Chapter 18

She had bided her time in the Su household for so long, and the perfect opportunity had finally presented itself. Besides, Fu Xizhou was pressing her to act quickly.

Stepping out of the bedroom, Su Ran made a beelines straight for the study without a second thought. There, right in front of her, sat Su Hang’s main laptop, surrounded by stack upon stack of confidential printed files.

I actually have Wen Jiu to thank for this, Su Ran thought with a cold smirk.

Wen Jiu hated it when Su Hang brought his work into their master bedroom. As a result, this study acted as his secondary office—a place where he spent hours handling company affairs and storing sensitive documents.

If it weren’t for Wen Jiu’s strict domestic rules, Su Ran would probably still be playing nice with Su Hang, scrambling for a way to get her hands on these files.

Focusing on her target, Su Ran located the key files instantly, and to her delight, stumbled upon a few unexpected bonuses. Moving with practiced speed, she transferred the digital documents from his computer directly to her phone before snatching up her camera to take high-resolution photos of the physical papers lined up on the desk.

Perhaps because her heart was hammering from the high-stakes theft, her fingers were a bit clumsy. A folder slipped from her grasp, fluttering down onto the carpet. She quickly bent over, scooped it up, and resumed snapping photos.

She was completely absorbed in her task.

Once every single page was accounted for, Su Ran slipped her phone back into her pocket and carefully restored the desk to its original state. Letting out a long, shuddering sigh of relief, she turned, ready to make her exit.

But the second she swung the study door open, she froze mid-step.

Su Hang, who was supposed to be lying helpless in bed, was standing right outside the door. Flanking him were Wen Jiu, who had supposedly gone out for medicine, and Su Niao and Feng Bai, who were supposed to have left the house hours ago.

The color drained from Su Ran’s face in an instant. A cold drop of sweat trickled down her neck as the truth crashed over her.

It was a setup.

Su Ran’s mouth parted, but no sound came out.

She had no defense. None at all.

Su Hang stared at her, his eyes hollowed by deep, agonizing disappointment. “A-Ran… how could you do this?”

Su Ran forced herself to snap out of her shock. Putting on a look of total innocence, she looked at Su Hang blankly. “Uncle, what are you talking about? I don’t understand. I just thought… well, you always work in the study, so I thought maybe you kept your stomach medicine in here. I only came in to check.”

“Ha! Still playing the innocent victim at a time like this?” Wen Jiu sneered, her eyes glittering with open disgust.

That whole wretched family is rotten to the core.

Desperate to claw her way out, Su Ran raised her voice defensively. “Why would I need to lie?! Everything I said is the absolute truth! Auntie, where’s Uncle’s medicine? Did you buy it?”

Wen Jiu kept her piercing gaze locked on Su Ran, taking slow, deliberate steps forward. Su Ran had no choice but to retreat, stepping back into the center of the study.

Wen Jiu pointed a sharp finger at the stack of documents on the desk. “The absolute truth? You really don’t know when to quit, do you? If you’ve got nothing to hide, why don’t you hand over your phone right now?”

Su Ran: “…”

Her mind raced at breakneck speed, but every avenue of escape was blocked.

The phone, the documents, the perfectly timed ambush at the study door… All at once, the hideous reality hit her.

“You set me up!”

It was a trap from the very beginning!

Wen Jiu scoffed, nearly laughing out loud at the absurdity.

“Set you up? Su Ran, get one thing straight: you were the one plotting against the Su family! If we weren’t standing at this door today, were you planning to hand every scrap of confidential data over to Fu Xizhou? Let the Fu Corporation’s subsidiary swoop in, steal the project, and bankrupt our business?”

Wen Jiu took another step closer, her voice dropping into a razor-sharp whisper. “And the most pathetic part of all? You did all of this dirty work just to help a useless bastard son buy his way into the Fu family?”

Su Ran shuddered violently.

How… how does Wen Jiu know all that?!

It was impossible! Only she and Fu Xizhou knew about that arrangement!

Seeing her stand there mute, Wen Jiu pressed on, her tone laced with disdain.

“Su Ran, Su Hang has treated you like his own flesh and blood. He never expected anything in return, but you—you don’t have an ounce of conscience! When you do these backstabbing things, do you ever stop to ask your own soul how you can live with yourself?”

Wen Jiu genuinely felt a pang of pity for her husband. Su Hang had treated this girl with endless warmth and generosity, only to be stabbed in the back when he least expected it.

Su Ran looked from Wen Jiu’s icy face to Su Hang’s broken expression. She knew the game was up.

So what?

They didn’t have any concrete, legal proof of actual damage.

Besides, she had already gotten what she came for!

A bitter, mocking smile broke across Su Ran’s face as she turned on Wen Jiu. “Ask my conscience? What about your conscience?! Why don’t the two of you search your own souls for what you did to Su Hang’s own family?!”

Her voice rose to a hysterical screech. “You had the power and money to save my father and brother, but you sat back and watched them rot in prison! I’m heartless? Then what does that make the two of you?!”

Wen Jiu almost laughed out loud. She had never imagined Su Ran harbored such warped, toxic resentment. To think this girl had put on such a sweet, obedient act for so long! Her logic was twisted beyond belief.

Why on earth should she and Su Hang spend millions to bail out a pair of cold-blooded criminals?!

Murder was a crime. If you killed someone, you went to jail, end of story!

Just as Wen Jiu stepped forward to tear into her, Su Hang gently reached out and held his wife back. His face was pale as he looked at Su Ran. “Go on,” he said softly. “Keep talking. I want to hear every last grievance you have against this family.”

“You want to hear it? Fine! I’ll lay it all out for you!” Now that her mask was off, Su Ran saw no reason to hold back. Every ounce of suppressed venom poured out of her.

“You always act like you’ve been so charitable to my family, but in my eyes, it was all fake! You and my dad were just going through the motions! Your family runs a massive empire, swims in cash, and lives in a luxury mansion. Did you ever think about sharing a single dime of that wealth with me?!”

“Of course not! Because you wanted to hoard every last penny for Su Niao! You gave all the best things in the world to Su Niao while claiming you cared about me! You never cared about me! You—”

SLAP!

A crisp, resounding slap shattered the air, cutting Su Ran off mid-rant.

Su Niao stood over her, her eyes as cold as arctic ice. “Are you out of your mind? Su Hang is my father. Wen Jiu is my mother! They aren’t your parents—why on earth should they give the best things to you?! If you’re delusional, check yourself into a psychiatric ward! Do you honestly think the entire world revolves around you?!”

She was utterly appalled by Su Ran’s twisted entitlement.

Su Ran clutched her burning cheek, stunned into silence for a few seconds. Once the sting registered, rage completely consumed her. She lunged forward, clawing toward Su Niao’s face. “You dare lay a hand on me, you little bitch?!”

Before she could touch a hair on Su Niao’s head, Feng Bai yanked Su Niao safely behind his back. In the same fluid motion, his leg snapped out, kicking Su Ran square in the ribs and sending her crashing hard onto the hardwood floor.

“…”

Feng Bai glanced sideways at Su Hang, his voice cool and unbothered. “Sorry, Uncle. I didn’t measure my force.”

Su Hang didn’t even look at him. Instead, he took a slow, heavy step toward Su Ran. In the past, he would have rushed to help her up, asking where it hurt and fussing over her injuries. But now, all that remained in his hollow gaze was complete and utter despair.

When he had heard the audio recording last night, he thought he had reached the absolute depth of heartbreak. But looking at her now, he realized true despair was silent. He had nothing left to say to this girl.

“As of this moment,” Su Hang said, his voice flat and devoid of emotion, “our relationship as uncle and niece is officially over. Never step foot in the Su residence again, and I will never reach out to you. Take care of yourself, Su Ran.”

Su Ran gritted her teeth, holding her side as she scrambled awkwardly to her feet. Without another word, she stumbled downstairs, hastily threw her belongings into a bag, and fled the estate.

Su Hang let out a long, weary sigh, rubbing his temples. “I… I need some quiet.”

Wen Jiu nodded softly. “Alright. Go get some rest.”

As Su Hang retreated to his room, Wen Jiu and the others turned to leave.

Su Niao frowned slightly, feeling a twinge of dissatisfaction. “Are we really just letting her walk away scot-free like that?”

Wen Jiu looked at her daughter with a knowing smile. “What, were you hoping your father would personally send her to prison?”

Su Niao fell silent. Honestly, that was what she had hoped for.

Wen Jiu shook her head gently. “Your father’s reaction just now said everything. He has completely severed ties with her. Don’t you see? He didn’t even waste his breath scolding her. That isn’t mercy, Niao Niao—that is absolute, irreparable disappointment. If there were even a tiny shred of affection left to salvage, Su Hang wouldn’t have been this quiet.”

She knew her husband better than anyone. Once Su Hang drew a line in the sand like this, Su Ran was dead to him forever.