Chapter 11

Su Miao led Feng Bai to the guest room and called a servant to give it a quick once-over.

“You can stay here for a couple of days while they finish turning the room right next to mine into a permanent bedroom for you…”

A gentle warmth kindled in Feng Bai’s eyes. “Sounds perfect.”

Being closer to her was all he could ask for.

When Su Miao stepped back out into the corridor, she found Su Ran lingering near the doorway. It was obvious she had been standing there waiting for some time.

“Need something?” Su Miao asked, her tone conversational.

Su Ran shook her head slightly. “Nothing major. I just wanted to ask… are you two dating now?”

Su Miao’s brows knitted together.

“Not yet.” Key word: yet.

Su Ran let out a quiet, almost imperceptible breath of relief. She stole a glance past Su Miao into the guest room, catching only the faint outline of a broad-shouldered silhouette.

Lowering her voice, Su Ran carefully pressed, “Miao Miao, didn’t you always say you weren’t going to get in the way of his future? Why now…” Why bring him into the Su estate?

A faint flash of amusement lit up Su Miao’s eyes. She studied her cousin’s subtly tense expression, finding the hypocrisy fascinating.

She pulled the door shut behind her, leaned back against the wall, and offered a cool smile. “What are you trying to get at, Cousin?”

Su Ran’s composure slipped a fraction. “Bringing Feng Bai here… aren’t you essentially broadcasting to everyone that your relationship is anything but simple? People are going to gossip. They’ll say he’s just riding on the Su family’s coattails…”

She took a step closer, her voice growing urgent. “You used to be so firm about this. You said you wanted him to succeed on his own merits without any rumors overshadowing his hard work, and that you’d wait until he built a name for himself…”

Su Miao gave a casual nod. “I did say that back then. But I changed my mind.”

Why should she spend her life tiptoeing around other people’s unsolicited opinions? Her life was her own. Her happiness wasn’t something meant to be dictated by outsiders.

Su Ran’s rehearsed speech choked in her throat. She stood rooted to the spot, utterly speechbound.

If Su Miao had completely outgrown that mental trap, wouldn’t that mean she and Feng Bai would be together in no time?

No! She couldn’t accept that!

She refused to watch Su Miao and Feng Bai live happily ever after!

Never!

As Su Ran’s mind spiraled, the guest room door clicked open. Feng Bai stepped into the hallway, his tall, immaculate figure looking as striking as a fine portrait.

Su Ran’s eyes lingered on him with a fleeting, desperate longing. But catching herself, she quickly averted her gaze and turned on her heel to leave.

Feng Bai watched her retreating back, his dark eyes brimming with a dangerous, calculated sharpness.

So that was why Su Miao had suddenly kept her distance from him for a period in her past life. It had all been Su Ran’s subtle poison.

His fingers twitched against his side, reining in a surge of murderous intent.

In his past life, he had personally dragged this woman to the top of a skyscraper and thrown her off the edge.

“Feng Bai? Did you hear any of that?” Su Miao asked tentatively. She felt a sudden, inexplicable chill radiating from him.

At the sound of her voice, the darkness in Feng Bai’s eyes instantly dissolved into a clear, tranquil calm. He looked down at her. “Hear what?”

His expression was so seamless it was impossible to spot a lie.

Su Miao shook her head with a light laugh. “Nothing! I just thought you overheard what Su Ran and I were talking about.”

“I didn’t hear a thing,” he said softly.

He was profoundly grateful for his rebirth. This time, he would shield her from every shadow, ensuring Su Ran never got another chance to touch a single hair on her head.

Su Miao tilted her head, her curiosity piqued. “You didn’t hear us? Then why were you staring at Su Ran like that?” The words slipped out before she could stop them, sounding suspiciously like a jealous girlfriend. She scrambled to cover it up: “I mean… I was just asking casually…”

Feng Bai looked down at her, a brilliant smile breaking across his features. “I just realized I recognized her.”

Su Miao nodded. They had attended the same high school, so crossing paths wasn’t unusual. Besides, she had brought up Feng Bai’s name to Su Ran plenty of times in the past.

A subtle, amused curve touched the corner of Feng Bai’s lips as he added, casually dropping a bomb: “A few months ago, she confessed her feelings to me. I turned her down. Seeing her again just now was a bit awkward.”

Su Miao’s jaw nearly dropped.

“!!! Su Ran confessed to you?!”

Feng Bai gave a slow, deliberate nod. “Yes.”

Su Miao let out a long, quiet breath, the scattered puzzle pieces instantly snapping together in her mind.

No wonder Su Ran had poured ice water on her plans to confess to Feng Bai! It hadn’t been out of concern for his reputation at all—Su Ran had wanted him for herself!

Su Miao ground her teeth in silent fury. In her past life, she really had been the world’s biggest fool, letting Su Ran play her like a fiddle without ever questioning her motives…

“Don’t worry, I rejected her instantly,” Feng Bai added, a hint of teasing entering his voice as he watched her furious expression.

He had belonged to Su Miao from the very beginning.

Any other woman attempting to cross his path was nothing more than a passing cloud.

Su Miao shot him a sharp look. She couldn’t help but notice that the cold, aloof Feng Bai of her memories was disappearing—he was actually learning how to tease her now!

Just as she was about to snap back, Su Hang’s displeased voice echoed from down the hall.

Her father simply couldn’t comprehend why, with Feng Bai already living under their roof, the two of them still needed to whisper in the hallway for hours on end.

Dinner that evening was served under an oddly tense atmosphere.

Su Miao kept shooting sharp, scrutinizing side-eyes at Su Ran.

Su Ran, meanwhile, picked listlessly at her food, her mind clearly elsewhere.

Once the meal concluded, everyone scattered to handle their own affairs.

Su Ran lingered in the main living room, her eyes repeatedly darting toward Feng Bai. She desperately wanted to get him alone, but Su Miao’s constant presence left her zero openings.

She couldn’t afford to let Su Miao find out about her past confession to Feng Bai. If Su Miao discovered the truth, she would blow her top.

And given how fiercely Su Hang doted on his daughter, he would throw Su Ran out of the estate without a second thought. But she hadn’t secured what she came for yet… She couldn’t leave now.

Finally, an opportunity presented itself.

When Feng Bai stepped out into the courtyard for a breath of fresh air, Su Ran slipped out after him, keeping her distance to avoid raising suspicion.

As she stepped into the moonlight, she realized Feng Bai was standing near the stone fountain, looking as though he had been waiting for someone all along.

Under the silvery light, his silhouette exuded a cool, distant elegance, bright and pristine as the moon itself, entirely beyond reach.

Su Ran bit her lip and gathered her courage, stepping closer. “Feng Bai, I need to talk to you.”

Feng Bai didn’t bother turning around. “I stood here waiting specifically to hear what you had to say.”

Her lingering, desperate stares in the living room earlier had disgusted him beyond measure.

Su Ran let out a quiet breath, a flash of infatuation washing over her face. He had noticed her. He had actually waited for her.

Not wanting to waste time, she lowered her voice to a urgent whisper. “About my confession to you a while back… can you please keep it between us? Just pretend… pretend it never happened, okay?”

The corners of Feng Bai’s thin lips curved into a cold smile. He turned around, his dark gaze washing over her with absolute detachment. “Give me one good reason why I should.”

Su Ran’s eyes darted around frantically. “You and Miao Miao are close now. If she finds out, it’ll ruin her mood. You wouldn’t want to see her upset, would you?”

“You’re right,” Feng Bai said smoothly. “I certainly wouldn’t want to see her upset.”

“So we have an agreement then!” Su Ran gasped, a massive weight lifting off her shoulders. She hadn’t expected him to be so easy to convince.

A sudden smile broke across Feng Bai’s handsome face.

For a second, Su Ran was nearly breathless.

He was breathtaking.

From the very first moment she had laid eyes on him in high school, she had been captivated. The only tragedy was that the Feng family had lost its immense wealth and fallen from grace.

If the Feng family were still the reigning titan of the business world, she would have clung to him relentlessly, never giving a second thought to someone like Fu Xizhou.

As it stood, Fu Xizhou was still the more lucrative horse to back.

What Su Ran failed to notice, however, was that the smile on Feng Bai’s face reached nowhere near his eyes.