Si Yanjing, young and spirited, was used to being the center of attention. Having never been mocked like this before, his counterattack was also unmeasured and truly aggressive.
Listening to the barbed exchange between Si Yanjing and Song Lian, Su Zhiyi felt like her heart was about to leap out of her chest. She almost wanted to step forward and cover Si Yanjing's mouth, begging him to stop, afraid that Song Lian would be forced into a corner and say something he shouldn't. But in front of Si Yanjing, she still had to maintain the persona of a fragile little white flower. Besides... the scene earlier had been so chaotic that staying silent was her best option.
Si Yanjing quickly settled the bill at the front desk and openly held Su Zhiyi's hand as they left the restaurant.
And so Su Zhiyi was taken away by Si Yanjing.
She seemed calm on the surface, but her CPU was practically overheating as she frantically processed the massive amount of information from earlier. She struggled to calm down and think about the many confusing points in the three-way standoff that had overflowed with tension.
She could understand running into Song Lian by chance, and she could understand running into Su Qinghuai by chance. But running into both Song Lian and Su Qinghuai at the same time while on a date with Si Yanjing? That she couldn't understand.
It seemed... that Song Lian and Su Qinghuai had been sitting together earlier. Could they be hiding something from her?
"Forget it, the two of them being together actually makes it easier for me to carry out my plan..." she murmured softly.
"Zhiyi? What are you saying? Who's together with whom?"
Si Yanjing's voice temporarily interrupted her thoughts. They were now far from the restaurant, and Song Lian and Su Qinghuai hadn't followed them.
Making a snap decision, Su Zhiyi stood on her tiptoes, wrapped her slender arms around Si Yanjing's neck, and buried her beautiful, delicate face in the hollow of his neck. Tears flowed on command.
Clear tears streamed from her eyes.
The tears soaked Si Yanjing's neck hollow, wet and cool.
"Wuwu... Yanjing... wu..."
Su Zhiyi's sudden crying caught Si Yanjing off guard.
His hand froze in midair. After a brief pause, he slowly placed his hand on Su Zhiyi's back and gently patted it in comfort.
She was so thin—he could hold her entire body in his arms. The girl's tears wet his neck, and her soft lips brushed against his exposed skin. The fragrance of daisies filled his embrace as she clung to him like a weak dodder vine.
Her fragile, pitiful appearance stirred his latent protective instincts. He wanted to protect the girl in his arms at all costs.
"It's okay, they didn't follow us out."
He stroked Su Zhiyi's hair that cascaded down her back, and his voice involuntarily softened.
"Did they do something to make you feel wronged? Tell me, and I'll find a way to solve it for you."
Two grown men bullying a girl and making Su Zhiyi so aggrieved—it was truly... infuriating. He would definitely make those two pay.
Si Yanjing clenched one hand into a fist, his knuckles cracking.
Si Yanjing's words were exactly what Su Zhiyi wanted to hear. Seeing the prey step by step fall into the carefully laid trap, it was time to close the net.
Su Zhiyi stopped crying, placed her hand on Si Yanjing's chest, and slowly pushed him away. Then she held his hand and gently squeezed his fingers one by one, letting out a few soft sobs.
The girl's eye sockets were a tempting peach-pink. The lipstick on her lips had smeared onto Si Yanjing's skin earlier, leaving a faint lip print. The lipstick had bled beyond her lips, as if she had just been kissed. Two shallow tear tracks marked her delicate little face, and her makeup was slightly smudged, but it didn't detract from her beauty; instead, it added a kind of shattered, chaotic allure.
Si Yanjing's breath hitched again.
He heard her soft, sweet voice, hoarse from crying.
Instead of directly answering Si Yanjing's question, Su Zhiyi spoke in a pleading tone: "I don't want to go home today. I don't like that home. I'm so scared, Yanjing, wuwu..."
She tightened her grip on Si Yanjing's hand, leaned toward him, and looked up at him with innocent eyes, as pure and clear as if washed by autumn water.
"Can I stay at your place tonight? Besides you, I can't think of anyone else I can fully trust."
She raised a hand and wiped away nonexistent tears from the corner of her eye, making it red.
"Yanjing..."
This final call of "Yanjing" directly melted Si Yanjing's heart like cream, turning it into a pool of water.
Infatuation clouded his judgment. He didn't even consider that Su Zhiyi could choose to stay at a hotel if she didn't want to stay at the Su residence. He simply agreed to her request without thinking.
"Okay."
"I'll agree to whatever you ask."
*
Outside the window, the night was deep and dark. Inside, only a desk lamp was lit on the table.
On the living room sofa, two figures were tightly pressed together.
Su Zhiyi was like a frightened kitten. She hugged Si Yanjing's waist, curled up in his arms, and begged for his protection. And Si Yanjing, in turn, held her shoulders, letting her shrink into his embrace.
This was Si Yanjing's home—the place he usually lived in by himself. He didn't live with his family; living with them meant inevitable nagging. He was naturally unrestrained and loved freedom, so unless his family forced him to come home, he stayed in this large penthouse apartment.
Si Yanjing had been curious during dinner. Su Zhiyi knew Song Lian, and she had told him that they had ended their engagement but still treated each other like siblings, with a decent relationship. As for Su Qinghuai... he had never seen this Su Qinghuai interacting with Su Zhiyi at school. Why had Su Zhiyi become so emotional after seeing those two?
The phone on the sofa lit up with a message.
Si Yanjing's deep black eyes darkened. He picked up the phone and opened the chat with his elder brother, Si Yancheng.
[Si Yancheng: Su Qinghuai, born in the slums of A City. Has a foster mother who has passed away. No other relatives. Su Qinghuai was previously a student at No.1 Middle School. Because his grades consistently ranked first, the principal of St. Dismore Academy took notice and gave him the only special admission spot this year, waiving all tuition fees. He transferred to St. Dismore.]
[Si Yancheng: His information was a bit hard to find. This is all I could dig up, and it took a lot of effort to get even this much.]
[Si Yancheng: Why are you asking me to look into someone from the slums?]
[Si Yanjing: That's it?]
Si Yanjing read the message from Si Yancheng over and over but couldn't find any flaw in Su Qinghuai's identity. He couldn't help but wonder if it was his brother's problem.