Before Su Zhiyi could voice her question to System 030, Si Yanjing, who had been absentmindedly eating while staring at her, suddenly spoke. As if making a decision, he took a deep breath. His expression was more serious and earnest than ever before, and a hint of caution lurked in his deep eyes.
"Zhiyi."
"Hmm?" Su Zhiyi's conversation with System 030 was interrupted. She raised her clear, innocent beautiful eyes and looked at Si Yanjing with equal seriousness. "What's up?"
Si Yanjing's thin lips pressed together slightly, and his right hand on the table clenched into a fist before relaxing. "I want to ask you something."
Seeing how serious Si Yanjing was, Su Zhiyi could roughly guess what he wanted to ask. She pretended to be naive and continued: "What's the question?"
"I want to ask... What exactly are we to each other now?"
Su Zhiyi lowered her eyes, her long lashes like butterfly wings concealing her emotions. Her slender, fair fingers pinched the ceramic spoon and scooped up another spoonful of congee. Instead of bringing it to her mouth, she naturally tossed the question back to Si Yanjing: "What do you think we are to each other now?"
What did he think they were? Si Yanjing froze for a moment, and an obvious answer came to mind: lovers. He had a strong first-love complex. After last night... he was a responsible man with a sense of duty. He had set his sights on Su Zhiyi, so of course, he would take responsibility for her. Just as the word "lovers" was about to escape his lips, Su Zhiyi added another sentence.
"Whatever you think we are, that's what we are," Su Zhiyi said softly. "But I'm someone who lacks a sense of security. I don't want to rush into defining the relationship so casually. Didn't you say... you trust me?"
Si Yanjing felt a bitter taste at the back of his throat. An indescribable emotion washed over him, both sour and astringent. "Didn't you say I'm the only person you trust?"
"Of course you're the only one I trust. Don't doubt that." Su Zhiyi used her gentle approach to slowly break down his defenses. "I want our relationship to be more formal, okay? I lack security. I trust you and rely on you. I want you to give me the sense of security I need."
To Si Yanjing's ears, this meant Su Zhiyi didn't want to define their relationship hastily. In reality, Su Zhiyi was stalling. She knew what answer Si Yanjing was about to give, and she didn't want to hear the word "lovers" from him because that would solidify their relationship. Si Yanjing wanted to take responsibility for her, but she didn't want to take responsibility for him. All she wanted were Si Yanjing's connections and power within the Si family. Those weren't worth her making a further commitment.
The word "lovers" reached Si Yanjing's lips but was swallowed back down. His hand holding the spoon froze, his expression turned solemn, and he looked at Su Zhiyi opposite him as if contemplating something very serious. After a few seconds of thought, he figured it out. His furrowed brows relaxed, and a faint smile curled at the corner of his lips.
"It was my oversight. My fault."
"It wasn't your fault," Su Zhiyi comforted him perfunctorily. Anyway, as long as she kept dragging things out and didn't define the relationship, it would be fine.
Si Yanjing couldn't see through Su Zhiyi's real thoughts. He was already fantasizing about the scene of formally confirming their relationship later. "I'll find a suitable time and a formal occasion to define our relationship."
*
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
The secretary knocked on the office door and, after obtaining Song Lian's permission, opened it. He stood respectfully at the door and said to Song Lian, who was sitting inside with his back to the large floor-to-ceiling window, intently reading a document: "Young Master Song, Mr. Su has arrived."
Song Lian put down the document and looked up at the cold, pine-like young man behind the secretary. It was Su Qinghuai. Standing before him, Su Qinghuai didn't look at all like the transparent, detached figure he was at school. He wasn't wearing the washed-out St. Dismore Academy uniform but was instead dressed in understated luxury brand clothing like all the other young masters of wealthy families. Just standing there, his extraordinary aura couldn't be ignored—the nobility and aloofness common to every young master. But in his eyes, Su Qinghuai was nothing more than a cheap imitation dressed in a rich young master's clothes.
"What a rare guest." Song Lian put on his usual fake smile and gestured for Su Qinghuai to sit opposite his desk. "Please, have a seat, Young Master Su." He waved his hand to dismiss the secretary. "Xiao Zhou, you may leave first. I want to have a private chat with Young Master Su."
The secretary nodded slightly, exited the office, and made sure to close the door behind him, giving them ample privacy.
Su Qinghuai didn't stand on ceremony and sat down opposite Song Lian. Maintaining his aloof demeanor, his voice was several degrees colder than usual: "I don't want to waste words on you. You know why I'm here."
"Oh?" Song Lian narrowed his eyes like a fox. "What do you mean, Young Master Su?"
"Your tone is disgusting," Su Qinghuai said with disgust. In front of Song Lian, whom he regarded as a love rival, his outward coldness lasted only a few words before his brows and eyes were filled with undisguised contempt for Song Lian's hypocritical smile.
Song Lian dropped his smile, casting off his pretense of gentle courtesy. His eyes turned utterly ruthless in an instant, and his voice also became flat and emotionless. "You're not much better." He didn't want to maintain a superficial harmony with Su Qinghuai. To both of them, exchanging even one more word with the other was as unpleasant as swallowing a fly.
"Let's talk business." Song Lian said, "I already know your identity." He scanned Su Qinghuai with the look of an appraiser. "The eldest son of the Su family, in other words, the future heir of the Su family, right?"
Su Qinghuai said flatly, "My identity doesn't matter. I'm not here today to reveal my identity to you."
"Why doesn't it matter?" Song Lian sneered. "The dissolution of the engagement between the Su family and the Song family was your doing, wasn't it?"
Su Qinghuai didn't speak.
"You were the one who made me and Zhiyi break off our engagement. That matters a lot to me." Song Lian stressed the last few words heavily. He continued to peel back Su Qinghuai's cold and detached exterior, exposing his dirty inner thoughts to the light. "The Su family values face above all. I know that during this time, the Su family has been neglecting Zhiyi. If I'm not mistaken, since you're the eldest son of the Su family, Zhiyi is probably no longer a member of the Su family. You were so eager to have the Su family end the engagement with mine, and so eager to get Zhiyi out of the Su family, stripping her of her status as Miss Su. I never expected Young Master Su to be so keen on legitimizing your relationship with your 'sister.'"
Upon hearing the last sentence, Su Qinghuai's pupils trembled violently. He gripped the armrest of the chair, veins bulging on the back of his hand. "Shut up," he said coldly, interrupting Song Lian. "She is not a member of the Su family, nor is she my sister. I am the only child of the Su family." He uttered each word through gritted teeth.
"Don't worry. I never considered you an opponent before. Even now, standing before me not as Su Qinghuai from the slums but as the Su family heir treating me as an equal, I still won't consider you an opponent." Song Lian didn't get angry at Su Qinghuai's rude remarks. Instead, he calmly continued to state facts, using a gentle, persuasive tone. "I'm not the biggest threat to you either, so there's no need to be so hostile toward me, don't you think?"
Now everything was clear. Su Zhiyi wasn't a descendant of the Su family, and Su Qinghuai wasn't a special admit from the slums. Su Qinghuai was the true child of the Su family, the sole heir. The dissolution of the engagement between him and Su Zhiyi, as well as Su Zhiyi's expulsion from the Su family, had all been orchestrated by Su Qinghuai behind the scenes. His goal was to sever the overly close relationship between him and Su Zhiyi, and also to sever the nominal sibling relationship between himself and Su Zhiyi, so that one day, when he fully controlled the Su family, he could be with Su Zhiyi openly and legitimately. Su Qinghuai was very scheming, intelligent enough that he didn't seem like someone who had lived in the slums for years. But so what? Su Qinghuai's wings hadn't yet grown; he didn't have much say in the Su family. If the Su family found out that the real heir of the Su family was together with the former fake heiress, the consequences would be disastrous.
Song Lian concealed the calculating gleam in his eyes. "Compared to me, your primary target for hostility now should be the Second Young Master of the Si family."
He pushed his phone across to Su Qinghuai. On the screen was a post from the St. Dismore Academy forum. The first post prominently featured photos of Su Zhiyi and Si Yanjing being overly affectionate at school recently. If it were just one photo, one could say these people were grasping at shadows, but when they scrolled down, there were over a dozen photos of Su Zhiyi and Si Yanjing—in the library, classroom, cafeteria, playground... Every photo showed Su Zhiyi with a sweet, charming smile, and Si Yanjing looking at her with adoration. Just from the photos, anyone would think they were a sweet couple.
[1F: Oh come on, has the eldest lady really gotten together with Second Young Master Si?]
[5F: So jealous... why does she smile so sweetly at him!]
[6F: Actually, if you think about it, the Su family and the Si family are well-matched. The engagement with the Song family is already dissolved. It's unlikely they'll form another marriage alliance anytime soon, right? Looking at all the wealthy families in A City, there aren't many men worthy of the eldest lady. Second Young Master Si... I think he's the only one besides Song Lian who can match her.]
[7F: Sob... I didn't even get to confess to the eldest lady. Even if she rejected me, it would be fine...]
[8F: Second Young Master Si seems nice, though it really pisses me off seeing him get so close to her. Oh well, I wish the eldest lady happiness.]
[12F: Who does Si Yanjing think he is? The one with money and power is the Si family, not Si Yanjing. He's not even the heir of the Si family. A second son living off the family's wealth and influence—does he deserve the eldest lady? What a toad lusting after a swan!]
[13F: The person above, state your name. I'd like to see what surname you have, since you look down on Second Young Master Si.]
[15F: Did you all receive invitations from the Su family? I suddenly remembered there's a Su family charity gala at the beginning of next month.]
[16F: Received.]
[17F: All the notable families in A City got one, right?]
[18F: I don't understand why the Su family is making such a big deal out of a charity gala. It seems even the Si family and the Song family got invitations.]
[20F: I hate to think this, but could it be that the Si family and the Su family really have set an engagement and plan to announce it at the charity gala?]
[21F: Damn... Can't you let me keep dreaming? I barely managed to get rid of Song Lian, and before I could be happy for more than a few months, another Si Yanjing shows up... Tsk, neither of these two are easy. Looks like I can only be the eldest lady's admirer for the rest of my life.]