Chapter 63

Before going upstairs, Peng Ran had already informed Su Mingyan that Su Ruoyun was already in the private room.

"Nothing much, I originally wanted to greet Mr. Su and Third Young Master Su, but before I could knock, Mr. Su stopped me." Huo Jingcheng had one hand in his pocket, his posture relaxed, and he casually stepped back a step.

The smile at the corner of his mouth was faint, not reaching his eyes, exuding an air of indifference.

Su Mingyan and Su Jiayi had just been chatting with business associates on the stairs, and they hadn't noticed whether the private room's door was open or closed, hearing only a loud bang as it shut.

Su Mingyan understood, gave a slight nod, "Well, now that we've greeted each other, Huozong…"

He trailed off, never actually speaking to tell them to leave, but the implication was clear.

Huo Jingcheng's eyes flickered slightly; he lifted his eyelids to meet Su Mingyan's gaze, then went along with the flow and said, "Then I'll head back to the private room first."

"Okay."

Under Su Mingyan and Su Jiayi's unwavering gaze, Huo Jingcheng entered the opposite room, his assistant Lin Cheng following beside him; Lin Cheng casually closed the door, cutting off their line of sight.

The server stationed in the hallway opened the door for the two, while Peng Ran waited at the entrance.

As soon as the door opened, the two brothers saw Su Ruoyun sitting on the sofa, her expression focused on the auction catalogue in her hands, flipping page after page, as if she hadn't noticed anything happening outside.

Su Mingyan walked with steady steps to the leather sofa in the private room and sat down, his suit-clad long legs crossed; he lifted his hand to pick up the tablet on the coffee table and asked casually, "Did someone just knock on the door?"

As his words fell, Su Ruoyun instinctively clenched the booklet in her hand, her knuckles whitening slightly from the force, feeling a bit guilty, yet her tone when she spoke was unusually calm: "It seems… there wasn't, I didn't hear anything. What's up?"

Su Jiayi plopped down beside Su Mingyan, his legs sprawled out, and explained, "Just now Huo Jingcheng was standing at the doorway, and Big Brother thought he might be up to something."

Seeing that neither of them had noticed, Su Ruoyun relaxed a little.

The auction began shortly thereafter, and the auctioneer took the stage.

Less than two minutes after it started, Peng Ran entered the room, leaned in, and whispered a few words into Su Mingyan's ear.

Su Mingyan's eyes flashed; he set down the tablet in his hand and, without changing his expression, said, "I have to step out for a moment; you two keep watching."

Su Ruoyun was playing a phone game—ANGRY BIRDS—her fingertips sliding back and forth across the screen, while Su Jiayi held his phone with one hand, tapping the keyboard with his fingertips, chatting with someone unknown; neither of them noticed Su Mingyan, not even lifting an eyelid, only lazily replying "Okay."

Su Mingyan rose leisurely, lifted his hand to adjust his tie and collar, smoothed the creases with his long fingers, brushed off some invisible dust, then walked at a measured pace to the doorway.

He waited until the private room's door opened and then closed.

Su Jiayi stopped his lively chat, dragged over a chair, and edged up to Su Ruoyun's side, "Sister."

Su Ruoyun lowered her gaze, her eyes landing on the round, twitching little green pig in the game interface, her attention fully absorbed, and she casually replied "Hmm."

"You say… why doesn't Big Brother take over Granduncle's position, instead of going the proper way, he goes into business?"

At those words, Su Ruoyun's finger twitched; the slingshot she had just pulled back lost its aim instantly, the white bird flew straight into the hillside, not only failing to eliminate the green pigs but causing her own character to die miserably.

She immediately hissed, "Shut up."

Su Jiayi's brow rose slightly, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes; he could tell Su Ruoyun wasn't telling him to be quiet because she'd lost the game, but he simply couldn't fathom what she was avoiding.

Bringing up that topic so abruptly, Su Ruoyun no longer had the mind to play the game.

The troublemaker pigs weren't all wiped out; the three remaining round little green pigs emitted wanton laughter, their sharp laughs echoing in the private room, making heads ache, while the phone screen displayed Level Failed—game over.

She simply deleted the game page from her phone, turning the screen black, then turned to look at Su Jiayi: "I'm not entirely sure of the exact reason either, but you'd better not ask about this again."

Upon hearing that, Su Jiayi stared thoughtfully at the tea in his hand.

Su Zhanqi is the head of a department; logically, Su Mingyan following him wouldn't surpass him, but at most wouldn't fall short. Yet eight or nine years ago, Su Mingyan instead followed Su Zhanyu into Hengfeng, which is truly puzzling.

……

Meanwhile, the focus of the siblings' conversation, Su Mingyan, was standing at the entrance of the first-floor Dating, blocking people, while his assistant Peng Ran guarded outside the entrance.

"Old classmate, we meet and you don't even say hello." Su Mingyan leaned against the wall, his eyelids slightly lowered, the corner of his eyes casting a faint glance at the person not far away.

Some light from inside the Dating filtered through, scattering lightly across Jiang Xihan's face, lending her an increasingly tranquil expression.

"We're just in the same year, that doesn't make us old classmates; a few days ago I thought I'd already made my point quite clearly."

"I'm not the kind of woman you bring home to keep as your primary consort in the eastern palace, ignoring your outside little star, and your reputation outside, frankly, isn't good."

"As for your Chaguan Boss Lady, since you like her so much, you might as well bring her home; don't make me think you're like those spoiled rich brats in the circle, using your power and wealth to ruin others."

Jiang Xihan unconsciously lifted her left hand, her fingertip rubbing the rose-gold bracelet on her right wrist; the style wasn't particularly new, an old design from many years ago, but it was clear the owner had kept it meticulously maintained.

Su Mingyan was also essentially shooting himself in the foot; feeling helpless, he straightened up a bit and explained involuntarily, "She's my sister, a member of my family; all the uproar outside about her are just rumors."

His words fell, and Jiang Xihan gave him a bland glance, making it clear she didn't believe what he'd said: "You men always like to call women your sister."

"……" Su Mingyan.

"Then I'll call her down now to have her explain it to you." Saying that, he made a motion to pull his phone from his pocket, preparing to make a call.

Seeing this, Jiang Xihan quickly stepped forward a pace and raised her hand to block his motion.

Su Mingyan, going with the motion, lifted his left hand holding the phone, and she flung herself into his arms.

The underground auction hall had east and west entrances; since the auction was already underway, there were few people at the entrances, so Su Mingyan simply raised his right hand to gently close the door.

The slight sound was instantly swallowed; in an instant, the dim yellow light leaking from inside the Dating and the noisy clamor of the auction were shut out beyond the door.

The moment the door shut, he wrapped his right arm around her, pulling her into his embrace, holding her tightly, her petite soft body pressed against his chest.

Jiang Xihan, unable to move while held, furrowed her brows and snapped outright: "Despicable, shameless, lewd…"

"In your eyes, am I really that kind of person?"