Chapter 17

When Wen Jiu finished listening to the recording, her chest heaved with quiet, white-hot fury. So that was their game all along?

Just a short while ago, she had received a dossier on Fu Xizhou. A bastard son of the Fu family. It didn’t take a genius to connect the dots: those two had been eyeing the Su family assets from the very beginning.

Unlike Su Niao, Wen Jiu had been prepared for trouble long in advance, which allowed her to keep her rage strictly under control. She let out a heavy sigh. “If your father finds out about this, it’ll crush him.”

Su Ran and her whole side of the family were nothing but ungrateful snakes.

“Do you think we should tell Dad?” Su Niao asked carefully.

Wen Jiu narrowed her eyes, her gaze turning cold. “Of course we tell Su Hang.”

It was the only way. Su Hang needed to see Su Ran’s true colors with his own eyes if he was ever going to cut ties with her completely.

Su Niao nodded in agreement. They were on the exact same page.

Reaching a silent consensus, mother and daughter sat on the edge of the bed together, waiting for Su Hang to come home.

Su Niao glanced at her watch and sighed inwardly. Looks like another night where confessing to Feng Bai would have to wait; she had to deal with Su Ran’s mess first.

What an absolute pain.

About half an hour later, Su Hang finally walked in the door. He was grumbling under his breath about how starving he was, but the moment he turned the corner, he froze. His wife and daughter were sitting side by side, staring him down in total silence.

Su Hang shrank back, terrified. Did I do something wrong recently? Looking at the setup, it felt like he was about to be put on trial before a tribunal.

“Should I… maybe go sleep in the study tonight?” he asked weakly.

Another sleepless night on the couch, it seems.

Wen Jiu pulled out her phone and tapped the screen. “Get over here.”

Su Hang nodded submissively and shuffled forward. His wife looked ominous, and his daughter didn’t look much better. Everything had been fine when he left for the office this afternoon—what on earth had happened since then?

“Sit down first,” Wen Jiu instructed coldly. “And listen to this audio clip. But let me make one thing clear: no screaming, no shouting, and no slamming doors to throw a temper tantrum!”

Su Hang took the phone with a bewildered expression, his gut telling him that whatever was on it was bad news. He pressed play.

As the recording ran, the color slowly drained from Su Hang’s face. His eyes widened in sheer disbelief.

“…”

When the clip ended, he replayed it, once, then twice, as if desperately trying to convince himself he was misidentifying the voice. But even though the truth was staring him right in the face, Su Hang stubbornly refused to accept it.

By the fourth time through, he finally set the phone down. He didn’t yell, nor did he fly into a rage. But his eyes were rimmed with red, glistening with unshed tears.

Su Niao and Wen Jiu exchanged a quick glance. The truth was cruel, but Su Hang had to face it sooner or later.

Wen Jiu placed a steady hand on his shoulder. “Don’t beat yourself up over it.”

Since ancient times, you can know a person’s face, but never their heart.

Su Hang let out a ragged breath, looking utterly broken. “Was I… was I not good to her?”

Wen Jiu: “…”

Wen Jiu offered him a tight, plastic smile, but in the next second, her face turned dead serious.

“You were plenty good to her. But Mr. Su, this isn’t the time for a sob story. You need to figure out how we’re going to clean up this mess! And if you’re going to cry, go cry in your study, don’t give me a headache! Niao Niao, go back to your room and get some sleep.”

Su Niao nodded and slipped out of the room without hesitation.

Her mother was always sharp, decisive, and ruthless when it counted. As for her dad… well, he probably wouldn’t actually break down crying, right?

Because she wasn’t worth a single tear!

He had treated her like family, while she had been quietly plotting his downfall behind his back! Su Hang was an idiot when it came to family, but he wasn’t stupid. He could figure this out.

The moment Su Niao stepped into the hallway, she bumped into Feng Bai, who had just returned home. She paused for a beat, thought it over, then quietly followed him downstairs into the living room.

“Were you really busy today?” she asked softly.

Feng Bai paused in his tracks, turned to face her, and took a slow step forward.

Panicking slightly, Su Niao worried he was about to kiss her again. Instantly, her brain went completely short-circuited.

As Feng Bai closed the distance between them, Su Niao instinctively took two steps back.

She had barely retreated before Feng Bai’s arm shot out, his eyes locked onto hers with intense focus. “What are you so nervous about?”

Su Niao stammered, “…I’m… I’m not nervous at all!”

A quiet smirk tugged at Feng Bai’s lips. He wrapped an arm around her back and casually kicked the door shut behind them.

“I was just closing the door. Did you think I was going to kiss you?”

Su Niao: “…”

She ducked her head, her cheeks burning with embarrassment—because yes, that was exactly what she had thought!

Her heart was hammering against her ribs like crazy. She realized that whenever she was face-to-face with Feng Bai, all composure and logic threw themselves out the window. Especially when he had this effortless, dangerous charm about him.

Sometimes it felt like he was deliberately seducing her, but every time the thought crossed her mind, she shot it down. In her eyes, Feng Bai had always been the distant, unapproachable moon.

Seduction just didn’t seem like something he would ever do.

Su Niao had only asked her initial question out of polite small talk; she didn’t actually have anything important to tell him.

Just as she turned to leave, she felt a firm weight wrap around her waist. Feng Bai’s low, velvety whisper brushed against her ear: “I wasn’t planning on it before… but now I am.”

Su Niao’s eyes widened in shock as he leaned in. “…Mph.”

Gradually, her conscious thoughts floated away, replaced by the sound of figurative fireworks bursting and crackling inside her head.

Through the dizzying haze, a fleeting realization brushed past her mind before slipping out of reach: Maybe he really is a lot more seductive than I thought…

Late into the night.

By the time Su Niao surreptitiously crept back to her own room, she saw a text message from Wen Jiu. She instantly understood the plan.

The next morning, Su Hang acted as if nothing had happened, putting on a completely clueless front.

Feng Bai headed out for work.

Su Niao tagged along with him, claiming she wanted to check out his work environment.

Feng Bai, of course, wasn’t about to say no.

Once the two of them left, only Su Hang, Wen Jiu, and Su Ran remained in the house.

Wen Jiu took one look at Su Hang and sighed. “Is that old condition acting up again?”

Su Hang nodded, clutching his stomach with a groan. “Yeah… the stomach pain.”

“A-Ran, go pour him a glass of warm water! I’ll head upstairs to grab his medication,” Wen Jiu said, her face lined with worry.

“On it,” Su Ran replied, hurrying to get the water as she saw Su Hang pale and groaning in pain.

Two minutes later.

Wen Jiu hurried back downstairs, looking frantic.

“We’re completely out of his medicine at home. I’m going to run out and buy some right now. Just hang in there, dear, I’ll be back real quick!”

“Shouldn’t we take him to the hospital?” Su Ran asked.

Wen Jiu shook her head. “No need, it’s a chronic thing. The medicine works right away. Going to the hospital will just waste time, and there’s a pharmacy right down the street. I’ll be back in ten minutes max.” She checked her wristwatch as she spoke.

A sharp gleam flickered in Su Ran’s eyes.

Ten minutes. That’s more than enough.

She looked down at Su Hang. “Uncle, should I call Niao Niao and tell her to come back?”

Su Hang waved a weak hand dismissively. “It’s no big deal, happens once a month. I’ll be fine once I take the meds. You’ve just never seen me like this before—scared you, didn’t I?”

“You still need to take care of yourself,” Su Ran urged gently. “How about I help you back to your room to rest?”

“Yeah, I’ll lie down for a bit. Your aunt will be back soon anyway.”

Su Ran supported Su Hang up the stairs and helped him lie down weakly on the bed. Immediately after, she pulled a quick excuse out of thin air.

“Let me go grab another glass of water for you, Uncle!”

Su Ran turned and stepped out of the room, her eyes shining with triumphant glee.

If she didn’t strike right now, she might never get an opportunity this perfect ever again!