Lu Ziye was momentarily stunned when he saw Su Mo walking up from below. He quickly stepped forward and blocked her path.

“Xiaoxiao, is it really that hard for you to see me?”

“Yes, you guessed it right. Now move aside!” Su Mo lifted her eyes to meet his, her tone sharp and unkind.

“Xiaoxiao!” Lu Ziye didn’t move and instead hurried a few steps forward to stand directly in front of Su Mo. “I know you probably don’t want to see me, but what happened back then really wasn’t my fault. With the situation you were in, how could I trust you?”

Su Mo gave a light laugh, and a hint of mockery flashed across her clear, lake-like eyes.

“I don’t need your trust, Lu Ziye. My innocence doesn’t depend on you believing in it.”

“Fine, fine, even if you’re innocent, let’s not talk about that. But Xiaoxiao, so many years have passed. Can we just turn the page on this?”

“Fine, let’s pretend it’s all in the past. Lu Ziye, move aside now. And if you don’t want to make things awkward, just stick to Liu Yiyi from now on and stay out of my sight!”

With that, she tried to walk past him.

Lu Ziye hurriedly called out, “Xiaoxiao, can you please stop like this? I just want to know how you’ve been doing. I mean no harm!”

“I’m doing great. See for yourself. Now get lost!”

“Xiaoxiao!” Lu Ziye felt utterly helpless at Su Mo’s attitude. After a moment, he sighed. “I know, I know you’re angry because I didn’t believe you back then, and I also know you’re mad because the moment we broke up, I became Yiyi’s boyfriend.”

“But so many years have passed. I thought when we met again, we could sit down calmly as ordinary friends and have a good chat. I didn’t expect you to still hold a grudge. This will only make things harder for Yiyi in the future. How will she face you?”

“Face me?” Su Mo suddenly smiled, but there was no hint of amusement in her eyes.

“There’s nothing to face, Lu Ziye. You haven’t forgotten, right? Five years ago, I was already kicked out of the Liu family. So, Liu Yiyi and I have no connection whatsoever. You don’t need to worry about your precious fiancée. Now, get lost!”

“Xiaoxiao, don’t be like this… Ah!”

Just as Su Mo finished speaking and tried to leave, Lu Ziye moved to grab her, but Su Mo suddenly spun around and grabbed his wrist, twisting it forcefully. There was a loud “crack,” followed by Lu Ziye’s agonizing scream echoing through the hallway.

With no hesitation, Su Mo tossed him aside, “If you don’t want to go back to explain to your Liu Yiyi with a bruise, you’d better not follow me!”

Su Mo’s grappling techniques were taught to her by Wei Ke’er herself.

When Su Mo was alone overseas, Wei Ke’er was worried about her safety. In addition to giving her regular self-defense lessons, she also urged her repeatedly to sign up for a combat class.

Lu Ziye was sweating with pain from the twist and bent over, trying to relieve the ache. As he turned his head, he saw a man at the bottom of the stairs, smoking a cigarette and watching Su Mo disappear with interest.

“Uncle Bai, what are you doing here?” Lu Ziye jumped in surprise, nearly stumbling down the stairs.

Bai Yifan, one of Lu Qingze’s childhood friends, had seen the whole scene. Lu Ziye’s heart tightened. He feared that Bai Yifan might misunderstand and run to Lu Qingze to report him.

Bai Yifan chuckled and casually placed a hand on Lu Ziye’s shoulder. “Stop calling me Uncle, Ziye. You’re making me feel old.”

Lu Ziye awkwardly forced a smile. “Uncle Bai, what brings you here?”

“Oh, I came to see Uncle Lu. I was also visiting a friend on the third floor. The elevator was taking too long, so I decided to take the stairs. What a coincidence, huh? We ran into each other while climbing the stairs. By the way, that girl earlier was pretty nice.”

Lu Ziye’s face suddenly turned pale.

“Don’t joke around, Uncle Bai. That’s… Yiyi’s… friend. They had some misunderstanding, so I…”

“Oh~… I see,” Bai Yifan cut him off with a teasing tone, winking at him as he said, “We’re all men, I get it.”

Lu Ziye cursed inwardly, thinking, You get what?

But on the outside, he still politely exchanged a few words with Bai Yifan before hastily rushing to deal with his injured wrist. He suspected it was either dislocated or fractured; the pain was unbearable.

He couldn’t help but curse again, unsure whether it was aimed at Su Mo or at Bai Yifan, who was standing there watching the drama unfold. With a bit of embarrassment, he left in a hurry.

Bai Yifan watched Lu Ziye’s hurried retreat with a knowing smile, then pulled out his phone and opened WeChat, sending a message to Lu Qingze.

“Your nephew isn’t as simple as he seems, hehe, is he juggling two boats at once?”

A moment later, Lu Qingze replied, “Mind your own business.”

Bai Yifan: “I’m just thinking about the reputation of your Lu family. Isn’t Ziye’s wedding coming up soon? Aren’t you worried someone might cause a scene and ruin your family’s name?”

Bai Yifan didn’t get a reply this time.

It seemed he wasn’t expecting one. Instead, he opened a group chat called “Beasts Are Such Flirts.”

The few major families of the capital—Lu, Ye, Lan, Ji, Xuan, Bai, and Shao—had supported each other for decades, and the younger generation, all close in age, grew up together. They were so close they could share the same pair of pants.

This group was created by them.

Bai Yifan: “Guys, I just saw a girl, she’s super hot, damn!”

Ji Lingye: “Heh, another girl’s about to suffer.”

Bai Yifan was famous for being a playboy, changing women as easily as clothes. The key was that the Bai family was in the entertainment industry, and he had many small-time celebrities under his wing. Some girls, desperate to climb the social ladder, would do anything to get ahead.

Bai Yifan never turned anyone away as long as they were clean. Once he was done with them, he’d pay them off, calling it a win-win situation, never thinking anything was wrong with it.

So, when he said something like this, everyone couldn’t resist teasing him a bit.

Xuan Chen: “Hahaha, Lingye’s right. Bai Ge, could you leave some good girls for the rest of us?”

Bai Yifan: “Don’t follow Lingye’s bad example, Xiao Xuan. He’s just sour because he can’t get any. And by the way, are you even of legal age to be asking for girls?”

Xuan Chen: “I’m 23!”

Bai Yifan: “Oh, 23 already? Alright, I’ll arrange something for you.”

As soon as Bai Yifan said that, Xuan Chen immediately went silent.

Ji Lingye: “Who’s been corrupting little Xuan Xuan? You should manage your own business first!”

Bai Yifan: “You guys just don’t know how to enjoy life.”

Ji Lingye: “I’m just waiting for the day you catch something and come crawling to me.”

Bai Yifan: “…You’re a jinx. Can’t you say something nice? I’m very hygienic, okay? Every girl I meet is a virgin!”

Ji Lingye: “Let me teach you a technique today called CNM Repair, want to learn?”

Bai Yifan: “…Fuck off!”

After sending that message, he closed WeChat, his scalp tingling with an eerie feeling!

Author Notes:

I forgot to thank yesterday, so here’s the thanks today~

Thanks to the dreamer kid for sending a huge diamond to Jiu Jiu! (づ￣3￣)づ