companion
The two reappeared in the brightly lit banquet hall. The bustling crowd and the constant clinking of glasses filled Su Anchi's ears. It was the first time he had ever seen such a scene, but he knew better than anyone that it was less a family reunion banquet for him and more a business forum for various companies to conduct business negotiations.
"President Su, you're so lucky." A portly man walked up to the two of them. Su let go of his hand, patted him, and gestured for him to follow.
The lingering warmth from my hands enveloped my body and slowly seeped into my heart.
The delicate bracelet, studded with many red diamonds, was raised, and the wine glass was moved downwards, the rim of the glass lower than the other person's. The crisp sound brought Su Anchi back to his senses.
"Not at all, Mr. Li is very fortunate. I heard that you have acquired the land in the east. Congratulations to you, Mr. Li."
"Sigh, we still need President Su to be lenient and not compete with me, a junior, for the East."
Old Su was referring to Su Wensheng. Su smiled and changed the subject, "An Chi, come on, say hello to President Li."
"Hello, Mr. Li." Su Anchi held the glass with both hands, keeping a humble posture. He did not rush to clink glasses, but tilted the wine glass forward slightly and then took a sip.
The man chuckled at him, clearly not wanting to discuss him with Su Yao, but rather wanting to continue the previous topic. Su Yao was not unaware of his intentions, and immediately looked outside, "Hey, Mr. Li, I'm so sorry, excuse me for a moment, I saw Mr. Wang, I'll go say hello."
Then, Su's warmth came over again, but this time she gripped it quickly, not noticing that the coolness of the red diamond also touched his arm, as cold as ice, mixed with her warmth, tightening the chains he had just loosened.
As she pulled him away, he looked toward President Wang, whom she was heading towards. But when she turned around, Su pulled him toward a group of friends he had met in the lounge earlier. They were gathered together, and there were even a few new faces.
"Are you all staying here together? Aren't you going to try your luck?" Su asked, picking up a strawberry and popping it into her mouth.
Zhou Qingran spoke up, "How many people here do you think appreciate my business?"
Su Yao remained silent, but gestured with his chin toward Xu Jingsi.
Her voice was gentle and flowing, "I'm doing that with him now, but Zhiheng has my dad."
He listened quietly, took a strawberry, wiped it, and handed it to her. She took it naturally and put it in her mouth.
The strawberries were all pre-processed, with the sepals cleaned. Under the light, the strawberries even looked slightly moist, and you could put them directly into your mouth.
I don't know if it was malicious intent at play.
He gently rubbed the thorns off the strawberry.
As the strawberry touched his lips, he looked at the red fruit, listened to the subtle sound of juice, looked down at his hand that had just touched the tiny black seeds, and slowly rubbed two fingers together, feeling the inexplicable sensation, like a hand, yet also like the hand that enters his mouth.
They seemed to have a lot to talk about, but thankfully, most of it was with the woman. He didn't like her gaze being fixed on other men too much. Now he was becoming increasingly greedy, using his eyes, his heart, his desire, and everything he couldn't touch to erode the affection she bestowed upon him.
During each break in the conversation, he would offer strawberries as appropriate; the plate of strawberries had already dwindled considerably.
They were all rubbed slowly by hand.
Su Yao really couldn't eat anymore, but she was too embarrassed to offend An Chi, since the boy was so perceptive and she was afraid he would feel like he was causing her trouble. "It's settled then, I'm leaving now. I'll leave it to you."
An Chi, who hadn't been listening carefully, sensed something was wrong. Su Yao had already left, accompanied by several other people. Just as he was about to follow her, he was stopped by one of the friends she had spoken to earlier.
His brows furrowed; this was the first time he had shown displeasure on his face in the meeting room. But then, remembering that Su might not like this, he lowered his eyes and asked, "Is there something you need?"
"It's alright. Su asked us to take care of you. Just sit here and relax. Su will come to pick you up later." Zhou Qingran put one arm around Xu Jingsi and pointed to the seat next to him with the other.
Su Yao did want to introduce Su Anchi to some people, as having a wide network of connections is not a bad thing. However, considering that Anchi was only sixteen years old, and that he would have to drink and smile, she felt uncomfortable. In such a mixed and chaotic place, she felt more at ease letting him stay peacefully with his friends, at least so that he could have a quiet time at the banquet.
An Chi raised his eyelids and looked at Zhou Qingran. He could tell that this person didn't think much of him, not in the way of looking down on him, but rather that he didn't care about him at all and had no opinion about him no matter what he did.
There are many hypocritical people, and this world is inherently a mix of truth and falsehood, so he wouldn't care about such attitudes.
However, since Su wanted him to stay here, even if he disliked Zhou Qingran, he would obediently sit beside him.
The woman beside him seemed quite concerned. "Su is just going to talk to them about some things. If you're bored, you can play with Shang Jiuqi. He knows how to play anything."
Xu Jingsi pointed to Shang Jiuqi, who was playing games on the side. Just then, Shang Jiuqi heard Xu Jingsi speak, raised his hand and waved, but his eyes did not fall on her at all, he was only focused on the phone in his hand.
"No need." An Chi sat down, thanked Xu Jingsi, and then looked up at Su Yao, who was moving around the room, exchanging toasts.
He doesn't need to do anything; he can just sit there and watch Su Yao all night.
Her face was beaming with a radiant smile, making the red diamonds in her ears and the red diamond necklace around her neck pale in comparison.
The wine glass clinked against countless blurry figures, their bodies intertwined, interspersed with a faint touch of bright red. The dark dress was not conspicuous, but in An Chi's eyes, all that could be seen was the delicate color of the jewelry.
The banquet was mostly over, and the people on the left had changed. Zhou Qingran and Xu Jingsi had already left. Just as they were about to go up and keep Su Yao company, Shang Jiuqi on the right spoke up, "Sit still. You don't want to interrupt her from making money, do you?"
Unwilling to give up, An Chi sat back down in his original seat.
Shang Jiuqi, who rarely spoke to him, inexplicably struck up a conversation with him.
"Do you like her, child?"
With a wary look, An Chi glanced at the person leaning against the sofa next to him.
"Turn your eyes off her. Haven't you heard the saying, 'The eyes are the windows to the soul'?" Shang Jiuqi sat up straight, placed her arms on her legs, and leaned forward. "You're not good enough for her. You'll only be a stumbling block for her."
"What do you mean?" An Chi asked softly.
"What I mean is, I'm good enough for her." Shang Jiuqi glanced sideways and waved to Su Yao, who was watching the situation.
The dull pain in his chest was like when he was a child, sitting in the cold wind with his younger sister, waiting for their mother to come home from the market. His sister never made it to the end, while he had to leave the door open and guard against thieves. The house in the countryside was cold and deserted, and the dark room could not be lit because of the need to save electricity. They could only rely on the twinkling stars outside the window.
The child was most afraid of this unknown feeling, but he waited night after night.
Back then, the wind wasn't just a chill on his face; it was a sharp piercing to his heart. His mother coming home a little late would plunge him into deep fear, and he felt helpless.
When Su looked over, she found that An Chi did not respond to her. She thought it must be quite late. Last time she came home late, he was already asleep. She guessed he would be sleepy this time too.
Then, Su began to call out and dismiss everyone.
Finally, Su wanted everything to be properly arranged before looking at the remaining two.
She thanked Shang Jiuqi, but Shang Jiuqi suddenly came up and hugged her, telling her she was welcome. Suspicion arose, and An Chi's condition also seemed off; he became even quieter.
Once in the car, she pulled the curtain in front of her to block out the driver. "What happened? Tell me."
An Chi looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't, his eyes full of grievance, and his downcast eyes were filled with displeasure.
"Are you going to tell me or not?" Su Yao didn't like hiding things, especially when those bright, puppy-like eyes looked at her with tears in them, and her dissatisfaction was also evident. "If you don't tell me, I'll find out myself."
"Mr. Shang said he wanted to be my adoptive father."
"Huh?" Su Yao was somewhat shocked. "He... really said that?"
Hearing that Su Yao did not object, An Chi's lips twitched slightly downwards, and he even pouted physiologically. Even though the change was very small, Su Yao, who was watching him, could hardly ignore it. She secretly raised the corners of her lips and said, "He can't do things himself, so he likes to do things that make people uncomfortable. He was pursuing a girl before, but now that the girl is in a relationship, he probably wants to make you feel bad."
"Then you..." An Chi hadn't even asked the question yet.
“I won’t have any romantic relationship with him. His family is too complicated. The reason Shang Jiuqi’s name has ‘Jiu’ in it is because he is the ninth child in his family. His father has too many children, and they all have official titles. No matter how much wealth he has, you can’t get much without using your skills.” Su wanted to explain to him in detail, and finally concluded, “I don’t like such complicated ways of making money.”
"Will you find me an adoptive father in the future?" An Chi's lips had returned to their normal curve.
Seeing his serious expression, Su assumed he was simply unwilling to accept strangers. "I don't know. I can't guarantee you anything I'm not sure about. If I meet someone truly suitable, I will naturally marry him. But by then, I estimate you won't be my child anymore. Don't worry, I won't force you to do anything you don't like."
He heard the end of her sentence and realized, "Yes, they're only bound together for two years. After that, once he comes of age, she'll abandon him."
Without saying a word, Su Yao glanced at Su Anchi, who was deep in thought, assuming that he was alright, and said no more.
After dropping An Chi off at her house in the city center, she was about to have the driver take her to Royal Bay.
"You didn't even spend time with me today," he said, still looking pitiful.
Su sometimes wondered if she was too soft-hearted, but her ruthless and decisive actions didn't prove that. Now she thought she was indeed too soft-hearted. "Then I'll sleep here tonight. I don't think I have any plans for tomorrow morning."
Su drank quite a bit of alcohol at the dinner tonight. Usually, Tang would cancel all her plans for the next morning at times like this.
Somerset Maugham once said that being soft-hearted and embarrassed will only kill you; rational ruthlessness and cold-bloodedness are the weapons for survival.
Perhaps she shouldn't have been soft-hearted; at least she could have found a reasonable excuse for her indifference.
An Chi escorted her to her room and made her a bowl of hangover soup, which he then fed to Su Yao before closing her door.
A hand touched the door, lost in reverie, as if touching the person inside.
He discovered today that Su Yao seemed unable to bear seeing him sad.
With a clear mind, he returned to his room, fell soundly asleep, and drifted into a dream.
This time, the fox fairy brazenly lay on top of him, hooked his fingers, and looked at the bright red strawberry on his fingertips.
"Do you want me to eat this caomei?" the fox asked seductively, teasing him as if she were playing with a pet dog.
He was speechless, unable to utter a single word.
The fox, oblivious to his own predicament, wrapped its tail around his waist, tilted its head, and took the strawberry into its mouth, along with its finger.
Unconsciously, he stirred, twisted, pinched, and used his tongue to move the strawberry, feeling his fingers along with the pulp, squeezing out red juice.
Sweet strawberry juice dripped from the corner of her mouth, adding a touch of brightness to her pale, fairy-like face. "That's enough."
The remaining liquid that clung to his lips shimmered with a crimson silver light, still connected like a broken lotus root. He followed his heart, narrowed his eyes, lowered his head, and stuck out his tongue to lick the red thread that resembled the thread of fate connecting the two of them.
Just as he put it in his mouth, he was pushed down. The fox demon didn't wipe the water stains from the corner of her lips, her appearance alluring. "How about tasting this red fruit on your body?"
As she spoke, she leaned over and pressed her face against his chest, looking at the large, red nipple there.
She almost tasted it. When An Chi woke up, she felt pain all over her body, but her heart was itchy.
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