The Liu family is considered a big household locally, but in the end they’re just small-time local rich people. They run a manufacturing business that supplies goods. This kind of business usually needs heavy investment; if you can’t control everything from production to market, the profit in practice isn’t as fast as light service industries or cultural industries. The profit chain depends on whether your big external clients are strong enough.
So Liu Mei assisting the police investigation and helping rescue a major client’s only daughter was something that benefited the Liu family with no downside. For that, Liu Mei received praise from Old Master Liu, who still held authority, and the other Liu family members were also very happy; they complimented her nonstop and were extra polite to Su Li and her father.
This happened at the entrance of the Liu family’s old residence. After a few pleasantries—mixed with blessings that Su Li returned safely and praise that she was beautiful, charming, full of rich-young-miss aura, worthy of being Mr. Su’s only daughter, and so on…
Old Master Liu’s eldest son looked Su Li up and down, tugged his own son, and said with a smile, “Just graduated? Good, good. This age is perfect. Finish studying, then start a family—girls don’t lose anything. Mr. Su really knows how to raise a daughter. Miss Su, do you have a boyfriend?”
Old Master Liu also smiled. “You young people need to hurry. Don’t be like our boy—he hasn’t been graduated long and he’s only focused on starting a business, busy with work, not even time to date. Men, careers matter, but getting married and having kids early matters too, right, Mr. Su?”
It sounded warm and friendly, but anyone sharp could see what they were doing.
Liu Mei frowned, wanting to speak but stopping herself.
Su Ye hadn’t said anything yet, but Su Li—who had taken a short nap in the car and been woken up—kept her expression flat. She glanced at the Liu family grandson, who was plain at best, even a bit greasy and rough. “Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t.”
Everyone: “?”
Su Li: “When I don’t like the ugly junk someone’s trying to sell me, out of politeness, I say I do. If I like them, I say I don’t.”
The eldest son’s expression stiffened. The grandson was confident; he thought Su Li was just being witty. He curled his mouth into a grin, shoved both hands into his pockets. “No wonder you studied abroad, Miss Su—you’re very humorous. So when you’re facing me right now, do you have one, or not?”
He even learned to pause properly, with rise and fall, setup and twist, and when he looked at her his gaze burned.
Even the lawyer could barely hold it in—so the young miss was finally about to unleash.
Su Li also smiled, lips curling.
“Our relationship is even simpler.”
The grandson’s eyes lit up and he was about to move closer.
Su Li: “Before I choose how to answer you, can’t I first choose whether to let your family keep having the honor of being my small client?”
“Sorry, I’m in a bad mood. Please get lost.”
The Liu family froze on the spot. They hadn’t expected Su Li to be this wild—completely outside anything they understood about social settings. Or rather, they’d never hosted the only daughter of a client boss far above them.
They also never imagined this only daughter saw herself as an heir.
So everything they’d said and planned earlier was a kind of provocation and offense.
But she displayed a kind of unpolished lack of manners.
At least the Liu family was unhappy; they just didn’t dare show it openly.
Su Ye frowned and said low, “Su Li.”
He clearly thought she had been rude.
Old Master Liu was vicious. He forced down his dislike of Su Li and deliberately put on an embarrassed, ashamed expression. “Ah, it’s a misunderstanding. Our family didn’t mean that. Miss Su is of noble status—how could we dare to hope for such a thing. It’s only right that she’s angry. You two—apologize to Mr. Su and Miss Su at once!”
The eldest son immediately turned with the wind and pressed his son to apologize.
That made Su Li look really…
Su Li: “It’s fine. No need to apologize. The responsibility is on my dad.”
“Mr. Su, if you’d told them earlier that you only have this one daughter and you weren’t planning to have her find a man to marry into her fortune, wouldn’t this never have happened?”
Su Ye’s expression went blank. But he truly had no way with this daughter. After pressing his lips down, he looked at the even more awkward Liu family.
“Sorry. My daughter is young. She’s been abroad a long time; her thinking isn’t the same as the old traditional feudal ways at home. And she just ran into something tonight, so she has a temper.”
“You’ve been put to trouble.”
Polite and refined.
But neither warm nor cold.
Old Master Liu’s brow jumped. He quickly said, “No wonder, no wonder. Understandable. Our grandson was the one who didn’t know better. Miss Su, don’t be angry. Those three hooligans have been arrested no matter what—they were blind to dare offend you.”
Su Li’s expression paused: three hooligans? They knew that fast? They had connections in the police station.
But that was normal. They were local snakes; the Baimu police station in a place this tiny wasn’t some big department. It wasn’t hard to get information.
“Xiao Mei, you accompany Miss Su and take care of her. You women talk easier, heh heh heh.”
Then he led his son, grandson, and the rest of the Liu family, crowding around Su Ye as they walked toward the front gate.
He left Su Li and Liu Mei behind.
They could hear Old Master Liu talking: “Tonight, there’s another honored guest at our Liu family home; it’s a coincidence. I’ve been in a difficult position, not sure how to explain it to Mr. Su. After all, we have guests visiting from both sides, and Mr. Su, you’re our most important guest, and you’ve never liked interacting with others, so I fear… but this honored guest says they know you, Mr. Su, and can be introduced first. Would you agree to dine together?”
Behind them, Su Li curiously glanced at a few luxury sedans parked in the courtyard and whispered to Liu Mei, “There’s still snow on the roofs. They’ve been here at least a few hours. Hesitating this long—so they really were ‘in a difficult position.’”
Liu Mei lowered her head and gave a bitter smile. “Miss Su, you can dislike my father, brothers, and nephews, but don’t take it out on me. I don’t have much weight in the Liu family.”
Her tone was light.
“I’m not as lucky as you—an only child, even if it’s a daughter.”
Even if it’s a daughter?
No matter how strong and self-reliant Liu Mei was, once she returned to the Liu family, she carried a bit more of something tamed.
The environment from childhood was rooted deep, like the moss in that bathhouse.
Su Li raised her brows. “Is that so? I thought your whole family had planned it together, deliberately giving me an attitude. It’s weird. You’ve done business for so many years; no matter what, my family is upstream to yours. You’re in such a hurry to arrange me—did you get some other backing?”
Liu Mei’s expression turned complicated, like she didn’t know how to answer.
Su Li sneered.
Nearby Liu family members followed step by step, their eyes strange. Probably even Liu Mei—an older woman who could stir things up—couldn’t deal with this Miss Su’s bad temper, so it was clear she wasn’t easy to handle.
But being this picky was also good. Clearly she wasn’t cut out for business.
Good thing the Liu family already had a plan.
No matter what era, what country or people, once someone got rich, they often wanted to build a grand house back in their hometown.
The Liu family did too.
After the main gate opened, everyone entered the guest wing on the left side of the old house.
Dry landscape garden, Japanese-style rooms. Sliding doors pulled open; inside was brightly lit. A radiant woman sat there, makeup perfect and clothes impeccable. Her features were capable and sharp, even carrying a cold, superior indifference. But the moment she saw someone, it was like winter snow melting—she smiled as she looked over.
“Mr. Su, we’re old acquaintances, aren’t we? Old Master Liu didn’t quite believe it.”
Her eyes and brows held a smile, her gaze bright with emotion. Even her tone was openly teasing, ambiguous, not hiding it at all.
Quite a few people deliberately turned their heads to look. The moment Su Li saw this woman, her face dropped.
Clearly, she knew something. That was why she was eager to show her presence in front of Su Ye.
But no matter how much she showed off, it wouldn’t change the probability of a wealthy man—widowed for many years, handsome and refined—being moved by an equally outstanding and beautiful wealthy woman.
Basically, one hundred percent.
This woman looked like a business-world powerhouse.
Tonight, she came for the best project.
But who she was, neither she nor Old Master Liu ever said.
They ate Japanese food. Su Li became much quieter than before. She was neither warm nor cold toward this kind of meal.
Winter had arrived. Wouldn’t small animals that had felt safe and comfortable during the autumn fattening season have to choose to curl up and hibernate according to the environment?
Otherwise, they would become gifts for higher predators.
The main seats were naturally for the suited beauty, Su Ye, and the host Old Master Liu. The three of them seemed to be discussing business.
The suited beauty seemed to have held high positions for many years—shrewd and smooth. She carried a hint of looking down on Old Master Liu, but in front of Su Ye she deliberately showed a soft, alluring feminine side, leaning over several times to pour him wine.
The perfume smell drifted over to Su Li and Liu Mei even from several seats away.
In the middle, there was a break.
Liu Mei went out.
At a corner in the back courtyard, Old Master Liu asked her in a low voice about things.
Like her evaluation of Su Li, and whether Su Li had begun to get involved in the Su family business.
Even though he had already bet on that suited beauty and was trying to cling to her, the crafty Old Master Liu still wanted to keep his plans steady.
Liu Mei: “Father, you deliberately had big brother and the others provoke Su Li, wasn’t it to test her foundation? Now you’ve seen it. Why ask?”
Only with someone behind you would you dare risk probing someone like that.
But probing was also for deeper judgment.
They never really thought that mediocre, useless nephew could win Su Li’s favor.
Old Master Liu: “That wasn’t my plan.”
Liu Mei: “Then…?”
She looked toward the open guest room.
“Who exactly is she?”
She asked.
But Old Master Liu said, “Just a businesswoman. Don’t worry about it. Help me keep an eye on Su Li.”
Then he walked off on his own.
Liu Mei stood under the eaves where light and shadow split, listening to the banter inside—the crude, greasy words her brothers kept blurting out, thinking they were so socially skilled.
Men socialize for business. Do you think small talk is easy? It’s full of tricks. What can women do at a drinking table?
That was what they said.
But now, they were groveling to one woman, while easily looking down on another woman.
Liu Mei pressed her lips into a straight line.
She still went back, but as she got close, she suddenly heard the favored suited beauty speak in strong Hong Kong-accented Mandarin.
“I heard Miss Su ran into something tonight? The mainland really is messy. If you’re alone out there taking risks, it’s easy for men to bully you.”
Su Li: “It was alright. I’m fairly familiar with Baimu Town.”
The beauty: “That makes sense. I heard your mother used to count as someone from Baimu Town too, right? After all, your maternal grandmother is.”
With that one sentence, the atmosphere in the entire room froze, but the eldest son and the others couldn’t hold back their laughter.
Liu Mei stopped in place. Shocked, she lifted her eyes and looked over. Across from her in the dimness stood a tall, handsome figure.
Suit and leather shoes. Expressionless.
So the woman inside dared humiliate Su Li because Su Ye had stepped away.
But Su Ye was outside.
What would he do?
In the extreme quiet,
before Liu Mei could see Su Ye’s reaction, she heard Su Li—who had been quiet and compliant for over half an hour—speak up.
“You know my family’s business so well?”
“Then I’m really at a disadvantage… after all, I only know this Da Jie’s name is Chen Wanrong.”
“Oh right, you’re from Hongfeng, aren’t you? Wasn’t the shoe factory where that kidnapper held me your company’s?”
“Such a big thing happened to your company and you’re still in the mood to eat salmon sushi.”
“Are you trying to jump ship and come work at Su Group before you go bankrupt?”
“Or you don’t want to work anymore and want to do it in one step? Then you’d better hurry; my dad isn’t young.”
Silence even deeper than quiet.
Everyone’s head was probably buzzing.
The lawyer and the others practically wanted to bury their faces in their bowls… then bury the bowls in the ground.
No, was Miss Su always this fierce?
Has she never swallowed a grievance in her life?
In the inner room, Chen Wanrong put down her wine glass and stood up, staring at Su Li without expression.
“Miss Su, you have no manners. You don’t even know that only the person who holds the right to speak has the qualification to attack in the business world.”
“A little chick fed by others should just stay in the pen.”
Su Li stopped pretending. She didn’t even sit up. She spread her hands and propped herself on the seat, then looked up at the woman.
Half-smile, not quite a smile.
“Hongfeng is a multinational joint venture, right? After something like this happens and the authorities are investigating, the people with real status and real backing—I’m guessing they’re either in Hong Kong where it’s convenient to leave the country, or already overseas.”
“At a time like this, the ones who come to Baimu to cooperate with police investigation aren’t really the big figures holding the right to speak.”
“Da Jie, I really don’t have manners, so I’m not hardworking enough. At least I’m not as hardworking as you—working for decades, then coming back and trying hard to find someone to marry.”
Chen Wanrong’s expression froze. Her perfect face—did her makeup cake?
The Liu family didn’t dare breathe.
Su Li’s gaze swept over them. Her finger casually hooked the plate holding salmon sashimi.
Smack—she flipped it over onto the table, covering the cold, raw fishy smell underneath. The sauce slowly ran out from the edge and dripped onto the wooden floor.
“A tiger painted like a dog—neither here nor there.”
“My mom never wears perfume.”
When the bodyguard behind Chen Wanrong stood up, the lawyer and the others also stood up instinctively.
Tension in the air.
Su Ye walked past the sliding door and appeared at the entrance. He was tall; standing in the doorway of that Japanese-style room, he looked like a precisely drawn silhouette in a comic.
His body was swallowed by the courtyard’s dimness, not stepping into the room’s light, but his outline was like ink landscape lines.
You knew he was there. You knew he had come.
“Finished eating?”
“Let’s go.”
Su Ye’s voice was naturally gentle and magnetic, somewhere between male and female. After calling Su Li, she stood up at once.
Old Master Liu, hearing the news, rushed over to see them off.
Everyone reached the main gate, only to see, in the open courtyard parking area… headlights from a car approaching outside.
In the moonlit reflection off the snowy mountain forest, it arrived at the Liu family’s old residence, driving right up to the gate.
The engine stayed on. The door opened. The headlights were still on. The major expert stepped out into the winter cold and looked at them.
“Looks like it’s just in time.”
“Miss Su, what you said earlier—about cooperating with the investigation anytime—does that still count?”