That night, Su Weichu learned that Lin Huaiyu’s sister, Lin Chenxi, had pawned the Heart of the Ocean to pay off underground gambling debts. The news spread like wildfire as she used a marketing account to expose the full story and followed it up with an announcement of her divorce, absolute with intimate photos of Qiao Shan together with Lin Huaiyu.

In an instant, the online tide shifted. The same people who had scorned her for being unfaithful now turned their accusations onto the Lin family, their words a chorus of condemnation.

As she watched the Lin family’s reputation crumble under the weight of public outrage, Su Weichu let out a cold, almost mocking laugh. She switched off her phone and tossed it aside, her hands steady as if she’d just taken the final stroke in a long-fought battle.

— Three months later…

Su Weichu stepped out of a luxury car, her figure bathed in the glow of the evening lights. She was clad in an exquisite custom-made white gown, her presence commanding the attention of everyone in sight.

Thereupon, a shrill, spiteful voice broke through the moment.

“Su Weichu!”

At the sound of her name, Su Weichu instinctively turned. There, charging towards her with fury in her eyes, was Lin Chenxi.

“What is a nobody like you, doing here?” Lin Chenxi’s voice was laced with disbelief, her expression a mix of shock and outmost fury.

Over the past three months, the Lin household had become the laughingstock of Jiang City. Those scandalous photos, that ruthless announcement—every whisper, every mocking glance, was a reminder of their disgrace. If not for Lin Huaiyu’s power and status, their name would have been buried beneath the weight of public scorn.

Moreover, who had orchestrated it all? None other than Su Weichu.

Under the dazzling lights of the evening, Su Weichu met Lin Chenxi’s furious glare with nothing more than a passing glance, as if the woman’s rage was too insignificant to acknowledge. She turned to leave, but before she could take another step, a hand clamped tightly around her wrist.

“Su Weichu, who have you latched onto this time?” Lin Chenxi sneered, her voice dripping with venom. “I never imagined that some little country girl could be this skilled at playing games. Since you’re such an expert, why don’t you teach me your tricks?”

A cold glint flickered in Su Weichu’s eyes, sharp as the edge of a blade. Though she hadn’t spoken a word, the sheer force of her gaze sent a chill crawling down Lin Chenxi’s spine.

“I almost feel sorry for Lin Huaiyu,” Su Weichu murmured, her tone cutting intersecting the air like frost. “Having a sister like you…what a tragedy.”

She yanked her wrist free with a swift, merciless motion, as though discarding something dirty.

“Su Weichu!” Lin Chenxi shrieked, her face twisting with fury. “Who do you think you are? Acting all high and mighty—aren’t you just a cheap slut who spreads her legs for money? Drop the act!”

With those words, Lin Chenxi raised her hand, poised to slap Su Weichu across the face.

In mid-motion, Su Weichu’s fingers clamped around Lin Chenxi’s wrist like an iron shackle before the blow could land on her. In the blink of an eye, she twisted the woman’s arm back and delivered a sharp, resounding slap of her own.

The impact echoed through the night.

Lin Chenxi stumbled, clutching her stinging cheek in astonishment.

“Lin Chenxi,” Su Weichu said, her voice as smooth as silk but laced with ice. “Do you actually think you can lay a hand on me? You’re not even worthy.”

Her piercing gaze bore into Lin Chenxi, unbending, merciless. “I wasn’t planning on wasting my time on you,” she continued, tilting her head upward, and looking down at Lin Chenxi. “Still, you just couldn’t resist throwing yourself at me like a desperate fool.”

A hush fell over the crowd that had gathered, eyes widening in recognition as they murmured amongst themselves.

“That’s her…that’s Su Weichu.”

Whispers slithered through the air like restless serpents, winding their way through the gathered crowd.

“Isn’t that Su Weichu? The one the Lin family threw out?”

“I heard she’s found herself a new backer.”

“Apparently, it’s someone from the Fu family. This woman sure knows how to climb.”

“Look at her—completely different now. She’s even bold enough to slap someone out in public.”

The murmurs grew louder, a symphony of speculation and intrigue. Despite the burning imprint of Su Weichu’s hand on her cheek, Lin Chenxi couldn’t help but let her lips curl into a smirk. Let them talk. Let them whisper. This was exactly what she wanted to happen.

Thereafter—

A sleek, black luxury car pulled up to the entrance. The moment the door swung open, Lin Huaiyu stepped out, his tall figure cutting a sharp silhouette against the city lights. The air around him seemed to freeze, weighted by an aura of dominance honed over years at the top.

Su Weichu barely had time to register his presence before another familiar figure emerged right behind him—Qiao Shan appeared.

Without hesitation, Qiao Shan looped her arm through his, pressing herself against his side in a show of intimacy. However, before Lin Huaiyu could even react, she lifted a delicate hand and pointed dramatically in Su Weichu’s direction.

“Huaiyu, look!” she gasped, her voice laced with urgency. “Chenxi is being bullied!”

Lin Huaiyu’s gaze followed her gesture, but the moment his eyes landed on that familiar silhouette—the poised yet distant figure standing beneath the glow of the chandeliers—his entire body tensed. A tremor of something raw and unguarded flickered across his face.

Su Weichu.

Within those three months, she had vanished without a trace. He had searched everywhere, and chased down every lead, only to be met with silence.

Yet now, here she was.

A storm surged within him, a violent clash of emotions he could not recognize.

Without another thought, he strode forward, closing the distance between them with measured, determined steps.

Lin Chenxi, spotting him, wasted no time. She forced out a few teardrops, her voice catching as she played the role of the victim to perfection.

“Brother,” she whimpered, clutching her stinging cheek, “Su Weichu hit me!”

At the sound of those words, Su Weichu finally turned.

There he stood—Lin Huaiyu, standing beside Qiao Shan, their bodies too close, their presence together an unspoken declaration.

Her expression didn’t change.

But the air around them suddenly felt colder.

Lin Chenxi’s sharp voice cut through the murmurs like a jagged blade.

“Su Weichu, you really have no shame! You’ve barely found a new benefactor, and you’re already turning your back on old acquaintances? Just how shameless can you be?”

The venom in her tone dripped with bitterness, but Su Weichu remained unfazed. Her icy gaze locked onto Lin Chenxi, a quiet storm brewing beneath her calm exterior.

“Looks like that slap earlier wasn’t enough to teach you a lesson, Miss Lin.” Her voice was deceptively soft, each word laced with an unspoken threat. “Perhaps you need another to drive the point home?”

Lin Chenxi’s breath hitched. Instinctively, she took a step back, her bravado faltering. “W-what are you doing?”

Su Weichu ignored her, her attention shifting to Lin Huaiyu. Her voice was crisp, devoid of warmth.

“Mr. Lin, I’d appreciate it if you kept your people in check.”

With that, she turned on her heel, poised to leave.

However, before she could take another step, a firm hand closed around her wrist.

“Chu Chu…”

The familiar voice, low and rough with emotion, sent a ripple through the air between them.

Su Weichu’s lips curled, but there was no mirth in her smile as she met Lin Huaiyu’s gaze.

“Your family just doesn’t know when to quit, do they?” Her voice was cold, sharp as glass. She lifted a brow. “Or what? I slapped your dear sister—are you here to return the favor?”

A muscle in Lin Huaiyu’s jaw tightened. For a moment, his grip on her wrist remained firm. Except, something in her eyes made him falter. The icyness in them, the utter lack of anything familiar—this wasn’t the Su Weichu he had long known.

Slowly, reluctantly, he let her go.

Su Weichu didn’t spare him another glance as she strode away.

Lin Chenxi, watching her retreating figure, clenched her fists. She turned to Lin Huaiyu, her voice laced with resentment.

“Brother, take a look at her! Who in their right mind would even want to be with someone like her?!”

“Chenxi.”

Qiao Shan’s voice was gentle but firm as she cast a wary glance at Lin Huaiyu’s darkening expression. Sensing the shift in his mood, she quickly reached for Lin Chenxi’s arm, giving it a subtle squeeze.

“Tonight’s event is filled with influential people. Your brother is only here for business. Don’t stir up unnecessary trouble,” she murmured, her tone coaxing but laced with an undertone of warning. “Besides…”

She trailed off, her eyes flickering toward Lin Huaiyu’s rigid posture, his gaze still lingering in the direction Su Weichu had disappeared.

A shadow crossed his face.

Qiao Shan’s fingers tightened ever so slightly.

Right. Besides… some things were better left unspoken.

Qiao Shan lowered her voice, her words slipping out like silk laced with poison.

“How many of these so-called powerful men don’t have mistresses? If you offend the wrong one, it won’t just be bad for you, Chenxi—it’ll be bad for your brother. For the Lin household.”

Though spoken in hushed tones, the words carried through, reaching Su Weichu’s ears with cutting clarity.

She let out a soft, mocking chuckle.

So this was how Qiao Shan saw her? A mere mistress clinging to a man for status?

Lin Huaiyu had heard it too. His face darkened, his gaze dropping to Qiao Shan, numbing and rigid. A glint of steel flickered beneath his deep-set eyes.

“Remember Lin Chenxi, as long as I refuse to sign the divorce papers,” his voice was low, each syllable slow and deliberate, “she will always be your sister-in-law. As for you Qiao Shan, if you can’t watch your mouth, then leave.”

Without waiting for a response, he turned and strode toward the grand entrance of the banquet hall, his presence commanding and sharp-edged.

Lin Chenxi’s lips trembled in fury, her nails digging into her palms. “Brother, I just don’t understand! What does that woman have that’s so special? She’s just some low-class—”

Qiao Shan tightened her grip on Lin Chenxi’s wrist, silencing her before she could finish.

“Chenxi,” she murmured, her lips curving into a soft, practiced smile. “That’s enough.”

But behind that gentle facade, her eyes shimmered with barely contained resentment.

Lin Huaiyu hadn’t just been speaking to Lin Chenxi.

He had been speaking to her.

—

Inside the grand ballroom, Lin Huaiyu barely set foot across the threshold before his gaze locked onto a familiar figure.

Su Weichu.

She stood amidst a circle of elites, poised and untouchable, draped in an exquisite white gown that clung to her silhouette with effortless elegance. Her long silky, dark hair cascaded down her back, a stark contrast to the glittering chandelier lights above.

Three months.

Three months without a trace of her.

At the present moment, she was now standing in the soft glow of crystal chandeliers, she seemed almost like a stranger.

Not the Su Weichu he had once known.

No, this woman had changed.

Lin Huaiyu took a step forward, unconsciously drawn toward her like a moth to an open flame.

But just as he moved, a delicate hand wrapped around his wrist.

“Huaiyu,” Qiao Shan’s voice was gentle, almost pleading, but there was a tremor beneath the sweetness. “I know you haven’t seen Weichu in a long time, but don’t forget—you’re here for business. You’re here to meet the Su family.”

However, before Lin Huaiyu could respond, the microphone crackled to life, and a crisp, authoritative voice echoed through the grand ballroom.

“Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests, welcome to tonight’s auction. Now, please join me in welcoming our host, the president of Su Group, Miss Su Weichu.”

A stunned silence blanketed the hall.

Qiao Shan stiffened, her breath catching in her throat.

Lin Chenxi’s eyes widened in disbelief. “W-What? Su Weichu…is the president of Su Group?”

The blood drained from her face as she watched Su Weichu ascend the stage, her every movement exuding effortless grace and power.

Lin Huaiyu said nothing, his dark eyes locked onto the woman standing under the dazzling chandelier lights.

So this was her secret.

All those years together, and he had never uncovered this part of her.

A sharp smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. What a clever little fox.

Beside him, Qiao Shan clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.

She had always believed she could stand on equal footing with Su Weichu. That she had the charm, the beauty, the intelligence to rival her.

Except tonight, as Su Weichu commanded the room with nothing but her presence, Qiao Shan finally understood—

She had never even been close.

Su Weichu stood poised on stage, radiating an effortless elegance that commanded the room. Her speech was succinct and confident—delivered with the quiet authority of someone who knew her own worth.

The very same people who had whispered about her at the entrance now scrambled to ingratiate themselves, their smiles obsequious, their tones sickly sweet.

After all, the Su family was not to be trifled with.

However, Su Weichu barely spared them a glance. With the practiced ease of someone used to navigating social minefields, she exchanged pleasantries without offering true warmth, maintaining the perfect balance between courtesy and detachment.

Just as she was preparing to leave, a tall, imposing figure stepped into her path.

Lin Huaiyu.

His dark eyes burned with an intensity she couldn’t quite decipher, a shadowed depth that sent a chill trickling down her spine.

He lifted a hand to his side in front of her, blocking her way.

Su Weichu’s lips curved into a slow, knowing smile, her eyes gleaming with challenge.

“President Lin,” she drawled, her voice as smooth as silk, “care to explain what you mean by this?”