[Si Yancheng: How much more do you want?]
[Si Yancheng: He's from the slums. Information is scarce there, and it's hard to find details on an ordinary person. Even the date of birth on his ID might not be accurate.]
[Si Yancheng: By the way, you still haven't answered me. Why are you checking up on an ordinary person? Did he provoke you?]
[Si Yancheng: I should remind you—domestically is different from abroad. Try to behave yourself now that you're back and don't cause trouble for the Si family.]
His elder brother's lecturing made the rebellious Si Yanjing discontent. He immediately rebutted.
[Si Yanjing: Bro, what do you take me for?]
[Si Yanjing: I went abroad to study, not to learn bad habits. Even if I really don't like this Su Qinghuai, it's not like I'm going to put a bag over his head and beat him up, right?]
[Si Yanjing: You know me. I know my limits.]
[Si Yanjing: Anyway, bro, I have things to do. Talk tomorrow.]
[Si Yancheng: You...]
Not getting the information he wanted from Si Yancheng, Si Yanjing disappointedly set the phone aside. The Si family could easily look up someone's info in A City, but... what if there was still some crucial information they hadn't found?
After leaving the restaurant, the more Si Yanjing thought about Su Qinghuai being with Song Lian, the more uneasy he felt. Everything about the restaurant incident felt off. If what his brother said was true—that Su Qinghuai was just an ordinary person born in the slums with only a deceased foster mother—then Su Qinghuai didn't even have distant relatives. But how could an ordinary person from the slums be connected to Song Lian, the heir of the Song family? Even if they were both students at St. Dismore, it wouldn't explain why they were close enough to eat together.
Instinct told him that Su Qinghuai's identity was definitely not that simple.
Si Yanjing tightened his arms around Su Zhiyi.
"Zhiyi, now it's just the two of us."
"You were in a bad mood during dinner and said you wanted to tell me something... They're gone now. It's just you and me. Can you tell me what you wanted to say?"
Si Yanjing's voice was incredibly gentle.
"Yanjing, I've never told anyone this. I don't want to deceive you."
"After being with you, I've found that you're a mature, reliable man. It seems I can't do without you anymore. I unconsciously want to get close to you, to rely on you."
Su Zhiyi's voice was soft and sweet, each word preparing to close the net. She nuzzled against Si Yanjing's warm chest, lowering her long, thick lashes. Beads of water clung to her lashes, making her look like she was about to cry—pitifully endearing.
"Are you willing to let me trust you? Yanjing..."
Si Yanjing's heart skipped a beat.
His Adam's apple bobbed up and down. Finally, he vowed firmly, "You can trust me. Always trust me. I swear."
"Huh..."
As if making a decision, Su Zhiyi let out a long breath and began to tell Si Yanjing the seamless lie she had carefully prepared for him.
"Su Qinghuai... Su Qinghuai... You know his surname is Su, right?"
"Actually, Su Qinghuai is my father's illegitimate son."
"What?!"
The bomb was dropped immediately. Si Yanjing was greatly shocked and looked at Su Zhiyi in his arms in disbelief.
"Yanjing, just listen to me slowly, okay?"
Su Zhiyi quickly raised her hand and placed her index finger on Si Yanjing's lips, making a shushing gesture.
Feeling the soft fingertip on his lips, Si Yanjing suppressed the urge to stick out his tongue and lick it. Saliva uncontrollably filled his mouth. He swallowed, his sexy Adam's apple bobbing, and responded with a muffled sound.
"Mm."
Su Zhiyi continued, interweaving truth and lies to make her deception more perfect.
"You've been at the academy long enough to know that Su Qinghuai was admitted this year as a special admit. And it was precisely because of his special admission that he caught my father's attention."
"So, my father learned that Su Qinghuai was his flesh and blood lost outside, and even his eldest son."
"Father thought I was too young and not as outstanding as Su Qinghuai in every aspect, unable to shoulder the responsibility of inheriting the Su family. He decisively chose to change the heir..."
She filled her eyes with tears at just the right moment, the corners of her eyes tinged with red. A blush spread over her snow-white skin. She bit her lower lip in distress.
"Since Su Qinghuai returned to the Su family, I've never gone back home."
"Actually, I don't hate Su Qinghuai, and I don't hate the Su family. It's just that the落差 is so great. I had no preparation at all—suddenly being told I have a brother, and that he's the Su family's heir... it's really hard to accept."
"Next month, they're going to hold a charity gala. At the gala, the Su family will announce to everyone that Su Qinghuai is the long-lost eldest son and declare him as the heir."
"That day, I'll definitely become a laughingstock..."
She subtly and not-so-subtly painted the Su family and Su Qinghuai in a bad light, presenting herself as a perfectly innocent victim. She threw herself into Si Yanjing's arms: "I'm so sad, Yanjing."
"Ah..."
Si Yanjing was speechless, not knowing how to comfort her. He knew that Su Zhiyi was the only child of the Su family and the sole heir. She had not only been raised with the love of the Su family but had also been cherished by everyone in high society. Countless people wanted to befriend Su Zhiyi, hoping to use her as a stepping stone to the Su family. The upper-class elites weren't fools—they flattered Su Zhiyi only because of the Su family behind her and her status as heir. Once she lost the Su family, she would be nothing.
Having her years-long status as heir snatched away by a suddenly appeared older brother would make anyone feel wronged. No wonder Su Zhiyi had been so emotional seeing Su Qinghuai at the restaurant, and no wonder Su Qinghuai knew Song Lian...
A wave of intense regret welled up in Si Yanjing's heart. He hated that he had only verbally attacked Song Lian at the restaurant and hadn't said a word to Su Qinghuai, the real culprit who had made Su Zhiyi so upset. He cursed Su Qinghuai countless times in his mind, then said to Su Zhiyi in a firm tone, "Is there anything I can help with? As long as you ask, no matter what it is, I'll do my best to help you."
"I don't want anything. I don't need much—just having you by my side is enough."
Su Zhiyi said she wanted nothing, but at the end, she changed her tune: "It's just..."
"Just what?"
Her lips quivered, but she still spoke weakly: "It's just... because of Su Qinghuai, they won't let me go to next month's charity gala. But I'm also a member of the Su family. I want to go to the charity gala too."
Si Yanjing asked, "Do you want to go to the charity gala?"
Su Zhiyi nodded slightly: "Mm."
Si Yanjing agreed without hesitation: "Okay."
"Not just the Su family's charity gala. From now on, no matter which family's banquet you want to attend, no one will dare to stop you."
As if making a resolution, his eyes gleamed with determination where Su Zhiyi couldn't see.
Si Yanjing grabbed the phone he had just put down and opened his elder brother's chat again.
[Si Yanjing: Big bro, I need to discuss something with you...]