Looking at the serious expression on the youth’s face, joy shimmered in her eyes.

Lu Zhe was very capable. He not only deleted all the comments scolding her, he even removed the trending topic itself. Su Ci didn’t know how he did it. “Lu Zhe, you’re amazing.” She could spend money to have a trending topic taken down, but this felt completely different.

Lu Zhe was protecting her.

After finishing his actions, Lu Zhe stopped typing. “You don’t need to worry. Their accounts will be banned from commenting for the next month. They’ll just think their accounts glitched.”

At this moment, Su Ci no longer cared about those netizens. She had been angry, but never truly bothered. She was really just using it as an excuse to act pitiful in front of Lu Zhe and tease him on purpose.

She hadn’t expected the youth to take it so seriously.

Su Ci lifted one leg over him, straddling his lap with her knees on either side. She smiled at him. “Lu Zhe, how long do I have left before I stop maintaining my human form?”

“Two days.” Lu Zhe remembered clearly.

“Then you should kiss me now.” Su Ci said this as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Lu Zhe was forced back against the chair. He looked helplessly at the girl as she reached out with her small hand to undo his buttons. “I can kiss you, but why are you unbuttoning my shirt?”

“Your collar’s buttoned so tightly. Doesn’t it feel uncomfortable?” The youth had buttoned them all the way up, and it was hard for her to undo.

Her small hand fumbled around the base of his neck. Lu Zhe grabbed her restless hand in his large palm and pressed it behind her. “Don’t move. I’ll undo it myself.”

The girl was forced to straighten her waist, making the lines of her upper body even more obvious.

Lu Zhe worried about hurting her. Just as he was about to let go, Su Ci lifted her delicate chin and gave him a sideways glance, testing, “Are you trying to force a kiss on me?”

Lu Zhe tried to keep a straight face. “No.”

“Then let’s try it.” Su Ci felt a little thrill.

Lu Zhe didn’t want to indulge the girl’s strange thoughts. “Get down. I’ll take you home.”

Su Ci purposely twisted her body against him, clinging softly. “Hurry up and kiss me. If you don’t, you’re not a man!”

Lu Zhe’s eyes darkened. He cast a long, deep look at the girl courting danger and let out a low laugh. “Tuan Tuan, you really are…”

Really what?

Su Ci didn’t hear the rest. Her hands were still held firmly behind her by the youth’s large one. Then she was pushed back until she leaned against the edge of the computer desk. The wooden edge dug into her back, a little uncomfortable.

Lu Zhe lowered his head. His cool, thin lips pressed against Su Ci’s small mouth. It wasn’t the usual brief, light touch, nor was it gentle like water. The heavy pressure made Su Ci’s lips ache.

When her teeth were forced open, her mind went blank.

She didn’t know how long it lasted. This time, Su Ci was truly weak. She licked her lips — without looking in the mirror, she already knew they must be swollen.

She deliberately drew in a sharp breath and accused him, “Are you a dog? You bit me. It hurts.”

The coolness in Lu Zhe’s brows and eyes had long faded. He lowered his gaze to the girl. Her lips were flushed and glossy, very beautiful. He brushed his thumb across them and let out a soft laugh. “If you act up again next time, I won’t just bite you here.”

Su Ci blinked in disbelief. Oh no, oh no — her boy had turned bad.

– – – ˗ˋˏ♡ˎˊ˗ – – –

Su Ci had just returned home when she received three large transfers one after another.

They were from Su Father, Su Mother, and her eldest brother Su Zhiyuan.

Su Ci was a little shocked. Why did all of them suddenly send her money?

“Cici, you’re back?” Mother Su had already been waiting in the living room.

“Mom, why did you transfer money to me again?” Su Ci sat down beside her.

“Mom watched your livestream. My daughter is so beautiful. The netizens have no taste. Cici, you don’t have to care about what they say.” To support her daughter, Mother Su had been watching the livestream the entire time. Seeing her daughter insulted by the netizens made her angry and distressed.

“I didn’t care about what they said.” Just Qin Shiyan’s brainless fans.

Seeing her daughter’s normal expression — her fair little face tinged with a soft flush, looking perfectly fine with not even a hint of sadness — Mother Su finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“But why did you and Dad and big brother all transfer money to me?” The three amounts together totaled nine digits.

“Your father and big brother also transferred money to you?” Mother Su smiled. “We were afraid you’d be upset, so we wanted you to go shopping and calm your mood.” She didn’t expect her daughter not to mind at all.

Just as Mother Su finished speaking, Su Ci received a message from Su Father. “Little Ci, if anything made you unhappy, just tell Dad. Dad will help you solve it.”

Even big brother Su Zhiyuan sent a message. “Whoever bullies you, big brother will bully them back.”

Su Ci blinked, suppressing the moisture in her eyes.

She felt that being pampered by so many people would only make her more spoiled and fearless.

On the other side, after leaving the recording site, Qin Shiyan was told by her agent that she was trending. Seeing her fans scolding Su Ci in the comments, she had to admit — her heart felt as cool as if she had swallowed ice.

The eldest daughter of the Su family, always treated like a star among the stars, was now being disliked and cursed by so many people. How could she not secretly revel in it?

“Xiao Yan, your first variety show performance was excellent.” The agent praised with satisfaction.

During the recording, she had worried that Qin Shiyan’s limelight would be stolen by that new female guest. She hadn’t expected the girl to dig her own grave, attracting so much dislike from netizens — it was practically delivering Qin Shiyan a stepping stone.

“That new girl doesn’t seem very smart. Next time you can interact with her more.” The agent’s meaning was obvious — the girl was foolish, and Qin Shiyan could step on her to climb higher.

How could Qin Shiyan not want to trample Su Ci under her feet? But she wasn’t stupid enough to forget the Su family backing her.

If she really dared to step on Su Ci to rise, she might vanish from the entertainment industry by the next day.

Even this trending topic — her fans were scolding Su Ci. Who knew whether the Su family would hold her responsible?

Thinking of this, the cool thrill in her heart disappeared. She wondered if she should remove the trending topic. “Sister Fang, it’s not good to bully a newcomer like this. Should we take down the trending topic?”

“Xiao Yan, are you exhausted to the point of confusion?” The agent said, “So many people dream of getting on the trending list, and you want to take yours down for a newcomer?”

Qin Shiyan felt annoyed. She didn’t want to take it down, she wished everyone hated Su Ci. But she had to be cautious of the Su family’s power.

Forget it. The trending topic wasn’t bought by her. It had nothing to do with her. The netizens scolding Su Ci were acting on their own. It wasn’t related to her at all. Even if the Su family wanted to pursue responsibility, it wasn’t her fault.

Most importantly, she wanted more people to dislike and scold Su Ci.

However, not long after, just as Qin Shiyan was still feeling pleased with herself, the trending topic about her was suddenly taken down.

Her heart lurched violently, and then she saw her agent answer a call.

Her agent’s voice was loud: “What do you mean you want to replace Qin Shiyan as the spokesperson?”

Beside her, Qin Shiyan almost bit her lip to bleeding, her whole body turning cold.

One second ago she still clung to a bit of wishful thinking, and the next, the Su family’s warning had arrived.

Su Ci truly lived a life that made others envy and resent.

– – – ˗ˋˏ♡ˎˊ˗ – – –

Su Ci’s birthday banquet was held at the Su residence. The invited guests were all close family friends and business partners. But what shocked everyone was that the Su family had actually invited the Lu family.

Everyone knew the Su family and the Lu family were at odds. Su Shengguo and Lu Chen, the two heads of their respective households, had even openly mocked each other in public before. Now everyone was wondering what was going on and whether the Lu family would attend.

In the Lu household —

Wen Ya watched her slow, dawdling husband trying on clothes. Her brows furrowed as she urged, “Can you hurry up?”

“Yaya, don’t rush. The main characters always make the last entrance.” Lu Chen was acting flamboyant; he even picked a sapphire-blue suit with dark patterns to change into.

“Today’s main character is the Su family’s eldest daughter. You’re not the main character of anything.” Wen Ya rolled her eyes. “Wear the black suit. Even our son dresses more maturely than you.” This demon of a man — every time she let him out, he caused trouble for someone.

Lu Chen cast a pitiful look at his wife. A wife’s orders could not be defied, so he could only take out the black suit squeezed into a corner of the wardrobe.

“This time the Su family invited us purely because our boy saved their lives. It has nothing to do with you.” Wen Ya’s heart was now fully biased toward her son. “At the banquet, you are not allowed to argue with Su Shengguo again. If you cause trouble and make our boy embarrassed, you can sleep in the study for three months.”

Lu Chen could barely survive a week in the study normally. Hearing “three months,” how would he dare act up?

Lu Chen raised his brows and promised enthusiastically, “Don’t worry. Even if Su Shengguo curses me, I won’t talk back. If he hits me, I won’t hit him.”

Only then was Wen Ya satisfied.

Downstairs, Lu Zhe was already waiting for his parents. He wore a black, custom-tailored suit. The straight, crisp lines made him look even more handsome. His clean, refined features glowed under the lights.

Wen Ya was escorted downstairs by her husband. When she saw her tall, straight-backed son waiting below, her eyes warmed. Her son had grown up.

The Su residence was lively today. Xiao Tiancai and little Su Ning were both dressed in tiny black suits, looking extremely handsome.

Mother Su assigned two servants to watch the children carefully.

The two little ones peeked at Su Ci’s door, whispering, “Sister is pretty.”

Su Ci was indeed beautiful today. She wore a nude-pink stardust gown studded with crystals. Snow-pale skin, ink-dark hair, red lips and white teeth — she was stunning enough to dazzle the eyes.

Xie Yumin was brought to Su Ci’s room, still dazed.

She never would have imagined that the newcomer Su Ci she met on a simple food program recording was actually the Su family’s eldest daughter.

Everyone in City B knew what kind of background the Su family had. Even the leading film company in the entertainment industry was only one of the Su family’s many assets.

She had heard that the other guest of the food program, Qin Shiyan, managed to become popular so quickly because she was rumored to be the Su family’s adopted daughter — but those were all just rumors.

Standing before her, this Su Ci was real — the true eldest daughter of the Su family.

“Why, were you stunned by my beauty?” Su Ci stood up, smiling as she asked Xie Yumin.

“You’re… the Su family’s young lady.” Xie Yumin tried to find her voice.

Su Ci nodded. “Mm-hm.”

“Then why did you say you…”

Xie Yumin felt like she had been played. At that time, Su Ci had spoken so pitifully that her heart softened, which was why she agreed to attend this birthday party.

“You’re the Su family’s young lady, how could you not have friends?”

With someone of Su Ci’s status, others would fight to be her friend. No wonder on the recording day, Qin Shiyan was so polite to Su Ci, even a bit cautious in her tone.

And no wonder the trending topic about Su Ci was removed so quickly that day, all traces online had vanished.

“I’m the Su family’s young lady, but that has nothing to do with whether I have friends.” Su Ci glanced at Xie Yumin’s wrist, her life value had only three hours left.

Su Ci continued, “Friends made with the intention to climb up are just interest connections, or business partners. They’re not real friends. I genuinely want to be friends with you, and I didn’t purposely hide my identity.”

Xie Yumin was a little surprised by her honesty. She apologized, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I’m really happy you came.” Su Ci winked at her. “I hope you’ll have fun later.”

At that moment, little Su Ning came running in on his short legs. He cupped his hands around his face and called out in a soft, milky voice, “Sister! Brother-in-law is here!”