Over in City B, Su Mother learned that her son had nearly been harmed. She was so frightened she wanted to rush to City C immediately, but Su Father persuaded her otherwise, saying that it was only a cut on his arm and not serious.

“This time, it was all thanks to Lu Zhe showing up in time to save Zhiyuan.” After so many incidents, even though Su Father still disapproved of that sly fox Lu Chen, he had absolutely no complaints about his son Lu Zhe—in fact, he felt great gratitude.

Su Mother had also heard from her son that it was Lu Zhe who saved him. If not for Lu Zhe’s appearance, the knife would have likely fallen on her son’s chest.

Su Mother was deeply grateful to Lu Zhe. He had saved her daughter, saved her, saved her husband, and now had saved her son.

She never expected that the fate and bond between this youth and the Su family would be so profound.

What the Su family owed Lu Zhe was something they might never be able to fully repay.

“What do you think we should do to thank him this time?” Su Father had the same thought. The Su family owed Lu Zhe too much already. Now that Lu Zhe was back with the Lu family, he lacked nothing—money was no issue, and his medical treatment was handled by the Lus.

The Lu Zhe of today was no longer the impoverished youth from the beginning.

“I wonder what Lu Zhe wants?” The Su Father who made businessmen tremble was now troubled, debts of gratitude were the hardest to repay.

Su Mother glanced at her pensive husband and sighed. What did Lu Zhe want?

He wanted the Su family’s little princess.

Su Father asked his wife, “Do you have any ideas?”

Su Mother came back to her senses. “Zhiyuan and CiCi will return tomorrow, and we’ve invited Lu Zhe to the house for dinner. We can ask him then.”

If Lu Zhe, with this life-saving grace, requested to be with Su Ci, Su Mother felt she would find it hard to refuse.

At this moment, a tall, slender figure came down the stairs.

Seeing Ji Chi preparing to go out, Su Mother called out to him, “Xiao Chi, do you still have your part-time job tomorrow night? Zhiyuan and CiCi will be back from City C, and we’ll also have a guest joining us. Come home for dinner then.”

Ji Chi nodded. “Okay, Aunt Su.”

Right now, Ji Chi was working two part-time jobs. During the day, he worked at a milk tea shop; at night, he worked as a server in a bar.

With school starting soon, Ji Chi hoped to earn as much money as possible in a short time. After school started, academics would take priority, and he would have far less time for part-time work.

Su Mother smiled. “I asked Fang Qin—she said you like fish, right? I’ll have someone prepare it for tomorrow night.”

Ji Chi was wearing a black T-shirt. Tall and lean, he looked good in clothes. Even a simple T-shirt looked handsome on him.

Hearing Su Mother’s words, he politely refused. “Aunt Su, there’s no need to trouble yourself. You don’t have to prepare food especially for me.”

Fang Qin’s child had stayed in the Su household for a period of time. Quiet and sensible, Su Mother could tell he was always worried about troubling them—so sensible it made one feel heartache.

Su Mother smiled. “It’s fine. It’s just one dish, how would that be trouble?”

Ji Chi did not refuse again. Refusing others’ goodwill too many times would be ungracious.

Watching Ji Chi leave, Su Mother finally said to Su Father, “I heard from Xiao Chi that he’s working at a milk tea shop now. This child has such good grades—often first in his year at school. Working part-time in a milk tea shop is really too unfair to him.”

Ji Chi was the son of a close friend; Su Mother always wanted to help. “I told him he could come to our family company, find a suitable position, treat it as learning. But he refused no matter what, as if he’s very afraid of troubling us.”

Su Father comforted her. “Ji Chi has his own ideas. He knows what he needs. And if I remember correctly, he enrolled in a medical major. Working at our company wouldn’t help him with his studies at all. If he’s truly struggling financially, we can help him quietly. Young people have strong pride.”

Su Mother laughed. “You’re right.”

– – – ˗ˋˏ♡ˎˊ˗ – – –

Su Zhiyuan returned to City B the next day. When he arrived home, the sky had already darkened.

Walking behind her brother, Su Ci quietly tugged at Lu Zhe’s uninjured hand. “Later I’ll sit next to you and help put food on your plate, okay?”

The villa’s pathway lights were already lit.

Under the soft glow falling onto the girl’s face, Lu Zhe’s cold brows softened as well. “No need. Just eat properly.”

Her parents wouldn’t like seeing their precious daughter fussing over him.

Su Ci pressed her lips together and gave a perfunctory “Oh.”

Inside the living room, Su Mother and Su Father had already instructed the staff to prepare dinner. Little Su Ning and Little Tiancai had heard that their older brother and sister were coming home, so the two little ones sat obediently on the sofa, waiting well-behaved.

Ji Chi sat quietly on a single sofa seat. Today he had asked another worker to switch shifts with him, so he did not go to the bar.

Su Zhiyuan was the first to walk in.

Seeing the white gauze wrapped around her son’s arm, Su Mother rushed forward, anxiously looking him over from head to toe. “It’s good that you’re fine. You scared me to death. Didn’t you bring bodyguards to City C? How did you still get hurt?”

Su Zhiyuan shook his head with a smile. At the time, everything happened too suddenly. He didn’t bring the bodyguards up to the construction site because he had skills of his own and never expected things to escalate. But most importantly, he wanted the bodyguards to stay behind and protect his sister.

“I’m fine. Something like this won’t happen again. But this time, it’s all thanks to Lu Zhe.” Su Zhiyuan said with a smile.

Only then did Su Mother look outside. She saw that cold and aloof youth walking into the house, her daughter at his side. The two looked indescribably well-matched.

Su Mother’s heart tightened, yet she also felt a sense of helplessness.

“Mom.” Su Ci walked a few quick steps and threw herself into Su Mother’s arms, a bit coquettishly.

Held by her precious daughter, all of Su Mother’s worries vanished.

Her well-maintained face was full of doting warmth. She asked her daughter, “Are you tired? Hungry? I already had them prepare your favorite dishes.”

Su Ci affectionately hooked her arm through Su Mother’s. “Thank you, Mom.”

Lu Zhe walked in and greeted Su Mother and Su Father politely.

Su Mother’s gaze fell on the youth’s hand wrapped in white gauze, her eyes softening. “Thank you for saving our Zhiyuan. How is your hand?”

“Mom,” Su Ci couldn’t help but speak up, “Lu Zhe’s wound is very deep. The doctor said it almost reached the bone, and I saw him bleeding so much.”

Su Ci spared no effort describing Lu Zhe’s wound so her parents would know how much he had endured.

Su Mother had a soft temperament. If not for her daughter’s sake, how could she bear to hurt a well-behaved, good-natured boy?

Now, seeing that Lu Zhe had been injured while saving her eldest son, her heart was filled with both gratitude and guilt.

Su Father also felt deeply moved. Lu Zhe was truly nothing like Lu Chen. If it had been Lu Chen, never mind saving anyone—he would probably sit off to the side cracking melon seeds while watching people fight.

He spoke up. “Dinner is ready. Let’s go in first, we can talk while we eat.”

“Yes, yes.” Su Mother turned to instruct the servants to bring out the dishes.

As she spoke, she pulled her daughter toward the dining room.

Little Su Ning and Little Tiancai, those two tiny troublemakers, passed by Lu Zhe. In very soft voices, they whispered to him, “Brother-in-law.”

The coldness in Lu Zhe’s eyes faded. His expression held both helplessness and fondness as he patted each little one on the head.

Ji Chi, who had been quiet the whole time like an invisible person, subconsciously glanced at Lu Zhe too, then followed into the dining room.

Originally, Su Mother wanted her daughter to sit beside her. However, the moment she saw Lu Zhe seated across the table, her daughter, like a little bee smelling flowers, immediately flew to his side.

Su Mother’s head ached. Could her daughter not restrain herself even a little?

Seeing the soup—something clearly meant to replenish blood—Su Ci immediately asked someone to ladle a bowl for Lu Zhe.

“What do you want to eat? I’ll get it for you.” Even though earlier Lu Zhe told her to just eat properly, Su Ci had no intention of listening.

Under the gazes of the Su family, Lu Zhe’s expression remained calm. “Anything is fine.”

Lu Zhe never had preferences.

Since he was injured, Su Ci thought for a moment and placed a big piece of fish into his bowl.

The fish was tender, glistening beautifully under the warm light.

Su Ci carefully picked out the small bones from the fish, then placed the small bowl of soft white flesh beside Lu Zhe’s hand. “Eat.”

Fish helped wounds heal faster, it was best for Lu Zhe to eat more.

The girl’s slender, fair fingers were even whiter than the porcelain bowl. She looked at him with bright, blooming eyes. Even knowing Su Father, Su Mother, and the rest of the Su family were watching, Lu Zhe’s heart trembled uncontrollably.

He spoke softly. “Thank you.”

Su Ci shot him a tiny secret glance, then continued picking fish bones and feeding him. She hadn’t even eaten a single bite of her own meal.

Su Mother couldn’t hold back anymore and reminded her daughter, “Cici.”

“Mom, Lu Zhe’s right hand is injured. It’s inconvenient for him to eat.” Su Ci spoke righteously. “He’s our family’s great benefactor right now. I need to take care of him and help him pick dishes.”

With a justified reason this time, Su Ci’s courage was sky-high.

Su Mother: …

On the other side, Su Zhiyuan’s injury was also on his right hand—except his was on the arm. These past two days, he had already noticed that his sister had been taking care of Lu Zhe entirely, completely tossing him aside like an unwanted item.

“Xiao Ci, your brother’s hand is injured too. I also want to eat fish.” Su Zhiyuan looked at his sister expectantly.

But Su Ci’s heart was entirely leaning toward Lu Zhe. “If you want to eat, get it yourself.”

Lu Zhe had been injured because of her brother, and on top of that, she still hadn’t gotten her golden cotton candy. She was still angry at her brother.

Her brother knew his little sister held a grudge about him walking out of the hotel earlier. Feeling guilty, Su Zhiyuan awkwardly rubbed the bridge of his nose and went to get food for himself.

Su Mother’s head pounded, and she felt utterly powerless.

Previously, she had told Lu Zhe to stay away from her daughter. She had been the unreasonable one, and she knew it.

Now, the bond between Lu Zhe and the Su family had deepened even further. She could no longer say those same words again, telling him to stay away from her daughter.

But Lu Zhe had a terminal illness. Even if he and Cici were together, there would be no future.

If Lu Zhe passed away, what would happen to her daughter? Right now her daughter only liked him a little, but if one day she began liking him very much…

She did not dare think further.

Su Mother fell into a knot of conflicting thoughts.

She simply chose not to look at her daughter feeding Lu Zhe anymore. Her gaze drifted unintentionally to the quietly seated Ji Chi at the end of the table, and she asked, “Xiao Chi, why aren’t you getting more food?”

This child was so quiet that if one couldn’t see him, he’d practically turn invisible.

Ji Chi responded, “I’m eating.”

Lu Zhe looked over. He recalled the temporary guest Su Ci mentioned who was staying at the Su household, this should be him.