Mutual entanglement

Su had imagined all sorts of scenarios—their reunion—but she never thought that the tall man in front of her could stand so calmly before her. After all, if it weren't for her, his father probably wouldn't have abdicated.

"Why did you ask me to come back?" Su Yao didn't want to waste time with pleasantries and went straight to the point, asking Su Wensheng.

Su Wensheng chuckled, and Bai Lutong chimed in, "I'm the one who asked you to come back, Xiao Yao. It's been so long, you seem to have lost a lot of weight. How about we sit down and have a meal together?"

"What if I said it wasn't very good?" Su asked with a displeased expression.

"Are you still angry about what happened back then, Yao?" Bai Lutong gazed tenderly at Su Yao's face, just as they had when they had just graduated.

Su sat down at the table and after a long pause spoke, "I'm no better than anyone else, so why are you blaming yourself? Pretending to be sympathetic won't work here."

"Su Yao!" Su Wensheng's voice, though not angry, commanded respect, but it was also repulsive.

With a bite of foie gras, he said, “Father, do not speak while eating or sleeping. Do not let outsiders laugh at the Su family.”

He was an outsider, and Bai Lutong looked visibly incredulous; it was most unusual for such words to come from Su Yao's mouth.

"Xiao Yao, I came here today to ask for your forgiveness. You know, there's nothing I can do about what happened back then."

"Mr. Bai, what are you talking about? How strange. Doesn't the Bai family teach the rule of not talking while eating or sleeping?" She held a knife and fork, cutting the steak in front of her, while staring at Bai Lutong with suspicion.

He opened his mouth and then closed it again. Bai Lutong smiled, picked up his cutlery, and began to eat the pasta in front of him.

Su Yao clearly didn't want Bai Lutong to have an easy time. "Butler, I don't like spaghetti. If you make it again, you're out of the Su family."

"Su Yao! Don't throw a tantrum today!" Su Wensheng scolded angrily.

"Fine, if you don't want me, the real young lady, to throw a tantrum, then let your fake one outside do it." Su threw down her knife and fork, crossed her arms, and said, "If you call me back today, don't say it's because you had a fight with me."

“No,” Bai Lutong interrupted their argument, his smiling eyes sparkling behind his square-framed glasses, “Xiao Yao, let’s get married, okay?”

"What are you saying?" Su asked incredulously.

"I came to the Su family today to ask Uncle for another chance, and also to ask for your forgiveness for my impulsive actions back then." Bai Lutong pushed up his glasses, stood up, and looked extremely respectful.

Su looked around, then took a glass of red wine and splashed it at Bai Lutong, but held back, so that only a few drops splashed onto his short-sleeved shirt.

Su Wensheng pointed at Su Yao, furious, "Su Yao! You've gone too far!"

"It's good that it's excessive, so that Mr. Bai can see what kind of person I really am." Su stared at Bai Lutong, hoping to find the slightest flaw in him.

Looking down at the few red stains, Bai Lutong gave a wry smile. "This is the short-sleeved shirt you bought for me, Xiao Yao. I'll wash it clean."

"Forget it, it's impossible for us, Mr. Bai." Su picked up her bag, turned around, and left the Su family home.

Behind him came Su Wensheng's furious words, "You have to marry me whether you want to or not! Su wants you!"

Sitting in the car, Su Yao hadn't calmed down yet when she made a phone call: "Shang Jiuqi, Bai Lutong is back."

"What? Want to rekindle your old flame, Mr. Su? What about your mistress whom you've been keeping hidden away?"

"You knew, so why didn't you tell me?"

"He just landed this morning. I didn't find out until noon. I have my own things to do, President Su. I don't have time to gossip about your family matters." Shang Jiu's nonchalant attitude can sometimes be even more infuriating than Su Wenxie's.

Su thought for a moment, then got straight to the point, "He wants to marry me."

"Great! Although the Bai family isn't as powerful as before, they still have a lot of influence in some areas. A marriage between the Bai and Soviet families would be beneficial and harmless." The lighter clicked.

Su was on guard. "Help me, I'll help you deal with your third brother."

"Hmph, exchanging one Third Brother for the Bai family isn't worth it."

"Then tell me what you want to do?"

"Since my eldest brother and third brother both like you so much, how about killing two birds with one stone?"

"No matter what, your eldest brother isn't as stupid as your third brother. In the end, he might be even more difficult to deal with than Bai Lutong." Su Yaocai didn't want to do anything that would leave him with no way out.

Shang Jiu snorted and laughed, "Tsk, I thought President Su was having so much fun with that beautiful woman that he didn't know right from wrong."

The long pause tested the patience of both sides.

"Forget it, instead of asking me for help, you should ask your adopted son. It seems he won't agree to this marriage. Also, you should think carefully about the conditions I've offered, Su Yao." The busy tone of the phone call ending was annoying. The only way Su Yao could think of to minimize her losses was through Shang Jiuqi, but it was clear that Shang Jiuqi wasn't buying it.

However, An Chi is indeed the kind of person who is good at muddying things up in this matter.

However, she shouldn't take advantage of An Chi like this anymore. The two of them have already obtained the benefits they wanted, and if she continues to do so, she will be indebted to An Chi.

"Let's go back to the company," she instructed the driver, while Bai Lutong, who had been waiting for a long time, stood behind the car.

The lights were on in the building late at night; no one should be working overtime today.

He knocked on the sleepless room. "Assistant Ge, aren't you off work yet?"

"The US market is open," Ge Jin said, standing up and bowing his head.

Su leaned against the door and yawned. "Ge Jin, you always make things so easy for me. I really wish I could have Ge Jin by my side all the time."

"Aren't you going home today?" Ge Jin asked, overstepping his bounds.

“I’m not going back. All my work time tonight has been wasted. I should come back and get back to work.” Su smiled, but then knocked on the door solemnly. “Assistant Ge, you should go back and rest. Trust me, I didn’t need to do this when I first took power at Su’s, and I have the confidence to do so now.”

After saying that, Su returned to his office.

Ge Jin never had any feelings outside of official business. He not only knew that he was unworthy, but also understood Su Yao's personality. Today he said he needed him, but if he made a mistake tomorrow, he could find a suitable replacement.

But at this moment, he finally felt a faint sting in his bloodshot eyes, because Su Yao never knew that when she first became the general manager of Su's Group, he had watched the stock market for her for two days and two nights, both domestically and internationally.

He only dared to sleep peacefully after confirming that the value was not affected in the slightest.

It's the same now. He never tells her that since she took office, he has been watching the stock market every week until he dares to go to sleep, as long as there are no problems.

It wasn't that he lacked confidence in her, but rather that Ge Jin wanted to truly be at the forefront for her; he wanted to be her most resilient blade.

When all the burdens fell on Su Yao's shoulders, Ge Jin realized that he still had a lot to do and a lot to entrust to Tang Pai. The stability of the situation could not rely solely on Su Yao; she needed success, and even more importantly, she needed capable people.

However, all of this was Ge Jin's choice.

Perhaps he was wrong; she never really needed his futile efforts.

However, as was his habit, he made sure everything was in order before leaving. Before leaving, he glanced at Su Yao's office, realizing that the person resting on the desk was only truly needed at this moment.

He carried Su to the rest room, covered her with a blanket, glanced at her boldly, and then turned and left.

The next day, sunlight streamed through the sheer white curtains, and a warm breakfast was placed on the table—a sandwich, a glass of hot milk—with a sticky note underneath, sharp yet small and delicate: Drinking milk in the morning makes you feel better.

It's obvious at a glance that it's Ge Jin's calligraphy.

Speaking of which, because of this word, Su Yao always liked to tease Ge Jin, saying he was like a girl.

His handwriting is small and neat. Although it has a certain brushstroke, the overall impression is that of a beautiful girl with beautiful handwriting.

In contrast, Tang Pai, a girl, wrote much more elegant and sophisticated characters than Ge Jin.

Su smiled, put the sticky note back on the table, and then ate her breakfast.

"Mr. Bai, you can't come in without an appointment," Tang Pai's voice came from outside, followed by Ge Jin's voice, "What happened?"

"This Mr. Bai said he wanted to see President Su, but he didn't make an appointment."

"It's alright, leave it to me, you go and help."

"Okay, Assistant Ge."

"Mr. Bai, how have you been? Please don't make things difficult for our Su family's employees, don't you think?" Ge Jin greeted the guests with a friendly demeanor, but his words were anything but gentle. "President Su wouldn't like someone like you."

"I thought Assistant Ge should have left Xiao Yao's side long ago." Bai Lutong's smile didn't reach his eyes; all that could be seen was Ge Jin's drooping hair.

"Thanks to Mr. Bai, I should be able to stay by President Su's side for the rest of my life." If anyone who has been with Su's company for a while knows about what happened between Bai Lutong and Su Yao back then, then Ge Jin is the one who knows it best. Moreover, almost all the schemes Su Yao set up were handled by Ge Jin.

"Even if I stay here my whole life, I'll only ever be an assistant." Bai Lutong said with a polite smile.

Ge Jin wasn't annoyed. He still bowed respectfully. "It's better than Mr. Bai not even being able to be an assistant. Besides, I understand the true relationship between myself and President Su, and I hope Mr. Bai can also recognize that."

"Really? You'll soon find out what our relationship is."

Actually, Ge Jin had heard about Su's visit to the Su family yesterday. He paused for a moment and said, "The Su family has never caught President Su's eye."

Bai Lutong ignored those words and went straight into Su Yao's office.

"Mr. Bai, you've come uninvited, what a grand gesture!" Su Yao had heard Bai Lutong's voice long ago, but she just wanted to see how shameless he could be. She didn't expect him to actually walk in.

"President Su, it's my fault for not managing things properly." Ge Jin came in to apologize, but he really couldn't stop Bai Lutong.

"It's alright, you go ahead and do your work. I have something to discuss with Mr. Bai privately." Su waved his hand, dismissing Ge Jin.

Ge Jin suddenly looked up and met Su Yao's gaze, then immediately lowered his head again. "Okay, President Su."

Even short fingernails can leave marks when gripping; it doesn't hurt, but it makes your skin tremble.