Chapter 766: Upholding the Rules

Su Monong … taking advantage of the casual chat momentum, feigned curiosity … and followed up with a question.

Su Monong's tone was languid and casual, like pure gossip.

"Well… you thought they looked strange back then, what game were they actually playing? I'm quite curious."

Li Sisi, upon hearing this, opened her mouth, instinctively wanting to recall the original scene and speak out what she had seen.

But just as Li Sisi was about to speak…%

Lin Yuan beside her suddenly changed his face, afraid she would say something explicit…

Lin Yuan hurriedly jumped in to interject:

"We weren't playing a game, really not what you think."

He hastily tried to make up an explanation, attempting to completely smooth over the original misunderstanding.

"That girl is my friend; that day she accidentally cut her butt on glass, the wound was quite painful, so she couldn't sit normally."

"At the time, out of necessity, she could only sit sideways on the chair, her posture looking a bit odd, which led to the misunderstanding. I was simply on my way and decided to give her a ride home, intending to take her to get her wound treated; there was nothing else going on."

Lin Yuan said it all in one breath, secretly relaxing halfway inside.

However, Lin Yuan's gaze was somewhat evasive; he dared not meet Su Monong's eyes.

Although he was telling the truth, he still felt a bit guilty.

Su Monong listened to his hurried explanation, and a hint of a worldly-wise smile flickered in the depths of her eyes.

Su Monong lifted her gaze, giving Lin Yuan a meaningful look.

Su Monong's tone… carried a hint of teasing that was neither a smile nor a frown:

"Oh? In that case, you're still a pretty decent person."

Su Monong's simple sentence made Lin Yuan's scalp tingle slightly.

Lin Yuan felt that Su Monong seemed to have seen through everything, but was deliberately not exposing it, just teasing him.

Without giving Lin Yuan much buffer time, Su Monong immediately continued, feigning curiosity and asking softly:

"Then who is that injured girl? Do I know her?"

Lin Yuan's heart tightened; he could only give a vague, evasive answer:

"Just an ordinary friend, not very close."

Such an ambiguous answer could hardly fool the perceptive Su Monong.

Su Monong's eyes flickered slightly; she relentlessly continued to press:

"Ordinary friends come in many varieties; which friend exactly? Tell me."

Lin Yuan's heart tightened; he felt Su Monong was determined to get to the bottom of it, leaving him no room at all.

He gave an embarrassed little cough, forced himself to steady his expression, and gritted his teeth to keep fabricating:

"There's really nothing special; it's just an old friend I've known for a long time, we met years ago, but we just don't keep in touch much."

Su Monong raised her eyebrows, the amusement in her eyes growing stronger.

Su Monong went along with it… and lightly asked: "Oh? You've known each other that long—is she your girlfriend?"

As soon as she said that, Lin Yuan panicked instantly and hurriedly waved his hands to deny.

Lin Yuan gave another dry cough to hide his panic:

"Of course not! She really is just a plain ordinary friend, and she's quite a bit older than me."

Su Monong's lips curled with a hint of a neither-smile-nor-frown arc.

Su Monong's tone was languid… with a touch of teasing, she spoke slowly:

"How coincidental, I'm older than you too."

That simple sentence fell, and the atmosphere at the dining table instantly became subtle and awkward.

The air… seemed to freeze for a moment.

Lin Yuan froze in his seat, not knowing how to respond for a moment, his whole body feeling ill at ease.

Beside them, Su Zhiyuan heard this, watching her mother repeatedly question Lin Yuan, even deliberately saying such ambiguous words??

Su Zhiyuan's heart… inexplicably welled up a faint jealousy.

Su Zhiyuan lightly furrowed her brows, gave a light cough to interrupt.

Su Zhiyuan's tone, carrying a bit of petty sulkiness:

"Mom, why are you asking so much? You're not Lin Yuan's girlfriend; there's no need to dig deep."

Su Zhiyuan's words seemed like casual advice, but were actually a subtle reminder to Su Monong.

Su Zhiyuan was reminding her mother not to be too proactive, not to cast herself into an overly intimate role.

Su Monong couldn't help but notice her daughter's little thoughts,.

Su Monong lifted her gaze, giving Su Zhiyuan a faint glance, her eyes hiding a faint smile.

After several rounds of back-and-forth, the food on the table had been mostly eaten.

It must be said… Lin Yuan's cooking skills are truly outstanding.

Meat and vegetable dishes… fresh, fragrant, and flavorful, with just the right texture.,

Li Sisi, without realizing it, ended up eating two big bowls full, her stomach bulging.

Li Sisi's whole person… exuded a sense of satisfied relaxation.

After a brief rest, Li Sisi slowly rose to her feet, she raised her hand… and lightly adjusted her uniform.

Between Li Sisi's brows and eyes… still lingered a hint of intoxication; her tone was polite and courteous:

"Director Su, Lin Yuan, I'm already full. I have to work the night shift tonight checking for drunk driving, so I won't keep disturbing you; I'll head back to work now. Thank you very much for your hospitality tonight."

Li Sisi said… and then prepared to turn and leave, wanting to escape as soon as possible from this place that always made her inexplicably nervous and uncomfortable all over.

But the perceptive Su Monong would never let her go so easily.

Su Monong raised her eyes……gazing at Li Sisi who was about to leave.

Su Monong's tone was languid and gentle, with a hint of persuasion, she spoke softly:

"What's the rush, Li Sisi, little sister? It's still early, no need to hurry. Sit down again and have a couple drinks with us, relax."

"You don't start your night shift until ten tonight; it's only just past eight now, there's plenty of time, it won't delay your duty."

Su Monong precisely gauged the time, her tone gentle yet forceful, making it hard to object.

As her words fell, Su Monong didn't wait for Li Sisi to decline, she proactively picked up the wine bottle and steadily filled Li Sisi's empty cup……with a generous half‑cup of rich red wine.

Su Monong's smile was gentle, but her eyes hid a hint of unwillingness to let her go easily.

Li Sisi looked at the wine freshly poured into her cup, really unable to refuse.

Su Monong's enthusiasm……wrapped around her layer by layer.

It left Li Sisi unable to find any reason to refuse.

Left with no choice, Li Sisi could only whisper her agreement:

"All right then, I'll leave after I finish this glass."

But Su Monong, whose thoughts were meticulous and who was thoroughly enjoying herself, had no intention of letting her slip away easily.

On the surface, Su Monong still maintained a gentle, elegant poise, quietly watching Li Sisi drink.

Su Monong, as if merely trying to detain a guest.

But Su Monong's eyes……hid undercurrents and calculations.

Meanwhile Li Sisi sat upright, both hands lightly holding the stemmed glass, her lips touching the rim, taking small sip after small sip……slowly sipping the red wine.

Li Sisi's heart……only thought of a quick resolution, hurry to finish this glass, then immediately leave the villa and rush to her duty post, escaping the inexplicably uneasy atmosphere.

Taking advantage of Su Zhiyuan and Lin Yuan's attention……being focused on the flustered Li Sisi.

No one noticed Su Monong.

At that moment, Li Sisi had just swallowed a mouthful of wine, the liquid still lingering in her throat.

Suddenly, out of the blue……

"Pfft——!"

Li Sisi's mouthful of wine……unexpectedly sprayed out completely……

The dark red wine spurted out with the airflow, sweeping across the entire dining table, dead center, completely splashing onto the face of Lin Yuan sitting opposite.

Su Zhiyuan beside her also froze instantly, her clear eyes widening, staring blankly at the severely flustered Li Sisi……

Su Zhiyuan's face filled with shock, she quickly spoke up with concern:

"Sis Li Sisi, what's wrong? How did you suddenly become like this out of nowhere?"

Lin Yuan's whole body stiffened instantly, his mind went blank, completely dazed in place.

Warm red wine……smeared his brows, eyes, nose bridge, and cheeks.

The red wine, trickling down Lin Yuan's jaw, kept dripping, soaking his collar and front, the wet liquid sticking to his skin.

This left Lin Yuan looking bewildered, completely unaware of what sudden mishap had occurred.

As soon as those words were spoken, Su Zhiyuan beside her froze on the spot, her face full of doubt as she blinked,.

Su Zhiyuan innocently spoke up to rebut:

"Huh? But I also ate a lot of food and drank wine, I'm perfectly fine."

Lin Yuan also looked doubtful, raising his hand to wipe the wine off his face.

Lin Yuan lowered his head……gazing at the spotless dishes on the table, his heart especially puzzled.

He had always been confident in his cooking and ingredient handling……

All ingredients were freshly purchased, each step of washing, processing, and cooking done extremely cleanly, the dishes absolutely had no chance of spoiling.

"That shouldn't happen," Lin Yuan murmured softly,

"I handled these dishes carefully, the ingredients were fresh and fully cooked, it's impossible to get a stomach upset."

Everyone's doubtful gazes all fell on Li Sisi.

This made the already near‑breaking Li Sisi……her mind utterly tangled, panic and helplessness surging in waves.

Li Sisi screamed wildly in her heart, her mind full of bewilderment and panic: "Good heavens, what on earth is going on? What should I do!"

She had deliberately……before leaving home,

How could it be, tonight at this moment

This is utterly beyond what she can bear.

Just a moment ago

Now, Li Sisi could no longer stay seated, she rose hastily.

Li Sisi's posture was flustered and embarrassed.

"I, I'm going to the restroom……"

As her words fell, she almost fled in panic……

Li Sisi's steps were hurried and flustered, she hurried toward the villa's bathroom……

Li Sisi dared not look back the whole way, fearing her inner panic and abnormality……would be seen through by everyone.

Just at the moment Li Sisi ran off in panic,

Su Monong at the table gradually withdrew the concerned expression from her face.

Su Monong's lip corners……quietly curled up a deep, playful arc.

In Su Monong's eyes lay nothing but a teasing awareness of everything.

It seems this outwardly proper, solemn, earnest woman is indeed a seasoned player hiding her depth.

Li Sisi's capacity for endurance……far exceeds the ordinary, how interesting.

Su Monong's gaze drifted down slowly, leisurely settling on the chair cushion Li Sisi had just sat on.

The amusement in Su Monong's eyes deepened, and she quietly chuckled to herself.

It turned out that the seemingly cool and restrained Li Sisi harbored such a soft, fragile weak spot.

Heh, the bad younger sister who appears proper and rule-abiding has finally been caught by the older sister in her weak point.

The smile at the corners of Su Monong's lips grew deeper and more obscure.

Su Monong's gaze leisurely drifted toward the restroom, her mind brimming with ideas.

Now that I've figured you out, you'd better not think you can slip away easily tonight.

Su Monong calmly put away her phone, her expression softening into a gentle, graceful look.

Su Monong sat quietly at the table, patiently waiting for Li Sisi to return.

The curve of Su Monong's mouth deepened further.

Bad younger sister, since you usually... always put on a serious, stiff façade, acting overly proper.

Then tonight, older sister will happily play with you... a little bit uncovering your little secrets, fully developing a different you.