rival

Since An Chi realized Su Yao's thoughts, he has spent some time with her. Just like when he first arrived at the Su family, Su Yao promised him to spend one day a week with her. But now he doesn't say that promise out loud, nor does he ask friends to keep him company when he's busy, unlike Su Yao back then. He will only personally participate in everything Su Yao does.

On fixed days, he would habitually find weekends to spend with her. Sometimes Su Yao was particularly busy with social engagements, so he would stay by her side, acting as her secretary. Other times, Su Yao would only be in the office, so he would sit on the sofa and handle his own affairs. However, this had a drawback: he would always experience back pain after sitting for a long time. Later, he simply sat on the floor. Countless times, Su Yao would warn him, "The floor is cold, don't sit for too long." He wouldn't mention his pain, but would repeatedly reassure her, "It's okay, you'll get hot if you sit for too long." Sometimes, when Su Yao wasn't busy, the two of them would act like an ordinary couple, strolling arm in arm, buying groceries, and cooking together, but neither of them would point out the uncertainty of their relationship. The most difficult time was when Su Yao went on business trips. For places that were relatively close, An Chi would know in advance and book the same flight for a day trip. But for places that were too far away, he couldn't accompany her, so An Chi would choose to video call her. In short, whenever he had free time, he wished he could shuttle between the school, the company, and Su Yao non-stop...

Su Yao understood his intentions. She cleared out a space for him, put a table and chairs there to make him more comfortable, and sometimes she would deliberately postpone her work to give An Chi time to go on dates. She was also subtly affirming everything An Chi did.

There are always people who can't stand these peaceful days.

When An Chi found out, it was already too late. Bai Lutong used Su's position to obstruct the cooperation between "Yao" and Zhiheng. He did this just when An Chi and Su Yao were playing around together. At that time, An Chi rarely cared about company and school affairs, and his assistant did not notice that he had been tricked. As a result, An Chi only discovered some problems when he returned to the company to check the contract, and Zhiheng had already refused to communicate.

An Chi understood that if he wanted to become a tool that Su Yao could be proud of, then he shouldn't ask her for help. However, if he wanted to achieve the final result and get the desired effect, he had to seek Su Yao's help. Su Yao's assistance came faster than the result of his inner struggle. Almost immediately after receiving the news, Su Yao sent a message to Xu Jingsi.

Xu Jingsi directly contacted her father, and Zhiheng immediately granted An Chi permission to proceed with communication and solutions regarding the contract issues.

Su paced back and forth in the large office, her emotions a mixture of worry and anger. Ever since she decided to get closer to An Chi, she knew that Bai Lutong would definitely make a move, but she did not expect that Bai Lutong would do those things in the name of Su's Group. Although Su's Group was no longer under her control, it would always carry the name of "Su Family".

Looking back on the year she sent An Chi abroad, Bai Lutong had already inquired about An Chi's identity. At that time, she had already begun to worry about the conflict between An Chi and Bai Lutong. He was good at winning people over and manipulating them. This use of An Chi, who had no background, was definitely a move he made to control her. In addition, Su Qingye was also watching her every move closely. So she chose to send him abroad. Although it was not discussed, the action was for protection.

Autumn is cold, and too many green plants wither and die; even the pot of pink chrysanthemums has drooped its head.

It seems that all life in this world has a spirit, and when a person is sad, the hormones secreted will affect the creatures around them. Su raised the drooping flower stamen with her finger.

When An Chi heard that Zhi Heng had agreed to the negotiation, he realized that Su Yao was the one who had pushed things along. He froze in front of the computer, stunned and doing nothing, lost in thought. He knew that Su Yao had already violated her own principles and owed him a favor just to help him. In the past, these were the things she hated the most, but now she had done them for him. He didn't know what to say. His hand was on the blank chat box. He always liked to say silly things that Su Yao wouldn't allow, but it was only in words. In his actions, he never overstepped the bounds.

Finally, he made a phone call to Su.

"What's wrong?" After a long silence, Su Yao finally spoke.

Did you help me?

Even though it was a definite answer, An Chi still desperately wanted to hear it from Su Yao.

"Is this considered helping? It's just a small thing. You know, I'm good friends with President Zhiheng's daughter."

Her understatement is always a sign of her indifference to her own efforts.

Su Yao didn't want others to do too much for her. Everyone has their own path, and she didn't want to be overwhelmed by fame, so she didn't want to put pressure on others either.

"Su Yao, thank you." An Chi took a deep breath and said softly as she exhaled.

Su was at a loss for words, and in her haste, she could only say, "You're welcome."

Upon hearing this, An Chi chuckled softly on the other end of the phone, murmuring aloud—not for Su Yao to hear—"I love you so much, what should I do?"

Hearing this, Su Yao was no longer as resistant as before. "Make money well, and give me the money you earn."

"Su, please don't help me again next time, okay? You can't do it for me every time, otherwise I really won't be able to leave you." With a hint of coquetry, An Chi couldn't say such words when she first arrived at the Su family, but now she did it with ease.

"Do you have a way to leave me now?" She was also interested, but before An Chi could speak, the phone suddenly went dead.

An Chi looked at the disconnected screen. In fact, this had happened many times before. Whenever there was an emergency, Su Yao would immediately hang up their communication. He wondered what it was about this time.

A knock came at the door, and Su Yao immediately hung up the phone. A guest had arrived, and this time it wasn't an uninvited guest, but someone she had personally invited.

"Enter."

Ge Jin pushed open the door and entered, gesturing for him to come in. It was the instigator—Bai Lutong.

He smiled and, for the first time ever, pulled at Ge Jin, trying to build a closer relationship: "Assistant Ge, have you been happy with your job all these years?"

Ge Jin simply lowered his head and remained silent.

Bai Lutong was in a good mood and didn't force Ge Jin to answer. Su Yao spoke up, "Ge Jin, you can go ahead and get busy."

Bai Lutong then turned to Su Yao and said, "President Su, what brings you here?"

Su didn't mince words with him. She opened a file next to her, spread it on the table, and pushed it toward Bai Lutong, saying, "The price is absolutely right, take a look."

The document prominently displays the words: Su's Equity Transfer Agreement.

It wasn't that Su wanted to transfer the shares to Bai Lutong, but rather that he was asked to transfer the shares to Su.

Bai Lutong snorted coldly, picked up the document, and examined it carefully. The conditions were indeed good; not only was there money, but there was also land. It was quite a generous offer. His expression turned ferocious, and he gripped the folder tightly. Unable to bear it any longer, he slammed the document on the table, his face extremely ugly. "Su Yao, you sent me here just to pave the way for that man? You clearly know how well the Su family has developed under my leadership."

"Yes, the Su family is doing quite well now, thanks to you, President Bai. But the Su family's surname is Su, and you said before that the Su family would always belong to me."

"I did say that, but only if you're mine. Xiao Yao, what's wrong with me? My abilities, my looks, everything about me is excellent. Tell me, what else are you dissatisfied with!" Bai Lutong finally couldn't hide his gentle demeanor and began to become terrifying.

Su watched him go crazy with composure, thinking to herself that he was still too young and impetuous, and had not successfully learned Bai Lining's ability to hide his daggers with a smile. She still remembered what Bai Lining said about her mother when they first met. His words of regret still had an awkwardness that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

"It is precisely because Mr. Bai is too outstanding that I am no match for him. Mr. Bai does not understand the principle that those who walk different paths cannot make plans together. I remember it very well."

Bai Lutong didn't know this sentence, but it was the sentence that made her lose face the most at the engagement banquet. Bai Lining's apologetic face was accompanied by the sentence: "Miss Su, we have different paths and cannot work together."

Now, Bai Lutong's eyes were filled with ruthlessness, as if he had gone mad. He recalled his father's words before he returned to China: "Never be an enemy of Su Yao." But he couldn't care less about that now. "Su Yao, I know about your relationship with Xu Jingsi, but Zhiheng is not entirely controlled by the Xu family. You understand that, right? Marry me, and I will give you the Su family business, and I promise I will never go against that child."

In Bai Lutong's eyes, An Chi was just a child. He still felt that Su Yao should treat him as an adopted son, otherwise the two of them would have been together long ago.

"Since Mr. Bai knows that Zhiheng is not under the control of the Xu family, then he should also know that the Su family is not under the control of you, Bai Lutong, alone!" Her voice suddenly rose, carrying a strong sense of pressure and cohesion. Her majesty was always like that of a leader among lions, with sharp eyes, protecting her territory.

She still has shares in the Su family. Su Wensheng and Su Qingye's last remaining shares were also given to Su Wenxie. These two types of shares combined are enough to influence the entire board of directors. So what if the Su family is now controlled by Bai Lutong? She still has a backup plan. Su Qingye thought she had no say in the Su family and only wanted her to take back the Su family. But she had placed her last bet on Su Wenxie. She knew this all along. Su Qingye did not give her all the shares. As for Su Wensheng, needless to say, after Su Wenxie had an accident last time, she put pressure on him and he also gave his shares to Su Wenxie. However, Su Wenxie only listens to what she, Su, wants.

Everything was under her control.

Bai Lutong just laughed heartily. "Xiao Yao, you're really smart. Ever since we were in school, I've always wanted to compete with you, but for some reason, you always hid your brilliance. I didn't like that, so from that time on, I decided that if I had the chance, I would definitely compete with you. Look, here we are. But, you have a backup plan, but don't I? Do you remember? My businesses are all over the place, and so much time has passed, enough to establish connections between them and the Su family. I am now one with the Su family. It won't be easy for you to bring me down."

Su's frown was obvious, a gesture he couldn't afford to reveal to the enemy.

Bai Lu gently smoothed her brows and eyes with his palm. "My dad said you're a dangerous person, not suitable to be a partner, not suitable to be an enemy, only suitable to be a friend. But I don't believe it. I want to be your rival and your lover at the same time. We'll be entangled in love and hate for a lifetime, and never be separated, okay?"

Su tried to slap his hand away. "Bai Lutong, if you want to play, I'll play along. Do you really think you understand me? Ge Jin, show him out."

Ge Jin, who was on standby outside at any time, immediately opened the door and emphasized to Bai Lutong, "Mr. Bai, please."

Bai Lutong stepped back towards Su Yao and smiled, "I'm really looking forward to our wedding, Yao."

His hand remained on the unseen prayer mark on his neck, a sign of his panic, which Su needed to assess.

After seeing Bai Lutong off, Su Yao immediately began her own actions without any delay. Everything had to be done quickly, accurately, and ruthlessly. Her decisive and efficient approach was designed to catch Bai Lutong off guard.

Everyone would make a prediction. Since she would leave herself a way out in the Su family, she would also pay attention to the Su family's recent situation. Bai Lutong is very smart, but her fatal arrogance is still so obviously a weakness. For example, Bai Lining is right, don't make an enemy of her.

So she had long known that Bai Lutong's move to link the Su family with his own businesses was for the good of the Su family, so why wouldn't she do it? But where there is capital, there are also dark, shady issues.

Even though Bai Lutong did everything perfectly, he forgot to be on guard against Su.

Just as Su was about to close the door, he jokingly said, "At this moment, should I say, 'It's getting cold, the Bai family should go bankrupt'?"

Ge Jin spoke up to remind him, "It shouldn't be possible to go bankrupt."

"I know, just kidding." Su rested her chin on her hand, indicating that Ge Jin really didn't know how to joke. If it were Tang Pai, she would look at her like a startled deer and say that such words were not in line with Su's temperament. Unfortunately, she was busy with other projects recently.