Chapter 8

On Friday night, Su Miao Miao and Wen Susu took the Wen family’s private car and returned to their villa together. It was a rare occasion that both Wen Chengzhou and Gao Qinwen were at home.

As Wen Susu entered the foyer, she noticed the two and asked curiously, “Dad, how come you came home so early today? Is there something going on?”

From the sofa, Wen Chengzhou started to rise, pausing mid-motion. He exchanged a glance with Gao Qinwen in the living room before saying, “Let’s eat dinner first.”

“…Oh.” Wen Susu moved away from the foyer.

Behind her, Su Miao Miao quietly came out as well.

Wen Chengzhou’s company was usually busy, and though Su Miao Miao had been staying with the Wen family for two weeks, it was rare for all four of them to eat together. This dinner was particularly quiet. Throughout the meal, Su Miao Miao felt that Gao Qinwen seemed to want to say something, but Wen Chengzhou silently suppressed her attempts each time.

Su Miao Miao felt a slight turmoil within her.

“Miao Miao, are you not feeling well today?” Wen Chengzhou suddenly asked.

Su Miaomiao paused, then shook her head.

“…”

Wen Chengzhou and Gao Qinwen exchanged looks, then he put down his utensils. “Actually, today, your homeroom teacher called me.”

Wen Susu stopped moving her chopsticks, “Mr. Li? What did he call you for?”

“…”

Wen Chengzhou didn’t rush to answer, instead, he looked towards the girl who had her face hidden in the hoodie of her sweatshirt.

Seeing that it was unrelated to her, Wen Susu sulkily turned away.

Wen Chengzhou said, “Miao Miao, were you seen by your grade head during the flag-raising ceremony on Monday?”

“…Yes.”

Su Miao Miao slowed her movements.Wen Chengzhou continued, “From what your homeroom teacher said, it seems a student reported your information to your grade head, Mr. Hao He.”

Su Miao Miao was startled.

Before she could react, Wen Susu asked in shock, “Someone reported? How is that possible?”

Gao Qinwen frowned, “Why are you reacting so strongly?”

“…” Wen Susu muttered, “It just seems unlikely that anyone else would know…”

Wen Chengzhou was aware of his daughter’s slight animosity towards Su Miao Miao and frowned slightly at Wen Susu before turning away. “Miao Miao, Mr. Hao was quite upset when he found out. He contacted your homeroom teacher, Mr. Li Shijie, and through him, he reached out to… your guardian listed on your personal information form.”

“…!”

Su Miao Miao’s hand holding her chopsticks suddenly froze in mid-air. After a few seconds, she slowly set down her utensils and asked softly, “Then what?”

“Your mother will come to City C tomorrow morning, and we’ll have lunch together, both families, okay?”

Su Miao Miao silently lowered her eyes.

She knew that when adults posed such questions, they never really offered a choice between “okay” and “not okay”. Just like when she was sent to this strange city and its unfamiliar sanatorium, no one had cared about her opinion then either.

Thus, Su Miao Miao steadied herself on the edge of the solid wood dining table and slowly stood up.

“…I understand,” she said softly. “I’ll go back to my room now.”

As the girl was about to leave the dining room, Wen Chengzhou turned around, his expression troubled. “Miao Miao, if possible, could you wear the new clothes Auntie Gao bought for you today before we leave tomorrow at noon?”

Su Miao Miao’s figure paused.

At the dining table, Wen Susu incredulously looked up at Gao Qinwen, silently mouthing in annoyance: “Mom…?”

Gao Qinwen sternly glared at her.

Wen Susu bit her lip, frustratedly watching the girl’s retreating figure at the doorway.

Wen Chengzhou continued in a soft tone, “You haven’t seen your mother in a few years, right? Dressing like this… she’ll be worried. Don’t make it difficult for your uncle and aunt, okay?”

“…”

Under the hood, the girl’s lips seemed even paler than before. After standing for a long while, she softly agreed, then turned and walked upstairs.

The next morning, the Filipino maid brought the neatly ironed dress into Su Miao Miao’s room. As she knocked and entered, she found the girl sitting on the bed, staring blankly out of the window.

“Miao Miao, I’ve hung the dress here for you. Please change into it soon; Mr. Wen and Mrs. Wen are ready to leave.”

“Okay.” Su Miao Miao responded softly, standing up. After the maid left and closed the door, Su Miao Miao drew the curtains and walked over to the clothes rack beside the door.

Two pieces of clothing were hung on the rack.On the left was a mid-length black thin coat. On the right, a red sleeveless knee-length dress with a flared skirt. The back of the dress featured a red ribbon tied into a large bow at the waist, with a section of cherry-colored sheer fabric below the waistline. The dress was very bright and particularly demanding on one’s complexion.

Su Miao Miao reached out, took the two garments, and began to change rustlingly.

A few minutes later, the curtains of the room were drawn back again, and Su Miao Miao stood in front of a full-length mirror. Her slender, pale fingers gathered her slightly chestnut, wavy long hair into a ponytail. Then she lowered her arms and looked up.In the mirror was a girl with a perfectly shaped oval face; any thinner would make her look gaunt, any fuller would seem chubby. Her delicate facial features adorned her small face: light-colored lips, a graceful nose, and amber eyes accentuated by slightly upturned corners, exuding a nearly radiant beauty. The skin exposed outside her clothes appeared even whiter against the red dress, seemingly fragile to the touch, as if pressing a finger would leave a crimson mark.

Yet, staring at her reflection, the girl’s eyes lost focus. The harsh, blurred voices from her memories echoed in her ears—

“…Why does she have to be so pretty?”

“The head nurse only cares about her.”

“…I hate her so much!”

“A poor thing nobody wants. I heard from the nurse that even her grandmother hates her!”

“I wish she would move away.”

“I hope she disappears forever!”

The noises of bullying seemed still to be ringing in her ears, and the pain from those indifferent shoves seemed to still linger in her body… Su Miao Miao’s face turned pale, and she instinctively hugged her shoulders, her fingertips subconsciously clenching, bloodless under her nails. When the voices finally faded and clarity returned to her eyes as sunlight streamed through the window, she just barely came back to herself.

It’s all in the past.

Her eyelashes trembled lightly as she slowly controlled her still-shivering breath, exhaling slowly.

As long as she hid herself well, perhaps not so many people would dislike her… That would be enough.

At that moment, the Wen family of three was sitting on the living room sofa. Wen Susu couldn’t let it go and asked, “Mom, do I really have to go today?”

“This is not up for discussion,” said Gao Qinwen firmly.

“But I really have something…”

“What is it?”

“I… a classmate is having a birthday… I want to buy a gift to give to him…”

“You can buy the gift tomorrow and bring it to him next Monday.”

“It’s not the same!” Wen Susu became slightly frantic, “They…”

Gao Qinwen’s expression cooled: “No matter what, you must go today.”

“…”

Wen Susu, extremely frustrated, turned her face away.

After a few seconds of silence, she stood up impatiently: “Why hasn’t she come down—”

Her words abruptly stopped.

Wen Chengzhou frowned and looked towards his daughter, only to see Wen Susu frozen in place.

Following Wen Susu’s gaze, Wen Chengzhou turned his head towards the staircase leading to the second floor.

Seeing the girl who was coming down the stairs, a look of admiration flickered across his eyes.

—Wen Chengzhou had known since long ago that the youngest Su girl was naturally beautiful. Having met her once two years ago, he still vaguely remembered her. Now, seeing her again, not only had the years not eroded her raw, jade-like quality, but they had actually enhanced her stunning, nascent beauty. It was not hard to imagine what a breathtaking beauty she would become in another two or three years.

Among the three, it was Gao Qinwen who first snapped out of it. She managed a stiff smile, stood up, and pulled Wen Chengzhou—

“Since Miao Miao is ready, let’s go.”

“…”

Wen Susu finally regained her senses, her gaze lowering complexly.

She felt awkwardly embarrassed to realize that after seeing Su Miao Miao’s current appearance, she could hardly muster any jealousy. While everyone else grew into mediocrity, this person… turned out to be more and more beautiful!With annoyance in her heart and a flush on her face, Wen Susu turned and walked out.

A taxi was driving down the most famous central avenue in City C. In the back seat, a young man with sharp and handsome features leaned against the seat back, his long legs awkwardly stuffed in front of him. The side profile of his face was also sharply and beautifully defined, with half-lowered eyelashes casting shadows over his pale skin, tinged slightly green. Clearly, he hadn’t slept well the night before.

It was the weekend peak time, and the roads were congested. The taxi occasionally had to brake sharply. After being jolted awake by one such sudden stop, the young man lifted his thin eyelids, his dark pupils, tinged with a hint of fierceness and slightly unfocused, coldly stared at the driver in the rearview mirror. The driver resisted the urge to shiver and awkwardly shifted his gaze away.

On the passenger seat, Li Zhe, who had been quiet as a mouse, finally caught a rare moment when Shang Yan was awake, and cautiously spoke up. “Brother Yan, why didn’t you get some proper rest last night on the eve of your birthday?”

Slowly regaining consciousness, Shang Yan raised his hand, his slender fingers coming together to pinch the bridge of his nose. After a moment, he reopened his eyes, his voice hoarse as he moved his thin lips. “You have the nerve to ask?”

Li Zhe: “…”

“At 3 a.m., calling to wish me a happy birthday, you’re not afraid you’ll die at my hands today?”

Li Zhe: “…”

Li Zhe: “I’m sorry, Brother Yan, my bad.”

Shang Yan withdrew his gaze, slightly furrowed his brow, and impatiently glanced out the window. “How much longer until we arrive?”

“It’s just ahead,” Li Zhe said, his tone somewhat excited. “It’s the best Western restaurant in City C. I barely managed to get a reservation for today.”

The back seat fell silent.

Li Zhe turned to look—Shang Yan had closed his eyes again.With a headache, Li Zhe turned back around. With Yan Ge in this state, Shu Wei’s confession today seemed very uncertain.

Five minutes later, the taxi finally made its way out of the slow-moving “iron dragon” and pulled up under the porte-cochere of the restaurant.

Shang Yan and Li Zhe got out of the car and entered the lobby where Shu Wei and others, who had been waiting for a long time, walked up to them.

“Shang Yan, you are the guest of honor, how come you just arrived?” Shu Wei, smiling, walked up to greet them.

Li Zhe’s eyes lit up.

Today, Shu Wei was clearly dressed up specially, wearing light makeup and a mermaid-style long dress. Although it looked a bit formal, her figure was definitely accentuated, attracting the gaze of many men in the lobby. She looked solely at Shang Yan, who was emerging from the revolving door, with a charming smile.

Holding a pale gold clutch, Shu Wei walked up and was about to link arms with Shang Yan. “I’ve been waiting for you for so long…”

The somewhat weary Shang Yan lifted his eyelids just as he raised his forearm to adjust some messy black hair.

Her fingertips lightly touched his forearm, which outlined thin muscle lines, and although Shu Wei’s smile briefly paused, she quickly covered it up as naturally as ever.

Shang Yan turned to the side, glanced at Li Zhe, and asked, “Which floor?”

At the end of his question, his dark eyes subtly chilled.

Already feeling guilty, Li Zhe, feeling more startled by the gaze, quickly pointed to the spacious spiral staircase in the southeast corner of the lobby—

“Second floor, up there.”

Shang Yan’s thin lips curled slightly, a cool shadow creeping into his eyes. He stared at Li Zhe for a few seconds, then turned his gaze away and walked out with his hands in his pockets.

“Li Zhe is treating, let’s eat him out of house and home.”

His words were concise.

But immediately received enthusiastic responses from the guys.

Li Zhe, having been seriously threatened, let out a long sigh of relief.He almost thought he really might die at Brother Yan’s hands today—looking like Brother Yan wasn’t upset with Shu Wei at all; he knew he should never have involved Shu Wei…After giving the reservation information at the front desk, the group, led by a uniformed waiter, followed the 180-degree spiral staircase up to the second-floor Western restaurant.”Your reserved table is this way, please follow me.”The waiter stepped onto the brightly tiled floor covered with a red carpet and bowed slightly to the group.Shang Yan, Li Zhe, and Shu Wei walked at the front. Li Zhe absentmindedly shifted his gaze aside, but suddenly stopped in his tracks, instinctively grabbing Shang Yan beside him—”I, I, I, I—I—”

Shang Yan, stopped by him, narrowed his eyes impatiently.”What the heck, are you a chicken?”Finally snapping back to reality, Li Zhe turned excitedly, his face flushed—”Holy shit, Brother Yan, look over there!—that girl in the red dress! She’s incredibly beautiful! I, I, I, damn, I must chase after her!”