Chapter 7

Throughout lunch, Su Hang couldn’t bring himself to like the look of Feng Bai. But with Wen Jiu and Su Miao seated on either side of him, he didn’t dare say a word.

After the meal, everyone set off back to An City. Wen Jiu rode directly in the same car as Su Miao and Feng Bai, leaving Su Hang to ride alone in the back of the other car with the chauffeur.

He looked pitifully isolated.

He let out a string of heavy sighs along the way, completely powerless to change the situation.

Wen Jiu didn’t say much during the drive, only exchanging a few polite words with Feng Bai every now and then.

It was obvious that she held quite a favorable impression of him.

And Feng Bai, possessing the memories of his past life, naturally spared no effort in winning her over.

By the time they reached An City, their banter had grown so comfortable that Wen Jiu even warmly invited Feng Bai over to their house as a guest.

Feng Bai politely declined. He still had a mountain of urgent matters to settle.

Originally, he had planned to launch his startup in Jing City, but he had now made the firm decision to relocate his operations to An City instead.

An City was where Su Miao was. He refused to put any distance between them again.

Of course, that was his own private ambition, one he intended to keep entirely to himself.

When Su Miao and her parents arrived back at the residence, they spotted Su Ran walking down the grand staircase.

Su Miao narrowed her eyes, keeping her lips sealed. She casually averted her gaze, acting as if nothing were amiss.

Seeing them return, Su Ran offered a pleasant smile and asked a few attentive questions, but everyone’s response was distinctly lukewarm, with the sole exception of Su Hang.

Su Miao headed straight up to her room to rest. After taking a quick look around, she slipped up to the third floor.

The Su estate was fitted with quite a few security cameras. Under normal circumstances, no one paid much attention to them, but she wanted to see if Su Ran had been up to anything suspicious while they were gone.

After all, Su Ran’s guest room was located on the ground floor.

How could she have possibly been coming down from upstairs?

Su Miao pulled up the camera footage.

From the hallway feeds, she watched Su Ran enter Wen Jiu and Su Hang’s master bedroom, linger inside for a while, and then slip into the private study. During that window, Su Ran had even tried the handle of Su Miao’s bedroom door.

Fortunately, Su Miao had locked her room before leaving, keeping her cousin out.

Su Miao calmly saved the video file directly to her phone. Even this early on, Su Ran was already plotting her subtle moves, desperate to claw as much as she could from the Su family.

Su Miao’s eyes narrowed into sharp slits.

She wasn’t about to rush down and hand the video to her father, he would only make a mess of things, and the footage alone wasn’t definitive proof of crime; it merely showed Su Ran entering the main bedroom and study. Bringing it up directly would give Su Ran a chance to spin a lie and turn the tables.

After a moment of thought, Su Miao forwarded the video clip directly to her mother, attaching no explanation. Wen Jiu was a sharp woman. One look at the footage, and her guard would instantly shoot up.

And Wen Jiu wouldn’t mention a word of it to Su Hang—mother and daughter shared a silent, unspoken understanding on that front. Until they had airtight, undeniable proof, Wen Jiu wouldn’t move rashly. She firmly believed in one golden rule: when you strike, you strike to kill.

Su Ran had no idea that from this day forward, Wen Jiu’s dark suspicion of her had deepened tenfold…

The day after Feng Bai returned to An City, Su Miao took the initiative to reach out to him. She called to check on how he was doing, knowing full well he had no one at home to look after him.

On the other end of the line, Feng Bai held the phone to his ear. Hearing Su Miao’s voice, his dark eyes narrowed slightly. He intentionally tipped over the glass cup sitting beside him, sending the sound of shattering glass straight through the receiver.

Su Miao panicked instantly. “What happened?! Are you okay?!”

“It’s nothing,” Feng Bai explained in a low, gentle voice. “I just lost my grip on the cup. It was a bit hot, so it slipped and smashed on the floor… I’m fine, it didn’t hurt.”

A spike of exasperation flared in Su Miao’s chest. She wanted to scold him for being so careless, but remembering his injuries, she held her tongue.

“…Send me your current address right now! I’m coming over!”

“Okay.”

The dark, quiet depth in the young man’s eyes instantly broke into a triumphant, radiant smile.

Su Miao hurried downstairs. Catching a glimpse of Su Hang in the living room, she offered a quick, distracted greeting before dashing out the front door.

Su Hang: “……” Unbelievable.

Gets a boyfriend and forgets her whole family exists.

Arriving at the address Feng Bai had sent, Su Miao stood outside the door, taking a deep breath to settle her racing heart before ringing the bell.

Feng Bai, who had been sitting patiently on the sofa waiting for her, brightened the second the chime echoed through the apartment.

He stood up and pulled open the door.

The first thing that caught Su Miao’s eyes was the glaring red mark spanning across his right hand.

Su Miao caught her breath, instinctively reaching out to clasp his wrist. His skin was pale, making the severe red scald mark stand out with agonizing clarity.

“Did you apply any burn cream?” Her voice was laced with urgent worry.

“I don’t have any ointment here,” Feng Bai murmured, lowering his eyes as his voice dipped into a low, raspy cadence.

He sounded like a pathetic, abandoned puppy.

Su Miao felt her heart melt into complete mush.

The cooling burn cream felt soothing as she carefully spread it over his skin. Feng Bai lowered his head, his dark gaze fixed intently on the delicate, rosy tips of Su Miao’s fingers, a subtle calculation taking shape in his mind.

Turns out… I can keep her by my side a little longer with this.

Once she finished treating his hand, Su Miao turned her attention back to his previous injuries from the car crash.

Feng Bai: “……” He hesitated, averting his gaze awkwardly. “I’m fine.”

His evasive body language screamed that his injuries were far from fine, but he was putting on a brave face just to keep her from worrying.

Su Miao glared at him sternly. “You shouldn’t have been discharged so early! You should have stayed in the hospital for a few more days under observation.”

Feng Bai kept his head bowed, saying nothing, meekly letting her scold him.

Su Miao grumbled a few more complaints, but as her words trailed off, a sudden wave of self-consciousness hit her. Lecturing him like this felt entirely out of line.

She wasn’t his girlfriend, she was just a friend. Ugh, I really outdid myself this time! How did I find the nerve to boss Feng Bai around with such self-righteous authority?!

A bright, burning blush crept up her cheeks. She bolted upright, desperate to switch the topic.

“Where’s the kitchen? I’ll pour us some water.”

Feng Bai pointed the way, and Su Miao hurried off down the hall.

This was her first time stepping inside his apartment. In the past, he had always come to her house for tutoring sessions, or they had met on school grounds.

Once she reached the quiet isolation of the kitchen, she let out a massive breath of relief. She could only hope her bossy rant hadn’t left a terrible impression on him.

Pouring two glasses of water, she brought them back out to the living room and sat down across from him. Pouting slightly, she asked softly, “Do you usually not cook at home?”

She had noticed the kitchen looked completely untouched, half the appliances still had their factory tags on them, and the fridge held nothing but a few bottles of mineral water.

Feng Bai paused mid-reach for his glass.

“Yeah. I usually eat at the university dining hall or order takeout. If I’m too busy, I just eat one meal a day.”

Su Miao’s eyes flickered with overwhelming pity. “……” Great. My sympathy is overflowing again.