The first floor was lively and bustling, while at this moment, in the second-floor corridor, He Ermeng and Lu Zhe stood facing each other.

Hearing Lu Zhe’s words, the jealousy and hatred in He Ermeng’s heart nearly made his eyes redden. His words became even harsher as he spoke, “Be with her? What are you going to use to be with her? Don’t tell me you don’t know — for ALS patients, their limbs start to atrophy after a year. When it gets worse, even walking becomes a problem. You’ll only be able to lie in bed, needing someone to take care of your basic needs.”

He Ermeng’s temples twitched from anger. He questioned Lu Zhe, “Are you planning to stay by Su Ci’s side with a body like that? What are you after? Don’t tell me you even expect her to take care of you when you become a useless cripple in the future?”

“As an ALS patient, you’re more aware than I am of what you’ll become. If you really like Su Ci, you should stay far, far away from her. Don’t drag her down.” He Ermeng glared fiercely at Lu Zhe, saying each word clearly and forcefully, “You know very well that you’re going to die, yet you still stay with her. You’re truly selfish!”

Lu Zhe lowered his eyes. Under the corridor lights, his stiff, cold face appeared unnaturally pale, with not a trace of blood on his thin lips.

His fingertips were so cold they felt numb.

He lifted his gaze, his pitch-black eyes looking toward He Ermeng. “I have already prepared myself to go to hell after I die.”

He Ermeng was so furious that his jaw trembled, his temples twitching violently. “You’re going to drag Su Ci down with you!”

At this moment, the door opened.

Lu Zhe and He Ermeng both turned their heads. Standing at the doorway was a girl, her expression icy cold.

“Cici, Lu Zhe has a terminal illness. You shouldn’t be with him.” He Ermeng’s tense expression softened. His gaze burned intensely as he looked at Su Ci. “He won’t live long. He can’t spend a lifetime with you.”

Su Ci looked at him seriously. “Are you sick?”

“I remember very clearly that I told you, I don’t like you. My affairs have nothing to do with you.”

When Su Ci was ruthless, she could be even sharper than He Ermeng. “I don’t like you. So what’s the point of causing trouble for Lu Zhe? To vent your frustrations? Do you think you’re elementary schoolers fighting over a toy, and suppressing someone else means you can snatch the toy away?”

Su Ci’s voice was beautiful, but in her icy tone it was like a knife stabbing straight into He Ermeng’s chest. “Your angry and childish behavior — in my eyes, it only makes you look stupid.”

He Ermeng stared at Su Ci in disbelief. His body felt as if it had been struck heavily, nearly making him lose his balance.

The arrogance in his brows faded, and his eyes reddened as he looked at Su Ci. “Cici, you’re relying on my feelings for you to hurt me.”

Su Ci shook her head, her gaze slightly cold. “You’re wrong. I’m not relying on your feelings. It’s because I don’t like you, so I don’t care whether it hurts you or not. You insulted the person I like, so I insult you. That’s very fair.”

He Ermeng had always been wild and arrogant. With his privileged upbringing, he was the little tyrant of his family since childhood — he got everything he wanted. Until he met Su Ci. He threw himself at her with all his might, only to end up battered and bleeding.

The girl’s cold words pierced straight into He Ermeng’s chest, as if suffocating him. His eyes were burning red.

He took deep, forceful breaths, glaring violently at Su Ci and Lu Zhe. His chest was full of unwillingness.

“My younger brother acted foolishly and disturbed the two of you.”

At this moment, Big Brother He walked out.

He still wore a refined and gentle smile. He walked over and pulled his younger brother He Ermeng by the hand. “Thank you to the Su family for hosting today. Something came up at home, so we won’t stay and disturb you further.”

“Let’s go.” With force in his hand, Big Brother He half-pulled, half-pushed He Ermeng away.

The Su family’s young miss liked the Lu family’s newly recovered son. If the Su and Lu families joined forces, their combined influence would be terrifying.

After Big Brother He took He Ermeng away, the corridor returned to quiet.

Su Ci walked over and took Lu Zhe’s hand. Just a moment ago, she had been a pale-faced, cold, sharp-tongued girl who confronted others mercilessly. In the blink of an eye, she returned to being a sweet, clingy little cutie. “I heard everything you and He Ermeng said.”

Lu Zhe tugged lightly at his pale lips. His numb fingertips were hooked by the girl, and only then did sensation gradually return. “Even though He Ermeng said it to target me, what he said wasn’t wrong.”

He lifted his cold, large hand and tucked a few messy strands of hair behind the girl’s ear. “Tuan Tuan, I am indeed selfish.”

Su Ci gave him an unhappy glance. “Not a single thing He Ermeng said was right, and not a single thing you’re saying right now is what I want to hear.”

He wouldn’t die. His life was still long.

“Do you know what I want to hear right now?” Su Ci lightly kicked Lu Zhe’s foot with the tip of her shoe, venting her displeasure. The clumsy little bunny on her ankle bounced and swayed, as if it were angry too.

Lu Zhe’s pitch-black eyes were filled with indulgence. “What?”

Su Ci’s fair fingertips wrapped around the young man’s cold, large hand. “Lu Zhe’s long, long lifetime belongs to Su Ci.”

– – – ˗ˋˏ♡ˎˊ˗ – – –

When the banquet ended, Su Ci personally arranged for a driver to send Xie Yumin home.

“Thank you for coming to my birthday banquet tonight. If there’s anything you need help with in the future, you can come to me.” Su Ci said toward Xie Yumin in the car.

She had someone look into Xie Yumin and discovered that she had mild depression. No wonder, after suffering cyberbullying, she had taken a large amount of sleeping pills.

This time, Su Ci intercepted the information about Xie Yumin. The scandal didn’t get exposed, and she successfully prevented Xie Yumin from having thoughts of ending her life. Still, the person behind releasing the information needed to be found — after all, if she hadn’t stopped it, the victim would’ve been a human life.

“Thank you for inviting me.” Xie Yumin couldn’t help but marvel. Everyone present tonight was a top-tier figure. Without a certain level of status, there was no way to appear at Su Ci’s birthday banquet.

She originally had a scheduled engagement tonight, and when her manager learned she rejected it to attend a friend’s birthday, she got scolded harshly.

Until the car drove to the Su residence, and her manager, stunned, realized she had come to attend the Su family’s banquet. Her attitude changed drastically in an instant. Even her gaze toward her changed, repeatedly reminding her to seize the opportunity and absolutely not make a mistake at the banquet.

Before, she only had a vague concept of the Su family’s power. After tonight, Xie Yumin felt she finally understood a little more.

If Su Ci hadn’t acknowledged her, someone like her — a third-tier actress — wouldn’t have a chance, even after a lifetime of struggle, to qualify for such an extravagant event.

Xie Yumin took the car arranged by the Su family back to the apartment assigned by the company.

Just as she got out of the car, she happened to run into Guan Jing returning.

Guan Jing glanced at the car driving away, and a shadow flickered through her eyes. “Yumin, who sent you back just now? That wasn’t a company car. I remember that’s a globally limited luxury model. Don’t tell me you…”

Guan Jing was Xie Yumin’s university classmate and roommate. Xie Yumin entered the entertainment industry first, and Guan Jing became an online celebrity through streaming. Later, through Xie Yumin’s connections, Guan Jing also signed under the same company. Even the company-arranged apartment had the two of them living together.

Facing her good friend, Xie Yumin shed her cold exterior. Her delicate features softened into a faint smile. “Don’t overthink it.”

“I didn’t say anything yet, so how do you know I’m overthinking?” Guan Jing teased, “I just want to ask, did you meet a rich boyfriend?”

Xie Yumin shook her head. “No. I already told you, before I achieve something in my career, I won’t date.”

Guan Jing laughed as she walked over and looped her arm through hers. “Alright, alright. But I’m still curious — who was the one who sent you back just now? Someone who can drive a car like that definitely isn’t simple.”

She had looked into it before — in the world of the wealthy, some limited-edition cars required a certain level of assets before one could even qualify to purchase them. The car from just now was one of those legendary models that money alone couldn’t guarantee you could buy.

Since when did Xie Yumin know someone that rich?

“You misunderstood.” Xie Yumin explained to her friend. “That was the Su family’s driver. I attended the Su family young lady’s birthday banquet tonight.”

Guan Jing’s grip on her arm tightened, her nails nearly digging into her skin. She asked in shock, “The Su family? Which Su family? Don’t tell me it’s—”

“Mm, that Su family.” Xie Yumin tugged her arm. “Xiao Jing, you’re hurting me.”

Guan Jing quickly released her hand.

Xie Yumin didn’t get angry over her friend’s loss of composure. After all, when she learned Su Ci was the Su family’s young miss, she too had been stunned.

“Yumin, when did you get connected with the Su family?”

The Su family, that kind of top-tier wealthy clan and Xie Yumin actually had a link to them?

Xie Yumin shook her head. “I didn’t get connected to the Su family. The Su family’s young lady wanted to be friends with me. She invited me to her birthday party.” She smiled, a hint of liveliness coloring her usually cold face. “You also know the Su family’s young lady.”

Guan Jing looked at her in confusion.

“The new guest on the food program that day.”

“You mean Qin Shiyan?” Guan Jing had heard rumors that Qin Shiyan was the Su family’s adopted daughter. Did Xie Yumin latch onto Qin Shiyan during filming that day?

“Not her. The other new guest, Su Ci.” Xie Yumin told her. “Su Ci is the Su family’s real daughter.”

Guan Jing froze in shock. She looked at Xie Yumin in disbelief. “Su Ci is the Su family’s young lady?”

She remembered that when the new guest arrived that day, she instinctively took a few extra glances. After all, with a face that beautiful, anyone would feel threatened. She hadn’t liked her from the start.

So aside from greeting her at the beginning, she didn’t interact with her at all.

She had even worried that Su Ci would become popular on the show based on her beautiful face alone — yet unexpectedly, she ended up getting scolded by Qin Shiyan’s fans and trended for negative reasons. No wonder the trending topic disappeared so quickly, and all the insults toward Su Ci online were deleted. So Su Ci came from such a powerful background.

She recalled that Xie Yumin had chatted with Su Ci for a few moments that day. Could it be because of that, that Xie Yumin had gotten close to Su Ci?

Regret filled Guan Jing’s heart. With the Su family’s status — even Qin Shiyan, just based on the rumor of being their adopted daughter, was popular in the entertainment industry and feared by everyone. If she could connect with the Su family, it would be an instant rise to the top.

“Yumin, tell me everything you saw at the banquet today, who you met, and what Su Ci’s personality is like. I really want to know…” Guan Jing clung to Xie Yumin, trying to inquire about the Su family.

– – – ˗ˋˏ♡ˎˊ˗ – – –

Before the banquet ended, Lu Chen and Wen Ya had already taken Lu Zhe away.

In the car, Lu Chen suddenly spoke to his son. “I saw you coming down from the second floor just now.”

Lu Zhe, who had been looking out the window, slowly turned his head and met his father’s peach blossom eyes filled with teasing.

“What’s wrong with our son coming down from the second floor?” Wen Ya didn’t understand her husband’s implication.

Lu Chen leaned closer to his wife and told her, “Yaya, you don’t know. Our son was walking together with the Su family’s little daughter.”

“Dad.” Lu Zhe called out helplessly.

“What do you mean ‘walking together’?” Wen Ya reacted immediately in the next second. “Zai Zai, are you and Su Ci dating?”

She had wondered why the Su family’s young daughter invited her son to dance, so the two of them were a pair?

“No, that’s not right.” Wen Ya recalled how, at the banquet, her son and Su Ci had only greeted each other politely, showing no warmth. “Why did you and Su Ci look so distant?”

“Isn’t it obvious? He and the Su family’s little daughter are secretly dating behind our backs.” Lu Chen raised a brow with a knowing expression. “Anyway, I’m not going to oppose my son dating. The ones they’re hiding from must be Su Shengguo and his wife.”

“Zai Zai, is that true?” Wen Ya felt she hadn’t cared enough about her son, even something as important as him liking the Su family’s young miss had gone completely unnoticed by her.

Lu Zhe’s thin lips pressed together. Facing his parents’ gazes, he responded softly.

Lu Chen had long known the two young ones were together, so he wasn’t surprised. He’d only teased a bit after noticing his son coming down from the second floor to see Su Ci.

But Wen Ya was different. Learning her son was in a relationship suddenly, she was both shocked and nervous.

“Was I too cold toward Su Ci just now?” Wen Ya recalled her expression and actions earlier, feeling a little regretful for not treating Su Ci more warmly.

How had she not noticed anything unusual between the two children?

“No, no, Yaya, you’re always gentle.” Completely ignoring their son beside them, Lu Chen flatteringly praised his wife.

“It’s all your fault, you knew and didn’t tell me?” Wen Ya glared fiercely at her husband.

Lu Chen, thick-skinned as always, took the glare in stride and leaned closer to his wife. “I was afraid you’d get too excited and slip up in front of the Su couple.”

“Zai Zai, do Su Shengguo and his wife not know you and Su Ci are together?” Wen Ya asked her son.

Lu Zhe knew he couldn’t hide his relationship with Su Ci from his parents. “Su Ci’s parents don’t know about us. I don’t plan to let them know.”