled.
Even though they were close enough, they were not lovers.
They had never confirmed their relationship, nor had they ever said the word "love" to each other.
Just when Su Zhiyi's patience was about to run out, Su Qinghuai finally replied.
【Su Qinghuai: I don't know.】
That was the expected answer.
After reading Su Qinghuai's seemingly perfunctory four words, Su Zhiyi let out a soft laugh, tinged with a hint of mockery.
She guessed that Su Qinghuai had been thinking roughly the same thing she had.
What an honest answer.