successive
"Only I can save the Su family from their current situation." With his hands braced against the black, matte oval-shaped desk, Bai Lutong couldn't wait any longer, even though the door wasn't fully closed.
Su smiled and asked, "Oh? What's the situation with the Su family?"
"Xiao Yao, now is not the time to throw a tantrum." Bai Lutong's eyelashes trembled slightly, his gaze tender and affectionate, as if he were a deeply affectionate person. "With Su's profits declining day by day, even if the stock market is like a paper tiger, can you deny that it's difficult for you to keep going right now?"
"Mr. Bai, are you questioning my abilities?" Su Yao's smile vanished instantly.
“No, Xiao Yao, it’s clearly Su Qingye who owes debts outside, it’s clearly a heavy burden that Su Wensheng can’t repay, why should you bear all of this?” Bai Lutong’s brows were furrowed, he was not at all the well-mannered young master of the Bai family. “Marry me, and I will help you settle all of this.”
"Is that so? What do you think you're going to do to settle this, Young Master Bai? Oh, I forgot, Director Bai is no longer Director Bai, and you're no longer Young Master Bai either." His sarcastic eyes flashed with a fierce sharpness.
“I’ve done some work in Australia these past few years. Take a look, Xiao Yao.” She placed the folder in her left hand in front of Su Yao, her eyes filled with sadness, while her right hand suddenly touched the cross that hadn’t been there before. “Don’t pretend, Xiao Yao. Marry me, and everything that’s mine will be yours. Besides, this is your only way out.”
The departing figure looked dejected yet resolute, but only Su Yao knew that this was nothing more than Bai Lutong's acting. From the moment he decided to give her up and go abroad, he was forever nailed to the cross of selfishness. No matter the godfather's prayers or the godmother's conversion, the seeds of baseness would always grow in his bones.
People say that the rich believe in gods and Buddhas out of fear of the calamities brought by their heavy sins, while the poor believe in gods and Buddhas out of a helpless hope.
But in Su Yao's eyes, they were never different. She was never a child protected by gods or Buddhas, and she understood that from the moment she was born.
In such a long and established family, she was a woman without the right to inherit the Su family business. If it weren't for Su Yao's methods, she would have been nothing more than a tool for marriage alliances to be manipulated. But now it seems that no matter how outstanding she is, these are still cages she cannot escape.
The knocking interrupted Su Yao, who was about to slump onto the table. "President Su, Mr. Bai will not be allowed in anymore," Ge Jin said, his voice low and hoarse.
"It's fine, let him come in as he pleases. In the end, the Su family will just hand it over to him anyway."
"You... are you going to marry him?" Ge Jin raised his head and looked at Su Yao, who had fallen down again.
Su Yao lowered her face, her voice somewhat muffled, "If he wants this Su family business, then give it to him. It has little to do with whether or not he gets married."
After a long silence without receiving a response from Ge Jin, Su Yao stood up and looked at the dazed Ge Jin, "Go ahead and get busy. I won't leave you without work."
"Okay, Mr. Su."
The story of Su Qingye's embezzlement dates back to the 2008 financial crisis.
Su Qingye doesn't trust anyone, and at over sixty years old, she doesn't choose to retire, leaving Su Wensheng stuck in an insignificant position, which is like a slow and agonizing torture for Su Wensheng.
With the overseas market gaining momentum, Su Qingye has invested heavily in overseas markets.
Unfortunately, she stumbled during the unexpected economic crisis. Undeterred, Su Qingye did not willingly step down and instead created a puppet like Su Wensheng.
Fortunately, the Su family was large and powerful, and its decades-old foundation could not be easily destroyed. As a result, the expansion into overseas markets failed, and the family had to develop in the domestic market. This provided a stark contrast to the Su family's efforts to successfully open up international markets.
The investment deficit cannot be filled all at once. Su Wensheng paid it off for more than ten years, and now it was Su Yao's turn. Su Qingye also wanted to raise a puppet.
It's more accurate to call it the training of puppets than the inheritance of the strong.
But Su Qingye understood that Su Yao was not an easy person to control, and everything Su Yao was doing now was paving the way for Su Wenxie, the real puppet.
The world is often presented as a place where men are strong and women are weak, but this is a measure of the disparity in power.
Some people forget that the true master is the one who uses their mind. Su Qingye is such a person, someone who uses wisdom to control those she needs, including Su Wensheng and Su Wenxie.
It's just a clash of wisdom and intelligence. Su might get her feet worn down by the stones, but she will still walk this path to the end, and she will be the only winner to reach the end.
The message notification interrupted Su Yao's thoughts; it was someone he hadn't seen in a long time—An Chi.
Anchi: You're getting married?
Su looked at the glaring words: Where did you get that information?
Anchi: News.
A news article was forwarded to the chat box.
"The eldest daughter of the Su family and the young master of the political world are happily married. What kind of love story is it that brings tears to people's eyes?"
With a wry smile, Su Yao forwarded the message directly to Su Wensheng: Tell Bai Lutong that if he tries this kind of trick again, he won't be able to marry me, let alone even step into the Su family's door.
Who says only businessmen and capitalists are good at manipulating public opinion? In fact, these officials are even better at exploiting people's hearts.
Su Yao: That's not true. Focus on your studies and stop gossiping.
Anchi: When are you going home?
Su needs to see clearly and consider whether these words are a genuine expression of emotion or a request for something. Recently, An Lan and her mother have been doing well, and nothing has happened.
Su Yao: Come back from the US next week, remember to make tomato and egg noodles.
An Chi: Okay.
Setting his phone aside, An Chi felt a sense of calm unlike before.
When he saw the news, a mix of irritability and anxiety overwhelmed him, yet his heart remained unusually calm—a natural state of clarity. He couldn't help but ask her, wanting to tell her that his value wasn't just as a shield; that he could learn and understand a great deal, making him available for her use at any time. But in front of her, he could never bring himself to say it. It was a feeling of inferiority, an unspeakable, damp pain.
Su is about to return to work; she won't do anything for anyone else, she will only strive to be the one in control.
Choosing accommodation was not difficult; Su made preparations for Anchi, whether it was a homestay or a private apartment.
On the day Su Yao landed in Beicheng from Washington, Tang Pai came to pick her up and told her about some recent events in China.
The phone rang. "Su Yao, you knew I would come looking for you." Shang Jiu was so angry that she fell ill, her voice hoarse like a crow's.
"Tsk tsk, will Young Master Shang come looking for me? Pai Pai, do you know?" Su Yao even had time to tease Tang Pai, as if it wasn't her who needed to cooperate with Shang Jiuqi last week.
Tang Pai remained silent. She couldn't speak in this place. Having spent a long time with Ge Jin, she knew when to speak and when not to.
Unexpectedly, Su Yao said, "Pai Pai, how come you've become just as boring as Ge Jin?"
Turning her head, she began to tease Shang Jiuqi, "As soon as my plane landed, President Shang called. What's wrong? You don't mean you're thinking of marrying into the Su family along with your eldest and third brothers, do you?"
"Don't play dumb with me, Su Yao. Don't hold back on the contract. I agree to cooperate." Shang Jiuqi spoke haltingly.
Su coughed lightly, "Don't infect me, Shang Jiuqi. However, I've changed my mind. You not only have to cooperate with me, but you also have to make Bai Lutong willingly take over the Su family business on his own."
"You..." Shang Jiu coughed twice in anger, "Don't go too far."
"It's not excessive. I won't leave you without benefits. The contract will be signed immediately, and Miss Wan will also be the spokesperson. In the end, Shang Jiuqi will be the sole party on the contract. What do you think, President Shang?"
“…Su Yao, I promise you, but think it through, it might not work.”
"Either is fine, even if it annoys Bai Lutong, but," Su Yao touched his throat as he listened to Shang Jiu's angry voice, feeling a bit uncomfortable himself, "it wasn't me who fell into the arms of a beautiful woman."
After hanging up the phone, Su Yao was in a good mood, but her throat was indeed a little uncomfortable. She leaned back in the car and instructed, "Go to An Chi's place."
She still remembered that she had promised An Chi that she would go to his place for a meal.
I never imagined that this nap would land me in the hospital.
When she woke up, there was a faint fragrance on the tip of her nose and the monotonous light colors made Su Yao think she had fallen asleep at home until she saw the needle and thread on the back of her hand and the connected saline solution.
Her head was still spinning, and she secretly guessed that she must be sick. She didn't expect Shang Jiuqi's illness to be so contagious that she could catch it even through a screen. Su picked up her phone and prepared to make a call.
An Chi entered, carrying a pink thermos that didn't seem out of place. "You're awake."
As Su saw someone come in, she asked, "Hmm, not studying today?"
"You can have the lunch I brought, since it's afternoon class today."
The call connected on the other end of the phone, and a ripple in An Chi's eyes concealed a deep-seated pain. "I'm alright," she suddenly said to him, "Can I be discharged?"
"After the IV drip is finished today, I'll ask the doctor."
"Bring your laptop, and also the contracts to be signed this week, and Miss Wan's contract, pack them together and send them to Shang Jiuqi." Su Yao held her phone in one hand and was getting an injection in the other, so she couldn't eat. She glanced at the steaming tomato and egg noodles in her lunchbox, "I'll eat later..."
Unexpectedly, a pair of chopsticks holding noodles was brought to my mouth. "Eat up, or the noodles will clump together."
Her eyes darted around, the faint fragrance at the tip of her nose now overwhelmed by the aroma of noodles. She simply followed her heart and ate the noodles that An Chi fed her, but still didn't forget to respond to her assistant's words.
Su seemed to be the epitome of "work never stops as long as life goes on." An Chi fed her a few bites of noodles, but she complained that talking was too troublesome, so she simply waved her hand and stopped eating.
Somewhat angry but helpless, An Chi put the noodles aside, stood by the hospital bed, and watched Su make a phone call.
Without being disturbed, Su was indeed much faster at making the call; however, after hanging up, their faces were indeed tangled together.
She looked at An Chi apologetically, "I'm sorry, but I did eat a few bites too."
"It's alright, I also brought some porridge." An Chi opened the bottom layer of the insulated box, which contained a bowl of white porridge. He then fed it to Su Yao. Su Yao smiled, took the spoon, and said, "I can do it myself."
After finishing his meal, Ge Jin came in and brought all the things he had been asked to bring to the ward.
Su took it, saying, "Go back now. I'll take it with me when I'm discharged. If anything else comes up, I'll call you."
Ge Jin exited through the door.
An Chi remained standing in place. Su Yao glanced at him and said, "Sit on the sofa for a while, don't stand."
"Why do you have to work so hard?" He thought of the news article that described how Su was trying to gain a foothold in the Su family "for Bai Lutong's sake," and the veins on An Chi's neck bulged out.
It was as if I'd heard a ridiculous joke: "If I weren't tired, how could I adopt you?"
"I don't need you to spend any more money now. I haven't touched the card you gave me before, don't..."
He hadn't finished speaking when he said, "It's not just you. So many people in the Su family need to eat. One person might be feeding several people. How can I lead them to make money if I don't work?"
"I will try my best, I will help you."
"Let's talk about it when you can actually help me. You're so honest, but you've learned to make empty promises."
Before he could answer, Su interrupted, "Go back to class, we don't need you here."
The fact that she didn't need him came out, and An Chi was instantly filled with doubt. Did he really have the ability to make sacrifices for her?
As he left, he glanced at Su Yao, whose eyes were fixed solely on the contract, and quietly closed the door.
Su let out a long sigh. Why was she so tired? She was a businesswoman. She shouldn't care about so many people. She should only care about profit. Even she herself didn't understand why she was pushing herself to the limit. No one around her ever cared about her work. Everything seemed to be taken for granted. It was just as expected that it would be hard and painful.
Perhaps it's because she wants to inherit Su Qingye's legacy and defeat Su Qingye.
The glass of warm water that wasn't finished was poured for her by An Chi before he left. He just stood there, listening to her tedious conversation without saying a word, and finally weakly told her that he would help her.
Too absurd, too naive, and too beautiful.
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