Song Lian left.
As soon as he was gone, the tension that had been coiled inside Su Zhiyi loosened by half.
She wasn't sure whether to believe the things he'd said just before leaving, but after a moment's hesitation, she still opened the tablet he'd brought her.
She was the eldest miss of the Su family. If the Su family's eldest miss went missing, they'd come looking for her, wouldn't they...
Wait... the posts on the forum...?
Her pupils suddenly contracted. Her brain buzzed and crashed.
[St. Desmo Academy Forum]
[I heard the engagement between the Si and Su families has been called off?]
[1L: It was canceled even before the engagement banquet was held. What happened?]
[2L: Some people on this forum always seem to be running on 2G internet, so I'll reluctantly explain: Yesterday, the old head of the Su family and the current head jointly clarified that Su Zhiyi is not of Su blood, and from now on, she has nothing to do with the Su family. As for her engagement to the Si family—the banquet never even happened, so naturally it's off.]
[3L: I was wondering why the Su family suddenly produced a long-lost eldest son out of nowhere. Turns out Su Zhiyi was never the Su family's eldest miss at all. She's a fake, someone who usurped Su Qinghuai's identity as the Su heir for over a decade.]
[4L: Let me put it bluntly: Without the Su family, Su Zhiyi is nothing. She's enjoyed a life of luxury for years, pretended to be the Su family's eldest miss all this time, and now that she's cut off from the Su family, she doesn't deserve the Si family at all!]
[5L: But doesn't the Si family not care about their daughter-in-law's family background? It seems the Si side hasn't said anything. It was the Su family that unilaterally apologized to the Si family.]
[6L: Ha, you people are really kicking someone when they're down. Before, you were all licking the eldest miss's boots like dogs. Now just because she's no longer the Su family's eldest miss, you start slandering her.]
[7L: The bootlicker above is still calling her 'eldest miss'? She's been kicked out of the Su family. What kind of eldest miss is she?]
[8L: Even if Su Zhiyi isn't the Su family's eldest miss, she's still really pretty.]
[9L: That's true... Hey, now that the Su and Si families have broken off the engagement, do I have a chance to pursue the eldest miss?]
[10L: Right. I didn't dare chase her before because she was the Su family's eldest miss. Now that she's not, I'm worthy of her too!]
[11L: The spring of the eldest miss's dream chasers has arrived. As soon as she comes back to school, I'll confess and propose to her!]
[12L: Hehe, finally I don't have to worry about Song Lian and Si Yanjing's scowls. I can openly be the eldest miss's dog.]
[13L: Get lost, moron. Even being her dog doesn't fall to you.]
[30L: Are you rich boys done? If you have nothing to do, go race your cars and crash into each other on the highway, okay? I'm so sick of you guys. Even if Zhiyi isn't the Su family's eldest miss, you're still not worthy of her. Get it?]
The words stabbed Su Zhiyi like knives. Her heart seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand, and her face turned as pale as paper. She couldn't breathe for a moment.
She clutched her chest. It took a long while for her to recover.
Slowly, she absorbed the information.
Her identity had been exposed.
Just like that.
Why... why...
The Su family had acknowledged her as the eldest miss.
She didn't have to worry about Su Qinghuai exposing her identity. All she had to do was cut ties with Song Lian, wait for her engagement banquet with Si Yanjing, get through the last few months of the year, and a million would be hers.
It was the closest she'd ever been to that bonus.
And now... it had slipped right through her fingers.
Even though she'd mentally prepared herself for mission failure before coming to this world, now that it had actually happened, she felt like a deflated balloon—completely drained of energy.
Why would the Su family suddenly cut ties with her? That was wrong.
The only family that knew her real identity was the Su family. Not even the Si family knew.
And she was useful to the Su family. She was bound to them by mutual interest; they'd tacitly agreed to maintain a surface-level peace.
She would continue to enjoy the identity of the Su family's eldest miss, and the Su family could use her to cooperate with the Si family. Even if Su Qinghuai tried to blow everything up and expose her identity, the Su family, for the sake of the Si family, would control him and cover for her.
It was clearly a win-win situation.
Why had the Su family suddenly changed their minds?
It couldn't be Su Qinghuai's doing. The Si family hadn't said anything either; they must not have known before.
That left only one possibility.
Su Zhiyi pressed her thumb hard against the tablet's screen, almost poking a hole in it.
She closed the tablet and cursed Song Lian a thousand times in her mind.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
"Baby, can I come in?"
Su Zhiyi didn't answer.
Not getting a response, Song Lian didn't leave. Instead, he pushed the door open.
He had brought another sandwich and a freshly heated glass of milk.
Before he could speak, Su Zhiyi cut straight to the point: "You did this, didn't you."
It was a statement, not a question.