Ruan Chen saw admiration in her eyes.
Over the next few days, Ruan Chen took her to see the nearby villages and then showed her around the nearby towns.
“This is a school,” Ruan Chen said, standing by the roadside. He and Su Tan each held a roasted corn cob and ate it amidst the car exhaust fumes.
Is it a primary school?
“No,” Ruan Chen exhaled a breath of hot air, “We can teach elementary, middle and high school courses. We can’t break it down that much. Many teachers teach several subjects at the same time. There aren’t many students here, and not much land to build a school, so there are even fewer teachers. Half of the people in this school you see here were brought from China by Su Ze at great expense.”
"Were they really invited?" Su Tan smiled, pursing her lips.
Ruan Chen scratched his temple with his little finger and laughed along, "Some of them were 'snatched' from China, but Su Ze paid them enough. And after asking them questions, if these people didn't want to stay, Su Ze would send them back—but actually many of them stayed."
The two were strolling along the attic behind the school when they encountered a group of students leaving school. A little girl spotted Ruan Chen and called out from afar, "Sister, sister!"
They did not know Ruan Chen's name.
A group of students suddenly erupted into chaos, running to Ruan Chen's side and chattering around her, "Sister, where did Uncle Su go? Uncle Su hasn't come in so long!"
They didn't know Ruan Chen's name; they only knew that she was the beautiful older sister next to Brother Su.
"Uncle went to take care of some things, he'll bring you gifts when he gets back." Ruan Chen gently patted their heads.
These children always remind her of her younger self.
After the children dispersed, Su Tan spoke up, "Is your older brother quite popular with the kids?"
“He would come to the school library to read books, and every time he came he would bring gifts for the children—usually just a handful of candy, a new pencil, a notebook, or something like that, but the supplies here are really too scarce,” Ruan Chen said with a shake of his head.
As dusk settled, Tianlang drove up to the intersection ahead and waited to take the two of them back.
"Were they well-behaved this afternoon?" Ruan Chen asked casually as he got into the car, closed his eyes to rest in the back seat.
Sirius drove the car himself. "They were relatively well-behaved. There was one who was a bit unruly, but I fired a couple of shots to scare him off."
Su Tan sat next to Ruan Chen, the letter folded between her hands on her knees, which she had carried with her the whole way.
Ruan Chen glanced at it and asked, "Has no one in the Su family seen this letter?"
If the Su family had read this letter and learned about the bond between Su Ze and Su Tan, they certainly wouldn't have allowed Su Tan to come here.
Su Ze entrusted Su Tan with taking over this business and managing the outlying island. Su Tan will definitely fulfill his promise, instead of handing over these assets to the Su family as a stepping stone for them to enter the Beijing elite circle, as the Su family thought.
“If they had seen it, they wouldn’t have let me come,” Su Tan said, turning his head to look out the window, his eyes reflecting the clean streets of Liuli Island and the streetlights that lit up one after another. “They would definitely have forced me to sign a power of attorney back in China, letting Su Ying and Su Han handle these assets.”
“Five years ago, my brother sent this letter back, and they started to find out what he had written to me, both openly and secretly. I had no choice but to show them some of my assets. They have been coveting my brother’s business for a long time. When they heard that my brother was in trouble this time, they immediately came to me and brought up the old matter again, asking Su Han and Su Ying to come with me—actually, they were monitoring me.”
Ruan Chen didn't ask Su Tan about his next plans or thoughts, but asked, "Su Han... is he that older man?"
"Yes, he is from the eldest branch of the Su family, and he is also the oldest and most cunning among us. He is not someone to be trifled with."
"Who are the other two? There are five of you here in total."
Su Tan shook his head in confusion, "I don't know those two people well either. They were brought by Su Han. He said they were his personal friends who wanted to come to Liuli Island to take a look, but I found that these two people seem to know a lot about the Su family."
Back at Blood Skull's base, Sirius asked, "Miss Ruan, shall we go see them?"
"I won't see you, but I'll treat you to good food and drink."
"yes."
Ruan Chen took Su Tan on a three-day tour of Liuli Island. She specially found many old photos from many years ago so that Su Tan could see the changes that Liuli Island has undergone over the years.
If possible, she hoped that Su Tan would voluntarily give up the assets Su Ze left her—she didn't want to fall out with Su Ze's relatives, who were also her own family.
On the third night, Ruan Chen was reading in Su Ze's room when there was a knock on the wall. It was Su Tan.
Ruan Chen had just finished showering, her body still damp with moisture, her hair slightly damp and scattered on her shoulders. She was sitting cross-legged on the bed in loose, comfortable pajamas, flipping through a large book.
“You’ve taken me to every corner of Liuli Island these past few days, and I’ve seen many traces of my brother. I’m so happy.” Su Tan pushed up his glasses, his eyes filled with a serene tranquility, and went straight to the point, “I know what you want.”
Ruan Chen closed the book, got out of bed, put on her slippers, and brought over two chairs, gesturing for Su Tan to sit down as well.
“Although Su Han is somewhat annoying, he is quite good at judging people. Although you are my junior, I really can’t treat you as a child or a junior,” Su Tan said with a helpless smile. “I will write an agreement, which will state that even if my brother… if something really happens to my brother, I will voluntarily give up everything he left me on the notarized document and hand it over to you.”
“I think he would have preferred to leave these things to you,” Su Tan pointed to the pendant around Ruan Chen’s neck, “He’s a master of the Seven Stars…”
"What?" Ruan Chen was taken aback.
Su Tan realized she had said too much, subconsciously covered her mouth, and then pretended to be nonchalant, "He left you his most treasured pendant. Did he tell you that no matter what happens, you must never take this pendant off you?"
Ruan Chen nodded.
"I'll give you the things first thing tomorrow morning." Su Tan raised his hand as if to pat Ruan Chen's head, but then lowered it halfway and smiled. "Get some rest."
The next morning, Ruan Chen got up and walked towards Su Tan's room. She had been having breakfast with Su Tan for the past few days, and today was no exception.
She wanted to ask Su Tan if the agreement had been drafted yet; Ruan Chen was indeed a little anxious.
She knocked on the door, but no one answered.
Ruan Chen knocked hard a few times, but there was still no response from inside the house.
She suddenly had a bad feeling.
Ruan Chen took two steps back, kicked open the door lock, and saw Su Tan lying on the bed, seemingly asleep.
She approached, subconsciously checked his breathing and carotid artery, breathed a sigh of relief, and then laughed at herself for being so paranoid.
Then she pushed Su Tan hard, but there was still no response.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com