Chapter 55

“But you already let the wolf in… What now?”

In the dim room illuminated only by moonlight, the heat blowing by her ear added a touch of ambiguity to the tranquil atmosphere.

Su Miao Miao couldn’t help but shiver slightly.

This elicited a low, amused chuckle by her ear—

“Kid, do you really think so poorly of your master?”

Su Miao Miao: “…No, I don’t.”

“Then why are you shaking?”

“…”

Hearing the undisguised mockery in his tone, Su Miao Miao closed her mouth, refusing to make another sound.

Given the time, place, and darkness, it was somewhat dangerous. Shang Yan never had much trust in his own humanity and limits, so he consciously took half a step back.

However, he didn’t let go of the girl’s wrist.

Su Miao Miao obviously noticed this too. She tugged lightly and then looked up at him in confusion.

“Aren’t you leaving?”

Shang Yan pulled the girl into the moonlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling window and turned slightly at her words.

“I went through a lot of trouble to sneak up here, and now you’re driving me away?”

“…”

Su Miao Miao didn’t banter with him; instead, she pulled her wrist free. The girl turned, walked barefoot to the wardrobe, and took out a round, soft cushion.

It seemed to be a pair with the one already on the floor.

When the girl, blushing, brought it over and handed it to him, Shang Yan surprisingly felt a slight fondness for the Wen family—though it was just because of their pair of cushions.

Shang Yan took it.

They sat side by side in front of the floor-to-ceiling window.

The branches outside were dyed a deep black by the night, and when the full moon in the sky was covered by thin clouds, the little light remaining in the room dimmed further.

Shang Yan glanced sideways, looking continuously at the girl beside him.

As Su Miao Miao withdrew her gaze from the window, she slowly rested her arm on her knees, buried her face to the side, and murmured softly, “It’s amazing…”

“Hmm?”

Shang Yan’s fingers, hanging by his side, twitched slightly. In the end, he couldn’t resist and lifted the girl’s small head, smiling gently.

“What’s amazing?”

Su Miao Miao looked up.

“It’s just… with just the two of us here, not talking, it’s very quiet, but it doesn’t feel awkward at all.”

Shang Yan laughed softly.

“That’s what’s amazing?”

Su Miao Miao looked at him.

The small head under Shang Yan’s palm paused and then nodded slightly.

Shang Yan felt a stirring in his heart.

He leaned in closer, chuckling softly by the girl’s ear.

“Then in the future, how about Master takes you to do more amazing things?”

Su Miao Miao: “…”

For some reason, at that moment, Shang Yan gave her the feeling of the wolf disguised as a grandmother from the fairy tale, standing outside the wooden door with a cane and a cloak.

Su Miao Miao was silent for two seconds.

“No.”

—

With a soft click, the little rabbit cautiously closed the door.

Shang Yan chuckled helplessly.He leaned back, no longer teasing the girl, “Do you often sit like this alone?”

“Mm,” Su Miao Miao responded softly.

Shang Yan’s gaze shifted slightly, “Doesn’t it get boring?”

Su Miao Miao thought for a moment, then shook her head. “You get used to it.”

“…”

Shang Yan’s eyes darkened slightly.

“You get used to it.”

But she was only sixteen, suffering from such an illness. How had she gotten used to it all alone for so many years?

The Su family…

Shang Yan’s hand, resting on the outside, slowly clenched. He averted his gaze, avoiding looking directly at the girl, fearing his current emotions might scare her.

“I like the stars.”

The girl suddenly spoke softly.

Shang Yan glanced at her, while Su Miao Miao slightly tilted her face upward, her pointed chin aimed at the night sky outside the window, looking at the scattered, mottled stars that seemed to be carelessly sprinkled across the sky.

The corners of her eyes curved downwards.

“They listen to me and keep me company. I can name many of them; the headmistress taught me—”

Her words abruptly stopped.

Shang Yan keenly noticed the significance of the person she mentioned.

“Who is the headmistress?”

“…”

Su Miao Miao’s gaze flickered, and she hesitantly and uneasily lowered her face.

Shang Yan seemed to understand.

His eyes deepened, but he only showed a faint smile.

“If you don’t want to talk about it now, we can talk about it later.”

“…”

The girl remained there silently, refusing to say another word.

After waiting for a long time, Shang Yan sighed quietly in his heart.

He stood up and gently patted her head.

“Rest well tonight. Master will leave now, alright?”

“…”

The only response was silence.

Shang Yan didn’t insist and turned to walk towards the door. Just as he grasped the door handle, a soft voice sounded behind him—

“One year at most.”

Shang Yan quickly turned back.

The girl had her back to him, her petite figure curled into a small shadow on the floor.

Even the tiniest particles in the air seemed to tremble lightly with her words.

“Within a year, I will tell Master everything.”

“…”

“So, Master, can you wait for me?”

“…”

Shang Yan’s silence this time was particularly prolonged.

It lasted until the girl began to feel uneasy before he spoke up:

“Why one year?”

The unsettled emotions crawled up his limbs and into his heart, silently gnawing at him.

Su Miao Miao answered quietly, “Because before I turn eighteen, I need to make a very important decision… Before making that decision, I think… I might need Master to tell me how to choose.”

The boy’s figure stood still in the darkness for a long time.

After a while, he lowered his gaze and spoke softly.

“Okay.”

“I’ll wait for you.”

“…”

The door opened and closed again.

The round moon hanging in the treetops quietly hid behind the clouds.

…

Leaving the Wen family villa, the road was even quieter.

Shang Yan’s expression was blank, his handsome profile under the moonlight revealing a hint of sharp coldness.

He walked back to his car, asked the driver for his phone, and made a call to the side.

The call was answered shortly.

Bo Yi’s voice came through the phone—

“Brother, can I call you brother? It’s almost nine o’clock, and I am a mentally and physically healthy adult. I have my nightlife, you know—of course, I know you don’t understand, but you have to understand me.”

Shang Yan frowned, but he wasn’t in the mood for joking right now.

“I’ve confirmed Su Miao Miao’s background.”

“…”

There was a pause on the other end.

After a few seconds, there was a rustling sound, as if he had changed rooms, before Bo Yi spoke again.

This time, his tone carried a hint of seriousness.

“I’ve also vaguely found some clues on my end, but because I can’t confirm, and it’s related to… So I haven’t told you yet.”

“If what you found is related to the Su family, then you can continue investigating.”

Bo Yi’s voice sank.

“Is she really from the Su family… the daughter of Su Yiqing, who was rumored to have died early?”

Shang Yan lowered his eyes.

After a while, he uttered a low “Hmm.”

Bo Yi continued, “I never expected… If it’s true that your Shang family and the Su family are connected, it’s quite dramatic, isn’t it? Such dramatic events happening to you?”

But Shang Yan’s gaze turned colder, his voice somewhat chilly.

“Whether it’s destiny or fate remains to be seen.”

Bo Yi naturally understood his meaning and hesitated before speaking, “Su Yiqing and his wife are considered good people in the industry as far as I know, but the old lady of the Su family… she’s notoriously difficult to deal with. I suspect there may be hidden motives behind this.”

Shang Yan detected Bo Yi’s hesitation and frowned.

“Have you heard something else?”

“…”

Bo Yi remained silent for a few seconds, then gritted his teeth and spoke frankly, “I haven’t verified this matter, and I have no way to verify it, so just take it with a grain of salt.”

“Go ahead.”

“Su Yiqing’s youngest daughter was born with congenital heart disease, you should know that, right?”

Shang Yan’s gaze darkened slightly.

“…Hmm.”

“I heard from an old employee who used to work for the Su family that the child was diagnosed before she was even born.”

“…”

Shang Yan’s breath caught in his throat.

The joints of the hand holding the phone tightened unconsciously.

And the words from the other end of the phone followed the path his mind was guessing at this moment—

“At that time, Mrs. Su insisted on an abortion. It was Su Yiqing’s wife, Jiang Rushi, who was pregnant at the time, who insisted on giving birth to the child.”

—

Old Madam Su was very upset. It is said that Jiang Rushi had to threaten to die to keep the child… Since then, Old Madam Su has been extremely unfriendly to her. Even when it was time for her to give birth, she never once visited her second daughter-in-law or her granddaughter.

It wasn’t until many years later, when Jiang Rushi gave birth to the only grandson of the Su family, Su Yan, that their mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship finally thawed a bit.

…

Shang Yan remained silent, his profile cold and sharp, his thin lips tightly pressed.

“So, you mean to say that the main reason Su Miao Miao has been wandering outside and unable to return home is because of that old lady from the Su family?”

Hearing the coldness in Shang Yan’s voice, Bo Yi shuddered inwardly and seriously denied, “I never said that. I only told you what I heard, and I also told you that this rumor might not be true.”

—

“Would you speak up if you were less than 80% confident?”

Shang Yan asked coldly.

Bo Yi replied, “…No.”

Shang Yan said, “I understand.”

With that, he was about to hang up the phone.

“Wait, no, no, no—don’t hang up!”

Bo Yi panicked on the other end.

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re going to head straight north with a knife to avenge your kid and deal with that old lady in one stroke!?”

Shang Yan chuckled.

His tone was short and cold at the end.

Bo Yi was speechless.

Bo Yi said, “Calm down.”

Shang Yan took a deep breath, suppressing the violent anger simmering inside him. Then he slowly exhaled, his voice low and slightly hoarse.

“I won’t.”

“At least not until you uncover the truth behind the Su family’s ‘expulsion’ of her. I won’t do anything.”

Bo Yi cautiously probed, “And if… I mean, just in case, if it really is as I said, and the old lady from the Su family is just that stubborn, then what are you planning to do…?”

Shang Yan laughed again, even colder this time.

Bo Yi swallowed hard, “I’ll investigate. I will find out everything clearly and thoroughly. But before that, promise me you really won’t do anything.”

“…”

“If anything happens to you, do you believe your sister would skin me alive?”

Shang Yan lowered his eyes, hiding the darkness in them.

“Don’t worry.”

“Even for Su Miao Miao, I won’t do anything.”

“…”

Only with this assurance did Bo Yi finally let out a long sigh of relief.

*

The anniversary celebration activities at No. 3 High School officially concluded at the end of November. Originally, it was thought that this event would be like a floating duckweed in the water, quickly fading away with time. However, starting from the day after the celebration ended, strange rumors began circulating within the school.

All these rumors pointed to one person—

Su Miao Miao, from Class 1 of Grade 11.

On this Monday, after the last class of the morning, Su Miao Miao, as usual, went to the cafeteria of No. 3 High School with her desk mates, Qi Wenyue and Liao Lanxin.

Along the way, Su Miao Miao’s expression became increasingly peculiar.

She wondered if it was just her imagination, but it felt like many strangers passing by kept glancing at her, sometimes accompanied by whispers. However, because of her looks and popularity, Su Miao Miao was used to being the center of attention at No. 3 High School. After thinking about it for a while and finding no clear reason, she decided to ignore it.

The three of them got their meals from the cafeteria and found a long table with four empty seats, sitting down together. At the other end of the table, a few girls who had been chatting suddenly paused.

Two of them leaned their heads together and whispered:

“Isn’t she Su Miao Miao?”

“Yes… her face is too recognizable.”

“Are the rumors true? Is she really sick? She doesn’t look like it—”

“Who knows, but we should be careful. I don’t dare eat at this table anymore…”

“I’ll join you.”

“…”

Led by the two girls, everyone picked up their half-eaten trays and left. The others at the same table looked at each other and silently stood up, dispersing to different spots.

Su Miao Miao, who had just sat down, was stunned and looked back in confusion.

The cafeteria was crowded with students. Countless gazes collided with hers and then quickly looked away.

In those few seconds, amid the many eyes, Su Miao Miao clearly saw a range of complex emotions: fear, curiosity, avoidance, pity, malice, and more.

Su Miao Miao’s heart tightened. She instinctively gripped her tray, a sense of foreboding sweeping over her.

Qi Wenyue and Liao Lanxin were equally puzzled. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, Qi Wenyue grabbed a student she knew from middle school and whispered with them for a long time before returning with a grim expression.

“What’s going on?” Liao Lanxin, rarely initiating conversation, asked.

Qi Wenyue glanced at Su Miao Miao with a complicated look. “Miao Miao… promise you won’t get mad when I tell you.”

“Okay.” Su Miao Miao nodded slowly.

Qi Wenyue said, “Some idiot outside spread rumors that the reason you, Miao Miao, didn’t get selected as the host for the anniversary celebration is because of…” Qi Wenyue glanced at Su Miao Miao, hesitating, and whispered, “it’s because of your health condition.”

It had come.

Su Miao Miao’s hand holding the chopsticks trembled lightly.

The truth couldn’t be concealed forever. She had known that this day would come eventually. She just hadn’t expected it to arrive so soon.

Qi Wenyue was still beside herself with indignation, “These idiots… they believe anything they hear! And someone even said that you, Miao Miao, have a contagious disease. Are they out of their minds?! If that were true, would the school allow Miao Miao to study here!?”

Qi Wenyue’s voice as she said these words was not at all lowered; in fact, it was raised. Students sitting near several tables could hear her. The whispers and surreptitious glances ceased awkwardly after her outburst. Then, they all lowered their heads, burying their faces in their trays.

But Su Miao Miao shook her head lightly.

“Don’t be angry, it’s okay, Qiqi.”

Qi Wenyue looked at her in shock, “Aren’t you angry? They’re spreading rumors about you like this!”

Su Miao Miao remained silent for a long time before lifting her gaze and suddenly smiling lightly, “But… I do have a condition.”

The girl’s voice was soft, and her smile bloomed like a flower stretching its limbs under the first rays of spring, so beautiful that even Qi Wenyue lost her composure.

Liao Lanxin frowned beside them.

“But you’re definitely not contagious. They shouldn’t behave like this; it’s verbal violence,” she said.Su Miao Miao lowered her eyes.

After a while, the corners of her mouth lifted slightly, her smile gentle, but the emotions in her eyes were unclear.

“In fact, it’s not that different… People fear illness; it’s normal. Nobody wants to be near hospitals, and it’s the same when they think about individuals,” she said.

And if they knew her true condition, those gazes would only become more intense. Whether it was curiosity, investigation, sympathy, or avoidance… those emotions would only intensify.

They would remind her day after day, moment by moment—

The gap between her and normal people could be as vast as the distance marked by those gazes.

Qi Wenyue snapped out of her daze and heard the hidden anguish in the girl’s voice. She furrowed her brow, poking at the food in her tray without appetite. Then she complained in a low voice, “Where’s Brother Yan? How can he not be by Miao Miao’s side at a time like this?”

Su Miao Miao snapped out of her thoughts and quickly looked up.

“Don’t tell him about this,” she said urgently.

“How can I not?!” Qi Wenyue instinctively retorted. “I have to tell him— if he makes it clear, I don’t believe anyone in the school would dare to gossip about you like this to your face.”

“Please don’t.”

Su Miao Miao’s voice was rare, and it sounded a bit urgent.

Qi Wenyue looked at her even more puzzled.

“Why not? Um… are you afraid he’ll ask about your condition?”

Su Miao Miao shook her head.

“The computer training group has a very, very important competition in December. They’ve been preparing since October.”

Seeming unsure, Su Miao Miao looked at Qi Wenyue seriously, almost as if she were about to entrust her with each word.

“Please, don’t let him be distracted at this time.”

“Oh…”

Qi Wenyue reluctantly agreed.

Liao Lanxin chimed in, a rare occurrence.

“I know about that competition. It’s held every three years, at an international level. In December, they have the preliminary rounds in the Asian region, right?” she said, then looked at Su Miao Miao.

“Yeah,” Su Miao Miao confirmed.

Liao Lanxin said, “And I heard that two boys from the senior class are already planning to quit their teams. If I remember correctly, that competition is a team event with multiple members per team. If they don’t fill the spots promptly after the sudden decrease in numbers, it will be very disadvantageous for them,” she said,

“Yes,” Su Miao Miao looked worried, “He’s been troubled by this matter for a long time, so I don’t want to bother him with such trivial matters at a time like this.”

Liao Lanxin nodded, evidently agreeing with her approach.

However, sitting across from Su Miao Miao, she casually lifted her gaze, and her chopsticks paused in midair.

After a moment, Liao Lanxin smiled, a rare occurrence.

She picked up her tray and stood up.

“It seems like we’ve been worrying for nothing…”

Qi Wenyue saw something and became anxious, “Lanxin, you’re not going to be so disloyal, are you!?”

Liao Lanxin was suddenly interrupted by her, rolled her eyes, then nodded her chin in the direction of the aisle behind Su Miao Miao.

“Take a look for yourself, see who’s here.”

“Huh?”

Qi Wenyue turned around and her face lit up with joy, “Brother Yan?”

Before the boy reached them, Qi Wenyue dragged Liao Lanxin and ran to the other end of the now-vacant long table. Before leaving, she couldn’t help but turn back and smirk at the bewildered Su Miao Miao.

“Don’t mind us, shining alone is our conscious duty as third wheels,” she said.

Su Miao Miao: “…”

Before she could respond, the two of them had already seated themselves at the far end of the table.

At the same time, a tall figure stopped beside her.

Seemingly a bit low-spirited.

Su Miao Miao: “…”

The girl slowly raised her face and gave a soft smile.

“Master, good noon.”

The emotions in those dark eyes were heavy, and the handsome face had a slight tension, expressionless.

“No, it’s not good.”

The boy turned around and, amidst the covert glances from almost the entire cafeteria, sat directly across from the girl.

The corners of his thin lips barely lifted, a faint arc that hardly qualified as a smile passed over his face.

“My kid has been bullied to near death, and you won’t even tell me anything. Tell me, how am I supposed to be okay?” he said.

Su Miao Miao lowered her head guiltily, “I didn’t want to disturb you because I saw you were busy preparing for the preliminary rounds of the competition…”

“Don’t make excuses.”

Shang Yan’s eyes were cold as he spoke.

“Did I ever tell you before that I’m not afraid of trouble? So when trouble comes, I’ll stand in front of you,” Shang Yan said.

Su Miao Miao remained silent.

Shang Yan stared at her for a few seconds, squinting slightly. “Are you completely ignoring your master’s words now?”

Su Miao Miao shook her head and set down the chopsticks after eating only a few bites, her eyes obediently innocent.

“No, I’m not,” she said.

“If something like this happens again, I’ll definitely tell Master in advance,” she promised.

Shang Yan finally seemed satisfied.

He glanced to the side, and with a single sweep of his gaze, he broke through countless glances that had been stolen.

Shang Yan furrowed his brow.

“What did they say about you, contagious disease?” he asked.

Su Miao Miao pouted but remained silent.

Shang Yan scoffed lightly.

After a moment, he turned back, leaning forward with his hands on the table, his lips slightly parted.

“Feed me,” he said.

Su Miao Miao: “??”

Shang Yan patiently repeated, “Use your chopsticks to feed me.”