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Su Yao and An Chi entered at the same time, which surprised everyone. Why would Su Yao appear with "Yao" coo? But when everyone realized that An Chi looked just like he did years ago, they couldn't help but sigh. Now, Su Yao's strength is not to be underestimated, and her adopted son is also so outstanding. They were more envious of Su Yao for betting on the right thing than marveling at her ability to cultivate talent.
Su stepped onto the stage, smiled, and said frankly, "Thank you all for taking time out of your busy schedules to attend my birthday party, a junior like myself. Looking around, there are many people younger than me. It's really presumptuous of me to call myself a junior here."
This remark elicited laughter from everyone present, proving that Su Yao's linguistic charm was truly captivating.
"Today, I'd like to introduce a rising star, and also make a recommendation. I hope all of you seniors will give him your support. My... boyfriend—An Chi."
Su Yao had carefully considered her words before saying them. First, they were indeed dating, and the exposure was unavoidable. Rather than being exposed passively, she preferred to take the initiative. Second, Su's Group was no longer involved with her. She had no power, no shares, and was only connected by a surname. Third, as an investment company, regardless of the type of cooperation, she was always the client, the one with the highest power, rather than someone who needed any particular cooperation.
As for An Chi's company, she admitted that she hadn't thought that much about it. It was a pity that if Ge Jin were here, he would have reminded her about it, but now no one was handling the birthday party, and she was making all the decisions herself, so Su Yao hadn't considered it.
Everyone was shocked to hear this, including An Chi, the person involved. She wanted to play matchmaker for him, and he could sense that from her words, but she actually acknowledged his identity.
An Chi was so overjoyed that he forgot he might have to deal with a lot of public opinion issues.
Later, when Su was considering An Chi, she asked him about this matter: why wasn't he worried about the public opinion at the time?
He put his arm around Su Yao's shoulder and told her that the most important thing had been resolved, so what did the others matter?
What is the most important thing?
"Being with you."
There were quite a few people whispering at the birthday party.
Shang Jiuqi understood that Su Yao was definitely not acting on impulse. He frowned as he weighed the relative value of An Chi and Ge Jin. In conclusion, he favored Ge Jin. There was no way around it; the age difference made him feel that An Chi was still a child.
Zhou Qingran bumped his arm. "Is she crazy?"
Shang Jiu glared at Zhou Qingran, wincing in anger: "I don't know."
Zhou Qingran tried to bump into Pei Zhixi, but Pei dodged him and gave him the same answer, "I don't know."
Xu Jingsi stood behind her and said calmly, "There's nothing wrong with it. Su is perfectly fine. But shouldn't this child consider his own company?"
“That’s what I think too,” Zhou Qingran chimed in, even though he had initially said that Su Yao was crazy.
Just like many years ago, Ning Junyi said, "There are so many things going on in wealthy families."
But this time, he was accompanied by a girl with gentle and graceful features. She pinched his arm and said, "Don't talk nonsense in public!"
No one knows who started the applause; it was a belated applause amidst gasps of surprise, while everyone in the hall harbored their own secrets.
After Su left the field, she gathered with her friends, and An Chi followed her.
Everyone looked at each other, and Su Yao could tell: "What's wrong?"
"Why didn't you tell me you were together beforehand?" Shang Jiuqi, who was closest to him, spoke first. His tone was tinged with displeasure. It didn't seem to be for Su Yao or for himself, but rather for Ge Jin. Of the three, the one he had the best chance of winning hadn't succeeded. This seemed to imply that his judgment was flawed.
An Chi lowered his eyebrows and eyes.
Su raised an eyebrow. "What happened a couple of days ago? Before my birthday, I gathered you all together and said that An Chi and I were together?"
"Are you sure?" Pei Zhixi asked, unusually serious.
Su Yao pouted and grasped An Chi's hand, "I'm not sure, are you sure?"
Then, she scanned everyone, "What's wrong with you all? Are you jealous of me?"
Xu Jingsi exhaled through her nose and chuckled. In her eyes, Su Yao had never asked such childish questions before. She smoothed things over, "It must be that he lost a bet? One is Ge Jin, and the other is Bai Lutong."
Su was completely unaware of the matter and angrily questioned what the bet was about.
As one of the bystanders at the time, Zhou Qingran's face was already showing a gloating expression as he embellished their "betting incident".
An Chi had already left and was far away in the United States. Naturally, he was not a competitor in the eyes of Shang Jiuqi and Pei Zhixi. Bai Lutong was always pestering Su Yao during those days. Later, there were rumors about their relationship. At one gathering, Su Yao left first, and Bai Lutong came to pick her up. Pei Zhixi said to everyone, "It seems that another couple is going to get together."
Shang Jiuqi scoffed, letting out a snort with a strong sense of sarcasm.
Pei Zhixi looked at him, leaned back in her chair, and said, "What? Is Xiao Shang still not convinced?"
"Su Yaocai will never be with Bai Lutong."
In fact, among all his friends, Pei Zhixi only got along well with Xu Jingsi's younger brother. He didn't play with his peers much. He didn't care about the relationship between Zhou Qingran and Xu Jingsi, but he just couldn't understand why Su Yao always preferred to play with Shang Jiuqi, who was younger, but didn't want to play with him.
Hearing this again, he was somewhat unconvinced: "Tch, Mr. Shang really knows your childhood sweetheart."
Hearing this, Shang Jiuqi understood that Pei Zhixi was throwing a tantrum. Normally, they would ignore such remarks, but that day Shang Jiuqi was also very upset about something and said directly, "Pei Zhixi, what do you mean?"
"The literal meaning." Pei Zhixi wasn't afraid of him.
Zhou Qingran tried to smooth things over, "Alright, alright, everyone be nice to each other. Who Su likes is none of your business. It's not like you're trying to steal her away."
The first half of this attempt to smooth things over is enough, but Zhou Qingran had to add the second half: "Shut up!" The two voices, spoken in unison, silenced Zhou Qingran completely, and he pitifully tried to appease Xu Jingsi.
Xu Jingsi didn't care about these things, leisurely eating her meal and ignoring Zhou Qingran who was eager to be scolded.
Shang Jiuqi stopped short of making a point, but Pei Zhixi was still angry and insisted on making a bet with Shang Jiuqi.
"What business is it of my business who she's with?" Shang Jiuqi said with a look of disdain.
Unable to resist Pei Zhixi's persistent questioning, Shang Jiuqi finally gave the answer that he thought was slightly more correct. In fact, for him, only Bai Lutong was a candidate for execution; others were all possibilities. However, after weighing the pros and cons, Ge Jin was truly the best choice.
But unexpectedly, Su Yao's final choice was An Chi.
Yes, no one could have imagined that the frail person who stood in the corner years ago would now be standing beside Su Yao.
Time is the most terrifying benchmark, and transformation is the most astonishing milestone.
"How boring." Su wanted to sum up the two people in one sentence.
Pei Zhixi didn't care. Su Yao had always disliked him the most since childhood. Shang Jiuqi, on the other hand, was even more annoyed. If he had known this would happen, he wouldn't have bothered with Pei Zhixi.
An Chi's phone was ringing off the hook. He glanced at it, considering how to talk to Su Yao, but Su Yao took his side first, saying, "Go call them back. It's not like I can't be alone with them."
An Chi glanced around with a smile on his face, but in his heart he felt that since one of these people sided with Bai Lutong and the other with Ge Jin, he still couldn't let Su Yao get too close to them.
Even after An Chi left, Shang Jiu still had a sour look on his face.
Su pouted, "Why are you always meddling in other people's business?"
Shang Jiuqi got even angrier, looking exactly like a cat with its fur standing on end.
Su Yao could only sigh. Actually, she could understand Shang Jiuqi's feelings. It was mostly out of indignation on Ge Jin's behalf, like being told that you've raised a child for a long time and then suddenly being told that he's not your biological son. Well, Su Yao wasn't sure if this analogy was appropriate, but she felt that Shang Jiuqi was indeed feeling that way right now.
She didn't use this metaphor to express her empathy, after all, Shang Jiuqi would definitely be even angrier because of this sentence. It was the first time that Su Yao had ever experienced such a strong emotional fluctuation in a person with stable emotions. Pei Zhixi must have been involved. She tried to justify herself.
Shang Jiu's anger subsided easily. The first thing he did after calming down was to pull Su away and say, "Come with me."
Su Yao was suddenly pulled by him, and looked at his back with some confusion. She was sure that Shang Jiu must have calmed down, otherwise he would not have spoken to her.
Pulling her aside to a secluded spot, Shang Jiuqi still questioned her, "Are you really sure about this?"
"I've thought it through." Su needed to understand that he was advising her from a friend's perspective, not making a bet.
When are you getting married?
"I won't get married."
"And what about having children?"
"Let nature take its course."
"Are you kidding me?" Shang Jiu was utterly astonished.
Su Yao's eyes darted around, then she lowered her head and shook it. "I don't know. I just want to be with him. I don't want to get married. In fact, I never want to get married in my life. Also, can you just have a child whenever you want?"
"You... are afraid of marriage?" As Su Yao's friend of many years, Shang Jiuqi had no idea about this. Su Yao and Bai Lutong were headed for marriage back then.
"I'm not afraid of marriage, I'm just thinking about what marriage can bring me. If it can't bring me anything, but instead takes something away from me, then it's not so bad to date for a lifetime."
Upon hearing "What will it bring me?", Shang Jiuqi realized that the person in front of him was still Su Yao, not the love-struck person he had imagined. He nodded, "It's good that you can figure it out."
“I am Su Yao, the most cold-blooded and ruthless beneficiary.”
Since Su Qingye's passing, rumors have circulated that Su Yao was actually a cold-blooded and ruthless beneficiary of the system, but these rumors have faded from public view in recent years.
Shang Jiuqi didn't answer. "Let's go back, or your little boyfriend will think I 'kidnapped' you."
When the two reached the door, Shang Jiuqi, with his back to Su Yao, said, "Happy birthday, Su Yao."
Shang Jiuqi's age is awkward. He's not the same age as Su Yao and Pei Zhixi, nor is he the same age as Xu Yangming and Su Wenxie. He's stuck in the middle. Because of the Shang family's environment and the fact that he's in the same grade as them, his maturity beyond his years is evident in him. That's why he never calls Su Yao and Xu Jingsi "sister," nor Pei Zhixi or Zhou Qingran "brother."
Once, Zhou Qingran teased him, trying to get him to call him "brother".
He was young and short.
Zhou Qingran stopped him and made him call him "brother," as if Zhou Qingran was bullying him.
So he didn't call out, but Zhou Qingran couldn't wait any longer and compromised.
When Su heard the word "sister," she was touched for a moment, then gloated and followed up, "Call me again and let me hear it."
Shang Jiu rolled her eyes, "You're really pushing your luck."
Su wanted to go back and brag about it, which made Zhou Qingran, who still remembered the "calling him brother" incident, grit his teeth and insist on pestering Shang Jiu to call him brother.
Pei Zhixi, just like joining in the fun, also pestered Shang Jiuqi to call him brother. Xu Jingsi explained the situation to Ning Junyi and Li Ming, who didn't understand the truth.
A group of people laughed together, as if they had returned to their school days, a time of pure and precious joy.
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