Chapter 9: A Troublesome Guy

“Siblings but not related by blood? Who would believe that!”

If they were cousins, it would be even more unbelievable. The Sheng family never had many children to begin with.

Sheng Guohua was an only child. He started his business from scratch when he was young, and it wasn’t until he was past fifty that he built the commercial empire he has today.

His wife, Wen Xuelin, does have an older sister. Sheng Yize calls her Aunt, and that aunt has a daughter who’s now a popular celebrity. Sheng Yize refers to her as his cousin.

But no one’s ever heard of a younger sister—much less a cousin.

Sang Sui was stumped by the question.

She glanced at Sheng Yize and saw that after eating a little, he had stopped and was now looking down at his phone.

Remembering what he said to her on the first day of school, Sang Sui opened her mouth slightly.

“Actually…” Sang Sui turned to Zou Jin. “We’re not related by blood.”

The man across from her froze mid-motion.

“Not related by blood?” Zou Jin was shocked and looked over at the aloof young master across the table.

No way?!

Given how standoffish Sheng Yize always is—cold, distant, disinterested in outsiders—and yet he’s so protective of a girl who’s not even blood-related?

The world must be ending!

She smiled a little and explained, “Mm, my mom and his mom are best friends, so that’s how we know each other.”

“Childhood sweethearts?”

“?”

“Inseparable since young?”

“??”

“Ohoho…” Zou Jin cast a sly glance at the young master, grinning teasingly. “No wonder he’s so protective.”

Sheng Yize slowly lifted his eyes and glanced at Zou Jin. “Your mouth never stops, does it? If you’re so full of energy, maybe stop eating.”

“Why should I? I’m treating today!”

“Then don’t join the AI project either.”

“Wait wait wait, Brother Sheng, let’s talk this through!” Zou Jin quickly patted his own mouth. “I was being nosy, my bad! I’ll shut up!”

Sheng Yize shot him a sidelong glance, then shifted his gaze to Sang Sui.

His eyes darkened slightly, filled with a chilling coldness.

Sang Sui immediately bowed her head, pretending to be busy eating.

A moment later, the gaze that had been fixed on her finally moved away.

A strange sourness welled up in her chest.

Maybe… their relationship was never meant to be acknowledged.

That’s why he was so quick to clarify things between them.

To him, she was nothing more than his mother’s friend’s daughter, someone with no real ties to the Sheng family.

Sang Sui’s eyes turned red with the sting of tears. Worried others might notice, she sped up her chewing.

Zou Jin noticed something was off. He leaned closer and whispered, “Are you super hungry or something? Why are you eating so fast?”

Everyone turned to look at her.

Sang Sui forced a smile and said, “No, I just remembered something I have to do at school. I want to finish quickly and head back.”

“Oh…” Zou Jin didn’t pick up on her mood. “Alright, I’ll give you a ride after.”

—

After the group finished dim sum, they left the private room one by one.

Zou Jin went to pay the bill. Sheng Yize walked in front, talking on the phone with someone.

Chen Yi and a few others walked beside him. Sang Sui trailed silently at the back.

They exited the Huafu Du restaurant and waited by the entrance for Zou Jin.

Sheng Yize hung up the call, his brows furrowed deeply.

“Is there an issue with the investment from San Yang Tech?” Chen Yi looked concerned.

“They think our AI development project doesn’t align with their company’s vision, so they pulled their investment.”

“What do we do now?”

Sheng Yize was silent for a few seconds. “Wait for the next round of funding.”

“Okay.”

Sheng Yize glanced at the people Zou Jin had brought along. His expression darkened slightly. “Those few—don’t let them mess up our team. They’re not competent.”

Chen Yi was surprised and looked over. “Wait, how do you know that?”

“I probed them privately.”

“Oh?”

“They’re dumb and arrogant.”

“…”

His mouth was still as sharp as ever.

“Got it. I’ll talk to Zou Jin.”

Sheng Yize nodded.

Chen Yi glanced at Sang Sui standing nearby. “Sheng-ge, that girl doesn’t look too well.”

Sheng Yize gave him a sideways glance. “What, you interested in her?”

“No way!”

“You seem pretty concerned.”

“Don’t joke.” Chen Yi laughed. “I’m just curious. You seem kinda cold to her.”

Sheng Yize turned to look at the girl.

She stood alone, backpack slung over her shoulder, her head lightly resting against a pillar by the entrance. Her head was down, and she listlessly kicked the base of the column with her toes.

He stared for a few seconds, then averted his gaze and turned to leave.

“She’s just a troublesome girl. Why bother being warm?”

“…”

—

As soon as Sheng Yize got into the car, Zou Jin came out after paying.

He had his hands in his pockets, running one hand through his hair as he walked toward Sang Sui.

Sheng Yize immediately frowned. “You take her back.”

Chen Yi, who had just sat down, froze. He instantly understood who the “her” referred to.

He looked into the distance. Whatever Sang Sui had just said to Zou Jin, the girl took a step back and gave a very formal ninety-degree bow.

Zou Jin: “…”

Chen Yi chuckled and looked at Sheng Yize. “With Zou Jin around, why do I need to take her?”

Sheng Yize shot him a warning look, and Chen Yi rubbed his nose. “Why don’t you take her? She is your sister, after all!”

Sheng Yize turned away. “Busy.”

“Excuses, all of them.” Chen Yi clicked his tongue. “I don’t know what that poor girl did to offend you, but you’re way too cold to her.”

Sheng Yize said nothing, just tilted his head toward him—and even gave a faint smile!

Terrifying!

Chen Yi immediately raised both hands in surrender. “Alright, alright, I’ll take her.”

He got out and closed the door.

—

Chen Yi walked over and yanked Zou Jin by the collar, pulling him aside.

“Alright, enough chit-chat. Move it. I’ll take Sister Sang Sui back to school.”

Zou Jin yelled, “What the hell, Chen Yi, don’t mess around!”

Chen Yi let go and pointed toward the luxury car.

The message was clear: it’s Sheng-ge’s order.

“……”

Sang Sui turned at the sound of Chen Yi’s voice and looked over. Inside the luxury car, the man’s face was half-hidden in the shadows. Before she could get a good look, the car started and pulled away.

Watching the car disappear into the distance, Sang Sui couldn’t help the disappointment in her eyes.

Then Chen Yi’s voice rang out—

“Sheng-ge’s busy. He asked me to take you back.”

Sang Sui snapped out of it and looked at him, nodding. “Thank you.”

—

Chen Yi drove his own car to take Sang Sui back.

Yunjing University wasn’t far—just ten minutes away.

But since outside vehicles weren’t allowed into the campus, Chen Yi parked by the road and walked with her to the dorm.

All the way, the girl had her head down, her mood visibly low, barely saying a word.

The dorms were a kilometer from the entrance, so they walked side by side along the school path.

“Brother Chen Yi, can I ask you something?” Sang Sui suddenly spoke.

Chen Yi paused and turned to her. “What?”

Sang Sui turned, tightly gripping her backpack strap. “How long have you known Sheng Yize?”

The question stumped him.

He thought for a moment. “Hmm… probably eight or nine years?”

“That long?”

“Yeah, because of some business stuff, my dad and Uncle Sheng got acquainted. Later, from elementary school to middle school to high school, and even now in college—we’ve always been in the same school and same class.”

As he spoke, Chen Yi chuckled. “Time flies. Can’t believe it’s been nearly a decade.”

“You two are so close… you must know a lot about him, right?”

“Huh?” Chen Yi blinked, then laughed. “Well, there are still things I don’t know.”

“Like what?”

“Like you.” Chen Yi smiled meaningfully. “I had no idea he had a childhood sweetheart like you.”

“……”

Sang Sui lowered her long lashes, muttering, “We’re not childhood sweethearts. We just know each other.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing.” Sang Sui looked up at him. “Then, aside from me, you know pretty much everything else about him?”

Chen Yi raised a brow and nodded.

“Then do you know…” Sang Sui gripped her bag strap even tighter. “Why does he hate me so much?”