Jiang Yuli stood by the coffee table, looking down at her from above.
If he hadn’t been sent abroad back then, after Su Huainan’s marriage, if she wanted to date, it might not necessarily have been Shen Qiao.
Unfortunately, their time together was too short, and Su Lingyu hadn’t developed that kind of dependence on him.
Outside the window, the rain continued to patter without ceasing.
Inside, only a few soft wall lamps were lit.
Su Lingyu rubbed her temples uncomfortably.
In the past, whenever she reunited with Shen Qiao after being apart, she would always throw herself into his arms.
Only such a tight embrace could dispel her unease and soothe all the discomfort in her body.
But now, her heart was filled with resentment toward Shen Qiao.
Even if Jiang Yuli bore some resemblance to Shen Qiao, she would never see him as a substitute.
“Uncle,” she braced her hands on the sofa and moved a little closer to him, “can… I lean on you for a moment?”
“I feel so awful…”
“Like I’m about to die…” Her breathing was unsteady, her voice trembling with unbearable distress, “Just for a moment… just a little while…”
“Here… you’re the only person I know…”
“Uncle, please save me…”
“It’s a matter of life and death… you can’t just stand by and watch me suffer, can you?”
“When we return to the capital, whatever you want, I’ll make sure my brother agrees to it…”
“Just let me lean on your arm—”
Desperate times call for desperate measures—worth a try.
Her heart was racing fiercely, pounding like she was suspended at the peak of an out-of-control roller coaster.
Jiang Yuli leisurely set down his wine glass. “I told you, I don’t do immoral things.”
At a time like this!
He’s still worrying about that!
She truly felt like she was suffocating.
Jiang Yuli leaned down, restraining himself from touching her cheek, deliberately keeping his body at a distance. “Break up with him.”
Su Lingyu looked up at him in agony.
“He left you alone at the airport tonight—do you still want to forgive him?”
If she dared to nod, he would go back and immediately tell Su Huainan.
Su Huainan would naturally stand up for his sister, beat Shen Qiao up, and a breakup would be the inevitable outcome.
So, her breaking up with Shen Qiao was already a foregone conclusion.
“No… I won’t forgive him.” Su Lingyu just felt that something like a breakup should be discussed face to face.
But right now, she was so uncomfortable she felt like falling apart.
“Just wait…”
Su Lingyu abruptly stood up, rushed to her room across the way, grabbed her phone, and rushed back.
Standing in front of Jiang Yuli, she opened Shen Qiao’s chat window and forcefully typed two words with her finger:
Break up!!!!!
Few words, many exclamation marks.
Every symbol burst with her intense, resolute, and resentful emotions.
Dating involves two people, but a breakup only requires one person to speak up for it to end.
Su Lingyu held the screen up to Jiang Yuli’s eyes. “It’s done.”
A faint trace of a smile flickered in Jiang Yuli’s eyes. “Good girl.”
She tossed her phone aside, and it landed on the sofa.
Su Lingyu, breathing rapidly, moved closer again. “Uncle, I’m single now… can I lean on you?”
“Okay.”
Before he finished speaking, Su Lingyu had already thrown herself into his arms, her arms tightly wrapping around his lean waist.
They were staying in the same hotel, using the same brand of shower gel.
A rich floral scent filled the air, creating a subtle contrast with his cool and distant demeanor.
She couldn’t resist giving it a slight squeeze.
Jiang Yuli’s waist… was quite firm.
Jiang Yuli stood straight, silently reminding himself:
She’s drunk.
Let her squeeze if she wants.
She’s… single now single.No longer his future niece-in-law.
“Can… I have a hug?”
He raised his hand, hesitated for a moment, and finally let it rest gently on her back, patting slowly. “Feeling better?”
“A little bit…”
Jiang Yuli immediately withdrew his hand.
Only “a little bit”… probably because he ultimately wasn’t the person she truly relied on.
If it were Shen Qiao, she’d likely be completely fine by now, wouldn’t she?
He didn’t know how long they stood like that until he heard her even, steady breathing near his ear.
Asleep… she fell asleep?
She could sleep standing up?
Carefully, he scooped her up horizontally and gently laid her back on the bedroom bed.
August 20, 2007.
The day he was forcibly sent away, Su Lingyu had just turned four years old.
For her birthday, she received a set of Olympic Fuwa plush keychains.
She picked out her favorite red Huanhuan, stuffed it into his hand, and said the doll would keep him company.
His mother was an older mother who passed away from Amniotic Fluid Embolism while giving birth to him.
Since childhood, no one in the family had ever treated him kindly—everyone believed he was the one who caused his mother’s death.
When he was eight, his father heartlessly sent him overseas.
Only that little Su Lingyu gave him a farewell gift and wished him well.
But… she had long forgotten.
The next day.
Sunlight pierced through the gaps in the curtains, casting glaring rays inside.
After raining all night, just past seven, the earth was already baking under the scorching sun.
Su Lingyu woke up.
Her mind was completely blank.
Last night… what happened?
Did she… send Shen Qiao a breakup text?
And then…
And then she actually hugged that aloof, reserved uncle Jiang Yuli?!
Su Lingyu bolted upright, tiptoed out of bed, and slipped out of the bedroom.
In the suite’s living room, Jiang Yuli was already fully dressed, sitting upright at the dining table. An exquisite breakfast was laid out on the table.
An awkward silence spread.
“Uncle, good… morning.”
Jiang Yuli pulled out the chair opposite him. “Come eat.”
Su Lingyu reluctantly walked over.
She kept her head down while eating, but her eyes were glued to her phone.
What magic was on that screen? Was it worth staring at so intently?
“Uncle!” She suddenly thrust the phone in front of him. “Can you check for me! Has Shen Qiao not replied to my message?!”
On the screen, last night’s “We’re breaking up!!!!!” was glaringly obvious, sitting alone at the end of the conversation with nothing below it.
Jiang Yuli looked at those two piercing words, a secret delight stirring in his heart, though his expression remained neutral. “He’s probably accepted it silently. Since you’ve broken up, you have no ties anymore. It’s normal if he doesn’t want to reply.”
Su Lingyu put her phone down dejectedly.
“Aren’t you going to block him?” Jiang Yuli’s tone was flat, carrying his usual cool detachment.
Su Lingyu shook her head.
If it were anyone else, she might have deleted him already.
But the Su and Shen families were entangled with too many interests. Even without the relationship, they’d inevitably have to interact in the future.
Su Lingyu rested her chin in her hands, looking utterly miserable.
She was almost twenty-two—she couldn’t just go home and cling to her parents, could she?
Her brother was married now, with a sister-in-law, so it wouldn’t be appropriate for her to bother them too much.
She urgently needed a new, intimate person she could depend on.
At noon, the plane landed in Jing City.
The two walked out through the VIP passage.
“Pao Pao.” Jiang Yuli spoke.
“Hmm?” Su Lingyu was eager to get home, walking briskly. “Uncle, I’ll have the servants clean your jacket and return it to you.”
That wasn’t what he wanted to say.
But Su Lingyu had already darted toward her family’s car like a startled deer.
What he meant to say was: Last night’s offer still stands.
Break up with Shen Qiao, and he would date her.
Without the slightest hesitation, Su Lingyu sped off in her car, heading straight to the company—to find her brother.
The CEO’s office.
Su Huainan was still in a meeting.
Su Lingyu barged in, familiar with the route.
In less than ten minutes, Su Huainan hurried back from the conference room.
His assistant Liu Lei stood guard at the door, whispering, “Sir, the young lady seems… in a very bad mood.”
Cheering up his little sister was something Su Huainan had always been adept at.
Pushing the door open, he saw his sister slumped over the spacious desk like a deflated balloon, listlessly fiddling with the mouse.
“Sweetheart,” Su Huainan said softly.
“Brother—”
“Brother, brother, brother!” Su Lingyu instantly sprang up, darting toward him like a little cannonball.
“Brother—” She pressed her forehead against his firm chest, her voice muffled and tinged with grievance, “I missed you so much…”
Since childhood, the words Su Huainan had heard most often were “Brother” and “I missed you.”
He never tired of hearing them.
His heart instantly melted into a puddle. Gently patting his sister’s back, he asked, “Is my little princess unhappy? Tell your brother, who upset you?”
“Brother,” Su Lingyu lifted her head, her eyes slightly red, “Shen Qiao and I… broke up.”