Chapter 13

Su Mi stared blankly at Shen Han, her mind going blank. She just kept staring at Shen Han for a while until she suddenly felt like she was about to fall into the whirlpool of those ice-blue deep pools. Then she heard Shen Han ask:

“What are you doing here?”

“I-I’m riding my bike.”

Su Mi answered subconsciously.

She then realized she had said something utterly meaningless.

Shen Han glanced at her and said, “Since when did I not know you had a stuttering problem?”

Su Mi gripped the handlebars of her vehicle, her other hand couldn’t help scratching at the side of her face. She felt like she must look like a complete idiot in Shen Han’s eyes.

She tried to explain, “Secretary Zhuang brought me out here to watch the sunset, but he suddenly had an emergency, so he asked me to go ahead. I was just wandering around Southern Garden and ended up here.”

Shen Han made a noncommittal sound, and it was impossible to tell if she believed it or not. She asked, “Which spot did he recommend?”

Su Mi let go of the handlebars and leaned toward Shen Han’s car window, extending her slender white wrist to show Shen Han the picture on her Light Brain.

“It’s here, seems like some open area with a fountain.”

Shen Han tilted her head to look and said, “This isn’t the best spot in Southern Garden. The best one is on the side of the mountain next to it. Secretary Zhuang already took Xu Nanqiao back. I’ll take you there.”

Su Mi: ???

She looked incredulously at the woman with the pale, cold face inside the car. The latter also looked up at her, her gaze indifferent, and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Su Mi didn’t know what to say for a moment.

The alone time she had painstakingly created for Shen Han and Xu Nanqiao—how was she… So, did Shen Han call Secretary Zhuang back?

No way, had this person still not figured it out?

Su Mi couldn’t help but secretly size up Shen Han.

From her hair tips to her sharp chin, it was a perfectly flawless face. Apart from her somewhat cold expression, her unapproachable demeanor, and the rather sharp words from her mouth.

She looked just like those CEOs in the novels the System had shown her recently—the kind who had never lacked for anything growing up, so they didn’t know how to love, or even realize when they had fallen for someone.

Fine, if she hadn’t figured it out, then she hadn’t.

Su Mi sighed unconsciously.

When she came back to her senses, she noticed that while she had been staring at Shen Han, the latter had calmly allowed it the whole time.

It wasn’t until Su Mi snapped out of it and sighed that Shen Han spoke, asking, “Had enough?”

Her tone was thinly cool.

Su Mi suddenly felt a small animal’s sharp intuition, sensing that Shen Han’s mood right now was extremely off.

The polite refusal that had reached her lips circled around and turned into eager sycophancy as she said with bright eyes, “Enough, enough! Sorry, sister, your beauty outshines the sunset. Just thinking about you being willing to take me to see it, and sitting by your side to enjoy the afterglow, feels like an unparalleled honor!”

Shen Han: “……”

Su Mi looked at Shen Han eagerly.

She knew herself well; she wasn’t great at flattery, but she was excellent at showing loyalty.

As long as she stared with such sincere eyes for ten seconds, the other person would definitely—

Shen Han narrowed her eyes slightly and lifted her chin. “In that case, don’t get in the car. Keep up.”

Facing Su Mi’s expectant gaze, the car window tint deepened gradually, and Shen Han’s sharp, beautiful jawline vanished behind it.

The privacy function activated, leaving only Su Mi’s reflection on the window.

The girl with light golden hair in the reflection had a stunned look in her eyes, full of question marks.

Su Mi: ???

A total Waterloo!

Su Mi wailed inwardly while sighing that, as expected of the big boss antagonist, she had zero reaction to her sycophancy.

She might even have been grossed out—otherwise, why make her ride alone behind? Though this vehicle didn’t require any effort from her at all.

As the low-key black business car slowly started moving, Su Mi obediently mounted her Assisted Bike.

Toward what was probably Shen Han’s seat in the back, Su Mi enthusiastically waved her hand before following behind the vehicle toward the main gate of Southern Garden.

Once they left the gate, Su Mi looked back and saw Shen Han’s car pause at the entrance. A security guard emerged from the booth and bent down to say something into the car.

Since Shen Han was leading the way, Su Mi also stopped her bike.

Outside the gate was a circular flower bed, and around the corner behind it, several cars seemed to be parked.

Why were there cars parked here? Were they here to visit Southern Garden?

Su Mi tilted her head and watched as the doors of those cars opened, with several people stepping out.

Leading them appeared to be a middle-aged couple, followed by a shorter woman and a few others who looked like bodyguards and relatives.

They headed straight for the gate of Southern Garden.

Su Mi watched them for a moment before suddenly gripping her handlebars tightly.

She turned and quickly pedaled her Assisted Bike back to the gate booth.

The girl following behind was all too familiar—clearly one of the Original Host’s sister squad, Yang Er, who had come looking for her after school yesterday.

But the people behind moved fast too. Before Su Mi could even stop, a girl’s shout came from behind.

“Su Su!”

Yang Er ran up panting, her posture frail, eyes brimming with tears. As soon as she got close, she grabbed Su Mi’s wrist.

She choked up twice and said, “Su Su, running into you here is too good. I don’t know if you could take us in to see President Shen?”

Su Mi was stunned. See Shen Han?

Wasn’t she right there in the car nearby?

Since she’d already been grabbed, Su Mi reluctantly stopped her bike and casually glanced back at the black business car parked not far away.

The windows were tightly closed.

But she should be watching the commotion here.

“Su Su, please, the Southern Garden security won’t let us in, and we can’t reach President Shen. We don’t mean anything else…”

Yang Er pitifully clung tightly to Su Mi’s wrist, pleading nonstop.

As she spoke, the Yang Family members following behind also approached.

If she remembered correctly, their family was in the clothing business. After making their fortune elsewhere, they moved to Prime City to develop, and in recent years, by latching onto the Su Family and some connections with the Shen Family, they’d prospered.

Their outfits screamed luxury brands from head to toe.

Seeing Yang Er grab Su Mi, Mother Yang also sidled up, clutching her handbag with a pleading expression. “Miss Su, we’re really counting on you. Yang Er and you have always gotten along well. You know her—she’s never had a malicious bone in her body. She just made a tiny mistake this time. We sincerely want to apologize to President Shen in person.”

“Yes, yes, Su Su, you know me. We’ve had a good relationship these past few years, right? I-I really didn’t think too much about it…”

Yang Er said urgently, looking on the verge of collapse.

Su Mi: “……”

She finally realized that Yang Er was the one behind that incident.

No wonder she came probing after school yesterday.

She must have heard that Su Mi had asked Shen Han to investigate and felt she couldn’t bear the consequences, so she came begging…

But why apologize to Shen Han? Wasn’t Xu Nanqiao the victim?

Su Mi frowned and said, “This has nothing to do with sister. If you want to apologize, you should go to Xu Nanqiao. She’s the Omega who almost got hurt by you.”

Father Yang hurried over, wiping nonexistent sweat from his face. “Of course, of course, we’ll definitely apologize to that classmate. But with President Shen…”

Mother Yang quickly interrupted Father Yang. “Miss Su, you don’t know, but President Shen refuses to see us and even implied we should leave Prime City… You were at the SUYO opening too. You know how hard it was for our family to establish ourselves here. We’re just hoping you can take us to see President Shen…”

With that, Mother Yang also grabbed Su Mi’s arm.

Su Mi was almost sandwiched by this mother-daughter pair. Staring at their enlarged faces, she felt goosebumps where they gripped her and hurriedly shook them off, stepping back two paces.

She truly didn’t understand. “Actions have consequences. Yang Er, you’re an Omega too. Put yourself in her shoes—if a dozen shady thugs surrounded you with Alpha pheromones, would you let the culprit off?”

Yang Er froze for a moment, seemingly never having considered that angle. She stammered, “Ah… I…”

Mother Yang quickly said, “She knows she was wrong. She’s just turned adult and doesn’t know any better. Maybe those people acted on their own? Miss Su, you and Yang Er are so close—you know she can’t even swat a bug, let alone do something like that. Someone must have instigated her, and she didn’t think much of it…”

Her hand reached back and pinched Yang Er, who immediately burst into wails.

Yang Er cried, “Yes, I really didn’t think much of it. I just wanted to teach Xu Nanqiao a lesson. I-I did it for your own good.”

“Don’t, I can’t take credit for your illegal ‘good intentions,'” Su Mi waved her off, somewhat speechless. “Whether it was for me or yourself, did you think I didn’t see through your little schemes? I even seriously told you all to treat Xu Nanqiao better, but not only did you not listen, you completely twisted my words.”

Father Yang hurriedly said, “Miss Su, that’s not important. Yang Er did wrong—she’s been spoiled rotten by us… Yang Er!”

With that, Father Yang actually turned and slapped Yang Er with a loud smack.

“Pa!”

Yang Er’s cheek immediately reddened. She clutched her face, her fake crying cut short as real tears fell from her eyes.

Then Father Yang pressed her shoulders down, forcing her to kneel heavily on the ground.

Father Yang bowed to Su Mi, his fat face twisting into a fawning smile. “We were truly in the wrong. We just want to see President Shen, explain in person, offer some compensation. Please be lenient and let us in to see her.”

Su Mi stepped back, watching Yang Er kneeling there, held down by her parents, clutching her face and whimpering. For a moment, it felt surreal.

Su Mi said, “You should figure it out yourselves.”

She really didn’t want to get involved, especially with the big boss watching from the car nearby. If this family dragged her into it with careless words, it wouldn’t be worth it.

She was about to fetch her Assisted Bike and leave when Yang Er seemed to think of something. She crawled forward on her knees two steps and grabbed Su Mi’s skirt hem, crying, “Miss Su, please help… I don’t want to go back to D City…”

Su Mi jolted in shock and hurriedly covered her skirt. “No, no, compose yourself!”

Her head throbbed. Watching Yang Er cry and beg pitifully, with Father Yang and Mother Yang nagging endlessly, and the bodyguards and relatives crowding around, the serene Southern Garden entrance turned into a marketplace.

Su Mi was overwhelmed, retreating repeatedly. Her wrist was grabbed again by Mother Yang, who chattered about begging for just one meeting.

Su Mi thought, the person you’re looking for is right there in the car next to us—why tangle with me?

Just then, a voice like chilled spring water came from beside them.

“How long are you going to make a scene?”

The people surrounding Su Mi parted like the Red Sea. Her wrist lightened as another cool, pale hand grabbed it, pulling her back behind Shen Han with a stumble.