“Su Xianyan.”
In that instant, Cheng Simian’s mood brightened completely. She no longer paid Fan Shizong any attention and, stepping in her small high heels, bounced happily toward Su Xianyan.
She wasn’t very used to wearing heels, and she nearly twisted her ankle while running toward him. Su Xianyan reacted quickly, stepping forward and grabbing her wrist.
“Walk slowly.”
Cheng Simian stuck out her tongue and excitedly tugged at his sleeve. “I was wondering when you’d show up. I’ve been looking for you forever.”
Su Xianyan smiled, then turned to look at the stiff Fan Shizong. “Young Master Fan.”
Fan Shizong shuddered, almost knocking over a wine glass beside him. “Su… Su Xianyan.”
“Looks like you’ve been outside for quite a while, Young Master Fan.” Su Xianyan was clearly smiling, yet Fan Shizong felt an icy chill in his gaze.
His eyes slowly shifted to the little beauty beside Su Xianyan—
Now he finally knew where that sense of familiarity came from.
The bar.
She was the girl from the bar who had nearly broken his fingers.
Fan Shizong took a step back as a chill crawled up his spine. The last time he had provoked this girl, he’d spent a full month in police custody. Starting trouble in bars was nothing unusual for him—but who knew what Su Xianyan had done behind the scenes? After he was detained, even his grandfather hadn’t dared to step in and get him out.
Seeing the “ghost-seeing” look on Fan Shizong’s face, Cheng Simian waved at him innocently. “Hey, why aren’t you saying anything? Weren’t you just saying we had great chemistry?”
Fan Shizong shook his head frantically. “No, no—I was actually here to apologize! Last time… last time, I’m really sorry.”
Cheng Simian raised an eyebrow. Fan Shizong then turned to Su Xianyan and said nervously, “I—I really just came to apologize to her. Ahem… I’ve said sorry, so I’ll be leaving now. Bye—bye!”
He fled in a panic and quickly disappeared from sight.
Cheng Simian looked up at Su Xianyan. “Why do I feel like he’s especially afraid of you? He was like that at the bar too… What did you do to him?”
“Not familiar with him,” Su Xianyan replied calmly. “I just met him years ago.”
“I don’t believe that.” Cheng Simian gave him a meaningful look. “You probably did something that scared him half to death.”
Su Xianyan smiled but didn’t say anything more. Internally, he thought coolly: Fan Shizong really never learns. He even dared to touch her directly this time. Seems like the lesson last time wasn’t harsh enough.
The two stood facing each other. Cheng Simian’s hairstyle today made her already high “cute index” rise another notch. Su Xianyan suddenly reached out and pinched her little bun playfully, rubbing it between his fingers as if amused.
Cheng Simian immediately stepped back. “Don’t mess up my hair!”
A hint of laughter flickered in Su Xianyan’s eyes. “You do look a lot more well-behaved in this outfit.”
“You mean more ladylike, right?” Cheng Simian said proudly. “I made Cha Yiguan take me shopping and totally ripped him off.”
“Mmm. It looks very nice.”
Cheng Simian froze.
Cha Yiguan had said it looked good. Even her uncle—who rarely praised her—had complimented her earlier. But somehow, no amount of praise from others compared to that single sentence from him.
The birthday banquet officially began. Cai Xinyuan, surrounded by guests, blew out the candles, made a wish, and received everyone’s congratulations.
Everyone present was young. After the birthday rituals, the atmosphere quickly grew lively. The villa courtyard featured a massive swimming pool, and guests drank, laughed, and played around it—it all looked extravagant and bustling.
Someone like Su Xianyan was simply born not to be a background character. Even though it was Cai Xinyuan’s birthday, people constantly came and went at his side, raising glasses to toast him.
Cheng Simian quietly retreated to one side.
These people were so annoying—never giving her even a moment alone with him.
Feeling sulky, she attacked a slice of cake, eating it fiercely. After finishing, she felt thirsty and went to get some juice.
Next to the juice was red wine. Her hand had already reached for the juice, but for some reason, it changed direction and grasped a wine glass instead.
“One drink to drown a thousand worries, right?” Cheng Simian muttered. After saying that, she sneaked a glance at Su Xianyan. “He’s so busy dealing with everyone else—he doesn’t have time to care about me anyway.”
With that thought, she took a sip.
It tasted better than beer. Leaning against the table, she slowly drank the entire glass. When she felt no immediate effect, she took another…
After getting snubbed by the celebrity Li Mengmeng, Cha Yiguan was feeling thoroughly dejected and drifted back toward Su Xianyan and the others.
“Hey, Xinyuan, are you close with that Li Mengmeng?”
Cai Xinyuan nodded. “Pretty close. Why?”
“Nothing. That girl is really hard to talk to.”
“Really?” Cai Xinyuan thought for a moment. “She’s always seemed quite easygoing to me—pretty cute, actually.”
Cheng Qin glanced at Cha Yiguan. “I’d say she’s just hard to talk to with you. What did you do to her?”
“What could I have done?” Cha Yiguan shot him a look. He’d only complimented her looks and asked for her phone number…
Cheng Qin scoffed. “You definitely—”
Before he could finish, his gaze fixed on something in the distance. “What is that girl doing?”
Everyone followed his line of sight.
Not far away, a girl in a small white dress was walking along the edge of the swimming pool—right along the edge. One step, one centimeter off, and she would fall straight in.
Cha Yiguan narrowed his eyes. “Does she think she’s walking a balance beam? Wait—what’s she holding? That girl wouldn’t be drinking, would she?”
“Hold this.” Su Xianyan suddenly pressed his wine glass into Cha Yiguan’s hand and strode toward her.
Cai Xinyuan watched as Su Xianyan hurried toward Cheng Simian. The smile on her face stiffened slightly.
“Your niece sure has guts,” Cha Yiguan said, slinging an arm over Cheng Qin’s shoulder. “She’s even daring to drink alcohol now.”
Cheng Qin glared toward Cheng Simian in the distance. “Just wait till we get home—I’ll deal with her.”
“She definitely needs to be dealt with. That girl is way too bold!” Cha Yiguan was still complaining when he suddenly shouted, “Hey—hey—hey! Careful!!”
Startled by Cha Yiguan’s sudden yell, Cheng Qin froze. The next second, he heard the splash of water hitting the pool. His heart jolted. When he looked again toward the pool, Cheng Simian was already gone.
“Where’s Cheng Simian?!”
“She fell in!” Cha Yiguan yelled as he sprinted over.
Splash! Another body hit the water.
Cai Xinyuan froze. “Xianyan!!”
Just moments earlier, Cheng Simian had dropped her wine glass into the pool. In the next second, she staggered forward groggily, as if trying to retrieve it.
Su Xianyan didn’t spare even a moment to think—he leapt straight into the water.
Cheng Simian couldn’t swim. After a few frantic struggles, she began to sink. Su Xianyan swam to her as fast as he could and wrapped an arm around her waist.
She felt utterly miserable—stifled, unable to breathe. Just when she thought she was about to die, she saw the face she wanted to see most, a face that seemed anxious for her sake.
Cheng Simian smiled faintly and reached up, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Su Xianyan… I knew you’d come.
Su Xianyan was tightly entangled by her. He was just about to pull her arms away when suddenly his lips felt soft. Cheng Simian’s face filled his vision. Beneath the water, the chill was unmistakable, yet on his lips he felt a warm breath.
His heart jolted violently, as if struck by an overwhelming wave, and for a split second he lost all reaction. But Su Xianyan was still Su Xianyan—even in such an absurd and ambiguous moment, he retained a sliver of composure. He pried her arms away, tightened his hold around her waist, and carried her toward the surface.
As soon as Cheng Simian broke the surface, she began coughing violently.
“Cheng Qin, catch her.”
By then, Cheng Qin and Cha Yiguan had already rushed over. Pushing aside the bewildered crowd, they helped pull Cheng Simian out of the water.
The moment she was out, Cheng Simian went completely limp. Su Xianyan removed his jacket, wrapped it around her soaked body, and lifted her up, carrying her into the villa.
Only after the crowd slowly dispersed did people begin to react to what had just happened.
“What was that? Who was that girl?”
“No idea. Just a young girl… but what’s her relationship with Su Xianyan?”
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen Su Xianyan that nervous. Hey—could it be…”
“Impossible. Xinyuan is right here. What are you thinking?”
“Why impossible? He and Cai Xinyuan aren’t even officially together. I think there’s something going on.”
…
Inside the Villa Room
“Xianyan, you should step out. We’ll take care of this,” Cai Xinyuan said gently inside the room.
Su Xianyan was about to nod when the person lying on the bed suddenly grabbed his hand. “Su Xianyan! You’re not allowed to leave!”
She was clearly drunk, yet her recognition was spot-on.
Su Xianyan laughed helplessly. “I’m not leaving. I’ll be right outside the door.”
“That’s not okay either!”
“Be good. Don’t make trouble.” He pried her fingers loose and turned to Cai Xinyuan and another girl. “Sorry to trouble you.”
Su Xianyan stepped out, and the door closed behind him. Even so, he could still hear her chattering noisily inside.
Cheng Qin walked over. “She’s okay, right?”
“Seems fine.”
“That damn girl—always causing trouble,” Cheng Qin muttered. “Xianyan, you’re soaked too. Go change your clothes.”
Su Xianyan hummed in acknowledgment and went to another room.
By the time he returned, Cheng Simian had quieted down. She was no longer shouting, but she still wouldn’t let anyone get close.
“Xinyuan, let’s all head downstairs,” Cheng Qin said, unwilling to ruin Cai Xinyuan’s birthday. “Let her rest in there. She’ll be fine.”
Cai Xinyuan glanced at the closed door. “Is it really okay to leave her alone?”
“When this girl gets drunk, she becomes completely lawless,” Cha Yiguan said. “If she doesn’t want us in there and we force our way in, we’ll be gearing up for a fight.” He then glanced at Su Xianyan. “Well… Xianyan might be the exception. She probably wouldn’t dare climb all over his head.”
“Then you all go downstairs,” Su Xianyan said suddenly. “I’ll stay and keep an eye on her. I’ve had a bit to drink too, and I want to rest up here.”
Cai Xinyuan paused. “You’re staying?”
“Oh, that works,” Cha Yiguan said, slinging an arm around Cheng Qin as they headed downstairs. “Then we’ll go back to having fun.”
“Go on,” Su Xianyan replied with a faint smile.