Su Yicheng’s cousin, the daughter of his paternal aunt, grew up in Australia.

Since his aunt had severed ties with Su Hongyuan a long time ago, Su Yicheng had not had many opportunities to see Yunyun. As far as he could remember, his cousin was still just an innocent and ignorant little girl.

If Yunyun had not been part of the student exchange program which allowed her to finish one year of her studies in the University of City A, and if his aunt had not specifically requested him to look after Yunyun, Su Yicheng would not have the slightest idea that Xiao Yunyun had now grown into a fine young lady.

As a matter of fact, the young lady’s words just now had struck him right in the heart.

The fact that a woman could make him jealous was a sign that he had genuinely fallen for that woman. But what about those “relations.h.i.+ps” of his in the past, the ones that did not incite any feelings of jealousy in him at all? Did those even count?

“In the past, you were just looking for someone to spend your boring nights with,” Yunyun said, once again hitting the nail right on the head. “It’s true that you’ve only just discovered your true love now, but I still don’t think it’s too late for you to do something about it. I mean, just imagine if you find out that you love her when she’s already married to someone else. That’s what I’d call a tragedy.”

Love?

That word had made Su Yicheng’s mind go blank for a moment.

He pinched his cousin’s cheek. “You’re still so young, and yet you’re giving me a lecture on love and relations.h.i.+p? Now, spill. How many times have you been in a relations.h.i.+p before?”

Xiao Yunyun gave him a tight-lipped smile. “Not even once! But… I’ve had a lot of chance to observe many of your relations.h.i.+ps.”

Su Yicheng laughed at that comment instead of getting mad. He reached out and feigned another attempt to pinch Xiao Yunyun’s face. Like an agile little monkey, she dodged his hands before running off.

Meanwhile, Luo Xiaoxi found Candy at the banquet hall. She told Candy that she was leaving first.

“Ms. Luo, why are you leaving so early?” A man came up and grabbed Luo Xiaoxi’s arms. “I haven’t even introduced myself to you yet. From now on, I’m your go-to guy in this line of business. If there’s any help you need in the future, you can always come to me. I’ll settle any matter for you, big or small!”

The middle-aged man’s expression right then clearly read “I’m the most awesome guy in the entire world”. To any debutante of s...o...b..z, the man’s offer was like the sweetest kind of treat.

Men, however, would not offer you a treat without expecting something in return; this was especially true in the s...o...b..z.

Luo Xiaoxi knew these things far too well. She smiled at the man, “Mr. Dong, I know you.” “We should catch up next time. Something came up, so I have to take my leave first.”

Mr. Dong could only watch as Luo Xiaoxi’s figure vanished through the entrance of the banquet hall. After a moment, he smiled to himself, satisfied; since she already knew him, she would know just how influential he was in this business. He believed that Luo Xiaoxi would come to him in the future.

Little did he know that Luo Xiaoxi had only caught a glimpse of his name on the list of the show’s sponsors. A coincidence, that was how she remembered the man. She did not look him up on purpose, nor did she know much about him at all.

After leaving the hotel, Luo Xiaoxi headed straight for the carpark, where she retrieved her car and drove home.

The red Ferrari sped along the streets; the street lights on both sides morphed into streaks of glowing light, which swept past her eyes in a series of glimmers.

Su Yicheng’s words just now had stirred up a tidal wave within the depths of her heart.

Although she dared not take Su Yicheng’s words to mean “things are still possible between us”, she could no longer suppress the joy in her heart.

At least Su Yicheng was still talking to her; that, per se, was already great news.

“I, Luo Xiaoxi, am revived!” She thought.

The moment she got home, Luo Xiaoxi gave Lao Luo a huge hug.

“Crazy girl,” Lao Luo laughed. “Can’t believe you’re back from a dinner party this early. What a rare sight, indeed!” In the past, Luo Xiaoxi would have fun until the party ended.

“You’re the one who said that I’ve grown up,” Luo Xiaoxi said, chuckling. “Grown-up children should come home early, sleep early, and wake up early. Oh, and they should also exercise more.”

“Is that so?” Lao Luo said. “Then hurry up and take a shower. Your old man can’t stand the perfume you’re wearing. Seriously, those are just stuff that the foreigners use to conceal their body odor, and yet you people use it every day to suffocate old people like us.”

“You just don’t get it, old man. The use of perfume had long since gone beyond that. They aren’t merely remedies for body odor. They are critical to any modern young woman!” Luo Xiaoxi said. “Whatever. I’m too lazy to explain anything to you, anyway. I’ll go take a shower. After that, I’ll come down and play chess with you.”

Father Luo watched as his daughter walked upstairs as if she had springs on her feet. Finally, a happy smile formed on his face.

Ever since she moved back home, Xiaoxi had not once been to the get-togethers thrown by those trashy friends of hers. Other than the occasional meet-ups with Su Jianan, most of her time had been spent in keeping him company. During this time, Xiaoxi had been speaking in her usual cheeky, teasing tone and had been continually smiling, too. But as her father, he knew that his daughter was not truly happy.

But today, after her return from the party, it was apparent to him that the old Luo Xiaoxi was back.

Regardless of the reason, Lao Luo felt honest-to-G.o.d happy. After all, there was only one reason he had spent nearly half of his life adrift in the ocean that was the business world: to make his daughter happy.

Still, the world was a vast place, and unhappy people were everywhere.

These unhappy people chose to hang out at a bar that night.

This bar, in particular, had its origin in the United States, where it had been a small pub used back in the old days as a gathering spot for the cowboys and pirates. That might also be why the bar had a relaxing air to it and was also filled with possibilities for nights of pa.s.sion.

Chen Xuanxuan was here with the same goal in mind as most men— to hunt for prey.

After the collapse of Chen Enterprise, her parents were too ashamed to remain in City A; they moved south, into a city where n.o.body knew them. Chen Xuanxuan had stubbornly remained in City A.

She was born and bred here. Whenever she spoke of City A as being her city of birth, her voice would be filled with pride. Besides, she was the daughter of the Chen Family, which meant that her life was mostly a.s.sociated with the city’s upper cla.s.s. Even from a young age, she was surrounded by affluence and had been living the life of a princess.

Having been thrown into sudden poverty, Chen Xuanxuan was naturally dissatisfied. She wanted to find another man for support, regardless of age and appearance; the man could be young, old, handsome, or as ugly as a pig, and she would not even care. She would be willing as long as he had money as well as the ability to bring her back into upper society.

She did not expect to run into Su Yuanyuan the first thing she got here. Su Yuanyuan was Su Jianan’s step-sister.

Su Yuanyuan had been arrested and thrown into jail after creating a scene back at the charity party. That incident had tainted her reputation considerably. As a result, she had now become a joke within her social circle. She had even gotten a new moniker, “the prison socialite”.

Su Yuanyuan blamed it all on Su Jianan. She had been living in Su Jianan’s shadow ever since she moved into the Su Family. Considering all this, Chen Xuanxuan figured that Su Yuanyuan’s hatred of Su Jianan would not be any less than her own.

Chen Xuanxuan sat down across from Su Yuanyuan. Without preamble, she asked Su Yuanyuan if she still hated Su Jianan.

“How can I not hate her? My mother and I hate her to death!” Su Yuanyuan gulped down half a gla.s.s of beer. “But what is there to do? Right now, she is under Lu Boyan’s protection. Even my mom had warned me not to mess with her. We can’t afford to p.i.s.s off Lu Boyan.”

Chen Xuanxuan thought for a moment. “But what if she’s no longer protected by Lu Boyan?”

Su Yuanyuan raised her head quickly. “What do you mean?”

Chen Xuanxuan smiled, “I’ve been thinking about this plan for a long time.” With that, she brought her lips closer to Su Yuanyuan’s ear and told the latter her plan.

When she was done, Chen Xuanxuan added one final thought, “The only flaw in this plan is that it can only be executed at the right time. The problem is that there’s no way for us to predict when exactly the right time will come.”

Su Yuanyuan could not deny that Chen Xuanxuan had a good plan, but—

“It seems difficult for me to do it alone.”

“I can help you on one condition.” Chen Xuanxuan lit a cigarette and took a long pull from it. Rims of smoke emerged from the corner of her lips. “Introduce a rich man to me. I don’t care about anything else as long as he has money. I’m willing to do anything.”

Su Yuanyuan had heard about the main reason behind the fall of the Chen Family as well as Chen Xuanxuan’s disappearance from the city’s socialite circle. Now seeing Chen Xuanxuan’s look of hatred, Su Yuanyuan could no longer hold back her curiosity. “Is it really like what people are saying, that you’re in this state because you’ve messed with Su Jianan and p.i.s.sed off Lu Boyan?” Su Yuanyuan asked.

“Well, there’s no use in hiding anything from you at this point. It all began when I tried to run over Su Jianan with my car. And then…” Chen Xuanxuan told Su Yuanyuan everything.

Su Yuanyuan felt a surge of fear after hearing Chen Xuanxuan’s account. Lu Boyan was willing to take things that far just because Su Jianan had sprained her wrist. If she…

“What, you scared?” Chen Xuanxuan laughed derisively. “You seriously thinking about seeking revenge on Su Jianan with that measly courage of yours? Look, not only did she throw your a.s.s into jail, she even sent your mom in there as well. Don’t you feel any resentment at all?”

Su Yuanyuan was young after all; she could not bear to have herself slighted by her peers like this. She took a deep breath and lifted her chin. “Who says I’m scared? We’re not even going to touch Su Jianan this time, so we have no need to fear Lu Boyan.”

Chen Xuanxuan laughed coldly. “Now that’s more like it. I want to see how Su Jianan can still be jumping around without Lu Boyan protecting her.”

In her head, Su Yuanyuan pictured Su Jianan looking all pathetic and pitiful. Su Yuanyuan could not help but laugh as well.

Su Jianan was utterly oblivious to the fact that a scheme was now enclosing her like a web; on the contrary, she thought that her life was slowly returning to normal.

Luo Xiaoxi had pulled herself together and was now preparing for the Top Model compet.i.tion with single-minded focus. Su Jianan could tell that Luo Xiaoxi had become happier. When Su Jianan asked Luo Xiaoxi about it, Luo Xiaoxi had played coy for a long time before finally telling her the truth.

Su Jianan felt happy for Luo Xiaoxi from the bottom of her heart. Luo Xiaoxi said, “I wish the same for you and Lu Boyan, that things between you two will get better and better.”

The only response Su Jianan could give to that was a smile.

Su Jianan honestly had no idea if things were getting any better between her and Lu Boyan. All she knew was that she was finding it harder and harder to leave Lu Boyan.

That night, she was pulled from her dreams by the ringing of her phone on the nightstand. It was Captain Yan calling to inform her of a murder case in a small district on the west side of the city. It was an emergency duty call.

She got out of bed and made herself presentable as quickly as possible. By right, she should not have woken Lu Boyan. Still, he was already awake when she came out.

“I’ll drive you there,” he said. “It’s not safe for you to drive alone at this hour.”

“It’s okay,” Su Jianan said after she noticed the fatigue on his face. “You still have work tomorrow. Go back to bed. I’ll manage on my own.”

Knowing that she was rus.h.i.+ng for time, Lu Boyan did not bother with anymore conversation. Without further ado, he dragged her downstairs. Su Jianan had no choice but to comply.

Lu Boyan steered the car. “In the past, did you always get called to a crime scene during the middle of the night?”

“Actually, no,” Su Jianan said. “The station had several medical examiners. I’m the youngest among them, so everyone’s kind of pampering me, which is why I’m not usually involved in hard labor like this. I think today’s a special case since Jiang Shaokai, and the others have their hands full.”

Lu Boyan stepped down on the accelerator, and the car picked up speed. He drove Su Jianan to the district as quickly as possible.

The crime scene was located in Block 14, around which the lights were all lit. Su Jianan unbuckled her seat belt. “Don’t you own an apartment in the CBD? Don’t waste your time and energy driving home. Go back to the apartment and get a few hours of sleep,” she said.

“Mm,” Lu Boyan answered. “Go do your thing.”

Su Jianan nodded. She ducked under the barricade tape after flas.h.i.+ng her ID. After that, she went upstairs.

It was already past 3:00am by the time she was done. She, Captain Yan, and a group of her colleagues came down from the block. Having been trained in a criminal investigation, Xiao Ying had the sharpest eyes among them. “Hey,” Xiao Ying said. “Jianan, did your Boss Lu bring you here?”

Su Jianan had a sudden feeling about something. She turned around, and indeed, Lu Boyan’s car was still parked there. “He didn’t leave?!” She thought.

What if she was not done until the next morning? Was he planning to stay here for the whole night?